Author's Notes:

I'm on a role.
So, my friend has been having me play the Nonary Game with her. Its a Playstation novel game and lots of fun. (She gets irritated with me because I am good at puzzles and figure things out too quickly in her opinion but enjoys watching me get blindsided by some of the narrative). Doing what I can to enjoy what I can in life. :)

Sound came back slowly. Matt knew that there were people around him. Maggie's quick thinking allowing him to feel her familiar heartbeat. She was helping him calm down enough to feel the vibrations around him. The movement of air. To smell and taste…

His team was there. He could smell Jessica and assumed the solid wall standing behind her was Luke. Right now Danny was holding his hands over Matt. Matt knew it was Danny because he could feel his jittery vibrations and smell Chinese food and expensive aftershave so strong he could taste it. Sour on the back of his tongue.

He could feel a strange energy coming from Danny's hands. Impossible to describe. As powerful as his fist but more direct. Like Turbulent vs Laminar flow. It pulled and guided something in Matt and as his hearing returned he could hear Danny's breath coming in shorter and shorter huffs. As the energy washed through him from his head to his toes he felt a cutting pain in his back and let out a sharp gasp just as his hearing returned to normal and Danny's heart sounded like it was about to explode.

Matt was ashamed to admit that it wasn't until the pain in his back started to fade that he realized what Danny was doing. Matt didn't want to move. Unsure of what breaking the connection by force would do to Rand. "That's enough! Danny stop!" Matt cried.

The kid was killing himself. "Is he hurting you?" Maggie asked, worry in her voice.

"No." Matt said just as Danny gasped. "He's going to die if he doesn't stop!" The energy in Danny's hands faded and he began to slump.

Matt felt his mother let his hand go. In the next moment she was reaching for Danny, and his radar was so clear Matt didn't miss as Clint reached over at the same time or how Jessica's voice caught in worry. Luke's heart was racing but he kept himself back allowing Maggie and Hawkeye to take care of the young man.

Matt sat up slowly. Slightly disoriented by how good he felt. He tipped not used to not needing to compensate for the imbalance in his hearing and the lacking pull of damaged muscle that had plagued him since Midland Circle.

Luke moved to his side quickly placing a steadying hand on his shoulder. "Whoa there Matt. You okay?"

Matt was more than okay. Matt felt phenomenal. He wanted to run, jump, and, hell, do a backflip. Guilt weighed heavily on him though. Because Danny was out cold. His heart was starting to slow but whatever he had done had taken a heavy toll and Matt wasn't sure there weren't going to be lasting consequences. "I'm…" He flexed his hand. "I'm good." And despite it all, he felt a small smile pull at his lips.

Danny let out a snore and Maggie sighed. "I think he'll be fine. He probably just needs rest."

"He'll be hungry when he wakes." Matt says sensing how empty Danny's stomach was.

Jessica snorts. "What else is new?"

"What now?" Hawkeye asks.

"I don't know." Matt says.

Luke shrugs. "We keep looking for our suspect I guess."

Ricky was probably dead. Olin couldn't stop thinking about it. Ricky was probably dead and it was his own damn fault.

With a roar Olin tosses the peace of crap radio he was pulling apart against the wall. Plastic clatters apart and it crashes heavily to the ground.

His bomb was stopped as he expected, but he wasn't happy about it. Apparently his financier's target failed to show and sadly his own… Hawkeye hadn't been touched by the blast. He was tired of this game's constraints.

The man who pointed out Hawkeye's crime wants him to go bigger. Olin had his doubts, but now… now that Olin had killed Ricky .

Now that he'd done such a disservice to Liz... he found the idea appealing. If nothing else it would cause the hero's great pain to fail and Olin could not think of a better way to end it all.

He no longer cared about his source's goals or his threats and promises. Olin was doing things his way now. The way he should have been in the first place.

Turning back to his work he began to hum. It would all end tomorrow. Smiling, he looks out the window to the harbor. "Sail, Baby, sail." He mumbled. "Out upon that sea, only don't forget to sail back again…" he holds up the bomb examining it with a bitter smile. "Sail back again to me." *

Peter Parker stands in the kitchen of his home and stares at the TV. It was like Hell's Kitchen had fallen under fire. Thank god the Defenders had made it to the church in time but it sounds like it was a close call. The boy feels for Daredevil and he really wants to help.

He knows that Mr. Stark doesn't want him to get close to the bombs though. Worried that he'd get blown up or something but Peter had been nearby that first day. He should have been able to find the bad guy. He should have been able to stop this all then.

Aunt May is watching him from the kitchen table. "I know that look." She says voice tight. "You are beating yourself up over things out of your control."

"I should be there. I should be helping Daredevil." Peter says.

May sighs. "Okay… how about this. We take a sick day tomorrow and take a trip out to Manhattan. You and I. I don't want you going over there alone."

Peter rubs the back of his neck. "Okay… but… what if…"

"You want to do this? You want to be a hero? Let your aunt be the backup. Let me be there to help you if something happens."

Peter doesn't like the idea of his aunt being anywhere near the bombs but he nods. If it would allow him the time to go help. He could keep her safe. That's what Spider-Man did.

Author's Notes:

* The words Olin's mumbling are from Slumber Boat by Alice Riley.

Sorry not a lot happened in this chapter.

In other news this story is almost done. Whoo. Can you believe it? I think if I don't accidentally add anything more it should just be four more chapters.