Chapter Text
Matt was alerted by the sound of an opening window.
He briefly considered a burglar which wasn't uncommon in that part of the city at that time of the night, but then the location of the office tended to discourage any attempts; at least, the common burglars who couldn't fly nor climb the walls up to the 12th floor.
Matt placed down the paper and quietly stood. He crept behind his office door, his billy club ready at hand, and listened as the intruder's feet lightly touched the ground. He recognized the nimbleness behind the intruder's movements immediately, and he supposed he would have mistaken them as a professional who had done the same kind of job numerous times, if not for the unmistakable thundering heartbeat that reeked of nervousness, anxiety, and a dose of fear. Matt waited for the rummaging to follow, except what came was the sound of the intruder sliding down against the wall to… sit. Matt strained his ears carefully and heard a small sigh of relief.
Matt decided to make his presence known by turning on the lights.
"Woah! Wait, sir, I didn't—I wasn't—" exclaimed a male teenager upon seeing Matt. The young man's breath escalated into panic, making Matt concerned for the boy.
"It's okay. Relax. Breathe." Matt's feet remained planted on the spot, though he continued to instruct a small breathing exercise to the young man. "That's it. Inhale. Exhale."
"I'm okay," the young man said after a minute. "I'm okay. Thanks, sir. And I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break in your office at this hour. I thought nobody would be around—Doesn't really make me sound like I'm not attempting B&E, does it? But, no, I'm not really here to do anything else remotely illegal. I was planning to wait until morning for the first person to arrive so I can talk to them. I mean, this is Nelson, Murdock, and Page, right?"
Matt had to momentarily parse the words within the sudden rambling. "Yes, you are in the right place," he answered. "You need a lawyer then."
The young man must have nodded. "Very much, sir. I know that I have other options aside from breaking in the late night and wait until morning, but I want to do it as secretly as possible." He paused. "Um, do you happen to be Mr. Nelson?"
"Murdock. Matt Murdock." Matt approached and offered a hand. "And you are?"
"Oh," the young man said, faltering slightly. "I thought you, ah, already know me from the news. My face has been displayed almost everywhere after, you know."
He fell quiet, and Matt decided that he would have to be egged on to speak further. Matt set down his billy club on the table and pulled off his glasses. "I might have heard of you, but I can't be sure until I get a name."
The young man groaned, sounding like he buried his face in his hands in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Mr. Murdock. I didn't even know you're—Ah, geez. Not making a good impression here," he muttered to himself. "Let me start properly this time. I'm Peter Parker, Mr. Murdock, better known as Spider-man, and I need your help."
"Here." He placed a cup of coffee in front of Peter. "Are you hungry?"
"I ate a bit on my way," Peter said meekly. Matt knew he was lying. "Thanks. You shouldn't have bothered, sir. I could have done it myself."
Matt waved his hand dismissively. "It's no trouble, Mr. Parker. I could move around here easily as I could at home." He inclined his head. "This video that you speak of, do you have a copy of it?"
"Yes, on my phone." Peter pulled it out from his pocket.
"This is the phone you've been using?"
"It's new. I already disposed of my old one with the open line after I left a couple of messages to a few." He sighed. "I already told my aunt I'll be staying away for the meantime. She's over at her boyfriend's to avoid the press." He seemed hesitant at the word 'boyfriend'. "Wow, I just called Happy Aunt May's boyfriend."
Peter broke his connections with those he deemed important to avoid involving them, and he was way too young to make that kind of decision. Matt could only sympathize.
"It's a tough call, but a wise move. They're surrounded the moment you're exposed." Matt pulled out his phone and spoke a command to call Foggy.
"I could wait until tomorrow, Mr. Murdock," Peter interrupted in protest. "It's late, and, uh, I think you should go home too, sir. My case can wait."
"And leave you here by yourself?" Matt asked amusedly.
"Well, when you say it like that, it seems suspicious. You can cuff me. I won't mind. Technically should be in one. I think."
"No, Mr. Parker. Not if we can keep you from it." Matt assured him.
"It's Peter, sir." Peter's tone brightened considerably. It wasn't hard to imagine him smiling.
"Then call me Matt." Matt stood to speak with Foggy. "I need Foggy to examine the viral video of the incident." Foggy wouldn't appreciate being awakened in the middle of the night—nobody would for that matter—but this qualified as an emergency. Foggy and Karen were used to it.
He excused himself and decided to ring them both.
"It really is you," Foggy said the moment he saw Peter, the grogginess wiped from his eyes in an instant. His face went grim when he sat in front of Peter, all business. "I've seen the news this morning, but we'd still rather hear from you what happened."
Matt had been given earlier a brief rundown on what occurred during the incident, though this time Peter's recounting started with what happened five years ago on another planet named Titan and what Thanos, an intergalactic warlord and conqueror, did exactly that made Mysterio's backstory all the more believable. And after aliens and wiping half the population of the universe, the legitimacy of Multiverse wasn't farfetched anymore.
In the middle of it, Karen arrived bearing take-outs and with nary a trace of interrupted sleep. She too was aware of the news but like Foggy it wasn't difficult for her to warm up to Peter. Fortunately for Peter, he was in the firm where the people were open-minded to vigilantes.
After an amount of food and telling his side to people who were willing to listen, Peter was energetic for a teenager on the run and awake at three in the morning. Matt could tell that the kid could naturally attract people, though he tended to have the habit of trusting easily. Must be how Quentin Beck easily earned his trust.
"Can I ask you something, Peter?" Karen said. "Not that we won't consider taking your case, but what about Mr. Stark's lawyers? If they're the ones you approach, surely they won't refuse you."
"Ms. Potts was about to call them, actually, but I said no. I'd rather she and Morgan not be linked to someone labeled a murderer." There was a worn business card that Peter got from his wallet. "Also, I got this as well from the stuff Mr. Stark left me."
It was the old business card of the Nelson, Murdock, and Page that Foggy said had an off-white color that was close to the color of urine. Matt's brows rose, knowing Karen had watched Photoshop tutorials on the internet out of wanting to design a better one that they mass-printed up to now. How their first type of business card reached Tony Stark's hands, they would never know.
"It says here at the back: cheap, does pro bono, and clean," Foggy read. "I'm not sure if we should be offended."
"I think it's a compliment," Karen said helpfully. "We do have cheaper rates than most, and we do mostly pro bono."
"Makes you wonder how we get by," Foggy mumbled that didn't escape Matt. He grinned. "Alright. I'm not even mad. It landed us Spider-man. But are you a hundred percent sure, kid? No takebacks once we shake on it."
"Of course, Mr. Nelson. I mean, if it's okay to you guys."
"Are you kidding me? Hell yes."
"If they're in, then I am," Karen said. "Matt?"
"Yes," Matt agreed. He has a lot of questions he wanted to ask Peter Parker, and there was more to unearth from the whole incident, but if there was something he was certain within the first ten minutes of their encounter, it was that Peter wasn't a liar. "We'll help you clear your name, Peter. Please count on it."
TBC