Chapter Text
Reed looked at the document, then at Ben and Sue. "Are they serious?" Reed asked, almost flabbergasted. "Yup, apparently the new shop owners are suing us for the backyard," Ben said. "How... What...?" Reed was too stunned to even speak. "How? Apparently, they think the small patch of grass that's our backyard is public domain, even though it came with the building." Sue said. Reed looked at his wife, then at his best friend, and then at his wife again. "For Thor's sake, we have owned this building since Johnny was in diapers, including that small piece of land," Reed said. "That's what I said, but they told me to get a good lawyer, or some shit," Ben replied. "Can't believe it! That after almost getting killed, blown up, saving innocent lives, and doing so much for this world and this city, this is what we get? We're getting sued?" Reed said. "Man, Johnny is not going to be happy," Ben mumbled. Reed knew Ben was right; he had known Johnny since he was a baby and even raised him. That boy had always had a short temper and was willing to throw hands.
Sue decided to call her friend and fellow hero Jennifer Walters. She got to the Baxter Building after 12. They were currently in the living room with Jennifer sitting on the couch reading the legal document. "So you're telling me that those motherfuckers are just suing you because they believe the small patch of grass that came with this building is public domain?" Jennifer asked, almost offended. "Their lawyer just gave us this document and told us to prepare for court," Sue sighed. Ben walked in holding a picture frame. "Found it." He handed the photo to Jennifer, who took one look before saying, "Aww, Johnny really did grow up here." The photo was of Reed and Sue smiling while pointing to a new invention, while Ben, who was in his human form before the rocket incident, was standing next to Reed holding baby Johnny; in the photo, Johnny was barely a month old. "Can't believe it; they are trying to steal something that basically came with this building," Jennifer said, putting the photo down. "Is there any way you can help us or at least know someone who can aid us, Jen?" Reed asked. "Not sure, but if this goes to trial, I'm not sure if I can take on this case, Richards," Jennifer replied. She took a quick sip of her tea before she snapped her fingers. "Oh, I do know two people who can help you out!" she said. "Who?" "These two lawyers in Hell's Kitchen—I've known them since my uni days! We had the same classes," she explained. She pulled out her wallet and handed Sue a card. "Wait, lawyers in Hell's Kitchen? You mean the same ones who took down that Fisk guy a few years ago? You know them?" Ben asked. "Yup, Franklin Nelson and Matthew Murdock. I’ve known them since my college days. Such a cute couple. They have been dating for a couple of years," Jennifer explained. "Are you sure they will..." "Of course they will! Such kind people, always looking after the people in this city. You'll love them, especially Matt."
Later that night, Sue called the law firm to schedule an appointment with Nelson and Murdock. They weren't overbooked; in fact, they were free tomorrow. After the phone call, Sue realized that Reed was no longer in the living room. She facepalmed herself; she knew that he was in the lab again. He must have gotten a call from Tony or T'Challa about the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. She walked toward the lab, hoping Reed wasn't spiraling again. When she poked her head in, Reed had multiple screens pulled up, all of them displaying articles, reports, or photos, all of them featuring the devil of Hell's Kitchen. She sighed; if he's researching, then at this point, she can't stop him. "Babe, what are you reading there?" Sue asked. She looked over his shoulder and saw that it was the first recorded sighting of the devil of Hell's Kitchen. "Susan, you need to read this! Apparently, he's been doing this under our noses for years! For years, how did I not notice?" Reed said. He handed her the article, which was a police report. It detailed a young woman who was walking home one evening when an attacker grabbed and attempted to mug her, but a man in all black came from above and attacked the mugger, giving him a good couple of punches before zip-tying him to a fire escape and leaving him there for the cops. "Reed, honey, I'm afraid you're going to spiral again, lose focus on taking care of yourself, or spend time with Valeria and Franklin." She said as she rubbed her husband's shoulders. "I know, but ever since you and Johnny had that encounter, I had to find more!" Reed explained. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He turned around in his chair, smiling at her. "Don't worry, love. I'll be okay; I just need to learn more!"
Time skip to the next day.
Sue heard the doorbell ring. "That must be them, Herbie! Let our guest in!" Herbie immediately zips towards the front door. "REED, BEN, JOHNNY, Mr. Nelson, and Mr. Murdock is here!" she yelled through her com. "Oh, Johnny, make sure you don't do anything to embarrass yourself again!" she added. She walked towards the lobby of the Baxter Building after hearing the alert that someone had entered her home. When she looked down into the lobby, she saw a blonde man and a red-haired man, who was clearly blind judging by the cane, sunglasses, and how he was clinging to the blonde man's upper arm. "Welcome, good sirs! You must be Franklin and Matthew. Jennifer told me all about you," she responded, waving for them to come up. Once they got to the main floor, the blonde man reached his hand out. "Franklin Nelson, or Foggy for short, and this is the main star of my law firm in Hell's Kitchen, Matthew Murdock! "Foggy," the blonde man gestured to himself, then to the blind man, Matt. Matt smiled at her. "Hello, Mrs. Storm. It's a pleasure to finally 'see' you in person. Jen told me so much about you, and yes, that was a blind joke." Sue let out a snort. "I can see." She joked back. Sue took a glance at her husband, best friend, and brother. Reed looked at Matt, then at Matt's mobility cane, and made a face, while Johnny let out a snort, leaning to Ben and whispering, "Didn't know they did THAT kind of diversity hires!" Ben simply smacks his head in response. "Don't say that, moron." He mumbled to Johnny.
Reed was starting to regret not listening to Tony; maybe he should have gotten in contact with one of Tony's expensive lawyers that he had recommended to him instead of this guy. Sure, Mr. Nelson was fine—very soft-spoken, nice, charming, and a well-respected guy throughout New York. Then there was him, Mr. Nelson's business partner/romantic partner, judging by the rings on their fingers, Mr. Murdock. Matthew Murdock. Judging by the cane, sunglasses, and how he was holding onto his partner's upper arm, he had a disability; more specifically, he was a blind lawyer. Reed had to wonder how this guy even passed the bar or how someone like that could even work as a lawyer. They seemed nice, especially Matt; he was smiling and being polite the whole time. He was also very understanding of Johnny's anger at losing his childhood treehouse that Sue and Reed built for him after Johnny had gotten his powers and could no longer attend normal school and was forced to be homeschooled. But it seemed faked, manufactured; Reed couldn't help but notice how Matt's smile seemed familiar, and something seemed off, but Reed couldn't put a finger on it, on why it seemed off.
Later that night, after Matt and Foggy left.
It was 12:30 a.m., and Reed was drinking coffee and doing research about Daredevil. He had to stay up late after Emma and Tony had sent him another report about how an older man in his 50s got mugged outside a store, when again Daredevil came out of nowhere to beat the muggers half to death. Johnny suddenly appeared above him, using his powers to make him fly. "Hey, Reed! What are you reading?" Johnny asked, looking over Reed's shoulder. "Another article that I found! It's about the devil of Hell's Kitchen," he responded. "The guy in the red suit with the horns? That guy?" Johnny commented. Reed didn't look at his brother-in-law as he scrolled to the next page, which had photos. Some men had black eyes, broken noses, or had their teeth pulled out of their skulls. Reed winced at the pictures; he wasn't fond of what he observed in the images. He was genuinely disgusted and bothered by the investigators' observation of nail marks around the gums, indicating that Daredevil had extracted the teeth manually. "Damn, if I knew that guy was a borderline psycho, I would have followed Sue to Hell's Kitchen," Johnny mumbled as he got a good look at the photos. "Oh!" He had just remembered that Johnny, Kamala, Peter, and Ava had all seen him, and then he realized that a certain Spider-Kid from Queens had a camera on him at the time. "Hey, kid, didn't Peter have a camera on him at the time?" Reed asked. "Yeah, I think he snapped a photo." "Can you do me a favor?" "Yeah?" "Tell Pete to give me a copy, because I think it's the clearest picture we've got, kid!"
To be continued...