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Fan Fiction

Burn Victims

by Daniel Coyle

Chapter One: In the Park with the Fat Boys
CENTRAL PARK, NY-NOW-Five days after the fight with the Absorbing Man

It was a beautiful day, and Matt Murdock savored every bit of it. Most of Central Park had reopened at last since Onslaught's rampage. Some serious construction needed to be done, but the Mayor reopened the park ahead of schedule to assuage the gener al uneasiness in he wake of the apparent death of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. It was Karen's idea for Matt to rest up after getting beaten to a pulp by the Absorbing Man less than a week ago. His body was still sore, and he lay in the cool aftern oon grass, which soothed his sensitive sense of touch. He could hear the whizz of the Frisbee that Karen and Foggy were tossing that was sailing above him. He calculated in his mind the best moment that he could reach up and grab it out of midair, but he wasn't actually going to do it, for he was blind, after all, and didn't want to draw the attention of the other parkgoers to something he obviously couldn't do. Appearances had to be kept. It was a beautiful day, and even thought his world had been robbe d of light years ago, with his radar sense and his enhanced senses, Matt Murdock AKA Daredevil, the Man Without Fear-missed none of it.
He sensed a familiar outline of a woman above him; it was his lover and confidante, Karen Page. "So, Matt, how are you feeling?" She asked. she knelt beside him. "A whole lot better, honey. You know, sometimes all the noises around here can drive me nuts, but today it seems that everything is at a good pitch. I haven't been in Central Park as plain ol' Matthew Murdock in a long time."
Suddenly, a much larger form, that of Matt's best friend and fellow lawyer Foggy Nelson, appeared above him. "Hey, Matt. How's the ribs?"
"A-Ok, Foggy. Guess that battle with Creel wasn't as painful as I thought." Matt then stood up and stretched himself. "But I think we'd better go back and do some work on the Stephen Timmons case. DeNyse's trial is set for 2 weeks from now and we've still got to get cracking."
Karen looked at her watch: "Oh, I should get going too: I've got some errands to run before 'Paige Angel's' show tonight. You two get dressed and head back to the offices. I'll see you later tonight, Matt."
Matt and Foggy walked out of the park to catch the subway; Karen took a different route. As she neared the exit, she heard the rumble of the skateboard approach her. and a familiar voice: "Karen? Karen Page?"
Karen turned around to see the young face of Butch Wilkinson, one of the kids who used to hand out at the free law clinic she and Matt had run not long after they had gotten back together. Butch and his friends would hang around the clinic almost al l the time, helping with paperwork, screwing around on their skateboards, or hoping to catch a glimpse of Daredevil (if they only knew). But she hadn't seen the kids ever since the clinic had burned down during the demonic invasion of New York-the "Mass H allucination" that the media had dubbed "The Inferno." She didn't like to think about that time: she and Matt had broken up, and--well, she didn't like to think about it. But Karen was overjoyed to see butch again: "Hey, Butch, It's great to see you! Wher e have you been? How's Eightball? and your sister Darla."
Butch smiled and adjusted his "Sliders" cap-apparently he had traded in the "Top Gun" style helmet he used to wear. "Oh. OK, I guess. Things were kinda chaotic for us after the clinic was trashed, but things are going great with the new youth center that just sprung up. Still going out with Matt Murdork, the guy that faked his own death?"
Karen was taken aback by Butch's harsh tone. "Well, if you feel that way Butch," "he did it because no one would attack anyone associated with Matt. Including everyone at the clinic. Anyway, he and I got back together a while ago- If you give us the address of the new place, I'm sure we'll pay a visit."

Butch thought for a minute, then puled out his chain wallet, took out a business card, and scribbled down a few words. "This is the address, Karen." He handed it to her, mumbled a good-bye, and skated out of the park. Karen looked down. on the flip s ide, the card read, "Stark-Fujikawa Development Team-Video Game Division." She eyed it quizzically, then stuffed the card into her pocket and went on her way.

TO BE CONTINUED....


Chapter 2 to come...

Daredevil (and other related characters appearing) and the distinctive likenesses are Trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc. and are used WITHOUT permission.
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