Subordinate, ACQUIRED!

The vigilante stumbled backwards, his attempt at dashing away turned fleeting as a strange, warbling grip tensed around his very mind. 

"Gah!" He groaned, instantly dropping to a knee as Adrian approached. His gaze a cold, endless void as he looked upon the Daredevil with slight contempt… 

[Destiny cries in the wake of your turmoil… You feel something shift within…] 

The mutant mentally noted the notification, but happily ignored it. His psychic grip on the man before him made him feel exhilarating, like the very blood that flowed through his veins were excited, dancing with electric conductivity as his power enhanced.

'Sh-Shit! W-What is t-this!' The man was terrified, he had never come across something quite this abhorrent before. Daredevils' jaws tensed, his sight fading as his senses were beginning to go haywire… Blood dripped from his nose as his brain was on fire.

"Matt Murdock, am I correct?" Adrian spoke, his tone level, a slight childish rasp in his voice. He eyed the man, releasing his mental hold on him to give the vigilante a chance to speak.

"Kuh! Ahh!" He flopped to the ground; his head ringing more than it was before. The mental damage that Adrian inflicted left him immobile, yet his speech was unaffected.

Adrian rolled his eyes, leaning against the alley wall as he did so. "Don't be such a baby. You aren't actually hurt--Just made you feel what aneurysms like." 

Daredevil's groaning died down moments later, at this point he was on his back, face and chest to the sky as he took deep, panted breaths. His mind was one hundred as he tried his best to understand what the hell had just happened to him.

'A t-telepathic assault? Ah, just kill me now.' "G-Give me a moment." Matt struggled, waving his finger at his attacker. Once he was recovered enough to hold a conversation, the man glared at the boy, but within his eyes housed a discomfort, an unsettling fear as the very child before him was no an unknown variable.

One on the powerful side at that.

Raising a brow, Adrian broke the silence once more. "So, are you ready? You all here now buddy?" His tone was full of impatience and sociopathy. 

"Who are you? What do you want with me, kid?" Now on his feet, Daredevil responded instantly, his tamed agitation failing to be shielded from the world. His hand still held his head, as the pounding had yet to stop.

"Simply put, I need your skills and a place to stay." Adrian shrugged, "I know you're the Daredevil, I also know you're a rather good--Unknown though, lawyer and you attended Columbia Law School." 

Matt sucked his teeth, humming. "All those things, besides the first, could be looked up…" Under his mask, he was skeptical.

A moment of silence briefed the two of them, the outside civilian noise of the busy streets in Manhattan cascading into a beautiful white noise for the both of them. 

Adrian sighed, scoffing a bit. "Fine, Stick. Sound familiar? How 'bout Elektra? Do I need to drag Foggy over here as well- Have him confirm my words?" Tilting his head, Adrian hummed questioningly. 

The vigilante remained silent; his jaws clenched. 'Shit… Who could've gotten this information? HOW did he get this information…? Has he been watching me for weeks and I've just never noticed?'

Daredevil's inner turmoil worsened, however, his facade on the outside fooled nobody. Adrian delved into the surface level thoughts of the man before him, finding that diving further strained him a little bit more than he would've expected.

He wasn't as good as to not be detected when sifting through someone's memories. That would come with practice and time.

He smiled hearing the troubled, confused thoughts. Finding himself pretty good at this intimidation stuff. 

'Still… I'm not at the level to completely put someone under mind control… However, it should be a piece of cake with Warlock Eyes.'  The ability to have absolute perfect manipulation over his abilities works wonders.

As for the Daredevil, he was at a fork in the road. This was no doubt a pivotal moment in his life… 'Either work with him, or…' The end of that thought was pretty straight forward.

Adrian couldn't allow for any loose ends at the moment. The universe is way too dangerous- He got lucky with the Hulk versus Abomination fight ending up in his holding. But he won't rely on luck forever.

Daredevil sighed, shaking his head. "Fine. What choice do I really have?" And so, he chose the only thing he could've thought to be reasonable…

Approaching the young mutant with his guard completely down, his physique wafting vulnerability. Adrian flashed a splendid smile. Shoving his hands in his ragged pockets, he rocked on his heels, looking at the outstretched hand of the Vigilante.

Matt kneeled just before the teen, the distance between them closed- Adrian standing just before him. 

('Man I hope I turned my stove off; Foggy will probably stop by, it'll be good.') 

Adrian's brow raised, his powers still scanning the Devil's thoughts. Yet, the entire process changed… 

Reaching forward, he presented his hand towards his newest subordinate. A skeptical, confident look as he eyed the warrior before him. 'Clever bastard.'

'What time is it?' Raising his head, Daredevil reached for his new leader's hand, taking it in his own hand and bringing it towards his face. 

('I wonder what I'll do after this…')

Kissing his hand, Adrian retracted his limb and sighed. "You know, Matt… I think we'll both come to like this little partnership of ours." Patting the man on his head, Adrian sighed, smiling happily as he turned around.

('I doubt that. Highly.') "...If you say so… My… Lord? Is that what I call you now?" Daredevil reached his feet, his thoughts flowing into his new master's mind all unbeknownst to him. 

His quip didn't fall on deaf ears though. 

"...Huh. Uh, yeah no, that won't do." He hummed, rubbing his chin as he sighed, once again leaning against the alleyway behind him. 'Should I keep the first name? I don't need any sort of title… Nothing fancy, nothing too boring… Something just right.' 

Daredevil eyed the strange teen in front of him with an honest to god, curious expression. He wasn't reeling in pain anymore, which allowed him to actually calm down and form some complete thoughts.

('The world keeps on getting stranger…') He couldn't really find it in himself to be mad at the kid, he let his guard down--Didn't even consider the possibility of his secret identity being leaked, his private life being tracked all the while…

('Touche kid… Now, how would I find myself out of this situation…')

Turning around with a shrug, the boy spoke: "Skip out on the lord thing… We're partners now, just call me Adrian."

 . . .

[JUNE 17th, 2005]

Lounging around a rather spacious loft penthouse, situated in uptown Manhattan. From the door to the patio, the entirety of the shelter shone with a warm, welcoming, tranquil aura, inviting all who stepped in.

Sat upon one of the giant couches that sat with open arms, was a young teenage boy glistening with purity as his ink black hair wafted in the wild draft that scooped in from one of the nearby open windows.

The boys' pure white eyes radiated a mystical glare as he relaxed limply in the comfort of his seat.

Over the past couple of days, Adrian and his newly recruited subordinate had yet to actually do anything. With the mutant's goal being to create a safe haven for himself and for those he grows to love—The only thing on his to do list is to get stronger...

And that's exactly what he's been doing.

[DING! Congratulations!

Telepathy + 2

Telepathy + 2

Telepathy + 2

Telepathy + 2

Telepathy + 2]

Adrian let his smile split his face as he watched the income of XP. The constant stream of it filled him with a vigorous, irreplaceable desire for more.

Simply, as he sat absent minded from the comfort of his new home, his mind and stupidly powerful eyes shifted through the many complex, interesting and chaotic soulful homes of the citizens throughout New York.

With his senses only spanning in a hundred-and-a-quarter-meter radius, his options weren't very deep.

Yet, he was happy with his progress...

And it didn't take him long over the last three days to reach the next level.

[DING! Congratulations!

Telepathy has reached level 2!

Warlocks Eyes has reached level 2!

Your control over your telepathic abilities has reached a new level, expanding your potential horizon... Your eyes peer further than before, expanding your senses thrice what they were before... Reaching the realm past perfection, your finesse and manipulation of your abilities are further enhanced.]

As the boy's eyes finished scanning over his latest upgrades, he smiled maliciously as he felt his mind lighten, his eyes being overrun and flooded with a cooling sensation as his senses suddenly shot out in all directions, spanning a splendid 375-meters.

As the new psychic flames of all who entered his range flooded his mind, he looked at his system.

[STATUS

NAME: Adrian Starhart

SPECIES: Mutant

ABILITLIES: Telekinesis I (103/250) Telepathy II (0/700)

PASSIVES: True Magic Affinity (0) Warlocks Eyes II.]

'This is good. My growth speed could be faster—Hopefully with this increase in senses and available minds, my telepathy will rank up faster than before...' He mused, feeling his mental capabilities coming easier to him than before.

If before it was like crawling with confidence, now it's like walking.

His eyes fell upon his other ability, frowning a bit as he did so. His hand reaching for his chin as he fell into thought. 'Hmm, there aren't a lot of opportunities to actually train my telekinesis... Sitting here and holding multiple items up at one time might stream in one-single XP point every couple seconds. But there are better, more efficient and hastier ways to gather them in one sitting...'

As his thoughts finished, his malicious smile had grown brighter, his telepathic abilities and enhanced senses instantly locking onto his latest subordinate...

And it was at the best time.

('Shit! Shit, shit! How could I let this happen!?') The intricate, overlapping thoughts of a stressed out and panicked Daredevil crashed through the front door. His first immediate action?

His sightless eyes locked onto the young mutant who took refuge in his home. His normal spite and hesitation to even approach and speak to the man was no longer holding him back.

As he reached the boy, he stood in front of him and with stern, serious eyes and tone:

"I need your help. My friend's been kidnapped."