Tales From The Raindrop Forest - Anthology

The Purple Man | Vice Versa Contest

I'm a superhero.

I've got to be honest, I never thought I would be saying those words. Especially not when I was a kid, growing up with a love for superheroes. I would never have thought I would actually become one myself.

The world wouldn't have thought either.

I hide my hands in my pockets, my eyes scanning the environment. I notice the woman clad in black, her mouth in a distorted grin. I shiver and step behind the marble column.  The library is a peaceful place, there's no sound to be heard. Why Jessica Jones chose to visit this place is still a mystery to me.

The story of my life is quite strange. I became a physician when I finished university in Croatia, but while I was conducting my first experiment, I spilled some chemicals. It sounds so stupid if I say it like that, like it was not a problem at all. I don't even remember which ones I was using or what the experiment was about, but the moment I realised what was going on, I was lying in hospital with a doctor and an army of nurses towering over me. I was supposed to be dead, they kept repeating. There was no way I was still alive. I told them to let me go, and they did. That was the first time I realised I had gotten special powers from my stupid accident.

Jones tosses her dark hair over her shoulder as she silently discusses something with the librarian. I have to find out what it is. The lives of innocent people are at stake here. I shuffle backwards as she glares over her shoulder, but I'm sure she can't see me. A woman in her forties, her blonde hair in a messy bun, gives me a furious look as I accidentally bump against her table. 'Punk,' she hisses. She must be referring to my purple hair, one of the less cool effects of my radiation adventure.

My name is Zebediah Killgrave, although you might recognize me as 'Purple Man'. It's not the best name, I know, I can't help it. I didn't make it up.

Jessica Jones walks away from the desk so I sprint to the librarian, who looks at me in surprise. 'What did she just tell you?' I asked eagerly. He shook his head. 'I can't just tell you that.'

I give him another look, after which he nods. 'She said she was waiting for a purple-haired man.'

I feel my heart skip a beat as I turn around, looking around bewilderedly. The library is a tall building, with marble columns and tall bookshelves lining the immense space. A glass dome spreads light across the tables, where people are reading.

On the other end of the room, a woman stares at me from the shadows. A grin spreads across her face as she realised I see her. 'Get out,' I say calmly. 'Everyone, get out right now!'

The librarian, under my control, nods and walks to the exit, but the other people don't seem to listen. 'Dammit,' I curse under my breath. 'Why does this always happen when I can't have it fail?'

'Be silent, this is a library,' the blonde woman tells me. 'Freak.'

Jessica Jones had been a normal school girl. I was her physics teacher. You wouldn't have thought that, would you? Being a superhero, but still living a normal life was definitely not what I had imagined it to be like, all those years ago. I wasn't going to let some radioactive shit ruin my love for physics. I could control minds, yes, but I still wanted to be normal.

She had always been a silent girl. Until Peter Parker, her friend, lost his mind. Being bitten by a radioactive spider did not turn out well for the poor boy. He gained the abilities of a spider, but went crazy. He tried to take over the city, so I stopped him. I have no idea where he is now. Jessica got into an accident that involved radioactive chemicals too.

Why is it always the radioactive chemicals?

She went mad, obviously. She tried to kill the president of the United States, I successfully stopped her. Jones managed to put the blame on me, though, so now I was the bad guy. Jessica Jones was revered as a hero, but she wasn't going to get away with it this time.

The people in the library start to get uneasy. 'Get out, I command you,' I repeat. Jessica Jones only grins as she walks closer. I try to get into her head, but she laughs.

'Don't listen to him, folks, he's the real danger,' Jones coos. 'I will save you from this dangerous man. He tries to control your minds. He's trying to destroy you from the inside.'

The people gasp and I roll my eyes. 'Every single time...' I mumble.

Jones comes closer. I see her fists balled, so I back away. I feel the desk of the librarian behind me. 'Once he's in your head, he won't let go,' Jones continues. I doubt she even remembers the time I taught her. The chemicals turned her into a monster. The blonde woman points her finger at me. 'It's the Purple Man,' she gasps, shocked. 'He is a monster.'

'Yes, he is.' Jessica is now close to me, too close for my liking. I see her take a deep breath. 'Did you miss me?' she whispers before she plunges her superhumanly strong fist towards my face.

I close my eyes and concentrate deeply. Silence follows, I open my eyes in surprise. Jessica's fist hovers mid-air, not three centimetres away from my nose.

'He's controlling her, he's doing it!' the blond woman screams, after which the people in the library begin to panic. I see a perfidious look in Jones' eyes before I sprint out of the library. I may just be the worst superhero in the history of superheroes.

-----

Word count: 999

This short story has been written for the Vice Versa Contest, in which a superhero and a villain switch places in an alternate universe. I chose to portray Jessica Jones and Killgrave, because I thought they had an interesting story. Please go check out POW_comics, the account where this contest is hosted.

Credit for the picture I used: https://images.app.goo.gl/FadcMMdVmafbdmzQ6