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Matt's day was not going well, their newest client has been extremely uncooperative and has made it difficult to get him a low sentence which might take a blow on him and Foggy's business for the next couple months. The second reason is the heartbeats that have been following him for the past dozen blocks while on his nightly patrol as Daredevil, Hell’s Kitchens’ personal vigilante.
He has been trying to lose them since they showed up especially because of the loud electrical whirring of something in the air, the high-pitched screaming was so extremely irritating Matt felt he could go deaf (again). From what Matt could sense there were two people following along rooftops and one person following along the ground. Strangely, the person on the ground has kept a steady heart rate despite having to run the whole time to keep up, Matt's main guess is that they’re enhanced in some way. The people on the roofs are quieter than most, their footsteps audible but barely so, and their breaths hushed and even at all times. Then there's the whirring in the air. There was a heartbeat to accompany it but it’s so loud Matt isn’t completely sure where it’s coming from, the only indication of its location being the disturbance in the air's calm winds.
He was about to make his final attempt to lose the group when two blocks down he hears a fight, he starts for the alley and hears two guys robbing a kid. Like he’s on autopilot, Matt takes the guys out relatively fast. Though not before one of the robbers gets a nasty right hook on his jaw, good luck making that go away on time for court on Wednesday Matt.
Then that's when he notices that the heartbeats that have been following him for the last 45 minutes finally found their opportunity to close in on him. Matt takes in the people around him with more accuracy than he could while on the move, there’s one person on the fire-escape with a bow, he can sense the wax on the string and metal from the arrows on his back. There are three people, on the ground now, one has the smell of gunpowder on either hands and beside their hips, someone with two guns then, the second is the runner now that Matt is on the same ground level, he can sense that they have a bigger build than the others. The last person he senses is the one with the metal and electricity all around them, and is closer to Matt than the others, about halfway into the alley.
The metal suddenly starts to grind and a hydraulic on the face plate lifts up, Matt immediately is hit with the smell of expensive cologne, he could probably smell the cologne from the other side of the world with how potent it was.
The person inside the suit is the first to speak “So is it true you’re the devil? Because I brought a cross with me just in case so don’t try anything”
Matt came to realise something very quickly. Oh shit, this is Tony goddamn Stark. Which means these are the Avengers, and Matt is a world class idiot for not seeing (ha) that sooner.
Really though, how was he supposed to know that they were the Avengers? He didn’t exactly have any way of seeing who they were and while the name, ‘Ironman’ should hint to what his outfit was made out of he had never cared too much and hadn’t bothered to ask Foggy to describe them to him before. So yes he was now realising that Ironman, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Captain America were following him for 14 blocks. At least he realised now and not any later, that could have gotten embarrassing fast.
“What do you want Stark? I don’t need you running around in Hell’s Kitchen, this is my turf.” Matt could obviously guess why, maybe the Avengers were ordered to bring him in since he’s illegally fighting crime or maybe they were here to ask him for help, either way Matt didn’t want to deal with the Avengers in Hell’s Kitchen or any problems that come with them, like their terrible track record of collateral damage.
“No. I want your help, we’ve been dealing with Hydra for the past couple of months but we recently found some of their bases here and we wanted to get your help since you’d probably have better knowledge of this part of New York and things like that, and I doubt you want Hydra soldiers in ‘your territory’ for any longer than necessary.”
Matt tilted his head, “So if I help you, do you promise to stay out of Hell’s Kitchen once you're done?”
Tony held out his pinky finger in Daredevil's direction “Yes I pinky swear that once this is over we'll stay out of your hair again, this is only temporary” The dramatics were very obvious, Matt could practically feel the giant eye roll that was Iron Man's tone of voice.
Matt nodded, “Okay, I’ll help you get rid of the Hydra soldiers but after that do not expect me to stay in contact with you, it’s not happening.” He didn’t need the Avengers let alone Tony Stark knowing his identity, or anything else about him for that matter.
Steve interrupted Tonys sure to be sarcastic response, “That’s fine with us but at least keep our contact, you never know what could happen” Black Widow handed Steve a piece of paper, he walked his way up the alley and handed the folded paper to Daredevil “Meet us here tomorrow and we will take down one of their four bases, we hope to see you there.”
Matt didn’t spare a look at what the Avenger had given him, he’ll get Foggy to read it to him later “Sounds good, I’ll see you then.” He then took off, up the rooftops practically flying to the top in less than a couple seconds, leaving the group of Avengers alone in the side street. Matt has a lot to tell Foggy, and boy will he be jealous about him meeting Captain America.
**************
When Matt made it to the office the next morning he told Foggy about his encounter with the Avengers.
“What?! The avengers are here and asking you for help? Are you sure that’s safe? It’s not that I don’t believe in your abilities but the Avengers deal with seriously dangerous people, you don’t need more targets on your back.” Foggy throwed hand gestures violently while talking, doing everything he could to emphasise his dislike of Matt's newest partners in crime.
“Listen Foggy, I get what you mean but think about this, it’s clear that they are just here to swat Hydra away like flies, they didn’t seem genuinely concerned in their ability to get rid of them alone. I bet they’re only taking me to grasp if I’m a threat to them and to see what I’m capable of.”
Foggy sighed “Matt I just want you to be safe, make sure that you don’t make risky decisions, do this safely. All I want is for you to come home not so beat up, you have other people to rely on, don’t forget that.” Matt stopped a little, sometimes it’s hard to remember that people are waiting for him to come home, that there are people that need him.
“Okay, Foggy. I’ll make sure I take this one safe.”
“Good, now tell me all about what Captain America was like.”
**************
When Matt got to the roof only two of the Avengers, Black Widow and Captain America, were there.
“Where’s the rest of you?” Matt asked
“Tony is just doing a quick check on the base and Clint is there as extra eyes, they should be back in a couple minutes.” Black Widow answered
They waited for about a minute before Matt could hear that whirring sound again accompanied by footsteps on the roof close by.
When Stark landed he greeted Matt, “Oh hey Daredevil, good to see you showed up.” Hawkeye went with a simple wave.
Steve stepped forward and gestured for everyone to come closer.
“We have the plans ready to go so let me explain the teams. Clint, you can go with Daredevil and enter through a second floor window around the back, take out people you see but your main objective is to get the files upstairs. Nat and myself, will enter through the front and take the brunt of the soldiers to give Clint and Daredevil an easier time. Tony, you stay in the air outside and make sure none of them escape. Is that clear to everyone?”
Steve looked around and everyone gave their go-ahead.
“Alright, Daredevil here’s a comm piece, if you get into trouble just give us a call through it. Let’s go, we’ll run out of time”
**************
Clint and Matt were moving fast, hopping from building to building across the city. The Hydra base was a ways away from their rendezvous so Matt thought he would use the time to try and figure out why the files were so important,
“What are the files we’re extracting for?”
“We take them so we can try to find information on spies or weapons, sometimes they even have blueprints but I doubt they would have them in these bases since they’re new and kind of small. After we’re finished here we’ll fish through them to find anything useful, and you as an extra pair of eyes will make it go even faster than usual which is great!”
…
Shit.
Matt didn’t know he was expected to stick around after the battle let alone ‘help’ them read through files! I mean yea he is an extra pair of eyes but they’re not useful. How is he even meant to fake this? Maybe if he made up a personal emergency he could run off before they could get a word in, sure they might see him as a bit more of an asshole but he can’t read, at least in the way they expect.
Matt decided to stay quiet and didn’t reply to Clint, they made it the rest of the way in silence.
As they approached the building they descended from the rooftops and weaved through the shadows and alleyways of the streets to avoid detection. The building was three stories and made of brick and wood, however the old, rundown feel ended there. On the inside Matt could feel the electricity coursing through the whole fortress, cameras littered every wall and he could hear the footsteps and heartbeats of 40 people inside.
“Are you sure this base is new?” Matt tried to keep the doubt out of his voice, keyword being ‘tried’.
“What makes you say that?” Clint's voice was serious and Matt could practically hear the assassin's stomach drop.
“It’s just that there are cameras everywhere, what's the need for such intensive security for a place that's supposed to be new and not yet useful? Not to mention the amount of electricity being omitted from the place and the amount of people inside, I count 40. Is any of this normal for a newly built Hydra base?”
Clint's eyes widened, his heartbeat running rapidly. “I’ll question how you know that later. But no, it isn’t, we need to alert the others immediately and figure this out, they might have set some kind of trap.”
Just in this moment they heard Black Widows voice crackle over the comms
“Initiating the base, you boys better start your snooping soon.”
Tony's voice came in reply, “I’m ready when you two are Nat, let’s get this over with shall we?”
Hawkeye whipped his hand up to his comm, the anxiety spilling through his tone “No! Do not engage, it’s not safe!”
Matt concentrated on the base, trying to hear any sign of the two Avengers but was interrupted by shouts from Clint. “Nat?! Steve?!” He sighed aggressively, “Shit! We’ve got to go Daredevil, they might be in trouble, don’t bother with the files until we know they're okay.”
Matt and Clint sprinted up the street, Matt spending most of the time hearing the losing fight of Nat, Steve and Tony who must have heard Hawkeye and gone inside, Matt ran as fast as he could to assist in the fight hoping to turn the tide. Clint must have noticed Matt's change in pace and sped up next to him, it seems like no matter what, they couldn’t go fast enough.
When they were finally in front of the Hydra base in all its glory they ran to the closest entrance (a window) and joined the fight. The battle was intense, each avenger giving their all to end up on top, Matt sensed eleven down, five against now, twenty-nine, at least for now. The group of crime fighters got a slight edge over the criminals when Hawkeye and Daredevil arrived but the Hydra soldiers seem to have gotten used to the extra challenge quickly.
The Hydra soldiers were brutal fighters, they took hit after hit without stopping but Matt wasn’t stopping either. He went one after another. His only goal was to win the fight, one guy down, get the soldier behind him, take a punch, punch back, guy goes down, find another.
The only reason Matt stopped was because he noticed there was no one else to fight. Matt ended up taking out five men, Steve and Nat had taken seven out each, Tony had taken out six and Clint had only managed to take out four and now had a strange electric static sound coming from his ears, he was out of the way from anyone and seemed to be crouched down.
“Is everyone okay?” Steve asks through panted breaths.
Tony walked over to Steve, “I think I’m fine for the most part, staying in the air made it difficult for them to really fight me but I think I should’ve tinkered with the suit after the battle, my aim was off for some reason. What about you, Nat?”
Nat walked over to the forming circle “I think one of them broke something in my right hand and my left arm doesn’t feel right either. Are you okay Steve?”
“I’m fine, nothing other than some bruising. Is that your blood or theirs, Daredevil?” Matt could smell the scent of metallic covering his fists and some of his face, sometimes he’s glad he can’t see. Not like Steves’ condition was better though.
“Theirs, and I could ask the same to you. Only a couple hits here and there but I took care of it, nothing time can’t fix. Is Clint okay?” Matt pointed to where Clint was crouching, the static Matt had previously heard in his ears now resting in his hands where he fiddled with it in vain.
“Shit, someone must have got a hit on his hearing aids. Let's get those files now, there’s something different about this place there must be something they were trying to defend, Nat could you make sure Clint’s okay? We’ll tell him the plan and then we’ll all head up?”
Nat tapped Clint on the shoulder who then whipped around, they both started to make hand movements at each other which Matt guessed was sign language and after a few moments Nat was helping him wrap one of his arms around her shoulders. They staggered their way over to the rest of the group.
“He said that one of guys got some hits on his head and he’s a quite dizzy, I guess they got to the hearing aids at some point as well. He’s insistent on staying with us though, don’t think I didn’t try to convince him to stay downstairs.”
Steve let out a big sigh, no doubt having had to deal with these antics before “Alright then, let’s get moving then.”
**************
The five made their way to the stairs, Nat by his side while the other three ahead, Nat handed Clint over to Steve, excusing the change over as “only fair” leaving no room for anyone to think she wasn’t referencing his super strength.
Nat turned her head to face Daredevil, “Do you know any sign language?”
“No, I don’t have much luck with it” Matt replied, head faced to the front.
“That will have to change if you’re going to continue fighting with us. We communicate using sign language on stealth missions and is especially important for Clint, sometimes his hearing aids break and it’s the only way to communicate with him efficiently until we get back to the tower” Nats voice was level, but it was clear it was coming from a protective place. It's apparent that she won’t tolerate ignorance when it comes to Clint or to sign language. It’s not that Matt doesn’t agree that it’s extremely useful but sign language and his blindness don’t mix well, sure he can feel that the hand is moving but that’s as far as it goes.
This isn’t something he’s going to explain though, he and the Avengers just met. It wouldn't be right.
“I think I told you this when you cornered me in that alley but I’m only helping you get your enemies out of my city and then I’m done helping you with your problems.” Matt was getting tired of telling these guys he isn't going to join them to fight world-ending level threats down the road. He’s perfectly fine with being a lawyer who anonymously beats people up at night.
“Are you saying that you aren’t willing to try and learn?” Nat now was tapering into aggravation which isn’t what Matt needed or intended but maybe saying that he isn’t going to help them for more time than he has to wasn’t the move.
“Listen that isn’t what I meant, I will learn what I can but I can’t guarantee that I’ll learn it particularly fast especially in the short amount of time we’ll be working together.” Matt put his hands in a surrender trying to defuse the ever growing tension between the two.
“As long as you’re trying.” Nat was glaring but Matt had surely extinguished most of the fire in her eyes.
By the time their conversation was over they had made it up the stairs.
Steve was in front of everyone else, he turned around. “Okay, this is how we’re going to split up, so Clint is with me, then it’s Nat and Daredevil and then Tony by himself. We’ll go room by room and look for the files and if you find them give a shout.”
Everyone was getting prepared to split up into different rooms when Matt shouted “Wait, it'll be easier if I just tell you where they are so we don’t have to go looking around aimlessly. It's in the second last room around the corner.”
Matt was ready for this night to be over already, he could smell the sheets of paper and the ink that laid on the pages. While he didn’t like revealing too much of what he could do at once he really couldn’t care less at the moment and just wanted to go home. Plus the room it was in was pretty far back making it likely it would be around ten minutes until it was found if Matt didn’t speak up.
Tony twisted to Matt, “What so you just knew that this whole time? How the hell could you know that?”
Matt turned his head to face Tony, “I have my ways.” a.k.a Matt was tired, wanted to go home and didn’t feel like spending time with the Black Widow alone.
“I’m out of energy to argue that, let’s just go there then.” The defeat in Tony’s voice was thick.
The five make their way to the room where Matt had said the files were in, and as expected he was correct. The Avengers couldn’t decide whether to confront the fact that he just knew where the files were or if they should just let it slide due to the effectiveness of it. They all started to take files out of the room, Matt not checking their contents before putting them on the growing pile on a convenient table in the middle of the room, which went unnoticed for the most part. After they had all the papers that they needed they made their way outside and stood on the road.
Tony let out a sigh “Well, I’ll let you guys figure out a way to get home, right? I don’t think my suit will fit into any car around here. If you get into trouble, call Happy. I won’t pick up.” Tony then turned away from them, heat started to burst from his hands and under his feet before a whirring sound took over any other sound around him and he lifted off of the ground. Matt assumed that from there he continued to fly in the direction of Stark Tower but who knows. Which left Nat, Steve, Clint, and Matt to find a way to the tower. A small “Asshole” could be heard from Nat.
“There’s a couple cars in the Hydra Base that we could potentially use, they are in a garage on the far left side of the Hydra building.” Matt was facing nothing in particular focusing completely on the spaces around him, sounds or smells that could help get them out there quickly, Nat and Clint had been patient in waiting for medical help but who knows how much longer they could wait.
“That’s seriously amazing that you can do that, is it a power? If you would let us, I think Bruce would love to understand how it works, Daredevil.” Steve's voice was determined, Matt wasn't sure he would easily get out of that.
“Maybe another time, let’s just focus on getting out of here first.”
**************
After they had walked over to the shed door, Steve lifted it up exposing one car and one truck. The car was easy to break into and one broken window later it was unlocked.
Steve was about to get into the driver's seat before hesitating, “Listen, as your leader I should drive but I haven’t driven since the 1920s and I think everyone remembers that time Tony got me to drive, I am not a good driver.”
“How heroic of you Steve but I can't drive either. My hand and the opposite arm are getting in worse shape as time goes on, I can’t handle driving the wheel.” Nat attempted to show off her injured arms but winced before letting them drop.
Everyone looked at Clint who immediately waved his hands against it and signalled to his head. Clint being concussed would definitely make for an interesting but totally dangerous car ride. Which, in the eyes of the Avengers left Daredevil to be the perfect candidate, to them he wasn’t as injured as the rest of them and probably was the average New Yorker driver. They all faced Matts’ way.
“I can’t drive, it’s just not a good idea at all.”
It seems Steve, the ex-fossil did not appreciate his vague answer, “Can you elaborate on that? Are you just a bad driver or you cannot drive?”
“I cannot drive as in, it is strictly not a possibility for me to ever get in the driver’s seat and start driving.” Well shit, this was not meant to slip out, curse Matt and his fatigued mind.
“Well that changes things then, but still what's the issue if they don’t know who you are? If they don’t know it’s you then they can’t persecute you for being on the road right?” Great going Matt, they thought he was such a bad driver he got arrested and restricted from ever being on the road again because of how bad it was.
Matt has really dug himself a big hole, “It’s not that. It is actually impossible for me to physically drive, kind of.”
“What do you mean ‘kind of’?”
The hole is only getting bigger Matt but sure just keep opening that stupid mouth of yours, “I only know one person like me who can drive and I will never be as good as him.”
“Like you? As in someone with your abilities? Are there others with your abilities?”
There’s no way to avoid saying it is there? Matt has really been forced into saying he’s blind on the first mission and about driving no less. What is his life anymore? Matt let out an exasperated sigh. “Okay clearly you are looking for me to elaborate so why don’t I just do that. I can’t drive because I’m blind, my abilities are just extremely heightened senses that allow me to smell, hear, taste better than the average person. I can do everything a normal person can most of the time but driving is something I haven't gotten to yet.”
“I’m sorry, did you just say you’re blind? We saw you fight crime and you’re saying you did that while blind?” Steve’s voice was one of complete awe and disbelief, this was going better than he thought.
“I have done it this way this whole time, I understand the feat might seem difficult but that's what I do every day.”
Nat chimed in, “Is that why sign language is difficult for you?”
“Yes, I can see that you’re standing where you are and I know your hands are moving but it’s difficult for me to know how they are moving and I have no idea what you look like.”
A silence fell upon them, mostly from Nat and Steve trying to comprehend what they were just told. It would be hard to just accept that this guy you’ve been fighting with the whole time doesn’t know what you look like or anything else.
Steve was the one to break the silence “I guess I’ll just call Tony and tell him to pick us up.”
**************
They all waited out front for a couple minutes before Matt could hear the sound of a car coming down the street. “I think our ride is here.”
As he said that the car pulled up in front of them, from inside a voice spoke “Can you guys get in already? The Kid has his lab day today and it’s better to not leave those two mad scientists alone together for long.”
Matt turned to the three avengers, “The kid?”
Nat huffed out a chuckle, “You’ll find out soon enough. Thanks for picking us up, Happy.”