C73: One Shot
The "antique shop owner" he mentioned... that must be me, right?
Inside the antique store, Li Ran blinked slowly, his expression unreadable as Kilgrave's words echoed in his ears.
Back in the warehouse, Kilgrave continued his monologue, his voice soaked in that signature arrogance. As always, the Purple Man reveled in the illusion that he controlled every piece on the board. That was his addiction—control.
"Don't tell me you're not afraid of walking in blind," Jessica gritted out, her jaw clenched tight under his command, mocking him with a cruel smirk, "only to end up eating another bullet from Fang."
Kilgrave's smile faltered. For a flicker of a second, something dark passed over his face.
He remembered. He always remembered.
The day he visited the antique shop was the closest he'd come to dying since gaining his abilities. It haunted him like a ghost that wouldn't fade. His fingers unconsciously brushed the spot on his upper arm where the bullet had torn through flesh. Though healed, the pain lingered like a phantom.
"Perhaps I've been too lenient," he said coldly, stepping toward her, each footfall like a beat in a death march. "Maybe that's why you've forgotten who I really am, Jessica. There was a time when you never argued, never questioned, never looked at me with those defiant eyes."
He stopped mere inches from her face.
"That look," Kilgrave whispered, the edges of his grin curling upward again. "That fire. That's why I've always been obsessed with you, Jessica Jones. You're not like the others."
His hand moved toward her cheek.
But before he could touch her—
Whack!
A sharp crack split the air.
Kilgrave recoiled in shock, staggering as a white guide cane smashed across his shoulder, searing pain flaring where it struck.
Matt Murdock stood firm, panting, clutching the cane like a lifeline.
"You—how are you resisting me?" Kilgrave gasped, his expression twisted with disbelief. "You shouldn't be able to—this is impossible!"
It wasn't the first time Kilgrave had encountered someone who could resist his mind control, but it never got less terrifying. Daredevil had always been more than just a man with heightened senses—he had a will honed in Hell's Kitchen, tempered by Stick's brutal training and the trauma of Catholic guilt. It made him formidable, even to psychic domination.
Matt's breaths were ragged. His injuries still throbbed from his last skirmish—he'd barely healed but somehow, he'd shaken off Kilgrave's influence.
"Jessica... run," he rasped. "I won't last long."
Jessica grunted, her face twisted with effort. "If I could move... I would, believe me." She managed a dry laugh, even as her body refused to cooperate.
Kilgrave's fury returned full force. He clutched his bruised arm and barked, "You won't escape this time."
He turned to Luke Cage. "Break him. Crush him until he's pulp."
Luke, blank-eyed, nodded. Despite his resistance to toxins and mind control in the comics, in this moment—perhaps due to psychological tricks or a rare compound—Kilgrave had managed to override even Power Man.
The bulletproof defender of Harlem moved like a freight train toward Matt.
And through it all... no one noticed Wesley.
Li Ran watched from the antique shop, his expression unreadable. In truth, Wesley had been present the entire time—silently, motionlessly standing near the wall. To Kilgrave, Jessica, and even Matt, he was just another pawn under psychic influence.
But that was their mistake.
Wesley wasn't human.
He was a clone—a chakra construct created using one of Li Ran's system character cards. And Kilgrave's power, no matter how terrifying, only affected biological beings. In every iteration—be it Alias, Jessica Jones, or The Pulse—his pheromone-based commands needed human biology to function. Wesley? He was outside those rules.
Kilgrave smirked. "Finish him," he said to Wesley. "Shoot Daredevil's knees. I want him crawling."
Jessica's eyes widened in horror.
"No, Matt!"
Inside the shop, Li Ran moved a finger.
In the warehouse, Wesley raised his pistol.
Bang!
Luke Cage stopped mid-step.
For a moment, everything froze.
Then Kilgrave blinked... and collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.
A single, perfect bullet hole marked the center of his forehead.
[Fame from Kilgrave +2000]
[Fame from Jessica +1500]
The spell broke.
Jessica stumbled, control returning in a sudden flood. Matt nearly fell over, using his cane for balance. Luke Cage blinked several times, disoriented.
"What the hell... Where am I?" Luke muttered. "The last thing I remember, I was leaving Claire's place…"
"You were under mind control," Matt said, still gasping. "Kilgrave got to you."
"Kilgrave…? The guy with the purple suit? I saw him. Then—nothing."
"You weren't yourself," Jessica said, still staring at Kilgrave's corpse with a haunted expression. "He had you."
Luke clenched his fists. "Where is he now?"
Matt pointed at the body. "Wesley handled it."
[Fame from Luke Cage +100]
Jessica slowly got to her feet. Her gaze flicked from Kilgrave's corpse to Wesley, who was calmly reholstering his weapon. Her voice trembled slightly.
"You… how? How were you not affected?"
Wesley looked at her.
"He can't control me," he said simply.
There was no elaboration. No emotion.
Jessica stared at him, the pieces clicking together in her mind.
Li Ran had once hinted that the Assassin Brotherhood had their own secrets. She remembered how Kilgrave's powers hadn't worked on Li Ran either.
"…Are you Brotherhood?" she asked.
Wesley didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
Jessica exhaled, the relief nearly making her knees buckle.
Good thing she had asked Li Ran to contact them.
Because if she hadn't—if Wesley hadn't been there—this would have ended very differently.
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