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chapter three
THE BLIND LAWYER
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THE NIGHT AIR CAUSES goosebumps to rise on Lena's arms as she stands, posture hunched and arms hugging herself as she stands with Matthew Murdock outside of the Department of Damage Control's NYC Headquarters. It's still summer, so the temperature is warm even in the absence of the sun, but all she feels is a chill that snakes deep into her bones. She rotates her wrists to get feeling back into them. Her hands have started to feel like they're being stabbed by thousands of tiny pins and needles, but she hasn't fully regained her sense of touch yet.

Mr. Murdock stands with his hands clasped on top of the white cane in front of him. He hasn't spoken much after his first few attempts — all of which had been met with silence by Lena — so the bustling sounds of New York's evening traffic have filled the silence between them. She can't read his expression behind his red-tinted sunglasses that appear black in the darkness.

He inhales through his mouth before saying, "Lena, I just wanted you to know that how they treated you was absolutely inhumane. There aren't many laws protecting people with powers like yours, and I'm sure they're going to use the excuse that your abilities make you above the rules that protect minors, but don't worry. I'm going to do everything in my power to make them pay for it."

Lena finds herself becoming a fraction less stiff at his reassuring words, but she can't bring herself to fully relax. Not when he'd shown up out of thin air to represent her and her friends. Not when she'd just been restrained and interrogated like an animal. She finds it difficult to trust him when she's alone. But even so, she offers him a tiny nod before realizing he can't see her.

"Okay," she says, her voice scratchy and barely audible. She could clear her throat and repeat herself, but something tells her he'd heard her anyway.

"The law requires them to stop asking questions after you request a lawyer," he continues. "They were probably betting that you weren't aware of that. I don't think anything you said can be used against you in court."

It's not like she said anything relating to their charges anyway. All she'd done was put a racist man in his place.

"Your friends should be out here soon," Mr. Murdock says, straightening his spine and shifting on his feet.

Lena has an odd feeling about him. It's like he's aware of every little thing around him, and even if he's blind, the way he tilts and cocks his head at every little noise tells her that he can sense even more than she can. He inclines his ear toward the honk of a taxi, a snippet of conversation between two women who walk past, and swats away a fly buzzing near him with impressive accuracy.

His head tilts the opposite way, leaning toward the building to her left. "Here they come."

How he could know that, she has no idea, but one look tells her she's right. Through the glass doors, she can see Cindy with her arms folded across her chest, her steps more like shuffles as she exits the building. She instantly drops her arms once she sees Lena. Then she's running toward her, and Lena barely has time to react before she's barreling into her body.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Cindy asks. Due to their height difference, Lena almost gets a mouthful of her black hair. "They knocked on my door and told me they wanted me to answer some questions. I was at my dad's, and he told me not to say anything without a lawyer, so I didn't, I promise!"

"I believe you," Lena assures her, giving her a squeeze. Her heart lifts— she's so grateful for her friend. "Promise."

The doors open once more and the twins spill out, followed by Abe and MJ. Wow, they hadn't been kidding when they said they'd be rounding up their known acquaintances. This is practically everyone who'd known about their identities before Beck's fake video had gone viral.

"Nobody told them anything, right?" MJ asks with a quick glance at each of them. All of them shake their heads, causing her to exhale in relief. "Good."

Owen pulls Lena into a hug as well. It's strange, him being so much taller than her, because she's used to him barely coming up to her chin. Not even the few months since the reverse-snap can make her get used to how much Graham's younger brothers have grown up.

Max doesn't even have a witty remark to lighten the mood with. He merely stands with his hands in the pockets of his baggy jeans and stares directly at the entrance to the DODC HQ as if he's afraid that he'll blink and miss Graham's return.

He does appear next, shoulders hunched as if he's trying to make himself smaller, which is a hard feat when he's the tallest of all of them. The fluorescent lights inside allow Lena to catch a slight, ring-shaped indent around his neck where the electroshock collar had been. She winces. If it had been enough to mark his darker skin...

Max lunges for his brother as soon as the doors open. Graham's reaction is delayed like he'd been stuck in a daze, reacting only to put his arm around Max after he'd slammed into his chest. Owen joins a moment later. The displays of affection warm Lena's spirit in spite of the circumstances. The Seager brothers had a difficult time in Europe, but it's clear how much they love each other, even if they don't always like each other.

"Did they shock you?" Lena asks when Graham stops beside her and pulls her into his warm chest.

"What?" he questions, then prods the marks around his throat. "Oh, no. It was just kinda tight. You?"

She shakes her head. "No. Just a warning vibration."

Abe makes a disgusted scoff and kicks at a piece of crumpled paper on the sidewalk. "Ridiculous."

Finally, the doors open once more, revealing Ned, who has his arm slung around Peter's shoulders. Lena's heart lurches in her chest. She immediately scans him for surface injuries, but they didn't seem to have hurt him beyond a little discomfort from the handcuffs. He rubs at his wrists as if feeling phantom metal rings around them.

Peter looks up and his gaze immediately finds Lena's. He brushes past the others to reach her, his brown eyes wide and full of deep concern. Instead of going for a hug first, he stands on his toes to press his lips against her forehead, letting them linger for a moment before pulling back. His fingers lightly brush a section of her hair behind her ear.

"You alright?" he mumbles.

"Yeah," Lena answers, though she doesn't know if that's true.

Peter's gaze drops to her neck. The outdoor lights on the building illuminate the dark streets, revealing the ring-shaped marks around her own throat. When he lightly brushes his thumb over the spot, she flinches, causing his eyes to snap back to hers.

She can see the question on his face, but she whispers, "I don't wanna talk about it," to which he nods in understanding.

Someone clears their throat. Lena had honestly forgotten that Mr. Murdock is here, but now he addresses the group by asking, "Is that everyone?"

"Uh, we're just waiting on my Aunt May," Peter responds. "By the way, thank you so much, Mr. Murdock, sir."

"How did you find us?" Graham questions. "I don't think any of our families called a law firm yet."

The lawyer removes his glasses and rubs them on his shirt, revealing dark eyes that remain unfocused, angled somewhere toward the ground. The smile that crosses his face makes him look softer; it eases some of the lines between his eyebrows. He's younger than she thought— probably only in his mid-to-late thirties.

"I heard the broadcast and knew something was off," he explains. "I don't think it's fair how quickly the public turned on you. And, also, I'm Catholic. I have a soft spot for seemingly hopeless causes."

His grin suggests that the last part is some sort of private joke.

"Why did you just clean your glasses if you can't see?" Max blurts out.

Owen elbows his twin in the gut and gives him a wide-eyed What-the-hell expression, but Mr. Murdock merely gives a good-natured chuckle.

"Force of habit, I guess."

"Sorry about him, Mr. Murdock," Graham says with an extra-sharp glare at Max. "He doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut."

The doors open one final time and May walks out into the night air. She heaves a tremendous sigh that slumps her shoulders, then puts her hand on MJ's shoulder and glances around at the group of them huddled in front of the headquarters.

"Alright," she says, shuddering like she's trying to ward off the unpleasant feeling that the DODC gives. "That was a load of shit. Let's get you kids home."

Lena manages to keep it together for a surprisingly long time. It's only when she gets to her apartment and is immediately swarmed with questions by her parents that she feels her carefully-constructed façade of calm begin to break. Their inquiries go unanswered, mostly because she knows she can't speak through the rapidly-growing lump in her throat that makes it ache. She merely looks at them with tears blurring her vision.

Ma guides her to their dark turquoise sofa and sits her onto the plush cushions, worn from years of use. She turns, probably to head toward the kitchen and get Lena a comfort snack, but Lena reaches out and clasps her hand around her mother's arm, tugging it like a toddler. Understanding immediately, Ma sits beside her on the cushions and pulls her close.

Pa joins a moment later so he's seated beside Ma. Lena slides down until her top half is lying on both of her parents' laps, and that's when it all comes crashing down on her.

The dam doesn't break. The word suggests a graduality to the event, maybe representing a single crack fracturing down the center, followed by another, and more until it crumbles. Lena's dam bursts. She's quiet one moment and sobbing the next, her body wracking with heavy cries that spread a terrible ache through her whole body. Each splintering sob seems to want to break open her ribs with the force of them.

Lena cries harder than she has in her entire life. Harder than when she'd learned the truth about her biological parents. Harder than when Tony had died in front of her eyes. Harder than when Mysterio had tortured her with sadistic illusions and then drowned her in Berlin. It's a culmination of everything that has happened today, but also the events of her past and how they've led up to this moment.

She'd never asked for this. When her biological parents brought her into the world, she was too young to consent to their experiments and agree to manifest her powers. She'd seen the Avengers save the world during the Battle of New York and wanted to use her abilities for good like them. But every time she tries, it's like a door keeps getting slammed shut in her face.

And just when she'd decided to take a break from it all, her world had turned upside down in the worst of ways.

Lena's face is soaked with tears that have dampened her parents' laps as well. Her chest aches and her lungs spasm with each strangled breath she manages to suck in, but still, the sobs keep coming. Ma wordlessly brushes her damp hair from her face so it doesn't stick. Pa just keeps his hand on the crown of her head, a soothing touch to remind her that he's there.

She is tired — so, so tired — of having to break down the obstacles that keep getting in her way. She's tired of fighting all the time. And even though Tony had said she was a hero, what if he was wrong? Does a hero have this many events in their life that try to convince them otherwise?

It would be so much less exhausting if Tony had been wrong.

-♕-

The next day, the Seager, Santos/Rivera, and Parker families are crowded in Peter's apartment once again to review their legal options. Trying to fit them all into the small dining area is already difficult, but it's made even worse by everyone's nervous energy. Lena sits next to Peter at the circular table, where they're joined by Happy and May. Graham leans against the wall behind his friends. Max and Owen are seated on the sofa facing the television, and their parents are spread out around the surrounding area.

The television is switched on to a news channel again — that's all they seem to be watching now — and the current image is a quote from Happy. The photo the newscast had chosen is clearly from the nineties, showing Happy with shoulder-length hair that's free of grey and a light beard. The quote only says, "No comment at this time."

Happy cringes. "At least they used a good picture."

"Your name is Harold?" Graham demands. The tone of his voice sounds like this revelation is some sort of betrayal.

Mr. Murdock says into his phone, "That's great, thank you." Their lawyer sits at the extra chair at the table and hangs up the call he'd been on for the past few minutes. "Well, I have some good news, kids. I don't believe any of the charges against you are gonna stick."

Lena and Peter share a disbelieving glance, the corners of their mouths tugged up into reluctant smiles. Graham's head drops back against the wall as his stiff posture finally slumps. The entire room breaths a collective sigh of relief, the tension easing from their demeanors from Mr. Murdock's reassurance.

"Wait, seriously?" Peter asks as if he can't believe his ears.

"I knew it," May says as Ma and Pa squeeze each other's hands in glee.

Lena, Peter, and Graham share a round of high-fives, daring to feel a smidge of joy for the first time since the newscast that had ruined everything. The gnawing sensation that has been relentlessly tearing at her gut finally subsides. It feels like the first glimpse of sunshine after a hurricane— maybe everything will be alright.

"Oh my God, Mr. Murdock, thank you," Peter continues. "That's— that's amazing."

"Thank you, Matt," May chimes in.

Their lawyer's lips are raised in an empathetic smile, accepting their gratitude with stride and a nod. "You could also sue The Daily Bugle for defamation seeing as nothing they've said about you can be proven true. Lena, Graham, I'm working with my partner, Foggy, to see if we can sue the DODC officers for the way they treated you during your arrests and interrogations. Those electroshock collars and the straightjacket were unnecessary— not to mention that they continued to interrogate Lena after she requested a lawyer."

Lena's hand subconsciously creeps up to brush her fingertips over the marks on her neck that have refused to fade completely. Noticing her movement, Peter reaches down and gives her knee a supportive squeeze.

"I knew they wouldn't get away with that," Mr. Seager says with a shake of his head. His arms are crossed over his chest, brows furrowed in frustration as he stares at the floor. "Using those things on kids— super-powered or not."

Mrs. Seager soothes her husband's tense muscles in his shoulder, assuring him, "And they won't get away with it. We'll keep fighting for our kids."

"Always," Pa agrees with a nod.

Mr. Murdock unknowingly copies that action, saying, "However—"

Max groans from where he and his twin sit twisted around on the sofa. Owen tweaks his ear.

"—Mr. Hogan?"

"Yes?" Happy asks.

"The feds are actively investigating that missing technology. I, uh, understand your loyalty to Mr. Stark and his legacy, but if you were involved..."

Happy places a hand on his chest. "If I was involved?"

"I would advise securing a lawyer."

"I need a lawyer because I'm under investigation? I — I thought they were under inv— you said there's no char— I can — I can say, under advisement of council, uh, I refuse to answer the question, respectfully, because I — the answer can incriminate me because it's — There's a saying in Goodfellas. What did they say in Goodfellas?"

Lena puts her head in her hands at Happy's lame attempts to evade the question.

May puts a hand out to stop him. "I know, that's what you think. Calm down. Let's hear what he has to say." She turns back to Mr. Murdock. "Matt?

"You're gonna need a really good lawyer," he answers, causing May to deflate in disappointment. "Peter, Lena, Graham." The sound of their names makes Lena peer through her fingers at the man who's facing vaguely in their direction. "We may have dodged your legal troubles, but things will get much worse. There is still the court of public opinion."

As if on cue, the window behind Mr. Murdock shatters as a brick flies through it. Lena throws up a force field a second too late, but it doesn't matter— Mr. Murdock's hand had shot out and caught the brick without so much as a flinch.

Peter, who had also reached out for the brick, stares in shock. Everything is silent except for the shout of, "Mysterio forever!" from outside and the way Owen rushes toward the window with his phone to record the situation and get the person on video. Lena's force field stays up because she's also frozen, but she retracts it after a moment, her eyes wide.

Peter slowly takes the brick from their lawyer's hand. "How did you just do that?"

Mr. Murdock doesn't even shake the pain away, merely dusting off his palm on his grey suit before responding, "I'm a really good lawyer."

"Public opinion sucks," Graham declares.

Lena glances over at the brick in Peter's grip. It has a page of a defamatory article about them glued to it, along with the words "WE BELIEVE MYSTERIO" scrawled in a thick, red marker. The sight causes her joy from earlier to sink down into her stomach. That horrible gnawing feeling comes back stronger than before, chewing at her insides and filling her with despair.

Her phone vibrates on the table. She looks at the screen to see an unfamiliar number on the screen, but figures it might be from one of the universities she'd applied to early. She presses the green Accept Call button and raises the speaker to her ear. "Hello?"

"Miss Santos, this is Special Agent Cleary from the Department of Damage Control," the voice on the other end says. "I thought we should talk about a file that was discovered in your apartment."

______

a/n:

hahahaha. pain!

i have two memes for this chapter. the first:

matt in this chapter:

when i planned on putting matt in this act, i always wanted him to have a bigger role. the fact that he was in NWH for like 2 minutes made me sad, so this won't be the last time you'll see him!

also shoutout to the people who caught the reference to matt's words to jessica in the defenders. "i'm catholic. i have a soft spot for hopeless causes." I MISS MATT AND JESSICA'S DYNAMIC UGH THEY NEED TO BRING HER BACK TOO!!!

i'm only nine (9) minutes into the movie. lord help me. the beginning moves so FAST, my god. then they skip like 4-5 months and suddenly it's november ??? okay.

anyways, enjoy a lot of Kristyn's Original Scenes™ because the pacing of this film irked me even more than FFH's.

—kristyn