🔎 jessica jones | marvel cinematic universe

[neverthehero]

	✔ Cʀᴏssᴏᴠᴇʀs/AU ✔ Aᴄᴛɪᴏɴsᴘᴀᴍ ✔ Pʀᴏsᴇ	✔ Pɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛs ✔ Oᴛʜᴇʀᴡᴏʀᴅʟʏ ✔ Sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀs	♥ F/M, F/F ⏰ Uᴘ ᴛᴏ s2

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in a world where clint ain't married

[greatatboats]

[neverthehero]

[Kilgrave is always going to dig a little deeper. Tighten the noose a little more, dig in those hooks a little harder. It's a risk she takes every day, but sometimes she just can't stop herself and Clint is one of those things that she can't stop herself for. And now she's staring down Kilgrave'd boyfriend with an arrow on her and she's got her hands in the air.]

This isn't the way this is going to go down. Not again.

[greatatboats]

[ Clint often forgets that he's human. When you're surrounded by people that can do extraordinary things you often forget that you can't take bullets. You can't fall off buildings. You can't beat a mind controlling sicko with your bow and arrow. Clint forgets these things. He puts himself on the line over and over. Taking chances with his very mortal existence. Something that sometimes Natasha takes issue with, but she's never afraid to follow him down the rabbit hole to Hell.

Right now Jessica still means everything to him. That was erased. What was written inside of him though was that he had to stop her. He had to put an end to her. Kilgrave said that. Kill Jessica. Which is exactly why he's got his bow drawn and his grip tight. Because logically he knows he would never kill her, but he's been told to. He's obeying the command. ]

You coulda stayed away.

[ Which is like asking a fish to stay outta the water. Not possible. Clint promised himself he'd never wind up out of control again. Promised he'd never be in that position again after Loki. He should have been prepared. Should have been ready. ]

[neverthehero]

Yeah, like that was going to happen.

[They both know better than that. She won't even bother to tell him that he could have stayed away too.]

You don't have to do this.

[greatatboats]

[ Kill Jessica. Kill Jessica. Kill Jessica.

It's a mantra in Clint's head. It's on repeat right now. The longer he looks into her eyes the more it hurts. She knows more than anyone that resisting Kilgrave is impossible. Not possible. Say no? Never going to happen. ]

Why didn't you just stay away? [ The emotion and the frustration drips off Clint in waves. His grip tightens and his shaky hold on the bow increases. But Clint won't miss. He never misses.

He never told Clint he had to kill her immediately. Just kill Jessca. ] You were supposed to stay away.

[aworldonfire]

[this is a blatant cop out because the narration really wants them to fight but, for the life of her, cannot come up with a good starter]

[neverthehero]

[She walks into the station, expecting the police to greet her with bullets and batons, but in the end there's only a man in red leather, armor covering his eyes. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen.

Claire.

She asked her not to call, and she called. And she already knows that this is going to hurt. Her hands curl into fists for a moment, before she steps forward, ready for whatever's going to come at her.]

So. You're gonna play Kilgrave's human shield? I gotta give him points - this wasn't what I was expecting.

[aworldonfire]

Not human shield.

[he's here to incapacitate her. Kilgrave told him to bring her to him alive, and that's what he's planning on doing, as much as he really doesn't want to. he doesn't want to be here. he doesn't want to be doing this. he can't stop himself. at least he didn't ask him to kill her, thank God. thank God. that would be worse]

[but at any rate, with a shuddering breath, he reaches for his batons. an odd moment of pause follows, when he has them in hand (he's feeling out the room with his senses, judging distance, placement of things around them), and then he tosses one in her direction. it'll be an easy dodge, but he's not aiming for her. he's planning on ricocheting the stick off the wall and into her head from behind]

[and if we're rolling for this because IDEK anymore ... 19]

[neverthehero]

[The baton grazes her as it ricochets around again, and she winces as it collides (18), but she's not going to let it get to her. If all he's going to do is bruise her, then she can live with that. She just doesn't want to have to kill him.]

So what did he say?

[valuedstrength]

I saw this and immediately needed it. I apologize for nothing.

omg perfect never apologize

[neverthehero]

[So you know who's really, really good at her job? Jessica Jones. While Sam tries - and man, does he try - he doesn't have the PI expertise in his skill set, doesn't know what voids to look for when you're looking for a man on the run, and months prior to this conversation, Captain Fucking America shows up on her doorstep looking for a favor.

She doesn't know who recommended her, but she'd kind of like to punch them in the face right about now.

Point of the matter is, you don't say no to Captain America, even when he insanely looking for a guy who's wanted in fifty different countries for crimes he's committed over the past ninety years (even if Steve claims that he was brainwashed, which given her personal experience she can believe.

He probably knew that. The bastard). Jessica pulls all her strings, raids all her contacts, and even takes advantage of some of the nice Avenger perks along the way, but at the same time she made sure to make herself clear that she isn't in the hero business anymore. She's only doing this so that Steve owes her one, because Captain America owing you a favor is something you only get to happen once. And when she's exhausted the last of those resources (because Bucky is better than good, he's a goddamn ghost), she meets him back at her office with what she does have, prepared to settle up.]

That's all I got. Sorry it's not as much as you might have wanted.

[valuedstrength]

[Once upon a time, Captain America saved the life of a sixteen year old boy from Hell's Kitchen who actually got away with lying on the enlistment form. Like many people who meet a larger life figure in the middle of a bloody, horrific war he doesn't forget. When it gets out to the public that the famous sniper who watched his back is apparently alive, this now much older man sees his chance to repay a debt.

Steve barely remembers the incident, but he makes sure he knows that they are good with this. He has no idea how this will pan out, but Natasha isn't against it. Steve is desperate enough to hope this Jessica Jones will do better. (Yes, it does help that apparently she is inclined to believe that he was brainwashed. He's a real jerk sometimes.)

Steve's not terribly surprised when she doesn't find him. She does get more information than anyone else save for Natasha. For that, he's grateful.]

It's enough, Ms. Jones. [He smiles sincerely despite his exhaustion.] Probably for the best anyways. It wasn't right of me to ask for anymore than this.

[neverthehero]

[Her nose wrinkles a bit at the formality, but she'd get if they weren't close enough to be on a first name basis. Also because she doesn't like not finishing the job she was given, but that's another matter entirely.]

Hey, you asked me to do a job. If your boy wasn't so damn good, I might have been able to do better.

bc we need to cry over stories that haven't been told yet

[blacksky]

lemme know if you need me to change anything

[neverthehero]

[It was front page news. Technology heiress murdered in her penthouse. Except anyone who actually knew Elektra, knew what she was capable of, would recognize the smell of bullshit without even needing to smell it.

Elektra Natchios isn't a victim of a home invasion. Not with no evidence. Not with no body. But Jessica Jones doesn't get a say in those cases, and when she tries to pull any police contact she has, she gets a visit from the Devil of Hell's Kitchen telling her to back off, in no uncertain terms. She kicked him out of her apartment - her way of telling him in no uncertain terms that he could go fuck himself.

She should have thrown him out the window, but she was feeling nice that day.

Months later, she's in a room with Daredevil (Matt, apparently), Luke (awkward), and some asshat named Danny Rand, while an even bigger asshat named Stick tell her that Elektra's alive, been brainwashed by something called "the Hand" and they needed to kill her to save the world.

Fuck that.

Jessica doesn't think she can get Matt on her side. The way he talks about her, she isn't sure if he loved her or if he just was obsessed with her, and she didn't have time for that shit. Danny wasn't invested, and honestly, she didn't really need him. Luke, though, Luke knows her, even if he doesn't like her right now. He knows her history with brainwashing and being controlled. So when she comes to him, asking him for help in a way she knows she has no right to do, he agrees. In a lot of ways, they're still the only ones who understand the world they were forced into.

She knows she owes him for this in more ways than she'll ever be able to pay back.

Between the two of them and their powers, along with some (reluctant, as always) help from Claire Temple, they place an unconscious Elektra into Trish's panic room and wait her out. She doesn't know how this brainwashing worked our how deep it goes, but that doesn't matter.

She's getting her friend back. She doesn't really see there as being any other choice.]

[blacksky]

[She isn't at the height of her power yet. Alexandra made certain she understood that as well as who her loyalties were truly to. Neither point bothered her in particular. She doesn't even have a name; only a purpose. That suits her fine since she knows no other life than the one she has now. The second point becomes a bit of a bother when 'not at the height of power' translates to being unable to fend off two nearly invincible people along with the ever resourceful Claire Temple.

It's when she goes down that she realizes that she hates losing.

Elektra wakes up sooner than she should, head throbbing, and feeling frustrated. She cannot serve her master from here nor she fit to right now thanks to the nurse. Her body feels impossibly heavy, but she forces herself to sit up.]

You should have killed me. [Is all she has to say for herself. She'll get free eventually and they'll live to see their city fall anyways. What is the point of this if she's left alive?]

[neverthehero]

[She stares at the door for a moment, before making her way over to the contact panel and pressing the button. She probably shouldn't engage, but maybe engaging is what she needs to find her humanity again.]

Sorry. I've hit my "kill my friends" quota for life, so you're going to just have to suck it up.

guess who finished jessica jones???

[xfit]

yessssss

[neverthehero]

[There are stages to the friendship of Malcolm Ducasse and Jessica Jones.

Step 1) Jessica saves him from a bunch of muggers, which proceeds to ruin both their lives.
Step 2) They both become hot mess addicts which only one of them manages to recover from.
Step 3) Malcolm decides that they're going to be friends, Jessica has no choice in the matter.
Step 4) Jessica actually comes around and admits that Malcolm is her friend.

They're currently somewhere between Step 3 and Step 4.

It's not that Jessica doesn't want to have friends. Friends like Malcolm will probably do her more good than friends like Matt Murdock and Danny Rand, but at least with those two, Jessica knows what they want from her. They want her to solve the puzzle, they want her to punch things in the face. They want things she's capable of giving to people who are not Trish Walker.

Malcolm wants her to talk about her feelings, and you know, move into the recovery portion of being an alcoholic, but Jessica isn't ready for those things, and is worried about him being cannon fodder for the shit show that has become her life, but Malcolm isn't going anywhere so she's just going to have to deal.

Ugh.

That being said, this friendship does come in handy when she wants to not worry Trish and actually needs someone to interact with her ie. when she's trying to recover from a concussion.

AKA right now.

Jessica is already drunk, which she probably shouldn't be doing with said concussion, and it's the middle of the night which means he's probably sleeping like other sane individuals, but she needs the help. So she sucks it up and knocks lightly on his door, before leaning into the door frame.]

Malcolm? You up?

[xfit]

[He was asleep. A big part of his recovery is maintaining a routine with Jessica Jones-related exceptions. Naturally her knocking at the door counts. He pulls himself out of a warm bed to open up.] For you? Always.

[He yawns loudly as he unlocks the door for her, rubbing away the sleep once she's in front of him.]

Rough night?

[neverthehero]

Yep.

[She gives him a slightly apologetic smile, before reaching up and tapping her head lightly - very lightly, as this head trauma is starting to take the form of a migraine.]

I have a concussion. I need someone to keep me awake. Do you mind?

so this is what i have to show for finishing

[complementary]

slides into the wayback machine; let me know if this isn't okay

[neverthehero]

[There's blood on her hands.

Awareness is a funny thing, especially when you're coming out of a mind control bubble and aren't entirely sure if the last few hours have been real or not. There might have been a bus crash. She's pretty sure there is a body, maybe two. Killgrave is dead.

Killgrave is dead?

There's really only one thought that's perfectly clear as one foot tries to move in front of the other to a point that she hasn't consciously chosen, but draws her home all the same. She's very aware of the blood on her hands, a sticky, tacky kind of feeling that lets her know it's real, because no matter what Killgrave tried to make her feel, there's always a little tell that lets her know what's real and what isn't.

She doesn't love him because there's no ache in her chest, no swell of warmth.

She doesn't want to do the things he made her do, because her body always moved before her mind had fully processed the request.

He can't make her hallucinate because he can never make her brain remember exactly the way things are supposed to feel.

By the time she's decided that yes, there is blood on her hands and yes, there is probably a dead person, maybe two and yes, Killgrave ordered her to come back and she didn't - why didn't she go back? - she's standing in front of a familiar door. She knows that the person she needs to see to make some of this make sense is behind it, because Killgrave kept track of her (not all of his coercion had to do with his ability, some of it was real, some of it came in the way he said maybe I should call Patsy?), and she takes a deep breath, before raising her hand and knocking on the door.]

this is perfect

[complementary]

[Here's the thing: Trish has had a bad feeling for a while. Jessica makes contact. She's always consistent about it almost to a weird degree for her. Something is off. She just hasn't known how to go about it or worse she wondered if maybe she was being as controlling as her mother was. Her indecision comes to an end when she opens the door to a bloody and confused looking Jessica. She does what any best friend would do in her shoes: pulls her inside, looks around to confirm no one is around, and shuts the door behind them. She truly has no idea what is going on here, but Jessica is hurt. She's going to be the one protecting her for once.]

What happened? Are you okay? [She rests her hands on Jessica's shoulders so she can really get a look at her.]

[neverthehero]

No.

[She's not okay. She's likely not going to be okay for a good long while. But at the same time the confused facade crumples a little, because she doesn't know for sure, can't trust her own mind, but she made it to Trish.

Trish is the only thing she's certain is safe.]

I think I killed someone?