Matt Murdock
"Look at you, back on the horse!" Foggy slaps Matt on the back as he downs a shot of whiskey. He smiles--genuinely smiles. It feels like it's been ages since he's felt free enough to kick back at Josie's with his best friend and celebrate a winning case.
"I'm getting there." he chuckles as Foggy grabs a bottle behind the bar and fills Matt's cup once again. Josie mutters something about banning Foggy for life if he keeps this up, which only broadens his grin. It's good to be back. Foggy settles down, sipping his drink gingerly. Every few moments he pauses, clearing his throat but then sighing silently and repeating the cycle. "Fog, what is it?" Matt knows perfectly well he's figuring out how to word something.
"Was it hard focusing with all that's going on in New York?" Foggy whispers. Matt doesn't need to watch the news to know what he's talking about.
It always seems to be New York when aliens decide to make a pit stop on Earth. Matt heard the craft descending into the city. He heard the screaming, cars being thrown around like they were nothing. Bodies of The Avengers being thrown through buildings and smashed into the concrete. He was up all night, listening to people packing their suitcases, calling relatives to ensure they were safe. Parents bickering over how to tell their young children that the creatures from space were back again. It took every ounce of him to not go out into the night in his mask, not that there would be much he could do anyways.
"I am... was... a vigilante. Whatever those things are, they're beyond all reason of justice. As much as I would want to help, what would I do?"
"Wow." Foggy shifts from serious to joking in a split second. "I should have recorded that. That was the most rational thing you've ever said, Matthew Murdock."
"Oh shut up." Matt chuckles.
"Those Avengers are crazy. Karen showed me some videos some people sent in from their phones. Tony Stark, this wizard dude, and Spider-Man were all up against this floating guy and they still were getting their asses kicked. It's been pretty quiet since then though, so I guess things have been resolved."
"They're professionals. I hope so. New York is expensive enough as it is without men in iron suits crashing through your wall and screwing up your security deposit."
"True that, my friend. I'm gonna hit the bathroom, I'll be right back."
As Foggy goes to the back of Josie's, Matt sits back, finishing his now third glass of whiskey. The buzz is flowing through him now, making him feel light and warm. His senses tend to get muddled when he drinks, so Matt makes a mental note to not let Foggy pour him the rest of the bottle. He is a defense lawyer, after all, his job is convincing people to make choices they may not ordinarily make. He's damn good at it too.
Matt senses Foggy approaching once again when what feels like a bullet hits him straight in the head, nearly knocking him out of his chair. Foggy is there in an instant, grabbing Matt by his shoulders.
"What's wrong? What happened?" he yells, and Matt grabs his head with his hands to stabilizing the ringing in his ears. Something is very, very wrong.
"I-I don't know," he mutters, twisting out of Foggy's grasp and running out of the bar. His best friend follows close behind, nearly running right into Matt's back when he stops dead on the sidewalk.
It's like nothing he's ever experienced before. There is so much noise, so many screams of agony and pure fear in every direction. It's chaos, and there is nothing that he can sense that could be causing it. There's not alien ships or natural disasters.
"Holy shit." Foggy's heart rate jumps up.
"What is it? What do you see?" Matt asks, but before Foggy can muster anything, Matt can feel it.
It's like a light bulb burning out. Times a million. Millions. The world goes from being so unbearably loud to a quiet so eerie it nearly sucks all the breath out of Matt. Heartbeats cease in an instant, and suddenly nearly half of everyone surrounding Matt and Foggy completely disappear from Matt's senses. No bodies, no apparent reason at all.
Matt feels a hand encloses around his elbow. He reaches up and places his hand over Foggy's as if contact will keep one another from disappearing.
"They're just disintegrating, Matt. Like into dust, just blowing away. People, Matt. People are disappearing, what is happening?"
"I don't know. I don't know." his reply is nearly a whisper. "Foggy, where is Karen right now?"
"Oh my god, the office!" he shrieks and Matt and Foggy take off running through the street.
With every step, he can feel another disappear. And another. How many will be taken? Why are they disappearing? Where are they going?
There's nothing Matt can do with his fists. At this point, he can only concentrate on Foggy's rapid heartbeat and pray that it doesn't suddenly cease.
They reach the office. Matt bursts through the door first. No heartbeats. Nothing alive in the building.
"She said... she said she would work late... Maybe home.. but--"
"She's not here." Matt interrupts Foggy's heaving.
Foggy steps into the office slowly leaving Matt standing in the doorway with his head cocked, hoping he can pick up Karen's heart from here. Her apartment isn't too far, and he can usually recognize her from a distance...
"Matt." he doesn't like the sharp tone to Foggy's voice.
"Did you find something?"
"Dust. On and around her chair. A lot of it."
"No... It can't... She can't." Tears are already forming in Matt's eyes. His chest tightens as he falls to his knees, anguish filling him immediately. It can't be true. She can't be... gone. So many people in Matt's life have left, but never in a moment for absolutely no reason. He can blame a gangster for his father's murder. He can attribute the Hand to the deaths of Elektra and Dex for the murder of Father Lantom. But this... who is responsible? What is responsible? There's no reason, no explanation for any of this. Nothing Foggy or Matt can see or hear.
Foggy hangs up his phone, sucking in a breath of relief. Marci must be alive. Foggy's hand clamps on his shoulder before kneeling and pulling Matt into his chest in a tight hug. He wraps his arms around him as well as they both cry softly.