Aoi Dragon: Hi everyone! I'm still here, I haven't gotten sick, and I haven't given up on this story (although I am suffering from major writer's block). Anyway, apparently today, June 13 in Chris Evans's birthday, so I thought that I better post a chapter in his honor... although this is a very Daredevil-heavy chapter. Well, I hope you like it!

*FMttM*

Very late one night, Diana's cell phone rang. The caller ID showed that it was Matt's burner phone. He rarely called her on his burner phone unless he was hurt and unable to make it to her place. Usually, he either dropped by or called her from his actual phone.

Quickly she answered, "Matt? Are you okay?"

"Umm… Sorry, this isn't, um, Matt," A woman's voice answered.

"Shit." Diana cursed, having given away Matt's identity to the woman she was guessing was probably Claire.

"I found him in a dumpster, and your number was the first one in his phone." Claire paused, "He's… he's in pretty bad shape. I stitched him up as best I could 'cause he said 'no hospitals.'"

"I can help." Diana told the nurse, "I just need an address."

"Oh, um…" Claire trailed off before giving her address in Hell's Kitchen.

Once Diana hung up, she quickly changed clothes and slipped on her Sling Ring. She made a portal to the alleyway near Claire's apartment building and, after swiping the golden circle closed, made her way to the front door and then to Claire's apartment.

Diana knocked on the door and waited for the Latina nurse to answer. Claire opened the door a crack, saying, "Yes?"

"I'm here for the moron in the dumpster," Diana told her.

The brunette opened the door wider, "He's -" Then she realized who she was talking to, "You're Shieldmaiden of the Avengers!"

The blonde gave a wry smile, "Yeah, although I prefer to be called Diana when not in my robes."

"I'm Claire… Temple." She answered, stepping aside and allowing the sorceress to enter.

"Nice to meet you. Where's the moron?"

"He already tried to escape once, so I left him where he dropped - this way." She explained, "After he fainted, I found his burner and called the first number in it."

"Lucky for him."

The apartment was small but had a warm ambiance to it. Matt, dressed in his all-black Devil of Hell's Kitchen clothes, lay on the floor. Parts of the black ensemble were darker than others, indicating exactly where his injuries were.

Diana sighed and knelt next to him, "You're as bad as Steve, Matty."

"I stopped the bleeding," Claire told her, "but I can't do much if there's anything broken or any internal damage."

The blonde lifted Matt's shirt and looked at the stitches. They were a thousand times better than hers had ever been, "I think I'll have him keep these external injuries since they're not life-threatening. Serves him right for not taking us up on getting him a better suit."

"So you've known about what he does for a while."

"I was there when he started." Diana nodded.

"And you didn't stop him?" The other woman asked.

"If you could sense the world the way he does, I doubt you'd be able to stop yourself from going out to seek vigilante justice on the criminals the cops can't pin down." Diana smiled fondly at her friend, "He's got a bit of Captain America in his attitude toward trying to do the right thing." She looked at Claire, "He doesn't like bullies any more than Steve does." The sorceress cracked her knuckles, "I'm going to use some magic to see if he's broken anything, so don't freak out."

The Latina woman blinked, "Magic?"

The blonde smiled and made some hand and finger motions. A small tao mandala appeared in front of her splayed hand and she trailed it along Matt's torso, arms, and legs. A couple of broken ribs close to the lung and one cracked one. The rest was superficial, although she decided to heal the puncture wound made by who knows what.

Diana closed her hand, deactivating the spell, and sighed, "What am I gonna do with you?" She created another tao mandala to heal the injuries.

"So that's magic…" Claire breathed once the sorceress had finished.

"He should be waking up any time now," Diana told her, "He'll probably be a little disoriented since he lost a lot of blood."

"And I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with his eyes."

"He's blind in a conventional sense." The blonde shrugged, "He can see, just not the way we do. It's more fiery, spherical radar rather than full spectrum color in one direction."

"That's gotta be handy in a fight."

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Diana sent a smile to Claire, "And yet, here he is with his Dread Pirate Roberts clothes soaked in his own blood."

Matt tensed on the couch as he regained consciousness, and his senses went a little haywire with his disorientation, "Wh-"

Diana reached out and touched his hand and whispered as quietly as she could, "I'm here, Matty. You're safe."

"Diana?" He asked as his blank eyes fluttered open, "What-what happened?" He sucked in a breath, "Who else is here?"

"It's okay, Matt. She's a friend, Claire Temple. She's the one who found you bleeding out in a dumpster. She stitched you up and called me."

"She shouldn't have." The blind vigilante groaned as the stitches pulled at his skin.

"I'm not the type of person to just leave someone bleeding to death anywhere, much less a dumpster." Claire groused, "You needed help. I helped. Then I called the first number on your phone."

"Lucky it wasn't Foggy," Diana mumbled just loud enough for Matt to hear.

He collapsed back onto the couch and turned his face toward Diana, "You didn't heal the flesh wounds."

"A reminder to not be a moron," Diana chastised, "What the hell happened out there?"

"A couple of days ago the Russian Mafia beat up a man and kidnapped his young son," Matt explained, "I finally found them tonight, but there were more of them than I thought. They ambushed me."

The blonde's eyes narrowed, "And you didn't think to call for backup?" Matt opened his mouth to reply, but Diana cut him off, "I'm sure Black Widow and the Winter Soldier would've struck fear into the hearts of Bratva or whatever."

"I didn't want any assassins, Russian or otherwise," Matt replied.

"Then you should've called me!"

"We should give you some time to rest." Claire went into nurse-mode.

Matt looked to Diana, and she shrugged, "She's the official nurse. I'm just here to make things go a little faster. You still have the flesh wounds, you know."

"Fine." He grumbled and reached up with his hand. Diana took it and pulled him to his feet before leading him to the couch. She looked over to Claire for confirmation that it was okay for him to rest there, and the nurse nodded.

"Rest." The sorceress commanded.

Matt smiled wryly, "Yes ma'am." Then he settled into the couch and closed his eyes.

Diana turned around to Claire, "So… what should we talk about in the meantime? I'm not about to leave this moron to his own devices"

"I haven't fallen asleep yet," Matt mumbled from the couch.

The blonde stuck her tongue out at her friend before turning her attention back to Claire, "Let's make some tea or something not in this room."

"Okay." Claire motioned Diana into her kitchen. The Latina woman proceeded to search her cupboards for tea or coffee. She found the latter and put on a carafe. Claire glanced at Diana, who'd sat at the table in the kitchen, "I have a feeling this is gonna be a long night."

"Yeah. Matt's stubborn, but his heart's in the right place."

"How'd you meet him?"

Diana folded her hands, "It was after the Chitauri Invasion a couple of years ago." She paused, "I happen to live on the floor below him, so I was heading home from beating some aliens to a pulp. I found Matt collapsed in the hallway and realized that he could hear everything going on during the invasion - all the screams and cries for help. He could hear it all."

"That's horrible."

"I helped him refocus and do his best to block out the aftermath of the battle."

"How'd you know about his abilities if you'd just met him?" Claire sat across from Diana as the coffee maker dripped coffee into the pot.

"I-" The sorceress stumbled, "Well, I knew his grandfather."

The nurse frowned, confused, "His grandfather…" Then her eyes lit up as she remembered something, "That's right! I remember during the Winter Soldier Trial you said you were a part of the SSR."

"Yeah. I was a nurse at a hospital in London for a few weeks before returning to the SSR, and I met Private Luke Murdock. He'd been captured and experimented on by HYDRA, like Bucky."

"So that's where Matt's skills came from?"

"I'm pretty sure his special abilities come from the serum. He has some of them in common with both Steve and Bucky, and they received more of the super-soldier serum than Luke probably did."

"So Matt's a bit of a super-soldier."

"A bit. He's more ninja than soldier, though, just like Bucky's more assassin than soldier. It's how they were trained."

Diana turned the conversation to Claire and her job as a nurse. They discussed what had changed in nursing since World War II. After about an hour and a half and about two cups of coffee later, Claire suggested checking on Matt to make sure he hadn't broken his stitches.

She knelt down next to the vigilante and gently lifted his shirt to look at the stitches.

"If you wanted to get my shirt off, you should've asked first," Matt rumbled with an upwards quirk to his lips.

Claire was on her feet, blushing, "Why you -"

His eyes suddenly snapped open, "Shh," and his nostrils flared, "Someone's coming. He just entered the building and is going door to door, probably looking for me. He's on the third floor already." His nose scrunched before he brushed at it with his fingers, "Smells like Prima cigarettes and discount cologne."

"You can smell a man on the third floor?" Claire asked, still not completely understanding the way Matt's powers worked. Matt lurched up to a sitting position and felt around for his mask.

"All senses are turned up to eleven," Diana replied as she slipped on her Sling Ring. She opened a portal because they were definitely going to need backup if Matt was going to go after the boy the Russian Mafia had kidnapped.

"And where exactly is that going?" Claire asked.

"Avengers Tower." Matt scowled at the sorceress, "You really think we should involve them?"

At the same time, the blind vigilante had addressed Diana, Claire had squawked, "What?!"

"I'm going to enlist the help of the only two people I know who speak Russian. That way those Mafia thugs can't hide anything from us by speaking in a foreign language. I won't be long." She looked at Matt, "If he gets close, and I'm not back, tell JARVIS."

Diana stepped through the portal and called for the AI, "JAR, get Bucky or Nat. We have an issue with the Russian Mafia in Hell's Kitchen kidnapping a kid as ransom for his dad."

"Right away Miss," JARVIS replied. A moment later he spoke again, "Sergeant Barnes is on his way. Miss Romanoff is not residing in the Tower at this time."

"Thanks," Diana told the AI and waited for the ding of the elevator.

"He's on this floor," she heard Matt's voice coming through the portal.

Moments later the elevator dinged and the Winter Soldier stepped onto Diana's floor. He wore his specially made black leather jacket with the left sleeve ripped off. His gaze was hardened blue steel, "Поехали." He growled, taking her hand and pulled her through the portal.

Diana swiped the golden circle closed, "Bucky, Claire. Claire, Bucky." She introduced the Soldier to the Latina woman before turning to Matt, "How close?"

"A few doors down."

"What do you want to do?"

"He's gotta know where the boy is." Matt sat up and pulled on his mask, "I'd like to find out."

"I can do that." Bucky ground out.

"Buck, this guy's probably not HYDRA." Diana pointed out.

"The Soviets did my original conditioning before HYDRA came along. Many of them were affiliated with the Bratva and Mafia," he told her, "They'll show no mercy, so they don't deserve any. That's what they taught me, and it's the least they deserve for hurting a kid."

"Just don't kill him." Matt's voice had a similar commanding tone in it that Steve's sometimes had when he went into Captain America mode, "He's outmatched. There's no reason to do anything more than scare and maybe hurt him."

"Damn, you really are like Steve." Bucky sighed with a nostalgic smile, "I can do that."

"I think just seeing the Winter Soldier will probably make the guy wish he'd worn his brown pants," Diana added.

Daredevil's head turned toward the door, "He's coming this way." Matt murmured.

"I'll take him out." Bucky raised his left arm, indicating his weapon of choice for the knockout, "Then we'll go to the roof to interrogate him." He looked to the only civilian in the room, "And you should definitely stay here where it's safe."

"Oh, I definitely will. I'm not going to watch anything that's happening up there. I took an oath to 'do no harm' and I'm gonna stand by that." Claire agreed and crossed her arms.

"He's at the door," Matt whispered.

There was a knock. The Soldier stepped forward and opened the door.

"Sorry to bother y-" The Soldier's metal fist smashed into the thug's temple, and the Russian dropped like a rock to the hallway floor.

Bucky opened the door wider and squatted next to the thug to survey him for a moment, "Not HYDRA." He concluded before turning his cold gaze to the Devil and glanced up.

Matt nodded and both looked to Diana. She sighed, "Portal to the roof coming right up." The Soldier picked up the thug-like he was a sack of potatoes as the golden circle sparked to life. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen and the Winter Soldier stepped through.

The blonde watched after them, "Those two are more alike than they realize. I'm gonna stop them from doing something stupid."

"Good." Claire gave her a look of approval, "Tell me if you find the kid, okay?"

"I will." Diana nodded, "You also might want to leave your apartment for a little while. The Russians could come back looking for you if this guy remembers where he was when he got hit." She paused, something bothering her at the back of her mind, "Does anyone else know about Matt?"

"Just the kid upstairs. He was the one who found him in the dumpster."

"You should go up there and tell him a little about what's going on. I don't want another kid taken or killed by the Mafia."

"Okay." Claire nodded, "Do you have a number where I can reach you?"

"Sure. I'll come back after this is all over and give it to you." The sorceress stepped through the portal and swiped it closed.

Matt's head tilted toward her, "You sure you want to watch this?"

"I probably saw worse injuries during the war."

"That's not what I meant." He indicated the heap on the roof where Bucky had unceremoniously dropped the thug, "It's not gonna be pretty."

"I've seen both of you do worse." Diana replied, "I've been on the receiving end of the Winter Soldier's ire, so I've seen Bucky's dark side."

"You haven't seen mine."

"Really Murdock?" She arched an eyebrow at the blind vigilante, "I've watched many of your future fights where things got a lot worse for you and them. You really don't think I haven't seen what you call the devil inside you come out to play?"

Matt hesitated, "I don't think it's the same as when it's live and right in front of you. Plus now we're your friends, not just characters portrayed by celebrities." He paused, his head turning toward the downed thug, "He's waking up." The Devil pulled her into the shadows.

The thug groaned and sat up, holding his head. He stuck his hand in his pocket before Bucky spoke in Russian, "Ищете это?"

The thug swung around and saw the Soldier holding what looked like a cell phone. The Russian's eyes went wide and all color drained from his face, "Зимний солдат!"

Diana recognized the word 'soldat' (солдат) and knew the thug had identified Bucky as the Winter Soldier.

"Ты похитил мальчика. Где он?" The Soldier asked, unsheathing a knife from his belt, giving it a twirl so it flashed in the moonlight.

The thug yelped, "M-M-Мальчик?"

Bucky turned toward the Devil, "Daredevil," the Soldier hissed.

Matt stepped out from the shadows and stalked toward the thug, "Two days ago your boss Vladimir Ranskahov assaulted a man and kidnapped his son. I want to know where the boy is or things might get a little nasty around here."

The thug's eyes darted between the Soldier and the Devil, "You're working together…" He whimpered and then mumbled something Diana couldn't hear.

That's when she smelled the stench of ammonia. The thug had wet himself. Well, Daredevil and the Winter Soldier standing in the darkness glaring at you would probably scare the piss out of anyone.

The Devil gave a cruel smirk, "I have friends in high places. It just so happens that the Winter Soldier speaks Russian and offered to make sure that you and your comrades didn't try to hide anything from me by speaking your mother-tongue. Now, where's the boy?"

The thug straightened his shoulders and replied, "He's dead."

The Devil lashed out, punching the Russian in the stomach. The man grunted and coughed, trying to regain his breath. The Devil sneered, "This is what unhappy looks like. So I'm going to ask one more time: Where is the boy?"

The Russian spluttered before replying, "What do you care? If he's not dead yet, he will be."

Snarling, the Devil invaded the Russian thug's personal space, "Why'd you take him?"

The thug laughed, although it was very nervous and unsteady, "Figured you'd come running."

"And after I was dead?"

"Sell the kid, like all the others." This earned the thug another punch in the stomach from the Devil.

In the shadows, the Soldier glanced over. His blue eyes gleamed with fury, and he twirled his knife. If sniping during WWII had taught him one beneficial thing, it was patience.

"Who do you sell the children to?" The Devil demanded.

"I don't know. Whoever pays the money."

Daredevil ground his teeth, "Then I'll ask one last time before I hand you over to someone who's much better at aggressive interrogation than me. Where is the boy?"

"So you find him. So what?" The thug scoffed a little, "We'll take another. Kill me, another will take my place." The phrasing got the Soldier's attention, and his knife glinted in the moonlight. The thug gulped and scuttled away, "If people buy, we'll sell. Killing me will change nothing, so go ahead. Keep hitting me."

The Devil scowled, "I was trying to be kind, but I guess the only thing you understand is violence." He looked over to the Soldier, "He's all yours."

The Soldier approached the thug who backed himself up against the low wall at the edge of the building. The Soldier squatted before him, holding up the knife, "Ты знаешь кто я." He murmured.

The thug trembled, "Да. James Buchanan Barnes, Зимний солдат."

The Soldier gave a dark smile, "Да. Зимний солдат." Then he switched to English, "I was trained by people like you - Bratva, KGB, military, and later, HYDRA. That training still remains, all the knowledge they put in my head." He tilted his head to the side, "You and your organization decided to kidnap a helpless, innocent kid. That's something I will not tolerate, even less so than Daredevil." The Soldier's knifepoint dug into the thug's chin, just above the jugular artery.

"No."

"Where is the boy?" The Soldier asked.

The thug said nothing and the knife dug in, drawing blood. "No, no, no."

"Где мальчик?" The Soldier snarled, his teeth flashing like an angry wolf's fangs. The blade cut into the flesh.

"No!" The thug cried out and he sobbed, "Underneath the Troika restaurant! Eleventh and 44th!"

The Soldier raked the knife across the thug's jawline, "Лучше не лги мне."

"Это правда!" The Russian shrieked, "It's the truth!"

Blue eyes turned toward the Devil, "He's telling the truth." Came the confirmation.

The Soldier withdrew the blade and sat back on his haunches. The thug blubbered against the wall as the Soldier wiped the blood off the knife on the thug's shirt sleeve.

"They'll-they'll be waiting for you. If you're lucky, they'll kill you before they start in on the boy. It would be a shame for you to have to watch what they do to him -"

With a snarl, the Soldier punched the Russian at the temple with his metal fist, and the thug slumped.

The Devil strode forward, "That might have been a little too much power," He told the Soldier as he squatted in front of the thug, "He's going to be out for a while."

"More than he deserves, but I don't like killing anymore," The super soldier replied, "Too much blood on my hands already. I don't need anymore."

Diana came forward and knelt in front of the thug. She used a bit of magic to assess the damage. She left the gash on the thug's neck, but touched her glowing fingers to his temple, "He'll live." She told them. Then she created a portal to a few blocks over, pushed the thug through it, and closed it again. Diana stood and turned to Matt and Bucky, the latter of whom was not looking at her.

"I can take it from here." Matt told them, "They won't expect me to have healed up so quickly, so I can catch them off guard."

"You sure Matt? You don't know how many there are."

"You've done enough helping me." His head leaned to the side toward Bucky, "Besides, I think you'll need to talk things through and maybe even update Claire."

"Okay. I only have one request." She told her friend who raised his chin, "Don't die."

Matt gave a tired, small smile, "That's not even close to the top on my 'Things I Want to Do' list. I'll call when it's all over." Then he turned and started making his way toward the kidnapped boy.

Diana turned her attention to Bucky, "Buck?"

His eyes flicked up and then back down, "We should go talk to that lady. She might need protection."

"Right. That first. But don't think I don't notice your attitude."

He nodded, "I just wish you hadn't been here to see that."

"I've seen way worse from your doppelgangers." Diana dismissed his statement as she formed a portal back to Claire's apartment, "Claire?" She called out. When she didn't get an answer, she ran a hand through her hair, "Crap. I told her to explain to the boy who found Matt in the dumpster a little of what was going on."

Bucky stood by silently, fingering the sheathed knife blade, "She should leave here for a while. I may not know much about the modern Russian Mafia, but the HYDRA Batva that trained me were vicious. She needs to get out of here until it's safe."

"I told her that too, so she'll probably come back to pack." Diana sighed and sat on the couch Matt had slept on not long before, "I guess we'll have to wait."

Bucky gave a curt nod and moved to the window to stare outside.

"You know, Buck, even though what happened up on that roof was… not pretty, it doesn't change anything."

"It should," he replied, "I wish you hadn't been there."

"You know, it was worse when it was just Daredevil." Diana pointed out, "He took Claire up there, and she told him how to get to this artery under the eye to get the kidnapped kid's location out of the thug. Then, when the Russian guy mocked the Devil and, well, the thug got thrown off the roof. Was in a coma in the hospital for a while." Bucky looked over at her as she continued, "So, what happened up there was peanuts in comparison."

"Murdock's capable of being that vicious?"

"When it comes to kids and people he cares about, Matt is a devil. Stick trained him that way - to embrace his darker impulses."

"The serum."

"Maybe." Diana shrugged, "I don't know what Luke was like before the serum, and I don't know what Matt was like before he went blind and the serum activated to help him heal. So I don't know what the serum enhanced."

Bucky ran his metal hand down the window frame, "Other than the anger, which was an enhancement Luke had too, Murdock is extremely protective of those he cares about." The Soldier smirked, "Like both Steve and me."

"Two and a half super soldiers." Diana joked. Bucky gave her a questioning look and she sighed, "Tony would've gotten it. It's not even a TV show I watched. It's just a catchy title - Two and a Half Men."

"I still have lots of catching up to do."

"There's time."

"Sometimes it doesn't seem like it. It's just one crisis to the next." His eyes flicked to the door, "I think the woman's coming back."

Seconds later the doorknob turned and Claire walked in. She stopped short and gasp, "Holy shit, you scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry, Claire," Diana apologized, "We just wanted to let you know that the thug's been dealt with."

"Is he alright?"

"He's alive." The sorceress glanced to Bucky and back to Claire, "It could've been a lot worse. He did have to go to the hospital, though. Concussions like his aren't something I can heal. The brain is just too intricate."

"Well, there's that." The brunette Latina brushed her fingers through her hair, "Thanks for telling me."

"Do you have a place to stay?" Bucky asked in a quiet voice.

"I'm cat-sitting for a friend. I'll stay there for a while until things settle here." Claire answered.

The Soldier nodded in approval, "Good. And I apologize if I frightened you. It's just… kids. Every time I hear about a kid getting hurt I see Steve getting beat up in a back alley with no one around to help him, or I see one of the ones I..." He clenched his jaw and turned his gaze out the window, a haunted look simmering in his blue eyes.

The nurse gave the Winter Soldier a compassionate look, "You know, during the trial, I was hoping you'd get acquitted. I've seen some fucked up shit, but what HYDRA did to you… it made me sick just to watch it on the late-night news." She paused, "And I can understand the thing about kids."

"I can give you my number in case Matt decides to go dumpster diving again." Diana offered.

"If you're the super healer, what do you need me for?" Claire asked, confused.

The sorceress smiled, "You're important." Bucky's gaze turned back to Diana with raised eyebrows, "Plus Matt's gonna need someone else he can talk to about his nights out. He wants to keep himself separate from the Avengers, so having a support system outside of that is good for him."

"But why me?"

"Because you're trustworthy." Diana declared, "Your stitches are a million times better than mine ever were, and any other than injuries his friends would notice, especially those that would require hospitalization, I might ease up on his magic healing until he gets a better suit."

"Why would you even trust me? You barely know me."

"You're the Night Nurse. Or rather A Night Nurse."

"I don't understand."

"Diana always knows more than she lets on." Bucky explained, "She sometimes likes to be cryptic about it just to be annoying. Still, even we tend to believe her when she makes these kinds of references." He stood next to Diana, "If she says you're completely trustworthy, I believe her, and the other Avengers would too if they were here."

"You're putting a lot of faith in me," Claire told them.

"It's the least we can do in exchange for your help."

"Right. Well, I should probably pack."

"I can put my number in your phone, just in case." Diana looked to the nurse. Claire dug out her cell phone, unlocked it, and handed it to Diana. She put in her contact information, "Try it." Claire called and Diana put the nurse's number in as Rosario Dawson.

"Tell Matt not to do anything stupid next time you see him." The nurse said, "I don't want to find him in another dumpster.

The sorceress laughed, "I will. See you later and stay safe." Diana formed a portal to Avengers Tower and she and Bucky stepped through.

*FMttM*

"Looks like Murdock and pal got themselves another case," Tony announced to the Avengers during one of their team dinners a couple of days after Diana had gone to help Claire with Matt's injuries. The billionaire pulled up the media from the case, "Not the most reputable guy," Tony hummed.

"I thought Matt only wanted to take cases for people he knew were innocent." Steve frowned at the media and the information Tony had gathered on this John Healy person.

"I think I know why Murdock's so keen on this guy," Tony waved his hands and moved some of the screens aside, "Diana told me to look into them and they're not nice people." A screen showing Union Allied Construction came to the forefront, "One of Murdock's previous clients who was accused of murder," more screens moved to show a young, blonde woman, "Karen Page, was a secretary there." Her picture floated to the side so the Union Allied screen could take precedence again.

"So this Jack Healy is turning on his employer, like Miss Page," Steve concluded.

"Right you are, Capsicle." Tony nodded before he scowled at the screen, "Union Allied... Stark Industries never had to deal with them. Even Stane thought they were too shady, and that's saying something considering what he did."

Bruce pushed up his glasses and frowned, "I don't see the CEO's name anywhere in your information."

"That's because he's completely off the grid. Or if he isn't, his life outside of the business has no connections to it." Tony swiped through some screens, "But I did find who I'm sure is his right-hand man." A thirty-something-year-old man with dark, almost black hair and thick-rimmed glasses came to the forefront. It was obvious that the photos were taken from security cameras, "He visited the Nelson and Murdock office recently, so I checked up on him. Facial recognition puts him as a one James Wesley. No criminal record. In fact, he's squeaky clean. Not even a speeding or parking ticket. Which I always say is too good to be true."

"Matt can handle this." Diana told him, "He might need help with the Russian mob later, but this case - he doesn't need our help."

"It's not just this case!" Tony dismissed, "It's Union Allied Construction! It's got connections to those other two companies you told me about. Rand Corporation is relatively benign and probably a pawn in the big game, but Midland Circle? Oh, that's the treasure trove of mystery." He waved his hands a few more times, "Everything on it is paper only, which makes my job that much harder, but I was able to get a few documents that had been scanned in by journalists who later mysteriously vanished." He pulled up a few documents, "Guess they didn't know that nothing disappears from the Internet. Notice anything suspicious?"

After a moment, Bucky spoke, "The handwriting is the same even though the names are different."

"Bingo! Score one for the Terminator!" Tony grinned, although it was more bared teeth than a grin, "Midland Circle has had many names, but handwriting analysis says that the owner just continuously transferred assets."

"But these documents are fifty, one hundred years apart." Bruce pointed out, "That's not possible unless you go through stasis like Steve and James did."

"And that's the mystery." The billionaire looked to Diana, "So, Miss from-another-universe, want to clue us in as to how the CEO of Midland Circle is apparently immortal?"

"Wow. That's impressive." She commented, "None of this was supposed to come out until two years from now."

"Well, I do love a good mystery. So spill. Immortal - how?"

"The Hand." Diana answered simply, "The CEO is one of the Fingers - one of the Leaders."

"The Hand?"

To Diana's surprise, it was Bucky who answered, "They're dangerous." All eyes turned to the Winter Soldier. He ducked his head a little, "HYDRA liked to talk around me because they thought I'd never end up remembering anything they said. They were worried about an organization called The Hand. Ancient. Skilled. They were scared of them." He winced and pressed a couple of fingers to his temple.

"Buck, you okay?" Steve asked, concerned.

He nodded, "Some mental doors are still closed. They sometimes burst open with the right train of thought. Gives a hell of a headache." The Soldier rubbed his temple a bit more before continuing, "I think… HYDRA first mentioned them after my mission in Africa."

"Then it was him." Diana murmured.

Bucky turned his attention to her, "Who?"

"The guy you killed. I had wondered…" She trailed off and looked at the other Avengers. Then the sorceress sighed, "Sowande. He's one of the Fingers of the Hand. Sowande's main skill is using his chi - or internal magic - to manipulate other people and their bodies. I'm guessing he tried to crush your heart while you were fighting. He, like the CEO of Midland Circle, is very difficult to kill."

"But not unkillable." Tony pointed out.

"No, definitely not unkillable." Diana nodded, "Beheading is the only way to do so; otherwise, they'll resurrect after varying amounts of time."

"Are you serious?" The billionaire's eyes went wide, "Think of the marketing! Near immortality!"

"Plus increasing bloodlust and with every resurrection."

"So there's a downside, but think of the applications!"

"The last thing we need is an immortal Tony Stark." Diana's eyes narrowed at him.

"Whoever said it'd be me?"

"Because we know you, Tony." Steve was also giving the billionaire a disapproving look, "Humans were never supposed to be immortal. If we were, God would've made us that way."

"Look at the choir boy," Tony teased, "Hate to break it to you, Cap, but I don't believe in that Christian crap."

"Just because you don't believe -"

"Steve, don't." Diana told him, "Tony Stark only believes in what he can see and touch, and unfortunately God isn't one of those things." She looked to the billionaire, "And you don't want immortality. To get it through the Hand, you have to die first and then go through a ritual involving human blood from multiple people being forced into you along with crushed dragon bones. Does that sound pleasant?"

He blanched, "No, not really. Scratch what I said about marketing it. That's disgusting. You can't sell something like that." Tony turned back to his displays, "Well, now we know what they're after. We know they're skilled enough for HYDRA to be scared of them, and their members have immortality."

"Only the Fingers and their most valuable assets," Diana interjected.

"Well, that makes things easier. Fewer extremely dangerous people."

"Just because they're not immortal, doesn't make them dangerous." Bucky pointed out, "Steve and I aren't immortal, but we're dangerous. None of you are immortal, but you're all dangerous." He paused, "HYDRA even had threat levels for all of you. When they sent me out to kill Nicholas Fury, there were protocols to follow if I encountered each and every one of you." He paused, "Doctor Banner and Thor were top of the list, although the latter was unlikely to appear. Next, Black Widow and Captain America with Ironman in armor following close after that. Hawkeye and Ironman without armor. And lastly, Shieldmaiden."

"Why was Shieldmaiden so low on the list?" Bruce wondered, "She can be just as dangerous, if not more so, than Natasha or Clint when it comes to her magic."

"Thanks, Bruce." Diana gave a nod to the doctor.

"HYDRA only knew about Diana's shields and the fighting skills she displayed during the Invasion," Bucky informed them.

"Which were mediocre at best." The sorceress added.

"You got better." Steve patted her shoulder.

"Okay, back on track." Tony caught their attention again, "What're we gonna do about these Hand and Finger people?"

"Matt'll be able to handle most of it, but I think if some of us can give support, things'll go a lot smoother." Diana smirked, "And the Hand might panic a bit more than they did when it was just Daredevil."

"You sure that the blind ninja can handle it all?" Tony asked doubtfully.

"You haven't seen Matt fight. He can hold his own."

"I still want to upgrade his suit."

"Tony," Diana groaned and rolled her eyes, "he's got it covered."

"Says you." Then the billionaire sighed, "Fine. I'll leave it. For now."

*FMttM*

A little over a week later, Diana got a call on her cell from Matt's burner phone, "M-"

"I need your help." Matt's voice was rough.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Claire. You haven't been home all night. Come to my place. Now." He hung up.

Diana immediately jumped from her bed in Avengers Tower and wobbled a little. She really shouldn't have drunk so much wine on her date with Bucky. Placing a hand on the nightstand, she steadied herself. Her head throbbed, "Shit."

She dug through her handbag and found her Sling Ring. Quickly, the sorceress made a portal to Matt's apartment and stepped through, "Matt?"

"Over here." His apartment was dark, as usual, with only the neon red glow coming from a sign outside. Matt stood in his bloodied black clothes, looking down toward Claire. She was either sleeping or unconscious on the couch.

Diana approached immediately and saw that the Latina had been beaten badly.

Matt's nostrils flared, "You smell like wine."

"I got back from a date with Bucky a few hours ago and had a few too many libations."

"Is it safe for you to do your magic while tipsy?"

"I'm not tipsy. I just never changed out of my date-night clothes." She examined Claire. Lacerations, bruises, contusions. Probably more. "What can you tell me?" She asked Matt.

He listed off her injuries and Diana got to work healing the nurse, "It's my fault they took her."

"Who?" The sorceress asked as she worked.

"The Russian Mafia. The Ranskahov brothers. She really should've left me in that dumpster."

The cuts and bruises healed and Diana moved on to the fractured bones, "She was just trying to be a good person, Matt."

"It's gonna get her killed. I should cut ties as soon as I know she's okay."

Diana moved to the fracture in Claire's wrist, "We both know that's not going to happen."

"Because she's 'important'?" The blind vigilante ground his teeth.

The blonde looked up at him. His blank eyes were narrowed in her direction; perhaps his senses were zeroing in on her vitals. She finished the healing as she thought about what to say. Diana stood when she was finished and turned to Matt, "Claire Temple is a good person. She'll go out of her way to help you whenever she can. She'll knock some sense into you if you're being stupid. She'll even smack you if she feels like you deserve it."

"That didn't answer my question."

"Matty, look at her. Really look at her." Diana told him. She didn't know what anything would look like to him with his world on fire, but the sorceress couldn't think of how to tell him how strong of a person she was. She faced, would face, the Hand with an improvised weapon and her guts.

"All I see is someone who got hurt because of me." He replied.

"Oh god, Matt, stop with the Catholic guilt. I swear you're like a cross between Steve and Bucky in the worst and best ways." She rubbed her face and sighed, "Look, yes, Claire is important. She is the heart of everything going on in the street level defense. She is the moral compass when those who are fighting get lost. She's the one that will bring Defenders together when things go to shit."

Matt shook his head, "It doesn't have to be her. You already know a lot that's going to happen. Why can't it be you? You're trained. You've been involved. She's a civilian. Not a soldier."

"When I started out in WWII, I was just a med student turned combat nurse. I knew nothing about the profession, but Colonel Phillips decided to put a tiny bit of trust in me with one of his men. I got mediocre training at best for most of the army fitness and firearms courses. I never got the full regimen. Still, I was sent out into the field with the Commandos."

"That's different. You were at war. She's not. She needs to stay safe."

"I won't always be around, Matt, to heal your wounds. Claire's the next best thing."

"I never asked you to heal anything." He retorted.

There was a groan from the couch, "Will you guys stop arguing. I knew what I was getting into the minute I brought a masked man into my apartment." She reached up and touched her face. When she found no injuries, she gasped, sat up, and began looking at her arms and legs for her other injuries, "They're all gone."

"Matt called as soon as he got you here," Diana informed the nurse.

"Diana? You healed me."

"Of course I did."

"That's amazing!" Claire ran her fingers over her face where she'd been punched multiple times. Then she frowned, "Why do I still feel like I was hit by a bus?"

"I can't heal emotional stress... or normal stress for that matter."

"That makes sense. Well, thanks." Claire gave Diana a grateful look before turning her gaze to Matt, "And I would rather stay in the know in all this just in case they come back for me."

"They won't," Matt growled, "if they know what's good for them."

"I can ask Tony to have JARVIS keep watch on your building." Diana offered.

"Tony? As in Ironman Tony Stark Tony?"

The sorceress grinned, "Yup. I look after the people I consider friends."

"Some friendship. You heal up this moron," she indicated Matt, "on my couch, and then you heal me up on his couch. Soon we'll both be crashing on your couch bleeding to death." Claire paused, "Some surveillance would be appreciated. At least for a while."

"I'll let him know."

There was a brief pause before Matt spoke, "I'm going after the Ranskahovs. They need to be put away."

"Not without backup."

"No. I'll call if I need something."

"Matt -"

"No Avengers!" He snarled.

Diana took a step away, surprised at his anger. Her jaw worked a little, "Fine." She looked to Claire, "I hope tomorrow you feel better. Call me whenever you want."

"I'll do that." The Latina nodded, "Thanks again for everything."

"No problem." The sorceress looked back at the vigilante, "I hope you know what you're doing, Daredevil, otherwise things'll get a bit messy. I was planning on informing the police department that Shieldmaiden had taken Daredevil under her wing to get them off your back, but if you want to be the loner, I guess you can do that too. You did just fine without me before. You can do it without me again. See you around."

She formed a portal and stepped through, swiping it closed without another word.