Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or Daredevil. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am only a writer working on my skills with worlds and characters that I love.

Note: Apologies for the wait on this one. I'm heading pretty fast toward finals week at my university and my time has mostly been spent researching, writing papers, and studying for exams.

Chapter Five - Elektra

Three Years Later

Harry walked his way down the halls of Colombia University with a gentle skip in his step and a happy tapping of his cane. He'd just aced his last midterm and was sitting pretty grade-wise for the rest of the year. That skip slowed a bit when his perception picked up Foggy standing on the other end of the quad being confronted by Zack Brannog, a student two years ahead of them. The man had been a constant thorn in their side, and had taken to bullying Foggy in particular, probably because messing with his blind best friend would have been going too far by most societal norms.

Though as the conversation continued, and Harry listened closer, he realized he needn't have worried. The older student was apologizing, it seemed, for the way he had treated his junior. Good. It seemed the lesson had stuck. Last week the Murdock boy had finally had enough of his friend's treatment. Foggy was his brother in every way that mattered, and he had shared in his dream of being a lawyer enough to apply for the same school as him so they could continue to pursue it together. He didn't deserve to be ridiculed by a verified frat asshole. So for the second time in his life Harry had donned a mask, but this time instead of bringing death and mayhem, he brought… negative reinforcement. Snow was piled high on the ground, and the weather was freezing, and by the time Zack's friends had found him hogtied and naked in a snow drift he'd been blue and shriveled enough to turn the hardiest of stomachs. The only answer he could give for why he was attacked was a phrase from his kidnapper, 'Think on how you treat others, lest you be treated the same'.

As Harry finally made it to his brother in all but blood, the frat bro took his leave. "That was you wasn't it?" Foggy asked cheerfully.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Foggy. Come on, we got homework to do."

"Yeah, yeah, say, any chance of you doing my Punjabi homework while I take your paper on common law?"

"I'm taking Spanish, Fog, you know that. Why did you even take that class anyway? We aren't likely to run into a lot of native speakers back home."

"What can I say? Katrina is hot. The moment I saw her signing up for it I was sold."

"Just not sold enough to commit to the lessons, ey?"

"You try paying attention when you're sitting next to a straight up ten in a crop top!"

"Somehow I don't think that would be an issue for me. I wouldn't be able to 'see' the problem."

"Right, right, yet you somehow manage to only date hot women regardless."

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Murdock. I swear if there's a hot girl in the room then you're bound to sniff her out, and then I'm left on the backburner with their less attractive friends."

"There's always Marci…."

"Never again, Harry." Foggy shuddered at the very implication.

In contrast, the blind man just shook his head. "You say that every time, and yet you keep going back to her." Marci was a blonde law student in their same year that Foggy and Harry had made the acquaintance of by merit of being grouped together for an early mock trial. The two blondes had hit it off pretty early on and begun a very tumultuous on again, off again, relationship. Right now they were off.

"If it helps, I think Katrina is a bit more interested in her roommate than you."

"But her roommate is a girl…. Goddamit!"

"Language, Foggy."

The blonde grinned and wrapped an arm over his friend's shoulder, "Such bad news calls for conciliatory booze."

"We're underage, Foggy."

"That's never stopped us before. Onward to the bar!"

"Fog, it's barely noon."

"Onward to the library for a couple hours and then the bar!"

That Night

A combination of exhaustion and alcohol consumption had his best friend snoring like the dead, but Harry could not sleep. He'd kept his word to the priest and locked the devil away in a quiet place in his mind, but that didn't mean he wasn't restless. The world outside never slept, its noise, smell, and taste called to him all the louder in the night than the day, and he couldn't resist the invitation any longer.

Donning a warm set of sweats and a stocking cap, the blind man hopped lithely out of his window and began running, jumping, climbing, and pirouetting through the sky, across the roofs, and into the heart of the city he loved so much. Though he was no longer beating mobsters to a pulp, he had kept up with his fitness and martial arts training. It was a passion and it kept him fit, so this intense method of movement and exploration barely even got a raised breath of exertion out of him.

For an hour he merely meandered around, enjoying the experiences of the night and all the secrets it held, when something new pierced into the heart of his senses like an arrow. A scent. It was human, fragrant, delicious, and unlike anything he'd ever smelled before. It rose up into his nostrils and simply… warmed him. But what was such a unique scent doing all the way up here on the rooftops?

A twinge in the air, that same smell exhaling, it was a breath. Yes, the source was up there with him for sure. Nearby in fact. Harry turned his head to give his ears a chance to track any further sound and there it was, a pulse, strong, steady, and incredibly fit like his own. It was moving across the roof of a neighboring building, against the wind, defiant in the face of nature. The tapping of footsteps light as a cat came with it and fully revealed where this tantalizing stranger truly was.

When a fresh hint of the scent hit him Harry took off running in pursuit, unable to resist. As he gave chase and began to close the distance certain things became clear. His target was definitely female, lacking any trace of masculine aroma. Her clothing was top of the line athletic wear, and he was getting an outline of a very athletic body in his mental world of fire just before it fell out of sight. Wait, fell? He rushed to the edge of the nearest roof and jumped down after her, teleporting safely at the last second to the safety of the ground rather than landing in a nearby pile of garbage.

For a moment he lost her then, the rank aroma clogging his sinuses, until he heard a soft and amused chuckle aimed his way from across the street, the direction of the park. She'd seen him, and was daring him to continue the chase. Drawing him to her and taunting him at the same time. He was just stubborn and curious enough to listen.

With something to focus on he locked in on her scent once more and charged out after her, deftly dodging and avoiding oncoming traffic and pedestrians, desperate to learn who this tantalizing woman truly was. Someone who could own the roofs and skies as he did, someone who welcomed the chase, and someone who smelled like love itself.

When he reached the entrance to the park the woman was gone, but he figured out where she'd gone pretty quickly when he heard her start singing, in a rather pleasant voice, the first few verses of 'Hello Little Girl' from Into The Woods followed by fond chuckles of mirth. A game it seemed, the chase taken to the next level. He raced after her and came across a trail of items laced with her scent. A pair of sturdy running shoes, a short distance later a shirt, then a pair of pants and… the last item was hanging on a tree branch and waving in the breeze. Her scent was stronger there than it had been anywhere else.

With blood pounding in his ears and his hands shaking, Harry slowly reached up and grasped the article in his hands, removing his gloves and running nervous fingers over the material to be sure. It was… a pair of women's panties.

An engine rattled behind him and a bottle shattered under someone's foot. At once Harry pocketed the item and turned around.

"Freeze, creep!" It was police based on the tone.

Slowly reaching into his pocket, Harry grabbed his wallet and held it out away from his body with his other hand held high and clear to see. The shuffling of footsteps as his wallet was taken let him know that there were two men and one of them was still waiting at the car. They'd be easy enough to subdue but taking down cops didn't seem wise for a potential lawyer.

"Hey Jimmy, this here disability card says the guy is blind!" The cop that had approached him announced for his buddy to hear. Handing the wallet back to the young man he said, "Apologies for the inconvenience sir, you're clearly not who we're looking for. You really should be more careful though. I can't imagine walking the park at night is safe for someone like you."

"It's perfectly alright, officer." Harry waved him off, glad the unpleasantness was over with. "What was the issue, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Probably better for you to know for your own safety. A woman waved our car down a ways off and said she saw a strange man chasing another girl through this here park. We found you first surrounded by loose clothes so…"

"Loose clothes?"

The cop's skin heated up noticeably, he was embarrassed. "Yeah, I guess you wouldn't see them. There's a lot of clothes all around here. Look, why don't you head on out? We need to check the area."

"Of course. Have a pleasant night, officer." Harry nodded slightly off kilter from the man's location. Could you lead me back to the path, though? I'm a bit turned around here."

"Oh, yeah, sure." His arm was taken and the officer led him back the way he'd come.

As he did, Harry couldn't help but smirk in the darkness. He'd noticed a few things that entertained him greatly. First, the officer had the slightest aroma of his target, meaning she'd drawn him in, left the trail of clothes to keep him occupied, and sent the patrol car after him, likely to see what he would do when confronted. Second, the other officer had gone into the trees to take a leak. Third, while he was gone the smell of the woman had returned and in a couple seconds all traces of it disappeared. When the cop returned from letting nature take its course he would undoubtedly find all of the clothing had disappeared. She'd taken it back.

As he started running off back to the compass Harry felt the alluring weight of his prize in his pocket and wondered about the identity of the woman who had entranced him so. He just knew she had been watching his altercation and loving every second of it.

The Next Day

Harry and Foggy were walking down the campus streets having left their last class of the day and the blonde was lamenting his lack of ability to focus.

"Well maybe don't drink so much the night before. You know Ms. Harper always pop quizzes us on fridays."

"I know, but that tequila was delicious!" He whined. "You'd know that if you ever drank anything other than whiskey. Seriously, why do you-"

"Stop!" Harry snapped his cane up across his friend's chest to halt him short as a cherry red corvette skidded to halt in front of them.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Foggy yelled, "You almost hit us!"

"Us?" The driver faced the blonde fully and winked. She was a stunning woman of Greek descent with jet black hair, full lips, dark eyes, and a pair of large round rimmed glasses on her nose. As her foot slammed the pedal down once more and her vehicle took back off down the street, Foggy turned to address his friend and found the street empty.

"Harry?"

Elsewhere

With the top down it was too windy to actually talk, so all the two could do was share a companionable silence as the vehicle weaved its way up out of the city and into the upper reaches of rural areas and eventually coming to a stop. They'd ended up at the top of an overhang with many trees in the distance and a frozen lake below. They were far enough out of the city to finally be free of the noise generated by all its hustle and bustle. Harry supposed the view must look mighty impressive.

"Are you going to give me your name yet?" Harry wanted to know.

"Are you going to tell me how a blind man was keeping up with me on my evening run?" The woman shot back.

"Ladies first."

The woman chuckled in a throaty purr and said, "Elektra Natchios. Now you."

"Harry Murdock, and there are other ways to see than just sight. Do you make a habit of luring strange men into the woods and then up to snowy mountaintops?"

"Well, I had considered jumping off into the water below to see if you'd follow, but honestly, I'm enjoying your company a bit too much to keep messing with you. To answer your question, no, I don't, but something about you is just so fascinating. You're blind, yet you move with confidence and surety, and it helps that you're so cute."

"Why bring me here?"

The smirk left Elektra's face and turned into an actual smile. "This is my favorite place in the city. Here all the lights disappear and all the noise goes away with them, and all there is is me and nature. Like I said, there's something about you, Harry. I wanted you to experience it too."

"You don't even know me."

"No, but I'd like to, and the fact you took a very particular piece of my clothing last night makes me think you want to know me too."

Harry's face burned at the memory. "I… didn't have time to think when the police showed up. I just pocketed it by instinct."

"Of course you did." He could hear the humor in her voice. "Tell you what, I'll make a bet with you."

"Do tell."

"My father is hosting a little shindig with a bunch of his business partners tomorrow night. It's terribly boring and doesn't really concern me that much, but he always insists I play the piano for everyone. You sneak in and make enough of a distraction to get me out of there and I'll take you out on an actual date."

Harry's first instinct was to say 'hell yeah' but his common sense prevailed. "I'm not a 'casual' person, Elektra. People on campus 'date' and fool around one day before making passes at others the next. That's not me. If I accept your challenge and win, I'll expect a proper date, and it will need to mean something. When I date, I'm serious about it. It's how I was raised." This very conversation had lost him more than a few possible liaisons over the years, but he firmly stood by it, and he was justifiably relieved when he felt the woman beside him nod her head.

"I'm glad to hear that." Her fingers tightened on the wheel, creaking the leather beneath her palm. "Too many men these days just want to hit it and quit it. They show a false face and say or do horrible things in the shadows." Her voice softened as she added, "It's nice to know that you don't operate that way. You showed me something interesting last night and I'd like to see more."

Three Hours Later

Elektra had dropped Harry back off at his dorms before heading back into the city proper and going for a walk, and had found herself quite surprised to discover he was going to the same school as her. Of course he was on the fast track to a law degree and she was still an open major, but he hadn't taken that revelation against her. Instead he'd optimistically remarked that she just hadn't found her dream yet, but he was sure she would.

As she kept walking through the less reputable part of town, she found a slight smile gracing her face. Harry was just… different from every man she'd ever known. That first night had been interesting enough. No one, not even her countless senseis, had ever been able to keep up with her once she got moving, but Harry had someone gotten a sign of her on the rooftops and moved to follow her with a grace that actually made her envious. It was as if he didn't need to see where he was going because he knew everything in the world would be right where he expected. Of course learning he was blind helped explain that, but that just made him more fascinating in her mind. A blind man who moved without a care, had the bearing of a trained martial artist, and seemed to know her by her scent. It helped too that he was easy on the eyes and genuinely seemed interested in her as a person as well based on their short interaction.

Idly the thought came to her that she should be even more flattered by his attention because of his disability. If he still wanted a piece of her without being able to see her, then her stellar good looks weren't the only appealing thing about her after all. Those same stellar looks were serving the purpose she desired in that moment as her peripheral vision took in the sight of a trio of burly men that had fallen onto her tail. She didn't need Harry's sense of smell to know what they were feeling or thinking. It was perfect.

Pigs and vermin the lot of them, whispering to each other about their dark desires, building up their courage for the dark pleasures in their minds and hearts. Each of them deserved what was coming to them, and that was why she chose them.

Shuddering at the anticipation building up beneath her skin, Elektra ducked quickly into the nearest dark alley and backed herself against the wall at the other end before quickly removing her glasses, coat, and heeled boots and stashing them safely on a nearby set of boxes. Her mind was getting loud again and it felt like her blood was rushing in a torrent. The voices wanted more, she knew it. Cold blooded murder, innocent lives, screams in the darkness. She wasn't crazy. The voices were real and she knew that for a fact. Only once did she make the mistake of mentioning them to her father, and then had come the psychiatric visits. She'd eventually learned to lie her way out of them, but his perception of her had changed forever from that event. She was breakable in his eyes for the first time, and so he'd hired every sensei and martial artist he could find from the time she was four years old until now to make sure she wouldn't shatter.

No matter what else happened though, the voices remained, a constant murmur in the back of her mind, and when they got loud, they brought with them an overwhelming urge for violence and bloodshed. She had to let it out somehow, and thus her current situation came to be. As the light of the alley was blotted by the forms of her would-be assaulters, Elektra mused that they weren't as dangerous looking as her last victims, but they seemed handy enough to satisfy whatever monsters made her head their home. They whispered to her, like the wind through leaves on a tree. They told her that she had to kill, that it was her fate to never stop. So she chose those who deserved it more than others.

They backed her up flush to the wall and as one of them started cutting into her shirt with his knife, another told her not to scream. The poor fool had no idea he'd soon be the one screaming. The moment the blade was turned away from her skin she kneed the man in the groin before rapidly smashing the same knee into his chin, shattering his jaw and sending blood and teeth flying. The satisfying crack that echoed from the contact let the midnight haired girl know she'd snapped his vertebrae as well, sending the life retreating from his body without a sound. Two to go.

The second man cursed and pulled a gun, but she quickly grabbed his wrist and arm and used them to flip him over her shoulder, then snapped his wrist around toward his own torso before clenching her finger around his own and squeezing. Four shots in rapid succession and she was down to her final foe.

Turning to face him fully she beheld a man standing two heads above her and swinging a massive chain in his fist. It only took two seconds of checking the field to choose her course of action and then she was running. The big man reacted quickly and made a wide swing with the weapon that she ducked under, rolled, and came up from with the first man's knife now firmly grasped in her gloved fist. With all the momentum she was carrying it wasn't hard at all to ram it up to the hilt in her opponent's stomach, and the shock caused him to drop his weapon to clutch uselessly at the one embedded in his flesh. He should have paid more attention.

Before the chain could even hit the ground Elektra had taken it in her own hands, flipped over the big man's head, and looped it securely around his neck before pulling back on it with all of her weight. It's almost funny when one thinks about it, how utterly fragile humans really are. It only takes about thirty three pounds of force to crush a throat. There was a wet *crunching* sound, a pained wheeze, and then the man was on the ground, his body twitching spastically as his nervous system caught up to the fact that he was dead.

Three bodies, twenty seconds. Not her best time, but certainly not her worst. Honestly it hadn't even really been that much of a workout. Removing her blood covered shirt and shoving it in her handbag Elektra quickly redonned her boots, glasses, and thick fur coat, and made her way out into the street before hailing a taxi. She needed to get home and practice her piano piece for the event tomorrow after all.