The message was rushed from how Frank saw the typing.
"Devils n ot himself help."
If a message from Jones during a raid wasn't enough of a warning, Frank didn't know what would. He didn't want to wait on an answer, because he immediately got in the fastest car he had and sped down the empty streets. What plagued his thoughts throughout the drive was what the message meant. He knew what the text was dictating to, but what concerned him was what happened during the raid.
What happened to him.
By the time the locator pinged at where the raid was, Frank had already parked the car and ran, having his weapons ready along with other necessities. He remembered the Defenders went to fight a Mystic group that was causing too many disturbances across town, already claiming the raid beforehand. Mystics were tricky and unpredictable at times. He had to be prepared.
After pushing through some leftover debris, Frank came across the battleground and immediately became irritated.
Of course, they were fighting Loki.
It seemed like every time they fight a Mystic team, it has to have Loki involved.
Said God of Mischief was having a grand ol' time laughing at the expense of the Defenders. Mordo next to him was down along with Nobu, both of them struggling to get back into the fight. Despite their struggles and the lessened odds, Frank noticed why Jones sent the text.
Across from the Mystic group, the ex-marine witnessed Daredevil brutally attack his own teammates.
Damn it, Loki.
While Daredevil knocked Iron Fist off his feet and shoved Jessica to the side, Luke tried going after Loki. However, Mordo still had enough voodoo magic in his hold to keep pushing him back. How long had this been going on? If this had just happened, Frank was surprised at how much damage Red had already caused. Frank knew that Loki hasn't noticed him yet, so he decided to take this battle into his own hands.
He was glad he picked up a couple of flash grenades.
Loki went from laughing in triumph to babbling out of shock immediately, blinded by the flash at first. Frank knew what he was doing, taking quick steps to maneuver his way through. Before any of the Mystics could clear the mist, the Punisher went behind Loki and used the butt of his rifle to knock him out. He may be an Asgardian, but he didn't have that much of a thick-skull like his brother.
Unfortunately, the flash grenade was powerful enough to cover the entire field, throwing both teams into a fit of confusion. He could hear it especially from the Defenders across from him. Frank didn't pay mind to the Mystics, going after one purpose throughout this entire ordeal. He knew this flash grenade was hell for the Devil and his intended mission was to help them, not stop a bunch of stupid sorcerers.
Jessica's cursing helped him navigate better before the field cleared up. Iron Fist was groaning, cradling his side while Frank walked over. His eyes immediately landed on Daredevil, who clutched his head tightly, probably suffering from the ringing that echoed in his head. So Frank approached him first before the others.
"Red? Can you hear me?"
A baton almost greeted him.
Frank managed to anticipate that, swiftly dodging it before backing away quickly. He was still set to fight, not caring who he attacked at this point. Frank didn’t want to fight him, he wanted him to hear him out, try to get him to focus on him, and help him snap out of whatever the hell was messing with his head. The other Defenders managed to recover from the flash grenade, already rushing over to stop him.
"He's mind-controlled!" Iron Fist shouted as a warning.
"Where the hell did that asshole go?!" Jessica shouted back, noticing from the clear flash that Loki had disappeared.
In fact, the entire Mystic team was gone, leaving only the five of them alone to themselves in a barren battlefield. Well, the four of them and a possessed teammate that is.
While they were distracted with the disappearance of the Mystics, Frank approached Daredevil more with careful steps, lowering his voice. "Red, it's me. Hey, snap out of it. Loki's gone, you don't have to follow his command anymore-" while he got closer and softened his tone, Red snarled at him and tried attacking again, clearly recovered from the flash grenade, ready to fight once more. It was brash and completely unfocused, different from how Red usually worked. Frank knew how the Devil fought and how much resistance he truly puts in when it comes to fighting. They've had too many conversations of right and wrong and who gets to live or die to understand that pattern clearly. Here? Red wasn't just set to fight, he wanted to kill.
That was something Red would never want and for Frank to never allow.
A strong, brute force came in contact with Frank's arm, making him wince completely from the strength Red was putting. He wanted him battered and broken, Frank can tell from the way Daredevil gripped his weapons. He refused to fight back, refused to use his guns against him. That would be a last resort.
Suddenly, Luke appears behind Daredevil, grabbing him immediately with enough time to spare from him noticing. "He's not thinking clearly right now, Frank! Stay back!"
Jessica and Iron Fist came rushing back to where they were, helping the two of them move their upset teammate to one of the warehouses nearby. Frank was silently glad that Loki and his band of idiots had chosen this part of town to cause chaos. He's already starting to pity Luke for holding down Red.
By the time they entered the warehouse, Jessica walked over to rip off a chain that dangled from one of the wall hooks. "Over here." She pointed at the pipes that stood near the side, and Luke dragged Red towards them. Deja vu came through when Frank saw Jessica use the chains to tie Red against the pipes. Especially with the way Red bashed and wrestled against them.
"Danny, what the hell do we do now?" Jessica turned her head towards him.
Iron Fist frowned, shrugging anxiously as he moved closer to his teammate. "I don't really know."
"How do you not know? You're a Mystic too!" Luke said.
"I'm Mystic but that doesn't mean I'm a good one! Besides, my kind of mystical energy doesn't really deal with Asgardian level mystic! Two completely different realms, remember?"
Frank was the one to move a bit closer to Red, still having his eyes fixated on the way he tried fighting the chains. "Don't you know Doctor Strange? Can't you contact him?"
"...Oh yeah, I do. Umm, I can try."
"Danny, just please call Strange." Luke sighed, nudging Jessica at his side.
"Oh. Right." She said quickly, grabbing the first aid kit that was strapped to her thigh. "Here, Castle, Night Nurse gave us some extra help before the raid. Danny had used up all his chi or whatever earlier during the fight."
While Danny tried looking for his phone, Frank managed to inspect Red, opening the kit. He saw him stop for a breather before taking on the chains again. A thin streak of blood leaked out from the mask, trickling down to his chin. "Easy, Red, you're hurt..." Frank muttered, waiting for him to stop moving before swiftly grabbing at the cowl to pull it back, revealing dark red hair and...
Christ.
Frank stopped for a moment, moving his hands away from him as he noticed the change from the Mystic's effects. What stared coldly back at him were blue eyes instead of hazel. It was terribly unsettling, and what bothered Frank more was that it wasn't just the irises that were blue. It was like a translucent blue mist got caught inside Red's eyes, making everything in his eyes a shade of blue down to the pupils.
Frank thought the mask helped Red appear more threatening. Here, he looked more ominous without it.
"Hey..." he started, carefully at first as he lifted his hand towards him, wanting to see how far he can go before making contact. Not even an inch allowed him anything as Red jolted again, still having a death glare. "Shit, Red, don't be like that." The soft tone came back again. Frank wanted to make sure Red was paying attention.
"Let me go..." Red growled.
"Nope. Not happening. Not when you're like this." The chastising wasn't expected, but when your partner is acting rabid, what else could you sound like? "Come on, Red. You're better than this." He tried his luck again with a cloth from the kit, reaching in to clean the cut.
That alone was pissing off Red even more. He was baring his teeth as if he was ready to chew off Frank's hand any second.
"Snap out it Red; Are you seriously going to let Thor's prick brother mess with your head like this?"
Finally, something got to the Devil. It gave Frank enough time to wipe off the bleeding.
Of course, he did it gently.
Frank knew the others were watching. Well, mostly Luke, from what he suspected. Danny was too busy fumbling through his phone asking every Mystic he knew where Strange was. Meanwhile, Jessica got impatient and tried calling Scarlet Witch repeatedly.
Damn, it seemed like almost every Mystic was busy tonight. No wonder raids were popping everywhere.
Frank can feel Luke glancing back and forth between the mess on his left and the phone call shit-show on his right. Can't blame him for not knowing what else to do with a situation like this. All Frank could silently ask for was some space between the two of them. He knew Red was stronger than some Asgardian voodoo magic clogging up his brain. He knew that this shouldn't be difficult. However, it's the first time Frank has ever seen him like this. They rarely face up against Loki, and even then, he would be the first to be taken down before any other Mystic.
So what had changed where Red got caught in this Mystic crossfire?
Continuous screeches from the chains broke Frank from his thoughts. Those blue eyes were still filled with frustration and Frank needed to find some way to calm him down.
"Stop it," Frank grunted, grabbing at one of Red's hands to keep him steady. "Just hear me out, okay?"
"Don't touch me." Red hissed.
"I need you to listen to me, Red."
"Back the hell off!" Red snarled, his blue eyes cold and bitter. "I don't want anything to do with you."
Ouch.
That's a lie, Frank reminded himself. He's not himself, remember. Besides, he was probably referring to Frank as someone who wasn't his target.
"Come on, don't be like that. I know you too well that you wouldn't want me to fuck off so easily," Frank teased lightly, almost forgetting that Red was mind-controlled before he lifted his hand, moving it to his chest. He didn't want to risk putting his hand on his neck. "Now, shut up and listen."
Once his hand was on his chest, Frank did his best to relax, letting his heartbeat do all the work in soothing. Red had mentioned before that his own presence helped him stay calm. Helped him focus and ground him at the same time. It's why they work so well together, after all.
"Concentrate; I know you always tell me that every time we're in a raid."
For a second, Frank had thought he finally cracked it. He thought that Loki's influence was starting to chip away and Red would return to himself once he saw the vigilante slow down a little from his position.
Then, those blue eyes practically glowed with murderous intent.
The hand flexed quickly to grab at a hold of Frank's vest. He anticipated this but was too slow to stop Red from tugging him closer just to smash his forehead against him. It was definitely not like the typical forehead touches they usually do.
Good thing he didn't get him any lower or Frank would've dealt with a broken nose. Still, a bruise had bloomed right on his forehead, Frank being taken aback slightly before moving in to pin Red against the pipes completely. God damn it, his head hurted like hell, but Frank will live. He has to.
Blue eyes met with his gaze again, still clouded with anger. The bleeding from Red's temple opened again to drip down, painting him in an expression Frank didn't want to read.
Luke was at his side immediately, but Frank shook his head. "Don't."
"Frank, I have to hold him down completely."
"I can handle this, back off."
"No, you can't. At least, you can’t really do much," Jessica walked over, picking up the first aid again and rummaged through the packets while Danny followed behind. "Just got off a call with Wanda. The only way to get Murdock to snap out of this is for him to be unconscious." From the corner of his eye, Frank saw a syringe in her hand.
"Wait, what the hell?"
"The other option is Luke or Danny knocking him out physically, so unless you got a better idea or you don’t mind a nasty bruise on your boyfriend’s jaw, then be my guest."
Frank looked back at Red again, seeing him still with a scowl. Still seeing blue eyes that wanted him dead.
He thought talking would help in some way. Lawyers always liked to talk, so it should've been better with Red. And he wouldn't forgive any of them or himself if they tried to clock him in the jaw and hope he knockd out from there. Frank wouldn't go forward with it, knowing a part of him will want to protect Red from anyone that hurts him. He can't stop that no matter what.
So the syringe was the better option.
"Fine... just get it over with."
While Luke restrained Red again, Jessica went in to pull down the cowl more, bringing it down to expose a bit of skin from Red's clavicle. The needle went through and everything else moved forward once Frank noticed Red's eyes were finally starting to look less blue.
Frank took Matt home after he parted ways with the rest of the Defenders, picking him up carefully once the chains went loose. By the time he arrived back at their apartment, Mystic activity began to die down slowly.
Good.
The city can have a break, at least.
While Matt rested on the bed, Frank kept up with the reports of successful Strike Force Raids, along with constantly glancing over to him. From his head being turned to the side, hand resting on his chest covered in the soft clothing he wore underneath the suit, Matt looked peaceful. Even with the knowledge of drugs still filtering his system and the bandages around his temple, Matt could've fooled anyone with such a relaxed composition. Frank suspected he wouldn't be in a great mood once the drug wore off, and it would scatter his senses too. Damn, he probably won't remember much either.
He sat next to the bed, muting the report notifications so that he can focus on anything other than upcoming raids. The change from chaos to silence was still something to accustom to, and Frank could only wait to see how Matt will turn out. Those blue eyes from before still haunt him, staining his mind with the events from earlier. Jessica and Danny actually suffered a couple of injuries from Matt, and Frank was thankful that Luke was there to prevent him from going any further.
The more he thought about it, the more pissed he got for not being there in the first place. His apartment began to drone out and turn into subtle background noise to accompany his flooding thoughts.
"Mm... Frank?"
Shit, how long did he space out for?
Matt shook a bit when he tried sitting up, having a strained groan before he held his head a bit. A nasty headache washed over him briefly before everything settled again. Frank immediately rushed over to his side. "Easy, Red, you shouldn't be moving around too much." He wasn't sure if it was side effects from the sedative or the mind control.
When Matt opened his eyes, relief flooded Frank once he saw hazel instead of blue.
"... What happened?" Matt was already trying to figure out his surroundings by the time the headache died down a bit, picking at the bandages slightly.
Despite the sluggish tone, Frank was glad he was recovering from both the sedative and mind control. "Trust me, I don't even know where to start, but long story short: your Mystic Raid didn't turn out too well."
Matt's eyebrows knitted together. "... What do you mean? Mystic raid.....?"
Oh, right. Amnesia was a side effect too.
Frank gave a quick explanation of what had happened from his perspective. He wasn't sure about the details prior before he arrived at the scene, but he can tell Matt really wanted to know the power trio's side of the story too. The more he explained, the more he can see the guilt that began to resurface from the vigilante, bleeding into his posture and weighing him down more than the dizziness he was already feeling.
He knew there was some anger already stirring inside his chest, for both Loki and himself.
Frank can't blame him for feeling like that (catholic guilt strikes again), but at the same time, Matt shouldn't be shouldering heavy blame on something he can't control.
"I hurt you, didn't I?" Matt asked cautiously.
Frank frowned at his tone. "You didn't do too much damage, Red. You just smashed your forehead against mine, it's not a big deal." It happened before. Back when they were enemies. Nowadays, it's a lot softer than in the past. Way softer.
"No, that is a big deal, I attacked you. I attacked the others too, and I couldn't-"
"-You weren't in the right state of mind. You got caught up in Loki's mystic magic and he made you his puppet, that was not your fault."
"But you still got hurt..." Shit, he was doing that face again. Defeated look with a small frown was an expression Frank dreaded because he knew for a fact it was sadness and guilt eating at Red's soul.
"Doesn't matter, it wasn't your fault. In fact, I should've been more careful." He joined him on the bed, nudging him a bit to make room. A small protest of "Frank, no." came through, only for Frank to pull him closer to his side. "Exactly. If you don't like me blaming myself then why should I allow you to blame yourself? I mean it when I said that it isn't your fault."
"Can't help it," a mutter reached out as Matt nuzzled into Frank, one hand moving along his chest then up to his face. He wanted to feel the bandage that covered his forehead. "Don't want to hurt you."
Not anymore, he didn't add. Frank still remembered their past fights before getting together. It was only a couple years back when he thought about it, but it still had an impact on what they are now.
"I know you don't. Trust me, it was that God of Mischief bullshit that he likes to do."
Matt eventually curled his fingers around Frank's waist. "Are Jess, Luke, and Danny okay?"
"They're alright," They didn't suffer a lot from him once Luke stepped in, but it was helping Matt relax more. "You didn't do too much of a number on them, they can walk it off. Besides, I got there just in time to distract you," He gave a tiny grin. "Even under some Mystic mind control, I still got you to focus on me."
That remark earned him a tired chuckle that rumbled against his chest. There we go. Breaking down the guilt one by one.
A slow pause went through, which almost made Frank believe that his partner had fallen asleep until he felt his head perk up a bit.
"... I only attacked your forehead?"
Now he sounded more curious than sad.
"Well, you tried to smack me with one of your batons plenty of times. You got me in the arm at one point, but Luke managed to pull you back once I moved out of the way. You wanted a fight." And to kill, he didn’t say. Matt wouldn’t be able to handle the idea that he would ever want the desire to kill out of pure malice. Especially the idea of wanting to kill Frank out of everyone. It would destroy him completely, so Frank kept that as a secret for himself. At least, for now.
"I always want a fight," Matt added. "Though, it felt different at that time."
"Are you trying to remember what happened earlier?"
"Almost; I'm trying to remember what I felt during that time. I'm... I'm having a vague sense that could count as a memory."
Frank pulled him closer. "Maybe you shouldn't try that, Red. I don't think remembering the feeling of possession would make this any better."
"I know, but... at one point I remember hearing your heartbeat."
Oh.
That's something at least.
"When you were tied up, I grabbed your loose hand and placed it on my chest. Wanted to see if you could snap out of the mind control on your own."
"But I didn't give you a chance." Came the tired reply.
"The mind control didn't, not you," Frank pressed his chin over red hair. "Quit blaming yourself, Red, it's not a good look on you."
"When was guilt ever a good look on me?"
"Good question," Frank smiled a bit, already hearing the wisecrack coming back in Matt's voice. "Can't really think of any times where it was."
They sat there for a while until a notification went through on Frank's phone. He leaned over a bit to check, only to see a message from Danny checking upon them.
"What is it?"
"It's just Rand asking if you were alright," he probably thought the sedative lasted longer. Either that, or he knew just as well as the rest of the team that Matt was blaming himself. "Also they completed the raid just fine. They just transferred the credits over."
"That's good," Matt mumbled, still not letting go from his position.
Frank ran his fingers through the other man's hair, allowing himself to be soft for now. "Next time we do another Mystic Raid, I'll be making sure Loki gets what's coming to him." Except for his voice, already having the threat layered on his tongue.
"Frank..."
"What? He's an Asgardian god like his brother and sister, he can handle a few explosives."
"It's not necessary," the fingers around his waist tighten a bit. "We knock him out as usual and that's it." Now Red’s voice was lowered as well.
"… You want to get some payback too, don't you?" Frank didn't know where that question came from, but it was too late from backing out now.
"... Maybe."
"There he is," Frank teased, already noticing the change come in quick. The Devil was speaking up from the other end. He's glad gloomy, self-blaming Red was out of the picture. He rather have an angry Red than a defeated one. "Glad we're on the same page."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, blue isn't your color."
"I imagined that was more of your color."
"Well, I already have a favorite color." He said sincerely and a bit too sweet.
"You sure you're not possessed? I never heard you say anything that cheesy before."
At least I'm being honest, Frank thought, still trying to get rid of the image of those possessed blue eyes. That's gone now, he reminds himself. He came back to you.
"Glad you're keeping me in check, Red. But judging by how much you have been rubbing your head, maybe you should rest up more before you keep asking questions."
He could tell the side effects were still circling him by how Matt was refusing to argue any further. That was something that he loved doing. "Yeah, alright, you win."
"You want some painkillers?"
"No, I'll be fine, thanks."
Frank placed a kiss on top of Matt's head as he drifted off again, slumping against him with all his weight. Might as well lie down and let him use him as a human mattress for now.
In the meantime, Frank can think of ideas for payback that he and Matt can both settle on.
At least they were both feeling less blue.