MARVEL: CARD EXTRACTION SYSTEM

"Murdock." Gwen and I said in unison.

The name came out of our mouths almost automatically, as if it was obvious that the person who was the current Kingpin was behind this room.

I barely knew the history behind this man in this universe, but just hearing his name was like a heavy cloud covering the sky above me. Matt Murdock was usually not only a skilled urban hero, but also an intelligent man. The latter trait was certainly no different in this universe. He was dangerous, that much was clear.

Suddenly, a sound echoed through the room, like a propeller turning on, and then the computer screens in the room began to light up one by one, casting a white light in our faces.

Most of the dozens of screens were white, without any image or message, but the largest one displayed a message in red letters.

"Enter password." I read aloud.

What, a password? So this wasn't a computer that wasn't being used. Below the message asking for the password, confirming our suspicion, was the name of a company called simply 'Murdock'. In most universes, Matt Murdock started a company with his best friend from college named Foggy, but this reality seemed to be different, and so the office bore only Matt's first and last names.

I moved closer to it and read the message that appeared just below the text box:

"Just a try..."

Gwen took quick steps forward, approaching the keyboard before I did. "This is much better than we thought... of course Murdock wouldn't leave the classified information about himself and his plans in the office where he has normal employees, but here it is, in the same building where he works and he can come here anytime and alone if he has the elevator key." As she said this, her fingers hovered over the keyboard. "I think we can try... The password has to have something to do with Murdock..."

I watched with a lump in my throat and knew she wasn't thinking as rationally as before. She was eager to arrest the new Kingpin.

So, before she could type a single letter, I gently put my hand on her shoulder and said:

"Hold on, Spider-Woman. Let me try."

"You?"

"Yes, I... I know I'm not the most experienced guy here, but give me a chance to prove what I can do with my mutant skills."

Gwen seemed to think for a moment, wondering if she should let me do it or not. But in the end, she took a step back to make room for me.

I sat down in the chair in front of the various screens, knowing that I couldn't make a mistake or the whole plan would be compromised. However, the mutant skills I had told Gwen about were... let's just say, not real skills.

'Hey, system, can I buy the full password?'

[Yes, the password can be purchased for 4,500 Card Points.]

I almost let out a bitter laugh. 4.500? There was no way I could afford that. I tried to think of another solution.

'What if I want different help? Something cheaper?'

[You can buy the number of characters in the password and the type of password for 300 Card Points.]

I looked at Gwen, who was standing next to me, waiting for me to figure it out. I didn't have time to think about saving money. 300 Card Points was practically all I had, but there was no other option.

'All right, you can charge it.'

[300 Card Points were deducted from your balance.]

[The password for the personal computer of 'Matt Murdock of Earth-65' is nine characters. The type of password is related to his identity.]

I closed my eyes for a second, trying to put the pieces together.

Nine letters and something to do with identity...

But what identity? He had so many layers. Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer. Matt Murdock, the boy trained by a vigilante. Matt Murdock, the new Kingpin?

I knew he would never choose something obvious, like his full name or something directly related to his public career or his family. No, that would be suicide for someone like him, someone who lived in the shadows.

Most people tended to connect their passwords to something personal, but usually it wasn't that obvious. A connection that maybe only they understood.

Gwen looked at me out of the corner of her eye, watching my process, perhaps without much confidence that I would figure it out. She was worried, impatient, and rightly so. The more time we spent there, the more risks we were taking.

I leaned closer to the keyboard and noticed the slight wear on certain keys. The keyboard had been used a lot, but not all the keys looked the same. The 'E' was one of the most worn keys, which made sense since it was the most used key in most languages. The 'Ctrl' key also showed signs of use, but somehow the 'D' key also looked particularly scratched. It wasn't common for that key to be used so much... unless it was part of a specific word.

"D..." I muttered, and then the word 'Daredevil' came to mind.

It was a hunch, an immediate correlation, when I noticed how often 'D' was used. Daredevil. A name that defined Matt Murdock in most universes, but not this one, because the vigilante Daredevil didn't exist in this universe. So perhaps this was a wish or regret he kept to himself.

"Is it possible...?"

It wasn't perfect, and it was certainly risky. But it made sense. Daredevil was who Matt really was, what he stood for, both good and bad.

Gwen realized I was getting to something, but she didn't know what. Just as she was about to ask, my fingers moved quickly and I typed 'D-A-R-E-D-E-V-I-L'.

For a second, the cursor flashed on the screen. Did I get it right? The risk of getting it wrong was too great to fail now. But then a soft mechanical sound echoed through the room, and the screen blinked again before opening to a new panel, revealing a series of files and folders on a shared digital desktop.

"It worked," I said, a smile on my face.

"What did you put in?" Gwen asked.

I turned to her.

"Daredevil. It was the nickname his father, the boxer, used to go by. I looked up Murdock when you left the room at the hospital." I lied.

Gwen was silent for a moment. She seemed to be considering what I'd said, maybe trying to decide whether to trust me after I cracked a Kingpin's password on the first try. There was something in the way she looked at me that suggested she wasn't entirely satisfied with my explanation.

Finally, she turned to the keyboard and said: "All right, let's see what's in here."

I moved the chair away to make room for her to take over. Gwen approached the keyboard and began to work on the computer.

I watched as she typed in a few names and scrolled through folders, looking for anything that might incriminate Murdock. After a few seconds, she stopped typing and frowned.

"This... this doesn't make sense." She muttered.

I looked to the right at the screen she was staring at and saw that she had opened a series of documents with Foggy Nelson's name on them.

"Foggy didn't flee the city, nor was he killed..."

"What? No?"

"Nor is he in exile or anything like that... He's working for the European branch of a company called... Hand."

"Hand?" The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn't remember exactly where. "I've heard that name before," I muttered, trying to remember.

Then, like a flash, the memory came back. The Hand Era is a ninja organization. Criminals, assassins for hire. In the universes where Matt Murdock is Daredevil, they are one of the greatest threats he faces.

Daredevil...

'Why does that word seem to be running through my head since I thought of it a few moments ago? The meaning is... ironic. Daredevil means someone without fear, and that has always seemed wrong to me when it comes to Matt Murdock. Everything he does is planned... carefully.'

At the same time that my rational instincts were telling me that something was wrong, Gwen stopped typing as if she sensed something and turned around, but she wasn't looking at me, she was looking at someone in the dimness of the room where the light from the computer monitors couldn't reach.

Then we heard it.

Toc… Toc… Toc…

It was a common sound, but we recognized it immediately. It was the characteristic sound of a wooden cane hitting the floor.

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