Jessica Jones watched as Danny Rand's hand began to glow. The familiar yellow hue was slowly overtaking his clenched fist. She had seen the damage that supercharged punch could create and worried for Matt Murdock.
She knew they needed to knock Wilson Fisk out of his brain, but Jessica feared something else could shake loose. Sanity was tenuous for those trapped inside the prison Kilgrave's abilities created.
When Luke had found himself under Kilgrave's control he was able to struggle against it long enough to warn her of the danger she was in. Jessica considered Luke strong - very strong - but Matt had survived the collapse of a building, each story crashing down on top of him. He was strong, too. Plus, she knew few people who possessed his mental clarity.
She had hoped these combined strengths would save him from Fisk, but they hadn't. He was standing before her now ready for a fight, ready to kill a friend on the orders of a man he hated.
As Danny tried to centre himself, the light in his hand nearing full shine, Matt brandished his signature billy club, the black metal glinting in the setting sun.
Suddenly, he lunged forward. Danny's chi wasn't ready and he was forced to roll to the side and out of range of Matt's flying fist.
Fuck, Jessica thought. Everything was repeating. This fight had been played out once before. But this time she was on the other side, she was actively rooting against Matt, which is why she pressed forward and pushed Matt to the side. It was a hard shove, one that sent him barreling backward, and allowed her time to help Danny to his feet.
"What do we do?" Danny asked. He was breathing deeply, again trying to regain his composure.
Jessica shook her head. "I don't know."
She wanted to say, Stall him. But there was nothing to stall him for. Luke and Claire and Colleen weren't coming. And even if they had been, Jessica didn't have a plan.
Unfazed by Jessica's entrance into the fight, Matt flipped to his feet, his eyes still narrowed on Danny. He lunged again, this time Danny was ready for him.
Even without the aide of his glowing hand, Jessica could see that Danny was a capable fighter. It stood to reason they would be equally matched, having both been trained by weirdos from K'un-Lun. She hated knowing that about them, hated having kept bits and pieces of that mystical history in her head when there were more pressing things to be concerned by - but she couldn't help but stare at their form, fists, and fight. It was like dancing. Extremely aggressive dancing.
Just as Jessica allowed herself to feel admiration for Danny Rand, he took a roundhouse kick to the face and tumbled backward to her feet.
Without pausing, without allowing his opponent the chance to right himself, Matt stomped over to Danny, his billy club held high in the air. Jessica grabbed it, twisting hard, until the club rest in her hand. She quickly tossed it off the roof and watched as Matt's neck craned, a tell-tale sign that he was waiting to hear where it would land.
Jessica took that opportunity to punch him in the face. It wasn't the hardest hit she could muster, but Matt grunted loudly and stumbled back. Jessica kept on him, hitting again with the other hand. Back and forth, right then left, she punched him over and over until she has pushed him back to the edge of the roof. She could see blood trickling out from under his signature red mask.
"That's enough, Murdock," she told him. "You have to stop this."
Matt didn't listen. He brought his knee into her stomach causing her to lurch over. Then he took both hands hard against her back and pressed her to the ground. She was barely hurt, of course, but still vulnerable. He could have delivered another blow, brought his boot against her face, but he had a mission. He needed to kill Danny Rand. And so Matt simply stepped over Jessica and made a run at his real enemy.
Danny took the charge in stride, holding his opponent and grappling for control of the fight. Suddenly, it was on again and the two punched and kicked, matching each shot.
Jessica watched from her place on the ground. She hadn't yet picked herself up. Something was warring within her. The anger from having been taken out by Matt - even if momentarily. That anger made her want to chuck him off the roof like his billy club before him. But each time she heard Danny's foot connect with Matt, heard the groan he reluctantly let slip, she felt overwhelming concern.
The scientist had mocked her, said she wouldn't kill because she was a superhero. He had been wrong. But Matt Murdock was a hero. She could see it, feel it - and allowing him to kill Danny would ruin that, would ruin everything he had worked so hard to become.
As Jessica contemplated how she would take Matt out of the fight without truly hurting him, Danny's equilibrium returned. The glow of his hand shone against her face just as the sun dipped out of view. Danny's chi lit up the night.
He reeled back, ready to strike.
"Wait!" Jessica shouted.
It was unexpected and Danny hesitated, his fist hanging in the air, unsure of how to proceed. Jessica didn't know what else to say. She just knew she didn't want to see Matt on the receiving end of a supercharged punch.
The silent debate Jessica waged within herself gave Matt the opportunity he needed. With little warning, he brought his leg down against Danny's arm. The injury wasn't serious, but as Danny stumbled back, the light in his hand began to dim.
Jessica knew what was coming next and screamed, "Murdock, no!"
Matt thrust forward and grabbed Danny's hand and swiftly turned it to the left. Before anyone realized what was happening, the sound of Danny's breaking bones pierced the night sky.
Danny screamed as his wrist snapped, the yellow of his partially clenched fist finally blinking out. As Matt released him, Danny feel to his knees.
Anger finally won out and Jessica hurled herself at Matt, once again pushing him back, this time with all her might. He landed hard on the roof, the material beneath him creaking as he skid along it's rough surface to the edge.
But that didn't stop him. Jessica knew it wouldn't.
Matt struggled to his feet and set his sights back on Danny.
Jessica moved to the side, her body blocking the view of his wounded prey.
"You want him, you come through me," Jessica told him. She wondered if he registered that it was her, his friend, his sometime partner, his could have been… she shook her head. She couldn't focus on could have been.
Matt lunged toward her, then jumped in the air, his fist extended. He came crashing down against her face. She could instantly feel the skin tear and wondered if Matt smelled her blood.
She extended her leg and kicked him hard in the chest, then brought her own fist down - no jumps, just full, solid strength. Matt fell flat on the roof in a heap. As he lay before her, Jessica took her heavy boot to his stomach, hearing the air escape his lips in one loud, pained exhale. She didn't care. She did it again, forcing him to turn on his back. Then again, hitting him in the face. Then again. Then again. He was grunting beneath her, holding his sides, blood now completely colouring his mouth, his teeth stained a dark shade of red.
But the anger was so intense. How could you let Fisk control you? You were supposed to be better than this, she thought. Better than me.
Knowing the battle would continue unless she knocked him out, Jessica raised her foot once more, readying it to connect with his battered face again, this time straight on.
"Don't," Matt said.
The word was so soft she barely heard it. But she couldn't mistake the movement of his lips, lips she had barely seen part this entire time. He hadn't spoken to her since that night in the scientist's apartment. She relished the sound of his broken voice.
Jessica let her foot fall on the rooftop just beside his head, then reached down and grabbed Matt by the front of his red rubber suit. Lifting him up to her, their faces so close she could taste the iron in his blood as it lingered in the air, she asked, "What did you say?"
"Don't," Matt said again. This time there was no mistaking it.
Jessica released him. His body hit the roof hard. As she backed away, he lay there immobile.
"Let's go," Danny said.
As his words pierced her mind, Jessica realized that for a moment she had forgotten about Danny Rand and his broken wrist. For a moment it was just her and Matt.
Jessica nodded, then followed Danny back down the way they came.
Don't look back, she told herself. Don't look back.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"You left him there!" Claire Temple bellowed. She had been repeating the same line between bouts of setting and bandaging Danny's wrist.
"Yes," Jessica snapped back yet again. "I left him there."
"I just- I just don't- I just don't understand," Claire stammered, the anger inside her rising well passed the surface.
Jessica pressed herself off the dresser she'd been leaning on. The wood slammed back against the wall as her weight gave way. "Fisk was there. He was directing Murdock to attack Danny. Maybe, just maybe, I could have gotten them both out. Or maybe Fisk would have used his power on Danny and then we would have two mind controlled assholes in costume roaming the city."
Jessica was lying. She had no reason to believe Wilson Fisk had stayed behind. But Danny didn't correct her. It was hard for them both to admit they fought Matt and won. It was hard to tell the team that leaving him there seemed better, simpler, easier than trying to help him.
"Are jumpsuits really costumes?" Luke Cage quipped from the door. He was leaning on the frame, watching the action unfold.
When Jessica had returned with Danny, Luke hadn't questioned them. He knew a man under Kilgrave's control struggles internally, constantly screaming inside. Jessica had to shoot him in the head to free him from his prison. He didn't want to know what she would have to do to Matt - a man who wasn't bulletproof. Leaving him behind seemed to be the only option. If only Claire agreed.
"Not cool, man," Danny replied, reminding Luke of his joke and forcing him to let out a light laugh, even in the midst of their troubles.
As the laughter faded, the four of them - Jessica, Claire, Danny, and Luke - stayed silent, living in the heavy regret of their actions. Colleen's sudden return to the safe house finally allowed them all to break free from guilt, for at least a moment.
"What happened?" Colleen cried upon seeing Danny's bandaged wrist and hand.
Jessica left them to their worries and made her way out of the room and toward the front door.
"Where are you going?" Luke called after her, but she didn't reply.
The door closed hard behind her.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jessica found herself on a park bench just a few blocks away, the night air whipping through her raven locks. She hadn't yet taken care of the cut on her face. It would heal itself, they always did. But now she reached up and tentatively touched it. Matt had given her that wound. He would have given her more if she hadn't stopped him.
Right?
Something was wrong. She couldn't forget his word: Don't. Nor could she forget the look in his eyes. It was the look of a man not controlled by another. It was the look of Matt Murdock.
But could he have been acting this whole time? Would he have hit her so hard if he hadn't been under Fisk's control? Would he have broken Danny's wrist, stolen his power until it healed, if he hadn't been out of his mind?
Jessica didn't know the answer. She and Matt were close - Fisk even recognized it - yet she just couldn't be sure who was controlling him. But she knew how to find out.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
After returning to the rooftop and finding it empty, Jessica began following Matt's blood trail. It wasn't the usual way she tailed a target, but Matt was unpredictable - he had to be - all the places they had once called home had been exposed, ransacked, compromised.
The blood line quickly became droplets before stopping altogether just two blocks from the roof. Jessica scanned the area, but there was no sign of Matt. She sighed. How stupid? Was she just expecting him to be waiting for her? If he was under Fisk's control he would have gone back to their home base. Or he would have pressed on and made his way to Harlem, to their new safe house, to complete his mission. He would have done a dozen other things - more intelligent things - than wait in the shadows for her to appear.
As she turned around, ready to leave, a hand pierced the light shining down from a lamppost above, and grabbed her around the shoulders. With a tug she found herself pulled into an alley, face-to-face with Matt Murdock.
He looked like shit. His mask was off, probably due to the amount of blood that had no doubt been pooling beneath it. He would taken it off to feel his wounds. He would have needed to breathe.
Jessica reached out to touch his face, but he sensed it and swatted her hand away. She recoiled, momentarily overcome with the sensation that he was indeed mind controlled, that this was all a trap.
Seemingly seeing the error of his ways, Matt grabbed her hand and brought it to the broken skin on his cheek. Feeling her soft fingers on the rough edges of his wounds, he sighed and allowed himself to fall into her arms.
Jessica held him, relief washing over her.
She told her memories of the time Luke had been controlled by Kilgrave to be quiet. She told those fears to leave. The past is not repeating itself. It can't be. Not with him.
Now more than ever, she needed to believe Matt was Matt.