DAREDEVIL.

“A bad kind of different?” Matt asked curiously as he tilted his head at the younger woman. He was certainly curious about anything mutant related after the recent stunt at the mansion. Something felt off to him about the resurrections, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. And from what Jen relayed to him, the attack felt personal, somehow.

“Maybe you can start with the Web. That’s what you guys call it, right?”

Matt smiled at that as he gave the woman a soft nod. “I’ll be sure to let Karen and Foggy know you said that. They’ll be thrilled.” Foggy still got into those moments of self doubt even now that they had a genuinely good thing going, so Matt would relay all the compliments that he could. “There’s definitely nothing wrong with grassroots, don’t get me wrong, it’s just not the same. But honestly, I wouldn’t want it to be. I’ve tried the higher profile stuff, and it’s not really for me.”

“I’ll pretend like I didn’t hear that.” Not that Matt was a cop or anything, but he didn’t want to somehow turn into an accomplice to whatever this girl had gotten up to as a mercenary. Not that he didn’t do some questionable things in a devil costume when the sun went down. “What? I don’t know.. This is the first time I’m meeting you.” And hopefully the last.

“That would be correct.” Matt was practically beaming at the mention of her as he turned in the direction of MJ’s voice. “Her firm seems more equipped to handle your needs, trust me.”

Matt couldn’t help the way his face brightened as their conversation shifted over to Jen. It was hard to contain it, with how well things were going between the two of them. Things with Jen were easy, and fun. They still hadn’t officially defined their relationship, but he was happy with being exclusive with her for the time being. “That’s understandable. I wouldn’t expect you to keep up with the happenings in the lawyer world.” She-Hulk was a pretty hot topic, even beyond legal gossip. She’d made national news after she hulked out and punched Titania through a wall in the middle of a court session. “If you’re asking me for advice, I’d say you’re off the hook. Although it would probably be a good idea to lay low for a bit, which it seems you’ve already been doing.”

“Yeah, sand is the worst. I’ve never really been one for the outdoors in general, anyways. But I’m sure the view at the beach is lovely.” Matt chuckled softly as he nodded at her, and he grinned to himself at her suggestion. “I’ve tried, they’re usually too loud.” His heightened sense of hearing didn’t help with that. But Matt also needed to be able to clearly hear the city at night, in case something happened that he needed to help with. A noise machine would just be a distraction.

Matt smiled awkwardly at that, the urge to tell her that she was way off about that fact far too strong. He was sure her opinion on his morals would change if she knew what he got up to whenever the sun went down in Hell’s Kitchen, but he kept that to himself as per usual. “I do what I can. Someone has to, I suppose.” And with that, he moved on almost immediately. “Now, tell me more about Ms. Fontaine.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I can’t see your face.” The comment was followed by a quiet, self-deprecating chuckle as he lifted his head back up in her direction and tilted it to the side. “I never met my Natasha, anyways.”

“Yup, guess I missed him too.” There was a small smile on Matt’s face as he listened to the younger girl practically stumble over him to get that fact out. It was endearing, how lighthearted she sounded. How much hope there was behind her voice still. It might have even been refreshing if not a little depressing. He’d seen the worst of the worst during his time in the suit, and running into children in similar suits twisted his gut with a strange sense of guilt. The last thing he’d intended was to be some kind of inspiration for teenagers to go out and put their lives on the line. “Oh, I don’t know about that. It seemed like kind of a one-off thing. Wait.. there was a subreddit?”

The mention of a chemical spill made Matt’s spine stiffen ever-so-slightly, but he kept his face polite and neutral as he just nodded at the younger man. “So you’re a mutant, then? It seems like I meet a new one every day.”

Matt’s arm tightened around Walker’s as he tugged harder at his grip, twisting the other man into a subdued position while his other hand continued to grip onto his truncheon. He was inches away from lifting it and striking another blow to the Thunderbolt’s face, but he managed to hold himself back as he clenched his jaw and panted heavily. “Let’s try this again. The Sheriff in the town. Did you interact with her?”

“I’m not sure if killing is ever right and proper.” And Matt meant that, he wasn’t sure. There were times where he was completely sure of himself when it came to his own moral compass, but when he’d cornered Fisk he nearly beat the other man to death, and wanted to. Still did, whenever he let himself think back to that moment. “Judicially and morally. There’s always another way.”

“America. I like the name.” Matt offered a small smile in the girl’s direction as he raised his eyebrows from underneath his red-tinted glasses. There were still times where he doubted the name Hell’s Kitchen had given him, but by now it felt oddly fitting. Leaning into the devil persona certainly helped. “Last time I checked, Star Girl isn’t taken.”

Matt’s face flushed a bit when Carol repeated it out loud to him, the depth of that statement hitting him. But he didn’t mind. Thinking about Jen actually made him happy enough to flaunt her when the opportunity presented itself. “It’s definitely healthy. Besides, her clientele tends to be on a higher scale than mine anyways.”