4. All The Kings Horses
Humpty Dumpty Part 3
Matthew Murdock's Apartment,
Hell's Kitchen,
The police closed the door quietly. Matthew Murdock sat on his bed. He had called them as soon as he could after Karen…they had been very kind to the poor blind man. He shivered, furious. He couldn't believe Domino had done what she had done. He grabbed his Daredevil costume from where he had stashed it when he got back with Karen. Karen. He shivered this time, coldly furious. Pulling on the costume, he planned his approach out methodically. It wasn't a difficult plan. He was going down to that filthy warehouse Domino and her scum were staying at. And he was going to kill them. Pulling on the hood, Daredevil threw himself from his apartment window. They would pay.
The Crew's Warehouse,
Hell's Kitchen,
Two Hours after the fight at "The Ring",
Chamber was on watch. He didn't know exactly why he was on watch, he was there because Domino had told him he needed to be there. As far as he was concerned, the old Kingpin was dead, the new Kingpin was practically Dom's best mate, that Daredevil wacko was holed up wherever he holed up with the crazy pit-fighter broad, and he was standing watch. Everyone else got to sleep. But noooooooo, not him. Stupid Domino. "We need someone on watch Jono. Everyone else needs more rest but you get better just by not talking." Crazy woman. Suddenly, out of the darkness, he was hit in the back of the head with a billy club, falling to the floor of the rooftop without a sound. Daredevil stalked silently over to the boy's unconscious body, kicking him viciously in the stomach. This filth would pay later. First, the cat-girl. Then the rest. Slipping silently through the door down to the warehouse proper, Daredevil entered the warehouse.
Silently moving down the stairs, Daredevil quickly ran through his head who was here. Cat-girl, purple girl, telepath boy, Domino and Northstar. The last two were the real threats, them and the telepath. But he was out cold on the roof and Murdock doubted he would wake up in time to get in the way. Domino could be very dangerous but this might be over before she could interfere. Northstar was the main threat. He had to be dealt with as soon as possible. Slinking down the stairs, Matt's breath caught in his throat. There she was. Cat-girl. The one who had killed Karen. Sleeping so innocently and peacefully. Murdock's face twisted with anger under his mask. Creeping forward, he threw himself at the girl, landing on top of her. She started to struggle, making piteous mewling sounds but Daredevil clenched his hands around her throat and squeezed. She would pay.
Blink woke up to a horrible sound. Maria was crying. Groggily rolling over, she saw the bizarre and horrifying sight of Maria struggling in vain against the figure on top of her. Reacting out of an instinctive protectiveness, Blink lashed out with her powers automatically. The pool of blood, the screams, the yelling. Gasping, Blink struggled against her powers, desperately trying to control them. She wouldn't do it again. She wouldn't. Fighting the pull with everything she had, she reasoned that Jono was already down and probably dead. Maybe everyone else too but they were closest to the ladder. Mustering what strength she could, she screamed out "JEAN-PAUL!"
Jumping up at the sound of a scream, Jean-Paul raced in the direction of Blink and Maria's sleeping spots. Arriving almost instantaneously, he witnessed the terrible scene before him. Maria stuggling desperately and Daredevil choking the life out of her, suddenly rearing up and…..What was that? It looked like every piece that had been Daredevil had, just for a moment, been somewhere else. He doubted anyone else could have seen it. What could have….Blink? Nevermind. This wasn't the time. Speeding over, Jean-Paul simply hit the still stunned and twitching Daredevil with a flying tackle, slamming him into a stack of crates. The man whipped around at an almost super-human speed and slammed a fist into Jean-Paul's fast almost before he could do anything. Jaw numb even though he had already been drawing back, Jean-Paul began to slam fists into Daredevil's stomach and gut, hitting him over and over again. "Blink! " he screamed. "Get us all out of here!"
Finally managing to pull her power back under control, Blink looked up, absorbing the changes. Jean-Paul had arrived and Daredevil was under control for the moment. Powering up quickly, she 'ported Maria to the roof and "jumped" over to the just waking Domino. After nearly getting shot, she 'ported her to the roof as well and ran back, snapping up JP and "jumping" to the roof as well. Looking over at Domino, who was inspecting Chamber's body, she asked, "Where to now?"
Domino ignored Blink's question for the moment, leaving JP to comfort Maria and examining Chamber. He was still alive, just out for a good few hours unless something was done. She'd have a talk with him when he woke up. "Take us to Alphabet City, Blink. I know a guy," she said. "He can get us patched up before we..." but Jean-Paul cut her off. "What about Maria?" he demanded angrily. "What are we going to do about her? We have to get her out of here." Spinning around, Domino snapped angrily at him, "What we need to do is get Chamber awake, your face tended to and to find out why that psycho's trying to kill us. Now, Blink..." she finished. "Domino!" Jean-Paul shouted. "It's not enough this time. She was nearly killed! She can't stay here anymore. LOOK at her!" Turning to face Maria, Domino watched her, face emotionless. The girl was shivering, a huge bruise coming up on her throat. She looked more pathetic and childlike than ever. Looking back at Jean-Paul, Domino said quietly, "You think I don't know that? I saved her myself the first time and I'm going to find out why so I can stop that maniac this time! You think I'm going to let her die? Do you?" she was almost shouting when she finished, chest heaving. "We can't just hide her away and let this go, JP. This could ruin us. We have to find out why and once we get patched up, I know who will know. Now, Blink…if you wouldn't mind..." she said, turning. Unfortunately, Daredevil burst onto the roof, throwing himself at Maria who jumped back shrieking. Jean-Paul flew towards him but suddenly the Crew vanished, leaving the rooftop empty except for Daredevil.
Doc Zhao's "office",
Alphabet City,
In the front room while someone attended to Maria, Jean-Paul was pacing. To everyone else, he seemed to be jogging from one side of the room to the other. The door opens and a small, wizened Asian man leads Maria out by the hand. "There you are, child, as good as new," he rambles, the smell of spirits strong on his breath. "You owe me a favour, Domino," he snaps sharply, turning back to the inner room. Domino impatiently nods agreement and turns to Blink. "Time for a little visit to our dear, dear friend the Kingpin." She says as they vanish with a faint snap.
Zspunk Nightclub,
Hell's Kitchen,
The Crew materialize in the underground training level of the Taskmaster's academy. The music from the club upstairs throbs down through the floor. The Crew spread out warily and head upstairs, Chamber leading the way. Splitting up to move through the pulsating crowds, they converge on the Taskmaster sitting in his VIP lounge surrounded by enforcers. He spots Domino, Blink and Maria approaching and tells the enforcers, "Start getting the people out of here. I don't want business ruined after tonight." The man nods and closes the bar, herding the crowds out with the help of the bouncers. The Kingpin looks at Domino, Blink and finally focuses on Maria. "Remarkable," he says quietly. "Absolutely uncanny." "What is?" Domino snaps. "Why, the resemblance," the corpulent man replies. "Come with me.". He leads the Crew through the club back down to another section of the training rooms. From an observation deck, they observe a girl who looks like an older Maria going through a quick series of vicious exercises, tearing dummies and bags apart. "Who…" Domino begins but breaks off as Feral throws herself at the reinforced plastic viewing window, desperately trying to tear her way to the woman below. Sensing the commotion, she turns her face to the window and immediately bolts to a door when she sees Feral. Feral turns to run but is blocked by the Kingpin's men and crouches back. She suddenly throws herself against the plastic again, the impact breaking the paneand dropping her the three meters to the room below. She races to the door but it seals itself with a snap, a metallic thunk telling the observers that Feral wasn't getting out that way. Pacing up and down, she tried to throw herself back to the observation deck but couldn't reach the height. Screaming and yowling in frustration, Feral ran around the room. Behind the Kingpin's men, the other woman arrives. "What are you doing with that girl?" she demands angrily. "Let me go to her!" "Not without a very good reason," Domino replies calmly. The second cat-girl turns to Domino and screams, "I'm her sister!" Grabbing the woman, Domino drags her to a corner. "We need to talk."
"My name is Lucia," the girl began. "I am Maria's older sister." Domino, Blink and JP looked at her. She looked like an older Maria, with an almost identical mutation. "I have not seen her since the…incident….where our stepfather died." Turning to face Domino, she said, "I know you remember that. I'll explain anyway. You see, Maria has a rare variant of multiple personality disorder. Think of it as MPD crossed with bi-polarity. There aren't heaps of people in her head. Just two. Maria and…the other one. Mother used to call her Feral. Maria is a wonderful girl. She's sweet and kind and she did everything she could to help others. Feral, however is a vicious, spiteful, aggressive creature. The good days we wouldn't even see Feral. The bad days, she wouldn't go away. There weren't many bad days until mother died. Our stepfather Jacob was not a cruel man. He looked after two mutant children who weren't his own. But he didn't know how to deal with Feral. She began to come out more and more. As she did, we noticed that Maria was getting….I don't know how to explain this. We couldn't afford doctors when this happened. Maria seemed to be going one way while Feral was going the other. As Feral came out more, grew more dominant, Maria….slid backwards. She became sweeter, more innocent and more childlike. Soon, she was barely capable of having a coherent conversation. She was beginning to use baby-talk when it happened." She turned her face away. Jean-Paul pressed for more. "It?" he asked. "Yes!" she snapped. "It. Jacob was depressed. It was the anniversary of mother's death. It had been a good week. Almost no Feral. But he tried to take away Maria's ponies. That was a mistake. I arrived to late to stop it. I was 16! I panicked. I screamed and ran. Feral had come out and killed him! She was sitting there, drinking his blood like some kind of animal. She looked up at me and grinned. I just screamed and ran away. The neighbours came to see. They found Jacob. Things got ugly. I ran and hid. I tried to get to Maria but there were men beating me with pieces of wood. I ran away and hid." Lucia began to weep. "I couldn't save my sister. I'm just glad someone did. I thought she died in that apartment and now, to find her alive…." She wiped at her face. "I lived on the streets, using my claws to protect myself. I survived. I work here now, for the Taskmaster. I don't like what I do but…" she lowered her head. "I did what I had to do to survive. I have a life now. But Maria…..What has she been doing all these year? Please…" she begged.
Blink answered. "The bad one…Feral…has been coming out more and more. Maria can barely talk now. Short baby talk conversations are all. If only we'd known we might have been able to do something. Now…" she trailed off. "Just know that she was happy," Jean-Paul added. "She had her ponies." Lucia lowered her head to her arms, sobbing brokenly. "All these years…I never looked for her after that night…..I can't believe I left her to die…" she wept brokenly. Behind Blink and Jean-Paul, Domino's face was twisted in pain. Tears were trickling down her cheeks.
Suddenly, one of the enforcers shouted. Feral has managed to climb up to the deck, but she isn't attacking. She looks at Lucia and hisses. "All this time and you left me….you left me to die. Well, how does it feel, sister dear? How does it feel to know you abandoned me?" her voice peaked in a vicious shout. "How does it feel?" she screamed again, her face twisting. Maria's childlike tones emerge. "Why did you leave me, Lusha? Why? I missed you," she asked, piteously weeping. Lucia looks up, face stricken. "Maria…I.." she begins when three of the enforcers are slammed to the ground viciously. Daredevil has arrived. Jean-Paul launches himself at him but Daredevil, having learnt from he previous experiences, is already swinging the club and Jean-Paul is sent sprawling. He throws himself past Domino, avoiding Blink's swing and Chamber's blast. Grabbing Maria, he says coldly, "I can't tell which cat-girl it is. So I guess I'll just have to kill both of them." His hands move around her throat, about to snap her neck when Lucia launches herself at him. Knocking him back through the remains of the window, they land with a thud on the training room floor. Lucia on the bottom, Daredevil straddling her stomach holding her head in his hands. With a vicious snap, her neck breaks.
In the observation deck, Maria watches her sister die and snaps completely. Throwing herself through the window, she takes the last of the pane with her. Throwing herself at Daredevil, she snarls wordlessly. The two face off, the hissing feline and the costumed man. In the observation deck, Blink runs to the window but a plate of metal snaps down. She tries to port through and finds something blocking her teleportation. She turns to the Taskmaster, grabbing his shoulders but he answers hurriedly, "This is the most private training room. If the pane is taken out, it seals itself. Teleportation lock included." "WHAT!" Blink screams. "There's been a hole there for the last 20 minutes!" "I know that," Taskmaster says calmly, "But when she jumped down Maria…Feral took out the rest of the pane. The system has a glitch that stops it from activating if there's any of the original pane left.". Yelling in frustration, Blink throws him away and turns back. Suddenly, she spins. "Jono!" she yells. "Break it down!" He turns and a huge blast is unleashed, destroying his bandages. The metal plate dents but does not break. "Hurry!" Blink screams. Jono blasts again and again, denting the plate out but not breaking it. The Crew wait anxiously.
Inside the training room, Feral and Daredevil face off. Circling each other, they both bear wounds, bruises and cuts. With a vicious swipe, Feral opens up a gash along Daredevil's thigh but his arms whip out and draw her back to him, holding her motionless. He grabs her legs and lifts her up, as the observation deck window explodes open in a huge burst, the silver streak that is Northstar blurring towards them. He brings her down.
As Jono manages to unleash a final blast before dropping to his knees exhausted, Northstar blurs with speed, flying into the room. He swerves to avoid shards of debris and dodges hefty chunks of metal, he sees Daredevil raise Maria up and bring her down. He sees the girl's face in almost the same second that he hears the snap of her spine across the man's knee. He slams into Daredevil at more than 80 km/s, sending him flying to a wall. He catches Maria before she hits the ground. As he holds her in his arms, she coughs and twitches, trying to use limbs that will never work again. Laying her gently on the ground, he blurs, pushing himself to the limit. He scoops up Daredevil and flies out past the rest of the Crew, only just throwing themselves through the window and out into the night sky.
Blink jumps down followed a split second later by Domino and they rush to Maria, seeing no sign of Daredevil. Instantly, they can see there is serious damage; there is blood on her lips and bone sticking out her side. Stroking Maria's face, Domino touches her and flinches as the girl tries to draw back from the touch. "Blink... " she whispers. "Get her to a hospital. Now." Blink vanishes, taking Maria with her. Domino storms over to the door, kicking it down, her powers making her kick hit a weak spot leaving the door hanging from a single hinge. She runs to the observation deck before the Taskmaster can get away.
Mercy Hospital,
New York,
Blink rushes in, porting Maria onto a table, flinching at the scream the movement draws from the girl. She starts 'porting over doctors and stretchers and nurses, everything she can think of that they'd need and after a single glance at the look on Blink's face, the doctors get to work.
The Rooftops,
Hell's Kitchen,
Northstar stops suddenly, the wind of his passage whipping past him. He throws Daredevil directly at a wall. Hard. The man in red hits and slumps to the ground, his injuries serious. Slamming down, Northstar punches and kicks, battering him into object after object, fists, bricks, chimneys, ventilation ducts. He unleashes a vicious kick that clearly snaps more than one of Daredevil's ribs and pulls his arm up behind his shoulder. "Why did you do it, you bastard!" he whispers coldly in Daredevil's ear. "You destroyed an innocent girl tonight! You call yourself a protector? What have you done for these people other than fight a few muggers and get involved in personal vendettas?" Daredevil tries to answer but Jean-Paul slams his arm up, breaking it at the elbow and pulling it out of the socket. The answer becomes a grunting yelp of agony. "Did you know Maria was from Hell's Kitchen? One of the people you were going to protect?" Northstar hisses viciously. Slamming Daredevil through some fragile brickwork, he watches as the self proclaimed protector of Hell's Kitchen falls to the ground nearly 2 meters below. He doesn't get up. Northstar spits after him and flies off, back to Zspunk. Maybe Maria is still alive. Maybe.
Training Rooms,
Zspunk Nightclub,
Domino slammed the Taskmaster against the wall. The bodies of his guards lay dead or twitching on the ground and Chamber was standing up from where he had been crouched. The guards had been beating him. Domino had come in, guns blazing. Now, the Taskmaster was pushed against the wall. With an eerie calm, Domino said, "I think I'm going to follow good old fashioned Mafia tradition. Not a horse's head under your bed. Something more…visceral." A blur signalled Jean-Paul arriving just as Domino pointed her pistol at the Taskmaster and shot him twice in each kneecap. He fell to the ground, screaming. She kicked him in the stomach. "You try to do this kind of thing again and you die. To anyone that I don't want dead myself, that is," Domino finished up in the same tone of voice. She turned to Jean-Paul and said, "Blink's taken her to a hospital. I'm not sure which one. Where is Daredevil?" Jean-Paul just looks at her sadly. "Where is he!" she screams. "You aren't the only one who wants their piece!" He continues to look at her and then blurs and vanishes. She roars in frustration, kicking a guard's body. Chamber looks at her, not attempting to speak.
Mercy Hospital,
New York,
Blink looks through the window at Maria, lying in intensive care. She probably wouldn't survive the night. Suddenly, Jean-Paul is standing next to her, panting faintly. He looks at Maria without saying anything and his face twists with grief. Blink holds a hand out silently and he takes it, remaining that way for the rest of the night. Blink sleeps in a chair, early the next morning. When she wakes up, Jean-Paul is gone.
Alphabet City,
Jean-Paul slams the dealer into the ground, ignoring the shouts. Rummaging through his pockets, he finds all his stock and takes it. Moments later, he lies in the crown of the Statue of Liberty and shoots himself to heaven for the first time in three years.
Epilogue,
The Training Rooms,
Zspunk Nightclub
Brock Rumlow inspected the ruins of the Taskmaster's kneecaps. "This will require surgery. Even that might not be enough." The Taskmaster just glared at him, angry and infuriated at the man for stating the obvious. "Go away, Rumlow. I'm not in the mood to deal with your nonsense," he said sharply. Rumlow left the room humming to himself. Entering his own quarters, he assumed the Lotus position. He needed to report to his mistress.