Morden Man
Civilian
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- Aug 12, 2014
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Its fourteen whole hours before Ted finally wakes up. When he does Im sat beside him, his hand in mine, to see his eyes open for the first time since hed gone to sleep without me there. He smiles broadly at me and tries to speak, only for his voice to croak under the strain, and I hand him a plastic cup of water that he drinks down greedily with a groan.
So I guess we have a lot to talk about.
I smile at the understatement.
Where do I begin? I ask myself out loud. The procedure I underwent here couldnt save my vision but it did something else. Whatever was in the formula that Peter came up with managed to amplify my other senses to a point that it was almost as good as having my vision back. I even developed a sort of radar sense that helps me to see things that I couldnt see before.
Ted smiled mischievously and raised two fingers in the air.
How many fingers am I holding up?
Two.
He put another finger up.
Three.
He took two down.
One.
Ted let out a little groan that was half impressed and half curious.
I guess youre telling the truth.
Yeah, about that, I begin with a smirk. My other senses are amplified so much now that I can tell when other people are lying. So next time I come home and the half packet of Oreos I left in the kitchen cupboard has disappeared without explanation, dont even bother lying to me.
How many times do I have to tell you? You must have misplaced those. You know I dont even like Oreos.
His pulse picks up slightly and I smile knowingly and continue to explain.
When the extent of my abilities became clear Peter tried to convince me to use them for good and to help people, I turned him down given the amount of damage my first attempt at playing vigilante outside Josies that night had caused everyone. Then the whole thing with Austin happened and I needed some way to make sure he would be safe on the inside. There was no way to make sure of that whilst Grotto and Turk were on the street. Someone needed to take them down and let people know that Austin was protected.
I stop for a few moments to make sure that Ted is still with me and he nods reassuringly as if to urge me to keep talking. It feels weird saying all of this out loud for the first time. I guess it hadnt really occurred to me how unlikely it all was until I heard it said out loud.
After I took Turk down they sent an assassin after me by the name of Floyd Lawton, better known as Deadshot. According to the news, the guys as deadly a shot as there is on Earth. He must have followed me home from the docks the night I got Turk, I was careless and came straight home instead of coming straight here to Peters lab afterwards like I usually do.
Did you get him? Ted asked cautiously. Did you get Deadshot?
I shake my head. Lawton was still out there somewhere and Id probably spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder for him. Rather that than spend it walking around knowing Id murdered a man to save my own reputation. The most Id thought about it since last night the more convinced I was that Cross was in the wrong.
He was a lot closer to getting me than I was to getting him, Im just pleased to be sitting here to be honest with you. Staring down those turrets of his I was pretty damn certain I wouldnt be getting out of there alive. Yet here I am.
You could have chosen a better name, Ted said with a smile. Daredevil? Really? Thats the best you could come up with?
Turk called me it that day at the gym.
Kid by the name of Waid used to beat the snot out of me and call me piss-pants in elementary school. You dont see me going around calling myself it.
I laugh at Teds honesty and shrug my shoulders. It felt even better than I thought it would to get that all of my chest. For the first time in a long time I didnt feel slightly guilty in Teds presence. Id found it harder to lie to him every day than I had anyone else. Hed cooked for me, washed my clothes, and I couldnt help but feel slightly exploitative throughout.
How much did you know?
I thought I was going mad at first. You were covered in bruises from head to toe, thered be banging coming from your room and across the roof in the middle of the night, and sometimes it seemed like you knew too much. Youd reach for coffee and grab the salt without even having to fumble for it. Little things, things that on their own wouldnt add up to much.
Ted smiles wryly in my direction.
And then I stumbled on the costume you kept hidden in the attic.
Oh, I say as I feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. You found that?
I heard footsteps up there in the middle of the night, figured it was a trapped animal or something, Ted laughed. Imagine my shock. I was worried that maybe you were putting the whole blindness thing on to deal with the trauma of what happened. At least I know Ive not been playing along all this time for nothing.
I hope you know I didnt hide this all from you out of disrespect or lack of trust or anything. I wanted to tell you, but Peter said it wasnt a good idea and Id end up putting you in danger if I did.
Where the hell is Peter? I owe him my life from the sounds of things. A thank you is probably in order.
We had a misunderstanding, I mutter with a grimace. After my run in with Deadshot, Peter suggested that I track him down again and put an end to him permanently this time in order to protect our identities. I wasnt prepared to do that. Needless to say he didnt take too kindly to that, we havent spoken since, and something tells me we wont be speaking again anytime soon.
I understand that Cross has put an awful lot on the line for you but no one has the right to ask that of you, regardless of the circumstance. You made the right choice.
I explain to Ted that Im done being Daredevil and hes as supportive of that as he is of my decision not to kill Floyd Lawton. He knows what that means for the both of us: Lawton could come back at any time and if he happened to come back when I wasnt around Ted would be a sitting duck. Ted laughed and pointed at the patched up graze on his neck as if to signify that hed seen Deadshot off once and he could see him off again.
When I suggest that if Deadshot were to give my identity up to the press Id probably be arrested, Ted made a point that hadnt occurred to me before: I was still legally blind. The courts would have an awfully fun time proving a blind man also happened to be a masked vigilante that leapt from the rooftops at night. He assures me Id done enough for Austin in getting Grotto and Turk off the streets, crippling a large part Slaughters operation in doing so, and he was sure that Austin would be safe. I smile.
My mind drifts back to my conversation with Cross last night and what Id said about telling Ted I loved him. Though Id been adamant last night that Id tell him, now that he was awake the prospect of telling him made me nervous. I wasnt sure why and I knew that if there was ever a time that it was acceptable, it was when both of you had survived a near-death experience. Finally the words came tumbling out.
I love you.
I lean across Teds hospital bed and place my arms around him. I can tell from the sharp inhalation of breath he takes after I say it that hes shocked, but he rubs me on the back gently and squeezes me tight.
I love you too, kid.
I let go of him and sit back in my seat.
Now where the hell are those nurses? I want someone in a short skirt to feed me tapioca pudding and, no offense, I dont want it to be you.