My first fan fiction was an X-Files/Touched by an Angel/Piercing the Darkness crossover called "Divine Intervention" (It's on my author page for anyone who wants to check it out. Just remember it was my first fanfic. Even I think it's terrible. Reader beware...) When I got my first pieces of 'fan e-mail' from that story, one wonderfully creative man told me about his idea for a fantasy novel based on the idea that God created more than one world with life on it - and each world has its own Bible, appropriate to the sentient race that lives there. While I have no idea if he ever tried to do anything with that particular idea, it planted a seed: the idea that fantasy stories, with alll the trappings that go with them, could be used to explore Biblical truths.
I have wanted to write stories in that vein for a long time. I had originally hoped to do that with the "Four Winds" series, but that got harder and harder to do as the stories got more and more tied up with the Marvel Avengers Universe. I still want to do it with the predecessors' stories...but with the Guardians' powers being rooted in Buddhist traditions out of geographic necessity, it's still going to be a tricky battle with a lot of arguments along the way.
And then I watched Daredevil.
Honestly, I haven't been this excited about writng fan fiction in a long time.
UNIVERSE DISCLAIMER: These stories are set in my "Guardians of Shangri La" alternate universe - a massively multi-verse AU crossover that includes Castle, Forever, Sentinel, and most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Avengers, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and now Daredevil. While these stories are set in this universe, THEY ARE NOT "CASTLE" GUARDIAN STORIES. This series will be almost entirely focused on the Daredevil characters, with the Guardians coming in only as supporting characters (if they show up at all). Henry Morgan (Forever) will probably play the biggest supporting role out of the standard universe's characters, but that's mostly because the Bronx is a long way away from Hell's Kitchen.
I'm setting these stories in the Guardian universe because of a lot of concepts I introduced in the story "Watchmen" (available on my author page). The two key diversions from Daredevil's canon are that Matt and Foggy are a telepathically linked Sentinel and Guide and Foggy has 'flipped', which means he now has the power of psychokinesis (he can move things with his mind). Matt doesn't change a whole lot (at least at the beginning *g*), but Foggy is most definitely *not* the Foggy from the show's canon in many ways. I'll be explaining this stuff in more detail in this story, so you don't need to have read "Watchmen" to catch up, but I won't stop you if you want to read that one, too. -)
SUBJECT MATTER DISCLAIMER: These stories (if you haven't guessed already) will be deeply rooted in Matt's Catholic beliefs - and as such, will be devoutely, shamelessly, unabashedly Christian. You don't like it, go elsewhere. Now.
I'm also throwing yet another bit of source material into the multiverse kettle: two of the novels of Frank Peretti - "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness". These two novels (two of the few Christian novels I actually really like) are about angels and demons fighting for our souls on a 'spirit plane' that exists all around us. I first used characters from these novels in "Divine Intervention" and haven't touched them since. They're overdue for more action. :-D
I know I'm going to end up quoting a ton of scriptures throughout these stories - and as such, I'll warn you now that any Bible verses will come from the modern New International Version (NIV). The references will be mentioned in an author's note at the end of any chapters where I use scriptures, so you'll be able to look them up for yourself in the translation of your choice if you so choose.
LEGALESE: Really? I don't own Marvel. I don't own any of the intellectual property I'm playing with in this series unless it's original to the "Guardians" concept. If I start disclaiming all the universes that will get referenced in this series, it's gonna be a long, long day...Just know that I try to be a really nice person, so if you *are* a representative for one of these shows whose characters I love so dearly, please remember that the only lawyers I have on my side are Nelson and Murdock. If you ask nicely, I'll probably do whatever you want. I just want to tell some good stories.
I hope you guys will enjoy reading these stories as much as I will enjoy writing them. I have been a Christian most of my adult life, and these stories will be a chance to share my faith as well as my love of fan fiction with all of you. And finally,
DEDICATION: These stories are dedicated to the lovely Evenmoor, who not only came up with the concept for Foggy's superhero persona, but gave me the push to start this branch of the Guardian family tree. These stories wouldn't exist without you!
Enough talk! Let the adventure begin...
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"Good morning, Father."
Father Lantom turned around to see Matt Murdock standing in the aisle of the sanctuary with his trusty cane in one hand...and a gift bag in the other. He stood for the briefest of moments and took in the younger man's appearance. While he was as put together as he always was, Matt was (for once) not looking like he had spent the previous evening in a nasty barroom brawl. Still, it was more than that...
He looked at peace.
For the first time since they had reconnected in his adult life, Matt Murdock looked happy.
Is this a good thing, the priest thought, or a bad thing?
"Good morning, Matthew!" Father Lantom called out in greeting, trying to ignore the feeling of dread that was growing in the back of his mind.
Matt moved closer, tapping his cane to show the clearest path in front of him. When he was sure he was within arm's length of the older man, he held out the bag. "I come bearing gifts."
Surprised by the gesture, Father Lantom took the bag, surprised by its weight...and even more surprised by its contents. "A coffee grinder and..."
"It's a custom blend of fair trade Brazilian coffee," Matt explained. "A...friend recommended it to me. I've never tried it before, but it smells delicious..."
*Smells* delicious? thought Father Lantom. I don't smell...if there was one thing that the priest knew about Matt Murdock, it was that the young man chose his words very carefully. "Well then," he volunteered, "why don't we give that coffee grinder a test drive?"
Matt smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that."
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Well, he's right, thought Father Lantom, this might be the best cup of coffee I've ever had. He picked up the small bag of beans and read the refined-looking bilingual label. "This just might end up in the rectory," he joked. "For 'special' occasions."
Matt chuckled. "I had a feeling it might," he agreed.
The priest shared in Matt's good humor even as he tried to contemplate the cause. "May I ask you a question?"
"Anything," Matt replied.
"You seem...different today," Father Lantom observed. "Happier."
The smile on Matt's face grew just the tiniest bit wider even as he blushed. "It's not the usual mood I'm in when we talk."
"Might I ask what's happened in your life to bring about such a change? A...young lady, perhaps?"
Matt shook his head. "No. No, it's not that." He took a few sips from his latte as he tried to put the cause of his good mood into words. "I suppose...I suppose you could say I've come to terms with who I am."
Father Lantom tensed with sudden concern for what 'coming to terms' with himself could mean for a man like the one he knew Matt Murdock had become. "That...that sounds wonderful, Matthew."
"No, no!" Matt countered, sensing the priest's discomfort. "What I was trying to say was that I no longer see what I can do as curse...as the Devil. It's a gift that I was probably born with."
Father Lantom's eyes went wide as he shook his head, a thousand disjointed memories clicking into place all at once. "I don't know why I didn't see it before," he whispered.
It quickly became Matt's turn to shake his head in confusion. "I don't follow," he insisted.
"You were an incredibly colicky baby," Father Lantom described. "Worst case I've ever seen. Drove your mother absolutely crazy. You had to wear earmuffs all the time."
"I did?" asked Matt.
Father Lantom nodded, his mind elsewhere. "And there were all these odd special requests every time she brought you to Sunday School," he continued. "No bright lights, don't sit you too close to the window, your lay teachers couldn't wear perfume. Your mother packed you a snack every Sunday - she insisted that we couldn't provide one for you."
"Yeah, I remember," Matt agreed, his expression speaking of wistful remembrance.
"You see, the thing is...there are only two possible ways that all those requests could tie together: you were either crazy from the time you were born, which I doubt..."
"Or?"
Father Lantom leaned in close, fully understanding the weight of the words he was about to say. "Or your senses are so incredibly sensitive that on a bad day TV static could sound like a jet engine. That's how you could smell that coffee even through a vacuum sealed bag. Am I wrong?"
"No," Matt admitted, "you're not wrong."
"That's your gift, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is," Matt agreed. "It's called being a Sentinel."
The puzzle pieces were coming together faster and faster. "A Sentinel...that's how you do what you do, isn't it? You can probably hear everything going on in Hell's Kitchen. All the time..."
"It's also why I do what I do," Matt added. "Can you imagine hearing all of that pain, all of that suffering, and doing nothing about it?"
Father Lantom shook his head with a chuckle. "I have a hard enough time hearing confessions, sometimes. And that's just listening to one person at a time. To hear everything...every whispered prayer, every secret fight, all at once...Just extraordinary. I certainly wouldn't want to be you, Matthew, I'm certain of that." He sipped his cooling latte as he considered all the implications of what Matt had just told him. One thing stuck out. "If you were born with these abilities, then what's changed that's allowed you to make peace with them?"
"I found someone...people. Friends," Matt tried to explain, but still finding the words difficult to come by. "Some of them are like me. One of them is a specialist in helping people like me..."
"A specialist?" asked Father Lantom. "Sounds like your gifts might not be as unique as you thought they were."
"I knew I wasn't the only one," Matt countered. "But I had only met one other person with my gifts..."
"Until recently?"
Matt nodded. "This man believes that those who share our gifts need to isolate ourselves from the world. Stay on the fringes so that we could protect the world from evil without being hampered by having 'comforts' that we would miss when they were gone."
"Comforts? Like..."
"Friends," Matt replied. "Family. A home."
Father Lantom leaned back in his chair. "Sounds like an awful way to live," he mused.
"After he left, I was determined to prove him wrong. But then..."
"The 'devil' hurt people you care about," Father Lantom declared, recalling their earlier conversations.
Matt agreed with a slow, shaky sigh as he remembered those dark times. "It made me wonder if maybe Stick was right."
"Was he?"
Matt grinned and shook his head. "No. He wasn't. Recently, I've come to understand something that Stick will probably never learn."
"And what's that?"
"That if you let people in, they'll fight by your side. You don't have to fight alone."
Father Lantom's smile matched Matt's. He stood up to make a second cup of coffee. "My dear, dear boy," he sighed, squeezing Matt's shoulder in a show of support at he passed by. "You never did."
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