”Our sins always come back to haunt us, Ms. Page.”
The soft spoken yet utterly disturbing voice rang in Karen’s ears as she jolted awake. The sun was setting, and she found herself laying on the damp ground. With no idea how she got there, she stood and brushed herself off, looking around and almost immediately realizing that she was standing in the middle of a graveyard. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she backed up a couple of steps only to hit another gravestone behind her. When she turned around to get a better look at the stone she’d hit, Karen felt the blood drain from her face. The name etched on the stone was a familiar one. Kevin Page.
“No,” she whispered to herself with a shake of her head. This wasn’t happening. Karen turned away from her brother’s grave only to see another just a few feet away. She gasped audibly and covered her mouth with her hands. This stone bore a name that it shouldn’t have: Franklin Percy Nelson. She shook her head and backed away more. No. Not Foggy. He wasn’t dead.
”Our actions, Ms. Page,” said the voice again, this time a little louder. ”As with Newton’s law, each of our actions have consequences. An equal and opposite reaction. How many times have you acted without bothering to consider your collateral damage.”
That voice. Karen didn’t know where it was coming from, but she recognized it immediately. Tearing herself away from Foggy’s gravestone, she started to run. Fast and in no particular direction - just away from the graves and that voice. It wasn’t until she nearly toppled over someone that she stopped and turned around to see if someone was following her.
Bilius groaned when someone… tripped.. Over him. Pushing himself up, he glanced around, spotting a redhead he didn't know well, but that he'd seen around Atlantis and on the network. "It's Karen, right?" he asked, wondering if this was a nightmare or if he'd just had too much. Then again, he didn't remember drinking too much. He'd been working after all. Getting to his feet in a … cemetery… he held out a hand to her.
"You all right, love? What's going on?"
“What?” Karen tried to come back down to reality when she heard the man’s voice. “Um, yes,” she said with a nod but turned to look behind her. No one had followed, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was somewhere ready to jump out. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you,” she said, turning her attention back to him. She tried to place the man’s name, but she was having some trouble concentrating. “You’re a part of the Weasley family?” She asked, at least hoping she got that part right.
“I’m alright. I just-, I thought I heard someone.” Catching her breath, Karen looked around where they were standing and still saw the other gravestones around them. “Actually, no. I’m not. Do you know how we got here?” She asked and motioned around them. “I woke up, and I was here.”
"Arthur's brother. Bilius," he confirmed with what was hopefully a reassuring smile. Something clearly had rattled her. He reached for his wand and drew it, not sure if it would be of any use, but it never hurt to be prepared.
"No idea.. Thought it might be a bender or something, but I was working last night so I didn't drink that much… No idea where here is… other than the obvious."
A bender? Karen raised a brow at that, not sure what in the world she’d gotten herself into. She only had a passing knowledge of his material, so didn’t really know much about him. Either way, at least she wasn’t where ever this place was alone. Nodding a little, she tried to sort through what was happening in her mind by talking out loud.
“Okay, I woke up here in a graveyard seeing things that… I know aren’t true about people who aren’t here and wouldn’t be here.” Karen knew that Atlantis let in people who had colorful pasts, but someone like Fisk? Even they weren’t that desperate for soldiers, were they? “This has to be some sort of-”
Before she could finish, an object went flying past within inches of her head. Karen ducked, grabbing hold to Bilius’ arm, and when she stood back up there were two others standing in front of them. One in a white suit and the other standing behind him with the Daredevil suit on, tossing a baseball up and down in his hand. The sight of both men sent a shockwave of fear through her. Wilson Fisk and Benjamin Poindexter.
“Hello, Ms. Page. I believe Dex and I may have some unfinished business to discuss with you.”
“We need to get out of here,” she told Bilius. “Now.”
Bilius didn't recognize the the people, but Karen's reaction was enough to cause him to send a blasting hex in their reaction. "Run. Running is good." He wasn't really a fighter, but he could hold his own. That didn't mean he wanted to though.
The memory of what happened in the offices of The Bulletin flashed through Karen’s mind as they started to run. So many of her co-workers injured or killed, and it had been because of her. She just hadn’t expected him to have teamed up with Wilson Fisk and wearing the Daredevil costume. They hadn’t gotten far when she heard the sound of footsteps and the ball whooshing past her head again. She skidded to a halt and ducked yet turned around to see Fisk there again, looking as smug as he ever had.
“Did you see their graves, Ms. Page? The grave of your friend Mr. Nelson and your brother? Do you feel responsible for their deaths? You should. If not for you perhaps they’d both still be alive today. The same can be said for our mutual friend, Mr. Murdock. If not for your careless betrayal, I may have never known the man behind the mask. You’ll soon be able to visit his grave as well.”
“You son of a bitch,” Karen spat out, this time stepping towards Fisk instead of away from him. “He should have killed you when he had the chance.” Unlike Matt, Karen knew that some dogs had to be put down. It was something she started to agree with Frank on more and more.
Their exchanges went on in this way for some time. Poindexter would strike with a threat on Fisk's command, and though there were many close calls and a few injuries sustained, they managed to avoid anything worse. Frank even made an appearance at one point, but instead of someone hurting him, he'd completely crossed the line to becoming the monster he flirted with for so long. He killed for the sale of the kill instead of to seek justice. The moment they made eye contact, Frank's eyes were wild with fury, and Karen didn't know him at all.
They eventually were transported to another place Karen didn't recognize, but Bilius did. Just like with Fisk and Bullseye, Bilius was forced to face some of his own fears head-on. Since time seemed irrelevant, she had no idea how long they were trapped. They protected each other and helped one another as best that they could but there was only so much they could do when the dream seemed so real yet able to turn on them without warning. Some time later, Karen heard voices. Voices that didn't seem like they were there in the fear sequence with her but outside of it. It was when she gasped and opened her eyes that she found herself in the medical wing where she'd been sleeping for five days.
It was just a dream, but it was one that preyed on her insecurities and worst fears, and it would be weeks before she was able to shake off what she faced.