Chapter Text
“You can’t keep saying ‘I blew up my school’ You have to use the word allegedly. Ok now try it with me. I allegedly blew up my school- He didn’t say it, Matt.”
Matt Murdock sighed,”Saying you blew up your school counts as a confession and also stop acting smug that not going to help you either.”
“Okay,”The teenager kept scrolling through his phone.
“This case is a disaster,”Foggy Nelson buried his head in his hands,” The guys blown up a school and he’s an illegal immigrant- There is literally no hope.”
“Well uh A! I didn’t blow up anything- Second of all I’m not an immigrant, my mother just never filed me as a real living person. I was a home birth. And finally I have a name: Tommy Shepherd.” Tommy spoke just a little too fast. The ends of each words just barely not touching one another.
“Alright, the where were you born?”Foggy forced a smile.
“Westveiw New Jersey.”
Foggy scratched that down in his notebook.
Tommy’s eyes flicked to Matt,”You good?”
“I’m fine,”Matt smiled like he wasn’t absolutely freaked out by the fact that Tommy’s heart beat was going at least three times the speed of an average heart beat,”We may need to get a witness to your citizenship. Is there anyone you’ve known your entire life? Maybe your mother or father-“
“Dead.”
“Excuse me?”
“My entire family is dead. I’m the last Shepherd. My dad, mom, grandmother, grandfather, my br-hell even my uncle! Everyone is dead.”
Foggy closed his notebook,”I’m sorry. How did they die?”
“The greats died in a bombing, never met ‘em, uncle in Sokovia, Mom got buried under a mountain, and my dad had his head ripped off his body… I think it miiiiiight be a generational curse.”
“This case is very serious,”Foggy changed the subject,”If you are sentenced guilty you won’t be going to a youth detention- Bombing a school is an act of terrorism-“
Tommy cut off Foggy,”And what if I did do it- But it was like an accident… Just hypothetically of course.”
“One does not simply accidentally build a bomb and put it in a school,”Foggy squinted.
“No I mean like a superpowered accident.”
“That would be very understandable, unfortunately laws have been popping up on the control of superpowered individuals beyond the Sokovia accords,”Matt explained,”If you not only did not legally exist, had blown up a school, and did so with superpowers- well you’d be in a world of trouble.”
“Well it’s a good thing I’m completely human then huh?”Tommy leaned back in the chair,”Right-o Frog-o?”
“It’s Foggy not Froggy, Mr. Shepherd.”
Tommy’s smirk fell in half a heart beat,“Yeah whatever- Look how do they even know the explosion was caused by a bomb?”
“Well their actually supposed to run tests on that soon- And if theoretically there was no bomb residue-“
“Cool beans! Alright you two gentlemen are really quite kind. Now I’m going to go back to my jail cell, scince a jail cot is better then the streets.”
“Streets? You’re staying on the streets?”Matt asked.
“Yeah,”Tommy shrugged,”It’s chill or whatever. There’s only a slightly higher chance of getting murdered so you know, whatever.”
“While your trial is in the air you can stay with me,”Matt didn’t even hesitate to offer a place to stay.
“That’s… Nice.” Tommy grabbed his yellow tented glasses and cleaned them on the edge of his ratty t-shirt,”So then how you gonna get me out of here?”
“I’m getting you out of here because you’re a minor being detained for roughly twenty hours now,”Matt explained.
“Great!”
——————
“Light switch on the left,”Matt walked through the door. Tommy didn’t bother hitting it on his way in,”I have a few things in the fridge if you’re hungry.”
“Really?”
“Yes- Hello?” Matt heard a swish in the air like someone had just fired an arrow, only the sound of a bow string was no where,”Thomas?”
“Right here! Thanks for the Tai leftovers.”
“Jesus! You’re fast!”
“Thanks I get that a lot,”Tommy began shoving the leftovers in his mouth. Trying his best to go normal speeds- But he was bordering the line of famished.
“I’ll sleep on the couch-“
“No way dude your old man bones can’t handle sleeping on a couch a bunch of nights in a row!”
Matt blinked,”I’m not old…”
“Right sorry.” Tommy flopped down onto his couch,”So I’m pleading not guilty.”
“I gathered as much,”Matt took off his glasses and set them on the low table.
Tommy spoke slowly each word separate,”I didn’t bring a bomb in the school.”
“I believe you-“
“You don’t have to lie to me. I know lawyers all think their clients did it. It’s Legally Blonde 101.” Tommy pushed short white hair out of his face.
“That was your takeaway from that movie?”
“Among other things, yes.”
Matt paused mulling over his next words,”I don’t think you’ve meet me before. My name is Matt Murdock- And I believe you’d never try to blow up a school. I certainly don’t think you deserve to be treated like a terrorist. You’re sixteen.”
Tommy swallowed and set down the empty box of leftovers,”Sorry, for uh the whole not believing you thing. I’m not really good with trust.”
“Don’t be. You’re scared.”
“No. I’m not.”
“Now that, I don’t believe,”Matt knew that people were always scared by court. It was practically a given.
“Then I don’t believe you’ve meet me. My name is Thomas Shepherd and I think you’re batshit insane like me.”
—————
“There wasn’t any bomb residue!”Foggy shouted the moment Tommy and Matt walked in the office.
“Yay.” Tommy sat down on the nearest table. Then looked down at the basket of fruit in confusion,” Uh banana addiction medal goes to who?”
“Payment from a client It’s not really paying the bills but… Who doesn’t like fruit?”Matt smiled.
“Considered selling it?”Tommy asked.
“It’s not that simple,”Foggy waved his hand,”We don’t have a business license to sell things.”
“Neither do the girl scouts do they? Also off topic whilst also on topic: Do you think they make those cookies with real girl scouts?”
Matt dropped the smile,”Just get off the desk, Wednesday.”
“Aside from all that,”Foggy sighed,”Now our biggest problem is probably going to be your lack of hospital records and birth certificate.”
“Call Ralph Bohner.”
Foggy dropped the paper he was holding,”Excuse me what?”
“You’re excused.”
“He’s the guy that was in the movie about stealing a cat or whatever B-O-H-N-E-R” Matt clarified.
“Yeah but how do you know this guy?”Foggy asked.
Tommy got a look in his eye like he was processing all the stages of grief in double time,”He babysat me as a kid. Lived down the street. He met me when I was like two days old,”Tommy shrugged,”Knew him my whole childhood until…” Tommy fell off on his sentence.
“Until what?”Matt inquired.”
“Matt-“
Tommy cut off Foggy,”A woman tried to kill me. I never went home after that.”
The air grew heavy with tension.
Foggy broke it with a snap of his fingers,”Well I’ll call Ralph Bohner- Matt you get to work on an opening statement.”
————-
“All rise.”
The judge sat down on his pedestal above the others,“Thomas Shepherd stands on trial for exploding a school. Twenty seven teenagers died in said explosion, and four teachers,”The judge stated,”You may now begin.”
When Matt stood up cane clicking as he walked, it was like the world slowed down,“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Today before you we put a sixteen year old boy on trial for blowing up a school with no bomb. Why question if someone who was clearly a survivor of this tragedy, was the creator of it? The boy before you did nothing wrong and that will be proven beyond reasonable doubt. Thank you.”
Foggy gave Tommy a small thumbs up.
The other lawyer stood and walked like she balanced the world on her shoulders well,”Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, a boy whose peers think is psychotic coincidentally survives an explosion that killed a large number of them. He’s demonstrated in the past that he is extremely violent, and the fact that he slipped through the cracks for as long as he did is surprisingly impressive. Is this an innocent boy? Or a crazed killer?”
Tommy watched as Foggy slowly put down his thumbs up. With each word a bit of confidence seemed to die in his eyes.
Just great.
—————
“Has he showed up yet?”Matt asked Foggy as he walked up the steps to the courthouse.
“No. He’s not here.”
“Crap,”Matt pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Wait what?”Tommy whipped his head back and forth between the two,”Huh?”
“Ralph’s not here,”Foggy mumbled.
“Yeah he is,”Tommy pointed at a guy in a trench coat and bucket hat. He seemed simultaneously like he was up to no good- and also like he was on the verge of a panic attack,”Right over there.”
“Oh god,”Foggy sighed,”That’s what you want to vouch for your character?”
“That what, has a name that you know. Yeesh Frogo i’m starting to notice a pattern with you.” Tommy adjusted his jacket,”I’ll go chat with him.”
Matt listened carefully as Tommy tapped Ralph’s shoulder.
“Don’t lie- But also don’t mention the hex.”
“Is it… Really you?”
“Sure is, Cocoa puffs, In the flesh… Which I guess is new for you.”
“Very much,”Ralph dropped his volume,”Don’t make me talk about Agatha please.”
“Eh they don’t know about her- But if she does come up- Don’t mention magic or any of the other Avenger bullshit. Just say she was…”Tommy fell off on his sentence.
“I’m sorry about your brother,”Ralph hugged Tommy.
“No hugs!”
“Sorry,”Ralph followed Tommy as he walked him over to Matt and Foggy.
“Meet this guy! Basically raised me,”Tommy nodded.
“Uh yes! And I was not a bad influence… I wasn’t. And I definitely didn’t take them smashing pumpkins on halloween.”
Foggy glanced at Tommy like he was revaluing him,”Them?”
“No i’m not non-Binary,”Tommy rolled his eyes,”And if I was, I’d have said so.”
“That not what I was-“
“Save it,”Tommy scowled,”Let’s just prove my innocence.”
“In what?”Ralph asked.
“Blowing up a school.”
“How would you even-?”
“Exactly.”
————-
“How do you know Mister Shepherd?”Matt asked Ralph.
“He grew up knowing me. I met him I think the day after he was born. I even took him out trick or treating once in matching speedster costumes!”
“So you know him well?”
“Yeah I guess you could say that. I haven’t seen him in a hot minute, but I also moved out of town recently.”
“And if you were to describe Thomas, what would you say?” Matt inquired.
“He’s very… Well he’s not the smart twin,”Ralph forced a chuckle,”He’s a bit of a wannabe punk. But he’s a good kid at heart!”
“Do you think the boy you know would be capable of blowing up a school?”
“In no way at all. He’s got the wrong skill set for that.”
“Thank you your honor that will be all,”Matt sat back down.
“Twin?”The other lawyer asked,”Thomas has a twin?”
“Uh yes,”Ralph nodded,”I mean… I’m pretty sure he’s not around anymore though…”
“Not around as in?”
Ralph took a deep breath. He glanced at Tommy who gave a nod.
“As in dead… He’s not… He’s no longer with us.”
“How did his brother die?”
“… Foul play.”
“Who killed him?” The woman tilted her head.
“A woman… She uh… Did a lot of damage to Westveiw a few years back.”
The woman pursed her lips,”I was asking for a name-“
“I don’t want to talk about the hex!” Ralph near shouted,”I’ll talk about other things but i’m not talking about the hex!”
The words hung in air like if they hung from a noose.
“Thank you… That will be all.”
———
“Why didn’t you tell us you had a brother?”Foggy asked.
“It’s a sore subject,”Tommy took the steps down two at a time.
Foggy helped Matt down the stairs quickly,”Sore???”
“Who’s Agatha?”Matt asked.
Tommy froze.
“Who is Agatha?”Matt repeated.
“She’s the reason he’s dead. The reason a lot of my family is dead. She’s responsible for the hex falling.”
“Wait what’s that? What’s the hex supposed to be?”Foggy asked.
“The worst thing to ever exist. Imagine a nice white picket fence life from the brady bunch.”
“How is that bad?”Foggy knit his eyebrows together.
“Now imagine you’re living that without any control over your actions… Puppet strings pulling every move.”
“Oh,”Foggy’s face scrunched up further,”That’s… Eugh.”
“There’s a reason me and Ralph didn’t want to say anything.”
“Let’s just try to get through this trial okay?”Matt asked.
Foggy nodded,”Uh yeah… Let’s uh…”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,”Tommy started to walk off.
“Where are you going?”Foggy started following him.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Let him go,”Matt caught Foggy’s elbow,”He needs time.”
“You can tell that from his heart beat?”
“No. No I can’t.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
————-
Waking up was hard. He wondered for a second if Tommy had come back at some point in the night. Then he picked up the sound of that reckless heartbeat. They had court today, Matt dragged out of bed and into the kitchen. He grabbed a glass and poured water in the cup.
“You’re hung over.” Matt said as soon as Tommy was awake and up.
“No shit Sherlock.” Tommy grabbed for the cup of water on the table but Matt managed to yank it out of his reach and take a sip.
“Why? Why do you do this to yourself?”
“Look Helen Keller-“
“That’s ablest-“Matt interjected.
“I don’t do feelings, I don’t talk about them I don’t hug, or hold hands, or cuddle while watching Pixar movies.” Tommy was standing up at this point.
“You still lied to me-“
“I am under no obligation to tell you my entire life story!”
“Thomas-“
“Tommy.” He corrected Matt with stone cold tone. Not a single emotion showed in his eyes, not even anger.
Matt shut up for about eight seconds before talking again,”Tommy, I am not talking to you as a lawyer right now, but as your friend.”
“I’m not your friend. I’m not big on the friend’s thing either anyway.”
Matt swallowed the rest of his drink,”Then as your lawyer, I advise you clear up your story before someone accuses you of lying to the judge.”
————
“State your name for the record?”
“Franklin Dunk,”The boy at the stand said.
“Do you Franklin Duke swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god?”
“I do.”
The opposing lawyer wasted no time,”Franklin, How do you know the accused?”
“He threatened to kill me,”Franklin sneered at Tommy.
“Why did Thomas threaten to kill you?”
“He didn’t like that I was dating the girl he liked that’s why.”
“And mister Dunk,” The woman added,”Has he ever threatened anyone else at your school?”
“Yeah a girl. He didn’t like how she dresses herself so he punched her-“
“She had nazi tattoos and wore them proudly- I stood up to her! She actually hit me first!”Tommy interrupted.
“I’m going to have to ask the Jury to disregard what was just spoken,”The judge spoke after a clack of his hammer.
Matt hissed through his teeth,”Shut up- you’re not helping!”
Tommy turned his attention back at the trial wordlessly.
“Thank you that will be all your honor,”The woman sat back down.
Foggy strutted forward,”Mister Dunk, Beyond the threats, what are your thoughts on Thomas?”
“He’s easily the most bellow average guy I ever met. He can do barely anything on his own.”
“So he doesn’t have any superpowers of any kind?”
“No.”
“Then how did he blow up a school without them?”
Franklin paused. He recalibrated,”I guess that does sound impossible, But the guy could do anything if he tried hard enough-“
“I thought you said he couldn’t do anything himself?”Foggy asked, rhetorical,”Thank you your honor that will be all.”
—
The jury walked back to their seats. A letter was passed to the judge.
Tommy wasn’t superstitious. He crossed his fingers anyway.
Matt put a hand on his shoulder.
Tommy didn’t hear anything but two words.
“Not Guilty.”
Tommy let out an audible sigh of relief. The rest was a haze walking out the court room and the moment he was outside he sat down on the steps and buried his head in hands.
“You ok?”Foggy nudged him with a shoe.
“You ever feel like someone’s watching over you?” Tommy asked,”Like a freakin guardian angel or something?”
“This is hell’s kitchen we’ve got a few more of those,”Matt smirked like something was funny.
“Yeah…” Tommy looked up at the sky,”Anyone else hungry?”
————
Tommy felt a buzz in his pant pocket. He pulled out the phone with his hand that wasn’t holding the bag of food and answered the text. In the reflection of the phone he saw the dark empty street save for one other man.
‘on way back dont blame me for late blame long ass line’
He got an answer almost immediately.
‘Language!’
‘did matt tell uoy to send that’
‘Yes’
‘kys matt’
‘I’m not telling him that’
Tommy froze. Pausing in the sidewalk. This was too long to be a coincidence. Why was he still there?
“Why are you following me?”He asked the man. Maybe he’d scare him off with that.
“Because we wouldn’t want the truth getting out now would we… Tommy Maximoff?”