College apps are due Nov 1, so what better way to procrastinate than to do Whumptober! *laughs nervously* (I do actually have most of it done, though, don't worry lol)

This will always be a constant: Matt Murdock pushes the old man out of the way of the truck.

Matt Murdock saves the old man, and loses a part of himself in the process. There are universes where he (only) breaks a bone or has a traumatic brain injury. There are universes where the truck that hits him doesn't spill its chemicals, doesn't even have that toxic waste in those barrels, and he continues on, not knowing how close he'd been to losing so much. Yet there are other universes where he hits his head and never wakes, or breathes his last breath right there in his father's arms, his father's face the last sight of his life.

This is not any of those universes, though. In this one, Matt Murdock survives, despite everything going against him. He keeps fighting, despite it all. He pushes through despite his blindness, without supernaturally enhanced senses to make up for it. There is no world on fire; there is only darkness.

And Matt Murdock thrives.

He helps people. He saves them in his own way. He forges friendships not doused in secrets and lies. He learns, much sooner, that he simply can't do this alone.

Daredevil may not exist, but Matt Murdock is as much a savior to Hell's Kitchen as he is in other universes, where he can parkour and do extravagant flips and goes home every night unwrapping his bloody knuckles all because an old man named Stick came and—

And this is not that Matt's story. (As far as he knows, Stick doesn't exist.)

Matt Murdock cannot go toe to toe with Fisk, at least not in a physical fight. He cannot pinpoint the Punisher's location in his city through a simple head tilt. He cannot neatly deflect bullets shot by one Benjamin Poindexter.

He can, however, fight in court, fight with words, fight with passion and heart (not to say that he doesn't do so in other universes). He fights and continues to fight until the job is done, which means never, because crime in Hell's Kitchen will always exist.

That does not intimidate him. It just means he has more to do.

Not yet, though.

As of now, Matt Murdock has just pushed an old man out of the way of a truck. His face burns, his eyes burn. He didn't think the chemicals would fall on him; all he'd been thinking about was saving the man he'd seen at the supermarket the other day, leaning down to grab something from the bottom shelf and wincing, holding his chest when he straightened his back. Matt had wanted to help then, and—

It burns.

And then Dad is there, saying his name, screaming it, really, telling him things he can't hear through the ringing in his ears. But Dad is here, Dad is here and that means it's gonna be okay, right? The chemicals in his eyes can be wiped off, everything will be okay. They can go back home and buy ice cream on the way, and Dad's mouth is moving, he's saying something, why can't he listen? Dad's mouth is moving until it isn't, until the darkness overtakes his face and Matt realizes that maybe his hearing hadn't been the problem.

He can't see. "I can't see!"

His dad—he thinks it's him, he'd know that voice anywhere—lets out a harsh breath and a shudder, and the sound is unfamiliar because when has his dad ever...ever cried? When—

"It'll be okay," Dad whispers. "It'll be okay, Matty. Hang on. It'll be okay, it'll be just fine."

He holds onto his dad's words, if nothing else.

*claps* It's that time of year again, the time where I actively decide to hurt my favorite characters! *cackles*

And this year, I'm actually trying to do a whole plot instead of a bunch of one-shots! But the story will still be in Whumptober prompts order and not chronological order. It'll be really confusing at first but I promise I'll piece it all together by the end.

Thanks for giving my fic a chance! Feel free to check out my tumblr: h1myname1sv