Daisy could only admire the tenacity of superheroes. After walking two more blocks and interviewing two more passersby, she discovered that the blind lawyer was still secretly following them.
Daisy could not figure out what he was trying to do.
"Wanda, once we turn this corner, go interview the blind man at our five o'clock behind us."
Daisy did not mention that Matt and the black-clad man who had run away earlier were the same person. In her view, there was no point. Exposing someone's true identity would accomplish nothing except bring mortal danger to Matt and his friends. She was not about to put other people's lives at risk just to amuse herself.
Interviewing a blind man on a public street, however, was harmless. Mr. Murdock practiced law in full view of everyone every day and occasionally faced cameras. If his real identity could be exposed that easily, he would have died long ago.
As long as no one connected his two identities, there would be no problem.
Wanda obeyed Daisy's instructions without hesitation. Since the person was blind as well, helping someone from a vulnerable group fit perfectly with her own principles.
Two minutes later, Matt, who believed he had not been noticed, rounded the corner and discovered that Wanda had doubled back. From the look of things, she wanted to interview him—well, his current identity.
Matt's first reaction was still to run, but after thinking for less than a second, he knew he could not. Who had ever seen a blind man sprint away at full speed? That would be the same as announcing to everyone that something was wrong with him.
He did not expose Daisy's identity either. Although he could not see, he knew it was already night and the street was dark. Daisy had not spoken, so there was no way for him to explain how a blind man had recognized her true identity.
Matt's physical conditioning really was excellent. He had spent fifteen minutes running madly with them, changed clothes, doubled back to follow them, and after all that did not have so much as a trace of sweat on him.
He carried himself gently, with a faint smile at the corners of his mouth. Wearing sunglasses, he tapped the ground with his white cane and appeared to be listening carefully to the direction of Wanda's footsteps.
Wanda did not recognize at all that the blind man in front of her was the mysterious man she had chased for three streets earlier. Curious, she asked, "Why are you still outside so late? Your eyesight seems to be... not very good?"
Matt naturally could not say that he had followed them there. If they had not been wandering around at random, he would already have gone to Turk Barrett for information.
He laughed self-deprecatingly. "For me, there isn't much difference between day and night."
Wanda apologized repeatedly and explained that she had not meant it that way.
"My home is nearby. The residents around here are all very friendly, so I often come out for walks." The blind lawyer began spouting nonsense directly into the camera.
Daisy scoffed inwardly. It was true that he lived nearby, but the residents here were hardly friendly. What he did regularly was come out and beat them up.
Wanda was not nearly so suspicious. She liked what the blind lawyer said. Innocent as she was, she did not realize that it was all a pack of lies. Instead, she thought this passing blind man's words fit very well with her mission of a healthy New York and a happy New York.
Before starting the program, Wanda had learned from television that a livestream needed a guiding purpose. Miss Wanda had always wanted to turn herself into a healthy, happy person. Knowing that wish was precisely why Daisy had given up sleeping late at home to accompany her all over the city at night.
"Healthy and happy? Those are wonderful goals. The New York City government is actually pretty good. Three years ago, it launched a program to support vulnerable groups, and many blind people benefited from it. They provided me with a scholarship. Without it, I wouldn't have completed my education so smoothly. Of course, if society could pay even more attention to people with disabilities, that would be even better."
Mr. Murdock was a lawyer, so he was naturally good with words. He tailored his remarks to Wanda's interests and said exactly what she wanted to hear. A few sentences were enough to make her nod repeatedly.
"Thank you, Mr. Murdock. Your words are very wise. I'm sorry for taking up your time. Do you need me to walk you home?"
After learning that he did not, Miss Wanda waved goodbye to Matt and left with her camera operator and classmate Daisy.
Matt "watched" the two of them walk farther and farther away, then turned back toward his home to change clothes. He still had to go out and ask Turk Barrett a few questions.
Meanwhile, Wanda answered some questions from viewers. The two ended the livestream, got into the car, turned onto the main road, and prepared to head back to Long Island.
"Is donating money all we can do for blind people? Are there any practical ways to help them?" Wanda asked Daisy, who was driving.
Have her speak reality into obedience and make blindness disappear from the world? Daisy only entertained the thought. She would never suggest something like that to Wanda. Given the nature of Chaos Magic, a spell like that would probably erase blind people instead of healing them. Besides, anyone could tell that magic capable of altering reality would be unimaginably powerful, and casting it would certainly take a heavy toll on Wanda.
"Some medical institutions may be able to treat patients with relatively mild vision loss, but severe cases can't be cured. We can only think of solutions through city infrastructure—for example, building tactile paving for blind people, or creating barrier-free accessibility for people with limited mobility."
As a Deputy Director who frequently dealt with lawmakers, Daisy could produce this sort of answer without even thinking.
Wanda immediately pulled out a small notebook and very seriously wrote down the terms tactile paving and barrier-free accessibility.
"Then we could..." Wanda was interrupted before she could finish.
Daisy signaled for her to stop talking. Her enhanced hearing had picked up a cry for help.
"An ambulance! Help me! Uncle Ben! Somebody help! Please! Oh God!"
If it had been a stranger, she probably would not have bothered. Public safety in New York was terrible right now, and robberies and murders happened everywhere. This voice, however, was different. Daisy listened for a moment, immediately stopped the car, grabbed Wanda, and teleported over.
It was Peter Parker's voice.
The speed of the teleportation left Wanda dazed for an instant. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Peter Parker with tears streaming down his face, while Uncle Ben lay motionless on the concrete nearby.
Peter was completely at a loss. He desperately pressed his hands over the wound in Uncle Ben's chest, but blood kept pouring out between his fingers.
Looking at his uncle's wound, Peter had no idea what he should do. Would moving him make the injury worse? If he did not move him, then what? Clever as Peter considered himself, he was now thoroughly panicked.
"Peter, it's me. Let me take a look." Daisy pushed Peter aside. She had no healing abilities, but battlefield first aid was part of an agent's training.
The situation was extremely bad. The bullet had struck an artery, causing massive internal bleeding. Uncle Ben's heart could stop at any moment.
What could she do? Daisy was at a loss too. She had already used the Kree medicine on Viper, and she truly did not have any exceptionally powerful healing methods at hand.
In his current condition, pulling out the bullet would kill Uncle Ben immediately. Leave the bullet in and cauterize the wound with fire? Then put a magnet in his chest too and pretend he was Iron Man?
Several ideas flashed rapidly through Daisy's mind. Time was far too tight, and many possible methods were simply unsuitable.