Chapter One: Doing the Time
"Inmate number 23745186 … Kara Killgrave. It's time to get your things and leave."
It was quite the stint in Pace Federal Penitentiary for Kara. She had dual citizenship, due to her American mother Melanie. After the fallout from events relating to the The Serpents War in Canada, there was some discussion of where to jail her. Initially, it was thought that she would stay jailed in Canada. But, eventually, it was decided to jail her in the American Pace Penitentiary due to better security and monitoring for superpowered individuals in the area.
Normally, this would fall under Canada's Department H. However, there were corruption scandals, being an instrument of the supervillain Master of the World, and fallout from human rights abuses. It was a publicly toxic department. Recent federal Canadian governments had taken to severely scaling it back and reorganizing it, rendering it in a state of flux and diminished capacity.
Kara vividly remembers the hearing.
"Mrs. Killgrave, you ordered SWAT personnel under your thrall to fire at Alpha Flight members Jean-Paul Beaubier, also known as the superhero 'Northstar', and James Hudson, otherwise known as 'Guardian'."
The grey haired, frail faced, judge looked sternly at Kara. She was about to continue listing her misdeeds before an interruption from the gallery.
"HEY, I'M *NOT* A MEMBER OF ALPHA FLIGHT!"
"Quiet, Mr. Beaubier, or you will be held in contempt of court."
"Back to the facts, Mrs. Killgrave, you further recklessly endangered dozens of members of the general, civilian public by forcing them to climb on top of each other to form some sort of giant person that attacked Alpha Flight. Had the composition of the crowd, including in terms of physical fitness, and circumstances of the giant person figure collapsing been different, there could have been serious consequences, injuries, and death from crushing. Do you have any regrets?"
The purple hued Kara sprung right up from the desk. Around her neck was a grey, metal mutant inhibitor collar. Her face was snarling and her hands shackled in front.
"What the $#$# ?! 'Regrets'?! Are you $#$# serious? I was stopping the Master of the World, brainwashing, civil war, oppression, and tyranny! If you $#$# , including that sleazy ski cheater Jean-Paul, hadn't interrupted me I would have succeeded in foiling the Master of the World and the Unity conspiracy before it got off the ground. Instead, thousands interned, the brutal digit downsizing Unity process was inflicted upon many, and the national capital was basically nuked. You $#$# authorities are good for nothin'! May I gawd damn well remind you I was interned at Neverland, brainwashed under Unity, and then jammed in as a battery piece for a machine by Alpha Flight to undo the Unity brainwashing for all Canadians. All this $#$# all happened on Canadian soil! Who the $#$# is looking out for my rights!"
The judge sighed.
"Mrs. Killgrave, as you have expressed no regret over your terrorism, reckless endangerment of civilian lives, and abuse of mutant powers we must sentence you to two years in jail. You will be transferred to Pace Penitentiary, they have the capacity to house super-powered … villains."
" $#$# you all! Without this collar, I'd tell ya all to rip out your throats and eyes!"
Two guards clasped each of her arms. Her hands were bound together with extremely thick, heavy handcuffs. She slowly walked, escorted, out of the hallway.
Jean-Paul now stood outside the court, holding hands tightly with his husband Kyle.
"Cya never, goofy grape! You won't be mind screwing anybody into bringing you flowers where you're going, Kara!"
" $#$# you, Jean-Paul! I woulda saved Kyle and everyone from Unity … if you'd have let me!"
"No, you woulda crushed him first. I'll never forgive you for that."
The guards were tiring of these diversions.
"BREAK IT UP!"
The crowd in front of the courtroom cheered.
Meanwhile, a brown-haired news woman narrated the events.
"Super-villain terrorist Kara Killgrave, also known as Persuasion or The Purple Woman, is sentenced to two years in prison. She will be transferred, by secure facility in the United States. While some see virtue in her actions to stop the Unity conspiracy, her extreme endangerment of civilians has brought widespread condemnation."
Our imprisoned mutant snarled at the crowd as she was led to the prison van. She kept thinking about what a bunch of ingrates everyone is. She could've stopped all this but they let it happen. They let it all happen, to her, to Laura Dean, to Goblyn, to six thousand mutants! Neverland! It was built by her surrogate father, by Madison Jeffries! How could Canada, how could Alpha Flight, allow it?! Betrayal! Betrayal by everyone she trusted.
Ingrates and traitors … the lot of them.
The next 24 months was very monotonous. Kara's mom tried to visit her multiple times, tried to call her, tried to write to her. She ignored her. Melanie had failed, had betrayed her. She didn't help her, didn't protect her. She didn't protect them. She didn't protect Laura and Goblyn.
Kara spent much of the time staring at the cement, grey ceiling of her prison cell. Starting in the fourth month of incarceration, she was getting a new type of visitor. One who wanted information on her father … her biological father.
Her disgusting progenitor had been up to his old, mind manipulative ways. Just like he was with her mom. For months, she learned of more and more of the harrowing stories of her half-siblings. It was exhausting. None of them were purple coloured, though.
She found out a lot about her dad's exploits through these visitors. Her dad had been up to some real sleazy business in the decades since messing up mom. He got a new foe, Jessica Jones, and he'd apparently done a real number on her, psychologically speaking.
A young redhead name Hope Summers had, unexpectedly, visited Kara one day. She knew nothing of the girl, but she was not another one of these half-siblings. With a very brief conversation, Summers had managed to temporarily acquire Kara's powers and used them to get away from adults keeping her under watch. That must've been something to see.
But her mostly monotonous weeks interrupted by the odd zany visitor were over now. It was time to leave Pace Penitentiary.
"Mrs. Killgrave, your following items: one Nokia phone, five shirts and six pairs of slacks, a package of mint condition coins from the Royal Canadian Mint, underwear, socks, an eye brush set, and fifteen thousand Canadian dollars in cash. Strict probation rules apply for your return to Canada."
Kara walked out of the prison, wearing grey sweatpants, white sneakers, and a white t-shirt.
A yellow convertible drove by and stopped. A silver haired, somewhat pudgy and friendly faced older woman was driving.
"Hop in, kido, we have a lot to talk about."
"No, mom, you failed. You didn't protect me. You didn't protect Laura. You didn't protect Goblyn."
With that, Kara Killgrave started walking off.
"Kara, wait … KARA, WAIT!"
Our ex-convict hoped onto a Greyhound bus headed north. She was going to her home country, but not exactly to her old home.