365/The More things Change...

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The More things Change...
Date of Scene: 08 March 2020
Location: 6C - Matt Murdock
Synopsis: Matt and Skye meet in After the Battle of NY, much has changed for the both of them, but Skye most of all.
Cast of Characters: Matthew Murdock, Daisy Johnson




Matthew Murdock has posed:
2018 - After the Battle of New York

Hell's Kitchen hadn't escaped Loki's attack unscathed, despite the best work of its new defenders, or maybe that should be Defenders with a capital D. There were buildings still in ruins and plenty more wrapped in scaffholding and banners promoting one construction company or another, but in all the neighbouhood survived and was putting its pieces back together again under the watchful gaze (heh, if only they knew) of their newly named protector, 'Daredevil', the clip of the man once called 'The Devil of Hell's Kitchen' battling dark elven invaders with only impressive acrobatics, some homemade tactical gear and a pair of wooden sticks had made the rounds of the internet under the title 'Hell's Kitchen daredevil fights invaders' and the name stuck.

It'd also hurt like hell, but only Matt knew that for sure, having picked up a few more scars in the battle to add to his impressive collection. Though at least the Incident had given him an excuse for the rest of them, if anyone asked where the mild mannered lawyer from Hell's Kitchen got all those scars, all he had to do was say grimly, "The Incident" and they stopped asking questions.

Though along with scars and destruction the Incident brought another thing to the life of Matt Murdock, work, by day it was mostly endless insurance cases as their clients battled with insurance companies of all kinds trying to claim damages from the attack. By night it was looters and the various criminal elements trying to take over the space once occupied by the Kingpin, while at the same time trying to track down the rest of the people who had stood up in the middle of the attack.

It's evening in Hell's Kitchen, cranes starting to go still, men with safety vests and hard hats start looking for the subway home, and Matt, Foggy and Karen walk down the street together.

"I'm telling you Matt, one more insurance case, and I'm going to commit a crime myself just so we can get some decent criminal work," Foggy grouses.

Matt laughs, "As your counsel I would advise against it."

"Foggy, that's horrible," Karen says swatting the man's arm. "Besides take it from me, you do /not/ want to end up in jail."

Foggy sighs dramatically, "Fiine, no crime, but drinks? We should get drinks!" he looks at his two friends hopefully. "Josie's?"

"Sure," Karen says and looks to Matt. "How about it, Murdock?"

Matt shakes his head. "Not tonight, tired. The meds they gave me for the injuries are still kicking my butt," he never took them, Stick's meditation took care of that. "Another night?"

There's much groaning and diperaging of Matt's character, before the othet two memebers of the firm wander off to the bar while Matt makes his into his building and riding the elevator up to his suite. His time was at a premium now, he need the litlte sliver of evening he had to rest and get ready for his night job.

Though tonight things weren't likely to go as he planned.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
One year could make someone change a lot. They were both testimony to it. While Matt had become the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, Skye had joined SHIELD, first as a consultant due to her knowledge on hacking, and what she knew of the Rising Tide and then as a full Agent. She had adapted well though, and in the process had learned that SHIELD had not been hiding the truth from her, but instead protecting her once the Agents that had saved her when she was a child, and knew of her, began dying. The reason why she was taken from foster care to foster care. Not because she was a difficult child, but because they wanted to protect her.

It had only been in Saint Agnes that she had found some measure of peace, and even then not for long, though now she knew the truth, or part of it at least. That SHIELD had become family. The other agents, the team she worked with. They had become those she could depend on, and who they could trust as well.

Of course that nothing is ever perfect. She was supposed to just be Skye with the Brain, the hacker of the team, with the corny quips but fate had decided otherwise. When her powers manifested during a mission shortly after Loki's attack on earth, touching a crystal that had triggered all SHIELD had been trying to protect her from, she changed. Earthquakes they said, she could make them, and much worse. Near uncontrollable, or at least until Fitz-Simmons had come up with those gloves to focus them.

Yet she was shattered now, a liability to her team, and was eventually taken off-duty for a time, until she could control herself.

"It's only temporary, Skye. I arranged a safe house for you to go to. Just outside New York. We will have surveillance there and you can recover. I will come by from time to time, so will May." It had been Coulson offering that. She knew it was the smart thing to do. To have it so everyon was safe...

But sometimes she doesn't do all she was told. It was a child's play for her to put the surveillance tapes on loop so she could go out of the safe house. She knew someone could help her, the one she knew had powers. Hell's Kitchen. She had seen the footage. No mistaking who the mysterious Daredevil could be. Granted she prefered "Shark with a Heart", but that would do.

She arrived a few minutes earlier, entered the apartment building. But then stopped near the elevator. Looking at it, wondering whether to go upstairs or not and ring. She is perhaps starting to regret it when the door opens behind her.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt is still smiling from the banter with his friends, when he pushes his way into his place heading for the elevator, when he hears... no, feels a sort of buzzing from everything around him, like someone had struck a cord and the note was reverberating through everything.

He stops, searching for the source of it when the familiar scent hits him and he turns, towards the elevator. "Skye?" that threw him too, the woman in front of him was very much the woman he knew and at the same time pats of her felt very, very different.

Taking a few steps forward he waits for her reply to be sure.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Something is indeed different in Skye, an off-tune beat that reverberates through her all being, alien but with some touches that are still very much her. Yet all is a jamble, the main point being in her arms, as if whatever was inside her was just looking for a weakness to come out. A tension that she is barely being able to hold at bay.

"Thought I'd make good on my promise." A smile comes to light up her expression, even as she remains there by the elevator, leaning back against the door of it. She lets out a breath. "Can I come up with you?"

There is no scent of that old van in her anymore, in fact she mostly smelling of pine, of earth, as if she'd been living in the countryside for a little bit now.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
The voice is what banishes any doubts, that and the smile that comes through in those words, it's too her to be anyone else despite all the changes. He smiles, "Skye," he says a confirmation not a question now. "Yeah, sure, c'mon, feels like we've to got a lot to talk about," he says easily. This was not the place for what he was sure was going to be a conversation as interesting as their last one.

He presses the button to open the doors of the elevator to step inside. "Glad to," his smile goes wry for a moment. "See you," he says knowing she'll understand what he meant. He pushes the button for the sixth floor. "So, been out in the country?" he asks. "Either that or you've really stepped up the air fresheners for your van." It's not the question he wants to ask right now, not even top 10 but it's the one that's safe for the elevator as they ride up to Matt's floor.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
It's with that smile that he gives her that Skye knows she made the right choice to come here, the easiness in which they can go back to the past. She steps into the elevator along with Matt, her arms folded closely around her waist for the moment and she resting her head back against one of the wooden panels, perhaps a touch more relaxed now that she feels she is safe, "Yes, I believe we do." and then her smile gaining the same wry properties when she hears that 'see you'.

"Let me tell you, living off by myself on a retreat isn't what I'd call a fun time. A bit over a week now." she shaking her head slowly. "But I couldn't stay there now. I ...," a pause. "... something is wrong with me."

A sigh, "I need your help."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt keeps his attention fixed on Skye as they ride the elevator, reading her body language and feeling that strange vibrational quality that permeates her being now.

He listens to her too, offering a bit of a face at living in a retreat, it wasn't really of either of their bags, they were city people. As to the other?

No hesitation, "You've got it," Matt says of helping her. "And..."

The elevator reaches his floor and he leads her to his place, locking the door behind them once they're inside.

"...I can feel something's different, what happend Skye?" he asks her, arms left open for a hug if she wants one, Lord knows it seems like she could use one.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
There is conflict inside her, that much can be read out of her body language, on one hand she does appear a lot more confident than she was a year ago, grown, it showing on those squared shoulders, on a vitality that she did not have a year ago. But on the other whatever is eating at her is bringing her to an edge. Yet the "Thank you." she murmurs comes out with all her genuine feeling to it.

Those arms keep oddly wrapped around her waist, as if she was afraid of something but once the door closes up she exhales. Safe. "Seems like you weren't the only one with powers. Surprise." but there's little mirth to that last part of her words.

The offer of an hug seemed just what she needed. She steps inside Matt's personal space and rests her forehead to his chest. "We have been trying to contain it, but ..., I need to learn how to handle it if I want to have any kind of normal life." clearly she is going over a lot of steps on that explanation though.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt can sense those changes in Skye as they walk the short distance to the elevator, the squared shoulders, the way she walks, clearly someone had taught her a thing or two about how to fight between this meeting and their last, but there's no missing the rest either, the brittle tension she carries that speaks of a whole other sort of hardship than the one they anticipated her path would bring.

There's no surprise at the powers revelation, it was the only thing that made sense for what he was feeling, and when Skye comes in for the hug, he wraps her up in his arms, gently rubbing her back, giving her something to focus on other than her fears and whatever must be going on inside of her.

"It's okay," he tells her with quiet conviction. "Well figure it out," he holds her awhile longer before breaking the hug, "Want a drink?" he asks her. "We can talk about what happened and how I'm going to help."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Being hugged in that manner, the way Matt's arms wrap around her and keep her safe briefly brings a sync to her, like whatever was inside her had been appeased. The right chord having been stroke. Her chest heaves, up and down in a slow motion of breathing and she allows her arms to unwrap from her waist, resting them around Matt. "I am an Agent now." she murmurs, still against Matt's chest, the humming vibrations still now. "I think I have finally found a place where I belong in. Or well, I had before all this came crashing down. I have been put off-duty for now so it can be understood what this all means."

"I have hurt people." Not that she seemed that ready to talk about the earthquake she had caused, or the other more minor things.

The offer of a drink makes her smile though, "Sure, I will have the same as you." she paces a bit further into the apartment, "It's still the same. But you are not the same anymore, are you?"

Matthew Murdock has posed:
The cachophany inside Skye quiets through the hug bringing a contented look to Matt's face. Glad to have helped. He continues to stroke her back as they talk. "An Agent?" he asks surprise registering in his voice, turning to warmth at the news of finding a place in SHIELD. "Glad things worked out with them," he says, he was curious about the how, but he figures that would come in time.

Matt tightens the hug a little when she tells him she's hurt people, he knows what that feels like. That lingering guilt that sticks to your soul. "It'll be okay," he tells her and kisses the top of her hair before he lets her go and goes to get that drink.

He has to think about her question, stopped with the fridge door open, "Yeah," he admits finally, his conviction from before having been hammered, bent and tested this last year, but still holding strong, perhaps even stronger now. "Yeah, found some people too, recently," the Defenders. "Realized I can take on everything by myself and still be around to take care of the people I care about. Sounds like you can relate."

He pulls a pair Heineken bottles from the fridge and lets the door close behind him as he wanders to the living room holding one out for Skye. "Other things too I guess, there's been a lot," he says letting his tiredness show now that he was with someone he could trust with both sides of his life. Someone who wasn't looking for what passed for leadership in his little group of misfits.

He offers a tired, wry smile, and extends the neck of his beer bottle for a toast, "At least I kept my promise," he says, he wan't dead.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Agent Skye." Skye confirms, finally turning her head up to look at Matt, giving him a bit of a grin and adding, "And I even got to have my own gun." and no joke about that! But then they are making their way further into the apartment. Her hands run up over her hair, shorter now than it was one year ago, just below her shoulders now.

"You aren't the type to stay down for the count." Not that she was wanting to go back to boxing quips but .., sometimes it just comes as a reflex. Specially with Matt. "I am glad you found others like you." she had an inkling on tho what group it might be. SHIELD did have some knowledge on heroes that popped up, even if perhaps not their true identities.

She gladly takes the heineken, then tipping it to Matt's own heineken with a smile. "You did, and here we are again." the buzz inside her seems mostly controlled right now, as if whatever it was rode in her emotions, and right now they were appeased, safe. She takes a good swig out of the beer afterwards, "Are you still taking in lost causes for a dollar too?"

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt can't help but tease. "Sounds like SHIELD has questionable judgement," he says grinning back at Skye about them giving her the gun.

Though Skye has jokes of her own and Matt makes a face as he grabs their beer, "Here we go... and here I thought when you slipped out of here last time I was saved by the bell when it came to these jokes," he shoots back, okay that one was reach but he got his jab in...

"And yeah, they're alright, weird as hell in some cases, one of them thinks he punched a dragon, but their hearts are in the right place," he says the bit with the dragon delivered so casually that it's clear that 'weird' in Matt's world must be somewhere close to where is in Skye's.

Smiling as Matt clinks bottles with Skye, he says, "Yeah, we are, and it's really good to know you're safe," to a value of safe. "For you, Skye always, you don't even need the buck." He settles a hand on her shoulder. "So, are you ready to tell me what happened? If not, that's fine, we can order in some dinner and relax whatever you need to get there."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"And you don't even know half of it yet..." A roll of her eyes given, Skye indeed confirming their lack of judgement. Sounds she has been in for quite the adventure in this last year. "But they turned out to be good people." better than good in the way her body seems to warm at the mention of it. Sure, with it's ups and downs but seems like the experience is a positive one.

The mention of the jokes makes her grin, "You still remember them..." because she certainly seems to not have forgotten. It makes her expression screw up in a cringe. "I think we broke some records with those last time." but she doesn't quip back at the bell joke. Blessedly.

Listening in to Matt her brows quirk up, "A dragon..? Well, that's a first for me." but she really doesn't found it -that- strange. She has been living among those with powers. And now .., being one of them. "But I will drink to that." she taking another drink off her beer. Yet the question about what happened makes her focus on the present, one hip resting against the kitchen counter and she folding one arm about her waist, the other continuing to hold up the beer.

"Well, where to begin ..., turns out that I am not as normal as I thought. My mutation was triggered during a mission." she skips talking about the crystals, too much detail for right now. "In a way that I am barely able to control it. Simmons, one of my friends, she created me a pair of gloves to inhibit it, and I have been placed off-duty for the foreseeable future." she doesn't seem too happy about that. "And I decided I am not going to wait until they do their studies, I want to learn to control this."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt smiles feeling the warmth that passes through Skye when she talks about SHIELD, it felt like that along with the answers she sought she found a home as well.

Probably better to ignore the bell joke really. It was bad even for them. "Among other records," he quips back with a fond grin smile for the memories.

Danny's dragon was something of a litmus test for weird, and given it barely makes Skye react, he had to guess she was fairly deep in weird as well. He drinks along with her, and when she leans on the counter, he jumps up to sit on the opposite ones, like back at St. Agnes.

Matt just listens while Skye speaks but there's a sense he's making notes inside his head, thinking like a lawyer, an investigator while at the same time trying to be her friend. "Sound like good friends," he remarks. "And I went through something like this when I got my powers too, I couldn't control it, I felt /everything/ all the time. It was intense, for a while I just wallowed in it, 'why me' and all of that, but in the end someone came along and gave me a choice, sit there and pity myself, wait for someone else to help me, or embrace it and use it," he says, before lifting his beer to Skye. "So you're already ahead of me when I started training, you made that choice on your own."

"And I'll help you Skye," he says with resolve before adding more gently. "But you still haven't told me what you do." He guessed this would be a sore spot for her and so approaches gently.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
The 'other records' part make her waggle her eyebrows in that teasing way of hers, and even if Matt can't exactly see it there is a rather amused, teasing posture to her now. She lets out a brief laugh at it, for a moment forgetting what's been racking her brain as of late. She drowns the warming of her cheeks with another good swig, already half-way through that beer. Such a chugger!

Then she exhales, watching Matt as he tells of his own experience with his powers. A nod given, she understands that. Or well, she is starting to understand it in the first person. "For me .., I feel off-tune. Right now, with the gloves, I can keep it back as long as I am not going into extreme states of emotion. Without them ...." she shakes her head, not finishing that sentence. But clearly it is not a good thing, something she appears to be afraid of.

She only smiles when Matt mentions that she is ahead of him when he started. It's not something that she seems proud of. Instead she reaches out with one hand, resting it on one of his knees. "I wish I could had helped you back then, instead of always being angry about everything." clearly she seems to have grown in more than her training since a year ago, not as angry as she once was.

Yet the question about her powers make her blink. Indeed she hasn't said what she could do. "Earthquakes. Shockwaves?" she presses her lips together. "I can sense them too sometimes, the vibrations but like you it feels like I am getting rushed with it, I can't differentiate them and then ... I lose control."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt gets the gist of those waggled brows and laughs, shaking his head, pointedly ignoring the heat he feels rising in her cheeks. He takes a swallow of beer himself, but otherwise just toys with the bottle in his hand as he listens.

"I felt some of that downstairs, the vibrations, it wasn't just your body, they were making everything else resonate as well," not an accusation a statement, more information that she may not have been able to detect or process as she was still learning her powers. When she tells him loss of control is not a good thing, he nods, he can imagine what those vibrations could do if increased.

"Can I see the gloves?" he asks her. "If I feel them and what they're doing I might understand your abiltiies better."

He smiles as Skye touches his knee, "It's alright, we all had a lot on our plate back then," he says. "And like I said, I found someone to..." support wasn't the word. "Show me the way."

Matt nods, he'd guessed the vibrations part, but not the scale or that she could sense vibrations as well. His surprise is kept to a slight rise of his brows above his shades then, they settle. "I think I can help, the sensing part sounds familiar anyway and if the rest is tied to your emotional state I know some things that might allow you to control that better." He taps his own head. "The senses are always on, always wanting my attention, my teacher didn't so much teach me to turn off the power as control what my brain lets in. It should work for you as well, but it'll take some time and a lot of work," he says, knowing neither of those things were going to scare her off, especially now. "So, we can start whenever you want."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Yes ..., it's as if .., I connected to what is around me, but then I can't control it. And sometimes things just .., boom." In truth Skye doesn't seem to really know that well yet how exactly it all works. She just knows she has been a danger to herself and others. "There's also another perk." she adds, because it can never just be that simple. "If I actually -try- to use the powers, or channel them without those gloves..."

She trails off, not finishing it but instead demonstrating since Matt asked to see one of the gauntlets. She approaches him, a click as she releases the lock mechanism and then takes it off. Under it, on the bones of her wrist and forearm there is a wrongness, as if they had been through extreme duress, bruised and most likely painful.

She hands the glove over. "Actually, not sure if you wanted to feel it while it's on but ..." a shrug but then she grins lightly at the mention of taking time and work. She is no stranger to any of those. "I wasn't expecting it to take a snap of the fingers. I am willing to do what's needed." and again that determination on her voice. "I don't want to be a liability."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
"That fits what I felt, my guess is the bombs are shockwaves sent through whatever it is that connects you to everything," as for the vague terminology, Matt grins. "I studied law not science."

He steps down to take a 'look' at the exposed arm and there is no doubt of the wrongness there. He brushes her arm slowly, feeling, listening, as he does. "And I thought my arms were a mess," he says lightly, fingers still brushing across her skin, getting a sense of the scope of the damage. "Does it hurt a lot?" he asks her with concern despite his earlier attempt to lighten the mood.

"I'll see both eventually," he says glove on and off, as he moves onto that, though as it turns out the glove is something of a mystery to him. "Well, your friend Simmons? Definitely knows what she's doing, whatever this is, it really doesn't ping any of my senses, so I'm guessing there's some sort of dampening effect," he says before handing it back to her. "And here I thought my new suit was fancy," he jokes.

"Didn't doubt you'd be willing to work," Matt says. "And I know what you mean about not wanting to be a liability," it was a struggle he'd fought his whole life to be an asset and not a problem.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"She has one big, big brain." Skye says of her friend, again that smile and warmth to her. Clearly someone of her new 'family', "She said these inhibit my powers, but can also focus them.. Perhaps when I learn how to control them. With the benefit of not hurting my body." she explains. As for the science of it she seems just as clueless. "My nerdiness isn't in this field either."

At the exploration of her wrist she nods slowly, "A bit sometimes, but it's getting better. As long as I have the gloves on I should be able to recover without further incident." Yet she is able to insert a quip even as they speak of serious matters, "I thought you would had learned how to get out of the way by now." this about Matt saying his arms are a mess, a throwback to a previous conversation. She smiles up at him though, strapping the glove back on. In reality she knows well how it is, having been on the rear end of some training beatings from the other more senior agents.

"So now you know, I can start whenever you wish to. And I totally want to see that suit of yours sometime."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
"Sounds like it," Matt says of Skye's big brained friend. Nodding at the explanation of the gauntlets. A smile for their lack of nerdiness in all things science.

There's a laugh at the quip, "I'm working on it, turns out there's a lot of fast criminals," he says with a grin. "And good to let those arms heal, sounds like using your powers is going to be rough at least to begin with, but we can start with the mental control stuff, should give you the tools you need for when you're fully healed."

Matt smiles about the suit, "Sure," he promises. "As to the rest, do you have to head back to your retreat right away or are you around until you've got this figured out?" he asks her. "Sort of sets our time table," he says. "And if it's the latter, you're welcome to stay here," he says, the offer coming without any expectations attached.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"I might stay for a time." But in truth Skye isn't exactly sure for how long her ruse with the recordings will work, or when the next visit will come. Details, she will worry about that later. But there's just that small shift of her posture that says she has left something unsaid. "I can't go back until I figure this out." the offer to stay makes her grin grow wider, much like it did when they were together one year ago.

"Thank you, shark with a heart." Skye says, moving over to stand in front of Matthew and reaching up to place a brief kiss on the man's cheek if he lets her. No expectations on her side either, but there's still that warmth in her when they are close.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt nods, "You're welcome to stay as long as you need," he says he knew she was AWOL and while he had no desire for SHIELD to come knocking on his door, he wasn't going to send her away either. For all sorts of reasons. Like the one she gave, if she didn't learn to control her gifts she wouldn't be able to go home.

The nickname earns a smile, "Sure thing, Tremors," he quips, as he takes the kiss on his cheek, drinking in the warmth that he feels from Skye when they're close. "We'll figure things out."