Rogue: Annihilation (An Avengers Sequel)

28. I Know Exactly Who You Are

I threw some electricity towards him. Not enough to hurt him significantly, but enough to tell him that he shouldn't underestimate me.

"Help!" he called suddenly. "Help me, now!"

I glanced towards the door, wondering if he was waiting for a member of the hotel staff to come to his aid. But when I turned back to him, I saw that he wasn't looking at the door. He was looking towards the bathroom. I followed his line of sight, but all I could make out was a shadow.

"Kill her," he commanded the person. "Stop at nothing until she's dead."

Automatically my attention switched from Kilgrave to the person behind the door. Kilgrave's commands aren't something you can talk yourself out of. Whoever that person was, they were now programmed to kill me – and they couldn't stop until they succeeded.

Slowly, the figure stepped out of the shadows, and I was forced to confront a face that was all too familiar.

"Jessica?"

2012 Jessica Jones ran towards me, using her super-human strength to throw me against the wall, where I ended up on the ground. I was too shocked to defend myself, to fight her off, or to call out to my 2012 counterpart waiting outside.

I never knew this version of Jessica, the one who had been under Kilgrave's control. By the time I met her, she was already the jaded, pissed-off version of herself – the person that Kilgrave had turned her into.

"Jess, please," I begged pointlessly, shielding my face with my hands as she punched me repeatedly, too close for me to protect myself with a force field. Despite being friends with Jess for as long as I was, I'd never found out the true extent of her powers. All I knew for sure was that she was strong – way stronger than me.

"You can't do this, please."

Thanks to Kilgrave's command, she was barely listening to me. All she knew was that I had to die, and she had to be the one to kill me.

I electrocuted her, causing her to jump back in surprise. She fixed Kilgrave with a 'you didn't tell me she had powers' glare. In return, he shrugged, telling her that nothing could derail her mission.

She came at me again, but her technique was sloppy, unpracticed. I ducked beneath her punch, kicking her in the shin. She grimaced in pain and dropped to the ground next to me.

"Fight him," I commanded her, dodging away from her hits. "You have to, Jess. Trish's life depends on it."

At the mention of her sister, Jess stopped completely, the shock working the way I'd intended. Hearing Trish's name snapped her out of Kilgrave's trance. I didn't know how long I would have, but even a minute was more than I needed.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked. The 2012 version of her had a softer voice. Her hands were still clenched in fists, and her angry demeanor seemed to switch to defensive. "Answer me!"

"She's talking rubbish," Kilgrave spoke over my thoughts before I had the chance to open my mouth. He was still sitting on the bed, watching us. I knew him well enough to know how much enjoyment he got from watching us fight.

"He kills Trish," I accused, pointing at him. "Jess, I swear I'm telling you the truth, I wouldn't lie. Kilgrave is the reason that Trish dies."

Jessica's eyes narrowed suspiciously, darting from Kilgrave to me and back again, not knowing who to trust.

"Trish isn't dead."

"I-" I stuttered, my words dying on my tongue. If she didn't believe me now, there was no way in hell she'd believe me if I added Time Travel to the mix. "I just..."

"See? She's lying," Kilgrave told her, instantly making her believe it. "Kill her, Jessica."

Suddenly, rage filled her eyes. She launched herself at me, hitting me so hard that I couldn't tell exactly where the pain was coming from. All I knew was that everywhere hurt, and I cried out in pain.

The blow distracted me from the sound of someone running into the room.

I looked up just in time to see 2012 Rogue enter, brandishing the scepter with a faux-confident glare.

"No!" I tried to warn my former self, but it was no use. Kilgrave had already seen her – our one chance at gaining an advantage had gone.

"Stop," he said to her, his voice calm. Both Jess and 2012 Rogue stopped what they were doing, against their will. "Drop that."

Immediately 2012 Rogue dropped the scepter onto the floor, as if her hands were physically incapable of holding onto it.

The smile formed on Kilgrave's face once again, now that he knew he could control at least one of us.

"Both of you," he addressed 2012 Rogue and Jess, never taking his eyes off of me. "Kill her."

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How is Rogue going to get herself out of this one?

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