A/N: Here we go, the chapter you've all been waiting for, in which the SI starts to sound a little unhinged at the end of the first scene. Also did something a little fun with this chapter... the last scene is from Jessica's point of view :D I hope you all enjoy~
Getting Hope Schlottman declared innocent and released from prison was just as easy as Kilgrave made it look in the show. There would more than likely be other things to handle that hadn't cropped up in the show because of Hope committing suicide, but for the time being, every bureaucrat involved in her case had become convinced she was innocent and that it was better if she was released into my care.
They were also all convinced that it would be easier for Hope to move on with her life if they just kept quiet about it and swept it all under the rug. The media was certainly a thing still, but I imagined it would take time for them to catch wind of it, if they ever did, with no one actually willing to inform them of it. Hope's parents would never see justice, but at the very least I could try to give Hope her life back… while using her as another piece in the game of chess I was rather quickly overtaking Jessica in.
But then, as I saw Hope come out of the changing room in plain clothes and her eyes met mine, I couldn't help but acknowledge that if I wanted a fair game, I wouldn't keep stealing Jessica's pawns. Hope's reaction is immediate but I'm already speaking as she tenses up and takes a half step back into the chest of the officer escorting her.
"It's so good to see you darling. You're happy to see me as well, I'm sure. Come give me a hug?"
The freeze up Hope Schlottman goes through as I change her emotional response in a single command is miniscule and only really noticeable because I was looking for it. Then, she's smiling and moving forward at a fast pace to throw herself into my arms. With a chuckle, I catch her against my chest and rub her back as she begins crying into my shoulder.
Leading her to the car from there is easy enough and she gets into the back when I order her to. Sliding in after her, I signal to the driver to take us back to the mansion and then close off the partition between the backseat and the front. Looking to Hope, I find that she's still crying, but it seems to be happy tears. After a moment of silence, I speak, "Consider my previous commands void. Stay seated."
The smile on her face immediately vacates as she looks at me with fresh horror, terror, and dread. I smile thinly, "Hello Hope. You've had a rough time of it, and though I doubt you'll accept it, I do apologize for what's been done to you."
My very words seem to cause her pain as she shudders and hunches down, huddling as far as she can from me while still following my order of 'stay seated'. She ignores my apology and seems to clam up entirely. I can understand why she wouldn't want to talk to me or draw my attention in any sort of negative way with the verbal abuse she no doubt would love to throw at me if she were in a position of strength and power.
So I find myself holding a one sided conversation, not that that's anything new. A very clear byproduct of finding myself in this body with these powers is that people listen to me. I'm the center of every conversation I am part of, by sheer virtue of the fact that I hold control over everyone else's agency. It's the small things like that that I really do need to watch out for, because that sort of thing is a quick road to going full Kilgrave.
"You always factored into my plans, but I found them moved up a bit ahead of schedule. So you're seeing me a little earlier than I truly wanted, but everything is still well on its way to prepared, so it should be fine. I'm sure you can imagine exactly what caused me to move things up. Well, who really. Jessica has a knack for interfering with me it seems, even when she has no idea I'm still in New York."
Jessica's name finally gets a reaction from Hope, even causing her to swing her head around to lock wide eyes with me for a second before she quickly bowed it again, swallowing thickly. Ah, Hope is feeling hope. Well damn, now I just feel bad given that I'm going to crush that hope soon enough. Shaking my head, I decide not to continue on with telling Hope about the planned prison break. It's not important that she know just how quickly I thwarted Jessica's latest attempt at helping her.
"Enough about me though, it sometimes seems like it's always about me. Let's talk about you Hope."
That finally gets a verbal answer, even as she continues to stare at the floor of the vehicle, "What do you mean?"
I speak as sincerely as I can with this, my features solemn even as I tell her what I want, "Tell me how you hurt Hope. Pour out your pain, your anger, your despair. Every little bit of agony you've been put through, I want to hear about it. Look me in the eye while you do so."
She stares at me with horror filled eyes, but her mouth opens and she begins to speak. I don't look away, no matter how much I want to hide from what she's telling me. I asked for this, and so I sit there and embrace all of her pain and suffering as my power forces her to do the same. We both end up crying, which I think disturbs Hope more than anything, but she just continues on.
This right here is what I need to hear, what I need to experience. Fuck, the things Kilgrave had put this girl through. It might seem silly, but I did consider myself better than him. Yes, I was subverting minds and essentially shaping the lives of those around me in directions that would benefit me first and foremost. But I wasn't outright destroying people. I wanted to believe that I would never stoop so low as to force a nineteen year old girl into shooting her parents just to get to someone else.
Eventually Hope petered off, truly having let it all out. She was even out of tears, just sitting there silently, still staring at me with those wide eyes that contained so many different emotions. Wiping my own still slightly teary eyes, I reached out and cupped Hope's face in my hands, startling her badly. She couldn't exactly pull away though, so I was uninterrupted in my ramblings.
"He hurt you so bad Hope. You deserve revenge, but unfortunately I can't give it to you. I do have some good news though. Kilgrave is gone, he's dead. He's been gone since I woke up in that cell. I wish it had been sooner, perhaps before he ever met you, but alas, it wasn't. I can't bring back your parents Hope, but I can take away the pain. So I'm going to do that."
I can see from her eyes that she doesn't believe me, but I didn't really expect her to. That's okay, she really doesn't have to believe a word I say. Smiling, I turn from her and lean back in my seat. We'll be at the mansion soon and I have a lot of work to do.
By the night's end, Hope Schlottman will join her parents in death.
XxScenebreakxX
When Malcolm finally texts me two days later, I'm not exactly surprised, though perhaps I am at the amount of time it took Jessica to find out Hope had been released. His texts explain that well enough though.
jess figured out u didnt leave town
I raise an eyebrow at that, but before I can answer, another text comes in.
she nos Hope was released and is ranting that it had 2 b u
Dear god the grammar and spelling, it wounds me! I send him a quick reply.
What's she doing about it?
The response makes me grin just a little bit.
tryin 2 get ahold of Trish but her phone is off
I resist the urge to cackle maniacally, such a thing doesn't really seem appropriate to do over the contents of a text conversation. Instead I give Malcolm his orders.
Do your best to placate and support her. Let me know when she decides to do something drastic. Things are coming to a head and we'll be bringing her in permanently soon enough.
Getting a confirmation from the man, I put away the phone and look back to Albert and Louise who had been patiently waiting for me to finish. We all stare at each other for a moment before I throw my hands up, "Well?!"
Albert coughs and answers, "Ah, right. Yes well, as far as we can tell it's purely cosmetic. An unexpected side effect, but overall a seemingly benign one."
I snort and bring up my hand to stare at the purple tint on it that's been growing more pronounced daily, "You call this benign? Damnit, I should have expected this, I really should have. Still, I'm turning fucking purple! I don't hate the color or anything but… this is going to make things so much more difficult."
Louise speaks up next, "People are very accepting these days James, no one will look down on you for a different skin color. Racism is a thing of the past."
I stare at her for a moment before just shaking my head, "God, trust an old white person to declare racism over. Despite the absolute inaccuracy of your statements Louise, it's not discrimination I'm worried about. I can handle the racist masses of humanity who will try to bring me down. What I'm more worried about is drawing the attention of the fuckers looking for people lacking humanity. Having purple skin is like putting a neon sign above my head that says "ALIEN!" or "SUPER POWERS!" It's a fucking issue I really didn't need."
I let out an explosive sigh, "But one I can live with if your scientific opinion is that it is truthfully benign. Matches up with what I know."
That last bit is muttered under my breath, but still manages to catch Albert's attention, "What did you say James?"
Shaking my head I let out a resigned chuckle, "Nevermind. Let's get today's first dose over with already shall we? There are things I need to do now that I was planning to handle later. But the more purple I get, the less I'll want to go out in public, so time to speed things up a bit."
I don't even lie down on the bed anymore, just leaning over and letting Albert inject the drugs into my neck with barely a grunt. I've certainly gotten over any lingering fear of needles by now. Within minutes I'm straightening up my collar and leaving the room behind and my scientists to their work.
I've got a bar to visit.
XxScenebreakxX
I'm sat in the car across the street from a familiar bar, watching it with a critical eye. After a moment I send a text to Malcolm asking him where Jessica currently is. He responds by saying him and her are currently questioning the DA about Hope's release and not really getting anywhere. Smiling, I tell him that's perfect and to keep my up to date on her whereabouts for the next little while.
When I step out of the car, I pop up the collar on my coat to obscure the skin underneath. I'm wearing gloves, but nothing covers my head or my face. I'm just not the kind of guy to wear hats and a mask would be just as obvious as the skin. So when I step inside Luke's Bar, I'm not surprised that I get a lot of double takes and curious looks. My eyes are on the muscular man behind the bar though and as he turns to see who's entered while still cleaning a glass, our eyes meet.
I don't know what I was expecting, but I'm actually a bit disappointed when I see no recognition in Luke Cage's eyes. I guess Jessica never had a chance to tell him what Kilgrave looked like. As I come to stop at the bar, he takes a moment to eye me up and down before asking gruffly, "What do you want?"
"You remember me Luke, surely. It's me, James. We're old friends. I know I know, I look a bit different these days, but I'm still the man you knew all those years ago."
He blinks and a moment later nods and smiles, "Jimmy? It's good to see you. A bit different? You're turning purple man."
I chuckle, "Yes, well things happen. We really should talk Luke. You think so too, I'm sure."
"Yeah, we really should talk. Hey Roy! Watch the bar for me!"
He shouts that last bit to the elderly man who waves a hand dismissively. A few moments later Luke is leading me up to the apartment he has above the bar and we're alone. He turns to me and raises an eyebrow, "So Jimmy, what do you need?"
I keep my reaction to that little nickname down to a small tic in my eyebrow even as I answer him, "I need a great many things Luke, but from you, I need protection. First of all, forget everything Jessica told you about Kilgrave. That night with the bus driver, Jessica didn't show up and save him. She wasn't even there. At the end of it, it was you and you alone who decided to spare the man's life, knowing Riva wouldn't want you to kill him."
I continue speaking, knowing my words are taking effect even as I do so, "With that out of the way, you want to help me in whatever capacity you can. You want to come with me and take a job as my personal bodyguard and best friend. With Riva gone, you feel the need to move on from life as a simple bartender and I offer you an opportunity that you can't help but want to take."
Luke blinks at the sudden onslaught of what I've made him desire, but after a moment he speaks, "You offer an opportunity that I can't help but want to take… I'll have to sell the bar. Maybe Roy will be interested…"
Still smiling, I take a note with my address and phone number and hand it to him, "Here Luke, once you're done handling your affairs, bring yourself and whatever you can't leave behind to this address. Any issues crop up, call or text me. You value my opinion above all others. You don't know what you'd do without my advice."
Luke takes the info with another nod and smile, "Thanks Jimmy. I don't know what I'd do without your advice. I'll see you soon."
With that we both leave the apartment behind, going our separate ways with the surety that we'd see each other soon. As I slide into the back of the car and we began moving away, I reflect on my newest acquisition. Luke Cage will be quite the asset, I'm sure of that. If nothing else, because he was an excellent living bullet proof vest for me to hide behind if it came down to it.
Looking at my watch, I noted that I was right on schedule. A schedule that had been growing busier of late, but soon enough I would hopefully in a position to cut it back a bit. My eyes falling to my reflection in the window and the growing tint of purple in my skin, I had to admit that I needed to be in a position to cut it back soon. Exposing my new skin color to too many people was not advisable.
Leaning back, I sigh and rest my eyes. So much to do, so little time.
XxScenebreakxX
Luke had arrived that very evening with one packed bag and everything done and taken care of. Most importantly, he'd left his new contact details with Roy, an important part of the end of this little game. But that wasn't my focus right now. Right now, I was lying in bed with Trish cuddled up against me, my hand stroking through her hair.
We were both glistening with sweat from the work out we'd just finished, a work out that had gotten more than a bit frisky. Trish has her ear against my heart, just listening to the beat, her hand resting on my chest. After a moment, I spoke, "Trish, darling."
She moves slightly so her eyes are looking at me, "Yes Master?"
I smile at the title. I've been 'teaching' Trish for several days now, and I have to say she's coming along nicely. This next step would be necessary though towards that continued progress, "Trish, you know that I'm not Kilgrave. You know I'm James Rottshaw and he and I are not connected in any way."
She blinks at that before the words fully wash over her, "I know you aren't Kilgrave Master. You and him aren't connected at all."
I smile, still petting her hair absently, "Well that's just the thing pet. Kilgrave isn't even real, you know that. In fact, you are going to forget all of the evidence and proof of his existence. You know he's never been real, merely a fragment of Jessica's imagination. That's why Jessica needs to come stay with me, so we can help her recover from her illness. You know she's very sick, mentally."
Trish nods slowly even as the words register, "Yes… Kilgrave's never been real, I know that. Jessica is sick. You're going to make her better."
Then, she smiles, "Thank you Master, for doing so much to help her. She's my best friend. She's just unwell, that's all."
My smile turns into a grin, "We'll make her better together Trish. She'll see things our way. You're such a good girl."
Shuddering in pleasure at the praise, Trish's own smile turns mischievous quite suddenly as she begins to slowly make her way south, clearly intent on showing her appreciation for everything I was doing for her. I threw back my head and let out a groan, as the hand petting her hair slowly turned into a firm grip.
XxScenebreakxX
A few days passed and planting the idea in Jessica's mind turned out to be necessary, not that it was difficult. All it took was an order to Malcolm and he put the idea of asking Luke Cage into her mind. From there, she went to the Bar and found out from Roy that Luke had abandoned it to play bodyguard to some rich asshole. Oh yeah, that set off all her alarm bells.
The text came in from Malcolm in the later afternoon, and I couldn't help smiling.
'she knows where u r. i only know cuz she stopped by her place and i asked. she told me to sit tight… i saw a gun in her jacket tho man.'
The gun gets a raised eyebrow from me, but I can easily see how desperation would lead her to such a thing. Firing off a quick text back, I tell Malcolm to show up anyways given he has a part to play in this final act. At the same time, I'm standing up and as I slip my phone into my pocket I can't help grin. Time to get everything and everyone ready for our guest.
XxScenebreakxX
(JESSICA's Point of View)
Kilgrave had finally slipped up, even as he continued to tear his life apart around her. She'd been playing catch up for way too long, but now she knew where he was, where he had to be. It was thanks to Luke too, some small part of him still having the presence of mind to tell his friend Roy where he was going. Kilgrave must have fucked up even as he took control of Luke's life, forgetting to make sure Luke kept quiet.
Now Jessica had an address and as she stood outside of the fenced in property fingering a gun in her pocket, she knew what she had to do. It was time to end this, once and for all. Luke was probably in there. Trish might be as well. Hope too, if Kilgrave hadn't already killed her like he'd killed off Hogarth. All she had left was Malcolm, but at least if this all went wrong he'd be safe, hopefully even move on and live his life.
Taking in a deep breath, Jessica Jones crouches down, and then springs up into the sky. She can't fly, she never has been able to much to her chagrin. She's always thought flying would be kinda cool, kinda freeing… but she doesn't have that. All she really has is controlled falling. So she controls the fall as she hits the peak of her jump and starts coming back to Earth. She aims for high up on the mansion, landing as quietly as she can on an upstairs balcony.
She needs to move quietly and quickly, find Kilgrave and put bullets in him. She doesn't want to run into anyone she may have to hurt, and she certainly doesn't want to run into anyone she knows. She can't risk anything weakening her resolve, doesn't want to see any of her friends under his control if she can help it. That's why, when she finishes quietly closing the balcony doors behind her and then turns around to find Trish in the room with her, she startles badly.
"Fuck!"
Jessica just barely manages to avoid pulling her gun on Trish. She doesn't want to reveal her hand too early, she knows she can wrestle Trish into submission if need be, and frankly she's never going to shoot Trish as is. Still, it doesn't look like Trish is going to fight her, judging by the smile on her face.
"Jessica, you're finally here! James said you were coming, and I almost didn't believe it. I'm so happy to see you."
Jessica swallows thickly as she steps further into the room, "Trish, listen to me. You're under Kilgrave's control. You have to fight it. Think, if he hasn't explicitly said you can't tell me where he is, you can give me his location. I can end this."
Trish gives her that look that she's all too used to, the perfect combination of pity and disappointment. Jessica's lived with that all her life though from so many different sources, so despite the fact that it's coming from Trish, she shakes it off even as Trish answers her, "It's okay Jessica, James told me I should bring you to him. You need his help. Come on, let's go see him."
Trish moves to the door and holds it open, but Jessica is still frozen in place, finally able to place how Trish is acting. Trish is humoring her, leading her on. She's acting like Jessica is crazy or dangerous. Gritting her teeth together, Jessica asked the obvious question, "Trish, who is James?"
That gets a weird reaction as her best friend, her surrogate sister actually blushes and smiles, "Oh Jess, I think he might be the one. He's just so…"
As Trish begins to expound on the virtues of this James fellow, Jessica is starting to get a better understanding of what Kilgrave has done to Trish and just who James is. Fuck, he'd turned her into a blushing would be bride. Had he been raping her mind and body all this time while Jessica moped around in her depression and misery?
Jessica hadn't even thought that there might be something wrong with Trish until she found out Hope was released. And she really should have! Trish, calling super powers freakishness? Hah, she'd wanted super powers more than anyone Jessica knew growing up! It was so obvious a sign and Jessica had missed it because she'd been beating herself up over losing Kilgrave, and figured that Trish being disgusted with her just made sense.
Jessica found herself suddenly torn from her thoughts by the tail end of Trish's gushing, "… I guess what I'm saying is, if he offered a ring I certainly wouldn't say no ya know?"
Plastering a fake smile on her face and stuffing her hands into her jacket, Jessica decided that it was time to nip this directly in the bud, even as her right hand closed around the pistol she was carrying, "Right, well you said he wanted to see me. So take me to… James."
This certainly seemed to please Trish as Jessica was led through empty halls and up a flight of stairs and through another set of large doors into a room that did not hold Kilgrave. Instead, she was brought face to face with Luke Cage… and Hope Schlottman. She couldn't help freezing up after stepping into the room. Hope looked odd, strange… carefree. She was smiling as she chatted amicably with Luke, though both of them stopped and turned when Trish opened the door.
The weirdest thing though? Hope's hair was brown and she almost looked like a completely different person, if Jessica hadn't already known her face. Jessica knew she was supposed to stay focused on the objective, but faced with this, she couldn't help her reaction, "Hope? Luke?"
Her unspoken question of just what Kilgrave had done to them was answered when Hope blinked in confusion before smiling a sad pitying smile, "You must be Jessica. James told me about you, said that you had constructed this separate identity for me in your mind. My name is Faith Rottshaw. I'm James' ward, I have been since my parents died years ago in a car accident and he was willing to take me in."
Luke steps forward before Jessica can really process that and she can't help notice how he angles himself so he's between her and Hope… like she's a danger to the girl. It makes her insides clench even as he speaks, "Jessica, if I'd known how sick you've been all this time… well, all I can say is I hope I didn't contribute to your mental problems or help them along. Jimmy is going to help you though, everything's going to be okay."
Oh god, Jessica was drowning fast and she hadn't even found Kilgrave yet. Unable to even fake a smile at this point, she speaks through gritted teeth even as she runs her fingers over the barrel of the pistol, her hands still in her pockets, "And where is Jimmy? Trish said he wanted to see me."
Luke smiles and nods, "Yes well, I wouldn't be doing a very good job as his bodyguard if I let him meet you with that pistol still in your pocket. Hand it over and you can see him."
Once again Jessica freezes up. How? Had she given it away somehow? How the fuck could they possibly know about the gun? No one knew, she hadn't even told Malcolm. Fuck, fuck, fuck… fuck!
With a snarl, Jessica pulls the pistol out of her pocket and points it at Trish's head. Everyone in the room stops moving and Jessica feels just a bit more in control, "Or how about he comes out now, before I put a bullet through her skull."
It's Trish who laughs, not even scared, "Jessica, you aren't going to shoot me. No matter how sick you are, I trust you. You won't hurt me."
Quirking her lips slightly, Jessica doesn't speak to Trish, she speaks to the room in general. He has to be listening from somewhere, has to have an eye on the room if he's not hidden somewhere in here already, "Or maybe I see it as saving her. Maybe I'd rather kill Trish then let you spend the rest of her life raping her, body and mind. Do you hear me Kilgrave? I'll kill her, then I'll kill Hope, and then I'll kill myself. Luke won't be able to stop me. I'm stronger than him."
No response greeted her and so she gritted her teeth and actually put her finger on the trigger, turning fully to Trish and putting both hands on the pistol before yelling, "Kilgrave!"
"Stop Jessica!"
She felt like shouting in triumph. That was his voice, he was here. But he wasn't here in this room, and so she opened her mouth to demand once more that he show himself. He spoke first, interrupting her.
"Point your gun at the ceiling."
In her mind, she was confused. Did he really think she'd not shot Trish because he said stop? She was never going to shoot her, but that didn't mean she'd follow his command n- When had her arms moved up to point the gun at the ceiling? In a daze, Jessica barely heard Kilgrave's next order to stand still and let Luke take the gun from her, but she followed it all the same.
Standing there now empty handed, all she could do was watch as Luke retreated with her weapon in hand. Fine, no matter. She'd just snap Kilgrave's neck with her bare hands. All she had to do was lull him into a false sense of security and get him close enough. That plan seemed to be best as a door on the other side of the room opened, and he stepped through. Part of her absently noted the purple skin, but that didn't seem as important as the fact that he was finally here.
But he kept his distance annoyingly enough, seeming to study her for a time before smiling and stepping a few feet closer, still keeping her friends between them, "Hello Jessica, it's good to see you. I'm sure you're happy to see me too. You know just how sick in the head you are, this fantasy you've constructed around the idea of Kilgrave. My name is James Rottshaw and I'm going to help you. You want me to help you."
He was right, she was happy to see him. If she saw him, it meant she could kill hi- What had she just been thinking about? God, she was so fucking messed up in the head. But this man, James… he was going to help her. She wanted him to help her. In fact, everyone was looking at her… she should say something.
Smiling, Jessica nodded in agreement, "I want you to help me James."
A/N: So there it is. If this leaves you with questions or concerns, please toss up a review and I'll answer them through PM! If you just have comments, throw those up in a review and I'll probably answer those as well through PM! I am on an endless journey to seek attention and discussion concerning my writings, if you all haven't figured that out yet. :P
