The Invisible String: Matt Murdock/ Daredevil

9

She could see the fog swirling from his head, a sign of a concussion, muting his memories of the event. Silently, she thanked whatever powers had granted her this mercy.

"What the fuck,"
Foggy whispered from behind her. She turned to find Karen standing just behind him, eyes wide with shock.

Without hesitation, Annalise sprinted back into the bathroom, slipping through the men-only door to find three more men sprawled across the floor, their breathing and heartbeats steady. In the corner, Matt was being strangled, his attacker using the metal railing from the handicapped section as a weapon — a strange but effective choice. She slammed her fist against the wall beside her, ready to fight.

Since discovering her abilities, Annalise had learned to sense the subtle waves flowing through air, walls, and floors. She could manipulate them, lightly tapping a wave to send a sharp shock up someone's leg. She had mastered influencing nerves, inflicting intense pain without causing physical damage.

Though violent, she had also used her powers for good — shifting frequencies to alter emotions. She remembered a small child with a scraped knee, his pain visible as a vivid red line pulsating from the injury. When her finger touched that line, the pain vanished, replaced by laughter as he ran off to tell his mother the hurt was gone.

Encouraged by that success, she experimented further. She approached an older woman in a hospital, tears streaming as she sobbed in pain from a leg cast. Annalise circled her slowly, the sterile white walls dulling her senses, then focused intently on the vibrations of pain. A warm tingling spread through her fingertips as she shifted the frequency, and the woman's face lifted, her tears drying. A bright smile spread across her face as if she'd witnessed a miracle. Annalise's heart swelled as she left the hospital, hopeful.

An electric shock ripped through one attacker's leg, dropping him to the ground in a howl of pain. Matt gasped, shocked by the suddenness of the assault.

"What was that?!"
Karen cried, eyes wide with alarm.

Foggy looked horrified.
"We need to get out of here,"
Annalise urged, hearing more footsteps pounding nearby.

Foggy and Karen exchanged a look, then silently asked Matt for confirmation. He nodded quickly, still panting softly.
"There's more coming. We have to leave now."

Annalise swallowed her urge to deliver an 'I told you so' glance — there would be time enough for that later, once they weren't being hunted by a mob. The four scrambled out of the bar and ducked into a narrow alley, catching their breath.

"I have so many damn questions,"
Foggy said, struggling to steady his breathing.

"Assuming they work for Fisk, do they know your addresses?"
Annalise pressed.

Foggy and Karen opened their mouths to answer but hesitated, unsure.

"Yes. Yes, they do,"
Karen finally admitted with a sigh, dread clouding her eyes. She looked exhausted.

"I'm really going to have to go back for that couch now,"
Annalise muttered, already planning their next moves.

"You can stay at my place until we figure out a plan. They don't suspect me,"
she offered.

"The guy in the hallway saw your face. He'll recognize you,"
Foggy countered.

Annalise shook her head, confident.
"Unlikely. His mind was fogged, confusion, memory loss. I doubt he'll remember much."

She caught their skeptical expressions and waved her hands dismissively.

"Wait, hold on. So we can't go home because Fisk has our locations? How?"
Foggy demanded.

"Karen used to work at Union Allied. You don't think he still has that on file?"
Matt asked, knowing they'd been living together for a while now.

"Shit,"
Karen whispered, panic flickering across her face.

"Are you sure that's okay?"
Matt asked cautiously. He'd only known them all for less than a day, less for Annalise, really, and now she was moving in with them, sort of. He hesitated, questioning her decision before nodding.

"Yeah, let's go. They're coming."

She nodded and ran with them. Matt led the way, climbing a ladder on the side of a building, the others following.

"Anne, climb up!"
Matt called over the edge.

"Hold on,"
she mumbled, focusing on the wave patterns around her. Snatching an empty beer bottle, she hurled it forward, watching as it triggered a chain reaction.

Foggy and Karen peered anxiously over the ledge as Matt stood behind them. Annalise threw the bottle with concentration, then bolted up the ladder, climbing over the edge.

"What was the point of that?"
Foggy asked as four men barreled down the alley they'd just fled, clearly in pursuit.

"Wait for it,"
she whispered, raising a finger to silence them.

Four blood-curdling screams echoed through the alley, Annalise turning to face the oncoming men, bowing dramatically. The silence that followed was deafening.

"Um, so... are we going to go or?"
One of them asked, snapping out of the stupor.

Karen and Foggy stood and nodded.
"Um, right. Yeah."

"Four buildings that way, two across, then down the fire escape,"
Matt pointed. Annalise nodded and started jogging toward the edge. The drop was roughly a meter, long but manageable.

She backed up a few steps, then ran and jumped, landing safely on the other side. Looking back, Matt had jumped across as well. Karen and Foggy, however, were glued to the spot, their feet seemingly stuck to the ground, eyes wide with horror.

This was going to take a while.