"I'm fine," Jessica said with a ragged sigh. "It's a long story but I think I'm ready to tell you about it."
She took a seat on a bar stool and poured herself a drink. "When I was about fifteen I was in a car accident with my family. I woke up in a hospital to find out I had been in a coma and that my parents and brother were dead. I was adopted into this... family and during an argument I broke an entire marble sink. That's how I learned I got powers from strange that happened. I still don't know how it happened."
She shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "I never wanted to be a hero. I thought I was just a freak. I finished high school and part of college. I bounced from temp job to temp with my adopted sister always pushing me to do something with my abilities. Then one day I saw this kid about to step in front of a car on an New York City street. I didn't think I just stepped out and stopped the car. Only people who really saw what happened was just me and the kid but for a brief moment I thought I could make a difference."
She poured herself another drink and continued her story. "So I start patrolling. Like an asshole. Petty crime. That kind of bullshit. One day I stopped a mugging and this man in a suit started applauding."
Jessica took a deep breath. "His name was Kilgrave. Because of some weird experiments he could control people's minds. Just saying a few words would make people do anything he wanted. And right there he wanted me."
Jessica emptied her glass and refilled it. "He took me over. I had no control of anything for six months. He... used me. Mentally and physically. I was just like a doll he could play with."
She paused for a moment. "Then one day he had me kill someone. He told me to finish her and I punched her so hard she never woke up. What I didn't know is that when that happened, I broke out of his control. He ran after me and then got run over by a bus chasing me. For a long time I thought he was dead."
She paused a moment and looked over at Annie. "I'm not telling you this to lessen what happened to you. I'm telling you this because I never stood up and told the world what he did to me. I never thought about the others who he affected. I just disappeared and hoped the world would forget me. So... what you did the other day? I find that pretty fucking heroic. So yeah. I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself."
She slumped a little taking a breath and another sip of her drink. "So if any of those assholes try to take that away from you? What you did is going to help a lot of people."
no subject
She took a seat on a bar stool and poured herself a drink. "When I was about fifteen I was in a car accident with my family. I woke up in a hospital to find out I had been in a coma and that my parents and brother were dead. I was adopted into this... family and during an argument I broke an entire marble sink. That's how I learned I got powers from strange that happened. I still don't know how it happened."
She shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "I never wanted to be a hero. I thought I was just a freak. I finished high school and part of college. I bounced from temp job to temp with my adopted sister always pushing me to do something with my abilities. Then one day I saw this kid about to step in front of a car on an New York City street. I didn't think I just stepped out and stopped the car. Only people who really saw what happened was just me and the kid but for a brief moment I thought I could make a difference."
She poured herself another drink and continued her story. "So I start patrolling. Like an asshole. Petty crime. That kind of bullshit. One day I stopped a mugging and this man in a suit started applauding."
Jessica took a deep breath. "His name was Kilgrave. Because of some weird experiments he could control people's minds. Just saying a few words would make people do anything he wanted. And right there he wanted me."
Jessica emptied her glass and refilled it. "He took me over. I had no control of anything for six months. He... used me. Mentally and physically. I was just like a doll he could play with."
She paused for a moment. "Then one day he had me kill someone. He told me to finish her and I punched her so hard she never woke up. What I didn't know is that when that happened, I broke out of his control. He ran after me and then got run over by a bus chasing me. For a long time I thought he was dead."
She paused a moment and looked over at Annie. "I'm not telling you this to lessen what happened to you. I'm telling you this because I never stood up and told the world what he did to me. I never thought about the others who he affected. I just disappeared and hoped the world would forget me. So... what you did the other day? I find that pretty fucking heroic. So yeah. I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself."
She slumped a little taking a breath and another sip of her drink. "So if any of those assholes try to take that away from you? What you did is going to help a lot of people."