Chapter Fourteen
“Boy, who knew DareDevil sleeps like a little baby.”
Frank turned to see Matt passed out on his couch, face pressed against a pillow. The moment they got to his apartment, Jitterbug got right back to work on her only chance of getting home while Frank and Matt checked the windows and guarded the entrances incase they were followed. That was until the blind vigilante’s exhaustion took over his body, leading to him collapsing onto his couch in a tired, mumbling, heap.
“Yeah, you’d be surprised to learn alot about Red.”
Jitterbug thought about her own Matt Murdock as she worked. The one that had tried to kill her more than once and worked under Kingpin before taking over for crime lord. “You know what? I’m gonna take your word on that.”
Safe to say it felt old. Being protected by two men that in her universe weren’t exactly her biggest fans. Murdock more than Castle in that case. .
Frank constantly walked around the house as she worked. He checked the windows and paced the apartment like a caged lion. His constant movements and need to stay on guard put her even more on edge.
“Jeez man,” She turned from her almost completed gizmo to face the anti-hero. “Can you just sit still for like, five minutes?”
“Need to make sure nobody followed us.” He replied as he peered through the window for what must've been the fiftieth fucking time in the hour.
“The crooks were unconscious and we left before the cops even saw us, we’re good! Now quit pacing you're making me nervous.” He plopped down in a chair next to Matt and watched her work under a steely gaze. “Boy, you two really are similar.”
Frank scoffed. “Who? Me and Captain Castle?” The way he said his double’s name in such a mocking tone made her laugh.
“Yeah actually.” She grabbed her screwdriver and smirked. “Both of you are overprotective as all hell and seem to carry the entire weight of the world on your shoulders.”
The corner of his mouth turned up. “Sounds like a good man.”
“Oh trust me he is. He may be have a giant stick up his ass but he’s a good guy. And you know what else?”
Frank grinned and sat back in the chair, letting his body relax for the first time in ages. “What else ‘bug?”
“He’s the type of guy you trust. The type of guy who’d- who’d do anything for his family, for the innocent. To make sure that the people that need help get it and that the little guy stays safe.” Matt, who had been turned facing away from them on the couch presumably asleep, smiled.
“And you think that’s the kind of guy I am?”
“Call it an educated guess.”
The room fell back into silence. Jitterbug’s focus was now solely on the weapon in front of her as Frank mulled over her words. Eventually his eyelids began to droop and head hang, drifting in and out of a peaceful sleep for thirty minutes until Jitterbug jumped up from her seat, causing it to clatter and fall to the floor.
“It’s finished.”
Both Matt and Frank jumped up from their seats.
Matt stepped forward and ran his hands over it. “Are you sure?” It was shaped like a gun, sleek, smooth and feather-light in his hands.
“As sure as I can be. I mean I've never made this thing before but I...maybe? There’s nothing I can do besides hope for the best.” She grabbed her mask, slipping it on and handed the gun to Matt. “Alright, I’m ready.”
“Woah! woah! Woah!” He quickly pushed the gun back into her hands. “Shouldn’t you think this through more before just handing me a gun and telling me to shoot you?”
“Right! You're blind, my bad.” She turned to Frank. “You're up Castle.”
“That’s not what I meant at all!”
Frank took the gun in his hands, turning it over for a few moments before looking at Matt’s tiny kitchen and shooting the blender that sat on the counter. The kitchen appliance disappeared in a flash of bright purple light before the apartment went dark once more, the object now gone. It was just like what had happened in the bank when she was shot. It works!
Matt gaped at his kitchen before turning to Frank.
“What the hell was that!”
He smirked. “ I Tested it.”
Matt opened his mouth, closed it, pointed at Frank before he finally sighed, dejected and defeated at the idiotic action. “Fine then.”
“It works.” Jitterbug whispered. A smile grew on her face as she giggled. “It works! Holy shit it works!”
Frank smiled at her. “Good job on the tinkering Einstein, but I’d hold the party off because now it’s time to send you home.”
“Oh! You're right.” She took a few steps back as he raised the gun to point at her. “Thank you both. You're city is lucky to have you guys.”
Matt smiled and nodded. “Likewise Jitterbug. Next time you visit don’t let it be life or death, alright?”
“I’ll do my best Devil dude.” She saluted him and turn to Frank. “Try to lighten up when I’m gone Castle. I mean the skull vest? Really?”
Frank cracked a smile. “You're making it real easy for me to shoot you, you know that?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “That was the plan.”
He stalled for a moment, hand trembling. He couldn’t just shoot this woman, what was he thinking? What if something went wrong? What if it kills her or she goes into the wrong dimension or what if-
“Frank.” Her soft call brought him out of his thoughts. When he looked at her, she held no fear, only confidence. She stood tall and proud, not an ounce of worry or hesitation in her body. “I trust you, it’s okay.”
He took a deep breathe and squeezed the trigger.
The apartment was engulfed in a bright purple light before it disappeared. Everything was the same except for Jitterbug, who was nowhere to be seen.
“Safe travels ‘bug.”