7381/The (Hell)Cat Came Back

The (Hell)Cat Came Back
Date of Scene:	01 May 2019
Location:	Josie's Bar, New York City
Synopsis:	Matt and Trish catch up after Trish's sudden return. The stories she tells tests Matt's faith.
Cast of Characters:	Daredevil, Hellcat

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Daredevil has posed:
It was after work, and Matt was already seated in a booth near the back of Josie's. His choice earned a few looks from Josie, not that Matt could react to them, but he knew what they were about, he had a usual booth since back in college and it was rare to see him plunk his ass down anywhere else in the establishment. Tonight was different, he suspected whatever Trish had to say, was likely personal and so not best said in the midst of the chaos that surrounded his favourite booth.

Once he'd gotten himself seated he dictated a text:

Matt >> Hey, Trish, wanna come by Josie's? Would like to catch up.

That sent he gets himself a Macallam, neat, and waits for his friend to arrive.

Hellcat has posed:
Trish had known the conversation would come. And, Matt was one of the few people she would have the conversation with. Which irritated her to no end. But, someone needed to know. And, it wasn't like her abilities weren't going to come into play soon. She knew all of that.

Trish >> I suppose it's now or never. I'll be over soon.

Soon was about thirty minutes. Sure, she could've gotten there sooner. But, she'd been in the middle of a workout. So, it's into Josie's she walks in a pair of shorts, tennis shoes, and a sports bra - an outfit that shows off her physique as well as her curves and suggests, highly, she'd just been involved with one of her personal work out sessions.

Looking around, she spies Matt, and ignoring the looks anyone else might be giving her, walks over to him. "Hey, this seat taken?"

Daredevil has posed:
The reluctance is noted as Matt's phone reads Trish's message into his earbud but Matt pushes on with his reply like it hadn't been noticed:

Matt >> Great. I'm by the back.

Matt has barely touched his drink when his senses tip him to Trish's arrival. He can only make out the rough outline of the outfit but the turning heads in the bar tell the tail well enough. One of them even lets out a low whistle. Women in gym clothes is a rare sight at Josie's.

For his part, Matt chuckles turning his glass on the table, his blind man act requiring him to wait for her to speak before recognize her, when she does, Matt answers with a smile, "Only after you sit down," he says. "Glad you could make it, Trish. Want anything?"

Hellcat has posed:
Trish laughs, just a little. "Yeah," she agrees, "Long Island Iced Tea." She then sits down, "Sorry I'm a little late. Was just finishing out working out. Girl has to keep her figure," she relates, casually.

She looks Matt up, and down, "I see you're still ... you." Which translates to: making just enough to get by, and probably seriously overworking himself. "Glad some things haven't changed."

Daredevil has posed:
"Sure," Matt says before calling out the drink to Josie.

"And no worries," he says about the little bit of tardiness. "Nice to be able to just sit for a minute," he says which, pretty much everything Trish had assumed about him. Matt was still burning the candle at both ends and still trying to carry the world on his shoulders. "And your gym may have a few more sign ups after that entrance."

"Yeah pretty much the same, different cases, same problems," not to mention different ninja and same problems, but he doesn't mention that here. "How about you, we missed you for a while there."

Hellcat has posed:
"Yeah. Sorry about that. I needed some time off. Things got complicated." She frowns, briefly, and looks only momentarily uncomfortable. "I needed to clear my head."

As the drink comes, she takes advantage of it's arrival and takes a rather large sip of it, "Missed these," she says, casually. "Things don't seem too bad, or worse for wear though. That's good."

Daredevil has posed:
"Been there," Matt says, his expression equal parts quizzical and sympathetic.

He doesn't ask the obvious question, at least, not yet.

"Looks can be deceiving, it was hell for a bit, the Hand was pressing us hard, Elektra was gone," there had been news reports about her death, followed by her miraculous return. "Then she was with the Hand, then she was back. I was rich for a bit..." he takes a drink. "You missed a wild ride." There's no recrimination in the tone, just a wry sort of humour and a lot of tiredness. "Now we've got entirely new friends, the ones I mentioned at the meeting."

Though that wasn't what he'd come to talk about, and so he asks the question: "Feel free to tell me go to hell, but what happened, Trish? We we worried about you."

Hellcat has posed:
"Wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy, Matt," Hellcat says, quietly. A little too quietly. A little distance, to those eyes. It may be questionable to how much he can tell of the brief blank expression on her face. She sighs, then, and takes another drink of her Long Island Tea.

"Trust me. I've been there. You wouldn't want to go." There isn't even the most remote chance she's being sarcastic, or joking.

She looks down. "Do you remember when a very wise person once told us, very seriously as we joked, that Hell was all in our minds? He was right."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt started to feel the hairs of the back of his neck stand up at Trish's response. She sounded serious and his mind bucked at the implications. Then he listened, really listened, her heartbeat was steady, whatever Trish might be say at the very least /she/ believed it.

"You were in Hell?" he asks then dropping his voice low, senses sweeping around them to make sure there was no one too close at hand. "Actual Hell?"

Despite all his years as a Catholic, and having seen Elektra come back from the dead, he had a hard time wrapping his head around it.

Hellcat has posed:
"Ever see a demon Matt? An actual, real, in the flesh, demon?" Trish isn't looking at Matt. But there's no fear in her voice. No hesitation. She's just speaking facts. Quietly. "I did. Not the things we see in the streets. Not the wrappings and entrapments they cover themselves in. I saw. A demon."

She lifts her drink, studies it. "It's frightening to know how fragile our minds and sensibilities really are. I killed myself. There's only two other people who know this, Matt. Jessica. And Damion. I was gone, here? All of five minutes. Was never reported to the media. I spent years, there."

She takes another large drink of her tea. Sets it down. She laughs, bitterly. "I literally became Hellcat. And, I conned my way up here. No deals. No soul-selling. I played my trump card. And, for at least a little bit. I won."

Now she turns to look at him. "I don't need the costume, anymore, Matt." The costume that, when she had put it on, gave her the added boosts of speed, and strength. "Seems I brought a few tricks back with me, too."

"I'll understand if you don't want me on the team, anymore." Tainted, as she is. Or may be.

Daredevil has posed:
All of this struck him to the core of his beliefs. Made him question them, made him suddenly wonder how much of his faith was rote and how much of it was actual belief in heaven and hell and good and evil.

He'd met an angel, or someone who claimed to be one and he'd given him a moment of grace, a moment of understanding the golden light of the presence, but his mind, fragile as Trish had claimed all minds were, had did it's best to explain it away, return to normal, but it was still there, haunting him a doubt that what he took to be true about the world was only a thin veneer.

All of this plays out on his face, only partly hidden by the hellish red of the lenses across his eyes.

"Trish..." he begins and then the great orator runs out of words. What do you say to that? "I'm sorry that happened to you," he says reaching out to take her hand in a show of support, to bridge the gap between this world and what she saw. "I can't imagine what it must have been like, or what you must have done," he says. "Jesus," he breathes in disbelief just thinking about it. "Anyhow, nobody's getting kicked off the team, you went through Hell, Trish, literally, what sort of friends would we be if we shunned you for that?"

Hellcat has posed:
Trish allows the taking of her hand, looks at Matt gratefully. She nods, and leans into him, just a bit. "Thank you." It's a weight of her chest, and she knows her secret is safe with him, just as his identity is safe with her.

"You know," she says righting herself, "Nothing scares me, anymore. I meant, Matt. Nothing. I don't know if that's a good thing, or a bad thing."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt nods, giving her hand a squeeze before letting go, and allowing her to lean against him in the booth. "You're welcome Trish. I am not sure how much of the details you'll ever want to share, but if you need an ear, you know you can always talk to me right?"

Even if listening was likely to send him to Father Lantom seeking answers to the big questions in life.

"Really?" Matt asks brows raising above his shades. "None at all?" for all that he was called the Man Without Fear, that was hyperbole, he still felt it, even if he wished he didn't. The question of good or bad there is mulled over. "Got me on that one, I mean, that would be scary as heck to me, you know if I could feel fear , to suddenly lose that, it'd make me wonder what changed," he says. "As for the practicle side of things... that one's hard to call too. How have you been without it? Notice any changes?"

Hellcat has posed:
"As good as, if not better, than ever. I've got a few new tricks, too. Maybe you'll see them sometime. I can't tell you -everything- in one night, afterall," she half-jokes, smile wry, before finishing her drink.

She's quiet a few more moments then shifts the conversation. "Heard about this - Foot anymore you were asking around about? Any news there? I could use some distraction. Or, you know. Get back in action."

Daredevil has posed:
"Yeah?" Matt asks about doing as well if not better than ever. He knew about not needing the suit, and he suspected there might be more to it as well...."And sure, you'll have to show me, but are /you/ okay, Trish? How are you getting used to being back?"

Well it seems like one of those ways is by keeping busy, "They're spreading, and getting gangs and judges under their sway," he says. "They've been handing out these gold coins, at first I though they were just markers, a way to prove your crew was on the Foot's good books, but now I am hearing they've been what's been making judges let people off with a slap on the wrist or just throwing out cases. We're working up a list of gangs and judges, and we're going to go pay the gangs a visit," he leans in to whisper the rest. "Dressed as Foot, to stir up trouble in their camp and maybe get our hands on one of those coins."

Hellcat has posed:
Trish nods. "Call me, when you're ready to move?" She squeezes Matt's shoulder then, affectionately but brief. "But, next time you want to hear me talk? Just turn on the radio, yeah?" She adds, "I'm okay. Really. Thanks. I've got good friends, afterall." Her mouth curves into a earnest smile. "Take care of yourself, Matt. There's only one you, afterall."