Just a bunch of stories I need to get out of my system. There's no real connection between the stories beyond the fact that they all deal with various paths Kurt could have taken. By the by, I own nothing.
Archive all you like, as long as due credit is given.
Italics indicated thought or telepathy.
indicates translation from another language. I also didn't want to risk trying too much of an accent in case I butchered it. In any case, words like wonderbür aren't spelled with a V, they're just pronounced that way.
The Devil and the DemonDaredevil perched on a stone gargoyle and let the sounds of the city wash over him. Beyond the usual clamor, something of a pattern was starting to emerge.
"Multiple fractures, mild concussion, keeps muttering something about a demon-"
"Word of an attack on New York City's criminal population by some sort of demon has yet to be confirmed-"
"There's a demon in New York! Repent or he will reap your souls!-"
"I swear, he was just in that alley, than he vanished! Creepiest thing ever!"
"God, please, don't kill me demon. I don't wanna die." Hearing this last, Daredevil launched himself from his perch, landed on an adjacent rooftop, and began running towards the noise.
Within a few minutes he reached the scene. There were two sets of heartbeats, breathing, etc. The first was indicative of wild fear, obviously the man who had been pleading for his life. Which made the other one the demon. His breathing was ragged, he was obviously pushing himself to his limits, and had been for some time. Daredevil's radar indicated he was hunched over, almost giving the appearance of being on all fours. What's more, the was a slight whooshing sound, almost like a cat's tail whipping back and forth.
"Vy shouldn't I kill you?" Asked the demon, "You tried to kill that old man. How many others have you killed?" The criminal was silent. There was a sound that vaguely resembled flesh striking flesh, but muffled, as if the demon was wearing gloves.
"P-please, I don't want to die."
Daredevil stepped out of the shadows. "I don't doubt you have good reason to stop this man, but I won't let you kill him."
The demon drew in a sharp breath, then there was a loud –bamph- and a sudden smell of brimstone and sulfur. A split second later, there was a second –bamph- almost a mile away, and Daredevil realized the demon had disappeared from his radar. Cursing in his mind, he realized he was dealing with a teleporter. At least the smell was distinctive. He should be able to at least track the demon to where he had teleported.
"P-please, I don't want to die."
"You're not going to die, although you probably deserve it," said Daredevil disgustedly, "And unless you want him to come back, I suggest you go to the nearest police station and confess all of your crimes."
"Y-yes sir." The criminal staggered off.
Daredevil leapt onto the windowsill of an old brick building, then, leaping from windowsill to windowsill made his ascent to the roof, then began making his way west towards the noise.
He picked up the demon's distinctive smell from where he had teleported, and followed it. The trail ended however, when Daredevil found five unconscious gang members. Nearby was a tidy pile of weapons. The demon had apparently gone through the trouble of sorting the weapons. One small pile was handguns, another baseball bats, another knives, and so on. Daredevil made a mental note of that. His quarry was neat. Then he set to work trying to pick up the trail. The demon had run when he had seen him. That had to mean something.
Unless- maybe he's scared of you.After all, in your current attire you do resemble a devil. That was the intention, wasn't it? To frighten criminals?
I may look like a devil, but from all accounts he looks like a demon.
One would think a blind man would put a little less stock in visual perceptions.
Not a demon then. What? A vigilante in a costume, like me? But if that's the case, what about the tail? A police siren in the distance interrupted his meditations.
"Put your hands over your head! This is your only warning!"
"Ja, dis is wonderbür! He looks different, so he must be evil."
Daredevil immeadietely recognized the second voice. The demon. For the third time that night, Daredevil headed in the direction of the demon
The demon was crouched on the cross of an old catholic church. There were police surrounding the building, the majority of them pointing guns at the demon.
"This is your last chance, you freak! Put your hands over your heads or we will open fire!"
"On a place of worship? You truly disgust me!" Daredevil heard the distinctive bamph, and a second one off in the distance.
He stepped out of the shadows and was immediately met with a chorus of 'freeze!'
"Relax," said the chief, "Daredevil, do you think you can catch that thing?"
"Has he actually done anything illegal?"
"Multiple counts of assault and battery. Probably some trespassing."
"So nothing pretty much every superhero in the city hasn't done?"
"Are you kidding! Did you get a look at that thing?"
"He looks like a demon. I dress like a devil. Are the two really that different?"
"With you it's just a costume! With it, well, you saw it!"
"I saw him." So I'm lying to a cop. What am I supposed to do? Tell him I'm blind? "You know what else I saw? A mugger so frightened I wouldn't be surprised if he entered the priesthood. An entire gang laid flat out unconscious. And that's not the limit of his activities if the news reports are any indication. From what I could gather, almost a quarter of Hell's Kitchen's criminal population is either in custody or scared out of their minds after this little assault."
"I can't believe this? You're siding with it?"
"Him." Daredevil took off into the darkness, silently repeating to himself him.
Daredevil picked up the trail again relatively easily. The demon though I suppose that's only for the lack of a better term, had stopped teleporting, and left behind a strong smell of brimstone. Daredevil finally caught up to him as he through a stickup man into a wall.
The demon saw him, and breathed in sharply, his heartbeat accelerating.
"Relax. I just want to talk," said Daredevil soothingly, "I'm Daredevil. What are you called?"
"Kurt Wagner. But I am perhaps better known as Nightcrawler."
That name wrung a bell. Foggy had been talking about the circus he had recently visited. It had a performing acrobat by the same name, which Foggy had described as 'a lifelike demon'.
"The circus performer?"
"At your service."
"How did you end up fighting crime?"
"The circus changed ownership, and I was to be put in a freak show. I took my wages and ran. When I got here, there was so much crime, I didn't know what else to do."
"I got the same feeling growing up here. Perhaps we can help each other?"
"Perhaps we can,"
Daredevil put out his hand, and Kurt shook it.
"The Devil and the Demon. An interesting team."
"Indeed."