Matt Murdock (saint_matthew) wrote in thedisplaced, @ 2018-01-10 10:41:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log/thread, karen page (mcu), matt murdock / daredevil (mcu) |
Who: Matt Murdock, Karen Page
When: Wednesday, January 10
Where: The ship’s medical bay
What: Matt’s arrival, and Karen telling him what’s going on
Warnings: Mentions of death
Status: Complete in Gdocs.
Whatever medical treatment they were using on him was pretty damn good, because Matt didn’t feel nearly as much pain as he should've, which was a surprise since the last thing he remembered was an entire skyscraper collapsing on top of him.
What he didn’t remember how he’d woken up an hour before, was asked by somebody if he would allow them to give him an injection, how he agreed and then passed out shortly thereafter.
There was only a dull throbbing in his muscles, and a grogginess that made it difficult for Matt to focus. He was in some sort of medical facility, that much was certain. There were bright lights shining down upon him - he could feel the heat upon his skin - and there was the tell-tale scent of disinfectant everywhere. When he tried to focus his hearing past the walls of his room, the most predominant sound was splashing waves of water. At first he thought they must be somewhere on the coast, but the longer he listened he realized there was movement through the waves - they were on some sort of ship traveling across the water.
That was disturbing enough - but even more so were the staff. He could hear when they were in the room when they were moving something in his room, or by the displacement of light as they bent over his prone body to check his bandages and the progression of his healing. Otherwise the doctors were perfectly silent - they didn’t have heartbeats, they weren’t breathing. The only time he’d experienced anything like that was with the Hand. Matt concluded that somehow the organization had gotten him out from beneath the rubble and were transporting him somewhere. He remembered when Stick took him to the docks where the Hand had just arrived with a young boy in chains, locked in a large, metal shipping container - the Black Sky, Stick called him. Or at least another Black Sky, besides Elektra. Matt imagined he was being transported somewhere overseas… maybe to Japan? He was a prisoner of the Hand, but for what purpose? Matt had his dark suspicions..
This was why Matt remained perfectly still even though he’d regained consciousness over an hour ago. He needed to figure out a plan to escape, and his captors couldn’t know he was awake so he could have the element of surprise. He wasn’t being restrained - no chains, no straps to keep him in bed. Strange, considering he was a prisoner, but maybe they thought he wouldn’t be waking up any time soon. Or else they underestimated his tenacity.
Once Matt was relatively certain that he was alone in the room - he heard the door close and he couldn’t sense any movement for several minutes,- he struggled to sit up in bed . Every muscle in his body protested while he steadied himself before weakly standing up.. Remarkably, he was in much better shape than he thought he should be - the area where Elektra’s sai sliced across his abdomen was nearly fully mended.
That’s when he heard somebody coming - somebody with a heartbeat - they were approaching the door to his room. Here we go, Matt thought, cocking his head in that direction so he could better hear, focusing and preparing himself for what he felt was an inevitable battle that would either kill him or at the very least send him back in bed, unconscious. Either way, he wasn’t going to make it easy on his captors, not by a long shot. He raised his fists and took a fighting stance, waiting for the door to open.
Karen had checked on Matt a couple times already, and was now just waiting for him to be awake and able to function. She could still barely believe he was there, though she’d seen him with her own eyes and had even touched his hand, solidifying his presence. There was a lot to talk about, for all of them, but right now? Karen was just glad that her friend was alive.
It wasn’t as though she hadn’t thought he might not one day show up again anyway - and he could have been from an earlier time when he did - but it was clear now, from his injuries, that he’d come from Midline Circle. She had no idea if he’d remember being in Tumbleweed, but that didn’t stop Karen from being determined to try and be there when he woke up. She had left for coffee and a brief break to give the robotic doctors and nurses time to check on him, and returned now with her cup to sit at his bedside again. As she pushed open the door, Karen was suddenly glad her cup had a lid on it when she had to stop in place at the sight she was met with. At least he was awake. It took her a moment to come up with something to say, as her emotions threatened to overwhelm her.
“I know you know all those fancy fighting moves, but with the state you’re in right now, you better believe that I’ll knock you flat on your ass if you don’t get back in bed right this minute, Matt Murdock.”
The door opened and Matt raised his fists higher, gritted his teeth, and bounced on the balls of his feet to prepare himself to be rushed. He heard the person’s heart rate spike out of surprise - it was a woman, early-thirties - and the scent of coffee was strong. Coffee? The pain drugs had dulled his reflexes, preventing him from reacting right away, which was good for Karen’s sake, but it also numbed the rest of his senses, so he didn’t understand who was standing in front of him until he heard Karen’s voice.
Matt lowered his fists a little and twisted his head at an angle to concentrate, while his sightless eyes blinked. There was no mistake, he could recognize Karen’s heartbeat anywhere, her distinctive scent. He took in a sharp breath of air that was something between a gasp and a sob. “Karen?” he asked, not believing his ears. For all he knew, it could be a trap, but it might be something even worse. “They’ve got you, too?” He assumed the worst - that the Hand had followed through on their promise to come after their loved ones, and had taken Karen prisoner along with him. “Where’s Foggy? Did the Hand get him?” If Foggy was hurt, or God forbid, killed... Matt would never be able to forgive himself.
“What - no one got me, Matt. Or Foggy. Or you.” Letting the door shut behind her, she set her coffee down on a counter, then walked over to catch hold of his hands, squeezing them softly. “What I’m going to tell you is going to be incredibly hard to believe, but you’re going to have to trust me, because it’s all true. But first, you’re getting back in bed so you don’t undo all the good they’ve done with putting you back together, okay?”
Despite her words, the first thing she did was let go of his hands so that she could step forward and slide her arms around him in a tight - but gentle - hug. She had two sets of memories about him, and the most recent was of going to his funeral - where no body had been in the casket. So for that reason, she was damn well going to get her hug in before they talked or did anything else.
“You’re safe, Matt - I promise. You’re okay.”
“A lot’s happened over the past few days. You’d be surprised at what I’d be willing believe.”
Matt hadn’t realized how tightly his hands were balled into fists until he released them by Karen’s tender touch, or how tense his shoulders were until they were lowered. The adrenaline rush that had prepared him to fight quickly dissipated, and he found himself weak in an embrace. He was quick to accept Karen’s promise, and he wrapped his arms around her - Karen’s familiar touch, her scent, which he deeply breathed in, were home. Whatever situation they were in now, Matt was convinced it would be alright.
When he broke from their hug, he sat down upon the edge of the bed, not only because Karen told him to, but because his legs were weak, but that didn’t prevent the questions from coming. “How did they get me out from under that collapsed building? What are we doing on this ship?”
Karen held on for several minutes, until she felt Matt start to shift, and let him pull away. Once he had sat down on the bed, she retrieved her coffee and sank down onto the chair next to the bed, cupping both of her hands around the cup.
“Well, to be honest - you pretty much fell through a portal into another dimension. Everyone on the ship did at some point. We’ve been on this ship a few days, but we were portal-transported here too - before that, we were in a town in Texas.” That was a lot to take in, so she paused and took a sip of her coffee to give him a chance to respond.
Matt slowly lifted his legs into bed, but when he tried to remain sitting up, he found the bandages around his abdomen and his wound make it too uncomfortable, so he ended up laying down. As he did, his face twisted into a confused expression. “A portal? Do you mean the one the Hand wanted opened in the tunnel below Midline Circle? The one they needed Danny Rand for as the key?” That whole thing hadn’t been properly explained. “For some reason I thought the portal took you to K'un-Lun? There are others?” He paused to listen, but he was still to weak to focus. “Who else is here?” So many questions.
“A portal, but...no, not like that. This one was made of this swirly blue light, really - which I know doesn’t mean a lot to you, but...it’s not the same thing that was under Midline Circle.” Karen took another sip of her coffee, then went on. “A lot of people - from our world, and other worlds. Some even from fictional worlds, like Star Wars and Star Trek. From our world, we’ve got most of the Avengers, plus Jessica Jones, Misty Knight, Trish Walker, and…” She hesitated before continuing again.
“And Frank and Elektra. They’re both here, too.”
It had been a long while since he’d seen the color blue, but Matt could imagine a vortex since he’d perceived enough of those - every time he felt a blustery wind whip around in circles, or when water swirled down a drain. Even though he’d just told Karen he was prepared to believe in anything, the part about fictional worlds made him chuckled. “Star Wars? Seriously?” But Karen’s heart was beating steady, she was telling the truth, and while he couldn’t understand it, he had to take Karen’s word for it. At least for the time being.
The sound of those last two names caused Matt’s face to draw blank, and he turned his head in Karen’s direction. He was forcing himself not to react, one way or another. Both these people were significant in their own ways - Frank Castle as a former client and adversary, but had saved his life from the Hand the last time he’d seen him, and Elektra.
Elektra.
His hands were grasping the hospital blanket, and he hadn’t even realized it. He struggled to continue, not sure what to say at first. “Elektra. Is she… urm… is she alright?” He wanted to ask about the Black Sky, but he didn’t think Karen would know the reference. “She was brought back to life by the Hand, her mind was affected.” During their battle beneath Midline CIrcle, Elektra told Matt that she wasn’t under the influence of the Hand - she’d simply reconciled who she was and accepted her destructive, violent nature - but Matt struggled with this answer because he was struggling with the problem of reconciling his dual natures himself; he still thought Elektra could be redeemed, because that would mean he could also find redemption.
“Are you in contact with Frank?” he continued to ask, knowing from Karen’s immediate reaction to the question that the answer was yes. She’d somehow formed a bond with Frank during his trial, and had found a common understanding, which neither he nor Foggy was able to do. “He’s not going around murdering people, is he?” This question had him worried, because that would mean Frank would have to be stopped.
“Seriously. Princess - I mean, General - Leia is here, and so’s her parents. Luke used to be around. Then there’s another Leia, and there are children from two different universes, and...it’s incredible, but confusing as well.” Karen grinned a bit and shook her head, but returned to seriousness once again, particularly as she saw his hands tighten on the blanket.
“She’s okay. And - I know about some of that, but she’s stable and she’s okay, Matt. She’s actually a friend of mine, believe it or not.” Between Elektra, Frank, and Matt - Karen had interesting tastes in friends. “She taught me a little kickboxing last year.”
At his question, Karen almost blushed, but stopped herself just in time, instead cupping her hands around her coffee as she looked down at the mug. “I am, yes. Quite a bit, actually.” It occurred to her then that Matt wouldn’t have heard about what happened after, with Frank - it would all be new to him. “And no, he’s not murdering anyone. If he was, he’d already be locked up, with all the heroes around. But I promise, he’s...doing really good. He’s even taken on the guardianship for a teenage girl who’s an orphan, and showed up alone.”
Matt was familiar with Star Wars - Return of the Jedi had been released the year he was born, so he’d watched the first three films of the space saga on home video when he still could see. By the time Phantom Menace came out, he’d already been blind for seven years, but had gone to the theaters anyway, to listen to the movie as it played, imagining what the lightsaber duels would look like from his personal experience training with Stick. He hadn’t been a huge fan, never read the books or got into the animated series, but it was still amusing and interesting to him that these characters might be real people who were walking around.
What was much more interesting to know, however, was that Karen and Elektra were friends. He turned his face in Karen’s direction, frowningly. “What do you mean, last year” According to his reckoning, the collapse of Midland Circle took place recently, and Karen mentioned something about them being on the ship for a few days already. “That can’t be right. I couldn’t have been unconscious the whole time...” If he’d been in a coma that long, his wounds would’ve been healed, but as it were, they were still quite recent.
If Matt felt disconnected by the thought that months had passed him by instead of a few days, the news about Frank’s change of behavior was so different from the man he knew. “I find that hard to believe,” he said, skeptically. He might not have been able to see Karen’s body language, but the flutter of her heartbeat gave it away - was Karen actually fond of Frank? Matt didn’t comment about that, however, and instead, muttered, “That’s something positive, at least. Good for him.”
"That's another part of the strangeness of it all. People arrive from different points in time. I actually originally arrived in Tumbleweed the fall before last, and the last thing I remembered from home at the time was you telling me your secret. While I was in Tumbleweed, I received a memory update, of everything that happened with Midline Circle - all that I experienced, at least." Letting out a slow breath, Karen paused to gather her thoughts for a moment. "Then not long after, I was sent back, and I didn't remember anything about being in Tumbleweed. And then a few months ago, I returned, and remembered everything, and a the beginning of December I ended up with another memory dump of some things that happened back home." Things that had happened after Matt's death, with Frank.
"So yeah, somewhere in there, Elektra and I ended up becoming friends, and she taught me a little kickboxing and a couple other things. We even once took a trip to New York together."
When Matt expressed his disbelief over Frank's change in heart, she flashed a brief grin. "Believe it or not, it's true. Some things happened back home that are...very personal, for him, so I don't want to go into them right now. But he's in a better place, and he's not on the run. And he really is taking good care of Cassie. The kid's been through a lot, but I think they're good for each other." Though Karen suspected Matt probably wouldn't approve of some of Cassie's reactions to things, or the fact that she went around armed with a gun.
Matt listened to Karen discuss her experience, the memories received and taken away. It was a lot to swallow even under the best of conditions. He continued to frown the whole while, then finally scrubbed his face with his palm when Karen was finished. “A few days ago, I would’ve thought you were out of your mind, that what you’re saying was impossible. But that was before I met Elektra returned from the dead. At this point, anything’s possible” He chuckled a bit. “Kickboxing and a couple other things? Don’t tell me you’ve learned to fight with swords.”
Weird, though… the women who represented the two very different parts of his lives not only meeting, but getting along. The thought disturbed him more than he cared to admit to himself, and his brow furrowed. “I’m glad you’re… urm… getting along.” For a person who hid behind a mask and was great at hiding his identity as Daredevil, and could put on a poker face as a lawyer when standing in front of court, Matt was a pretty awful liar when it came to the heart. He’d stopped gripping the blankets, and now his hand reached out and took Karen’s - he needed that security.
The subject of Frank was more neutral, and thus safe. “Good. Good. I’m glad. He deserves something better in his life than what happened to him. I’m curious about meeting this Cassie now. I assume she’s also here on the ship?”
A thought appeared, and he hesitantly asked, “Is my suit here?” And by suit, Matt assumed Karen would know he was talking about his Daredevil costume. It had been pretty roughed up in his fight with Elektra and the Hand, but he wondered if it was still salvageable.
She laughed in return, and shook her head. “If I had a sword, I’d probably end up stabbing myself. No, just a few self-defense moves, and Frank is going to teach me a few things, too.” And all of it would supplement the gun she still carried in the purse that was slung over one shoulder. When Matt took her hand, she scooted her chair closer to the bed and squeezed his in return, setting her coffee down with the other. “You’re a bad liar sometimes, you know that?” Karen grinned a little at him.
“I agree, he does. And yes, she is - she just recently started school so you probably won’t get the chance in the mornings, but maybe one afternoon. Or we could all do dinner sometime.” And wouldn’t that be incredibly awkward? His next question had Karen shaking her head. “No, it’s not. I think all that came with you were some normal clothes, your cane, and your glasses. Those are on your bedside table, by the way.” Karen squeezed Matt’s hand again, then reached out the other to rest it on top of both.
“It’s really good to see you, Matt.” Alive.
The sword comment brought a small smile to Matt’s face, but it was her observation about being a bad liar that made him laugh. “Yeah…” was all he could say, letting his sentence dangle in such a way, not addressing the fact that he was lying in the first place, or why he felt the need to cover up his feelings in the first place.
He cocked his head slightly to one side and there he perceived, it, right beside Karen’s coffee - the radiant heat from her cup bent around the area of the table and helped him locate his sunglasses. He hadn’t noticed them before, but then again he was initially too confused about his surroundings and concerned about threats to sense they were there. He gave a single nod to indicate that he knew where they were, and told Karen, “Thank you.”
His sunglasses were not nearly as important as Karen’s heartfelt words of relief. Matt managed to swallow a lump in his throat. “Good to see you too, Karen.” He adjusted his grip upon Karen’s hands while trying to swallow back a flood of emotion. “I didn’t think I’d see anybody again. I never even got a chance to say goodbye to you Karen. I’m so sorry. Both to you and Foggy. But I had to go, I had to help.” A pause. “I died, didn’t I? Under the rubble. There’s no way I could’ve survived that.” Another pause. “My body, was it found?” He was wearing his Daredevil costume when the building collapsed - he would’ve been found in Elektra’s arms still wearing it, his secret would’ve been made public. Somehow, that was just as disturbing as the idea that he was dead.
Karen gave a faint smile even as her own eyes watered, and she blinked back her tears so that she could focus on her friend. “You don’t have to apologize...we understood. Honestly. We just missed you, so much -” His question caused her to break off, and Karen let out a soft, shuddering sigh. For a moment, she closed her eyes as one tear slid down her cheek, then reopened them again to focus on Matt.
“There’s...no way that anyone could have survived that.” Swallowing hard, Karen didn’t want to answer his next question - even the thought of it made her a little sick to her stomach - but she did after a long moment of silence. “No..it - it wasn’t. But there was so much debris that - they weren’t even sure they were looking in the right place. I’m sorry, Matt.” Another tear slipped out, landing on their hands, and she sniffed a bit to try and stop further tears.
Even if the tear hadn’t landed on his hand, Matt could tell Karen was crying - the subtle shift of breath, the strain in her voice, her pulse beating a little more rapidly. He could tell how much his death affected her, no other words need be spoken. It was enough to make Matt want to cry himself, and while it was a struggle, he managed admirably. Matt slid his right hand out from Karen’s grasp, and even though he couldn’t see, his blind gaze staring in the direction of the ceiling, he was able to reach out and cradle Karen’s cheek with his palm in a comforting gesture, and used his thumb to wipe a tear from her face.
“I’m here now,” he said in attempt to fix the situation. “That’s something, huh?” He then had to clear his throat because of the emotion he had to choke back. “Somehow I’ve been given a little more time, let’s make the most of it.” He quirked a weak smile, hoping that would be enough to console her.
Karen closed her eyes when he touched her face and smiled at little as he wiped away the tear. After a moment, she straightened and wiped both of her eyes, then nodded. “Right - that’s something,” she replied softly, using that to focus herself and regain control of her emotions.
“And I’m sure you will - there’s a lot to do on the ship. Different classes, activities. There’s a pool, and a gym. Even a climbing wall. There’s a school for the teens and younger kids - I teach journalism there, but only have one student right now. Plus, there’s all the people around to meet, like the ones from our world. I think you’d like most of them.” She was probably babbling, but that was okay, because she wanted to make sure Matt was okay with being there.
For a fleeting moment, Matt considered kissing Karen, but decided against it - their relationship moved past that a while ago, even though old feelings died hard. Instead, he lowered his hand, glad that she sounded better despite it all. Even her babbling felt a good sign and was welcomed. “A teacher? That’s great, Karen. I bet you make a fantastic teacher. You've got the personality for it.” The list of things to do on the ship helped to give him a mental picture of where they were at. “Sounds like this place is enormous.” He laughed. “I didn’t pack any swim trunks, though.” He didn’t think it was smart idea to go shirtless and reveal all the gruesome scars on his body sustained as Daredevil. As far as he was concerned, he’d still have to keep his secret. “You’ll have to take me around as soon as I’m re…”
Matt’s sentence was cut off with a painful grimace. “Karen, do you think you can get those doctors in here?”
“I’m really only doing it here, but maybe when we get back to Tumbleweed, I’ll continue. I took a look around with Madani our first day here and the ship is huge, Matt. 18 floors. And everything is free, so you’ll have no problem finding swimwear in one of the boutiques.” She lightly squeezed his hand as he grinned, though the grin quickly faded a moment later when his face changed.
Huffing out a long-suffering sigh, Karen shook her head. “That is because you’re an idiot who tried to get up before he was ready, Matt Murdock. I’ll go get them.” Karen let go of his hand and stood, then leaned over to lightly press her lips to his forehead before continuing on to say, “And if you try to get out of this bed again before they say you’re ready, I’m going to make good on that promise to knock you on your ass, got it?”
She smiled to soften the words, then stepped away from the bed and headed for the door to find one of the robotic nurses or doctors.