Chapter 3
The Rise of the Devil:
Hell's Kitchen, New York, Monday, 7 September 2009:
It's been over seven years since Kato started teaching Matt.
Seven years of relentless training from Kato. Every morning Matt would get up, do his physical training for three hours, go to school and meet Kato after dinner for his martial arts training.
Kato not only taught him how to fight but other things as well. Like how to identify chemicals and poisons, gradual immunity to said poisons, bomb-making and diffusing, escape artistry, lock picking, how to hide in a crowd and many other practices.
Kato tends to disappear every 6 months stating "I have other business to attend to."
Matt just continues and expands upon what he was taught so that when Kato returns he would be ready for the next few lessons, sometimes even refining his grappling and boxing techniques with Mark and Ted Grant.
Matt never enjoyed these lessons. He always thought that the next lesson could never be more painful and every time Kato would prove him wrong. When he was 12 Kato made him spend every night inside of a meat storage device to help him master Tumo meditation. This apparently helps him limit the amount of oxygen he needs to survive, gain complete control of his mind and body, slip himself into a coma and control his own body temperature.
Lucky he was taught that since the first day of his summer vacation Matt woke up in the middle of a freezing cold, snow-filled environment.
Matt had nothing on him but a set of warm clothes and a note stuck to them saying "4 weeks." Matt had to brush his hands over the words multiple times to make sure he didn't misinterpret the message.
He had to survive in a cold wasteland for 4 weeks.
He hated every minute, he peed on himself for warmth. Hugged wet sticks to dry them out. Used his hair as kindling for the fire and even fought a polar bear for a fish near a half-frozen stream. Making him realize he was in the Arctic.
A bear he managed to knock out somehow by punching it repeatedly in the face and burying it under a ton of ice. He has the scars on his chest and shoulder to prove it.
After a month of surviving in these conditions, he woke up to once again find himself in another foreign environment.
This time a desert.
Matt once again had only clothes and a note with him.
The meditation training proved useful since he managed to regulate the amount he sweated and he never panicked through all of this. In the desert he gained moisture from certain cacti that had drinkable fluids, which he determined through taste and smell, he moved away from any nearby poisonous snakes and lizards by hearing them sift through the ground and he made a tent with nearby leaves and sticks to sleep in.
He eventually encountered a group of Arabic speaking travelers.
From them, he learned that he was in the Sahara desert, which if he remembered right was similar in size to the USA.
They let him stay with them, with Matt helping them move their effects and helping to rear their camels. They taught him some basic Arabic phrases, how to extract water more effectively from some plants and how to navigate using the stars, which Matt managed to interpret based in his position in relation to the north and South Pole. One elderly woman gave him some pointers on how to fight in the sand and with a saber.
By the time they reached the Nile River, near Egypt, Matt helped the travelers fight off a crocodile and a hippo simultaneously. Gaining new scars for the achievement.
All was going well until woke up in a new environment once again, but this time in a jungle.
After cursing Kato's name in various languages he walked around trying to gain his bearings. He figured out thanks to the rivers and piranhas that he must be in the Amazon rainforest. Matt fashioned a makeshift staff from some branches and stuck to moving around using the trees after a chance encounter with a panther.
Matt cut himself fending off the wild beast and used giant ant heads to stitch himself up.
After another 4 weeks, he woke up in his bed in Hell's Kitchen to the sound of his mother asking him how the training camp with Mr. Grant went.
Matt screamed in his head and after 5 minutes of awkward silence Matt simply responded with "It was alright."
This continued every summer, with Mr. Grant being Matt's alibi for his disappearance. Matt wasn't sure why Mark kept his mouth shut but he was busy as well training to become the heavyweight champion of the country in boxing.
Mark grew to become 6 foot 6 inches tall. He absolutely dwarfed his adopted family, and Matt was pretty sure that the polar bear would be easier to knock out than his foster brother.
But he had other things to be worried about, like the fact that during the summer of his 13th birthday Kato took him to Tibet to learn about the light and dark sides of Taoism. This was to channel his inner peace and rage respectively.
He learned how to exert his body to near-superhuman levels. He learned how to withstand great G-forces by jumping off cliffs and climbing them multiple times, to increase his endurance. He learned how to shatter stone and to some extent bend steel with his punches, though he broke his hands multiple times in the process.
He even learned how to make people think you've disappeared right in front of them. Though he only learned that after realizing a giant crocodile was in the stream behind him.
During the last few weeks of that summer, he visited India with Kato to learn one of if not the oldest martial art Kalarippayattu. He traveled with a band that roamed around the country. He witnessed many beautiful things in India but as well as many tragedies. For every elderly person giving refuge to the poor, he saw dozens more exploiting them, to beg for money.
For every saint that helped people with their problems, there were hundreds of more hustling people of their hard earned money and utilizing their superstitions and beliefs to do so.
He learned many languages and lessons about the human condition. He learned that the law, enforced by a non-corrupt entity, was the only way that defenseless people couldn't be exploited.
The following summer of his 14th birthday.
This time Kato wasn't training him during the summer but for the first time, Ted was. His brother was making way in the amateur boxing circuit, scoring knockouts every match. He had the hardest punches of any heavyweight in the amateur circuit. Mark was to move onto national level matches. But Ted wanted to improve his speed and technique, as well as Matt's. Ted took Matt and Mark to the lovely city of Paris.
At one point, the two boys were ogling a couple girls, only to have Ted punch them both. "We're here to hone your skills, not get you hooked up with some French girl!"
Later, Ted asked Matt to punch him with all his strength. After much protest Matt complied, launching at him at full speed. Ted just sidestepped his attack and tripped him up.
"There's no point in knowing how to break stone and steel if your opponent knows how to move better than you," Ted said.
Ted then gives Matt and Mark separate exercises to do for the fortnight.
After the 2 weeks, he teaches them some elements of parkour, to enable their bodies to gain the ability and endurance to move without thinking or straining. Ted then enhanced their boxing prowess by implementing elements of muay-thai, 52 blocks, and krav maga.
Matt learned how to move across buildings more efficiently, even outrunning cars on the road and how to use his immense striking force more effectively.
Mark tried to teach Matt how to drive, despite Matt pointing out his blindness. But after a major traffic accident, they both run away, no in fear of the French cops but in fear of what Ted would do after crashing his rental.
They visited a magician called Zatara after his show in Paris.
Apparently, he's a Justice League member and knew Kato and Ted from their hero days.
From what he could gather using his admittedly now decent French, Kato worked with someone called the Green Hornet. Matt made a mental note to look that up.
Matt went to China the previous Summer of 2009.
The 14-year-old received training in Shaolin.
He further developed his body to near-superhuman limits and learned many new fighting styles.
He gains further insight into meditation and his inner self, along with some skill in speaking Mandarin and Cantonese. Matt learned some Mandarin and Japanese already from Kato, so it wasn't as much of a pain as learning the other languages.
Matt even shaved his head just for the hell of it, and to fit in a bit more.
But the summer was now over, and now he had to endure the most torturous training of all.
High school.
Hell's Kitchen, New York, Monday, 7 September:
"Alright kid, get up!" Jack Murdock exclaimed trying to wake up his son.
Matt simply groaned and shifted in bed in response, too tired after his morning training.
"Ok Matty, you asked for it," Jack said as he lifted his son off the bed.
"But dad, It's not even a real school day!" he said through a yawn rubbing the sleep from his blind eyes. "It's just the orientation." Jack simply said, "You ain't playing hookie on your first day, besides you shouldn't have been studying that late into the night."
Matt just sighed. 'He still thinks I study every night.' Matt wants to be more honest with his dad, and his mom even. He wanted to tell them everything about him and his powers but he couldn't. Kato warned him about too many people knowing what he can do. It can be dangerous.
Matt simply shrugs off these thoughts and gets his cane, pretending to walk around his home with an artificial caution and clumsiness.
Matt, now 14, stood at 5 foot 8 inches tall. He was a lean but muscular teenager, with his hair just starting to grow back after his experiences in Shaolin. He goes to the bathroom, brushes his teeth, showers, and massages his bruises on his ankles from a mistimed leap from a building. Matt goes back to his room and changes into a red t-shirt, jeans, and mismatching yellow socks and his signature sunglasses.
The young teen walks into the kitchen/living room and sits near the dining table. His mother smiles at his son's unwillingness to go to school. "Here you go, hon," Miranda says setting a plate of burnt toast on the table.
Matt fumbled his fingers in front of him to get his hand on the toast, "Any ideas when that new toaster is coming home?" he asked with some hope in his voice. Burnt bread wasn't poisonous or anything but when you could feel every individual burnt layer on the bread with your tongue, it got really annoying.
Miranda shot his son a skeptical look, "It's coming in tomorrow, Why? Don't you like your mom's amazing cooking!" she asked as she put some braille books into her son's bag. Matt held up the bread, "Mom, it's just toast," he simply said, Miranda giving him a sharp look. 'She's giving me a look, I can tell.' He took a big bite of the bread, "You are an amazing mom though!" he said with a full mouth.
Jack Murdock fiddles with his uniforms buttons and as he walks towards his son, "Good save," he whispers into Matt's ear.
Miranda simply rolls her eyes, giving both of them a light slap on the shoulders. "That's enough boys. Matt you better hurry up, the bus arrives in another 10 minutes." Her son nearly chokes on his food. "Wh-whaat?" He asked, swallowing hard he stands up abruptly. "I'm not gonna walk to school on the first day!" He grabs his cane and rushes out the door. Miranda Murdock leans over the table and simply smiles alongside her husband, ''Five, four, three, two, one and-'' Matt runs back into the apartment.
"Forgot my bag, and my shoes," he simply said. His mother reached down for his bag while his father got his shoes. An amusing smile on both their faces.
"Thanks, mom." Matt said placing a kiss on his mom's cheek, "Thanks, dad," he said throwing some light punches his dad's way. "Alright champ, you got me now get a move on," the former boxer said as Matt ran out the door again.
"Well, that boy's got your charm," Miranda stated with a smirk. "And he's got your smarts," Jack replied giving his wife a light kiss on the lips.
"I gotta shuffle too, you're off at 7 right?" Jack asked holstering his pistol and wearing his badge. "Yes hon, now go and be a hero," Miranda stated playfully placing her arms around her husband's neck kissing him one last time.
'Oh, yuck!' Matt thought as he heard his parents from the bus stop.
Matt then started rubbing his head as a fellow student next to him turned on their phone. 'Damn' he thought to himself. After coming back from the mountains, away from the loud noises and radio waves, Matt realized he developed two extra senses.
A RADAR sense and a seismic sense.
The RADAR sense helps him perceive the outlines of objects near him based on radio waves in the air, even allowing him to find the source of said radio waves. Not exactly like sight but close enough.
The seismic sense works kinda like his hearing and echolocation. With a great impact on the ground like a person stomping or someone hitting a stick on the ground Matt could sense the structure and materials of solid substances, including the presence of caves, material changes, structural weaknesses etc.
But since he was in a city filled with people, vehicles, and structures along with many radio waves, his new abilities along with his other senses give Matt an incredibly accurate 360˚ perspective of the world. 'But I still can't read a normal book or watch TV.' Matt thought sarcastically.
As Matt continued to wait for the bus, he calmed down and let everything in. Every whisper, footstep, breath, heartbeat, scent excrement, mold, fumes. All the nearby radio waves and vibrations from the vehicles vibrating the ground below him. He wanted to get used to the city again. But that came with its own issues.
"Where's my money you slut?", "Hey, that's my bag", "George, please don't…" Matt forgot about this.
The pain of everyone around his city.
The pain that was a constant all the time.
A pain only he could hear.
'Ignore it Matt.' Matt told himself, 'You're not a cop, you're not a lawyer. Just let the law take care of them.'
Matt has always wanted to help those he hears. But his dad is a cop. An enforcer of the law and his mom a lawyer. They taught him that the law works, and unlike many places, he's visited Matt knows the law is enforced in America.
Matt hears old rusty creaking, violent coughing and smells stale cigarettes.
"Bus is here," Matt says quietly as the smoker of a driver opens the old, squeaky bus door.
Midtown high, Monday, 7 September 2009:
'Well, here we go.' Matt thought as he unfolded his collapsible cane and started tapping it in front of him. The bus driver offered to help him off, but Matt would rather fight another crocodile than take the help of a guy who smells like a Victorian chimney.
Matt was one of only half a dozen people to get into Midtown High. It's a STEM school, meaning that it mainly focuses on Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Luckily, Matt's training with Kato gave him knowledge greater than the scope of any high school entrance exam.
Matt was searching the place for the front desk, or main office. He needed to go there to receive special instructions due to his disability. A couple friends should be taking them over there though. "Where are they?" Matt asked under his breath. Suddenly, the aroma of spices and lintels occupies the corridors, the shuffling of a large bag of books behind the source of that aroma and a calm, soothing voice emerged from said source.
"Hey, Matt!" the voice said with an excited shrill as the owner of the voice embraced Matt in the biggest hug he's ever had in his life.
Matt gave her a smile as wide as a car. "Hey, Lakshmi!" Matt replied hugging her back in return.
"Ouch, dude too hard man, too hard," Lakshmi said as Matt squeezed her too hard. "That's for making me wait for too long," Matt said with a smirk. Lakshmi just responded with a small giggle.
Lakshmi was a 14-year-old girl of Indian descent, she was quite short by American standards, only standing at around 5 foot 3 inches tall. She was quite skinny and has caramel brown skin, long, black hair and blue glasses. She wore a red shirt and blue cardigan with skinny jeans. Her parents moved to New York when she was 7. Like many Indian parents, they made Lakshmi study her ass off in order to perform academically. It was lucky that she was pretty smart as well.
"How was that internship at the IT Company?" Matt asked his friend as he tried making conversation. "Well, to be honest, it was kind of boring actually." She replied. "They just made us look at spreadsheets all day."
"It's not like they were gonna give you a $50 million project or something."
"Yeah, but I learned loads of programming stuff over the summer, I just wanted to use it."
"Please don't tell me you got bored and hacked into their system or something," Matt asked with concern.
Lakshmi just smirked, "Hacking is such a strong term, I just 'appropriated' some information is all."
"Oh, Christ what did you do? Give away their money to some charity?"
"Nope, just placed a custom USB drive into the right computer. Waited a few minutes and presto. I downloaded loads of data. Most of it was boring stuff. But I found the most disgusting thing ever."
"Dick pics?" Matt asked factitiously.
"What? Ew, no." Lakshmi replied sticking her tongue out. "The dude in charge of all the interns was watching porn on the job. And it was caught on the security camera." Lakshmi continued. "So guess what I did."
"I dunno, what?"
"Aw, but you didn't guess."
Matt simply tilted his head and said: "You showed the guy in charge of the project the video."
"Nope, I played that video on all the screens throughout the building," Lakshmi said with a proud smile on her face.
"No way," Matt said, his mouth wide open in disbelief.
"Yep, he got fired like two days later. Serves him right, he didn't even pay his regular workers properly, judging by those other files I got from the drive."
Matt just stared at her for a few moments or tried to anyway. "If you weren't so nice usually, I might think you're some terrorist in the making."
"Maybe the nice thing is all an act!" the young teen responded sarcastically.
"No, it's not."
"It's really not." Both said in unison.
"Where's the Neanderthal?" Matt asked, subtly moving his head to hear around the corridor better.
Outside the campus, the smell of extremely expensive cologne and soap overpowered the scent that came from Lakshmi. The sound of rare leather scraping against Egyptian cotton and the radio waves of a new smartphone outlined the new figure.
"Speak of the devil," Matt says to no one in particular as he braces himself for what was coming next.
"Hey Murdock!" a voice came, bellowing from the start of the corridor.
Matt turned to face the source of the voice and suppressed a grin. 'Here we go!'
The figure from the door launched himself at Matt, with Matt not even attempting to move. The figure then gets the blind teen in a headlock and says with battered breath, "I've been working on this all summer Murdock, no way you're getting out of this one!"
Matt simply slips away from the grip by twisting his assailant's wrists and moves to deliver a chop to the neck, stopping mere millimeters away from the intended target.
"Better luck next time Britt," Matt says in a calm manner, letting out the grin he was holding on to.
Britt Reid just backed off and put his hands on his hips. "Dude, whatever training your brother gives you is way too much for a blind guy!" Britt said somewhat sarcastically. "Seeing is overrated. Anyway, you won like 2 kickboxing tournaments this summer right?" Matt responded, his smirk not fading.
"Yeah, but I stick can't get the drop on you. Ever since elementary school. I really need to step up my game." Britt said with unmatched sincerity as if he was pledging allegiance to the flag. "And stop it with that look!" Britt said as he launched himself at Matt again.
Lakshmi just shook her head and rolled her eyes. 'Boys.' She thought incredulously.
Britt was the oldest and the tallest of the trio, standing at 5 foot 10 inches tall, an incredible height for a 15-year-old. He was visibly the biggest of the three due to his height, he was well built due to his martial arts training but not as well toned as Matt. His father, Britt Reid Sr, was the head of the biggest newspaper agency in New York, "The Daily Sentinel." As a result, Britt leads a comfortable lifestyle, with the most expensive fashion and tech a teenager could ask for.
Lakshmi stopped the mental comparison in her head and broke up the 'fight' that was going on. "Come on Britt, we need to get Matt to the receptionist." Lakshmi reminded the young millionaire.
"Please, like the smartest kid in middle school needs extra help," Britt said whilst trying to lift Matt in the air. "Pretty sure I'm not the smartest and besides, I'm also the blindest kid in school." Matt reminded his friend as he poked Britt in the eye.
Lakshmi then proceeded to grab both boys by the ear after going on her toes and proceeded to drag them both to the reception area. 'I forgot how angry she got,' both boys thought in unison.
Matt sorted everything out with his caregiver regarding his needs as a blind student, including permission to bring a laptop to school, a braille keyboard, headsets for the laptop, books etc. Matt insisted that the caregiver need not bother herself with giving a tour of the school stating he'd do so with the rest of the freshmen and his friends.
Outside the reception area, Lakshmi was regaling Britt about her exploits at her internship. "And you just showed everyone the porn thing?"
"Well a video of the guy watching porn, yeah." She reiterated.
"And he never paid you, or any of his employees?"
"He didn't give his employees proper wages, no," she repeated.
Britt just whistled, "Wow, what a dick! My dad gives his staff really good compensation and salary and stuff."
Lakshmi gave a sad smile, "Yeah, too bad, not all CEO's are as awesome as your dad."
"Yeah, awesome," Britt repeated coldly, which did not go unnoticed by his friend.
"But what you did was pretty cool," Britt said, changing the conversation back to Lakshmi's story, extending his hand for a high five.
Lakshmi, responded back with her palm, creating a noise that echoed throughout the open-doored reception.
"Did you guys build a bomb or something when I was in there?" Matt asked tapping his cane around.
Before either could reply a crowd of young students approached their general direction. "Guessing those are the other freshman," Britt said.
"Yep," Lakshmi said in confirmation. "Alright Matt let's go," said as Matt held her arm for guidance as he walked around the unfamiliar territory. 'I don't need to hold anyone's arm but ok, this works.' Matt thought to himself.
The rest of the day consisted of tours of their classrooms, meet and greets with the fellow students (Most of whom made no impression on Matt whatsoever) and meeting school faculty.
All in all, it was an uneventful day, which is until the sound of an old engine came near the school grounds.
An old beat up ford came into the school driveway as the driver rolled down his window. "Hey bro. Schools out remember!" he said.
"Hey, Mark!" Matt said waving his hand.
Matt was about to walk towards his brother till a large group of students ran past him and towards his foster brother. Mark got out of the car standing at his full height of 6 foot 6 inches. He shaved his head and had a goatee on his face. His skin darker than in his youth due to his extensive training outdoors. He was a giant, having muscles that looked like the size of bowling balls. He wore black tracksuits and black sneakers.
Over the years Mark became a local celebrity. Not just due to his boxing prowess but also due to his extensive charity work over the last couple years and for being an incredibly nice guy. Outside the ring anyway.
"Oh my God, I forgot how hot your brother was Matt," Lakshmi blurted out without hesitation.
"Not as hot as your older sister," Britt responded immaturely.
Lakshmi gave what both boys describe as the look. "Hey, it's a compliment," Britt said, trying to justify his statement.
"ANYWAY!" Matt shouted, not wanting this line of conversation to continue. "Mark!" he said, signaling to his brother.
Mark, ignored the screaming fanboys and fangirls, some of whom were teachers and just nodded, smiled, signed their autographs and shook hands. Eventually, the school security got rid of the mob and all who were left in the car park were the trio and Mark
"Sweet ride, man," Britt said sarcastically.
"Don't knock it, man, it's my first ride. She's worked well for the past couple years." Mark responded calmly.
"You know who else worked well the last couple years…." Britt started.
"If what's gonna come out of your mouth is about my girlfriend or my ma, you're going to be taking a ride in an ambulance," Mark said in a pseudo-threatening voice.
"What? No way, I…um….meant Lakshmi!" Britt managed to say, resulting in him getting another punch to the shoulder.
"I was kidding man," Mark said with a soothing smile on his face, making Lakshmi and the nearby girls swoon and making Matt roll his blind eyes. "But seriously, don't dis the car."
"You two off to Franks?" Britt asked the two Murdock brothers.
They simply nod their heads, "Can we come to?"
"We?" Lakshmi said in disbelief.
"Come on Lux, it'll be fun," Britt said. "You remember those chicken wings we had last time?" Britt asked rhetorically. Lakshmi tried to resist the temptation but couldn't stop salivating at the thought of Franks fried chicken.
"Alright, fine. But I need to reach home before 7."
"Yes, alright," Britt said putting his arms around Matt and Lakshmi. "Dinners on me guys."
"Alright, if you say so," Mark said as Britt made his way to the driver's seat. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Mark asked the 15-year-old.
"Driving." He said as if it was a matter of fact. "Got my provisional last week. Turned 15 remember?"
"You ain't driving."
"Yes, I am."
"You aren't driving."
"Yes, I am."
"You are not driving."
"Yes, I am."
"WHY THE HELL DID I LET YOU DRIVE?" Mark shouted out in the passenger seat grabbing the handle above the seat till his knuckles turned white, as Matt and Lakshmi were in the back with Lakshmi putting her head on Matt's shoulder and squeezing Matt's arm out of sheer fear and Matt praying to God that he wouldn't die today. Britt drove in a paradoxically erratic and yet controlled manner. He knew exactly when to turn, overtake and shift gears despite going at insane speeds.
Britt had a wide smile the whole time. "YEAH, WOOO, THIS CAR AIN'T THAT BAD MARK!" Britt shouted out at the top of his lungs.
The young millionaire then took the wheel by one hand and did a J-turn into the parking space near Frank's diner. Britt casually strolled out the car and opened Mark's door. "We are here your highness," Britt said with a mock British accent. At this point, Mark had already broken off the car door handle and was shivering whilst getting out of the car.
"I swear to God. I'll make sure you never get a real license for the rest of your natural born life." Mark said, still shivering. "Which idiot taught you how to drive?"
"My dad did, on our race course near the mansion," Britt said, changing his tone of voice entirely, sounding almost sad. "Anyway," he continued now smiling, "at least you had the balls to get out of the car."
Britt slammed the top of the car where Matt and Lakshmi were sitting. "Hey lovebirds, we're here, get out of the car!"
"Lux?"
"Yeah, Matt?"
"Air!"
Lakshmi blushed as she realized she was crushing his chest with her head and was still gripping his arm. She quickly lets go of Matt and composes herself. 'Jesus, he's built like a rock!' Lakshmi thought to herself as she apologized to Matt profusely.
Matt smiled and said "Nah, it's alright, at least you didn't bite me. Unlike some people." Matt said directing his speech to Britt.
"I did not bite you."
"Yes, you did. On that swinging boat ride at the amusement park. You were so scared that you bit my arm!"
"That was 2 years ago and you screamed like a girl!" Britt replied, crossing his arms and looking away.
"You bit me, of course, I was screaming!"
"Stop acting like 5-year-olds and get inside the shop fools!" Mark said with a deep authoritative voice.
"You played that shit on ALL the computers?" Mark asked Lakshmi, eating his 3rd side of chicken.
"Yeah, it was great!" Lakshmi said, taking a sip of her handmade milkshake. Britt and Matt were fighting over the last piece of chicken in the bucket. Lakshmi stole the piece from both boys and smiling as she shoved the chicken down her throat, with both boys giving her the middle finger.
"That's nothing," Matt said, trying to defuse their childish squabble. "You wanna hear the crap my brother pulled off in the Olympics last year in Beijing?"
"Nah, Nah Matt, I actually saw what happened Matt so I'll explain." Britt said in a false patronizing tone. Matt just gave a half-assed thumbs up in response.
"Basically, Mark and this Chinese guy were in the finals, right. They both were like matching each other blow for blow." Britt said with the enthusiasm like David Attenborough narrating a documentary. "They both were punching, parrying and dodging. Mark then sees an opening in the Chinese guy's defense and throws a punch."
"Guess what happens next!"
"He knocked him out?" Lakshmi said with her head on her hand.
"Nope, the Chinese guy leaned backward and Mark knocks out the referee behind him!"
Britt, Lakshmi, and Matt start banging on the table and laugh till they went blue. "Wait, wait, wait, that's not the worst part," Matt says, continuing the story.
"The next ref came in and Mark threw a right hook, the ref is standing at the side, right," Matt said, trying not to laugh.
"Yeah, and Mark knocks out both the Chinese guy and the ref at the same time!" Britt continued, laughing whilst doing so.
The three continue to laugh, tearing up in the process, with Mark sitting cross-armed with a frown on his face. "Well, I got the Gold Medal didn't I?" Mark said rhetorically. "Dude, you keep it under your sock drawer," Matt said, still breathing heavily after the laughter.
"Yeah, yeah whatever!" Mark said. "Laugh it up kids, laugh it up," Mark said, letting out a chuckle himself.
Mark hailed both Britt and Lakshmi a cab after everyone finished their meals at Frank's, with Britt giving an extremely generous tip to Frank personally. Matt sending off his friends continued to walk alongside his brother, holding his arm for guidance. "I don't need to hold your arm anymore Mark, I'm not 7 anymore," Matt whined as he dragged his cane along the ground.
"Yeah, but it's late, and it ain't safe at night in the Kitchen Matty, you know that."
"It's 6:30, who's gonna mug us, a middle-aged jogger?"
"Good point, but who knows anymore right?" Mark said, trying to make a comeback.
"Today was a good cheat day!" Mark exclaimed. "Sucks that we have to go back to the old diet tomorrow."
"Yeah, but 10 days from now, I get another cheat day. You have to keep the diet going, for the match next month right?"
"Yeah, I know. Crap!" Mark exclaimed as he rummaged through his pockets. "Must have left my key's inside. Wait here, I'll be back."
"Our house is like a 10-minute walk from here, and what happened to it being dangerous?" Matt asked, with one eyebrow raised.
"Someone tries to mug you, hit them with your stick," Mark responded.
Matt listened to the heavy footsteps of his brother and felt each and every step through the ground. "He's way too big," Matt said to himself.
"Wallet, jewelry, fast", "Where's my goddamn weed, you prick!", "Give, me money man! GIVE ME MY MONEY!".
The cries of the city fill Matt's ears again. No friends or family to distract him.
"Shut up, shut up!" Matt said covering his ears. "Don't get involved Matt. Just wait for …."
He stops. He hears sobbing, he focuses on the source and hears their breathing. The rate of breath indicates that it the person was a child. A young girl. Maybe 4 or 5.
"SssH….Sarahhhh, Saarahh!" A slurred, drunk voice came from the entrance from the girls room. "Daddy?"
"No!" Matt said to himself. "No, that's his daughter. He wouldn't."
"Come herrrre, girrlyy!" he said as he forcefully grabbed his daughter.
"Daddy, you're hurting me!"
Matts face turned pale. His face covered in sweat, his hands gripping his cane so tightly that his knuckles turned as pale as snow as he listened in on the events going on in the girls room. Sarah.
"Sarah." Matt said alongside the father.
Mark just exits Frank's. "I left them in the bathroom Matt. Matt?"
"Sarah!"
"Wait, who's Sarah?"
"We need to talk to dad, get in the car. Quick." Matt said with the utmost urgency.
"Alright, be patient man. Be patient."
Jack Murdock had a long day of work. His partner got a heart attack in the middle of a shoot-out and was sent to the hospital. He may never serve in the force again. His wife sprained her ankle falling down the stairs and his replacement partner is probably going to be some green nosed rookie barely out of the academy. The last thing he needed to hear was one of his sons accusing a neighbour of assaulting a minor, his own daughter.
"Now are you sure about this?" Jack asked his youngest son for the third time in the manner he would any witness. Calm, collected and professionally. "Yes, Yes and for the thousandth time yes." Matt said irritably. "Go and arrest that piece of trash now!"
"You can't throw accusations around like that. I mean, Mark didn't hear anything after all."
"Dad," Matt said, standing up from his chair, walking towards the older and taller man. "Why would I lie about something like this?"
Jack could not reply.
"You could call child services." Miranda Murdock suggested. "After all, if what our son says is true, they'll call the proper authorities anyway." The matriarch of the family surmised.
"Always the lawyer. Alright Matty, I'll put a word in to a guy I know at child services. Let's see what happens."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOTHING?" Matt asked at the top of his voice.
It was 1 am in the morning and Jack got a call from his friend at child services. "They found nothing, no trace of blood or semen. No bruising, nothing."
"He works the evening shift patrolling the train tracks, his wife says he's too tired to even stand in the day. She even said that he never touched her or their daughter. She'll testify if need be." Jack further exposited.
"He was drunk dad, I heard him!"
"So was I last week, that's no reason to arrest a man in his home."
"There's no way, I heard what happened. I….I…" Matt said putting his hand over his head, not being able to process what's happening.
"If he's guilty, your father will catch him son." Miranda said, gently holding the teenagers hand. "We just need proof."
Matt 'looked' in the general direction of his parents and says "That's a load of bull!" Without saying another word Matt enters his room and slams the door behind him.
Jack is about to go after him when Miranda gently pulls his arm and shakes her head. "He's going through a lot, just let him rest the night."
Matt walks around his room angrily. He rushes his hand over his head again and again. Mark moved out two years ago so Matt doesn't have to worry about making a mess. Not that he cared right now.
"Arggghh" Matt screams out as he punches his room's wall, leaving a fist sized dent. 'It's not fair,' Matt thought to himself. 'It's not fair,' Matt repeated, tearing up now. 'That bastard can't get away with this. He can't.'
Matt then heard a familiar set of footsteps in the distance, "I'm leaving, Honey. Put the kid to bed."
It was him.
Anger flashed through Matt's face.
'You won't get away with it! Never again.'
Edward Daniels worked the night shift at the train station. He just patrolled the tracks and made sure that punk kids didn't steal the tracks or dogs shat on them. Frankly, the job was crap. Bad pay, no insurance, but it did have one perk. He could drink till his heart's content on the job and no one would be the wiser.
So what if he took out his anger on his girl sometimes, not like anyone was watching him.
But unbeknownst to him, tonight someone was following him.
A figure dressed in black.
'Should have worn a different hoodie,' Matt thought to himself, unable to tolerate the shuffling he heard every time he moved faster than a brisk walk. He wore a set of black cargo pants he owned, black skin tight shirt and hoodie, black sneakers and a large black scarf over his head. He taped his hands over with boxing tape and wore some black winter gloves over those.
He was following Mr Daniels for over an hour. He needed to make sure no one would be around to stop him.
Once he knew that Daniels was alone Matt knew he had to strike.
The abusive father stumbled over some train track and fell. "It's time," Matt thought to himself. He started running from the top of the train car he was perched on and jumped towards the fallen drunk.
Unfortunately, Daniels got up the moment Matt leaped and managed to stumble out of the jump attack. Matt cursed under his breath for his rookie mistake and put up a fighting stance. Daniels, not unfamiliar to an occasional brawl threw his bottle at Matt's head.
Hearing it move through the air, Matt bends his head slightly and moves out of the way of the bottle. Matt runs towards Daniels and throws a right hook to his jaw. Daniels staggers but in his drunken state barely feels the pain. He then grabs the much smaller Matt and throws him against the train car.
Matt knees his attacker in the groin and delivers an elbow to his chin, knocking out some teeth and making a sound like cracking concrete. Matt then pushes Daniels up and proceeds to punch him repeatedly in the face till his jaw felt like jelly.
"You touch your daughter again, I'll know." Matt says.
He punches him again.
Again.
And again.
"ARGHHHH", Matt screams at the top of his lungs as his anger takes over, the sound of his fist pounding into beaten flesh echoes through the train cars.
"So he'll be in hospital for a month." Matt asked, trying to act surprised.
"Yeah, someone apparently mugged him. They really did a number on him." Jack told his son.
Matt just ate his oatmeal in silence as Jack looked towards his wife for help. She simply shrugs. "So, kiddo. How'd you feel about that?"
Matt stops eating, puts down the spoon and gives his father a blank, dead stare as he clenched his fist. "He deserved it."
After school Matt went to various shops and bought a few items.
A few better fitting black cargo pants, the ones he wore the other night were too tight and squeezed him in places he rather not talk about. A couple better fitting black hoodies, cargo boots, since his sneakers fell off after he climbed back through the window. Studded gloves and a couple wooded batons similar to the ones Kato used to train him. All by cash and with different aliases, in case anyone asked. He ditched the cane and claimed he was colour-blind in some shops to confirm the colour.
He had one more stop to make.
"Bless me father for I have sinned" Matt started his glasses in his hand. "It's been…..well it's been too long since my last confession."
"My dad, he used to come to this church back when I was a kid. He was a fighter, old-school boxer," Matt smiled and chuckled "He lost more than he won, had a 24-32 records before he retired."
A long pause ensued.
"But the man could take a punch. God he could take a punch."
"Language!" The old priest in the booth said sternly.
"Sorry, father."
"Yeah, me and my brother heard the guys he was up against talk about how punching him was like hitting iron. There were nights when he was outmatched, and dad's strategy was to just let the other guy hit him till their hands broke." Matt said with a smile on his face.
"My old man never got knocked out. Not my dad. I mean, he got knocked down sure but he always got back up. Always lost on his feet."
Matt's face changed expression, as he ran his fingers over his knuckles.
"Every now and then though…."
Matt took a deep breath, "Every now and then he'd get hit and something inside of him would snap." Matt remembered how he hit Daniels and put his fingers over his knuckles again.
"My grandma, she was the real Catholic, died a couple years ago. Fear of God ran deep, you'd of liked her father. She used to say 'Be careful of the Murdock boy. They got the devil in 'em.'"
"You'd see that sometimes. In the ring." Matt said, his breathing quickening. "His eyes would go dead and he would start walking forward real slow. The look in his eyes made him seem like he wasn't afraid of anything."
"The other guy would see that look and try to run away, but dad he'd um…he'd trap him in a corner and…."
Matt said stuttering, struggling to choose the right words.
"He'd let the devil out." Matt said, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding onto, tearing up slightly.
"I didn't understand it. You know, how a good man like him could feel that, deep inside. I didn't understand it." Matt said on the verge of tears, his breathing laborious.
"Not back then."
The priest takes some time to process this and asks "But you understand him now?" he then follows up, asking "This might be easier if you would tell me what you did."
Matt stays silent, and puts his glasses back on. "Father, I'm not seeking penance for what I've done," Matt tells him with a straight voice, no emotion. "I'm asking forgiveness, for what I am about to do."
The priest turns to him and says "This isn't how that works, son. What exactly are you about to do?"
Matt smiles and leaves the confessional.
'Deliver justice.' He answered in his mind.