The sirens grew louder, closer. Blue and red lights flashed from the street below.
Kingpin grinned through bloodied teeth, a savage satisfaction in his voice.
"You hear that? They're here. Not for me… for you."
Matt Murdock tilted his head slightly. Though his body ached and his ribs throbbed with each breath, his enhanced senses had already picked up the voices of the police outside.
"Negative. The suspect is the Kingpin, Wilson Fisk. Masked vigilante has disappeared. Orders are to bring Fisk in alive."
Daredevil's bruised lips curled into a tired smirk.
"They're not here to arrest me, Fisk. Your empire's collapsing."
Kingpin's face twitched, his grin faltering.
"N-no! I'll tell them everything! I'll tell the world who you are! You attacked me! You tried to kill me!"
Matt winced, blood still dripping from his jaw as he leaned against the wall.
"Tell them what you want. Just make sure you also tell them…"
He lifted his chin, his expression fierce despite the pain.
"…you got wrecked by a blind man."
Before Fisk could respond, a white light erupted from Matt's hand. He held out a slightly scorched business card, Soren's.
Daredevil vanished.
All that remained was a blood-soaked mask, swaying gently beside a wheezing, kneeling Kingpin.
Seconds later, the door burst open.
"Police! Hands where we can see them!"
They found only Fisk, crumpled and wailing in agony.
In a quiet backyard on the outskirts of the city…
Soren, slouched on a reclining chair with a cup of steaming herbal tea, was halfway to sleep. The television hummed with late-night news coverage of a "mysterious rooftop showdown."
Suddenly, space shimmered, warping the air like rippling heat.
FWOOM!
A battered figure fell into the yard with a grunt.
"Finally back..." Soren yawned as he rose, brushing off his robe.
Then he looked down.
"Dude, you look like you got into a fight with a tiger."
Matt groaned. "Thanks for the card…"
Soren scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. Though I expected more… you got folded by a fat mob boss."
He squinted. "What, you fight with emotion?"
Before Matt could clap back, Soren waved his hand. A brilliant green life force enveloped Matt, lifting him slightly as wounds began to close.
"Can't waste time dragging you to the treatment room." Soren muttered.
Nearby, Karen Page lay peacefully inside, still unconscious from the resurrection process.
Ribs aligned. Cuts sealed. Bruises faded. But most of the energy clustered around Matt's head.
Soren paused. His expression turned serious.
"This… this is trickier."
Matt stirred. "What is it?"
"Your eyes." Soren crouched beside him. "The damage isn't in the eyeball, it's the nerves. Years of disuse. They've gone dormant."
Matt's breath caught. "Can you fix it?"
"I can try. But you better be ready."
Soren leaned in. "Reactivating dead nerves ain't exactly a massage. This'll hurt, brain-splitting pain. You sure you want this?"
Matt took a shaky breath, then clenched his fists.
"Do it. I've lived in the dark long enough."
Soren nodded and placed his hands over Matt's eyes. Green energy pulsed through his fingers.
"AAARGHHH!"
It was like fire and lightning ripping through his skull. The optic nerves screamed awake, twitching under the magical current. The pain burrowed behind his eyes, stabbing with increasing intensity.
"Don't move!" Soren warned.
"The process is like rewiring a circuit board with raw fire. One twitch, and I'll fry something important."
Matt tried to breathe, but each breath came with a strangled cry.
Karen Page stirred.
The screams pierced the healing haze. Her eyes snapped open. She was alive.
Confused, she sat up. Then she heard it again, Matt's voice, filled with agony.
She rushed out of the room and froze at what she saw.
Her boyfriend, bloodied and shirtless, writhing in agony, as a strange man poured energy into his skull.
"LET GO OF HIM!"
She grabbed a flowerpot and hurled it at Soren with all her strength.
"WOMAN—WH—"
Ding!
For a long moment, everything stood still.
The flowerpot frozen in mid-air.
Karen's body was motionless, mid-sprint.
Even the ragged, pain-wracked cry in Daredevil's throat was locked, suspended like a paused movie.
Soren's hands hovered just above Matt's eyes, and he slowly guided the last traces of life energy away from them. The shimmering green aura dissipated like fog in the morning sun.
"So… that did it." Soren muttered to himself.
"Guess love really can shock the nervous system."
Just before the healing reached its limit, Karen's voice, her presence, had broken through Matt's torment. And that last spark was all his dormant optic nerves had needed.
[System Notification]
[Congratulations to the host. You have successfully treated: C-Class Daredevil (Matthew Murdock)]
[World Level C]
[Abilities: Extraordinary Perception Lv 7 (enhanced sight, smell, taste, and touch), Extraordinary Skill Lv 6]
[Reward: Extraordinary Perception Lv 7 Acquired]
As the ability integrated, Soren's mind trembled, a shockwave of clarity rippled through his senses.
He could hear a dog barking seven blocks away. A faucet dripping. A couple arguing in whispered tones behind a brick wall.
His own heartbeat echoed like thunder in his skull.
"Holy hell, this power's a double-edged sword…"
He clutched his temples, gritting his teeth. "Can I even sleep with this on?"
With effort, he dialed the ability down, withdrawing the overwhelming perception from his mind.
Silence returned… well, relative silence.
He turned back to the scene.
With a wave of his fingers, the solidified space dissolved.
The suspended flowerpot gently floated back to its spot by the doorway. The blood orchid inside swayed softly, unharmed.
Time snapped back into motion.
Karen lunged forward again, hands clenched, ready to attack.
"Karen, stop!"
Karen froze. Her fists dropped halfway, confusion flickering across her face.
Matt paused, his breath catching in his throat.
The white mist that once clouded his vision was gone.
Everything was clear.
The soft glow of the garden lights. The shape of the clouds. The woman in front of him, looking stunned and beautiful and real.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Karen… you're beautiful. Even more than I imagined."
Karen's eyes widened.
"You… you can see?"
Matt nodded, tears stinging the corners of his eyes.
"I can. Thanks to him."
"He saved my life. He gave me back something I thought was gone forever."
Realizing how tender the moment had become, Matt cleared his throat and shifted slightly, glancing sheepishly at Soren.
"…Right. Probably shouldn't be feeding you this much emotional cornflakes."
"It's fine. I'm used to people crying after I fix them." He cracked a grin.
"Usually they're just less dramatic about it."
Matt gently took Karen's hand.
"Karen, this is Dr. Soren Macaluso. He runs the Everlife Medical Center. And yes, he's also the guy you tried to bean with a flowerpot."
Karen's face turned crimson.
"Oh my God, I am so sorry." She stammered, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Mr. Macaluso, thank you. I just… I woke up, saw Matt screaming, and…"
"You panicked." Soren finished with a shrug. "Understandable to what it looked like."
Karen rubbing the back of her hand.
"Still… thank you. For bringing me back. For helping Matt. I don't know how to repay you."
Soren waved her off. "Just keep him alive long enough to make it interesting."
Matt chuckled. "Define 'interesting'."
"You'll know when you get there."
Soren glanced up at the sky, then at his tea, cold now.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
Dare you peek into my other tales? The opening three chapters of select stories are free to all.
PhantomDream