Chapter 32: 32
Getting Hope Schlottman declared innocent and released from prison was just as easy as Kilgrave made it look in the show. There would more than likely be other things to handle that hadn't cropped up in the show because of Hope committing suicide, but for the time being, every bureaucrat involved in her case had become convinced she was innocent and that it was better if she was released into my care.
They were also all convinced that it would be easier for Hope to move on with her life if they just kept quiet about it and swept it all under the rug. The media was certainly a thing still, but I imagined it would take time for them to catch wind of it, if they ever did, with no one actually willing to inform them of it. Hope's parents would never see justice, but at the very least I could try to give Hope her life back… while using her as another piece in the game of chess I was rather quickly overtaking Jessica in.
But then, as I saw Hope come out of the changing room in plain clothes and her eyes met mine, I couldn't help but acknowledge that if I wanted a fair game, I wouldn't keep stealing Jessica's pawns. Hope's reaction is immediate but I'm already speaking as she tenses up and takes a half step back into the chest of the officer escorting her.
"It's so good to see you darling. You're happy to see me as well, I'm sure. Come give me a hug?"
The freeze up Hope Schlottman goes through as I change her emotional response in a single command is miniscule and only really noticeable because I was looking for it. Then, she's smiling and moving forward at a fast pace to throw herself into my arms. With a chuckle, I catch her against my chest and rub her back as she begins crying into my shoulder.
Leading her to the car from there is easy enough and she gets into the back when I order her to. Sliding in after her, I signal to the driver to take us back to the mansion and then close off the partition between the backseat and the front. Looking to Hope, I find that she's still crying, but it seems to be happy tears. After a moment of silence, I speak, "Consider my previous commands void. Stay seated."
The smile on her face immediately vacates as she looks at me with fresh horror, terror, and dread. I smile thinly, "Hello Hope. You've had a rough time of it, and though I doubt you'll accept it, I do apologize for what's been done to you."
My very words seem to cause her pain as she shudders and hunches down, huddling as far as she can from me while still following my order of 'stay seated'. She ignores my apology and seems to clam up entirely. I can understand why she wouldn't want to talk to me or draw my attention in any sort of negative way with the verbal abuse she no doubt would love to throw at me if she were in a position of strength and power.
So I find myself holding a one sided conversation, not that that's anything new. A very clear byproduct of finding myself in this body with these powers is that people listen to me. I'm the center of every conversation I am part of, by sheer virtue of the fact that I hold control over everyone else's agency. It's the small things like that that I really do need to watch out for, because that sort of thing is a quick road to going full Kilgrave.
"You always factored into my plans, but I found them moved up a bit ahead of schedule. So you're seeing me a little earlier than I truly wanted, but everything is still well on its way to prepared, so it should be fine. I'm sure you can imagine exactly what caused me to move things up. Well, who really. Jessica has a knack for interfering with me it seems, even when she has no idea I'm still in New York."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone