Who: Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock. What: Foggy’s arrival When: Saturday night Where: outside the Den Rating: low Status: Closed; Completed Gdoc
Matt Murdock did not visit strip clubs. Even as a single person, he’d never found it difficult to meet a beautiful woman and as a not single person? Well, he’d prefer a naked Eve over anyone else. Once in a while, the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen missed Claire, but she belonged in her past and not with Matt. But also, strip clubs involved too much stimulation with the noise, the music, the reactions from those visiting said strip club.
However, that didn’t mean when he went for runs at night (because he still tried to maintain the whole blind thing to the general population, although in this place that seemed like a dumb plan) he didn’t pass by the strip club. Matt needed to expel energy and wanted to keep in shape in case this place ended up needing his alter ego.
Filtering out the town’s noise, Matt had stopped running for a second. With the Dome sending home people (including Savannah’s boyfriend and Matt really liked Eve’s daughter) he’d needed to filter through a lot of emotions, sorrow, even a few screams. At least it hadn’t sent home Alyssa based on Matt’s very limited interactions with her kind of psychotic boyfriend.
He started to run again, the Den at the end of the block.
Foggy had no idea what he was doing here. He had fallen asleep on the couch and now… now he was woken up in the corner of a strip club. What the actual fuck was going on? Had he gone out and gotten so wasted that he only thought he had fallen asleep at home and sober? He knew that was near impossible. He had never gotten that shit-faced before. He doubted that he started now.
So he immediately headed toward the exit. He needed out of here immediately and he needed to figure out where to go from here.
…and he ended up outside and definitely not in New York. What the actual fuck? He stopped on the sidewalk and kind of just spun around for a moment. Taking in his surroundings. So. He’d fallen asleep, home in New York, and now he was… where, exactly?
“Fuck,” he said out loud.
Matt watched as someone stumbled out of the bar and he wondered, not for the first time, if a bouncer threw out the patron. Then his voice sounded and Hell’s Devil froze. He’d given up hope on an appearance by Foggy. But, he knew his best friend well and there could be no mistake.
He hurried over to Foggy, not bothering to pause. “Foggy?” Then Matt joked, “At least Sylvie didn’t accidentally throw you into someone. Welcome to Madison Valley. It’s…a lot to take in, I know.” Hearing the recognizable clip clap of a welcoming committee’s heels, Matt didn’t speak, allowing the welcoming committee person to give their spiel.
“I won’t ask if you’re okay for the obvious reason.”
Foggy spun around when he heard Matt’s voice. He recognized the voice immediately – how could he not? They had been best friends for years. Partners in a law firm. Avocados. If he couldn’t recognize Matt Murdock’s voice, something was seriously wrong. “Matt? What…?” Then a woman in heels approached, interrupting his question. Answering the questions he was about to ask Matt in the process as well.
He was handed a set of keys, a phone, and a debit card. He was informed of where he was, he couldn’t leave, yada. Then the woman started off in the opposite direction.
“So I didn’t get drunk last night and didn’t realize it?” he asked his friend, once the woman left. “I thought I was losing my mind. Yes, I know the jury’s still out on that, but… at least I feel better about my whereabouts last night.”
He peered up at the Den of Dionysus, “...arriving in a strip club. Does that happen to everyone or am I one of the lucky few? Who is Sylvie?”
“It’s possible you got drunk,” Matt teased, before turning serious again. “But no this is not some weird drunk or hungover thing, Foggy. People arrive here doing all kinds of things and at different stages of life. My girlfriend is dead back home, but here she gets time with her grownup daughter.” Matt thought, overall, that Savannah getting another chance with both parents was a good thing.
“No, people arrive all over the place. I heard one guy got dropped into one of the bars, wearing nothing but a towel.” Oh right. Sylvie. “She’s no longer here, but I got brought into town mid-fight and landed on her. She used her powers and sent me flying into a young woman who…did not expect the full weight of Matt to land on her going top speed.”
Another pause. “Do you want to go get a drink somewhere else? Or we could head back to my house. I share it with…a few other people.” He’d already thrown a lot of information at his fellow avocado.
“Okay, yes. It’s very possible I got drunk last night. But I am fairly certain I did not get drunk enough to arrive in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Or… the middle of space?” He then studied Matt for a moment, considering his words. “What’s the last thing you remember, then?” he asked. If people could be pulled from different points in time, then it was very possible that he and Matt were pulled from two different points in their lives.
“You share a house with people?” Foggy arched an eyebrow at his friend. “I feel that is a story that needs to be heard over a drink or two.” Because he wasn’t sure he was ready to meet these strange people Matt was sharing a house with.
They better meet Foggy’s high standards of Matt’s friends.
The whole space aspect of Madison certainly played with Matt’s senses, even still. The bright lights and extra sounds meant that Hell’s Devil required more filtering than even back in Hell’s Kitchen.
“I live with my first ward and her soon to be adopted father. She arrived before him, hence the ward. She’s like the niece I never had. Joel is nice. And then my new ward, Miles. His original guardian, Shuri, the Princess of Wakanda, got sent home recently.” So far Matt liked Miles.
“I was fighting with Frank after he kidnapped me.” Matt wondered about Foggy, since he looked differently than when Matt last saw him.
Foggy paused for a moment, taking in what Matt had told him. “Good luck living up to a Princess being his guardian,” he said, finally. “So. Three other people plus you. At least one of them is an adult?” Though he had no doubt that Matt could handle being the guardian of three minors. If anyone could, he could.
“Wait. …that’s impossible. That was so long ago…”
He stared at Matt for a moment, his head tilting slightly. “So. Fisk being released from prison, you making me think you were dead, all that… never happened for you?”
Matt laughed. “Good luck living up to a princess whose brain exceeds most anyone’s including, dare I say, the Hulk’s or Iron Man’s. She makes us look like simpletons and we’re not.” He’d only spoken to the young woman a couple times, but she impressed everyone.
“Joel is also an adult and in the process of adopting Ellie. She’s a great kid.” Matt truly liked his original ward. “So other than official documents, and anything she asks of me, I leave a lot of the parenting up to Joel since he should officially be her parent in the next couple months.”
Foggy’s questions stunned Matt this time. “I made you think I was dead?!” Yes, his voice rose an octave. “What? No, that’s definitely not happened.” Matt’s brain officially hurt and he didn’t know what to say, except, “I’m sorry, Foggy.”
“Yeah, you did. Probably for some stupid reason like protecting me and Karen or something.” He wasn’t really angry at Matt for that. Not at this point. Not here, when Matt was the only one he knew. Especially since he claimed he was from an earlier point in time. “Only let me know you were okay because you wanted to make sure I didn’t go after Fisk.”
At least that might have meant Matt was still worried about him at the time.
He shrugged a bit at Matt’s words. “I understand why you did it. Besides, apparently you haven’t done that yet.”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Foggy, but I do make stupid decisions in the name of protection.” Ask Claire. Or Foggy. Matt didn’t care if Foggy was angry so long as his best friend was here. “Everything you’re saying sounds like something I would do. I hate it, but I can’t argue that I wouldn’t do it.” Matt sounded resigned.
“No. I haven’t. Come on. I will take you to Lou’s and we can talk.” Foggy would have many questions.