Alright, last chapter was fun but I think you guys will enjoy this one just as much as the last if not more so cause boy oh boy, have Jebest and I got a chapter for you.
Last Clone Wars episode was good, I really like argumentative dialogue and actually like the three-way sort of banter with Ahsoka, Rafa and Trace with them not always getting along. Which makes sense.
But honestly, right now, don't wanna hold you guys up so here you are.
Rate Read and Review and As Always Have Nice Day.
Avengers Infinite Wars Chapter 31: Devil of the Holy City.
Matt Murdock was a man of many trials and talents.
Losing his vision at a young age followed by his father had hardened his heart with many years of tribulation as he tried to make his way in this new world that's constantly burning around him.
From a mentor who had taught him to hone his senses and fighting capabilities to getting abandoned by said mentor and at long last achieving what his father had always wanted for him. A better life, a better way of applying himself and giving back to the world.
Of course, life wouldn't ever be that lenient.
After all, like he had heard the saying many times. Watch out for those Murdock boys, they've got the Devil in 'em.
So here he was, many years later, garbed in a brand-new advanced suit gifted to him by one Tony Stark AKA Iron Man that gave off the vibe of the "Devil of Hell's Kitchen.".
While it did not deviate all that much from his friend Melvin's second iteration of his suit, the blind vigilante knew how improved the suit was with it having many voice and motion activated commands that he was still adjusting to.
His old Billy club had a total overhaul with a litany of modes to be used and mastered, right now opting for the grappling hook fashion as he swung down to the alleyway where one friendly neighborhood Spider-man currently resided.
The web-head had a web hammock made that hung in between the buildings with the young hero casually perusing about on his phone.
"I hope you managed to finish your homework assignment from school today." Daredevil remarked casually, gaining Spidey's attention.
Spider-man looked down to see Daredevil looking up at him with a patient look. Flipping around and hanging from his hammock with his feet, Peter casually threw his arms behind his back.
"Oh yeah." Spidey said pridefully. "Chemistry is my forte. How else would I make my webs?"
Matt smirked slightly, head tilting to the side as he heard something behind him yet it was just a rat scurrying about.
"Huh, thought most of those guys would be under by now." Peter noted, eyes on the rat scurrying about.
"December has only just begun." Matt said. "There's still time before the blizzards begin to hit."
"Yeah." Peter said absentmindedly. "Oh, did Mr. Stark install internal heating in your suit too? It's been working perfectly since the colds been coming in."
"He did indeed." Matt nodded. "I'll have to give him my thanks next time I see him."
"Right." Peter nodded. "So, any word from his royal Catness?"
"Nothing yet." Daredevil said. "But he did give me his address and time of meeting later today. Apparently, there's some international diplomatic meetings he has to attend to with his father."
"Cool…" Peter said, still hanging upside down. "I still can't believe we met the Royal family of Wakanda."
"I still can't believe they'd come all this way here to track and capture this arms dealer, Klaue." Matt muttered. "They haven't told us everything yet."
"Think they'll talk?"
"They'll have to if they want to work with us and here in our city." Murdock said sternly. "I don't care about diplomatic immunity or that nonsense. They came here on our turf so they'll have to play nice and tell us their intentions."
"Jeez." Peter chortled, amused and slightly anxious. "Bit territorial there."
"Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, doesn't matter. This is our home." Matt said emphatically. "Prince Kit Cat will play by our rules."
Peter regarded the blind lawyer for a moment, snorting a moment later then puffing his chest out with pride.
"Yeah, you're right." Spidey declared. "This is our town and no royalty dressed as Cats is gonna walk all over us like that."
Daredevil couldn't contain the small chuckle that he got from the kid's voice. He had personality, that's for sure.
"What, too much?" Spidey asked, swing round to seat himself back on his hammock.
Daredevil merely waved him down.
"We've got some time until we meet with the Prince." Matt said.
"So~ Patrol then?" Peter said with anticipation.
"Patrol then."
"Sweet."
The vigilante duo began to go about from roof to roof, alleyway to alleyway and street to street. Sticking to high altitudes and dark shadows, they kept vigilant eyes on the citizens of the Great Apple with many simply going about their business all the while unaware of their protectors.
Some had spotted Spider-man swinging above along with Daredevil scaling around the building with his athletic ability but were only able to get a brief glimpse of them.
Over the course of the next several hours, Daredevil and Spider-man had stopped several crimes here and there some together, some alone as they had split up several times to cover more ground though always reconvening not too long after.
This went on until at last, the scheduled meeting had at last arrived.
Peter and Matt arrived as promised upon the roof of the hotel where the Wakandan Royal Family resided for their stay in New York.
The Prince of Wakanda was already there, awaiting their arrival being flanked by Okoye and Ayo along with a clearly excited princess Shuri.
T'challa stood with his Panther suit on though his helmet was off yet it was not seen on his person like under his arm or held by the guards.
Spider-man and Daredevil landed before the prince.
"Prince T'challa." Matt Murdock greeted formally.
"The Devil of Hell's Kitchen." T'challa said in turn. "The Spider of Forest Hills."
"They call me that?" Peter said in bewilderment, mask up to his nose as he was munching on a hotdog. "I haven't seen that nickname anywhere."
"Oh, that was mine." Shuri said proudly. "It seemed to fit since you work in Queens so often."
"Well there goes your dirty water dog I was gonna offer ya." Spider-man said in false-indignation. "I brought some for everyone but you'll have to miss yours."
Peter held up his other hand that held nearly six wrapped hot dogs with Okoye catching a whiff of the scent blown her way due to the Fall winds.
"How can you eat those?" Okoye asked with her face scrunched up in slight disgust. "They smell abhorrent."
"Yeah, the smell isn't for everyone but it still tastes damn good." Peter said. "Wanna try? A good hero knows that a full stomach is a healthy stomach."
Okoye opened her mouth to reject it only for Shuri and of all people, Ayo, snatch a hotdog for themselves.
"Ayo?" Okoye said, flabbergasted that her Dora Milaje sister would eat one of these greased foods so easily.
Ayo merely shrugged. "They're not half bad really. Decently good kick to them."
Okoye gaped a bit as an amused T'challa took his own hotdog with an appreciative nod to Peter before giving his faithful guard and friend an expectant look. She soon realized that everyone was now staring at her, with Peter still holding one spare dirty water dog for her to take.
Feeling outnumbered and rather judged unceremoniously, she made a face that could only be described as a defeated pout of sorts as she took the hotdog.
"Now that pleasantries have been made." Daredevil said conversationally. "It's time we got down to business. Ulysses Klaue. What do you know about him?"
T'challa let out a tired sigh, thinking of the arms dealer that had left such an impact on his father and nation as a whole. Klaue was a man that proved how Wakanda was not as impenetrable or invincible as it had seemed and liked to be.
"He is a man from our past that had stolen something valuable from our nation with a great loss to our people." T'challa solemnly with Okoye's expression becomes one of melancholy.
"What'd he do?" Peter asked softly.
"Something that has made us leave our kingdom in search of him." Okoye said with a stern tone.
"General." T'challa said calmly.
Okoye simply bowed her head, reigning in her personal feelings on the matter. Peter quirked a brow beneath his mask whilst Daredevil had picked up on the brief spike of the guards heart rate.
"Alright, so there's a personal history." Daredevil stated. "But you're not telling us the full story here. Ulysses Klaue is one of the most well-known arms dealers in the criminal underworld. He deals in weapons and other illegal materials. What does Klaue have that demands you all being here in Manhattan?"
Okoye and Ayo had their eyes narrowed at the man without fear while Shuri gained a more anxious expression, gazing back and forth between Matt and her brother.
"Guys." Peter spoke up, a bit nervous. "Come on. We're all on the same side here. Stop that perm-haired weirdo from causing any more harm then he's already done."
Shuri found herself snorting aloud with T'challa's lip twitching upwards before he nodded.
"Agreed." The Prince said. "What have you found out about Klaue since you were already ahead of us."
"He's been meeting with several individuals of interest." Daredevil said straight away. "I had met with one of my "informants" and he last spoke of a meeting occurring within the next few days where the Yakuza once operated in this city."
Peter snorted, knowing full well how that meeting with said "informant" went. Now that he thought about it, could he communicate with Spiders? That'd be a pretty neat power all things considered.
"The Yakuza." T'challa mused. "I was unaware that they are operating within Manhattan."
"Were." Daredevil stated. "Wasn't too long ago they had their own organization here. Taking them down… it wasn't easy."
T'challa only hummed in thought. "So you know where we can find them."
"Once we get there, yes." Daredevil said. "It's a rather large area, but my senses could pick up on their movements and such."
"Your Senses?" Ayo questioned in confusion.
"Let's just say I can hear better than most." Daredevil said enigmatically.
"That wasn't cryptic at all." Shuri said with a wry tone. "But, if we are working together, I can help out as well."
"How?" Spidey asked.
"If Ulysses Klaue has kept what he has stolen from us on him at all times, there are means and methods in which to track them."
"Like what exactly?"
"When one works with the metal they stole, you know it's ins and outs like the back of your hand." Shuri said with a boastful smirk.
As she walked away, Spidey and Daredevil shared a look before turning T'challa
"And that means…?"
T'challa only rolled his eyes in slight annoyance. "It means she's going to want to show off."
"What's she looking for then?" Spider-man asked.
"The strongest metal in the world." T'challa said, walking to follow after his sister. "Vibranium."
-Scene Cut-
It was the night of the exchange and the three men were prepped and ready.
For backup, T'challa's people were on standby in case anything goes further south than planned. Especially when everything is settled in the end, the Wakandans will want to properly apprehend those involved in the deal. A compromise for their help, if you will.
Neither of the New York natives argued on that end of the bargain. Vibranium was their property, not of the world… for the time being.
It was still surprising to believe that Captain America's signature shield came from that corner of the world and there was more of it.
The two heroes asked how Howard Stark came across the amount he found back in WW2. The Wakandan royal siblings surmised the Stark founder merely came across shards of Vibranium weapons scattered about Africa and melted them all down to form the infamous shield.
It was any guess as any for them, leaving the matter dropped.
Currently, the trio of enhanced individuals were situated upon separate warehouse rooftops each covering a section in order to spot what they were looking for.
It was a bit of a stakeout job with one taking it a bit… comedically.
"The Hard-boiled detective known as Spider-cop surveys the grounds below him, taking in the salted crime ridden air of the city docks." He inhaled sharply. "A hive of scum and villainy, Spider-cop made an oath long ago to stomp out these goons that would disturb the peaceful lives of the people of New York. Even if I had to do it alone."
"Spidey…." Came the deadpanned tone of one Matt Murdock. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Spider-cop's old partner Devil-officer stands above most officers of the law; one he takes into his own hands." Peter went on in his deep dramatic voice. "What he doesn't realize is deep inside, he craves a means to find happiness at the end of it all, return to his friends and have a nice beer."
"...You are reading too much into this, are you?" T'Challa questioned from beside them.
"You get used to it… overtime."
"Spider-cops newest ally, Meow-Mix is a long-exiled prince seeking redemption for a long-lost artifact stolen from his people."
"Meow-Mix?" T'challa couldn't hide his affronted tone at being called such a term. "Black Panther, thank you."
Over the coms, Shuri snorted. "I think it's cute, if he wasn't actually intending our culture."
"Just get moving, Spider-man." Daredevil said from his warehouse, head tilted to the left. "I'm picking up movement."
"Spider-cop is on the job." Spider-man said in an over-dramatic gruff tone. "Part man, part Spider, All Cop."
"And with his trusted comrade Kitty-Com on surveillance, no second-rate criminal would get the jump on Spider-cop and his squad."
"For the love of Bast, stop." Groaned the prince before glaring at Spider-man. "I think I regret doing this with you."
"Oh come on, brother, it's cute and funny."
"Keep telling yourself that." T'challa began sprinting forth and jumped from one warehouse to another with Spider-man joining him as the two joined Daredevil who was crouching down at the edge of the rooftop.
"What have you found?" T'challa inquired.
"Down there." Daredevil pointed at a small office-trailer where two thugs had exited the trailer to greet a gaggle of men that were all rather well armed.
"Looks like the meeting is starting then." T'challa said with his eyes narrowed.
"Meow-Mix's senses are above those of a regular cop." Peter began once more. "He sees things that can't be seen and has a specific set of skills that gives nightmares to those he pursues."
"I swear if you keep doing that Spider-cop bit, I will claw out your throat." T'challa said in complete seriousness. "I'll show you a nightmare."
"Don't worry Spider-cop, Kitty-com will cover for you." Shuri said in her own deep dramatic voice making T'challa hang his head in defeat.
"You have no idea what you've done to me for the foreseeable future." T'challa said, knowing how his sister isn't one to drop something that genuinely annoys him.
Peter chortled to himself. "Thanks Kitty-Com, Spider-cop out."
Of course after their first meeting, T'challa noticed how much she talked about the masked spider hero. From what the prince can tell, Shuri seemed to be having a little crush on him, given how well his scientific mind is for these past days till tonight.
He dreaded to think what their possible children will be like if they were ever to procreate, let alone having a courtship.
The three enhanced began moving after the assortment of thugs and criminals began walking away from the trailer and closer over to the edge of the docks.
"Hey, who's that?" Spider-man asked, making Daredevil and T'challa look over to someone who definitely stood out from all the other thugs.
Where most were wearing basic clothing or some level of tactical gear, this particular individual had an overhaul of armor with hydraulic gauntlets on both arms, a black vest with a spray-painted white X and a helmet with a crudely painted white skulled helm.
"No clue." Said the Daredevil.
"Could be a middle-man or an enforcer if things go south." Spidey commented.
"No…" T'challa's eyes narrowed beneath his mask. "He doesn't seem to be. Those weapons and equipment are far too advanced for these individuals."
"He's right." Kitty-Com said over the line. "By my readings, they seem to be far different from the standard tech."
"You think he's a buyer then?" Daredevil inquired.
"Possibly." Shuri muttered when she inhaled sharply. "Boys, I'm picking up an unusual energy fluctuation coming in hot from the other side of the docks."
"What is it?" T'challa asked.
"What is that?" Daredevil whispered, his hyper-advanced senses picking up on an unusual whirring sound that reminded him of jet thrusters and a smell of metal that he could yet couldn't recognize.
"You three need to go over there. Inspect the area for anyone else."
"You heard, Kitty-Com. Let's check it."
The Panther groaned a little as he followed after the two red-themed heroes of New York.
Flying in from the sky was a man in an aviation suit and oxygen mask with a set of metallic wings which had thrusters and advanced fans built into them on his back. His green lenses scanned the immediate area for any outside sources and tracked the respective buyer parties for this evening.
Everything needed to be simple and easy. For Adrian Toomes was a simple man. A family man.
A family man who felt as though he was screwed years ago by the Chitauri invasion that basically changed the whole world. Those superheroes that "saved the world" left a hell of a mess to clean up. And while at first, he was excited. The payment he was to receive was gargantuan in size and had he done his job, he may as well have had to take one to two jobs a year max to keep his family life steady and happy.
But… that was not to be.
The men and women who caused all that madness in 2012 were the same ones who stole his opportunity in making that money. He never truly cared for the money, they stole a better future for his wife and daughter.
If it wasn't for Stark screwing him and all of his fellow employees and co-workers, then this will never happen.
If Stark merely consulted in partnering with him and every other clean-up crew back then, then this would never have happened.
So now, here he was. In an advanced suit that his friend Phineas had designed and built for him out of the alien technology that had been left over from the invasion. Called it the Vulture suit.
Apt name really considering his new job involved him quite literally looking for scraps of technology be they alien or some other hyper-advanced tech that was made on Earth.
The jobs were challenging, yet fun for the family man. Kept him oddly anticipating for each tech run to pull.
Yet Adrian never had to wear his suit when it came to these black-market dealings, until tonight.
"Herman, you got everything ready?" Adrian asked through his personal comms.
"Yeah, me and Brice are all set up here boss." Herman Schultz stated. "We're just waiting on that Claw guy."
When hearing the name Ulysses Klaue come across their system, Adrian had to change his dealing tactics. The man was very high up in the black market. And any dealing with him had to be kept on high alert.
Rumor had it, ever since some deranged robot ripped off his arm prior to Sokovia being wrecked to all hell; the dealer became more dangerous than ever.
Better be safe than sorry for tonight. He did want to get back home to his wife and daughter in one piece.
"And you are?" Adrian regarded the strangely armored man.
"None of your damn business."
So he's one of those guys. "Oh? You do realize we're in a warehouse filled with people who have all sorts of weapons that isn't exactly available for the general market."
The helmeted man turned to the Queens native with a glare that did little in attempting to intimidate the man.
"So let's not be too rude here, huh?" Adrian said amicably, though the underlying threat was not lost on the helmeted man.
"Rumlow." He said in a low voice. "I know about you, Toomes."
Adrian blinked, his expression changing sharply. "And how the hell do you know about that?"
Brock Rumlow let out a dark chuckle. "I have my ways."
That didn't settle his nerves in the slightest.
He wanted to get more answers right about now yet that would have to wait. He had other more pressing matters to attend to.
"Boys!" A gleeful voice echoed around the interior warehouse with all heads turning to see the man of the hour being accompanied by a young man with dreads and glasses who looked bored being here.
"So glad of you all to get my invitation and show up." Ulysses Klaue said in an eccentric grin
"Hard to turn down the dealings of the infamous Klaue when he wants to barter." Adrian stated.
"Oh you make my heart burst with joy at such a statement, Toomes."
"Can we get this meeting over with or not?" Rumlow groaned out.
The German/South African dealer chuckled, ushering the two men to follow where their barter will be better suited.
Far above them all in the rafters were the trio of heroes that had been watching the meeting take place.
"Jeez, what is this, the Legion of Doom?" Spidey asked, hanging upside down. "Looks like they're all gearing up for the bad guy Olympics."
"I didn't think Klaue would gather so many people here." T'challa noted, crouched down on a metal beam with his black costume making him practically invisible in the shadows.
Daredevil had extended his Billy club into a tight-rope wire with it being attached on opposite ends of the ceiling and support beams with him standing atop it.
"There's a lot of guys down there." Peter said warily. "How many?"
"A couple dozen. Perhaps more." T'challa said, leaning his head out to get a gauge of the numbers.
"And they look like they're packing some mean equipment. 'Specially that Falcon rip-off."
"They don't seem to be on high alert." T'challa noted.
"That may seem that way." Daredevil said with his nose picking up on every gun being loaded and ready.
"So what's the plan?" Peter asked.
"Split up, most likely, to try and box them in. When we see the respective goods being bartered, we go in and take them out." Murdock stated. "Easier said than done, but best we can do."
"I can work with that."
The trio of enhanced had broken off as quietly as possible.
Spider-man opted to crawl along the ceiling and walls with him taking extra care to avoid the lighting dangling from the ceiling.
Black Panther was aware his suit reduced noise output in movement but chose to stick to the rafters, lowering himself bit by bit until he was directly over the center of the gathering.
Daredevil had managed to lower himself unseen and unheard to the floor, sticking to the shadows as he drew in closer. Normally he would take out the guards and other thugs as a means of reducing their numbers but with so many being in close proximity to one another it was too big of a risk.
The assembled men were gathered around Klaue who stood at the center of them all, arms outstretched in a grandiose fashion as he loved presentation above all else. He was a showman at heart.
"Right, gentlemen." Klaue began. "So glad of you to take time out of your extra-curricular activities to speak with little old me."
"What is this about Klaue?" Rumlow rumbled.
"So glad you asked, Crossbones." Klaue cheekily said, earning an eyeroll out of the ex-SHIELD operative.
The Arms dealer began to display a variety of arms and equipment that were simple guns to clearly enhanced and retrofitted technology that looked as though it was capable of eradicating anything in its path. Hell, one was some kind of weird robot head with glowing red eyes turned on for show.
This went on for nearly an hour, after which point Peter was growing a bit anxious after seeing so many weapons.
"Can we go in now?" Peter asked. "I'm getting antsy here."
"I agree with Spider-man." Kitty-Com said over the line. "I've got enough footage and data for our people to press charges and hold these people accountable."
T'challa was about to signal his two partners when he saw the German/South African dealer heading towards something not far away. A large cloth covered some sort of object with the man seemingly excited to show it off.
"Hold a little longer." Commanded the prince.
"To close off this little meeting of ours, I'd like to give to you an interesting item." Ulysses said, grabbing the cloth with both hands. "The piece de resistance to what I have to potentially offer."
With a mighty heave, Klaue unveiled a large circular structure of some sort with it having some sparks appear around the frame until the center empty hole lit up with a glowing blue swirl of unidentifiable energy.
Something that certainly enraptured the attention of all in the warehouse.
"Why do I get the Stargate feeling here?"
"How so?" Matt inquired as he can't see the object in question.
"Because I'm literally seeing something inspired by that film and TV series, that's why." Peter stated. "Crude in the framing but looks vaguely similar."
Down below, several of the potential buyers rose a brow at what Klaue recently presented to them.
"The fuck is that supposed to do?" Rumlow asked.
"This my friends is a revolutionary new way of getting our product across the world without having to cross anymore borders." Klaue said excitedly. "A little something HYDRA whipped up not too long ago and I happened to be its first buyer."
"A teleporter?" Adrian said with a brow raised. "And a prototype? How in the hell do we know that this would even work?"
"Trust me, we tested it several times with recent success."
"Recent?"
"Past testing was done with all sorts of random shit we had on hand." Said Klaue's spectacled assistant. "Trash, basketballs, bowling balls, random homeless people, you name it. And when everything actually worked on final versions, we had to clean up the blueprints and equations to make it all happen for what you're seeing now."
"But how would it react to what I sell." Adrian stated. "I don't think I need to tell you that the stuff my people make ain't exactly… human."
"You're in luck then, Mr. Toomes." Klaue said, grinning madly. "This here is retrofitted from alien tech that HYDRA had acquired decades ago."
"Excuse me?"
Rumlow noticed the next part being pulled out, a canister with blue glowing energy inside.
"Tesseract energy." Crossbones revealed.
"That cube thingy?" Klaue said. "Yeah, left over residue recreated and reformed the cube SHIELD and HYDRA had for so long. Helped fill out the energy reserve needed to keep these portals running."
"Little amount goes a long way." Said the dreadlock assistant.
From their spots, the three costumed men looked at each other as they didn't like where this was going.
If this portal tech was able to fall onto the wrong hands, then things would be impossible to halt transfers.
Hell, the Wakandans already dreaded to know how much more Vibranium has been or will be taken without them knowing if that portal was used by Klaue.
"Get ready." Daredevil said, with his Billy Club shifting into an electrified nun-chaku's.
Black Panther pressed the center of his chest with his suit and began to glow a purple aura. His new suit had been retrofitted by his sister to be able to take in and absorb impact in the heat of battle which he could dish back out in turn. A feature of his own that he added was the ability to absorb and store energy for later use, something he was glad worked quite well right about now.
Spider-man had loaded his web-shooters with full cartridges and was poised and ready to strike.
Silence fell heavy between the three before Matt spoke.
"Go."
Black Panther merely stepped off his metal beam and dropped down to the ground.
His surprise was barely registered properly because as soon as he landed, he slammed his fist down to ground and unleashed his stored up kinetic energy.
A dome of purple energy flew out and sent all those closest flying through the air.
It was pandemonium as many of the criminals and mercenaries that were unaffected by the energy wave were now being assaulted by two other vigilantes.
Daredevil came in swinging with his electrified Billy club, smacking against all that were within range and knocking out every individual he got near.
Spider-man swung overhead snagging up criminals left and right.
All the while, one man saw Black Panther with his eyes becoming murderous as he pulled out his own rifle that was slung on his back and loaded a grenade into his grenade launcher.
Firing off the grenade, Panther barely looked up in time to see the explosive until it struck him dead on.
His suit absorbed the entirety of the explosion, with his suit radiating with kinetic energy.
"Vibranium must be damn useful, huh?!" The young man barked with a seething rage.
Looking over, T'challa saw it was Klaue's assistant as he fired a few more grenades at his direction, which exploded each time. With each proving ineffective, the dreadlock man swung the weapon as a blunt object. The Panther grasped and pried the weapon away before kicking the assistant away before going after the other people here.
What nobody had noticed was the strange portal that had remained untouched in the whole skirmish beginning to spark. Earlier, when Panther had made his entrance some of the kinetic energy he let off had managed to wash over the portal. And it was now starting to let off a few sparks here and there.
All the while, Spider-man was taking out goons with ease having them either webbed up and fell to the ground or trap them to the floor, support beams, crates and walls.
Klaue had taken cover behind one of the large crates stored in the warehouse and readied his primary weapon.
Holding up his left arm, parts of it soon separated to reveal metallic parts underneath. Energy currents sparked to life between the gaps. When it became too much, they fired and blew a bunch of objects out of the way as the attack missed the Wall Crawler.
"Holy Mother-Hubbard!"
Klaue fired off more blasts from his arm at Spider-man, forcing him to quickly avoid them. Flipping over, sliding under or throwing random objects in front so he won't get hit in the end. Unfortunately one of them was able to reach him, sending him flying into a nearby wall and leaving a man-sized indent.
"Ow~"
One of the objects Parker threw and was redirected during this bit of confrontation collided against the portal machine's console. It further sparked the device as energy started to appear within the portal.
"Spider-man!" Daredevil yelled out, his hearing picking up on something flying straight at the wall-crawler.
Peter whirled round in time to get snagged by a set of sharp claws that clamped down on him tightly. Letting out a cry of pain, Spider-man was slammed into a wall with the young teen facing a set of glowing green eyes.
"And who are you supposed to be?" The man in the mask and wingsuit said leaning his head right into Peter's face.
"Oh you know, grizzled old veteran with a chip on his shoulder." Spider-man said with a strained voice as he ripped free from the clawed legs holding him down. "Spider-Cop!"
Not wanting to lose track of his new opponent, Parker fired a web-line at the Vulture's leg and was brought into quite the ride of his life.
Adrian soared high into the sky, performing loop de loops and aerial drops in order to nauseate the Wall Crawler. Even purposefully crashing him into nearby walls for additional damage.
"I swear," Peter groaned, "I would throw up right now if I didn't have this mask on." He was then smacked into a nearby pillar but held on. "Would've enjoyed being in an airplane over than this." He was then brought down to the displays, tables and people below and crashed into the few. "At least I would've had something to stay sturdy on."
The Vulture suddenly rocketed up high, yanking Spiderman in the process before spinning all over the place at fast speeds.
"AAAHHH! I'm gonna diiiiieeeee! I'm gonna diiiiieeeee! I'm gonna throw up! And then I'm gonna diiiiieeeee!" Peter screamed out with him not enjoying all of the forced spinning and twirls any longer. "MAAA MAAA!"
"Oh will you shut up already!?"
"MAAAAKE MEEEEEE!"
Having enough, Adrian suddenly stopped flying and let the web line come in front of him. Using his wings, he sliced through the webbing and disconnected him from the Wall Crawler.
With himself free, Peter had to quickly maneuver from hitting a wall at the trajectory he was on. Landing on the surface, he bounced back and went back after Toomes; where the two clashed in the air above the chaos below.
Daredevil wanted to find a way to help the young teen but he had his hands full with this strange Rumlow fellow.
"And who the fuck are you?" Brock sneered, cocking his hydraulic gauntlets. "You know you missed Halloween last month."
"You're one to talk." Daredevil muttered, shifting his weapon into one of a bo staff.
Crossbones only got into a stance as the two circled one another until one of Rumlow's men attempted to pounce on Daredevil from behind. Matt sensed this of course and with a pivot his foot to a twirl of his bo staff, he bashed the grunt in the gut before spinning round to smack him in the jaw.
Rumlow took the distraction, running right up at Daredevil with his arm reared back for a powerful punch.
Daredevil heard him running at him as well as the moving gears of the man's gauntlets. Judging by the sounds and how he seemed dead set on hitting him with those armaments, Matt figured that even with his new enhanced suit that those punches would hurt.
Ducking out of the way, Crossbones punch sailed over head with Daredevil swinging his bo staff up and striking him right in the chin.
Brock's head snapped back for a moment when he proceeded to headbutt Daredevil right in the noggin.
Greatly disoriented by such a hit, Daredevil could barely register the metal knife that burst out from Rumlow's gauntlet.
He clumsily held up his bo staff and managed to deflect the blade yet it nicked his cheek. The cutting pain managed to clear up some of his disorientation, making Matt grit his teeth and proceed to jump and roundhouse kick Rumlow in the chest.
Stumbling back, Crossbones saw the edge of Daredevil's staff electrify and he got hit right in the face then his shoulder, hip side and leg. Daredevil adjusted his grip which in turn had his bo staff shrink until he separated it into two separate rods.
Before he could get a strike in, Rumlow surprised Daredevil with a powerful punch right to his chest. Daredevil was sent careening back with him landing right next to Black Panther who had just kicked away another thug.
'Daredevil." Panther said aloud, helping his ally up. "Are you alright?"
"Got a bit of a heartache." Daredevil muttered, rubbing his chest.
Black Panther abruptly pushed Matt away and held up his arms defensively to hold back the dual punch that Crossbones attempted to hit Daredevil with. The two hydraulic powered punches gave a lot of kinetic energy for Panther's suit to take in yet it still sent the prince flying.
And he flew right into the portal that had been showing signs of malfunctions since the fight began. Panther crashed right into it with the kinetic energy bursting out and washing over the portal.
That was the last straw.
"Brother." The worried voice of his sister came in through his ear. "I'm detecting some unusual spikes of energy coming out through that weird device."
Chaotic blue, white and purple energy began to burst out from the portal with many within the warehouse feeling some weird tugging sensation.
"We gotta get outta here." The assistant in dreads yelled out to all those present.
"Ah, shit what happened?!" Klaue roared out.
Without warning, the portal unleashed an energy wave of its own which then receded back into the swirling mass.
Suddenly, air began to get sucked into the portals center with a rather powerful pull that made many begin to panic.
"Brother! Spiderman! Daredevil! You need to get outta there!" Shuri yelled over the coms.
"You don't have to tell us twice!" Peter cried out.
Spider-man was ready to leave yet out of the corner of his eyes he saw Panther and Daredevil were still pretty close to the portal. Adjusting in the air, Peter swung down, fired two web lines at them and snagged them both.
"Hold on guys, we're getting out of here." Spidey began to pull when he felt a strange feeling in the back of his head. Looking back, his eyes widened at the bird-based enemy flying straight for him.
He didn't react in time as he felt two hard boots connect to his back.
"Peter!" Daredevil had yelled out as the young teen crashed before him.
"We're not done yet you son of a bitch." Crossbones yelled out, making a beeline from Spider-man for Daredevil.
"No! Stop, you could make things worse!" Klaue had shouted in vain as the energy began to become even more chaotic and unpredictable.
Black Panther whirled round in time to see the portal send out a massive dome of blue energy that eventually encapsulated the five men closest to them.
And they knew no more.
An explosion went off in the area as several onlookers witnessed the aftermath.
From the sky above, Toomes calmed his beating heart as he saw the wrecked area from down below. Wanting to take a closer look, he dived down and landed at the ruined space.
"Damn." Adrian muttered. "Glad I wasn't pulled in Klaue's portal."
"You can say that again." Herman said over the line. "You're lucky you were out of its reach and sucking you in."
"Right."
The Vulture looked at the spread of tech around him and from the other end, Herman had the same idea his boss was having now.
"Take what you can and bolt outta there." Herman stated. "Don't know how long the police will show up from that explosion. But you're on the clock now."
"Will do."
By the time Adrian got everything he needed, he flew out of the ruined battleground and flew back to base. Both he and his boys somewhat made out what they originally came here for and then some. And they will be able to profit it all in the end once everything blows over.
It was some minutes later when a good dozen Wakandans appeared on the scene and scanned the area for any sign of their prince, his two costumed allies and any other survivors.
"Do you have anything?" Shuri asked over their coms.
"Hardly anything, princess." Okoye said.
Ayo then spoke after her Dora Milaje sister. "There's no sign of Klaue or anyone else."
"What of my brother? Or Daredevil? Or Spider-man?"
"Nothing." Okoye gritted out.
"...Mother and father are not going to like this." Shuri said with her voice breaking. "I… I don't know how much this will hurt them."
If any of the Wakandan officials were able to pay closer attention, they would've seen Klaue's assistant running away from the scene.
Things were not supposed to go this way so soon. He was already biding his time for the inevitable when the Wakandan king kicked the bucket for him to finally act. Only then will he have his revenge for what happened to his father and help his people.
Now things have changed. And it can be debated if it was for better or worse in his case.
Now he will need to readjust his timetable and act soon. The Wakandan prince was gone, whether to parts unknown or probably dead. And now only the princess and the heads of the other Wakandan clans are the only ones left going after the throne.
With them out of the way, then no one will stand in his way in uplifting his people across the globe.
Erik Stevens, the Killmonger, will make sure of it.
-Scene Cut-
The next thing Matt did when he regained consciousness, he gasped for breath in rapid succession. His heart was beating miles per minute and threatening to burst out of his chest. Taking off his cowl-like helmet, the blind lawyer ran his gloved hands through his sweating face and hair.
He had to take a few moments to steady his breathing as he felt his entire body went haywire. Patting himself in the chest, the blind lawyer began to calm his heartbeat and allow his heightened senses to relax.
Matt then wondered where he was as something seemed quite out of the ordinary.
First was the unusual cold hitting him.
Last he knew, it was a decently cold day in New York and… wherever he was at now was warmer to some degree. Instead of the dead of winter, it felt like the early fall season.
The surrounding sounds indicated he was that of a typical city, but as to where he did not know.
There was this smell wafting in his nose that felt alien to him, something which didn't seem to fit with the Hell's Kitchen native.
Next was the touch, the feel.
When Matt felt the earth once taking off his gloves, he felt a grainy, sandy texture like if he was at either a beach or a desert. It seemed to be a mixture of both.
And finally, he was alone. No Parker. No Wakandan prince. No black-market dealers. No one.
Trying to regain his bearings, Matt needed help right now.
Pulling out the newly created Avengers ID card, he pressed a small button on it and spoke. "This is Matt Murdock, I need assistance. Over."
There was nothing but static.
"This is Matt, Daredevil. Can anyone read me?"
Once again, static filled his ears.
"Parker? Stark? Anyone?"
Hearing nothing but static one last time, the lawyer gritted his teeth and placed the ID back into his belt for safe keeping.
Something wasn't right with this. Stark's Avenger IDs were supposed to piggyback to any and all satellites on Earth and make the call reach any Avenger with active cards. So either he was in a place where he was in a literal dead zone, where no phone signal can reach, or he was being blocked… somehow.
What Matt needed to do now was to find out where he was at now.
If he did, then he could find the means to get back home. He can pay for a trip or have a means of reaching out to someone he was familiar with. He did carry some emergency money on him to pay for a taxi to even use a payphone, even with how rare those were these days. And he can ask nicely for someone to lend their phone to him for a brief time to at least make a small call or voice message.
After all, it's hard to turn down a lost blind man. Then again with the world he lived in, there are some who wouldn't give a rat's ass in helping a cripple like himself.
Before anything, Matt needed to possibly find some clothes to change out of or at least something practical to cover up his Daredevil attire in order to not draw him too much attention.
While his helmet and certain parts of his new suit could retract he still preferred other means of clothing.
He was in an alleyway of sorts with nobody on either side yet the bolstering sound of people were well and near.
Cautiously, Matt approached the exit of the alley and felt himself freeze up.
What… What were these people? He felt his senses being overwhelmed with all sorts of sounds and scents that he did not recognize.
Everything around him felt completely and utterly… alien.
"What the fuck?" Was the rather appropriate response from the blind hero.
And speaking of blind…
A man of Asian descent gave a smile to a weary traveler who had come to him for aid when he inhaled sharply. His walking stick next to him clattered to the floor as he rose to his feet only to stumble slightly.
"Chirrut!"
He felt the familiar arms of his best friend keep him from falling.
"Thank you Baze." Chirrut Imwe said as Baze lowered him to sit and catch his breath.
"What's wrong?" Baze asked, grabbing Chirruts walking stick and holding it out for him to take.
"Sorry, Baze. Just felt an aftershock, that's all."
"It must have been quite an aftershock." Baze muttered. "You looked as though you were about to pass out.
"Just the second one in quite a while." Chirrut responded. "Now let's find the source of this aftershock."
Having his walking stick out, he started his search for what needed to be done now.
"What?" Baze was completely confused. "What are you talking about? Does this have to do with the Force?"
"I am One with The Force." Chirrut said plainly, a vague smile finding its way onto his face. "And the Force is with me. Come my friend. There is something in Jedha that has just arrived in a spectacular fashion."
Baze could only stare with his mouth slightly gaping before groaning to himself, running a hand down his face.
"Wish I had the bloody Force right about now." Baze grumbled to himself, grabbing his primary weapon and moving to follow after Chirrut.
-Scene Cut-
Matt was having a bit of a hard time to say the least. And by that, he was feeling a complete overload of information on all sides that made it impossible to fight against the growing headache.
Nothing was making any sense. Many of the languages spoken were not known to Murdock at all. And only the basic English language did and when hearing from it, nothing he heard made heads or tails.
He did not know where this Jedha was located. There was no payphone for him to use, only something called a holo-net. Whatever the hell that was. And what money he had on him wouldn't cut it.
So in essence, he was in a bit of a pickle. A really problematic, no means of figuring out on how to get out of this pickle.
Now, being a man of faith he'd think of having a prayer right about now or go to any church that he could find but seeing as how he was in a city that had things that he could only describe as aliens, options were rather next to none right about now.
Which to put it plainly, kinda sucked right about now.
"I really wish this was a very bad dream." Murdock muttered. "Only then can I feel at peace once waking back up."
Thinking about his situation now, he had to wonder just what these other humanoids and non-humanoids around him were.
Some of them honestly "looked" as though they were human with unusual headpieces. Yet with the use of his senses, it was clear to Matt that they were actually a part of the head as a whole.
So he had either discovered that this was a new set of humans or….
"Am I on an alien world?" Daredevil muttered to himself. "Did I seriously get sucked into something out of Star Trek?"
Now, though he was blind, that didn't mean Matt was unable to have an active enough imagination to know alien descriptions and such when reading books or listening to audio renditions of old space series on the radio and television.
He was a bit of a Trekky like his fellow vigilante from Queens.
"But Picard and Kirk can't exactly help me right about now." Matt muttered to himself as he had remained mostly out of sight by sticking to the back alleys of this alien city.
Some that had seen him could only stare in slight bewilderment of his horned helm and red and black get up but left him unbothered.
Just as Matt was about to round about a corner he stopped when he felt someone stop behind him, facing directly at him.
"You seem troubled."
Matt whirled round to face this man and he wasn't alone. There was another man standing next to the one that spoke first.
"This the guy, Chirrut?" the companion of the identified Chirrut asked curiously. "Strange outfit."
"Maybe." Chirrut said in a humored tone. "If only I could see what he looks like, Baze."
Matt took a moment to regard the two men, senses on high alert.
They didn't appear to be a threat yet that could change in an instant. There was something else about the two. The one with the stick in particular. Or really, his walking stick as a whole.
He couldn't properly describe it but there was a bit of a strange hum of some kind coming from the metallic edge of the walking stick.
"Who are you?" Matt asked warily.
"Ah, very rude of us. My name is Chirrut Imwe." The fellow blind man said cheerfully.
"Baze Malbus." His friend said a moment later. "I keep this one here out of trouble."
Chirrut snorted from the comment before approaching the city's newcomer.
"I sense that you are… lost my friend." Chirrut began slowly making Matt scoff to himself.
"That's putting it mildly."
"Don't worry, we don't mean any harm." Chirrut said calmly.
"Unless you try to make it."
"Baze." Chirrut said with an annoyed look.
"I'm just being forthright." Baze said. "You know how the galaxy is right now."
Chirrut let out a tired sigh, knowing his friend's words to be true.
"I can be on my way, if you want." Matt said, trying to walk away from the new arrivals.
Yet Chirrut placed a hand on the man's shoulder in order to stop him.
Still weary of what happened, Matt went into action, spinning around and threw a fist at the blind man beside him.
Chirrut avoided the blow before grasping Murdock's arm and throwing him to the ground. Matt instinctively kicked back up and attempted to beat him back but he felt a bit off. This lapse in sluggishness resulted in Chirrut landing a punch right across his face, which resulted in the Daredevil to fall onto the ground once more.
Baze cringed at the sound of fist meeting the other blind man's cheek and Chirrut himself realized he put a bit too much strength into that punch.
"We do not mean you any harm." Chirrut said calmly.
"Really? That fist to my jaw could have fooled me." Matt shot back.
"You threw the first punch while I merely wanted to help."
Matt opened his mouth to argue only to close it, retracting any argument he planned.
"I'm sorry." Matt said earnestly.
"There's nothing to be sorry for. All is forgiven." Chirrut said with an offered hand.
The lawyer grasped the offered appendage and was hoisted back up onto his feet.
Matt sighed as he patted himself down, getting sand off of him.
"Sorry if we came across a bit aggressive." Chirrut said when Baze coughed a bit too dramatically into his hand.
"Ok, I came a bit aggressively." Chirrut admitted, garnering a slight smirk from Murdock.
"All is forgiven."
The marksman chuckled at this.
"Come." Chirrut gestured for the lawyer to follow. "As Guardians of the Whills, it is our duty to show hospitality to those lost and in need of guidance."
Though he didn't say anything, Baze only nodded in agreement already turning to walk back to where they lived.
Seeing as they were going to be hospitable to him, Matt might as well follow after them.
-Scene Cut-
If you told him weeks ago that he would wind up in an alien galaxy shortly after becoming an Avenger, Matt Murdock would be laughing and scoffing at your face.
That would not be the current case.
He was currently in a place called Jedha, an odd sandstone desert moon orbiting a planet called NiJedha where instead of a blazing desert climate, it was the polar opposite. It's not all that bad in terms of climate as it was like if the Grand Canyon in the middle of the day was suddenly hit with a permanent fall climate being very comfortable to traverse through; given if you wore a light sweater or something thicker on most days.
He would've been utterly lost and probably dead if it weren't for his two new friends.
Chirrut Imwe was a man just like him. Outside of being blind, he was truly sensitive to his senses and more in tune with them. Yet it seemed much more than that in Matt's perspective given this Force ability he seemed to possess.
Asides from that, Chirrut was a good man as he taught him a lot during the three weeks since living with him and his old childhood friend.
Honestly, his fellow blind man was clearly a step up from the cranky, stubborn asshole Stick by a large margin.
And Baze Malbus was a decent man. Wasn't much of a talker as he let his blasters do it for him. In the order both he and Chirrut were a part of, the Guardians of the Whills, he was considered to be like a part time security guard for the Kyber Temple nearby.
He was a bit of a drunkard at times, but he knew when to do such activities or not.
Matt learned a lot about the current galaxy he was in. From the Republic, the Separatists, the Clone War happening now, the Force, alien species… even if that last one will be difficult to some extent with him lacking normal sight.
There were times his inner Trekkie from his childhood would be happy to bask in such sci-fi fantasy. Yet now he had to survive in this new environment, even if it's for the rest of his life.
Yet one thing seemed to remain the same: laws and politics were always a hassle.
More so now more than ever.
In his time with the two Guardian members, Matt had to make himself useful or else he'd be stir crazy. He wanted to keep up his law practices and keep himself at tip top shape for any fights that may come his way.
Chirrut said he can help on the latter, but the former will come at a later time.
Matt didn't know why his fellow blind man said this, only stating the Force merely told him his time will come.
Murdock was able to train with Imwe almost daily as they kept up with their hand to hand fighting. Other days they shared quite the amount of philosophical discussions which lasted for hours.
Baze helped out every now and then, out of request or sheer boredom. But not as much as the blind monk.
Matt didn't mind that at all.
Thinking back on an earlier thought, it was strange how Matt was starting to find himself with more and more individuals with abilities that were far above the norm. Getting recruited into the Avengers and befriending Spider-man was one thing.
But now he was in an alien world speaking with one who is also blind who uses his own enhanced senses and whatever this "Force" was to fight.
Chirrut said everyone had the Force flowing through them, all except him apparently. Something about a void of some kind.
Whatever that meant.
Currently, Matt stood outside the temple of the Whills where he had been residing in courtesy of Chirrut and Baze. The place wasn't much but a roof over his head was better than no roof at all.
He was a bit restless right now.
There were no means of communicating with the Avengers… or anyone from Earth for that matter.
He was stuck on a planet that's probably billions if not trillions of light years away. When he was growing up in Hell's Kitchen, space wasn't exactly in the cards for a simple lawyer of Manhattan.
Certainly not one where he was in a temple where followers of a strange omni-present "Force", one of which was blind like him and was now a sort of pseudo-teacher for him.
Strange all things considered.
"Out here once more?"
Matt glanced back to see Chirrut approaching him, walking stick in hand.
"Needed some air." Matt said. "Possibly stare up at the night sky, contemplate my place in the universe."
"And what is it that you see?"
"Nothing."
Chirrut chortled with Matt as the two fell into a comfortable silence.
It was strange for a man like Matt to have found several new friends in such a short amount of time. He had found Peter Parker to be an endearing, optimistic individual who truly wanted to do what was right and Chirrut was a man of faith in his own way. Something he could very much relate to.
"You seem troubled, Matt." Chirrut said, breaking the silence. "Your emotions… I sense a great deal of turmoil within you."
"I thought you said that the Force doesn't exist around or in me?"
"Be that as it may, it does not mean you are exempt from it in a manner of speaking." Chirrut elaborated. "You would be difficult to detect in a sense. Your arrival being perhaps the only time most would be capable of sensing you. Yet your emotions. They radiate from you like a burning star. Not hard for one who wields the Force to sense them."
"Am I that easy to read?"
"To me? Unfortunately, yes." Chirrut said in a bland voice yet Matt easily picked up on the underlying joking tone.
"What's it like?" Matt inquired. "I keep hearing you talk about this Force thingy and to be honest, it sounds almost like a religion to you guys."
"In a manner of speaking, it is to some." Chirrut said. "There are many organizations that follow the Force with their own set of tenets and teachings."
"Yeah, you mentioned something about them." Matt recalled. "Those Jedi and Sith you spoke about."
Chirrut nodded. "They only follow two aspects of the Force, limiting their view. The Force is nothing and everything. To follow the will of the Force is to follow the will of life, death and the duty that comes with it. All is as the Force wills it."
"You said that before." Matt pointed out. "What does that even mean? The Force has a will of its own?"
"Indeed it does, Matt." Chirrut confirmed. "It has a plan for us all."
Matt hummed in thought, though he frowned a moment later. "Kinda feels like free will doesn't exist within the Force then. Like nothing you do matters if this all knowing and all present Force exists to dictate your destiny."
Chirrut inclined his head down.
"Some may believe so." Chirrut admitted. "And perhaps, you may be right. But in the end, I also believe in your own choice. There are those that have rejected the will of the Force and carved out their own path."
"Hmmm." Daredevil was thinking about all of this. In all honesty, it really felt only surface level with what he had learned thus far. There was undoubtedly more to it than just what he had heard. There always was.
"Reminds of some of the religions I have back on my Earth." Matt said with a reminiscent tone. "Does this galaxy know anything about Gods?"
"Gods?" Chirrut said the word that almost seemed alien to him. "There have been many deities of old worshipped in bygone eras but most are not as prevalent as they once were."
"Well on my world, they are still present." Daredevil said thoughtfully. "Religions following one God or many."
"Are you a follower of a faith?"
"Catholicism." Matt said with an unusual tone that Chirrut couldn't quite identify. It sounded as though there were many emotions wrapped into one with the way he said it.
"And what is this Catholicism like?"
"Complicated." Daredevil said blandly making Chirrut snort.
"So not as simple as you'd like, I take it."
"In a manner of speaking." Matt admitted. "I… never really saw it as a means of doing what I do. Just that it's an aspect of my life is all. It's something I use in a time of crisis or when I need guidance."
Murdock ran his hand through his hair as he looked up into the sky above. "There were so many religions branching off from the original, which Catholicism is a part of. And the practitioners fight over which one is right or wrong over their sibling/cousin religion."
"Sounds violent."
"Most everything usually is." Matt admitted. "We're talking about ideologies here and beliefs. Unfortunately human and clearly sentient nature in general is not one of peaceful coexistence. Not to mention the 'main' one considered others outside of the 'family' as paganism, nothing real at all. Yet they are in fact real with their gods actually existing." Matt let out a tired sigh. "So much violence born from people not accepting the fact others want free will in what they want to believe in."
Chirrut had regarded Matt with silence, allowing the man to let out all that currently plagued his mind.
"You carry a greater burden than I had first assumed, Murdock." Chirrut said sympathetically. "I sense you carry a cage within you wherever you go."
Matt let out a mirthful chuckle. "Watch out for them Murdock boys. They've got the Devil in them."
"What is this?"
"Something that has been told of my family from my father… to myself."
Chirrut thought these words over. "Sounds appropriate, I believe."
"Yeah. We have all this… this uncontrollable rage and sadness bottled up inside us. We have our ways to release it. For my father, he was a fighter in the ring."
"And for you?"
Matt didn't answer, his ears starting to ring with memories of beatings and beatdowns he delivered. When his "inner Devil" took over and he unleashed everything onto whatever poor victim just so happened to be the target of his rage.
Chirrut patted his shoulder after a moment, seating himself down into a cross-legged position while removing the metal hilt of his walking stick.
Placing it down before him, he inhaled and began meditating.
Matt opted to simply sit down beside the blind-monk, simply closing his eyes and allowing his senses to wander about.
The rest of the evening was in silence between the two men. Sitting in peace and reflecting on their own lives. And reflecting on possible outcomes.
-Scene Cut-
"Are you sure this is edible?" Matt asked Baze, holding up a leg of a creature that he did not know of. It certainly wasn't chicken.
"Not without the right amount of salt, it's not."
"Right… Salt." Matt then paid the vendor the amount of credits it was worth and walked off with Baze.
Matt took a small bite from the offered meat. Taking some time chewing, he cringed a little given his enhanced sense of taste.
"Don't like it?"
"A bit too much for my taste."
"Right, super-tongue."
"You could say that."
The duo walked through the crowded streets of Jedha, with many merchants and vendors all advertising their wares and foods at prices that constantly battled with others.
Reminded him of New York on certain holidays.
"It can be pretty crowded here sometimes." Baze said
"I can only imagine." Not hard for him really. Manhattan native after all.
As they went on, Matt's ears picked up on some unusual chatter with his smell and taste catching whiff of some… what was it that Chirrut and Baze described their weapons as? Blasters? Yes, blasters. With the set he caught having a rather potent feel to them.
"Any idea who those people are?"
Baze looked back in confusion at Matt who gestured his head over to a group of men standing before a structure with some serious military grade equipment.
It was sometimes odd for the guardsman for Chirrut and Matt to notice something off before he even had the chance to look. It annoyed him at times, but it was something he grew used to over the years.
Baze narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "We've seen those men around here several times these past few weeks. They're not from around here, I can tell you that much."
"Any idea who they are?"
"No, that's what worries me." Baze said, continuing to walk away with Matt right by him. "Chirrut and I along with the other Guardians are aware of every mercenary, pirate crew, gang, guild and bounty hunters that operate in and around Jedha. They tend not to do much considering the importance of this city."
"Which is?"
"What we watch over." Baze said enigmatically.
'Ah yes, the Kyber Crystals.' Matt thought with a visible nod.
For common knowledge, Kyber Crystals were the main power source of the lightsaber weapons. Yet they can be much more than that. Outside of lightsabers, they can be used for so much more, depending on the size and density each crystal had.
"In the wrong hands." Baze's visage was grim. "It could unleash devastating destruction."
"Like what?"
"I am not sure." Baze said truthfully. "To me, Kyber is energy solidified. I don't know much about its make up but I know it can be dangerous. I saw someone let off a blaster by accident. It struck a Kyber crystal which supercharged it and sent a bunch more bolts in retaliation."
"Sounded like a hectic day."
"It took us several weeks to patch up the holes it made."
All the while, back within the building with the armed guards sat an individual man with a slightly elaborate uniform reminiscent to that of a Republic security officer yet it was more custom made to reflect the desert environment of Jedha.
Middle-aged with sandy-brown hair and blue eyes with light skin, leaned back in his chair as he spoke with a very important figure within the Galactic stage via holo-communication.
"Things are progressing at a decent pace, Chancellor."
Palpatine nodded. "Any complications?"
"None so far."
"Good. Keep it that way."
"Sir, there is one thing that has caught my attention."
"Hmmm? What might that be, Lieutenant-Commander Krennic?"
"There… is an organization here that sits above the main Stache of Kyber on the entire planet." Krennic said slowly. "They don't seem keen on allowing just anyone within their temple and it's like they act as if they are Jedi."
"Ah, are you referring to those calling themselves the Guardians of the Whills?" The Chancellor said, making Krennic blink.
"I was unaware that you knew to whom I was referring to."
"When working with the Jedi, it is important in my job that I learn as much as I can so we are able to conduct our business as smoothly and peacefully as possible." Palpatine stated. "That includes knowing of those that follow their tenants and where they operate."
Krennic was still rather confused as to why the Chancellor knew such a thing, feeling it to be miniscule at best but brushed it off for the time being.
"What should I do about them, Chancellor?" Krennic inquired.
"Be cautious around them. We don't want any of their members to catch onto our operation."
"I won't fail you." Krennic assured.
"I hope you won't."
Orson Callan Krennic ended the call with a tired sigh before resuming his task given to him by the Chancellor personally.
He was a really good engineer and architect, designing many things for the Republic once he went through the academy.
Yet this mission given onto him was something not of his specialty.
His task: retrieve Kyber Crystals for study.
At first glance, this mission on Jedha was very unordinary for him as it was hard for Krennic to understand. Yet the Chancellor had given him the bigger picture on what's to be done with the Kyber Crystals in the end, making the engineer more willing to go along with this mission.
If he succeeded in acquiring the amount needed for testing and study, Krennic will be given a huge promotion. A station to oversee works for the Republic for years to come. Something he longed to have since partway through his academy days.
If he failed, he would be discredited and blacklisted with no one ever believing a word coming out of his mouth.
He worked too hard, too deep to stop and fail now. He needed to succeed.
"Jairen." Krennic called out with a human male entering his office. "How much Kyber do we have?"
"A few crates." Jairen answered. "About six or seven."
Krennic bit the inside of his cheek. That wasn't enough. Not nearly as he had hoped. The Chancellor was expecting the amount close to fill a small freighter or even cruiser.
Honestly, had it not been for the fact that this world once had Jedi on it which was now occupied by those meddlesome "Guardians"; Krennic would have been well on his way back to Coruscant by now. Quite frankly, he has had enough being on this backwater planet for so long and wished to return back to more civilized space.
"Seems we might have to go through a more direct approach." Krennic said aloud. "Jairen, prepare the men. I have played courteous enough with the rabble. It's time we get what we came here for and depart."
Jairen only nodded, leaving his office and beginning to bark out orders to the men to mobilize.
Back at the temple, Matt was training with Chirrut as per usual.
"Lighter on your feet, Matt." Chirrut said. "You favor your right too much."
"And you favor your left." Matt grunted; his kick being met with Chirruts own as the two moved back for distance.
Briefly overseeing the training, Baze moved on as he went on patrol with his fellow guardsmen.
After the sighting at the marketplace earlier, Baze felt they needed to tighten up their security. Something big was going to happen and he didn't want to be caught off guard.
Baze's attention returned back to the sparring session between Murdock and Chirrut with the latter getting his left leg hooked by the former's shifting weapon and his friend was flat on his back.
However, Matt was unable to savor the victory as then he was tripped up by Chirruts own weapon with both men now being flat on their backs.
"Draw." They both declared, laughing a moment later.
Sitting up first, Matt rose to his feet and held out his hand for Chirrut to take which he did with an appreciative nod.
Both walked over to Baze and his group of guards...
Chirrut paused his movements before tilting his head ever so slightly.
"Matt…"
"Yeah, I hear it too."
"What is it?" Baze asked, tense now.
"You better get back to your quarters and get ready." Chirrut advised Matt. "Baze, come on. Get the others. We're about to have some unsavory company."
The lawyer nodded before quickly walking towards his living arrangements to get suited up.
Entering his room given to him by the Guardians, Matt went to the chest lying next to his bed and opened it up to reveal his Daredevil attire.
Placing on his vest, gauntlets, belt and greaves his upgraded suit rapidly formed around him with the final touch being his helmet clamping around his head and his iconic horns jutting out.
Chirrut and Baze all the while had gathered around two dozen men and women with them, standing at the entrance of the temple of Kyber.
The air was tense and silent until all began to hear the telltale signs of trouble coming their way. All were tense and ready with many gripping their weapons tightly, some being blasters while others were melee weapons.
Baze soon spotted a man leading a large group that may as well be considered a battalion marching straight towards them.
They eventually reached the front, standing no less than several yards away from the temple.
"Greetings to you." Chirrut said in a cordial manner. "What can we do for you today?"
Krennic stepped forward. "Well my good sir, to put it plainly you have something we desperately need."
"And what would that be?" Baze asked in a rhetorical manner, holding up his primary custom made MWC-35c "Staccato Lightning" Repeating Cannon.
"I think you all know what it is." Krennic said plainly.
"Yes but we're not exactly keen on giving it out so freely." Baze stated.
"Especially to one who comes to our home with an army to his back." Chirrut said aloud, blind eyes surveying the large force at Krennic's beck.
"Must we end in violence?" Krennic asked condescendingly. "I believe the galaxy has seen enough of such a thing with the war raging on."
"That is entirely up to you." Chirrut said, slamming his staff down emphatically. "We have been charged to safeguard what is stored here until the Jedi return. Pass in peace."
Krennic wasn't in the mood truthfully so he mustered up a flat look before sighing, with a wave of his hand.
It wasn't long before blaster fire went off in the immediate area with a firefight now commencing.
The Guardians all went for cover and began to fire back.
Baze peaked over from his cover and saw some of the opposition. A few he vaguely recognized as pirates or bounty hunters.
The rest was from what he saw back in the marketplace earlier with familiar equipment. The armor was different with no markers to indicate who they aligned with. But the weapons were a dead giveaway.
Chirrut avoided the incoming blaster fire, weaving through them in order to take out the opposition. Coming in close, he swung his bo-staff in order to knock their weapons out of their grasps before swinging his weapon at varying places to properly dispose of them.
A pair of the offending party was coming in close in hopes of disposing of the blind-monk, not noticing a man peering down at them.
Falling from up above, the Daredevil came crashing down onto the pair of enemy fighters. His batons made several dents into the armor before electrocuting them into unconsciousness. With them out of the way, he rushed towards others and made the effort to repeat the same process again and again.
Baze took careful aim as he fired upon the temple invaders. He did not want to end up hitting one of his allies, especially with the blind duo. Yet it was rather hard with how fast they were moving and ending up almost getting hit by him.
He knew he wasn't going to hear the end of it from either of them, but it was their fault in getting in his way.
Daredevil had thrusted his Billy Club forward, one half shooting out straight in the head of an unfortunate pirate who flipped through the air and fell into unconsciousness.
Chirrut had spun his staff, building up momentum before whacking it in the back of the head of a passing merc that was too close to the blind monk.
Matt detected several were coming right for him and Chirrut and that they were next to a rocky wall. Wordlessly, he reached behind him and grabbed onto Chirrut with the blind man reading the lawyer's intention.
Daredevil heaved with Imwe running around him on the wall. Spinning round Chirrut smacked the group of mercs and pirates running at them, finishing off the last one with a spinning kick to the chest.
Back with the gunner of the Guardians, Baze let out a growl as he placed a mournful hand on the chest of a fallen brother glaring at the mercs and pirates that were attacking his home.
Cocking his weapon once more, Baze began to walk forward and let out a long series of blaster bolts at the invading army taking down many in a quick flurry.
Krennic all the while was rather starting to panic.
He had no idea that these peasants and rabble were so well trained and well-armed. He had figured they would at least be partially armed with primarily worthless weapons like that staff the blind monk was using.
Yet for some inexplicable reason, he along with that red armored horned freak were proving to be the deadliest of all those gathered. Tearing a swatch through his hired ranks, Krennic realized now he shouldn't have gone in in such a gung-ho manner for he was paying dearly for it now.
Cursing himself for his impatience, Krennic quickly fled the scene back to his main operating base. He sent out a message to the guards he had stationed there to ready the crystals they do have and get their ships warmed up for takeoff.
His mission here has failed but will not end here of all places.
Clean up lasted for a few more minutes with the last of the opposition either going down for the count or fleeing back to whence they came. And with the commotion happening outside of the temple, whoever had fled will get lost in the crowd for the Guardians to properly follow.
Daredevil let out a quick jab to the face of the last standing merc, with the man falling over in defeat signifying the end of this battle.
"Come. We must find where these men came from and find out who ordered them to attack the temple." Chirrut said, getting nods from Matt and Baze.
Once ordering the majority of his fellow guardsmen to secure the perimeter, Baze and a small contingent went out to find the enemy base in the city.
It took some digging and tracking to find their base and it wasn't easy as whoever they were wanted to cover their tracks.
Getting inside was a bit easy, given Chirrut used his lightsaber to cut through some of the defenses. Yet once searching the place earned some mixed feelings.
"Whoever was here wrecked all of their equipment." One of the temple guards stated.
"And there seems to be some items missing." Said another. "Crates and consoles, I wager."
"Some men must've stayed behind and done what was ordered in case their assault failed." Matt theorized. "No doubt hiding any connections as to who they were working for." He looked over to his two companions and explained further. "Someone went through a lot of trouble in wanting the Kyber Crystals."
"Could be anyone these days." Baze grunted out. "With the war going on, it could be whoever wants to gain an advantage in this."
"A likely guess if there were any." Matt said. "I have little hope the mercenaries and pirates will give us any clues in who hired them as the dead won't be exactly saying anything at all."
"There's nothing here unfortunately." Baze grunted. "That man that led them to our temple. He must have been the one that was in charge of this little operation to gain the Kyber crystals on this planet."
"Who was he?" Matt inquired.
"Unknown." Chirrut said. "Though his intentions… the Force spoke of him in a dark manner. I sensed a grave eventuality if that man continues to live."
Matt grimaced. "What do you mean?"
He was more used to having cold hard evidence to properly find one being guilty or innocent. Despite him learning little by little about the Force, Matt couldn't really trust it when it came to his legal profession.
The grim expression and tone didn't exactly help. "I… I heard millions of voices. All screaming out only to be silenced suddenly. This… this is a future I wish to prevent."
"Then how do we do such a thing?" Matthew asked, not liking this concept of millions dying for nothing.
"Find him, that's what." Baze said bluntly.
"How?" Matt asked.
"Only time will tell us." Chirrut said sagely. "I know it may be difficult for you, Matt. But trust in the Force. It will provide the answer in time."
Both Baze and Matt merely groaned at the usual response the monk gave them.
Chirrut gave them both an amused smile. "Yes, I know it can be like that at times."
"Forget it." Baze waved down. "Come on, there's still injured back at the temple and we must prepare our respects for those who have fallen."
"Yes we must." Chirrut agreed solemnly, walking out with Matt standing there in silence.
How in god's name had this happened to him in such a short amount of time? Wasn't he dealing with court cases a month ago with Foggy and Karen?
How did he wind up in a Galaxy Far Far Away without knowing if Spider-man or Black Panther were alright? His life wasn't really meant to go in such a route.
"Matt." Baze called out to him. "Come on, let's not keep the others waiting."
Matt nodded, walking out from the office and back to the Kyber Temple. Back to his new crazy space adventuring life.
It wouldn't be days later when Matt's life would change even further. Reunions with a familiar voice and familiar names with their allies in the galaxy he currently resided in.
At least he wasn't as alone as he thought he'd be.
Alright, that makes another one said and done.
I think I need to clarify once more and really just want to let you guys know the whole thing here on these past five chapters. From chapters 26 to this chapter, 31, there has been four ongoing concurrent story arcs all at the same time with Chapter 28 where Nat's story and Daredevils story all converge together.
Jebest4781: The last of the branching arcs have come to a close and now we get into the good stuff now. I can't wait to get started on them as it'll be so much fun.
FMW: Big time with Geonosis, Mandalore, Ultron's plans and so, SO MUCH MORE to come, J and I are just getting warmed up. We've had crazy crap happening here and in our other story A Song of Fire, Ice and Hearts it's astonishing we can keep ourselves focused with one story at a time.
So, everyone has been chomping at the bit and waiting patiently so we all know the arc to come next. And let's just say we're not holding anything back at all. Going full blown into it like no tomorrow so fasten your seatbelts ladies and gentlemen cause we're going to Geonosis.
Until then…
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.