Help…denied

Another day in the life of Hell's Kitchen P.I. Jessica Jones; unfortunately while the day was new, the argument she was having with her adopted sister Trish Walker wasn't.

"Maybe you should talk to someone Jess, that's all I'm saying" Jess looked across the table at Trish, wondering, not for the first time how anyone can look so fresh before 10 in the morning on a Saturday and shook her head.

"Like who, where can I find a shrink who can even understand what I did, let alone what he did?" Trish wasn't going to be so easily dissuaded.

"I'm not saying its easy Jess, but you don't have to do it alone" Jessica shrugged as she hefted her, regrettably alcohol-free, coffee.

"I'm not, I have you, plus I have my good friends Johnny Walker and Jack Daniels to get through it" She sipped the coffee, more for the taste than the caffeine hit, quietly mourning the fact that it didn't have a shot of whiskey in it and changed the subject. "I heard you talking to that asshole from the transit people, not bad Walker" Trish smiled across the table at her somewhat wayward sister.

"Aw, you listened, I'm touched" Jess, being Jess, covered her affection with a layer of sarcasm.

"Don't be; I was on stakeout for some lowlife cheating on his wife and had to do something to stay awake, so it was either you or some celebrity gossip-monger" Trish just kept smiling, understanding what Jess wasn't saying. The rest of breakfast passed quickly before Jess had to head off, as she put it 'cheating scumbags don't respect weekends, that's why they're scumbags'. Watching Jess swagger out Trish shook her head fondly, before turning her mind to how to help Jess.

If she wouldn't look for help, maybe Trish could do it for her, and the invitation she had at the kid's hospital fundraising reception tonight might be a good place to start, given whom one of the guests was.

That night

"Mister Rogers?" The guy was big, I'd seen that walking up to him but when he turned, I realised just how big he was, he had to be at least two or three times wider across the shoulders than I was, tall too, really tall, plus he moved like a predator, so smooth and fast, like a tiger I'd seen in the zoo years ago, dangerous and immensely powerful but all under control, safe behind bars but god help you if you were in front of him if he let that power off the leash.

"Can I help you Miss?" I smiled, this one's leash was still in place, plus this was a polite tiger, his eyes barely flicked over the black gown I was wearing, he wasn't too bad on the eyes either, his suit fitted him really, really well.

"Hello Mister Rogers, my name is Trish Walker" He nodded politely, a match for his words.

"Please call me Steve, Mister Rogers was my father" I smiled a little wider.

"Steve, I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time" He nodded, though there was a wariness to him, reserve in his eyes, hardly surprising, given whom he was and the life he led.

"Now?" I nodded.

"It's a favour for a friend" He looked at me, then around the room, scanning it carefully, I'd already picked up several men in suits scattered around the room who were part of his security detail, though I wondered if they were to protect him, or the people around him, before looking back at me.

"What sort of favour Miss Walker?"

"Please, call me Trish" I said, smiling, he nodded once, carefully.

"Trish, you haven't answered my question" I understood he must get thousands of requests, probably half of which were from women and guys who wanted some 'personal time' with him. I decided to cut to the chase.

"I have a friend, she's…gifted" His eyes suddenly sharpened on me, making me realise the leash wasn't all that tight.

"Go on" I smiled a little nervously.

"There was a man, he had the ability to compel anyone he liked to do his bidding, he told you to do something, you'd do it, no questions asked, just like it was your idea" He frowned as he took me in, a completely different look in his eyes, the tiger was there now, watching me, considering.

"Anything?" he finally said. I nodded and tried to explain.

"If he told you to beat your face against a wall until either the wall or you broke, you'd go and do it happily" The look on his face was calm, composed, showing nothing, his eyes though told a different story.

"Go on" I smiled a little nervously and tried to explain.

"My friend had been controlled by him before but escaped, she thought he was dead" I grimaced; remembering the nightmare Kilgrave had put everyone, but especially Jess through. "Unfortunately she was wrong. He reappeared and made life hell for so many people" He nodded then looked up quickly, seeing someone heading our way. He shook his head once and a little of the tiger showed through; the guy went elsewhere as he looked back at me.

"And you need my help?" I shook my head as I explained.

"Not to deal with him, he's dead, I watched it happen; he's gone thank god" He nodded once, slowly then spoke.

"So what do you want me to do?" I smiled, that was past, now came the pitch.

"My friend, she was the one who had to kill him, broke his neck to save my life and those of a lot of other people" He watched me impassively then spoke quietly.

"Go on Miss Walker" I fidgeted a little under his cool gaze before I pulled myself together to continue.

"She's not been handling it too well, I mean she didn't want to kill him, not really, despite everything he'd done to her; she killed him to protect me and all the others" He nodded once.

"That sounds like a matter for the police, not me" I grimaced at that; the cops had been as helpless as the rest of us, something I tried to explain.

"The police investigated and let her go, after all she'd done what they couldn't; they're not really set up to deal with psychopathic mind controllers" I shook my head at something Jess had told me. "In fact at one point he walked into a police station here in New York and made everyone there point their pistols at each other, they'd pull the trigger if he said so, just to force my friend to talk to him" He pursed his lips as he considered that, then nodded once and asked me a question.

"How come he didn't just control your friend?" I shrugged a little.

"Apparently it ceased being effective on her, like she'd become immune over time" He nodded then spoke again, polite and calm but with a strength that couldn't be denied.

"At the risk of repeating myself Miss Walker, given your friend apparently dealt with him, why come to me?"

"My friend, she's not really coping all that well with killing him, I mean she knows she didn't have any choice, not really, but it's the first time it's happened and she's not coping well"

"How so?" I didn't mince words. 'Sorry Jess".

"She drink's, way too much, to escape the memories" I saw his eyes narrow a little then he nodded slightly, as if he understood. I felt a little hope; this dumb scheme might actually work out.

"What do you want from me Miss Walker?" I stood a little straighter as I spoke.

"You're someone who's been there Captain; your record says you've had to kill as part of your job. You don't seem like a stone killer to me, I mean would someone like that come here to talk to sick kids?" He got it quickly; no one ever said Captain America was dumb; there were brains there to go with the gorgeous looks.

"You want me to talk to her, is that it?" I nodded; glad he was quick on the uptake.

"Yeah, I suggested she talk to a therapist, but how many are there that understand what it's like being given…abilities, then using them?" I smiled sadly. "I don't want to lose her to what he did"

He stood there and looked up, over my head and away, like he was seeing something or someone no one else could, somewhere far away. After a few very long seconds he came back to the here and now.

"Do you have a contact number Miss Walker, I can't promise anything but I'll look into it" I sagged, relief flooding through me.

"Thank you Steve, just…thank you" He smiled at me, drawing a relieved smile back as he nodded once, the tiger back on the leash, for now.

"No promises, but I'll do what I can"

The Hole

I walked into the bar, nerves on alert, Walker had appeared on the up and up, a check on her had turned up her history, former child star; now a radio host here in New York, so far so good.

It had also turned up her adoptive sister, Jessica Jones. Getting Nat to do some digging had unearthed her role in killing a man named Kilgrave, everything in that file, incredible as it seemed, had backed up Walker's words. Still, I hadn't survived this long on blind trust, which was why my backup had walked in five minutes before I had; like some of the SHIELD people had said from time to time, trust but verify.

The bar was officially the Shamrock and Thistle but to the locals it was 'The Hole', a good description, I looked around casually, seeing Nat in a corner booth, seemingly typing into her phone but actually scoping the place out. I saw her drink sitting to her left, indicating she hadn't identified a threat and walked further in, seeing the woman sitting at the bar. Small, slight, raven hair and thin features that might have been pretty if she hadn't looked so damned tired. I walked up and stood by her side.

"Is this seat taken?" She looked up from the whiskey shot in front of her, taking me in with a single glance before she replied.

"It's a free country, or so they say" I took the seat and motioned for the waiter, asking for a beer.

Once it was delivered, I raised it her way and took a long drink, putting the half empty glass down. I looked her way and spoke.

"My name's Steve" She glanced my way.

"So?" I shrugged.

"I thought I'd walk over and talk to the woman here before she got too drunk to talk back" She smiled, not that there was much humour there, more pain than anything else.

"Takes a hell of a lot of booze for that to happen" She slammed her shot back and motioned to the bartender for another. "Unfortunately"

"At least you get drunk, I can't even do that" Her eyes jumped my way as she frowned.

"Big call" I shrugged.

"It's the truth, haven't been able to for years" She nodded, scepticism writ on her face before she turned to the barkeeper who was delivering another shot.

"And one for the pretty boy here" He looked my way and I nodded, might as well.

Two whiskeys later I started the conversation.

"I understand you're Jessica Jones" She looked my way.

"What's it too you?"

"If I'm the guy that's going to drink you under the table, least you can do is talk while I do" She snorted softly.

"Yeah right" I slammed my drink down, then grabbed hers and slammed it down right after, the taste was strong but that was as far as it went. I motioned to the barkeeper and held up two fingers. I turned back to find dark eyes watching me.

"I know who you are" I nodded slowly as she continued. "What I want to know is why you're here in a dive in Hell's Kitchen"

"I was asked to talk to you" Her dark eyes narrowed at that.

"Asked, by who?" I made a small hand gesture, seeing her take it in, she might have been hammering the whiskey but she wasn't even close to drunk.

"A friend of yours, they're concerned about you" She put it together in a flash, pulling a face.

"Oh Christ, Walker" I smiled.

"Yeah, asked me to come and talk, maybe listen too, if you're up for it" I got a suspicious look from those dark eyes.

"About what?" I settled on the stool and turned, watching her in the mirror behind the bar.

"About a man who had abilities that he thought made him like a god" I got a side eye and a question.

"I thought you were the one who hung round with gods" I gave her a half-smile; she wasn't fazed by who or what I was, which was both a bit of a surprise and a relief. Sometimes being the countries hero gets old.

One thing I've learned, Miss Jones, even gods put their pants on one leg at a time" She looked at me for a second, before a slight smile lifted one corner of her mouth.

"Touche" She gestured to the bartender. "Two more, plus whatever your friend's drinking" I frowned slightly.

"Friend?" She raised one eyebrow at me then nodded towards the mirror behind the bar where Nat was dimly visible between the bottles lining the shelves.

"The woman over in the corner, she checked the place out before you arrived" I nodded slowly; there was nothing wrong with her observation skills anyway.

"What gave her away?" Jones' lips twisted into a half smile.

"Don't get many women like her in a place like this, not without a damned good reason" Or her instincts either it seemed.

"Then why are you here?" I got a challenging stare.

"I want to get drunk and these people are happy to change my money into booze while I do just that" I nodded agreeably.

"How about we go over to that quiet booth in the corner where my friend's sitting" I gave her a head tip as I watched her. "That way the rest of the people here don't have to listen to us as we talk about all the dumb things we've done while I watch you and her get drunk" Her eyes flashed to where Nat was sitting then back to me.

"You really can't get drunk?" I shook my head.

"Afraid not" She shook her head once.

"Jesus that sucks" She frowned then looked at Nat visible in the mirror behind the bar. "Can she, or is that something that stops happening when you become an Avenger?"

"Yeah, she's partial to vodka" Jones nodded slowly.

"Good choice" She slipped off the stool and turned towards Nat, glancing back over her shoulder at me.

"You're buying"

Three Months later – post The Accords

Tony Stark was sitting still, something that most people who knew him wouldn't really have believed; you didn't take a billion dollar company and turn it into a trillion dollar company by spending your time sitting on your ass all day. His restless mind had driven an equally restless body to deliver a lifetime's worth of achievements before he was thirty and he'd only been getting started.

Now though he sat in the vast steel and glass edifice that was Stark Tower and stared out over the skyline of Manhattan, not really seeing it, instead looking back over the whole mess that were the Sokovia Accords and the resulting disaster, looking for ways that it might have ended differently. He was still grappling with the knowledge that his sense of right and wrong was in conflict with his sense of duty, to his friends, the other Avengers, the public.

Now the Avengers were a shell of what it had been, most of the former team members were outlaws on the run or under house arrest, SHIELD was gutted and the threats were still out there.

It'd all gone to hell so damned quickly and he wondered what he could have done to change it. He was still reflecting on that when he spotted something flying his way, he was already on his feet when he realised it was a young woman in jeans and a leather jacket, angling to land on the quinjet pad outside.

"Friday"

"Yes Boss" his A.I. responded instantly, her pseudo-Irish lilt soft in the earpiece he was wearing as part of his glasses. That's why he liked her; Artificial Intelligence, always there when you needed them, unlike people.

"Bring the defence systems online, discreetly, scan our visitor and ready the armour"

"On it" He relaxed minutely as he watched the woman land and look around. He could watch her from inside the polarised glass, knowing she couldn't really see him. Slim, a shock of jet-black hair, pale skin, sharp features, pretty but she looked tired, her clothes had that air of being well worn, almost to the point of being shabby. As he watched she walked towards the glass, trying to peer inside. "Sensors say she's a gifted" Friday reported.

"She flew or jumped here under her own power, tell me something I don't know" He might have been imagining it but Friday's voice seemed a little testy in response.

"I just call them as I see them boss. Definitely heightened strength and some damage resistance, both higher than the human baseline, the strength in particular" He nodded, watching as the woman walked up to the glass and cupped her hand to the glass attempting to see inside. Unable to see anything she started walking towards the closest doorway, obviously looking to come in.

"Friday, bring the repulsor systems inside online, have the armour ready to go and open the door, we apparently have a guest"

"Done" He noted a panel open in one wall, the gleaming red shape of his adaptable armour sitting there ready to leap out and wrap around him on call. The door opened and he saw the woman pause suspiciously, then shrug and walk through.

"Afternoon" He nodded as she turned to him, noting she wasn't looking round, instead focussing on him, not that anyone would see the wall and ceiling mounted repulsor rays until the apertures snapped open, a little addition he'd made since hosting Loki that time. "I don't believe I had an appointment scheduled but I try and be flexible"

"Facial recognition suggests a 91% likelihood that she's Jessica Jones, a private investigator based in Hell's Kitchen" Friday noted as he nodded and spoke.

"You're a long way from the Kitchen Ms Jones, what brings you here?" She peered at him through narrowed eyes.

"I came to pass on a message" That didn't sound ominous, not at all.

"Normally I'd get you to come through my receptionist and she'd schedule you some time but you're here now so let's hear it" She nodded and spoke, her voice tired but still full of bite.

"You ever killed anyone Stark? I don't mean point your arm and shoot from inside your armour, all clean and video-gamey? I mean killed someone with your bare hands?" He narrowed his eyes, this didn't sound all that promising.

"Can't say I have" She nodded as she glanced around, taking in the penthouse, her eyes lighting on his armour as she tipped her head for a second, then glanced back to him.

"I have, I killed a guy, a gifted, one who could control minds as easy as look at you" She grimaced. "I don't know about how you feel about killing but I didn't want to, not at first, but it got to a point that I had to" She looked at him, her voice low. "I didn't handle it all that well; most people don't, feeling someone die as a life ends between their fingers" She pulled a face at him then continued, jerking a thumb over her shoulder to his armour. "I guess that's something your box of tricks there makes unnecessary" He nodded slowly, still trying to get a read on the woman and what she wanted.

"I don't kill unless I have no choice" She nodded slowly as he realised Jones was more than a bundle of anger and control; she was so damned tired it practically reeked off her. She glanced around the rest of the penthouse, ignoring the expensive furnishings and the fabulous view, instead taking it in with a practiced eye, a private investigator's eye he realised then turned back to him.

"I was actually making some progress, y'know, coming to terms with it and then you went and made the one person who was helping me a goddamned international fugitive" 'Uh oh' he thought, looking at her, this didn't sound good, getting an inkling of who she was talking about as she continued. "You took the one person who was helping, who knew what I was going through and was helping me deal with it and made him a goddamned criminal"

He suddenly realised she was talking about Rogers, she must have turned to him for help and he, always the hero, had responded, probably done it because it was the right thing to do.

"That wasn't me; that was on him, he broke international law; the Accords outline how we can get involved…" She angrily cut him off, her voice carrying a dangerous edge.

"Bullshit. Handing the decision of life and death to a bunch of bureaucrats, representatives of enlightened places like North Korea or China or Iran or Russia, that's not an solution, all that does is mean nothing will get done" He internally winced, she'd hit the issue right on the head, too many people saw the Avengers as a tool of the US Government, no matter how much they weren't and were happy to tie them up in chains of red tape and deliberations that dragged on and on and on. Jones though wasn't finished. "How's that working out for ya?"

"We had no choice" he said, though the conviction wasn't there anymore, he wondered if he could have changed things. "We have to follow the law or we're part of the problem, not the solution" She snorted disdainfully.

"Except now you apparently have no solution. Your little disagreement in Europe saw most of your fellow Avengers tossed in jail" She smiled sardonically. "Well for a little while at least" News of their escape from the Raft had made the news globally. She shrugged. "Now they're in the wind and from what I hear you don't have a team for the Accords to control anymore, they're all gone"

He grimaced at her all too accurate summation, god knows where the rest of them were now, there was just him, the Vision and the kid. He shook his head and went to turn back only to find she'd somehow moved from the other side of the room to right in front of him. He could see the tiredness in her eyes, her posture, for one so young she seemed worn down, but there was anger in her eyes to match the bitterness in her voice.

"So wrapped up in your high-flying life you didn't care about the damage what you do does to the people down there, the ants on the street as you fly over them" He could smell a faint hint of whiskey on her breath even as he replied.

"I didn't know where that was going to lead…"

"To this" He'd seen T'challa, Widow, Barnes and Rogers fight and compared to them her punch was a fair bit slower but for all that she was still fast; its force slammed him back into the couch behind him as Friday's voice spoke in his ear.

"Ready boss, say the word and she's toast" He shook his head, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, seeing blood smeared there, based on what Friday's scans suggested she'd pulled her punch drastically. Looking up at her he saw the wild emotions running through her eyes; she was messed up, no doubt about it.

"You feel better?" he asked as Jones looked down at him, a wild play of emotions in her dark eyes; anger, pain, hopelessness and fear…in a way they reminded him of Bruce.

"Nope, I wish I did but I don't" She shook her head and turned away, speaking over her shoulder. "That was a reminder that what you do has consequences…" She waved behind her to the spectacular view. "Most of which you never see from your penthouse suite. We may be ants to you, but our lives matter as much as yours, try and remember that next time, or I'll have to come back and next time I might have to break something" With that she started walking out.

"What makes you think you can assault me and then walk out?" He called after her; she stopped and looked over her shoulder back at him as she spoke.

"Because you'd look pretty goddamned petty trying to bring an assault charge on a split lip, besides I'd get my day in court and get to tell the world how you were partly responsible for the mess after the incident, how that handed over the reconstruction of New York to crime lords like Fisk and people like the Russian mob, the Yakuza, the Hand and the rest" She flicked her hair out of the way.

"Besides, I know a good lawyer who'd love to call you as a witness"

With that she turned and walked out, not looking back, leaving him with a lot to think about.