"Please, Natasha... start talking." Foggy Nelson

could feel his stomach turning as another rat scurried

across his bound legs. He was held captive in what he

could only assume was a dungeon of sorts, and he was

not alone. At least he hoped not. "Natasha? I saw

them carry you to the cell beside me... I can't see

you, but we are alone. So you can probably go ahead

and save me now... if it makes you feel any better, I

think you can do it." He heard a slight

unintelligible grumble. "Be quiet stomach. I am

trying to listen for Natasha."

This time Nelson heard a laugh come from across the

room, "Foggy, you can be torturous when you are

funny." Natasha felt a pain creep across her entire

body, and would have liked to scream instead of laugh.

"Well, you know what they say Natasha, 'Feed a Foggy,

humor a hostage.' Do you think he knows we're here,

wherever here is?" Natasha grimaced, as she fought

with her restraints, "Who ever took me meant to draw

Daredevil out, I am sure. Perhaps the same is true

for you as well, considering you work for his alter

ego, who was recently outed. We can only presume that

whoever is holding us here, will wait for him."

Somewhere above the dungeon, a robot is pacing. A

robot that is nervous, it is programmed to know only

its master's objective. But somewhere in the powerful processing capabilities, it has found the ability to fear the failure of one of those objectives. And fail it did, something that is unforgiving by the master.

Things were going so well, it had captured the Black

Widow, and that was simplistic. So it was only

obvious to assume that kidnapping a blind lawyer...

you would think would be just as easy. That is unless

you didn't know how to think. Yes, even as a robot,

one can know fear.

A deep thud progressed loudly in the next room.

Louder... and louder, and if the machine man were

alive, it might mistake the noise for its own

heartbeat. The doors flew open as if by magic. A man

stormed in who could only be described as hell

personified, his hands were clutched white into fists.

"You miserable fool, do you realize what you have

done?" The robot stared lifelessly at the man and

replied, "Negative, I had completed the objectives to

the best of my abilities." This only seemed to

consume the master, and he paced now but his eyes

would not stray from the machine. "You have failed!

I do not accept failure... or excuses." With that the

figure left the room, and the robot collapsed. Its

shell of a body shaking in what would appear to be

convulsions. For the first time since his creation,

the android was glad he could not feel pain.

Beyond that room another man sat waiting. If you

were to look into his soul, you would see that he has

been waiting most of his life. The years were not

good to Klaus Kruger, living underground below his own

country. Waiting for revenge on the man who had lost

him his attempted rulership over the entire world. A

man named Matthew Murdock. It happened so long ago,

early in both their years. He had made Matt Murdock

come to his country, after all one needs the best

lawyer possible to properly execute world domination.

And he had all the best, it was a flawless plan. But

oh how naive he had been, thinking it merely a

coincidence when Daredevil showed up. Now knowing,

the two men are one and the same, a fact he has been

kicking himself for that after he saw the American

newspaper. It had stared him in the face since

Daredevil had "killed" him, letting him plummet off of

his own castle. And everyone the world over still

thinks there is truth to his demise, something that

will prove to be greatly... and gravely exaggerated.

An eccentric man angrily burst in. "How did you do

it? How did you tolerate mistakes, father?" The

other man smiled and gestured for his son to come

closer. "Patience comes with age...when you have

lived and not existed at the same time, as I have.

You make your own opportunities," The son smiled and

nodded to his father, then yelped as the older man

grabbed his hair. "Oh, and son, I do not tolerate

mistakes... do well to remember that" The man walked

away with his head down ashamed. "Yes, father..."

The older man closed his eyes, resting himself for the

event that was surely only hours away.

"What used to take hours, now takes only half that

time." Daredevil nodded sitting in a specially

modified jet built for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s more covert

missions. The pilot went on and on, as if he were

presenting a product door to door. All that the

scarlet swashbuckler wanted to do was get to

Lichtenbad and face his past. But for the moment it

would seem he had to distract his thoughts. So, he

reached for files he had brought from Foggy's desk,

pouring over every detail, but it was only the files

on that child he had stopped from commiting suicide.

It looked bad... very bad. This case could not be won

through the court system, they would lock up the boy

and throw away the key. There had to be loophole...

any other way.

"Get up, hornhead." Daredevil stirred awake slowly,

not even realizing he had nodded off. "Sorry

Captain," he told the pilot. "I have been running on

empty." The pilot only nodded slightly perturbed that

the hero had fallen asleep during his conversation

about the plane. "It's a good thing your not fighting

one of them super-powered baddies." Daredevil felt a

shudder run through his body, not a super-powered

baddie, he thought, just a man with a Dr. Doom complex

and a grudge that is so tough you would have to nurse

it with titanium nipples. "This is it, Lichtenbad

will be right below our feet." Daredevil stood up now

silently stepping towards the door. Just before a

rush of wind powered through the jet, DD heard the

pilot say, "Fury is down there already..." After

that Daredevil could assume that what the pilot said

was even inaudible to himself. The elements were

swirling around the crimson crusader. And he had few

precious moments to gather all the details of a new environment. This was not Hell's Kitchen, and this hero was below his usual outstanding level of abilities. He positioned his body streamline and then slowing taking time to find something to latch his billy club to. There was nothing... nothing for a few hundred feet where the castle stood.

A powerful roar was coming in quickly behind him and

he flipped in midair so that he was just below the

object his arms outstretched. Then the object grabbed

back... it was Fury on a jet pack. A distorted image

of an angel on the radar sense that Daredevil sensed,

"Took you long enough, that eyepatch must be cutting

off the circulation to your brain. I didn't want you

here, Fury. Now you owe me." Fury shrugged, "No

time to argue... let's just kiss the good ol' terra

firma." Daredevil smiled and nodded slowly. "Then we

can kick some good ol' bad guy assa." Once on the

ground, the plan quickly came to form. Fury would

find an unguarded route in, and find Natasha and

Foggy. Daredevil would be far more direct, one man

keeps one heartbeat even after years, unless he is

dead. And as the glass shattered around Kruger, he

didn't jump like a dead man. He didn't reek of fear

like a dead man. "Mr. Murdock, you are presumably

earlier than I would have expected." Daredevil

grimaced keeping his strong pace, and now Kruger began

to back step. The skips of his heart were uneasy, yet

his voice commanded a calm attitude. "Watch your

step, Kruger, you have already pretended to be six

feet under, I hate to think you might cause it all

over agian." This infuriated the villian. "Caused

it!!! I did not cause my own death! Why didn't you

save me?"

Daredevil stood a bit stunned. "Yes, I set all this

up for that answer. Answer me, hero! You watched me

fall, you gave a damn soapbox speech while you let me

die!" Kruger's eyes were cold, silent with rage.

Daredevil slowly kept his way forward, "Kruger,

surrender and I will answer any questions you have, if

that is truly all you want, then I will grant you

that." Just then a knife came dangerously close to

slashing Daredevil's outstretched hand. Instead, he

knew it was heading towards him flexed his wrist

slightly, and caught the weapon in midair. "Who is

the lackey Kruger. Because I have to admit, you were definitely more of a challenge." Kruger looked around bewildered. "I have no idea what you mean."

Daredevil raised an eybrow now and kept his face

towards Kruger. "Then you won't mind if I do this..."

At that moment the knife was a blur, ripping through

the air with uncanny accuracy, and the only sign that

it hit something was a loud yelp. "Son!!!" Daredevil

sighed slowly, as the man ran toward his heir. "He is

alright Kruger, I snagged his clothes, it only scared

him."

"F-Father, don't you want him dead?" His father

nodded slowly. "More than anything, but I have grown

tired, this is a worthless fight. I will surrender."

A voice echoed in response. "Good choice, Kruger.

The United States government may not be able to charge

you with anything, but S.H.I.E.L.D. well for the rest

of your life I will let you know ... is different."

Nick Fury arrived and took Kruger into custody.

"Where are Nelson and Widow?" Nick Fury laughed

lightly, "In the jet, past exhaustion like you look

yourself. Let's get the geezer out of here."

Daredevil was in shock. "What about his son?" Fury

looked around. "There is no son Daredevil, I mean

honestly, you would sense him or something, right?"

Daredevil nodded. "And I don't ... not at all.'

In the jet the world shut down for moments,

Daredevil's own mind finally trying to force rest on

him. "Hey partner," Foggy glanced over at him.

"There is still one way you can help save the day."

Daredevil looked at him and managed a tired smile.

"How's that, Fogster?" Foggy pointed to the picture

of a boy in his file. "This is one kid who doesn't

need to become his father." Daredevil smiled again as

he nodded off. "Fury will take care of that." Fury

turned around with surprise. "What?" Daredevil

patted his shoulder lightly. "You owe me Fury.

Simple as that. Find a good place for him, because

until I can nail his father to the legal wall, he is

not safe." At this the Widow piped in, "Take it from experience, Nick, he is always handing kids off."

Daredevil laughed and fell asleep uneasily knowing

full well the past could come back again.

The End