Within a small motel room just on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Matt Murdock stepped out of the bathroom after finishing his morning rituals. 

“The shower’s free, Foggy,” he said while drying off his hair with a towel. “I arranged for the cab to pick us up in half an hour, so don’t take too long, ok?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be quick,” the other man tiredly replied. They had spent the whole day yesterday on the road and when they’d finally arrived, the two weren’t able to get away from the TV until way too late into the night. 

As Foggy stepped into the shower, he thought about how crazy his life had turned in the last 24 hours. First, he was practically abducted from his home by his best friend, who outrageously claimed that they needed to evacuate New York and that he wasn’t taking no for an answer. 

It wasn’t until they’d already gotten on the road that Matt had finally told him that he found this out from the gaming company he’d been addicted to for the last few months. Foggy had nearly jumped out of the cab right then and there, thinking his best friend had gone completely mad. When he suddenly insisted on ‘streaming’ their escape out of the blue, he’d nearly lost all hope for the man. 

Wasn’t it just his luck then, that not even a few hours later on the traffic packed I-95, that a massive, honest-to-god portal, opened up on the horizon. They were far enough away by that point, that they could just barely make out small figures streaming out of it and descending upon their city like locusts. 

It wasn’t until they flipped on the news that they realized that those ‘small figures’, were actually some kind of massive space worms. He’d had to describe the whole thing to Matt, what with him being blind and all, but once he had, he could see the relief physically wash over him all at once. It seemed that his best friend hadn’t been as confident in this whole evacuation thing as he’d let on, but Foggy decided to forgive him this time as it had more than paid off. 

By this point, he only hoped that their firm’s building would still be standing when they returned. But if it hadn’t… well, he was screwed. However, according to what he saw yesterday afternoon, Matt had amassed quite the large following in his livestream so, hopefully, his friend could at least make a go at that? 

According to Matt, it seemed he’d really hit the niche for the disabled players fanbase, which was apparently massive. Though, that wasn’t a huge surprise considering what Matt had told him about all of what the games offered. It was pretty much heaven-sent for anyone with a physical impairment of some kind. 

As he walked out of the bathroom with steam billowing in his wake, he was unsurprised to find his best friend staring aimlessly into space with his laptop sitting atop his bedside table. Matt had explained to him, at length, all about what this ASTIR had entailed. While he hadn’t been able to get in himself yesterday, as the servers had evidently been shut down, he now knew enough to be able to tell what it looked like when someone was.

After checking the old digital clock on the nightstand in between their two beds, Foggy sighed as he went to shake his friend awake. They had less than fifteen minutes until their cab arrived and it was always better to be early than late.

“Wake up, Matt. We’ve got to be ready to go in ten,” he said with his hand atop the man’s shoulder.

In less than a second, Matt’s eyes darted around in excitement as the man reached up and grabbed at Foggy’s hand with his own, “Foggy! You won’t believe it! I've been granted early access to ASTIR’s upcoming game for the next 24 hours!”

The other man blinked owlishly as he processed his friend’s strange words, but soon shook his head in confusion and reiterated his previous warning for the over-eager blind man, “That’s nice and all mate, but we’ve got to go. Cabs aren’t cheap and if we reschedule, I don’t know how much they’ll upcharge us for such a long trip.”

“No, Foggy, you don’t understand. I’ve been awarded with something received by less than a hundred people in the whole world. If I don’t take this chance I’ll regret it for the rest of my life!”

“Can’t you just play it via your phone in the cab?” Foggy asked, confused. “From what you told me yest-“

“No! What if I get shaken out by a pothole, or the driver slamming on the breaks? If we end up getting kicked offline, my stream would be ruined!”

Foggy stared into his best friend’s blank eyes and at that moment, he knew that he’d just given up their dreams of being a lawyer. Sure he might not have said it out loud, but it was there, deep within his heart.

Foggy couldn’t blame him either, he knew that if he ever lost his sight, he’d latch onto the first thing that gave it back in an instant too. Reality was nothing but darkness for Matt, not just the shadows in his vision, but also the people that they interacted with every day. 

He guessed that the recent offer from Landman and Zack for permanent positions inside the firm, had been the last straw. Matt had too kind a heart, he knew he wouldn’t last in a place like that for long. 

Perhaps in another time, the two of them could’ve left and started their own firm somewhere, helping those who needed it the most. They wouldn’t have been forced to take cases they didn’t believe in, or even outright despised.

Alas, Matt had made his choice. They both knew it by now. 

“I- I’m sorry Fogs,” the one who would now never become the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, softly spoke out to his best friend. “I, I just can’t do it anymore man. I can’t go back.”

“I understand bud,” Foggy replied with a sad smile. “I’ll take the cab back myself. I'm taking the position though, I hope you don’t think lesser of me for it.”

“No! I’m not… I don’t, it’s just not for me.”

“I know that pal, I was never going to try and keep you there,” Foggy said as he slung his bag over a shoulder. He headed for the door, but paused and turned back one last time, “Good luck, Matt. I hope you find meaning in this new path of yours. See ya around.”

“See ya Fogs…” Matt voiced out as the door closed. He’d made his choice and he knew it to be the right one but, in the back of his mind, it just felt like he’d lost the chance at something great.

With a sigh, he turned back to his laptop and felt for the TTS button. After locating the Launch icon in the ASTIR email he’d received this morning, he took a deep breath and clicked.

This was the start of his new life.

The beginning of one who would shock myriad worlds with his incredible feats.

The rise of the one they’d call, Daredevil.