Bane vs. Daredevil
The snowflakes gently fall, twirling to the ground like lazy dancers. This night, however, the dancers have arrived late to the show; the main act has already played out between the devil and the assassin.
Daredevil stands over an unconscious Bullseye, specks of blood decorate the concrete around them while the dancers arrive, covering up the evidence of tonight’s spectacle.
This is the third of The Kingpin’s “operations” that Daredevil has prevented this week alone.
“You should tell your boss to look for some new tricks Bullseye. It’s getting boring hitting the same old lackeys every month.”
Sirens begin wailing in the background, always a little too late, thinks Murdock.
“Sit tight Bullseye, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the new rooms at the precinct.”
And with that the show is over, but this is merely the overture to our larger story, across town another act is beginning…
New York City,
An Unknown Location
Crack!
A fist the size of a piglet crashes through the desk, breaking it in half as though it were a mere graham cracker. The fist belongs to Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. The Kingpin who is behind everything
“I will not continue to allow a man dressed in a costume to ruin my business!” roars Fisk, “Bring me Daredevil’s head or yours will do instead!”
One of Fisk’s younger assistants speaks up.
“Sir, we’ve had Bullseye on the case for a few months now, he can’t even bring Daredevil down, what other options are even available to us?”
The Kingpin rises and the room momentarily goes silent, after a few infinite seconds Fisk speaks.
“Clear the room.”
The order is obeyed almost faster than it is given. Everyone in the room leaves except Oswald Silkworth, also known as The Arranger, Fisk’s most trusted lieutenant.
“That man who spoke up, what was his name?”
“Johnson sir.”
“Arrange for Mr. Johnson to take a vacation, make sure there is an ‘accident’ on this vacation, at least both knees should suffice.
“Understood sir.”
Another long pause, The Arranger sits patiently; knowing to interrupt his boss is to invite pain.
“Silkworth, we must look for a new direction to attack Daredevil from.”
“What do you propose sir?”
“Murdock fashions himself as ‘The Man Without Fear,’ perhaps it is time we put that mantle to the test.”
“Sir?”
“Find me someone who can even make the man without fear, afraid.”
6 Months Later
The wind whips against the devil’s back as he observes his city.
“Maybe the Kingpin decided to take a vacation, get a tan.”
He continues to stare at the skyline, once a monument to crime and corruption, it has become stale these past months. The organized crime that nearly threatened to sink this city has subsided and left its hero as silent as he is blind.
“Help!”
The cry shakes the silent gargoyle from his perch as he swings into action.
“Help! My purse!”
The devil races to the burglar, running away on foot. He catches him with ease, tripping the thief with his billy club.
“You picked the wrong night, it’s been awhile since I could stretch my legs”
The thief panics and pulls a knife out of his pocket and thrusts forward. The devil blocks the blow with ease, breaking the thug’s wrist in the process. The fight should have ended there, the thief is incapacitated with injury and fear, but the devil continues the fight.
“Stop! What are you doing?”
The woman who had her purse stolen earlier is running towards Murdock, a look of horror on her face.
“Look at him, he’s just a kid!”
The devil looks at his prey, a cowering teenager covered in blood, his face unrecognizable with the black bruises obscuring most of his features, his breath labored and raspy.
“But…your purse…”
“And you got it,” she says snapping the handbag from Daredevil, “I didn’t ask you to maul that young man.”
Sirens sound in the distance, on time for once.
“You had better go.”
And with that the devil disappears, back into the belly of his confusing city.
Across Town
“The documents have been arranged for his arrival here?”
“Yes, and might I add Mr. Fisk, this was no easy task”
“You will be duely compensated for your efforts Mr. Sikworth, now when can we expect this mercenary—Bane—to arrive?”
“I would say momentarily,” the voice comes from the open doorway to the room.
“Step forward and identify yourself!” says Fisk sharply.
“I am your salvation Mr. Fisk, the vengeance brought about to rid you of a certain pest.”
The man steps out of the shadows, a man large enough to stand on the same plane as Wilson Fisk. He wears a lucha mask that somehow fits around his head and extremely muscular neck.
“Well Bane I must say this irregular, showing up so—uninvited.
“Fret not, Mr. Fisk, I come only to let you know my hunt for your Daredevil begins, I will keep you up to date on the proceedings.”
“Do you have need of any resources, we have plenty of assets you can make use of.”
“I plan on making full use of your assets later Mr. Fisk, for now I am content to understand my enemy.”
And with that he is gone.
“Mr Fisk I feel there is something strange about that man,” says Silkworth.
“Undoubtedly, but if he can rid us of Daredevil, then I am willing to accept the costs.”
Matt Murdock’s Apartment
The devil sits down, his mask hanging like a limp corpse in his hands.
“I can only imagine his face,” thinks Daredevil, “The face of that poor child.”
He allows the mask to slip through his fingers and fall to the floor.
“This is not what I set out to do, I became Daredevil to combat crime in an efficient way, not beat up on teenage purse thieves.”
Murdock rises, paces around the room methodically, occasionally pausing to look out at his city in the window.
“Maybe this is no longer a fight for Daredevil, the streets have been clean for months now. Perhaps this is a better fight for Matt Murdock to take up and fight in the courtrooms, make sure that these crimes are contained.”
Murdock sinks to his knees and looks at the ground.
“I will renounce being Daredevil for now, until this city has need of him again. As it stand I will fight crime not behind a mask but with the blind authority of justice.”
Three Months Later
At The Kingpin’s Office
“Mr. Bane, I am sorry that it seems I have wasted your time.”
“Mr. Fisk?”
“There have been no sightings of Daredevil for many months, it seems that your…’special talents’ aren’t required for the time being.”
“That is alright Mr. Fisk, I trust you will still pay the amount we agreed upon?”
There is silence as a smile breaks The Kingpin’s lips.
“Our agreement was based on your successful capture or murder of Daredevil, neither of which were met.”
“I was hoping you would say that.”
And with a wave of Bane’s hand mercenaries clamber into the room, gunning down the Kingpin’s bodyguards. The Kingpin rises, slowly, from his desk.
“This has been the worst mistake of your life, Bane.”
“I hardly think so Mr. Fisk, I came here to rid you of Daredevil. In light of that, I will have to make due with your empire instead.”
With that The Kingpin charges knocking two of Bane’s mercenaries through the wall. He then swings a heavy fist at Bane, but misses as Bane ducks beneath it.
“You cannot win this fight Bane, for all my girth I am stocked with pure muscle.”
“I know this Fisk, but muscle can be broken.”
And with that Bane return with a vicious chop to Fisk’s arm, causing it to go numb. Fisk roars with rage and begins swinging wildly as Bane weaves around the array of blows. Finally Bane kicks out and makes contact with Fisk’s right knee, bringing him partially to the ground.
Fisk, clearly exhausted, attempts to rise but is shackled beneath his weight and injury. Bane walk over and seizes him by the throat.
“I will enjoy running your empire Mr. Fisk, it’s a pity we couldn’t work something out.”
There is a hideous snapping sound and the mammoth known as The Kingpin slumps over, never to rise again.
Bane then turns to The Arranger and addresses him.
“You will begin to stage a series of crimes to flush out this Daredevil, lure him out into the open.”
“But sir, he hasn’t been sighted for months.”
“I must be the undisputed king of this city Mr. Silkworth and to do that I must eliminate Daredevil as well.”
“So you want to lure him out into the open? What happens then do you want him here?”
“No, just get him back into action, then…I will break him”
