the devil of hell's kitchen

something had to be said about the irony—or coincidence—of running into kate bishop while he was setting up traps for doom and his robots. matt remembered how talkative the woman was and while not necessarily a bad thing, he needed peace and quiet for now because of all the traps he’s trying to set up. but if what he heard about kate was right, this was definitely an unusual coincidence. and frankly, maybe a helpful one. “miss bishop,” he said is his usual calm affair, “i hope you come bearing gifts. think you’ll like helping me out with this one.” after all, if there was anyone who knew about setting up traps, it was most definitely wednesday addams.

for matt, the party was a blessing in disguise. not only was doom completely distracted by the goings-on of the party, matt had the time to set up traps for the supreme overlord—well, as best as he could anyway, given the current circumstances. 

but he was sensing something foreboding. a sort of hunger and bloodlust that he could feel and hear, and matt was worried that it would foil his plans and make traps bust. “best to leave me alone right now,” he called out as he pulled the rope to hike up the net.

there was a change in the atmosphere when doom finally appeared in the party. his senses were heightened once again and he could feel himself going back to his old self. but there was also something...more. like he was suddenly developing this need and knowledge to place traps all over the place despite the fact that he couldn’t very well see.

and then he could smell the subtle perfume of karen, a comforting scent amidst all the confusion currently happening. “karen,” he called out as he looked in her general direction. “think you can get a few nets? let’s start setting up some traps.”

“You might be, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t GREAT!” Clint admits with a laugh, not bothering to try being quiet. Nathaniel was out like a light, not even the sound of the robots outside would wake him. He was luckier then most, but even HE has his share of loss. “I’m glad to have my kids here. My older brother is missing SO that has me expecting the worst.” Clint knows everyone has someone that’s gone, parents, friends — he wasn’t the only one. “They’ve been good so far, so I can only HOPE it stays that way.” He worries about no one actually settling, and the students deciding to stop behaving once eventually. He can deal with it when the time comes. “Oh? I don’t really believe those spider-kids would murder someone. What do I know though?” He shrugs his shoulders.

“well i hope your brother’s doing fine, wherever he is.” it was the least he could say considering clint also had his children to worry about. and he hasn’t really met his brother but he must have that big of an impact on clint for him to look for him like that. “hmm. i hope they behave but i’m willing to turn look the other way if they started rebelling. dictators like doom don’t really last long.” or at least that’s what he could remember from some of his undergraduate classes. “then again, some do. well, we may never really know.” politics was a complicated subject that some people seem to take for granted most of the time. “not really in their nature, no. i believe you know peter parker? he’s the one being framed for murder and...well. you probably know where i’m getting at.”

illyana side glanced over to him as he spoke up, a look of confusion washing over her features as she tried to figure it out. “is it rude to ask what you’re dressed as?” admittedly, she hadn’t had much of a childhood that would’ve made her aware of the cartoon. her childhood home in russia didn’t have television – and well, neither did limbo. turning her attention back to the portraits, illyana hummed a moment. “the mask, i think there’s something wrong with his face that he doesn’t permit others to see it.” she mused before shaking her head, although aware that he couldn’t exactly see her do it. “i don’t fear the robots or his doomgeuns, as he calls it. it all sounds rather ridiculous, i can’t take it seriously.”

“oh no, it’s not rude at all. i’m fred jones from scooby-doo. it’s an american cartoon i grew up watching—well, until this little sight mishap happened anyway. but it’s about a group of friends who solve ghost mysteries.” he remembered being inspired by the mystery machine gang into going into detective work and make something for himself like his dad wanted him to but his blindness led him to another career path instead. not that he was unhappy with his law practice but he only just realised how connected it was to his childhood goal. “curious how he always calls himself handsome but he doesn’t show his face to everyone.” the lawyer found it ironic that a narcissist like doom would hide his face. “i don’t think anyone takes the overlord seriously. but best to stay out of his way considering he has miss frost working for him.”

Logan was … mostly here for the food. And also the chance to get a look at the Dick-tator in the flesh, see if he could run him through a few times.

So far, the food was good - though the portions were tiny - but the star of the show hadn’t turned up to his own party. 

Staking out the food table, he moved to grab one of the last cocktail sausages at the same time someone else reached for it. “Hey,” he said, “That one’s mine.”

he supposes he still had an extremely soft spot for karen. if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have attended this party in a costume. matt would’ve just put on his glasses, maybe a black t-shirt and jeans, and then pretended he was johnny bravo. but as it turns out, he’s now wearing a fred jones costume—complete with a cravat around his neck—and a stuffed dog as scooby doo. but he lets karen be, happy to just make her happy. so he stayed by the buffet table, nibbling on the food available to him. and just as he reached for the sausage, a gruff voice made his displeasure known. “mister howlett, of course,” he said as he pulled his hand back. “please. feel free to take the last one.”

illyana couldn’t remember the last time she’d dressed up for halloween – had she ever? normally, the young mutant would simply decline the invitation, hold out elsewhere but this thing was mandatory. unfortunately, she didn’t have enough access to her powers to drop this doom man in limbo and show him what a true pit of doom looked like, so she’d play along for now. although, lacking costume ideas, she put on a little black dress and topped it with a simple witches hat. it counted, right? she let out a hum as she moved into the party, glancing around. “this guy wasn’t kidding, his face really is on every wall.” she paused. “does anyone have a marker? i’m suddenly feeling artistic.”

matt had been planning on skipping the party and maybe hide out in his apartment. until, apparently, their dictator took it upon himself to make attendance and costumes mandatory so now he was here. stuck in a party. as fred jones from scooby doo. the irony of being the designated driver and leader of the mystery machine when matt was blind wasn’t lost on him but he can’t say he hated it; he grew up watching scooby doo—at least until he got caught up in the accident—after all. “i can imagine. is it his face or his mask on the wall?” if he heard the stories right, doom hasn’t shown his face in a while. “ah, fresh out of pens, sorry. although i wouldn’t recommend testing your artistic skills today. there are robots roaming about.”

“We were all so excited to get out that we didn’t stop to think about what would be waiting for us on the other side.” Clint doesn’t even know what they could have prepared for, but they would have to make the best out of this situation. He hates thinking about their planet being gone — all those people. HIS OLDER BROTHER. “Sounds stressful, but you’re the best lawyer I know. If anyone can make sense of this place IT’S YOU. I’m okay — two of my kids are going to school here, my youngest is still not old enough for that quite yet and has become clingy since our arrival, but me? I’m stuck coaching at one of the universities. It’s been a lot to adjust to, but we’re taking it day-by-day.” Clint says with a deep breath. He doesn’t know how he’s holding it together.

“You sure I’m not the only lawyer you know?” Matt was trying his hardest to keep the mood light despite their rigid frames. He could hear rapid heartbeats from the people surrounding them and he could also hear the unmistakable whirring of doom’s robots. “I’m happy you get to be with family here, even with all our current circumstance. It’s always nice to have family to come back to.” For Matt, getting back to Foggy and Karen was his raison d’etre. “I could imagine. But hopefully the students aren’t giving you too much of a problem? I’ve had a few cases fall on my lap involving a couple of the Spider-kids; one of them’s a high-profile one involving a frame-up for murder. I have my doubts about the report, especially after I talked to that one kid framed for murder.” Matt may have been allowed to practice his craft but that didn’t mean he had adjusted fully to the job again. Besides, he was lucky enough not to lose anything considering he wasn’t...well, he didn’t have powers, per se.

🥀 ❝ glad i thought to pack painkillers. ❞ !  ⦁  prompt from @murdcksmatthew​

karen laughed softly in response to matt’s comment, grinning over at him. “you got any to spare?” she raised a brow. “i feel like these headaches are becoming an everyday thing. they’re either getting worse or i’m just tired. maybe both.” she rubbed her temples for a moment before picking up her coffee mug to take a sip. “i don’t hate being back in an office, though. it’s almost like old times.”

a smile on his face, he opened one of his drawers and pulled out a bottle of painkillers. considering everything that’s changed, he’s at least happy that there are some things that even victor von doom can’t live without—like over-the-counter medication. “one pill should do but you’re free to take more if you need more,” he said as he offered the bottle to the woman. “ah, i may have missed the office more than usual. definitely better than the dinosaurs earlier on.” he leaned back on his chair and although not the most comfortable, he at least had something to sit on. “looks like we’ve got two cases involving the spiderkids today.”

◆ ❝ none of this could have possibly gone unnoticed. ❞ !  ⦁  prompt from @murdcksmatthew​

“well, apparently it has.” loki replied, her tone annoyed. she wasn’t annoyed with the lawyer specifically, but rather just… in general. “no one is coming to save us or help us, if that is what you’re hoping for. people say to stay optimistic, but how can i?” she shrugged, shaking her head as she poured another round of shots for a customer that was well on his way to getting shiftfaced. “i mean, what can we do? does anyone have any bright ideas?” she raised a brow, pausing for a moment. “let me know if you want something to drink.”

he raised his hands in surrender, not really meaning to aggravate the god. it was an observation he had after they had—quite literally—fallen into latveria and under the dictatorship of victor von doom. “yes, of course, i understand. but i’m sure we already have something we should be ready for,” he said as he offered a smile. after all, he’s heard of a few underground business here and there. but no one ever suspects the blind lawyer. “just a cold bottle of beer, please. although i may have to drink a neat one later on if the night continues on like this and all we hear is...well...the overlord.”

“none of this could have possibly gone unnoticed.”

There was a four year old asleep in his lap, the two oldest still at school. Clint keeps his focus on Matt whole they were having this serious conversation. It was safe to speak a little more openly in here, but the archer was still cautious. “I don’t know how we could have missed this. I feel like we’re living in some new version of TERMINATOR.” His eyes shift to the window seeing some of the guards walking past with their weapons in hand, and someone in their grip being taken WHO KNOWS WHERE. He sighs to turn back toward his friend. “How are you holding up with everything?” [ @murdcksmatthew ]

he takes a sip from his cup, his posture and smile betraying how alert he actually is with his hands still not letting go of his walking stick. “we’ve been so focused on getting out of the savage lands that we weren’t sure we were getting out to new york once that tear came out. the kids were right: something was changing in our worlds when we were sent to live with the dinosaurs.” matt was not one to dismiss the younger ones but he can’t exactly say he gave them the time of day back in the savage lands. “i was allowed to practice law so a little bit better than when we were back with the dinosaurs. but i can’t say completely great for sure because...well, i have to learn a new set of laws conjured up at the whim of the overlord. you? how are you holding up?”

Sooraya was on the verge of bashing her head off the desk. It had taken her twice as long as normal to summarise this document than it normally would have done when she was back at school with the X-Men. “Not to…question the stylistic wisdom…of Doctor Doom, of course, but I really hope they don’t all write like this, Mr Murdock. It’s going to end up being a full-time job if they do.”

he hummed, agreeing with the woman before him. there were some unnecessary words written in reports that he’s pretty sure was only of doom’s doing. “ah well, i hope they don’t write that deep too. i’m assuming doctor doom is trying to project an image of...well...doom. but i’m hoping his media team isn’t going to give us a headache. i imagine doctor richards must’ve dealt with this man even longer than we have.” because sooraya was right; it was going to become a full-time job to try and figure out what doom meant to say. “and please, matt’s fine.”

It had definitely not been his best idea, but it had been an idea, and Ben was running low on those these days–tired, powerless, glad to be back in a world with running water but really missing the general concept of free speech. It was a petty, drunken decision (one pro of dampened powers: he could get drunk now, which he could already tell he was going to need). His suit was hidden, but he was working on camouflaging his web shooters and, spitefully, had launched a couple of blasts at his new Supreme Overlord’s windows, then run as fast as his new human legs could take him, which clearly hadn’t been fast enough. Could he blame Peter? Maybe, but he didn’t really want to sic the Doombots on his family. 

“I can neither confirm nor deny that.” He smiled innocently up at Matt. “It wasn’t even a catapult. Trebuchet. Whatever.”

“hmm. so the report got the trebuchet part wrong.” it was amazing what people revealed while he did the bare minimum sometimes. a few well-placed words and a keen sense of hearing to listen to heartbeats and matt got what he needed and more. “the material stuck on the windows are made of the same material as webshooters, and there are five of you who have the webshooters; one of them,” he said as he speed-read his file, “has them naturally coming out of her fingers. i’ll have to talk to them after i talk to you but you need to give me something to work with here, mister reilly. you’re not my first webslinger case and i’d like to help both of you before this gets worse.” apparently, clearing their names is becoming a full-time job for the lawyer now.

well he could definitely understand why. they were run by a dictator and some of his laws were...unconventional, to put it lightly. it was grating on his moral code of ethics (albeit matt being morally grey with the whole daredevil thing he got going on) and he didn’t like the fact that the laws were against human rights. freedom of speech is always taken for granted and he will stand by that thought. but for now... “i agree. but all we can do now is adapt and lay low for a while.”

ah, yes. the infamous temper of wolverine. he’s heard about his temper from a few conversations with some mutants and other people who’s had the pleasure of hanging out with the man. matt can’t say he’s surprised either, consider the people he had to deal with in his pro-bono work. he’s long since mastered the art of patience. “of course, mister howlett. let’s hash out yours today instead. can you tell me about the incident two blocks down? give me something to work with.”