Part 1: Lost

"I think your greatest moment was probably when you told that kid that it wasn't all about him."

The corners of Matthew Murdock's mouth jerked downward for a second even though Franklin "Foggy" Nelson's words had been in jest. He wasn't proud of that statement, but the boy in question had hit a nerve when he'd asked the two lawyers why they cared about "doomed-to-juvi" kids like him. "Well, he deserved it."

"That's totally why I'm saying it was the greatest moment. Your super-senses probably didn't pick up on it, but you got him good. The look on his face when you talked about Hell's Kitchen was priceless."

"Really?" Foggy was right; Matt's senses, while they allowed him to pick up more signs than even someone with working eyes, didn't permit Matt to "see" details like facial expressions. Matt shrugged, a little of the shame of the event in question dissipating like steam off a hot pan. "I didn't really mean to do that."

Matt heard the sound of Foggy's hair brush along the top of his shoulders and the ligaments in his neck tense as he took his eyes off the road to look at his best friend and law partner. "Why? That's what we were there for, isn't it? Sabrina wanted us to show the boys lawyers aren't the bad guys, and I think you did that with bells on."

Matt snorted but his mouth twitched into a small grin against his will. "By scaring them into submission?"

"Hey, whatever works. At the very least, they'll be more likely to get good representation when they get in trouble."

"Now, Foggy, where's that optimism I know is in there somewhere under those horrible cheesy puffs you had for breakfast?" Matt joked. "This whole things is about making sure they don't need good lawyers like us."

Foggy's heart sped up at Matt's confession that he knew he'd snuck the cheese puffs. He'd suspected that Matt might have known that he'd broken the diet he told Matt and Karen, their secretary, to make sure he followed this time. He'd been lulled into a false sense of security when Matt hadn't mentioned it on their four hour trip to the campsite earlier that day. Once again, Foggy cursed his partner's enhanced senses. He mumbled such under his breath, knowing full well that Matt could easily hear it, but taking pleasure in the action anyway.

Foggy continued the conversation as if he hadn't mumbled anything. "You know the stats as well as I do, Matt. Communing with nature and all that might save a few, but we both know there were a lot more than a few kids back there."

Matt sighed and leaned back into the car seat. It was strange sitting up front in a car; Matt hadn't sat next the driver in years. New York City taxi drivers frowned on that sort of thing. "I know. But still. Maybe this time we got through to more than just a few of them."

Matt could almost hear the doubt in the way Foggy's shoulders brushed against the back of the faux-leather car seat as he shrugged. "But hey, every little bit helps, right?" Foggy leaned over the steering wheel and squinted into the darkness to see passed the halo of the rental car's headlights. "At least, it better. Otherwise what the hell are we doing out in the middle of nowhere?"

"Getting fresh air? Enjoying the view of the great outdoors, Adirondack-style?" Matt answered without irony. The dark glasses that covered his unfocused eyes flashed in the glare of the half moon shining through the window.

"Hah. Give me New York smog any day. Where the hell are we? This GPS has to be wrong." Foggy added.

"You're asking me? I've been lost since we left the city."

"What, your super-senses don't include a GPS? You should return them and say next time they should include the ability to feel the pull of gravity." Matt could hear Foggy looking around for some sign or indication that they were going the right way.

Matt laughed heartily for the first time since Foggy had picked him up that morning at his apartment at the god-awful time of 5:30am. "I'll be sure to include that on the Powers-That-Be's yelp page. They'll never live it down."

"Too true." Foggy's tone lost some of its joviality. "But seriously, buddy, I think we're lost. Can you give me a hand?"

"Like what? I can't read the map, and we both know I can't 'see' the GPS screen." Matt tried to make his voice light, but it was edged with frustration. Whether it was at Foggy for putting Matt in the position of feeling weak or his own personal guilt at being unable to help, Matt wasn't sure.

Foggy smacked his hand against the steering wheel. "My bad. I should have asked for the car with the screen reader."

Matt's frustration lifted a bit at Foggy's words, and he was able to smile faintly. "I'm pretty sure they don't make those kinds."

"Well they should."

"Why? If you can't drive a car, you shouldn't have to read the GPS."

"Except in situations like this," Foggy rebutted. "What about your other senses? Any chance we're near a gas station or," Matt heard Foggy twist to look out the side windows again, "a log cabin or ranger's station where we can ask for directions?"

"I don't know. I can try." Matt rolled down his window and gestured for Foggy to do the same on his side. Immediately the world that was muffled from Matt rushed at him, and Matt could smell the fresh, woody scent of spring and feel the empty pressure of a forest at night.

The car was silent for a moment except for the gentle hum of the engine and the crunch of the tires rolling over the cracked asphalt road as Matt concentrated. After a few seconds, Matt sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Fog, but I've got nothing. It's all so different out here. All the trees and vegetation just absorb too much sound, and being in this car is like being in water. I just can't 'feel' anything. I wish I could help, but…" Matt's sentence trailed off as he worked to push back the guilt of not being able to do something.

Logically, he knew his blindness was nothing to apologize for, but it was difficult. Back home, he could run and vault across the rooftops like an Olympic-level gymnast, but away from that environment, he was just as blind as a normal person without sight-more so, because he'd become so dependent on the enhancements that the accident that had stolen his eyes had given him, he was even more affected when they weren't useful.

Matt almost missed Foggy's hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Matt. We managed to get to the camp just fine. I'm sure if we just keep following this road we'll find the highway eventually."

Foggy's eyes were focused on Matt, so he didn't see it coming. Matt registered the shape ahead of them a split second too late. He just had time to cry out a warning and Foggy managed to yank the wheel before 800 pounds of moose collided with the driver's side of the car.