2019-12-31 - No Cameras

Summary:

Skye's out patrolling for an elusive rumored vigilante. Daredevil's simply trying to do his routine.

Log Info:

Storyteller: None
Date: Tue Dec 31 20:35:16 2019
Location: Hell's Kitchen

Related Logs

None

Theme Song

None

daisy-johnsonmatt-murdock

Hell's Kitchen, at about 9:30pm.

There have been many rumors about a defender in Hell's Kitchen. People whom this mystery man has saved have described him as simply a shadow, one that strikes fast, without mercy, then leaves before anyone is any the wiser. Others who have caught a firmer glimpse believe him to be the Devil. But why would a devil help people?

This seemingly urban legend has been called the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.

But the Devil would not be a legend tonight, he'd be the spark of truth that exists within the myth. The Daredevil was moving, dressed in his ensemble of his station (https://www.fjackets.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Daredevil-Season-2-Costume.jpg), tracking a mugger who seems to have found a target in a seemingly vulnerable woman. He leapt from rooftop to rooftop with spectacular acrobatic excellence.

*

It's taken some patience on Skye's behalf. Finding the time hadn't been the easiest thing either, since arriving to the Big Apple she's had her hands full between various investigations, less than legal practices, and being pushed into both hiding and helping work with an organization which she doesn't trust.

Tonight it's back to basics. The main motivational force which had pulled her away from the Windy City out to the east coast. If she's a hacktivist first she's a superpower fangirl second and the two often compliment one another.

When rumors about a 'Devil' who -saves- people came to her attention she simply HAD to check it out. The early 80's GMC van painted in a powder blue around the rust seems innocent enough but it's the mobile workstation for a very talented techie who is currently putting a pricey little drone to work searching through the Hell's Kitchen area. The cooling remains of a gas station coffee sits on the side of her simple desk while several monitors across multiple devices all give her different feeds to continually glance back to.

It's not an exact science but she's gotten to be pretty good at finding things which aren't meant to be discovered. Tonight this ability first comes through as a pixelated image of an individual in black and red leaping across the rooftops.

"-Got you!-"

*

Daredevil was completely unaware that someone with quite the technological skill was able to capture his image - albeit pixelated - at all. Instead, he had a purpose: stop the mugger. How did he know it was a mugger in the first place? Despite being completely blind, Matt 'sees' significantly better than most other people. Think of it like a significantly more effective form of Echolocation.

He can also hear the heartbeat of the mugger in question. The nervous rush, the spike of adrenaline…all of these point to the signs: he's guilty, now it just needs to be proven. In a heartbeat, the mugger grabs the woman and presses her up to a wall. She screams for help, the mugger pulls a knife and demands money. No doubt the evil won't stop there though.

So, with a powerful leap, Daredevil actually jumps off of the building, uses his baton as a grappling hook, the weapon splitting in two to reveal a long, durable wire connecting the halves, to hook onto a rooftop's gargoyle to swing himself towards the surface! In an instant, Daredevil is on the ground, crouched, and ready to fight.

"Oh shit…oh shit oh shit oh shit!" The mugger says as he starts to back away. "L-listen man, there doesn't have to be any trouble, I swear!"

Criminals are a superstitious lot.

*

Daredevil might not be able to see a tiny drone zipping about the buildings but sooner or later he's going to hear the whine of electric motors and fanblades. There's only so much tech can do to quiet down their operation and Skye is working on a commercial grade budget rather than military or SHIELD.

Also the camera can only get so crisp in the cover of an overcast winter night.

"Oh no you don't, you're not getting away from me buster."

As the Devil drops down into the alley the drone isn't far behind, plummeting as if it had lost power until thirty feet from the ground it stops short and hovers in place. A quick glance at another monitor has the younger girl doing a double-take. The action's close to her van!

Close enough, in fact, that with a sudden dash across various keyboards to lock down her systems she's grabbing her hat and jumping out of the van with a camera in hand. Why rely on a drone when she could be getting this -in person!-

Some people collect Pokemon, some collect personal encounters with superheroes. Who can blame her!

Meanwhile the drone continues to hover and record. She'll be able to retrieve it in person soon enough.

*

To say that this is an extremely short fight is an understatement of the decade. With Daredevil not responding to this poor petty criminal's pleas of mercy, the criminal is gripped by terror enough to pull a gun and aim for the head. Daredevil though, is not an easy target. In fact, he literally moves out of the way of the bullet.

Point blank range.

He kicks the criminal directly in the groin, take sthe gun-arm and promptly breaks it, causing him to scream in agony. The woman who was being pursued by the mugger is terrified, so much so that she discovers that she cannot move.

If Daisy moves fast enough, she will discover Daredevil giving the woman back her handbag and the poor mugger groaning unintelligably.

*

"Oh crap!" Skye hisses at the sound of a gunshot in the distance. Yeah, she's -totally- going in the right direction!

It's right around the time where the Devil's returning the purse that Skye comes out across the entrance to that alley and very nearly slips on the ground. She thuds up against one of the brick walls and uses it for support, wincing even while bringing up her camera to try and catch the tail end of the action.

And more importantly, get proper digital evidence of the Daredevil, himself.

It's a tough job hunting heroes and vigilantes when she's got no fancy tricks of her own. Nothing beyond following the digital lenses of so many cameras. But it does, on occasion, pay off.

"Ohmygod it's real—he's- real" is about whispered to herself while zooming in to try and get a closer shot of the guy's masked face…

*

Though a small sound, the impact of Daisy with the wall is more than enough to get the Daredevil's attention. As soon as the tradeoff is completed and the woman runs away from Daredevil, despite that he saved her life, his head jerks to Daisy at her whisper. He can hear the camera's function while it zooms. He's not one to stick around and wait for her to get what she wants. So, he throws his baton at the wall, intending for it to ricochet and strike at her camera!

Is it enough force to break the camera? No. But Daredevil would prefer not to become an internet sensation. Last thing he needs is the world's eyes all over him.

*

Super reflexes could have avoided that baton, no doubt. Skye doesn't possess any such tricks. The camera's out of her hands before she can jump in surprise, suddenly left looking down at nothing between her hands.

"Hey! Rude much?"

He's still here, right? If he is she can keep talking at the Devil, maybe get something else of value before he vanishes again and she has to start this entire hunt over again.

"'Daredevil,' right? I'm not your enemy here! I want to help."

In her eyes it's helping! That's what matters, darnit.

"And there is -no way- that I can ..Help if you keep flinging those things at me," she gripes while picking up her poor camera.

*

Daredevil turns and approaches Daisy, like a methodical hunter. Though what Daisy may notice is that the vigilante's mouth is completely exposed…but the eyes? The eyes are dark. Void. Like they are just there for decoration, nothing behind them.

"You want to help?" He asks her, not knowing her intentinos, but he's about three feet from her when he comes to a stop, assuming she doesn't run.

"No cameras." He doesn't even look at her, his head is slightly angled downwards. "Now you can tell me how you plan to 'help'."

*

All things considered this is going way better than it could have gone. He's still here! He's moving -closer.- And he's talking back! Skye watches as he approaches and does manage to stand her ground (after all, she did nothing wrong!) but it isn't until the camera's safely in her hands again and the demand is made that she -sighs- and turns it off. He'll hear the chime. How thoughtful of modern tech to announce itself.

"For one I can get your name out there. Most people aren't swayed by rumors and stories of the bogeyman. You really want to show this town that you're here to help and you mean business then you need to prove that you're real."

"You want to keep hiding behind a mask that's fine but even -I- wasn't sure that you existed and I investigate these stories as a hobby. ..I mean I wasn't stalking you or anything, just..you know. I'm gonna stop talking now."

*

"Then I am doing a good job." Daredevil immediately replies to Daisy when she admits that not even she thought he was actually real. Prey on superstition and you make people question themselves.

He definitely wants to keep his identity a secret. "And what would you suggest to get a name out there? Take a video, put it on YouTube?" He asks with a heavy air of sarcasm in his tone. Doesn't seem like he's looking for a PR representative.

*

"Well..yah…" Skye says as the wind is taken right out of her sails. "And word of mouth, maybe a little product marketing… You guys really don't like change around here, do you."

She's not so keen on giving up just yet though! "Look, this entire city is, like, -full- of superheroes and vigilantes. You aren't gonna get any team-ups or alliances if no one knows who you are. One's a pretty lonely number. Just..think about it, okay? You could turn this into an internet sensation practically overnight, let your name work for you to pay the bills, show The Man that you aren't afraid to step forward and do what they won't!"

"Anything..? No? Not even a little?"

*

If Daredevil's expression is anything to go off of….he's probably not buying it that much. Or at the very least, his personal reasons for doing what he does has nothing to do at all for what Skye might be planning for him. "I'm not doing this for marketing, or money, or proving my stuff to people who are much higher up the chain than I am." He tells her with a straight-forward, no nonsense kind of tone.

"I'm doing this because the law isn't omnipresent. There will always be the little guy who is pushed aside and pushed around. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen. I can help, so I do. I appreciate your enthusiasm, honestly its flattering. But I'm not interested in popularity or acknowledgement."

*

Skye holds a hand up, not that Daredevil is likely going to notice. He might hear the motion in her coat though. "I'm not saying that you're doing this for fame and fortune. Let's face it, if you were you're doing a terrible job of it. I think what you're doing is great! Putting your name and image out there is just a means of making your work work -for- you."

Here she passes a lingering glance to the battered robber who's still not looking all that great. "Unless..you want to continue the solo act and live in the shadows. I mean the whole 'Devil' identity is pretty slick but it doesn't make you sound much like a saviour of the people, y'know?"

*

See the hand? No. But he can -perceive- the hand both from the motion in her coat and from the vibrations of the air. Its…a lot of science how he can even know exactly where she is, what kind of perfume she's wearing (if any), so on and so forth.

"Shadows is where I can keep people safe. If I'm thrust out into the spotlight, especially the public one, if there's ever a situation where my identity is revealed, everyone I love could be in grave danger." So, he's playing chess then and everyone else is playing checkers? Interesting thought process, but not one to dismiss out of hand.

"Its not to paint me as a saviour. Its to symbol to the criminals, to the deranged, and to the unhinged. If they do wrong, God won't come for them, but the Devil will."

*

Maybe Skye isn't getting quite what she had been looking for out of this but by continuing to push the point she did learn something interesting about this vigilante…

He -isn't- alone.

The moment that he mentions 'everyone I love' the hackerette pauses, he can probably hear the momentary change in her pulse! It's the realization of someone discovering a hidden secret, of being shown a glimpse of something probably never meant to be known.

"Ah—right. My bad," she says with a lot less energy than a moment ago. "If you've got people close to home that need to be kept safe then that's another matter. But how do you manage a personal life when you're out here every night prowling the streets and beating up bad guys?"

This must be so far off from what Daredevil was expecting to handle in tonight's mugging!

*

Is anybody truly alone? You'd have to be a pretty special kind of person to delve so far into your vigilantism that you don't socialize, or make friends, or distance yourself from family so much that you are entirely alone. Matt is fearless, not isolationist. When she tells him its her bad, Matt simply shakes his head.

"No one knows the reason unless they ask."

But when she tells him how on earth he manages a personal life, Matt actually smirks. "Believe it or not, I'm active during the day too." He just runs on as minimal sleep as possible. He can't even remember the last time he slept in. But he hints that he actually has a life outside of all of this and leads a dual-identity.

*

An expression! Skye got a smirk out of the man in red! This alone makes the encounter worthwhile because it proves there is indeed a person under the mask. It might seem like an obvious thing but sometimes that isn't the case.

"Well there you go, you should officially endorse an energy drink" she chuckles. "Oh, aah—hang on a sec. Or..don't. You have a lot of territory to cover."

And she still has a drone waiting to be retrieved! The camera is pocketed and a smartphone takes its place as she links its controls and starts bringing it down. Hopefully all of their conversation had been in frame…

This also causes her back to be turned on Daredevil if he wants the opportunity to go back to the hunt.

"I'm Skye, by the way."

*

She turns her back to do her own thing and Daredevil is smart enough to take his leave before she gets any more information out of him that he feels like giving. So, in one moment, Daredevil replies to the name he was given. "Daredevil." he replies simply enough.

But if she turns around?

He's gone. Seemingly having used his batons like grappling hooks to get back up to the rooftops. After all, saving a woman from a mugger and having a chat with a rather friendly tech chick is hardly the final thing on the Devil of Hell's Kitchen's agenda.

*

A quick glance from one side to the next then straight up leaves Skye hissing a "Dammit! I -knew- that was gonna happen." But she's got her drone, hopefully has -some- video of the encounter, and there's that stupid mugger guy who—

Daredevil never called the cops. Just stopped the mugging, beat the guy up then left. No police, no ambulance, no nothing.

That's when her eyes slowly drift over to where the would-be mugger's gun had fallen. She doesn't know much about them other than they're best kept -outside- of the bad guy's hands. Sooo..why give him the chance to take it back?

It's one of those snap decisions which may or may not be a good idea but she hurries over and tucks it beneath a jacketed arm before getting the heck out of there. The way things are going she could probably stand to use some better van defense, anyway.

Thanks again, Daredevil.

*

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License