Chapter 640

Moira had issued her final ultimatum.

She had no intention of giving Jessica any more chances after the mistake she’d made that morning, especially when that mistake had nearly gotten everyone killed.

If Soldier: 76 hadn’t spoken up for her, Jessica wouldn’t have received this second chance at all.

Jessica understood her position perfectly.

She had no leverage with the Black Chapter.

If she wanted Hope acquitted and released, she needed their help. There was nothing she could accomplish alone.

The problem was figuring out how to lure Kilgrave into the open.

Jessica couldn’t exactly put on a bikini and start dancing in Times Square.

She spent the better part of the afternoon trying to come up with a workable plan.

Nothing.

Then, shortly after Moira and the others left, Luke Cage called her.

He didn’t explain why.

He didn’t tell her what was going on.

He simply said he wanted to see her.

Jessica’s instincts immediately told her something was wrong.

Still, she agreed.

Luke was different.

She had developed feelings for him, complicated ones she hadn’t entirely figured out yet. More importantly, Luke had repeatedly told her that he still loved his late wife.

Jessica knew the truth.

While under Kilgrave’s control, she had killed Luke’s wife.

The guilt had never left her.

Some part of her believed she owed Luke a wife.

She wasn’t sure how anyone was supposed to repay a debt like that.

Jessica raced to the bar Luke owned on her motorcycle.

The moment she arrived, she saw him standing inside near the kitchen.

Something in her instincts screamed.

Danger.

Jessica immediately swung off the motorcycle and started toward the entrance.

She made it two steps.

The bar exploded.

A violent blast tore through the building.

Luke’s silhouette vanished behind a wall of fire.

The shockwave caught Jessica and threw her hard onto the pavement.

She struggled back to her feet.

The entire bar was burning.

For one horrible second, Jessica’s heart seemed to drop into a blender.

Luke had just spoken to her.

He had been standing right there.

Now he was gone.

And somehow, this felt like her fault.

She was about to charge straight into the flames when a massive figure emerged from the burning building.

Luke Cage.

His body was practically indestructible. Fire and explosions weren’t enough to seriously hurt him.

His clothes hadn’t been nearly as fortunate.

Most of them had been burned away by the blast, leaving just enough fabric to preserve his dignity.

Luke staggered toward Jessica wearing little more than smoking scraps of clothing.

His expression was vacant.

"Someone came into my bar," he said slowly.

"He made me call you."

Luke stared at the burning ruins.

"Then, when you arrived, he told me to stay inside and blow the place up."

His eyes widened.

"And I did it."

His voice cracked.

"I actually did it."

The fog seemed to lift from his mind.

"I blew up everything my wife left behind."

Luke looked at his hands.

"How could I do that?"

His breathing became ragged.

"How could I do that?"

He had been conscious.

Yet he hadn’t been in control.

His body had moved like a puppet while someone else pulled the strings.

Jessica knew that feeling.

She had lived it.

"Kilgrave..."

The name slipped from her lips.

Luke looked at her.

Jessica’s expression hardened.

"It’s that bastard."

She swallowed.

"I’m sorry, Luke. All of this happened because of me."

She told him everything.

Kilgrave.

His powers.

What he’d done to her.

The control he’d exercised over her.

And the reckless operation that morning.

Jessica believed the explosion was Kilgrave’s retaliation.

He wanted to destroy everything she cared about.

He wanted to make her watch the people around her die one by one.

Then, when she was completely alone, he would be there.

He wanted her to believe they were alike.

He wanted her to willingly choose him.

The irony wasn’t lost on Jessica.

A man who could control other people’s minds desperately wanted someone to genuinely accept him.

"That bastard..."

Luke’s fists clenched.

His knuckles cracked.

"I’m going to make him pay."

Jessica’s expression hardened in agreement.

"Now you’re thinking like me."

Kilgrave owed her more every day.

Jessica intended to collect every debt, with interest.

And this time, she was confident she had the upper hand.

Then Luke suddenly froze.

"Oh, my God."

He looked toward the burning building.

"There was someone else inside."

His memory was finally clearing.

One of his regular customers had been sitting inside the bar.

Luke immediately turned toward the flames.

"I’ve got to get him out!"

Jessica grabbed his arm.

"Don’t."

Luke looked at her.

"Luke, it’s too late."

She shook her head grimly.

"There’s no point."

The explosion had been enormous.

Even if the customer hadn’t been torn apart by the blast, the heat would have killed him almost instantly.

Luke running into the fire now wouldn’t save him.

At best, he’d find pieces.

Luke stopped.

He stared at the ruined bar.

"Just like that..."

His voice was hollow.

"Everything’s gone."

Then something moved beneath the burning wreckage.

Bang!

A hand suddenly punched through the rubble.

A figure clawed its way out of the flames.

"Luke Cage!"

The man’s voice was furious.

"You dare do this?!"

His face was twisted with rage.

His shirt had been burned away, leaving him in nothing but pants.

Then metal began grinding against metal.

A mechanical mechanism unfolded along his right arm.

Armor rapidly assembled itself around the limb.

The arm expanded.

Became enormous.

The man was clearly under a serious misconception about what had happened.

He radiated murderous fury toward Luke.

His feet slammed into a fighting stance.

His right arm pulled back.

Then he launched himself forward.

The force of his movement produced a sharp sonic crack.

Luke barely had time to react.

The armored fist slammed into his chest.

"Ugh!"

Luke was launched more than twenty meters through the air.

He crashed into the ground and bounced twice before finally coming to a stop.

The armored man didn’t hesitate.

He leaped.

His left arm, still normal, smashed into the ground.

The pavement shattered.

Cracks spread outward in every direction.

Luke’s body was suddenly thrown upward by the impact.

Before he could regain his balance in midair, the armored right fist slammed into him again.

Luke was sent flying.

He hit the ground and slowly pushed himself upright.

His head was still spinning.

He had absolutely no idea what was happening.

The attacker raised his armored fist.

Metal shifted.

A massive set of spikes extended from the gauntlet.

He aimed at Luke.

The ends of the spikes suddenly erupted with flame.

They launched forward like artillery shells.

The projectiles slammed into Luke with a series of metallic impacts, knocking him across the ground once again.

Then came the sound of mechanical rotation.

Cables retracted.

The heavy spikes were pulled back and locked into the gauntlet.

The stranger stood amid the burning ruins, his armored arm ready for another attack.

...