January 22nd, 2011
I smiled as I strolled down West 44th, stopping in front of the doors of a familiar building. There, on the left-hand side of the entrance, a bronze sign with Nelson & Murdock etched in gold caught the light.
Opening the door, I immediately spotted none other than Karen Page sitting behind the receptionist desk.
[Insert Image of Karen Page Here]
"Hello, I have a meeting with Mr. Nelson and Mr. Murdock under the name Blackwood," I said.
Karen looked up and greeted me with a warm smile before stepping out from behind the desk and poking her head through a nearby door.
"Matt, Foggy, your three o'clock is here."
I heard a faint reply from inside before Karen motioned for me to follow her in.
The room was modest but homely, carrying an inviting, lived-in feel. Sitting behind a desk were Charlie Cox and Elden Hensen, both offering me warm, welcoming smiles.
[Insert Image of Daredevil and Foggy Nelson Here]
"Mr. Blackwood, you called about our services in looking over a contract, is that correct?" Matt Murdock asked.
I nodded, then paused and sheepishly rubbed the back of my head.
Foggy chuckled, and Matt's smile widened slightly. "I'm assuming that was a yes."
I started to nod again before catching myself halfway. "It was, sorry."
Matt waved it off casually.
I pulled out the small pouch I kept the two copies of the contract in, only to realize a second later that Matt likely wouldn't be able to read his.
Foggy must have picked up on my hesitation. "My eyes are enough for the two of us."
As Foggy began scanning over the contract, Matt struck up a conversation.
"So what made you choose Nelson & Murdock, Mr. Blackwood?" Matt asked, nodding in thanks to Karen as she brought in refreshments.
I mirrored the gesture, taking a sip of water as I considered my answer.
I couldn't exactly tell him I knew he spent his nights running around as a vigilante and trusted him not to screw me over. He'd hear the lie instantly.
Though… would he? Viltrumite physiology was different from a normal human's. Was it possible he couldn't hear my heartbeat?
Deciding not to risk it, I went with the truth. "To be fair, you came highly recommended for the price, and you don't seem like the type to screw someone over for cash, judging by your previous cases."
Matt paused, his head tilting slightly as his gaze lingered on my chest for a moment longer than comfortable before his expression softened into a warmer smile.
I let out a quiet breath internally. Did I just pass some kind of test?
"You're pretty young to be dealing with Stark Industries on your own. No family in the picture?" Foggy chimed in, still reading over the contract.
I shook my head. "No. My mother passed a few years ago. My dad wasn't around. I bounced around for a while before an acquaintance let me use his loft in exchange for fixing it up about a month ago."
Not a lie, technically. They didn't need to know that said acquaintance was currently missing his head and buried under four hundred tons of steel in the Utah desert.
"Sorry for your loss," Matt said.
I waved him off before pausing again, a faint blush creeping up at the mistake.
Damn, this guy was so coordinated it was easy to forget he was blind.
Foggy let out another chuckle while Matt simply smiled, and a moment later Foggy set the contract down.
"Everything looks clean and legitimate. Nothing here suggests they're trying to screw you over."
"Not sure how things would've been under Tony Stark's leadership, but even in Hell's Kitchen we've heard nothing but good about Pepper Potts," Matt added.
"Thank you both, seriously. I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me," I said earnestly, shaking both of their hands as we stood to leave the room.
I paused at the receptionist's desk and wrote out a thousand-dollar check from the account I had deposited most of my remaining cash into.
It would definitely take a chunk out of my savings, but if my newest product sold well, I'd be seeing a much bigger check by the end of the month.
"It's our job, Mr. Blackwood," Matt said.
"Feel free to give us a call if you need a lawyer again. I've got a feeling a big-time inventor like you will," Foggy added with a grin.
I smiled, giving them a final goodbye before stepping back out onto the busy streets of New York, a bright grin spreading across my face.
So far, everything seemed to be going perfectly.
A few minutes into my walk toward the subway station, my enhanced hearing picked up the distant wail of sirens, lots of them, followed by the sharp, continuous rattle of automatic gunfire.
I just had to jinx it, didn't I.
Rounding the corner, I saw civilians scattering in every direction as an armored truck barreled down the street, plowing through parked cars like they were nothing. Three masked men leaned out of its windows, spraying bullets wildly at the police cruisers chasing them.
Just then, two squad cars shot out from a side street, attempting to intercept the truck as it sped toward the intersection.
As the vehicle showed no signs of slowing, the officers must have realized their mistake. They bailed out at the last second, sprinting toward the sidewalks for cover as gunfire tore through the air.
As the truck closed in and people scrambled to escape, a mother and her young daughter stumbled near the police cars, right in the path of the oncoming vehicle.
I stopped thinking and moved.
The moment the truck slammed into the cruisers, I dashed forward, placing myself between the family and the impact. I wrapped them in my right arm, pulling them close and shielding them with my body, while my left arm shot out to meet the collision head-on.
The armored vehicle came to a dead stop as if it had hit a steel wall, its front crumpling inward around my hand.
The force of the impact jolted it upward, the entire truck tipping until it nearly stood vertical in the air.
Reacting quickly, I grabbed the hood and heaved, flipping the massive vehicle over my head and slamming it onto its back. Two of the gunmen were thrown from the windows, hitting the pavement hard, while the others shouted in shock.
Without wasting a second, I tightened my hold on the mother and daughter and dashed them to the sidewalk, setting them down beside the stunned officers. As I did, I pulled up my hood, doing what I could to obscure my face.
A shout from behind me drew my attention. The remaining gunmen had scrambled out of the overturned truck, weapons raised, while two others grabbed duffel bags and started to run.
Gunfire erupted again.
I stepped forward, pushing the officers and the family behind me as I took the volleys head-on. Bullets tore through my hoodie but flattened harmlessly against my chest, clinking to the ground.
Now I was pissed. They should've run when they had the chance.
I didn't give them time to react.
I blurred forward, closing the distance in an instant, grabbing the first man by the front of his shirt and hurling him straight into the overturned truck. He slammed into the metal with a dull thud and went limp.
The second barely had time to turn before I ripped the gun from his hands and brought the butt of it crashing into his skull, dropping him just as fast.
The next two tried to take cover behind the wreck, but it didn't matter. I grabbed both of them in one hand and slammed their heads together, knocking them out cold in a single motion.
The last two took one look at their downed teammates and bolted.
One second they were glancing back at a man in a red hoodie standing over their friends—
The next, I was standing in front of them, arms crossed, hood shadowing my face.
"I'm going to give you one chance to do the smart thing," I said, my voice calm but firm. "Drop your weapons and surrender."
The one on the right hesitated, already lowering his gun, but his partner panicked, raising his weapon and opening fire. The other followed suit a split second later.
The bullets struck me and fell away, bouncing harmlessly off my body, leaving nothing but shredded fabric in their wake.
To anyone watching, it must've looked unreal, over sixty rounds dumped point-blank into my chest, and all it did was ruin my hoodie.
"Wrong choice."
I flicked both of them on the forehead.
They dropped instantly.
Silence fell over the street, broken only by the distant, growing wail of approaching sirens.
Then, slowly, a single clap rang out.
One of the officers I had shielded stepped forward, clapping loudly. Others joined in—first the nearby civilians, then more officers, until the entire street erupted into cheers as reinforcements flooded the scene and moved in to detain the six robbers.
I couldn't help the smile that spread beneath my hood. Was this what being a hero felt like?
If so… I definitely liked it.
I walked back toward the sidewalk where I had left my pouch with the contract, the crowd parting around me.
"Sir! Are you a hero?"
The little girl I had saved ran up to me, her mother close behind, still shaken but offering me a grateful smile.
I looked down at her from beneath my hood, my gaze shifting briefly to her mother, then to the growing crowd of civilians and officers waiting for my answer.
"Yes… I think I am."
With that, I took to the skies, not at full speed, careful not to burn through my clothes, but fast enough that I was five blocks away in seconds.
The entire flight home, a bright smile never left my face.
Maybe it was time to show this world what a Viltrumite could really be.
This was a fun write, and a valid reason for Edward to become a hero instead of him simply doing so on a whim. He had his first experience in his past life, and once more felt that experience again and wants to continue to do so after seeing the good he could do with his newfound powerset.