Chapter Text
Matt and Foggy were both working in the office. Karen had taken a personal day. She had let them know yesterday and said she would explain another day. Matt hadn’t needed the details. He could tell that she was not sick, but she likely needed a three-day weekend.
Matt heard Foggy stop typing. “Have you heard of these…experiences people share online?
Matt wasn’t sure what Foggy was talking about and shook his head. “What kind of experiences?”
“Body swaps,” Foggy explained. “People in New York are switching bodies with someone they know. Just for 24 hours. Everything happens voluntarily. No one shared the name of the guy who’s responsible for it.”
Matt tensed. Was this another mysterious force endangering the people of his city?
“Then it doesn’t necessarily have to be voluntary,” Matt insisted. “They could be forced to say that.”
Foggy shook his head. “Nah, I think the guy just keeps a low profile. Protects his identity and his family. Like someone else I know.”
Matt couldn’t argue with that. Maybe this guy was just trying to live a normal life, too. “Come on, let’s go back to work. Forget it.” Matt said.
But he couldn’t forget it. He tried to concentrate and work for a few more minutes, but Foggy’s words stuck with him. He said people shared their experiences online. What were they like?
Curious, he searched for a video. He found a compilation. Two women from Boston, two kids from New York, and a couple from Philadelphia. He was totally absorbed in what he was listening to.
He didn’t notice Foggy sneaking up on him until he spoke. “Oh, so you are interested.”
Matt took off the headphones. “Listen to this. Two male friends who swapped bodies. One of them had been deaf his whole life. At first, he was terrified, but afterwards he saw the world with new eyes. I see a pattern, Foggy.
“And what would that be?” Foggy asked curiously.
“The person searches for friends where one person has something unique to them, like amputees, someone with a disability, or sensory differences. It’s not random.” Matt noted.
“You are not seriously considering this?” Foggy asked. “Besides, how would we even find this guy?
Matt was intrigued by the concept. He wondered if it was safe. If it could actually help them. It might change how they saw each other, for better or worse.
But another part of him was drawn to the challenge. Being Foggy for a day, being able to see. He wanted to have this one-of-a-kind opportunity. And maybe, just maybe, Foggy would finally understand what it meant to be him, what his world was like. People got this chance for exactly that reason.
“I don’t know, Foggy,” Matt said quietly. “I can’t deny, it would be indescribable. People say the guy finds them, not the other way around. And let’s face it. We would be his target demographic.”
Foggy nodded slowly. “It would be interesting to have your point of view for a day. But you would need to give me a crash course first, before the day starts.”
It took him years to master his senses. A crash course would never cover it. But he wasn’t going to tell Foggy that.
“Sure!” he agreed. “Preparation time. So, you’d be up for it?”
“Yeah,” Foggy said. “I think I would. But don’t get your hopes up, buddy.”
Foggy went back to work, but Matt did not.
Matt listened to a few more stories of people describing their body-swap day. People talked about how strange, emotional, and sometimes life-changing the experience had been. There was no real danger.
He wanted this now, more than he wanted to admit.
They worked for another hour. They slowly ended their workday when Matt heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
The person knocked at the door and came in. “Hello, is this the office of Nelson, Murdock, and Page?”
The man seemed insecure and tense. He had a fast heartbeat and high adrenaline. He was quite young.
“We were about to close for today,” Foggy pointed out. “You should come back tomorrow if it’s nothing urgent.”
The man shook his head. “I am not here for legal representation.
“Why are you here then?” Matt asked. “What is your name?”
“I’m Daniel,” the man said. “I came because I heard your call. And before you say you didn’t make one, you did. Just not with a phone.”
“Okay, Daniel, I think I know what you are talking about,” Foggy admitted.
Matt tilted his head. Foggy was catching on quickly.
“You do? Great. That makes it easier,” Daniel exclaimed. “You see, it started with a wish of mine. Doesn’t matter now. The point is: I sort of get these callings. I can grant people’s wishes to swap bodies for 24 hours.”
He made a dramatic pause.
“If two people truly want to understand each other, if they really want it, I can grant it. Starting at six in the morning. I don’t have any other powers. I can grant that one wish. I can’t use it on myself.” Daniel explained
Matt listened closely. The man’s heartbeat was steady. Nervous, but honest. He gave Foggy a small nod: he’s telling the truth.
“That’s kind of a bummer,” Foggy said.
“I travel around to grant these wishes. New York is big enough that I can stay here for a while. But I can’t rest. I have to follow a call. If I don’t, I constantly feel…unsettled.” Daniel said.
Matt felt that he was struggling under the weight of his duty.
“Do you know why you have to do this?” Matt asked
“Sort of,” Daniel replied. “I got a wish granted once, but it was really minor. There was no time for me to overthink it, and I was drunk.
“What was your minor wish?” Matt asked, genuinely curious.
Daniel hesitated, then probably sensed Matt’s unspoken understanding. It was a burden he could no longer carry alone. He needed to share it, but it had to be handled carefully.
“No one ever asked me that before,” Daniel said quietly. ”I wished to be able to talk to my plants in my apartment. I wanted to know what they needed. They were always dying.”
Foggy chuckled. “Only the plants in your apartment? Not all the plants? That’s minor indeed.” Foggy said. “So, what did the plants tell you?”
Daniel shrugged. “They were very dull conversations. They told me when they were thirsty or needed more sunlight. The most interesting thing was they hated the storm noises from the TV,” Daniel remembered. “I don’t own any plants anymore.
Matt wasn’t sure whether he should pity him or not. He apparently got a wish granted, so meaningless, and now lived with the consequences.
“But why can you grant wishes now?” Foggy asked.
“There was a fine print I missed, so to speak,” Daniel informed. “Since my wish was such a minor thing, I’m supposed to help others find meaning in their lives, something they couldn’t even imagine wishing for. Help them to understand each other on a deeper level. The day after, they tell me how their day went. I have to keep granting these wishes until…I find the biggest…the most striking difference in people’s lives. Only then will my curse break.“
“So you go around fulfilling the wishes of people who’ve been ‘held back’ by something, like a disability,” Foggy observed thoughtfully. “That kind of change, that would be a striking difference.”
Daniel nodded. “Exactly. These callings are strong. Usually, I go the day after. But with you two, this was stronger. In fact, the strongest I have ever felt. I was practically dragged here.”
Foggy looked at him; he could feel his intense gaze.
“Are you in?” Daniel asked.
Matt had known that he was in the moment he had heard all those voices in the videos. But as a lawyer, he needed to be sure there were no loopholes. “I’m in. I want to participate in the body swap experience with Franklin “Foggy” Nelson for 24 hours tomorrow, Saturday, here in New York. After that, I won’t be…inheriting your powers or any other duties.”
That’s fair,” Daniel said, nodding. “But you don’t have to worry.”
“Franklin, are you in?” Daniel asked, turning to Foggy.
“I’m in,” Foggy announced with a confident nod. “The same thing Matt said previously. Trust me, we’ll break your curse. Call it intuition.”
“I hope you are right,” Daniel said. “Let’s meet here again, Sunday at 2 p.m. Oh, and I’d appreciate it if you kept my name to yourselves. You can share it if you want, but it’s just to keep me safe.”
“Deal!” Both Matt and Foggy said in unison.