Heroes Make Mistakes Too

An Open Case

A few days have gone by since Michelle's attack & Ned have walked Michelle home every day since, just to know she's safe.

"I think that we should at least bring in some muscle", Ned said as he & Michelle sat down in her bedroom.

"That's what I keep you around for", Michelle said, holding her wound on her arm.

"You know what I mean", Ned said. "Like a bodyguard or a ninja".

"We should just get a fighting monkey", Michelle joked.

"I know a guy", Ned said, joking as well, but he did know a guy.

"Enough of the games", Michelle said as she pulled the binder out from behind her bed. "Did that person ever get back to you"?

"Yes, he told me about similar occurrences where a police officer or random people will have attacked a civilian for no reason", Ned said as he opened his phone & scrolled through the texts with the anonymous person. "The attacks were completely random & my guy told me about an anonymous recovery group for victims".

"That's great, we can talk to the attack victims & see if they have any connections or priors for someone to have them jumped", Michelle said as she grabbed her coat & threw it over her jean jacket.

"No, no, no", Ned butted in. "This is a group of the attackers & others".

"You said it was for victims", Michelle said questionably.

"It is, but you have to see it for yourself to understand", Ned said as he got up from the seat he was sitting in & started walking with Michelle. Michelle looked at Ned with a confused face. "Just trust me".

---

"Hi, I'm George... I was twenty seven when I was taken under, I was a fireman", George said as he sat in an empty cafe within a circle of people. "I was going to propose to my girlfriend, but that's not how it went. My unit got a call of a fire at some mansion. My squad raced to the address & when we got there, the fire was spreading rapidly...".

"Sorry for rambling, that's not what the story is about", George said, he looked up to see Michelle & Ned walk into the room. "I approached the owner of the mansion, he ordered me to find who caused this... I spent the next 46 hours searching for who did this... I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, or even use the bathroom. But I had to execute his will".

Michelle looked over to Ned & whispered, "This looks like an alcoholics anonymous meeting, what's going on"?

"Just listen", Ned said as he grabbed a chair & sat down outside from the circle, Michelle copied Ned's action & started listening.

"And after those 46 hours, I found who did it", George said. "I called the owner of the mansion & he demanded that I come see him, this was the first time he told me what to do something & I didn't need to, but I went to see him, that was my first mistake...".

"... He asked me who had done it, so I told him... & before I could do anything, he whispered in my ear & he had a new will for me, he told me to kill the man who did it, he handed me a gun & I was forced to do it", George said, tears in his eyes.

"What does he mean, how was he forced to do it", Michelle whispered? Ned shrugged his shoulders & turned back to the circle.

"I hunted the man down like a dog, tracked his every move for almost a week, then I broke into the man's house late at night, I proceeded to brutally beat the man as he fought back until he was unconscious, I lifted the gun to the man's head... but I didn't pull the trigger", George said as a tears fell from his eyes. "I walked away from the man & I have never spoken of it since this moment, I never thought I would, until I figured out other people have gone through the same things I have".

Michelle raised her hand from outside the circle.

"Miss there is no cross talk", A woman with a clipboard said.

"It's alright, Martha, they're newcomers, it's normal for them to be curious", A different man said, he held his hand out to Michelle, allowing her to speak.

"Sorry, but what do you mean that this man forced you to execute his will & who was it, like what's his name", Michelle asked as she stood up, she opened her phone to take notes.

"Kevin Thompson, he's known on the streets as Kilgrave, he has mind controlling abilities", George said as he sat his coffee down on the ground.

Michelle wrote the notes down.

"When was this fire", Michelle asked?

"Four weeks ago", George said.

As Michelle opened her mouth to speak, a timer went off, which meant that the meeting was over. Michelle & Ned walked up to George.

"We need to know where he is", Michelle said as he grabbed George by his arm.

"Do you have a death wish, kid", George asked? "Be glad that you escaped his will once, I saw you on the news, you're here to find him, don't, you won't get lucky a second time".

"We need to find him, not for us, for our dead friend", Michelle stated. George looked at her with pity. "Please"?

"If he wanted you dead, you're either special like me, or you know something that you shouldn't, either way, he won't stop after just one try, he'll send his goon to do it next", George said as he folded his chair & put it away.

"Please", Ned asked?

George sighed heavily before giving Michelle & Ned the address.

Michelle & Ned walked out of the cafe & hailed a cab.

"So what's the plan", Ned asked as a cab pulled up?

"We're going to go get him, he doesn't get to get away with what he did to us", Michelle said as she sat in the cab, ned sitting next to her.

"We don't know if he killed Peter, we don't even know if this is really the man behind your attempted murder", Ned proclaimed, giving Michelle a concered look.

"He is somehow connected to the man in the mask, if it's not Peter, then so be it, but at least we can put a murderer behind bars", Michelle said with hurt in her voice. Ned told the driver where they needed to be.

"And how will we do that, he clearly has ties into the police department", Ned said as he ran his finger across the cut on Michelle's cheek.

Michelle didn't answer the question.

They sat in silence for the rest of the ride until arriving at the mansion.

Michelle paid the driver as they got out of the cab. They started walking up to the mansion & stopped at the gate.

"Who is it", A british man spoke through a speaker?

"Journalists, we're here to interview Kevin Thompson about the attempt of his home being burned down", Ned spoke, standing in front of Michelle.

The gates opened, Michelle & Ned walked up the long driveway, they walked up the stairs & rang the doorbell.

A second later, a british man answered the door, Kevin Thompson himself.