Jessica turned her head and saw the man.
He spoke with a British accent, wore a purple suit, and looked fairly handsome but there was something indescribably eerie about him.
"I don't know you," Jessica said cautiously.
"My name is Kilgrave." The man smiled and sat down beside her. "I saw you in the alley last night. Jessica, you are… special."
Half of her drunken haze vanished instantly.
"You followed me?" she asked, her fingers gripping her glass tightly.
"No, no, no," Kilgrave said, raising his hands in a harmless gesture. "It's fate. I just happened to pass by. Tell me, do you feel this world is rotten? That no one understands you?"
His words struck deep inside Jessica.
She froze.
"You…"
"I know." Kilgrave's voice carried an almost hypnotic power, his gaze deep and unfathomable. "I know your loneliness, Jessica. You don't have to be tired like this. You don't have to fight anymore."
He leaned close, whispering in her ear:
All you need… is to love me.
Jessica's pupils dilated, and her tightly clenched fists slowly relaxed.
Her eyes fixed on Kilgrave, and her gaze shifted from caution and anger to… fascination.
"I…"
"You love me." Kilgrave savored the transformation. "Now, stand up and come with me… will you?"
"…Yes." Jessica stood, her eyes vacant but filled with an eerie sense of happiness. "I… I want to go with you."
Bartender Jack frowned. "Hey, Jessica, are you okay? You don't know this guy!"
Kilgrave glanced back and smiled.
"Jack? Deep down, haven't you always wanted to jump on the bar and crow like a rooster for five minutes?"
"…What?"
"Oh oh oh! Oh oh oh!" Jack suddenly leaped onto the bar, flailing his arms and crowing loudly.
Chaos erupted in the bar.
Kilgrave draped an arm around Jessica's shoulder and walked out.
"See that, Jessica?" he said, stroking her hair. "This world is my playground. And you… you are my most beautiful toy."
The top-floor suite of the Marriott Hotel.
Jessica Jones stood in the center like a puppet.
Her consciousness was trapped inside a deep purple cage. She could see and hear but could not control her body.
Fear deeper than death.
"Jessica, you are so beautiful."
Kilgrave loosened his tie and poured two glasses of red wine.
"Do you know how long I've been looking for you? I saw the video of you during the Battle of New York. The way you beat that alien… magnificent!"
He walked over, admiring his handiwork.
"They call that blond freak 'The Patriot,' and Stark 'Iron Man.' But they are all clowns."
"And I," he said, gently lifting Jessica's chin, "am a god. Jessica, you are my goddess, my queen."
He greedily inhaled the scent of her hair.
"Now… smile. Give me your sweetest smile."
Jessica's lips unconsciously formed a stiff, forced smile.
"Perfect." Kilgrave's breathing grew rapid. "Now… take off your jacket. Do you want to do this for me?"
Jessica's hands trembled.
Inside, she screamed, cried, and fought.
"No… no… no!!! Please… let me go…"
Yet her fingers moved, undoing the zipper of her jacket.
"Yes, just like that…" Kilgrave's face flushed with excitement.
Okay.
Knock knock knock.
Three polite knocks came at the French doors leading to the balcony.
Kilgrave's lust vanished instantly; he turned around, annoyed.
"Who the hell "
He saw the figure that had been appearing on every screen recently.
"The Patriot."
Marcus Lee floated in through the balcony, wearing his flawless professional smile, the American flag cape billowing in the night wind.
God, this is sixty stories up!
"Good evening." Marcus punched through the glass and stepped in. "Sorry for interrupting. I was just flying overhead and thought I heard a lady say… 'no'?"
"Mind your own business! Get out!" Kilgrave's face twisted in fury.
How dare this blond idiot ruin his perfect night!
"Don't you understand English?!" Kilgrave pointed at Marcus, issuing the cruelest command to Jessica:
"Jessica! Kill him! Snap his head off!"
Jessica's gaze instantly shifted from fascination to murderous intent.
"Yes."
She spun like a whirlwind, throwing a punch with enough force to flip a truck.
Boom!
A dull thud.
Jessica's fist slammed into Marcus's chest.
He didn't budge. He glanced at her fist, then at her struggling face, and offered an encouraging smile. "Nice strength, but not enough."
"What are you waiting for?! Kill him!!" Kilgrave screamed.
"Sorry, ma'am."
Marcus raised his right hand, formed an elegant finger flourish, and tapped her forehead pop!
The crisp tap on her forehead carried a mild sting, straight into her mind.
Buzz !
Jessica's vision went black. Kilgrave's creepy voice vanished instantly.
She snapped awake, falling backward.
Marcus caught her.
"You…" Jessica gasped, cold sweat dripping down her face. She spun to look at the man in the purple suit.
"Kilgrave !!!"
All the fear, anger, and humiliation she had suppressed exploded.
"I'm going to kill you!!" She lunged like a mother lion.
"No! No! Jessica, stop! I order you to stop!" Kilgrave fled in terror.
But his command had no effect on Jessica, who had been forcibly awakened.
"I command you, Patriot!!" Kilgrave turned to Marcus. "Protect me! Kill her!"
Marcus crossed his arms and watched the farce unfold.
"Why… haven't you moved?!" Kilgrave's eyes widened in panic.
Marcus dug a finger into his ear.
"You hurt my ear."