Chapter 145

When Trish awakes, I'm sitting nearby on the chair Jessica had tied me up to. I'd moved her from the floor to Jessica's bed, as well as bandaged her head where she was bleeding.

"Wha-...what happened?" she asks, lifting up her head.

I stand, "Don't get up too quickly. You were under Kilgrave's control, he tried to kill you."

Trish slams her head back onto the pillow, but she regrets that as she recoils from the pain in her head, "I-...I hardly remember anything. He-...he told me to...slam my head...in the window...and...and I...I actually did it."

I nod, and she groans, "Oh, that must have been embarrassing."

I shake my head, "Don't worry about it."

Reaching over to the nightstand, I grab a mug of tea I'd prepared for her, "Here. Drink this."

"Thank you," she says as she accepts the cup and takes a sip, "you know, Jessica told me about Kilgrave and his mind control powers while you were...knocked out. I didn't know whether or not to believe her. It's not like I had any reason not to believe her, it just seemed so...unreal."

"Like a science fiction novel?" I guess, smiling.

Trish nods, "Yeah, kind of like that."

She takes another sip, and I chuckle to myself, "You know, you have quite the fancy kettle, but I managed to figure it out."

"Oh right...you claim to be from an alternate universe," she remembers, her mind still recovering.

"You don't have to believe me if you don't want to, I understan-"

"No...you saved my life. Even if your story's hard to believe, I'll at least...indulge you," she interrupts, "you must have a lot of questions."

I shrug, "I've figured out some things, I've sort of learned how to use the internet. On the other hand…"

I walk over to the computer-like device, and turn the monitor to its side, revealing its slimness, "Where's the back? Of the computer?"

Trish looks at me, confused, "That...that is the back."

"I mean, I don't want to break it by opening it up, but is it multiple computer boards smashed into the small space?" I ask, alternating from looking at the front and back of the monitor.

"I...I don't know," she confesses.

I chuckle, "Sorry, I guess it's not exactly common knowledge, is it? Most people from my universe don't even know how to use a computer, let alone know what's inside it."

"I mean, it's a computer, but it's called a laptop. It's a portable computer."

I nod, absorbing the information as I sit down at Jessica's desk, "Ed would be amazed if he were here. To know that his theories on multiple universes is correct, and that his invention could actually prove it…"

"Who's Ed?" she asks.

"Oh, a childhood friend, he's the one who invented the portal that sent me here. We met a little bit after my parents passed away," I explain.

Trish raises an eyebrow, "Really? Jessica and I are childhood friends, and we met when my mother adopted her after her parents passed away."

"Huh, what a coincidence. Ed's parents never adopted me, but I stayed over at his place a lot," I hunch down, musing over the details.

"How did your parents pass away?" Trish asks.

"An accident. I lived on a Native American reservation with my family, one night the whole thing was set ablaze, and...I was the only survivor."

"Wow, I-...I'm so sorry," Trish expresses her concern, but presses on, "although, to continue with the comparisons, Jessica's parents died in an accident as well. A car crash."

Trish sits up, and interlaces her fingers together, "It seems so uncanny, that you and Jessica would have such similar stories."

I think on those words for a little until I remember what Ed had said earlier. His theory about alternate selves residing in alternate universes. Could Jessica be…?

I shake off the idea, "Anyways, the police officer with Kilgrave dropped this while they were walking out."

I take out and show Trish a police identification paper, which must have fallen out of his badge. It has his name and identification number.

"I tried looking up the name, but I couldn't find a phone book in the house," I tell her.

She gets out of bed, holding her head and trying to keep her balance, "No one uses a phone book anymore. Here, give me the paper."

I hand the paper to her, and get out of the way as she sits down at Jessica's computer, "Jessica has this laptop hooked up to the national police database. We should be able to find this cop pretty easily."

The screen scrolls through a list of names as Trish mans the mouse and keyboard, "Officer Wendell Vaughn, recently recruited police officer, a clean record, lives in an upscale apartment with his mother and sister."

"If he's under Kilgrave's control, would you think the family would have any idea?" I ask, leaning over Trish's shoulder.

"Don't know...but we should find out," Trish figures.

Trish and I get into Jessica's car, which is still parked a couple of blocks away from Trish's apartment.

"Jessica told me that she stole this car off of Kilgrave, who mind-controlled someone into giving it to him," Trish explains, digging the keys into the ignition.

I cross my arms and ask, "Does Kilgrave just...go around, taking whatever he wants? Stealing cars, harassing women?"

"From what Jessica told me, it's a lot more than harassment," Trish shakes her head, disturbed by the idea.

"How did Jessica and Kilgrave meet?" I press.

"It was...some random encounter. She was walking down the street at night and saw some thugs trying to mug a guy. She used her super strength to fight them, Kilgrave saw this, and put her under his control so that he can use her strength for his own purposes," she tells me.

The car rolls onto the street, as Trish follows the map on the screen on her dashboard, "So, since you're not a cop in this universe, I guess I shouldn't refer to you as 'Officer'. It said on your identification that your first name is...Natalie?"

I nod, "Yeah."

"So Natalie, tell me a little bit about your world. Do people have special powers there as well?" she asks with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well, the man who activated the portal: Harrison Wells, he has super speed," I explain, "also, there's supposedly a superhero in Coast City called Green Lantern who has some sort of...energy-wielding power. You see him in the papers all the time, but I've never seen him in person."

Trish laughs, "I meant that as I joke! But then again...I guess all universes are kind of crazy."

"Yeah...you know, since this is an alternate universe, I guess it's okay to admit that...I also have a superhero identity as well," I confess in a laughing manner.

"No way, you have one too?! What's the name?" she asks.

I lean back, realizing how ridiculous it sounds out loud, "The Trickstress. Long story."

"Well, it's no weirder than 'the Hulk'," Trish reasons.

I raise an eyebrow, "Where'd you get a name like 'the Hulk' from?"

"Oh right. When New York was attacked by aliens, a team of superheroes known as the Avengers came out of nowhere to...well, as corny as it sounds: they came to save the day," Trish explains, as the car rides up the freeway.

I scrunch my eyebrows, "The Avengers, huh? Hmph, well I-...or the Trickstress, rather, have an alliance with two other superheroes, Batwoman and...whatever Renee is. We don't have a name though, and if we ever do it certainly won't ever be as sensational as 'The Avengers'."

Trish laughs, "Who says 'sensational'? You sound like you're from one of those black-and-white movies."

"But aren't most movies in black-and-white? But wait...since this is the future...I'll bet all of your movies are in color. The computer screen was in full color. And does 3D ever become good?" I ask.

She twists her lips into a smirk, "After we find Jessica, I'm showing you YouTube, HDTV, and...3D has gotten better, but it still makes some people sick. I'd say pick your 3D movies carefully."

Trish parks the car a couple of blocks away from our destination.

"Pretty nice place for a cop," I mumble to myself.

"What? Are you not paid well? Being a cop usually means a sizable salary," she figures as we head into the entrance.

I shake my head, "A blue-collared job like police work? Absolutely not, in fact the police union has been fighting for higher wages."

Trish and I ascend the elevator to the Vaughn family apartment. Trish stands before the door, ringing the bell while I stand off to the side. An older woman answers the door, creaking it open with one hand, the other concealed behind her back.

"Yes?" she looks at Trish and I with some confusion.

"Does Wendell Vaughn live here? Are you Mrs. Vaughn?" she asks in her polite, sincere tone.

The woman flinches, and I realize her hand is shaking as she clutches the door, "Y-...yes, I am she. Are-...are you Patsy Walker?"

"Patsy?" I blurt aloud, turning to Trish.

Her smile only wavers for a second, as Trish tosses back her blond hair, "Uhm...yes, that's me. Although I haven't used that name in a long time."

Mrs. Vaughn reaches out from behind her back, and draws out a large kitchen knife, "He told me to kill you."

With a vicious rage, she lunges at Trish. From the side, I grab Mrs. Vaughn, and kick her in the back of the knee, causing her to fall to the floor. Hardly noticing the impact, she slices Trish's calf, and she screams, falling to the floor. Mrs. Vaughn claws her way closer to Trish, knife in hand. I grab her neck, pinning her down at the stomach with my knee. She whips her arm around, cutting the knife into my arm. I snarl, as I hold my reaction back as much as I can. With my free arm, I grab her knife-wielding hand, and wrestle her for the knife. She clutches it for dear life, until I twist my other arm around to elbow her in the head. Mrs. Vaughn collapses to the floor, and I get off of her back.

"Jesus Christ!" Trish whispers, covering her mouth with her hand.

"If he gave the command to kill you, then Kilgrave must have known we'd come looking for Jessica," I figure.

She shakes her head, "That's...insane."

There's footsteps, and we look up to see another woman at the doorway of the Vaughn's household. She bears a resemblance to Mrs. Vaughn, although she's much younger.

"You're...Patsy Walker…" she realizes aloud, "he said to kill Patsy Walker."

Like a zombie, she starts walking toward Trish, when she stops her, "No-...no, wait! He told you to kill Patsy Walker, right? Well, I'm not Patsy, I'm Trish. You have the wrong person."

The woman, presumably Wendell Vaughn's sister mentioned in his file, slows down, and suddenly comes to the realization that her mother is lying unconscious on the floor, "Wha-...what happened to mom?"

"Your mom thought Trish was Patsy and tried to kill her. She'll be fine, she just passed out," I explain, as I take Trish by the shoulder.

As fast as I can, I lead Trish away from the situation, and whisper to her, "Let's get out of here before they realize something's up."

We exit the apartment building, and Trish gives a sigh of relief, holding the back of her head, "My god...Kilgrave can really make you do anything. Those people...it's like they were in a trance. Like nothing else mattered except accomplishing Kilgrave's orders."

She nods her head, "Yeah. When Jessica told me about it, even though I had no reason not to believe her...I honestly didn't want to. Gosh...if he can make people do something like that, I can't imagine what he's done to Jessica…"

"Maybe that's why she stayed away. She didn't want you to be hurt by him too," I suggest.

"Maybe...so, what's our next move?" Trish asks.

I twist my lips, "Well...if Kilgrave has these people under his control, as well as the police officer, then he's bound to come back, right?"

"So...we play the waiting game?" she guesses.