Hello, this is the voicemail of Hank Pym. I check my messages every day at 9PM. If I don't get back to you in an hour, please don't come knocking. I promise I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
Oh, just settling in. I'm creating a complete bio-dome for an ant colony inside my room! The best part is it double as a laboratory for me. All my equipment can be shrunken down and kept adjacent to the secondary colony. Of course, I would have to modularize it so it can be sized up and moved around easily. But I had a mini portable lab before, nothing to it.
[Matt hesitates, letting the silence spiral for a good 30 seconds. No collateral damage. No collateral damage. And yet he doesn't have the resources to appropriately address this problem.]
...I have a stalker, Hank. Someone who knew me from when I was here in the previous incarnation of...whatever we've found ourselves in. He wants my help, and he's-
[There's a sigh on the end of the other line, while Matt rubs at his eyes, tiredly.]
He has some kind of condition, I'm not sure what it is yet. D.I.D., maybe, schizophrenia. The result of an accident, he told me, during some case where in retaliation for prosecution, they burned him with acid. I've felt some of the scars; it's bad, Hank. But you know, I can't see it, so he thinks from me, he can get fair treatment, justice. I'm not sure even he knows what he wants. He says he's got it under control, and he thinks he's telling the truth, but that didn't stop him from breaking into my house.
At the very least, I need to know when he does that again. If he does it again. I got him to agree to conditions, not to follow me or interfere in my relationships, but there's no telling when he'll have a break and if he'll forget all about it when he does. If it'll even be the same person who asked for my help. And I can't ask Spider-Man to keep tabs on me 24/7.
[ When Matt says it's bad, when he's reaching out for help, it's probably really bad. Hank stops stomping through the mud for a moment to listen. ]
I can provide you security, Matt. Aside from that...
[ A beat. ]
Back home, before all this, I have been monitoring my own neurochemistry closely. I've found a way to, in layman's terms, "predict" when I'm close to a breakdown. If we could establish a baseline - which has dangers to it itself - I could possibly track your uh stalker's brain activity for the same thing. That is with the assumption that we have his consent, and I stress that point because there are enough shady things going on around here.
I don't want to jump the gun and encourage this, but that's a solution I can provide. There are others other there. Like a therapist. Does he have a therapist?
We can't do anything without him knowing. He trusts me, right now. At least enough to agree to do what I ask him to do. And he really believes he's got it under control- I don't want to do anything to make him assume that he doesn't. So I haven't asked if he's seeing anyone. But I would guess not.
Matt, if this guy is bothering you enough to make you call me about it, he needs one. And saying thinking that he has it under control doesn't make it true.
Are you going to be alright? If you need anything, you know I'm here.
[Sigh. Damn it, Hank, don't give him advice like this when it's not really something he can use even though he knows you're right.]
Don't you think I know all of that? I, of all people. know how subjective the truth can be. And I'm not-
[No, he can't say that, it's a lie. Another sigh, and a moment for him to rub at his eyes.]
I am bothered. And I have been repeatedly warned. But, if I refused to help, and he really was telling the truth, the whole time- I can't live with that. He at least should get the chance to get better. He understood when I was bothered; he backed off and agreed to my terms. And I don't think he's as much of a threat to me as everyone seems to think. What is he going to do, tell the whole world I'm Daredevil? I've already done that. It's not like Bullseye or Kingpin or any of the others. It's...I don't know.
[It's obsession, but Matt has never had a stalker, quite like this. Enemies who were obsessed with his life, with defeating him, but not Matt Murdock the man except as an extension of their ability to hurt him.]
That's it, really. I don't know what to do. People keep telling me if I need help, I should come ask them. But how do you ask someone for help when you don't even know them, and they know you? And you know they're keeping things from you? That they knew, and kept this?
And, I guess, in the absence of Foggy, you're one of the few other people I trust to have some kind of answer.
[ This is beyond him. He doesn't give good advices, for one. And even as he climbs out of the ant-hole and grows back into size, Hank's struggling to give an answer. There is no way to put himself into those shoes. With Jan and her stalker, it was simple; beat 'em up and toss the sick bastard into jail. Matt? Nothing with Matt seems simple.
Hank sighed and rubbed his temples. ] You want to help him, that's good. But how much can you help him? What lengths are you willing to go to in order to give him the help he needs? At what point do you have to say stop? I'm sorry, pal. You are your stalker's obsession. There isn't much you can do to help him. I'm not a psychologist but any more contact will just encourage it, don't you think? Find someone, ask them if they'll be willing to work with this guy.
And Matt, I know you think you don't know what to do but if you're ask me, you've always had good instincts. Trust them. You'll make the right decision.
[Matt wishes he had Hank's faith in his decisions, right now. If his instincts are always right, then does he just have to wait until he gets a gut feeling about how to proceed. But how can he reach that point without more contact? It's a Catch-22. No matter how he thinks to proceed, he can't think of a solution that doesn't end in tears.]
I don't know, Hank. That's the problem. I don't know enough to know how to proceed. And if I walk away from the problem...there's nothing that guarantees that won't just make it worse.
[ Hank's experience with DID was in his days as YellowJacket and that. He hates digging that up. ]
You won't know. It's a combination of things. It might just be another case of the blues, and you might think it'll pass. Or they might just want to work through another night. It's not the healthiest but it's not bad. Then something triggers it and it just happens. They might not even remember it happening.
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[ press 1 if you would like to end this ramble ]
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So you've got your facilities up and running? Because I may need to ask a favor from you.
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Depends on your definition of facilities.
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[He's not entirely sure how complicated the thing he needs Hank to do for him is.]
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Close enough. What is it, Matt? I can function at 50% but I won't know know if you don't tell me what is it you need.
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...I have a stalker, Hank. Someone who knew me from when I was here in the previous incarnation of...whatever we've found ourselves in. He wants my help, and he's-
[There's a sigh on the end of the other line, while Matt rubs at his eyes, tiredly.]
He has some kind of condition, I'm not sure what it is yet. D.I.D., maybe, schizophrenia. The result of an accident, he told me, during some case where in retaliation for prosecution, they burned him with acid. I've felt some of the scars; it's bad, Hank. But you know, I can't see it, so he thinks from me, he can get fair treatment, justice. I'm not sure even he knows what he wants. He says he's got it under control, and he thinks he's telling the truth, but that didn't stop him from breaking into my house.
At the very least, I need to know when he does that again. If he does it again. I got him to agree to conditions, not to follow me or interfere in my relationships, but there's no telling when he'll have a break and if he'll forget all about it when he does. If it'll even be the same person who asked for my help. And I can't ask Spider-Man to keep tabs on me 24/7.
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I can provide you security, Matt. Aside from that...
[ A beat. ]
Back home, before all this, I have been monitoring my own neurochemistry closely. I've found a way to, in layman's terms, "predict" when I'm close to a breakdown. If we could establish a baseline - which has dangers to it itself - I could possibly track your uh stalker's brain activity for the same thing. That is with the assumption that we have his consent, and I stress that point because there are enough shady things going on around here.
I don't want to jump the gun and encourage this, but that's a solution I can provide. There are others other there. Like a therapist. Does he have a therapist?
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We can't do anything without him knowing. He trusts me, right now. At least enough to agree to do what I ask him to do. And he really believes he's got it under control- I don't want to do anything to make him assume that he doesn't. So I haven't asked if he's seeing anyone. But I would guess not.
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Are you going to be alright? If you need anything, you know I'm here.
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Don't you think I know all of that? I, of all people. know how subjective the truth can be. And I'm not-
[No, he can't say that, it's a lie. Another sigh, and a moment for him to rub at his eyes.]
I am bothered. And I have been repeatedly warned. But, if I refused to help, and he really was telling the truth, the whole time- I can't live with that. He at least should get the chance to get better. He understood when I was bothered; he backed off and agreed to my terms. And I don't think he's as much of a threat to me as everyone seems to think. What is he going to do, tell the whole world I'm Daredevil? I've already done that. It's not like Bullseye or Kingpin or any of the others. It's...I don't know.
[It's obsession, but Matt has never had a stalker, quite like this. Enemies who were obsessed with his life, with defeating him, but not Matt Murdock the man except as an extension of their ability to hurt him.]
That's it, really. I don't know what to do. People keep telling me if I need help, I should come ask them. But how do you ask someone for help when you don't even know them, and they know you? And you know they're keeping things from you? That they knew, and kept this?
And, I guess, in the absence of Foggy, you're one of the few other people I trust to have some kind of answer.
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Hank sighed and rubbed his temples. ] You want to help him, that's good. But how much can you help him? What lengths are you willing to go to in order to give him the help he needs? At what point do you have to say stop? I'm sorry, pal. You are your stalker's obsession. There isn't much you can do to help him. I'm not a psychologist but any more contact will just encourage it, don't you think? Find someone, ask them if they'll be willing to work with this guy.
And Matt, I know you think you don't know what to do but if you're ask me, you've always had good instincts. Trust them. You'll make the right decision.
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I don't know, Hank. That's the problem. I don't know enough to know how to proceed. And if I walk away from the problem...there's nothing that guarantees that won't just make it worse.
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[ That's an offer, Matt. ]
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Will I know, when the downswing comes? Are there physical changes I should be aware of? Or is it too subtle to detect?
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You won't know. It's a combination of things. It might just be another case of the blues, and you might think it'll pass. Or they might just want to work through another night. It's not the healthiest but it's not bad. Then something triggers it and it just happens. They might not even remember it happening.
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This isn't going to be easy. Would he even remember that we'd talked? Let alone that he'd agreed to conditions.
[This can't end well. The only question is how long it will take Harvey to push the limits of Matt's urge to give aid.]
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[A beat]
From my experience, you know. You remember almost all of it. It just takes a while for you to remember but it's there, subconsciously.
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[He's probably placing way too much confidence in his capacity to act again.]
If at least some part of him wants my approval, there's a chance of breaking through.
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[ How do you tell the blind guy who willing jumps off roofs to be careful? ]
Stay safe.
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I'll keep you updated, Hank. And you know, if you need anything, you don't have to ask the ants.