With bombs and the devil, and the kids keep comin'

[guardiandevil]

WHO: Matt Murdock & You!
WHERE: NOHoPE
WHEN: December 27th-31st during visiting hours.
WARNINGS: Insanity?
SUMMARY: Matt's been locked up and is awaiting his trial. He's able to take visitors.
FORMAT: Your choice.

[He doesn't actually feel up to taking visitors yet, but who is he to argue with the professionals? He's surrendered, he deserved whatever torture they dished out, including uncomfortable conversations with his former friends. It wasn't like they'd understand anyways. They hadn't been through what he had. They hadn't touched true power, had the ability to to fix the world right in their palms, had such divinity slip away.

If they had, they'd probably be called crazy, too.]

Comments

err day. but mostly 27 december

[psychomancy]

[Whether or not he wants her there, Gemma is there on Thursday afternoon, book of poetry in hand. It isn't her usual day to read to the patients, which is noted by the front clerk, but as she is effectively without a job, she has decided to spend her newly found free time in the most useful manner possible.

She navigates the hospital without trouble, and gives a gentle knock to his door before opening it and slowly looking inside.]

Matt?

[guardiandevil]

Gemma.

[His expression falls when he hears her voice. It's embarrassing enough to be here, he can't stand the idea of letting the people he cares about see him in such a state. Why did she have to come? Why does she have to see him at his worst?]

You didn't have to come here.

[psychomancy]

[She's wearing a dress and some thick stockings; she always prefer to be a little more formal in the hospital than in public. Perhaps to help them differentiate her from the staff. It also reminded her of home, in a strange way.

The redhead steps quietly into his room and leaves the door ajar.]

Of course I did.

[guardiandevil]

[He nearly tells her that he'd rather she hadn't come at all, but he can't bring himself to speak it aloud. Not when her presence is so familiar and calming. The lilt in her voice, the scent of rose water clinging to her skin like an old faded memory. He wants her close, needs her now. Comfort, lies, he'll accept anything, so long as she doesn't leave him alone.]

I'm so sorry, Gemma.

[psychomancy]

[Leaving him right now isn't on her agenda. Everything that had happened had almost been too much for her; she couldn't imagine what effect it was having on him. She doesn't think she's good at comforting people--the English never are--but she can at least provide company, hopefully of a sort that keeps him calm.

The apology makes her pause halfway across the room. She bites her lip. Why is he apologizing to her? She isn't one of the children he'd kidnapped, or one of their parents. But a part of her... accepts it. Yes very good, Matt. I deserved that. She can't explain why, so she ignores it. Instead:]

You don't need to apologize to me.

[guardiandevil]

No, no. I do.

[Not because he feels real remorse for what he's done, for the war he's decided needs waging. Oh no. But for other reasons entirely.]

I've put you in an inconvenient position. Believe me when I say I didn't want to cause you any strife.

[psychomancy]

[She's just going to quietly assume it's the latter. Because remorse means that he isn't entirely crazy. Her voice softens.]

I know you didn't. I'm not angry--it's just going to take adjustment.

29th / just when visiting hours start

[gevurah]

[ Matt didn't know it, but Kate had shown up the other day only to turn around and head back to her current place. She had thought maybe an extra day would drive away some of her anger-- or at least displace it temporarily.

It didn't. She can still feel her nails digging into her palms and her heart thumping loud and fast in her chest. It's all she can hear until she's been granted access down into the visitors' center. She's lead to a chair and behind the glass is another chair, for Matt, obviously.

She takes a seat and waits patiently for staff to inform and bring Matt. She won't leave too soon this time. She needs to hear what Matt has to say, even if she knows she won't like it. ]

[guardiandevil]

[Matt's requests to not have any more visitors had apparently fallen on deaf ears, but rather than fight against his caretakers, he allowed them to lead him to the visiting room. They lead him to the chair with more care than is necessary, seemingly unaware that the blind patient they are aiding can more than navigate the halls on his own.

Once seated, he manages to keep something of a straight face while waiting for Kate to say something, anything. What did she have to say for herself, turning against him as she did.]

[gevurah]

[ There's a long silence that settles between them. Kate should say something first-- after all, she is the visitor here. In this place that's supposed to help people who've gone off the deep end. (Like it "helped" Dent. What does that say for Matt?)

Her posture straightens and she stares into Matt's eyes. Maybe it helps he can't see the quiet anger in hers. ]

Hello, Matt.

[guardiandevil]

[He lifts his face toward her at last, expression steeled as best he can manage. The tone of her voice still cuts at him, though he still feels he's the one who was betrayed. What had he done? What was so wrong, teaching his students the true and righteous path?]

Kate.

[gevurah]

[ Upon entering the visitors' center, she eyed the cameras from each corner and the staff nearby, probably listening in on the conversation but ready to leap in if it's required.

She remains very conscious of all eyes, mechanical or not on them. She knows she has to be choose her words carefully and restrain herself from immediately patronizing Matt on the spot. ]

If you have nothing to say I can turn around right now.

[guardiandevil]

I don't know why you're here, Kate.

[After all, she was part of the party that brought about his downfall. She's the one that betrayed him, the one who refused to see the truth.]

I've made my position crystal clear.

[out_of_time]

[Jack is not a fan of the hospital's cafeteria. The food is nourishing but institutional in a way he dislikes, and the facility's security makes even lunch a chore: hot drinks and plastic utensils are treated as potential weapons. Jack can recognize that this is smart, covering all the angles with a difficult set of patients. He still doesn't like the cafeteria.

Ordinarily seeing Matt Murdock in NOHoPE wouldn't have been a surprise- he's a defense lawyer, of course he'll have clients from the asylum. Seeing him in patient garb is something else- Jack saw Gemma's post but still doesn't have the whole story. He heads to Matt's table- under watch from a guard, of course.]

Matt Murdock? I'm Jack Bauer, we spoke some time ago on the communicator. [And met in person, but Jack doesn't know about Daredevil.]

[guardiandevil]

[Matt's expression doesn't change, eyes still fixed on a blank spot on the table, fingers still clutching the puny plastic spoon with flavorless pureed vegetables on it. These group meals have been somewhat taxing on him, as he fluctuates between feeling righteous and remorseful. Why can't he just be left alone? His solace has always come from solitude.]

Yes. I remember you. You were an officer for a long time. [He remembers their conversation, remembers his other friends from the force, all long gone. Aaron, Yusuke, Sheldon...]

[out_of_time]

Yeah, I was. And now I'm here. [It's a painful reminder. Elisa, Carlton, Seras, the Red Queen... Friends and comrades from a past he left behind in disgrace.]

And now you're here too. I'd like to know how that happened.

[guardiandevil]

[Matt's mouth hardens into a thin line, eyes closing behind his tinted glasses. Why deflect the truth now? His war has been for naught, there is nothing left to hide.]

I was prepared to wage a war against corruption. Apparently, the City wasn't ready for that.

[out_of_time]

You went too far, didn't you. [Jack nods approvingly for a second because that's basically how he wound up here. Then he stops and frowns.]

People on the Network mentioned that children were involved somehow, students at the Dojo. You know anything about that?

[guardiandevil]

No, no. Just the opposite. [He hadn't had the chance to go too far. In his own estimation, he hadn't amassed the resources to go far enough before the traitors took him out.]

They were my pupils. I was instructing them in a new form of martial arts. [He frowns.] Laura decided she didn't like my teachings. The announcement she made on the Network was a gross exaggeration. The children were only endangered once Batwoman and Red Hood showed up.

December 28, midway through visiting hours

[hastheedge]

[Xanatos felt like he had to visit. After all, he had a sneaking suspicion about this sudden burst of insanity. Matt seemed reasonable enough when they had fought each other in that battle royale. And he had done some backreading through the comms, and the man seemed reasonable in those interactions. Suddenly going off the walls and recruiting a preteen ninja army seemed...unreasonable. HABIT had to have done something to him-that was the only explanation in Xanatos's mind. And Xanatos, still unreasonably interested in HABIT wanted to find out just what it was.

It never occurred to Xanatos that he was completely barking up the wrong tree. Even if it had occurred to him, there was no way in hell he would admit it.

As the staff bring Matt into the visiting room, Xanatos is smiling calmly and placidly.] It's a pleasure to see you, Mr. Murdock.

[guardiandevil]

I wish I could say the same thing.

[His attempt at making light seems to fall a bit flat, not that it was at all funny anyway. Matt sits down across from Xanatos just as a wave of dread overwhelms him. Suddenly his mind is transported back to that day in the arena and the roar of the crowd fills his head for all of a second. It's enough to make him flinch slightly as he settles in his chair.]

This is certainly a surprise.

[hastheedge]

[Xanatos is watching Matt carefully, trying to look disinterested on the surface. He wanted to see signs of some kind. He didn't know what kind of signs...just something to show that HABIT was there and was watching.]

It's been a while. I think the last time we talked was...possibly that day in the arena. You know, I don't think I ever apologized to you for my actions.

[His tone is slightly flippant, as he continues to watch Matt, viewing his every move.]

[guardiandevil]

[His mouth twitches slightly as Xanatos speaks, at the thought of an apology. Would it be wholehearted? Did that even matter? Perhaps going through the motions was enough. Sincere or not, Matt could offer his true absolution to Xanatos. After all, HABIT had forced all their hands, his anger would always remain focused there.]

If you're offering to now, I'll accept it.

[hastheedge]

[Xanatos pauses, not saying anything just yet, coming up with another test in his mind. At Matt's statement, he shrugs in a nonchalant, noncommittal sort of manner.]

We'll see about that apology-at least for formality's sake. Not that I feel particularly bad about it, of course. I did what had to be done. [HABIT would appreciate such brutality; Matt wouldn't. And, though Xanatos would never admit it, it was a little bit of fun playing the cliche villain.]

[guardiandevil]

And what man can honestly say he wouldn't do the same thing if put into your position?

[Matt could have said that. But that was before he'd gone home, before he'd tasted the purifying truth that real, tangible power could have.]

I didn't expect we would meet again like this. To what do I owe the pleasure?