Ok! The first fanfic for Marvel that I've ever actually written down so it isn't just in my head:D And the first fanfic of any kind that I've written in years - I'm trying to get back into the hang of it.
Please let me know what you think. In particular, please let me know if any of the characterizations or plot are off... I'm mostly limited to reading TPBs, and so I haven't actually read any of Civil War, except that I happen to have read the most recent ASM. I've read just about everything I can find about Civil War, though. Likewise, I haven't gotten to read DD since "The Murdock Papers" yet, but I have a pretty good idea of what's happened since then. Also, I'm primarily a Spidey and DD fan... my knowledge of other characters is sketchy at best. (Also, my knowledge of television journalism is practically non-existant).
Warning: there are definite spoilers for the most recent ASM (as of this writing).
Warning #2: this is a Civil War drama. There's some action at the beginning, but it's largely a drama. If you're looking for people beating each other up, you're probably going to be disappointed. :)
Summary: Two reporters chance upon a variety of superheroes, discovering new things about the icons everybody thought they knew. It turns out, they didn't really know anything.
----Begin Part 1----
Monica picked her way through the streets of Hell's Kitchen, looking for somebody to talk to. David, her single cameraman, was tailing behind her. Most people were hidden away in their homes, afraid to come out, but she'd managed to find a few people to interview for her routine human-interest piece. An old lady who'd talked endlessly about what she was going to get at the grocery store, a man who'd ranted about freaks of nature (which might prove to be interesting footage - if she couldn't find anything better), and another man who couldn't seem to make himself heard over the wind.
To be truthful, things weren't going so well.
It didn't help that she was actually rather scared. She'd trained as an interviewer, not a field journalist, and she didn't particularly want to be alone, with just a cameraman for protection, in the middle of Hell's Kitchen, of all places! But what the producer says, goes...
She'd just spotted a woman with a small boy in tow and was starting to head over to them, when she heard the gunfire, and what sounded like some sort of energy blast.
David, who actually had field experience, immediately went running toward the gunfire, with his camera hoisted on his shoulder like a missile launcher. Monica stood stunned, not believing for a moment what her colleague had just done. Then she remembered that she was supposed to be a reporter, and ran after him.
She found David hiding behind a building wall, pointing the camera at something beyond it. She ran up to him, around him, and peeked over the wall... and was stunned to discover Captain America and Iron Man fighting... not ten feet from where she and David were hiding.
They weren't the only ones, either. To her left, Mister Fantastic was fighting Spider-woman, and just beyond them, Daredevil was fighting... she believed that was... she wanted to say Shang-Chi. She was just about to ask David if he was getting everything, when Iron Man released an energy blast of some kind from his hand. Captain America ducked, and the blast continued harmlessly, past the Captain, five feet to Monica's left, and into the alleyway behind them.
"God, this is great!" David whispered and grinned. Monica was beginning to seriously doubt whether she had the right instincts for the job, because she didn't exactly share that sentiment.
Before she could express her feeling that perhaps they were just a little too close to the fighting, though, something else happened.
"Stop it!" yelled a man's voice. From a point, high above the ground on Monica's right, something red came flying towards Captain America. It hit him square in the face. Less than a second later, a second red item flew at Iron Man's back, crashing into his suit and sending sparks flying. Both men turned towards the source of the projectiles, which on a closer look turned out to be red billy clubs. A large figure came swooping down, seemingly from the sky (although later review of David's tape would reveal that he'd just jumped from a 3rd-story window in a nearby building). Monica was stunned when it turned out to be Daredevil.
Another Daredevil. Not the same Daredevil who'd been fighting Shang-Chi, and was now staring at the newcomer.
The new Daredevil took two steps toward the halted fight, then stopped, and just stood for a second with his arms tightly crossed. Monica was beginning to see why he had such a formidable reputation in the Kitchen - even when it was clear he was restraining himself, he still exuded a kind of presence that demanded that you pay attention to him. Kind of like Captain America, actually, who seemed to be the only one who was immune. He opened his mouth to speak, but Daredevil interrupted in a harsh growl.
"I have a question," he began slowly. He took another step, arms still crossed across his chest. He was now close enough that Monica and David could see that he was literally shaking with anger.
"Is there anybody here," he continued, "anybody at all... who has not dedicated his or her life to protecting those who cannot protect themselves?" He paused. "Anyone?" Another pause, during which there was silence. "That's what I thought."
He took another step, and snarled through gritted teeth, "So why is it... CAP... that four blocks that way," and here Daredevil pointed behind him, towards the direction from which Monica and David had come earlier, "is an elderly lady with a gunshot wound in her stomach?!" Captain America cringed slightly, then took a breath, but Daredevil, it seemed, wasn't in the mood to wait for an answer. "Why is it... TONY... that a half a block that way," and here Daredevil pointed away from Monica, "is a 7-year-old boy who's mother now has a 9-inch hole BURNED THROUGH HER CHEST??!" He finished the last part, practically screaming in rage, and Monica was seriously tempted to run away. Iron Man had actually recoiled at this, and looked toward the direction Daredevil was pointing... then looked down.
There was a silence, while everybody either stared at Daredevil or at the ground. Daredevil waited about ten seconds, then snarled, "Those were not rhetorical questions. Somebody EXPLAIN this to me! Explain to me, how this could happen! Are you two really so far gone that you've forgotten what we're here for in the first place?"
Iron Man removed his helmet and covered his face in his hand. Captain America winced slightly, his mouth tightly shut.
Daredevil made a sound that was somewhere between a snort of disgust and a sob, turned so his back was to Monica, and began to walk away.
"Where are you going?" said Iron Man. He sounded... tired.
Daredevil froze in his tracks for a moment, then turned back to the two fighters. It seemed that all of his rage had suddenly just... disappeared. He seemed almost bereft without it. He stared... at the other two, but also not at them... for a second, before he said, in a decidedly more subdued voice, "I'm going to try to pick up the pieces. That's what I do." He paused, and took a deep, shaky breath. "I just... I never, in a million years, would have... would have imagined that I would ever have to do it for any of you."
Both Iron Man and Captain America winced at that. Daredevil looked down for a moment, lifted his hand to his mouth, took another shaky breath, then turned and walked away again.
Monica suddenly realized that she was seeing a side of these superheroes that nobody had ever gotten to see before. She glanced at David. David, reading her mind, nodded - yes, he was getting it all on tape.
Good. The public needed to see this.
Captain America spoke up for the first time. "M..." Daredevil suddenly whirled around and made a sharp cutting motion with his hand. Captain America frowned and looked around, then looked back at Daredevil, but Daredevil didn't elaborate on whatever had caused him to do that. The Captain frowned again, then seemed to start again, "DD... we didn't really have a choice."
Daredevil opened his mouth in disbelief. "Of course you had a choice. You chose to fight with each other in the middle of a city! You could have taken it somewhere else, but you chose to have it here. Here! WHERE PEOPLE LIVE!" All six of the other fighters cringed at that. "People LIVE here! And I am absolutely... I'm absolutely shocked that any of you... ANY of you... should have to be told this! Let alone all of you!" Mister Fantastic sucked in his breath through his teeth and actually took a step backwards.
Monica became aware that her mouth was hanging open. She closed it as quietly as she could.
Daredevil gave a long, slow hissing sigh through his teeth, turned away again, and continued walking toward the young boy that she could dimly see in the distance. Iron Man took a deep breath, turned to Captain America, and the two of them just... stared at each other for a few seconds. They seemed to be communicating something without words. Then, at the same time, they both turned away. Monica glanced at David, who nodded again... he'd gotten the look in Captain America's eyes... the look of pain. As Iron Man turned away from him, she and David could see his profile, and he had the same look.
Iron Man backed away first. Captain America followed suit a moment later. He (the Captain) turned towards the other fighters and gave a slight jerk of his head. Spider-woman and Daredevil... the other Daredevil (that is really confusing)... quickly broke away from the people they'd been fighting with and scattered in different directions. The Captain took one more look at Iron Man, said, "Tonight. Away from here," and turned and ran off to Monica's right, in the direction opposite the other two.
Iron Man took another deep breath, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Damn it." Then he looked in the direction Daredevil had gone. Monica could still see him, about a block further down. He was crouched and speaking to the boy, whom he'd taken a little ways from his mother's corpse. Two firetrucks, an ambulance, and three police cars pulled up, and Monica was stunned to realize that no more than 5 minutes had passed since they'd started witnessing the fight.
The police got out of their cars and it seemed like they were yelling at Daredevil. Monica couldn't hear what they were saying, but she didn't really need to. She could imagine, given the current political climate. She turned and whispered to David to turn the zoom on... he hissed back that he already had.
Iron Man, Shang Chi, and Mister Fantastic had moved to a small huddle about a half a block away, so Monica felt it would be a good time to try to get closer to Daredevil to see what was going on. Her interviewer's hunch said that that would be where the story was. She motioned to David, and the two crept away from Iron Man and his group until they were out of sight. Then they stood and ran towards the police cars, the boy, and Daredevil.
When they got there, Daredevil was speaking to the police very quietly. They'd stopped yelling, and two of them were taking the crying boy further away. The mood was somber all around. Monica and David stopped just outside the scene. She could tell that David was itching to get into the middle, but her instincts said that if she was ever going to get anybody to talk to her, she should wait until a time when she was not in the way.
The time wasn't long in coming. Daredevil finished whatever he'd been saying to the policeman he'd been talking to. The policeman stared at him calculatingly for a moment, clearly trying to gauge whether to trust the costumed superhero, then said, simply, "Ok." He glared at Monica for a moment, as if daring her to try an interview... but he wasn't the one she wanted to interview. He finally turned away and followed the other policemen to the car, leaving Daredevil standing alone, staring at some spot away from Monica. His arms were crossed again, and she stared at his back for a moment. It was muscular, impressive - and shaking.
She debated how to get him to talk to her. She braced herself for failure, because nobody had ever succeeded before... but come to think of it, most people who'd tried were reporters who followed their first instincts, and asked questions like, "why do you wear a mask?" "what's your name?" or, "why are there two of you?"
And while Monica really wanted to know the answer to that last one, somehow she suspected that it would be the exact wrong thing to ask.
She continued looking at him, while he continued to ignore her. She was positive that he knew she was there, which meant he was behaving very strangely... just standing there with his back to her, waiting for her to make the first move.
He wants to talk. He wants to talk! ...But I have to ask the right questions.
His back was still shaking, and he'd lifted his hand to his mouth again. Monica reasoned that her best bet would be to open with something he was probably already thinking about.
"Will he be ok?" She asked quietly, referring to the boy. David turned and looked at her strangely, not understanding why she'd chosen that particular question to ask.
For a moment, there was silence. Then, without turning around, Daredevil spoke in a low, hoarse voice. "She was a single mother, so now he and his two sisters are orphans. They're being taken to Social Services right now. They'll probably be separated and placed in foster care for the rest of their childhood lives. Sam - that's the boy's name - doesn't understand why his mother's dead... which is probably a good thing. I've asked the policemen not to tell him... I hope they won't. Children need to be able to look up to somebody." He drew in a sharp breath. "He might be ok. Maybe. It's possible." He blew the air out of his lungs through his nose.
"How do you know he has two sisters?"
A long pause. "Because they lived here. I knew them."
He knows everybody who lives here?
Monica slowly drew around him so she could see his face. His mouth was drawn into a tight frown, and, like the rest of him, was shaking. Without thinking, she asked, "Are you going to be ok?"
Before the words were out of her mouth, she was cursing herself. Stupid! God, Monica, what's wrong with you! Damn it... there goes the interview! He was never going to stick around now.
Except - he didn't leave.
For a moment, she wondered if he'd heard her. Then he drew several long, deep breaths, and the hand went up to his mouth again. Oh my God... he's... Several long moments later, he moved his hand down again, opened his mouth, and spoke.
"I believe," he began, sounding like each word was being ripped from someplace inside him, "that the world is a good place. That the people in it are basically good people." A tear suddenly slid down his cheek. Monica's jaw dropped. "I have to believe that," he continued, his voice growing increasingly shaky, "I have to believe that... because that belief is all that I have. There is nothing else. Everything else is gone. Everybody else is gone. Everyone and everything, and my faith, and my trust in the law... it's all gone. All that I have left is this belief that I have, that somehow... all of this means something." Tears were now freely pouring down his cheeks and dripping off his chin, apparently unnoticed. "That there is a point and a reason for all of this. I have to keep believing that. I have to keep believing that there is something here that is worth... worth saving." He paused, turned away from the camera, and whispered, "even when there are times when I have no idea what that could possibly be."
He made a quick motion with his hand across his cheeks - so quick, in fact, that it appeared like something he did a lot - drew a shaky breath, and abruptly said, "I have to go." Without any further warning, he made a motion with his billy club that was too quick to see, a cable shot out, and less than a second later, he was gone.
For a long moment, Monica stared at the space he'd occupied, stunned. Then she turned to David, who looked as amazed as she felt. "Did you get that?" she asked. "Please tell me you got it."
"I got it." He grinned at her.
"Wow," She grinned back.
My God. He talked to me. A superhero... talked. That's... I think that's the first time in history that a superhero has ever talked to the press like that.
He'd seemed so... human. He'd - he was in so much pain. How long has he been in that kind of pain? By all accounts, Daredevil was well known for his pride, moreso than most superheroes, even. That speech must have been years in the making.
"Come on," David said, "Let's see if those three are still here."
"What? Oh!" She'd forgotten about Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, and Shang Chi. She and David turned back to the scene of the battle, and found that the first two were still there, seemingly debating something. Shang Chi was nowhere to be found.
Monica was still walking towards them, debating whether to just walk up to them and start asking questions like the reporter she was supposed to be, when Iron Man appeared to get a phone call. Instead of taking out a cell phone, he put his helmet back on and spoke from within the helmet to some voice she couldn't hear. A few moments later, he removed the helmet again, and she was shocked at the conflicting emotions she saw in his face. He still hadn't noticed (or was pretending not to notice) her and David, and spoke directly to Mr. Fantastic.
"They found Peter."
Monica's eyes widened.
"Where is he?" Mr. Fantastic asked.
Mr. Stark (Monica couldn't bring herself to call a man with that much pain in his face "Iron Man") sighed. "The city morgue."
"What??"
Stark replaced his helmet, then continued in a robotic voice, "May Parker has been shot and killed."
----End Part 1----