I have to hand it to him, he did have a very high quality of life - if you ignored the awful way he sustained it. Here we were, at the best restaurant in the city, eating for free. I barely recognized the items on the menu, but somehow Kilgrave made sure it was all cooked to my liking.

He was also quite an excellent conversationalist. Although my initial impression was that he was only self-centered, he seemed overjoyed when I chimed in. I didn't have much to share, compared to him my life was fairly mundane. He had apparently done most of the things there was to do. From commercial spaceflight to starring in his own opera, it became clear that there simply was no limit to the lengths he'd go with his power.

Well, beyond the 24 hour time limit. Apparently be could make someone do anything, as long as he compelled them at least once per day. But it had to be physically him - there was a range on his power. Amplifying his voice didn't work, it was proximity.

"I do try to avoid superheroes, though. Messy stuff. On the off chance one of them is immune, I keep my distance. I also tend to stay in a single area as long as possible. It's easy to tell someone to meet at a certain address if I know I'll still be there tomorrow."

"So do you remember the things you've told people?"

"When I'm addressing them I just know what I've told them to do. I think it's part of the suite."

"And, wait… you seriously haven't tried to become a superhero?"

"Jessica. Please. I'm pretty sure the Avengers do background checks. Plus, the nature of my control is… sinister at best, and cruel at worst." He punctuated his sentence with a forceful stab of his fork into the table. "I hurt people, Jessica. Again and again. I'm not superhero material."

"You sound bitter."

"I keep forgetting you're in my head."

"That was just a lucky guess." My sarcasm wasn't lost on him, and he shot me a coy smile. "Plus," I added, "I can't read you at all. You're a gap in my power. I don't think my influence even reaches you."

"You mean I've been brutally honest this entire time for no reason at all?"

"If it helps, you strike me as a terrible liar. You've probably never had to lie to anyone."

"It is less of a skill and more of a talent, actually. I've never had to learn, but that doesn't mean I'm not good."

"I know I'm either good or my power makes me good, whichever. It doesn't matter, does it? I consider it a part of me, just like lying about my skills."

"It most definitely is a part of you. That's a good way of looking at it. And -" he paused "how do I know you're not in my head right now, making me believe you?"

"If I knew what was happening in that filthy brain of yours, I'd have thrown my drink on you hours ago."

"Oh, that's not fair. You seemed to like our little walk on the wild side. You liked it quite a bit, actually." His smarmy smile made me blush. It was true, though… I didn't like thinking about it, but feeling the emotions second hand made them less personal and more… vivid.

"With talk like that, I'm almost beginning to suspect you've gone mad with power."

He laughed deeply. "Of course I've gone mad with power. Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring, no one listens to you!"

I definitely know he isn't afraid of speaking his mind in public. I suppose a lot of it was due to his inability to be charged with a crime associated to his power - he committed atrocities by proxy, but never in person. He tends to leave areas with a broad shout of "tell no one we were here, and if you are questioned about me you have no idea what they are talking about." It's definitely the smart thing to do, but it does pull me out of the romantic mood a tad when he spends time micromanaging someone.

Honestly, though, tonight was going well.

"So," I began, leaning in close. "When you're in control, can you feel what they feel? The same way I can?"

His smile faded a bit. "No, actually. I get a sort of pull when I'm directing someone, and it feels good to me to order them around, but their thoughts are theirs alone. I can make them speak their mind, but it isn't really the same, now, is it."

"It honestly isn't all it's cracked up to be. For years I had to deal with this useless feedback when someone nearby was having a rough day. Recently I've just been focusing on tagging as many people as possible with as little as possible to slow the spread."

"Spread? Are you serious?"

I rolled my eyes. "Calm down there, Satan. It's not like a virus. It takes a lot of effort to get someone above that threshold, and without a lot of upkeep it isn't viable for anything long term. I'd probably need to be focusing for years to start seeing any incremental growth beyond the bare minimum."

"But it's possible, isn't it? Cripes, I'm out here eating fancy dinners, and you could be out there ruling the world!"

"I don't want to rule the world."

He scowled, the first angry expression I've seen from him. "What's the point of having mind control, then? Why even live your life if all you want to do is be just like everyone else? Tell me."

There was a little bit of a command in there, as I could feel the power behind it. I don't think he put his full weight behind it; that, or he realized what he was doing too late and tried to pull back. That was one of his flaws, I had realized - he was not used to someone who didn't answer his direct questions.

Was I really the first person he's ever had an actual conversation with?

The worst part is, I didn't have a good answer to his question. I did, however, have one of my own of equal magnitude.

"So you're saying that the only point of living is to live to the best of your ability, right?"

"Yes."

"So why haven't you conquered the world, yet?"

"I think I've been pretty clear why not. My power can't be amplified, so no matter how big my organization gets it still physically needs me to call the shots for everything."

"That sounds like an excuse, not a reason."

"What, you're saying that I'm not up to it?"

"I'm saying you could have been the coolest supervillain ever, and instead you visit posh coffee shops to pick up women."

"I didn't come there to look for you, you know. I just like to switch up my morning routine sometimes, get some fresh air. Besides, we've already talked about me and a hero or villain career. If I meet another parahuman I can't control, I'm out of the game." I shot him a pointed look. "Someone that isn't clearly infatuated with me."

My blush betrayed me, but I soldiered on. "You don't need to be there on the front lines. Just find a superhero you can control, and make him do your dirty work! Make it look like a team effort. Instantaneous fame and fortune!"

"I already have fortune, and in my experience fame isn't worth the trouble it causes. I like my life where I'm at now. Why should I risk my life just for adrenaline?"

"Exactly."

I hardly got the word out of my mouth before he covered it with his.