"You, sir, are a miracle!"
There's a pause...
"Parker family together, miracle?"
They each exchange a pensive look with the doctor.
"Yes, a miracle!"
Doctor Strange proceeds to examine his paperwork.
"The blood and bullet holes on your shirt indicate a puncture wound to the left lung. The blood on your shirt is definitely yours, but we couldn't find an entrance wound. The staff was quite shocked, in fact!"
The Parker family exchanges a look, and Peter locks eyes with William, who gives him a soft wink.
Peter smiles, knowing that whatever his brother gave Ben was probably what saved his life!
After a few more minutes of explanation from the doctor, William walks down the hospital corridor looking for a vending machine. As he walks, he hears something...
TapTapTap
The tapping of a can echoes through the halls. Something about the sound is familiar, but he can't quite place it.
Trying to ignore the tapping, William presses the button for the item he wants from the machine.
As the item drops, William reaches for it, and just as he does, the tapping stops...
He turns to see a familiar figure.
"Small world, Mr. Ape."
William freezes and turns around.
"What are you doing here? We only met a couple of hours ago."
Confusion fills his face.
"I'm here on a case. I did tell you I'm a lawyer, right?"
Matt pulls out a business card, but William stops him.
"Oh, I already have one from before!"
William pulls the card from his wallet.
"Oh good. I've got a lot going on, and little things like this slip my mind occasionally."
Matt slides the card back into his breast pocket and offers a hand to William.
They shake hands.
"So, what are you doing here? Getting those cuts checked out?"
William glances at the cuts on his arms and chuckles.
"No, I'm fine. I'm here because my dad was shot and barely survived."
William's eyes flash green and yellow for a fraction of a second before returning to normal.
Matt pauses at the same moment, his senses suddenly alert.
Matt Murdock's thoughts: What the hell was that? The air seemed to freeze around this guy for a moment. It felt like I was standing in front of an alpha predator!
William quickly returns to normal and speaks through gritted teeth.
"They didn't even catch the guy. It's infuriating!"
Matt takes a moment to think, then suddenly speaks up.
"Would you like to do something about it?"
William looks up, glaring at Matt. Then he chuckles.
"I'm glaring at a blind man..."
William chuckles again.
"Of course, I want to do something about it!"
William clenches his fist, the sound of bones cracking audible.
"But what can I do?"
His voice shifts to one of helplessness.
Matt thinks for a moment before speaking with determination.
"Are you busy later, say, around dusk?"
William's eyes twitch, and he feels an overwhelming urge to leave.
"I'm n...not into guys, and I'm a little too young, don't you think?"
Matt stands there silently for a moment before the sound of wind blowing can be heard.
"I'm not talking about a date, you fool. You have potential inside you, and I'd like to help you train and control it."
William's eyes flash with excitement.
"You have strength deep inside you, and I want to be the one who helps you reach it."
That did it. William can't help but smile.
Later, William and Matt are seen leaving the hospital. After catching a taxi, they arrive at Matt's loft. Matt gestures for William to sit at the bar, and then goes into another room.
Soon, William hears Matt's voice.
"Do you have a weapon?"
William reaches into his ear and pulls out the Power Pole.
"Yeah, I got something pretty good!"
He says, marveling at the beautiful staff in his hands.
Matt walks in wearing athletic gear and protective shin and arm guards, along with a helmet.
"I don't have anything fancy, so no claws!"
He teases William.
William turns red for a moment, then smirks.
"POWER POLE, EXTEND!"
With a warbling sound, the pen-sized staff in William's hand extends in all directions until it reaches the perfect size for him to wield as a staff. It continues to grow by length, smashing through the kitchen drywall.
Crash!
Both William and Matt's faces turn dark. William focuses, retracting the staff to a manageable size.
"Well, that's... different. What is that thing? It feels... odd."
Matt touches the staff lightly, trying to sense it.
"What is this, William?"
William's smirk deepens.
"This... is my Power Pole, and it's kind of magical in nature, from what I can tell!"
William demonstrates by shrinking and extending the staff repeatedly. He soon realizes he's showing off to a blind man and stops.
"So, what's the plan, Mr. Murdock?"
Matt walks to the middle of the room, pulls out a couple of billy clubs, and smirks.
"We're going to fight and train until you can hold your own at least!"
Matt charges.
William is caught off guard, barely dodging the left club by leaning to the right. However, Matt's right club flies in from behind, striking William on the head and sending him face-first into the floor.
"Normally, I would've given you a warning, but I think you'll learn more from this."
William gets up with a grimace of pain on his face.
"Ow, ow, ow... I think my face made an indentation on the wood."
He scratches his head, focusing as his eyes sharpen.
He swings the Power Pole at Matt's legs, but misses. Matt quickly retaliates with a swift kick aimed at the pole. But...
"Power Pole, shrink!"
The pole shrinks just enough for Matt's leg to miss by a hair, catching him off guard.
William smirks.
"Power Pole, extend!"
The staff extends, slamming into Matt's shoulder and pressing him into the brick wall.
Matt grunts in pain, trying to remove the pole from his shoulder. He hears...
"Power Pole, shrink!"
Matt thinks he's about to be released, but then senses William closing in quickly.
William uses the shrinking motion to dart toward Matt and delivers a swift knee to the gut.
Matt thinks fast, summoning all his strength to slam the pole back down from his shoulder, sending William sprawling to the floor.
"It's too late!!"
He rolls with the momentum and throws a sudden elbow, but...
Suddenly, William is kicked by an unseen third party, sent sliding several feet before he can bring himself to stop.
"You know, Matt, it's not every day I see you get your ass kicked by a teenager!"
Matt's expression darkens as he turns toward the newcomer.
"Stick..."