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Tony's recent bout of insomnia has resulted in this. One floor below the common floor is a brand spanking new gymnasium and it's much better than Tony's last project.
Genetically engineering an elephant-sized hawk for Clint to ride 'into battle' wasn't his best idea. Clint thinks as he takes in the expansive training hall.
He knows exactly who he wants to share it with.
There's something about Matt that makes the Avengers, excluding Clint, twitchy.
"It's big." Matt comments.
This time around, he brought his glasses and cane, both of which his audience keep their eyes on. The cane is echoing through the room as Matt taps around, using the echoing thwack to get a clearer image of the equipment.
He hears the others setting up their own exercises, whether it be punching bags or what sounds like a plastic gun.
“Clint, let’s climb.” Matt suggests eagerly, poking the archer with his cane.
“Sure!” Clint exclaims, clearly ready to test Daredevil’s abilities.
They chalk their hands. To Matt, it feels like he’s covered in wet sand, with the way the chalk sticks to the oils on the fingertips. The first hold he grabs feels grating against his powdered hands, so he hesitates, adjusting himself.
“How does this work?” Clint struggles with the harness, stepping into it but unaware of how to tighten it.
Matt hauls himself up, sometimes stepping, mostly grabbing, as he makes his way up the wall before Clint notices.
“Matt! You’re supposed to wear a harness!”
The Avengers hear Hawkeye’s shout and Matt feels their heads turn to where he is dangling, one handed, almost halfway up the wall. Steve runs over instantly, followed by Tony at a brisk walk.
“Matt, I told everyone to take safety measures.” The engineer points out, slightly annoyed.
Matt swivels around, finds a hold to stand on, and then flips backwards so he’s hanging upside-down.
“I’m blind!” He calls out in an assuring tone. “No worries!”
Clint thinks, but is quietly amazed as he watches the other man. He starts to understand why the Matt would get so easily frustrated over small things. When feats of wonder are accomplished with ease, everything else seems trivial. Daredevil has overcome so much that it’s difficult to cope with having limitations.
“Get down from there!” Steve exclaims but Matt only laughs in response.
“Clint, you joining me or what?”
This spurs the archer on. He takes to the wall without the harness, much to Tony’s annoyance and Steve’s dismay.
Clint’s thinking that ‘Daredevil’ is pretty accurate.
Clint drags an amused Matt over to the target range, thinking it best to not encourage him to taunt Steve any more than he already has.
“Enhanced senses, huh?” Clint asks. “Ok, Hornhead, I underestimated you.”
“Balance is a sense.” Matt shrugs.
“Ok, which is your dominant eye?” Clint says, then immediately wishes a hole would swallow him up.
Daredevil takes it in good humor, however, by taking off his glasses and closing each in turn before deciding. “Right eye.”
Matt puts his glasses on, listening as Clint’s speeding heart relaxes in his chest.
“Yeah, ok, Smartass.” Clint scowls, picking up a bow and tossing it at the other man, who catches it with a smirk.
“45 pounds of draw strength, recurve.” Clint tells Matt as he moves him into the correct position with his hands.
Matt hasn’t actually seen the stance before so he’s trying to adjust with Clint’s guidance. He finally ends up with three fingers on the string, his back and shoulders straight.
“Now don’t dry fire the bow, gently move the string back.” Clint tells him, grabbing a pair of arrows. He sets his own bow up before returning to Matt with an arrow for him.
Matt smirks, surprised with how relaxed Clint is about a blind man shooting a bow. Even the others, as much as they treat Matt ‘normally’, are taking some time to adjust to his blindness.
“Notch the arrow. So there’s a slot at the end, put that on the string, then,” Clint positions Matt’s fingers so he can feel the arrow rest, “put the arrow shaft here.”
Matt’s figured out the positioning, so he draws back the arrow with Clint’s encouragement.
“Can you see the target?” Clint asks absently.
“No.” Matt says, tilting his head, straining to hear any kind of discrepancy on the wall.
He groans, thinking he’s put his foot in it. “I mean, sense it or whatever.”
“I know.” Matt says, frowning. “It’s too flat.”
Clint shoots an arrow of his own, leaving a marker for Matt to aim at.
Daredevil aims the arrow, draws back, and shoots.
His head turns as he listens for the thumping noise of the arrow against, hopefully, the target.
“Hey, you got the yellow!” Clint announces. “Not quite bulls-eye but the second ring.”
Matt hears an approaching set of footsteps. Heavy and wide-set, he’s correct when he assumes it’s Cap.
“Clint, you’re giving him a bow and arrow?” Steve asks impatiently. “How irresponsible can you be?”
“He can talk for himself!” Clint snaps. “And he hit the middle.”
“I don’t see the issue.” Matt jokes, then explains himself seriously. “There’s no-one around and I’m aiming at a wall.”
“Daredevil, you’re blind.” Steve insists. “You can’t just—”
“I’m getting real sick of you telling me what I can and can’t do.” Matt frowns. “I’m blind, not incompetent.”
Steve doesn’t say anything as Matt grabs his cane from where he placed it on the ground and folds it up, storming off in the direction of the elevator.
“Steve’s being an idiot.” Hawkeye finds his friend on the roof, standing on the very edge.
“I get enough of that at my day job.” Matt replies. He tries to add a hint of anger but this is Clint.
“I’m deaf.”
Matt turns his ear to the other man, his version of staring. His heart beats nervously, but without the hint of a lie.
“Mostly, anyway. I need hearing aids.” Clint explains. “I’m sorry about the rock wall. I guess I just can’t imagine losing my sight.”
“I’ve lost my hearing, once. Concussion. It’s fixed now, but I was terrified.” Matt admits.
“They aren’t ablest.” Clint promises him. “Tony fixed the aids I got from SHIELD but most of them know the ASL alphabet so, if things go wrong, I’m not in the dark.”
Matt laughs, making Clint grunt.
“You know what I mean. They’d insist on harnesses for Natasha or Steve, too.” Clint explains. “Maybe Steve was a bit pushy about the archery.”
“I’m just tired of being told I’m inadequate.” Matt expresses, to which Clint agrees.
“I get that.”
Matt crouches on the edge of the building, taking in the sounds of the city. The traffic, the people, the pepper-fire of needles and razors as the rain start to fall.
“Matt.”
His attention is drawn to the door to the penthouse, where Cap stands, a silhouette in the rain.
“Natasha’s setting up a Nerf war, if you’re interested in joining.” Steve offers before his voice turns rueful. “I was being a punk. Before the serum, I was underestimated a lot and I shouldn’t have forgotten what that felt like. I have no doubt in your capability. I’m sorry.”
Matt’s head turns back to the city.
“I’ll be down in a minute.”
As Clint shoots a foam bullet at Bruce’s back, which hits its mark between his shoulder blades, he can’t help but feel guilty about leaving Matt on the roof.
The lights cut out suddenly and Tony’s voice can be heard through the darkness.
“J, what happened to the power?”
“My apologies, Sir.” Jarvis responds, yet the lights remain off.
In the silence, the Avengers can hear a plastic Nerf gun being cocked. His heart leaps out of his chest as he hears Daredevil’s sinister laugh followed by bullets being fired and the anguished cries of his teammates.
In that moment, the Avengers learned one thing.
Never underestimate Matt Murdock.