Chapter 67 - My SI Stash #67 - Purple Morality by Cambrian Beckett (Jessica Jones) (2/2)
Yeah, I wouldn't believe me either. Even if by some small chance I was able to convince her that it was true, what then? Simpson and Luke Cage would still want me dead and Jessica would still want Hope free. In the end, all I could do was play along and see where everything takes me. With that thought in my head I finally respond to my captor with a noncommittal, ”Hello Jessica.”
My tired resigned tone must be clear, as she immediately reacts to it with more smugness, ”What's the matter Kevin? Lose your strut once you're no longer in control? Can't brainwash your way out of this one Kevin.”
The continued emphasis on Kilgrave's name causes a slight twitch on my lips that she misinterprets, ”Granted it is a mundane name, but Kilgrave? How obvious can you get? Was Murdercorpse already taken?”
I let out a low chuckle at the joke, one of the internet's favorite lines from the TV show given the amount of times I'd seen it so far in fanfiction, ”Ah, I have to agree with you. It does seem rather melodramatic, doesn't it?”
That brings her up short, ”What?”
Slowly, I slide my feet off the floor of the cell and onto the bench with me, bringing my knees to my c_h_e_s_t and then standing atop that as well. Carefully, I unbutton my shirt and lay it across the driest part of the bench, before sitting on it now b_a_r_e c_h_e_s_ted, ”Are you going to torture me Jessica? Press that big red button and electrocute the water beneath my feet so that I tell you whatever you want to hear?”
An incredulous look passes over her face as her eyes glance towards said button and then back to me, ”How did you?-”
I cut her off with a scoff, ”Come now Jessica, I'm not stupid. You can still stop this you know. Let me out now and I won't press charges. I have no d_e_s_i_r_e to spend any more time with you after this, but I'm willing to keep this out of the courtroom if you don't go any further. Let me go.”
Jessica just smirks, ”Go ahead, order me again Kevin. That's a hermetically sealed room; you can't control anyone while in it.”
I roll my eyes for effect and shake my head as I speak in a somber and pitying tone, ”You're delusional Jessica. You left me for dead and your brain c_o_c_ked up this made up story about whom I am and what I can do. I wasn't trying to mind control you or anything like that. I was trying to appeal to whatever shreds of sanity you have left.”
I give a slight smile, completely fake of course just like my next words, ”I know that the girl I loved is still in there, somewhere.”
That gets her to finally hit the big red button, and I feel it as the volts run up the legs of the metal table and through my thin shirt, which isn't as good an insulator as I'd hoped. With a yelp and a spasm I fall off my 'bed' and into the several of inches of water with very little decorum. As I leverage myself up, I see Jessica's smug grin as she turns back on the video player showing the experiments Kilgrave's parents did on him.
Reaching for and grabbing my shirt, I put it back on and button it up before lying down on the cot. I make a show of appearing to be agitated and irritated by the voices and the pained screams of a young Kevin, but in reality I'm soaking it all in. This right here is an origin story and I'm very interested in seeing more than the TV show ever gave me.
XxScenebreakxX
Jessica leaves and then comes back. I have no idea where she'd gone or what she'd done, perhaps a bathroom break, perhaps she'd called someone. Still, it was clear the questioning was back on as she flipped through several different experiments from the flash drive and began interrogating me again.
”So you weren't the only lab rat. Riva knew about this didn't she, and that's why you wanted her dead.”
Sitting up on the metal cot I give a mirthless smile and shake my head, ”No Jessica, Riva died in the bus crash that nearly killed me. She was our friend and she was helping me, helping us. Only, you've built this world where I don't get to have friends that I'm not controlling, so now she's just another victim. This isn't you Jessica.”
Jessica grits her teeth together and puts her hand over the big red button, ”Shut up Kevin.”
I keep my lips sealed and after a moment of visibly controlling her anger, she goes down a different tact, ”Who are these other kids? You killed for this video and you never thought to look for the other kids? Afraid of the competition?”
I scoff openly, ”C'mon Jessica, you know why I wanted to find the flash drive. I was too busy looking for my parents to care about children in other parts of the world. You and Riva were both helping me, before that night.”
Jessica just scoffs back, ”Or maybe you already found and killed them all.”
That's when Hogarth shows up. I notice her but beyond pointing her out to Jessica with a nod of my head, I don't react in any real way. I have no d_e_s_i_r_e to experience a shock again. Jessica shuts off the mike and I'm left in silence and my own thoughts as I lean against the metal and glass and watch Hogarth and Jessica talk.
It's unfortunate I've never learned to read lips, but luckily I know the gist of what they're saying. Hogarth is telling Jessica that any confession she extracts from me will be inadmissible and dismissed as staged. I watch as she gets upset with Jessica for not helping her more with her current divorce proceedings. I can see the exact moment where Jessica tells Hogarth that because I've seen her, she's already implicated.
Jessica leaves to go find Clements, the detective she would try to have stand witness to my mind control powers. Hogarth remains, fiddling with her phone as she texts back and forth with her lawyer concerning the divorce. I continue to watch, knowing my moment will come soon.
She sits down and then minutes later she stands abruptly and places a call. I watch as she has a heated discussion with Wendy that ends with the latter hanging up and Hogarth staring at her phone in disbelief. That's my cue, so I raise my hand and knock casually.
Turning towards me, Hogarth gives me a look but I just nod towards the mic on the desk. After a moment of hesitation she walks over to it and presses the button that connects me to the world outside my cell once more. I smile appreciatively even as she speaks, ”Did you need something?”
”I wanted to tell you that the offer I gave Jessica is still open. Let me out and I won't press charges. I thought Jessica loved me like I loved her and that we could make this work, but it's clear that despite my efforts, she's too far in her own broken delusion to see our past for what it truly is. Did you know that she's been living with me? Several days in fact, eating and sleeping together under the same roof. It was going great until… this.”
Hogarth just snorts, but I press on, not nearly finished, ”I suppose you would know though. It certainly sounds like Wendy is giving you quite a bit of trouble. Sorry, I was reading lips. Threatening to expose you? Love is such a fleeting thing I suppose.”
Hogarth has her lips pursed together now, ”Is there a point?”
I smile wide, ”There always is, isn't there? Well, I just wanted to point out, that if someone were to let me out, go against Jessica's wishes… I would be in their debt, wouldn't I? They would in fact have the ability to call on me for several reasonable favors of a varying range of magnitudes. It would certainly not be terrible, having a powerful lawyer as my friend.”
Hogarth's lips twitch in a smile, ”I'll be sure to refer one.”
That ends our conversation for the time being as Hogarth cuts off the mic once more, but I know the seeds have been planted. Pretty little Pam will finish my job for me and send Hogarth directly into my arms. All I have to do now… is wait.
Easier said than done. Settling back down onto my cot, I let out a low sigh and rest my eyes for a bit. Things will start up again soon enough, and I need to be sharp enough to navigate them, or I may end up dead in this stupid little cell.
A/N: Questions, comments, feedback? Please, throw a review up letting me know what you think. Reviews are my lifeblood and the discussion that comes with writing is a large part of what keeps my creativity flowing. If you post anything beyond ”I like this” I'll try to respond through PMs to answer any questions or discuss any suggestions, but even the reviews that are just positive support mean quite a lot to me.