[center][img]https://static.tumblr.com/8y60per/DXKnmgo4g/dd_logo2.png[/img][/center]
[center][sup][sub]X. Alive - Epilogue[/sub][/sup][/center][hr]
[url=https://youtu.be/vSkb0kDacjs]Matt woke up.[/url]

The first thing that hit him was the sudden and startling realization that he was alive. Shortly after that, he realized that being presently alive was no guarantee that such a state would continue into the immediate future. And after that came the crashing waves of excruciating pain, and Matt thought that perhaps death being potentially close wasn't quite so grave an idea after all.

He tried to sit up, only to find himself pushed back down onto the bed - he realized he was on a bed - by a thin rod. He heard the owner of the rod grumble quietly, and then move around Matt and his bed to take a seat next to him.

"Don't you dare move. Took me all night to re-set your bones and bandage you up. You've been damn reckless enough already."

Matt was incredulous. "Stick?"

He heard the old man chuckle dryly. The bubble of wry mirth burst across his face and illuminated the old mentor. There was no mistaking those long, weathered features.

"You thought that swollen bastard was the only one with hidden agents? Very entertaining, that brawl on Times Square. Very public, too."

"Yeah, well, I didn't get a plethora of venues to choose from." Matt shot back, coughing as he spoke. It hurt to breathe, but it hurt more to take Stick's tired old criticism in silence.

"You didn't get a choice, and that's your problem. All your choices have been made for you. You just watched it happen."

"I stopped Fisk."

There was a pause from both men. The statement hung in the air like hovering vermin, and the full weight of the implication hit Matthew harder than Kingpin ever could have.

"I...God forgive me. I killed him."

Stick leaned forwards. "Of all the farcical messes you have embroiled yourself in over the last two weeks, that is the single decision you have made yourself, and the one act I am proud of you for. You did what was necessary to remove evil from the world."

"I killed a man. Criminal or not, I am a murderer."

Stick leaned back, considering the statement, both hands resting on top of his cane.

"Because of what you did, Wilson Fisk will never come back, and his empire will crumble. People will not live their lives in fear. Because of you. The act is done. That is that."

Matt didn't answer. He rolled onto his side away from Stick, feeling something creaking inside him.

"How did you get me out?"

Stick laughed again. "The Hand aren't the only ones who can Hide. They got that from us. Everyone had men in that crowd - us, The Hand, Fisk. We got to you first, and I would think The Hand and Fisk's men thought we were either them or the other. They never considered a third party presence. You're safe, for now, but give everyone a couple days, and they'll realize who we actually were."

Matt frowned. "You say 'we', 'us'. Who are you talking about?"

"Did you really think you were my only pupil?"

Matt floundered. Stick laughed that dry laugh again.

"Son, looking at that shoulder wound, I don't even think you're my [i]best[/i] pupil, despite what you accomplished tonight."
The realization hit Matt like a cheap body-blow, below the belt and ugly. He twisted inside.

"...Elektra..."

"Miss Natchios got you good, didn't she? She was always promising, always filled with potential. She represented so much to the Chaste...but that girl loves money and power. And we couldn't offer her either. It's not what we do."

"She knew who I was from the beginning."

"Oh, very likely. Clever and cunning, that one."

"And then when I became a problem for Fisk..."

"She sold her info. There's money."

"So the Hand assassins..."

"Fisk thought he'd hired them, but they always have their own plans. Tests, trials. Maneuvering you into position. Fisk didn't just stop people getting out - he stopped people getting in."

"They were banking on me stopping Fisk."

"And there's power."

Matt rolled back onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Neither of them said anything for a while.

"So now what." Matt asked flatly. Stick took a moment to consider.

"Fisk's empire is collapsing as we speak; no one wields the fear and respect necessary to replace him, so other players will step in to loot and divide what's left. The Hand just had their biggest obstacle removed for them; their Fingers will begin to lay claim to anything they can in the name of the clan. And Fisk's final gift, to you, is the terrible truth delivered: Matthew Murdock is Daredevil, the Man Without Fear. And Daredevil killed the Kingpin. People are going to want revenge. Or glory by proxy."

Matt nodded, and sat up. Stick put a hand on Matt's shoulder, but he pushed it off. With some effort, he rose from the bed, woozy on his feet at first but soon finding his balance. He walked across the room, one arm slung, the other clutching his bandaged ribs, towards a small table, upon which sat a dark cowl with red eyes that had been staring at Matt from the moment he'd woken up. Beneath the cowl were two new batons. Matt lifted the helmet in one hand, staring deep into the eyes of the Devil.

"Those were our gifts to you - a welcome."

Matt put the helmet on, and carefully sealed the clasps. "No."

"There is no refusal here, Murdock. There's us, or suicide. The Hand will find you. What's left of Fisk will break you. And every new name flooding into the city will kill you. Everyone wants [i]your[/i] notch in [i]their[/i] knife. You [i]need[/i] the Chaste."

Matt picked up and sheathed each baton carefully, then turned around to face Stick. With the cowl on, he could feel an old fire sparking within him again, giving him strength."Thank you for the rescue, even if it was only to recruit me. But I am [i]not[/i] the agent of some higher will."

"You'll be alone out there, Matthew. Just you, against the entire city."

Matt paused at the doorway. "Fisk [i]was[/i] the city. And I've already killed him once."

"It will become chaos out there. Your city will need a saviour."

Matt smiled as he left, leaving Stick behind in a dark room, with an empty bed.

[url=https://youtu.be/D3JOdAeFLHI]"My city doesn't need a [i]saviour.[/i] It already has a Devil."[/url]