Daredevil

“There he is!” Spider-Man said as he swung into a shadowy alley at the edge of K’un-Lun. “Just the Man Without Fear I’ve been looking for. We need to talk, Dizang…”

The protector of the Eighth City turned to face the newly-arrived hero, his stoic expression unchanging, as if it had been etched in ancient stone.

“…or should I say ‘Daredevil’?”

“Peter,” Daredevil replied. “I’ve been expecting this conversation.”

“Oh, so you do know me!” Spider-Man said, a touch of relief in his voice. “That’s great news, Matt. But here’s the thing: I’m not sure I know you.”

“I’m the same man I’ve always been,” Daredevil responded.

“Maybe you are…” Spider-Man said, clearly unconvinced by his friend’s claim, “…but how does the hero of Hell’s Kitchen end up the ruler of a magical hidden city? Not to mention the fact that you’ve got, what? Some sort of demon powers now? Clearly I missed a few very special episodes… so how about a recap to get me up to speed?”

“It’s a long story…” Daredevil said with a grimace, less than thrilled with the notion of reliving his recent past.

“I’ve got all the time in the world,” Spider-Man replied. “At least until that voice in my head tells me I need to go capture another Mission Area. You’ve heard her too, right? Anyway, ‘til then, I’m all ears… even though you can’t see them under my mask…”

“Fine,” Daredevil relented. “As long as you promise not to judge me for what I’m about to tell you.”

“You know better than most that I am woefully unqualified to take the bench,” Spider-Man quipped. “Though I would love one of those tiny hammers. What’re they called? Gavels? Could you imagine Thor running around with one of those instead of —”

Spider-Man stopped short, realizing that Daredevil was glaring silently in his direction, waiting for Spidey’s rambling to stop so he could begin to tell his tale.

“Sorry,” Spider-Man said. “Go ahead…”

“You said you knew me as the ‘hero of Hell’s Kitchen’,” Daredevil began, “which tells me that your reality and mine weren’t so different… at first. But when the timelines began to collapse, everything changed. I went from fighting street thugs to being caught in a struggle between ancient deities. My world became a warzone, and the people I loved got caught in the crossfire.”

“Ancient deities?” Spider-Man asked. “Are we talking like Asgardians and Olympians here?”

“Far older than that,” Daredevil responded. “And far more dangerous. The kinds of demons that crawled out of the shadows at the dawn of creation itself. And like any divine beings, they had their devout followers. Some of whom I had already become intimately familiar with over the years…”

“You’re talking about The Hand, right?” Spider-Man said. “That ninja death cult you’re always fighting? I remember you — well, my version of you — telling me that they worshipped some sort of crazy evil spirit.”

“The Beast,” Daredevil said.

“Wait, the blue fuzzy guy from the X-Men?” Spider-Man asked.

“No,” Daredevil replied, genuinely uncertain if this alternate version of his friend was joking or not. “A demonic overlord that dwelled in the fiery pits of Hell and bestowed his powers upon those who swore their loyalty to him.”

“Right,” Spider-Man said quietly, “that Beast.”

“It wasn’t the first time that The Hand had been sent to seize control of New York,” Daredevil continued, “but I needed to make sure it would be the last. I fought as hard and as long as I could to protect the city, taking out sect after sect of the Beast’s soldiers. And I wasn’t alone in my efforts… until I was…”

“Oh, man. I know what it’s like to lose someone you love,” Spider-Man said. “Who’d they get? Foggy? Karen?”

“And Luke…” Daredevil added, “…and Misty… and Danny… and…”

Daredevil paused for a moment, lowering his head.

“And me,” Spider-Man said solemnly, realizing why his friend had fallen silent.

“You were one of the people I trusted most in the world, Peter,” Daredevil said, his voice catching in his throat. “And I couldn’t save you. Or MJ. Or your daughter.”

“My —?!” Spider-Man whispered, caught off guard by what Daredevil had just revealed about his other self.

“By that point, I was the only one left behind,” Daredevil said. “So after I buried you, I had to make a choice. Would I let The Hand continue to target innocent souls in the name of their ruthless master? Or would I end their assault once and for all by removing their master from play?”

“Ooh! The ol’ Shadowland scheme!” Spider-Man said, a hint of humor returning to his voice. “That one’s a classic! Some good memories there… except for the part where you went full villain…”

“Back then, the Beast managed to corrupt me because he caught me off guard,” Daredevil said. “This time, I knew what I was up against and I planned to be the one in control. And so I made the choice to descend into Hell and face him directly.”

“I’m all for facing my demons, Matty,” Spider-Man said, “but maybe not quite so literally.”

“I’m not sure my world’s Spider-Man would have agreed with you,” Daredevil responded. “He was willing to make a deal with Mephisto himself to save his marriage and his daughter.”

“Yeah… well… I…”

Now it was Spider-Man’s turn to fall silent. For some reason, Daredevil’s words had hit him harder than any punch on the battlefield ever could. His heart rate spiked. His breathing grew more rapid. The brow of his mask became damp with sweat. Daredevil had no idea what this other Spider-Man had sacrificed, but whatever it was, it was still haunting him.

“I’m sorry, Peter,” Daredevil said, placing a sympathetic hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“Don’t be…” Spider-Man said, regaining his composure. “This isn’t about me. It’s about you.”

“But that’s the thing,” Daredevil replied. “It’s not about me. It never was. It was about the people who were counting on me to keep them safe. And all the ones I’d failed. It was about making sure The Hand’s reign of terror came to an end. And the only way to do that was to slay the Beast once and for all. Or so I thought…”

“Let me guess…” Spider-Man said suspiciously. “That final solution wasn’t as final as you hoped?”

“Is it ever?” Daredevil asked. “I fought my way through hordes of demons down to the Beast’s lair. By the time I reached him, I was bloody and scarred and it felt like there was nothing left of my soul. But when I choked the eternal life out of him with the cable of my billy club, that void inside of me was suddenly filled by power unlike any I had fully experienced before.”

“You got yourself possessed? Again?” Spider-Man asked, indignant. “Really, Matt?”

“Not possessed.” Daredevil responded sternly. “I claimed the Beast’s power as my own. He wasn’t the one pulling the strings. I was.”

“Sure, pal,” Spider-Man said dismissively. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“You don’t believe me, Peter?” Daredevil asked.

“What I don’t believe,” Spider-Man snapped back, “is that a guy who devoted his entire life in the service of a higher power would be swayed so easily into becoming the agent of a lower one. You fought so hard, for so long, to keep your soul pure, and you just threw it all away?!”

“I didn’t have a choice,” Daredevil said, the tension between the two heroes thickening with every word.

“We always have a choice, Matt,” Spider-Man barked, his voice trembling with anger. “I hope the one you made was worth it.”

“It should have been…” Daredevil replied, turning away from his friend in shame, “…I thought ending him would solve my problems… but it just made so many more.”

“I mean, I’d say that you should have seen that coming…” Spider-Man grumbled under his breath, “…but… you know…”

“And it only got worse from there…” Daredevil said, not even acknowledging Spider-Man’s nervous attempt at humor.

“I mean, it already sounds pretty bad…” Spider-Man noted.

“You have no idea how blind a mortal can be. I thought it was another invasion of New York by the Hand. Though the devastation was immense, robbing me everything I once had, I believed that by eliminating the source of chaos, I could avenge my city.” Daredevil continued. “I thought I had finished the job. But there, in the depth of Hell. I ‘saw’ the true magnitude of this war. I may have defeated a Hell Lord, a million more rose up from the shadows and tried to tear apart this dimension. A near-infinite number of primordial horrors. It was a war I couldn’t win. And yet I couldn’t stop fighting. No matter how much damage it did to me, physically and mentally. Their taunts… Their screams… Their claws…”

“And you never thought about tapping out?” Spider-Man inquired. “Or throwing in the towel? Or whatever it is you boxers do?”

“Of course I did!” Daredevil said, his body trembling. “But they were ripping my timeline to shreds, Peter! Millions were being massacred! And their blood was on my hands! What would you have done?!”

Spider-Man resisted the urge to lighten the tone with another joke. He could see that, even just recounting these events, Daredevil was barely clinging to the edge of sanity.

“I… I don’t know…”

A long hush followed before Spider-Man finally spoke again.

“So, you went to Hell and almost became another casualty in your reality’s demon war,” Spider-Man said. “I get that part. But it still doesn’t explain how you ended up the mayor of K’un-Lun’s shadiest suburb.”

“One of the divine creatures that the Beast had imprisoned was a dragon spirit named Yinglong,” Daredevil said. “He wasn’t like the others. He saw me struggling to contain the Beast’s power and offered to help me gain control over it. He brought me here, to his home in the Eighth City. It wasn’t long before I realized that people here were in desperate need of a hero to lead them out of the darkness. And I needed to find a way to atone for my mistakes.”

“Seems like a perfect match,” Spider-Man said. “But what’s the catch? This Yinglong had to want something in return, right? In my experience, demons never work for free.”

“Yinglong thought that, together, we could restore this forgotten realm to its proper place as a true Capital City of Heaven,” Daredevil replied. “To do that, I’ll need to obtain the Sword of Fu Xi. He says we can use it to unseal the tomb of his master Chiyou, a God capable of ending all wars in every timeline.”

“Sounds almost too good to be true,” Spider-Man said. “In your professional opinion, counselor, what’s that usually mean?”

“That it isn’t true,” Daredevil answered. “I’m well aware that something doesn’t quite add up, Peter. Especially since the Sword of Fu Xi is currently embedded within the arms of K’un-Lun’s chosen protector — Iron Fist. I have no desire to hurt Lin Lie, but from what I can tell, he’s not looking to hand over his sacred weapon without a fight.”

“So it looks like you’ve got a lot to consider,” Spider-Man said. “Do you let out the Beast inside of you to take down an innocent friend? Or do you find a way to repay this Yinglong for his help that doesn’t go against every fiber of your being?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Daredevil replied. “But I have to find an answer soon. There’s a tournament on the horizon — one I can’t back out of now — and the fate of all realities could very well hinge upon who wins.”

“I don’t envy your position,” Spider-Man said. “Sure, I’m a little hurt that the Kingdom of Spiders chose Black Widow as their Immortal Weapon instead of me, but at the end of the day, at least I don’t have to make the impossible choice of betraying someone who’s earned my trust time and time again.”

“Impossible choices seem to be the only ones I’ve been left with these days, I’m afraid” Daredevil said.

“Well, whichever one you end up making,” Spider-Man assured his friend, “I have a feeling it’ll be for all the right reasons. You may not be my Matt Murdock, but after this talk, deep in my heart, I still know exactly who you are. I trust you. And, no matter what happens next, good or bad… I forgive you.”

“Thanks, Peter. You don't know how much this means to me.” Daredevil said, turning into the alley and disappearing into the shadows. Spider-Man almost followed after him, but he knew full well that Daredevil had already vanished into the night, just like always.

As Spider-Man swung off toward his next adventure, Daredevil listened intently from his perch atop the Eighth City’s stone walls. He may not have been able to save his world’s Peter Parker, but if he made the right decisions in the battles to come, perhaps he could save this one.

And if he was lucky, maybe Matt Murdock could still save himself…