Noelle answered her phone as she walked briskly down the street. "Hello?"
"We got a location," Pete said.
"Great! How'd you get it?"
"We beat it out of Doom."
She stopped in her tracks. "You two defeated Doom single handedly?"
"Alright, so I had a little help from my new web material. Besides, Latverian Pig Music makes great beat-up music."
"I'm not going to ask," she said. "What's the address?"
"North King Street. But Noelle, wait for us to get there!"
She hung up and turned towards North King.
The stinging sound of flesh-hitting-flesh rang out across the warehouse for the umpteenth time that night.
And again. And again.
Matt cringed as he sensed another blow coming his way, and his head was knocked to the side when the impact hit his face.
He spat some blood on the floor angrily and shook his throbbing head, trying to clear it.
There he sat, hands and feet securely tied behind him to an old wooden chair, blood dripping from his face onto his clothes. His glasses had cracked and broke a long time ago, and were now in pieces on the floor. His hair was matted and sticky with blood, and he had to spit every few seconds because of the blood welling inside his mouth.
He coughed out some more blood and took a ragged breath.
"Been beating the crap out of me for three days," he rasped. "Haven't tried to interrogate me, nothing. What's your angle?"
"My angle is to get your pretty girlfriend here," Bullseye said from where he sat at a wooden desk, his feet propped up as he flipped through an old Playboy.
"She won't come alone," Matt promised.
With a flick of his hand, Bullseye dismissed the thugs beating on Matt. They left the room, shutting the heavy door behind them.
"I don't care if she brings the whole National Guard," Bullseye said, setting his magazine on his chest. "She'll be the only one to make it into this room, I'll see to that." He stood and stretched, strolling over to Matt. He examined his bruised and bloody face. "Too bad you both have to die," he said. "Two of you woulda made some cute kids."
He laughed as he returned to his desk and propped his feet up again.
"Why send her on this chase, though?" Matt asked. "Kingpin, Electro, Doom. Why go through all of them?"
"Let me tell you a story, Matt." Matt cringed at the use of his real name, and Bullseye grinned, continuing. "Long time ago, your girlfriend had a sister. Real pretty thing. Dark hair, great personality. Name was Jill. Anyway, Jill grew up wanting to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. like her daddy - oh, Noelle didn't tell you she's the daughter of one of the Howling Comandos? Bummer. Well, Jill never got that far. She decided to be a cop instead. Worked in Chicago. She was one of the best - she arrested more men then I can count. But a few of them worked for the Kingpin - well, alright, a lot of them worked for the Kingpin. Kingpin decided Jill was a liability, so he hired Elektra Natchios to take her out. Elektra backed out, went back to playing superhero. So Kingpin called me. You know it took me three times to attempt to kill her before I finally did? She made me miss, every single time. Jill pissed me off. I don't like it when I miss. So I set up this little game for her - I nabbed her fiance and left her a trail of clues to find him. She finally catches up - just when she thinks she and her boy are going to get away . . ." he made his fingers in the shape of a gun. "Bang."
"But what does that have to do with Noelle?" Matt asked.
"Noelle has been trying to kill me since she found out I killed Jill; it's been a long four years. I'm getting tired of it - so I bought her powers and set up a game for her, too. Just like her beloved sister."
"And people wonder why you're my archenemy," Matt spat.
"Hey, you were an extra part of the deal with this plan. I take out the Human Lightbulb, and I kill Daredevil. That's one helluva name I'll be making for myself in the crime world."
"For what it's worth," Matt said as the thugs reentered to continue Matt's beating. "If Noelle doesn't kill you, I will."
An annoying ringing was sent throughout the apartment.
Steve ignored it. For the first time ever, he ignored the phone.
"Shouldn't you get that?" Asked the woman under the covers with him.
"It can wait until morning," he assured her, kissing her neck.
The ringing started again.
She went rigid beneath him, and Steve just continued to kiss her. "Just ignore it, Erin," he murmered, running his hands down her back.
Finally the ringing stopped, and the two continued to make love.
Be-deep, be-deep. His pager was going off.
His phone rang again.
Steve sighed with annoyance.
"Steve," Erin pleaded. "Just go see what's wrong."
Steve sighed again and stood up. He grabbed his cell phone and accepted the call.
"What?" he frowned.
"Gee, I must have interrupted something intimate not to get the 'Captain America speaking.'"
Steve massaged the bridge of his nose. "What is it, Peter?"
"We found Matt."
Steve stood, pulling on his boxers. "Where?"
"A warehouse on North King. You wouldn't believe the people we had to go through to get it, either," Peter said.
Steve was already pulling on his costume. "Where's Noelle?"
"I don't know. I told her the location and she hung up on me. She must have gone ahead."
"Where are you?"
"On our way to the warehouse."
"Right. We'll meet you there."
He hung up, and looked at Erin apologetically. "I'm sorry," he said. "I have to go."
She stood and kissed him. "Come back safe and sound," she said.
He nodded and grabbed his shield.