"Hold it right there, miss."
The moment Jessica Jones opened her mouth, Rorschach immediately cut her off with a helpless look.
"I know you're dying to test out your new ability, but... my little shop really can't take that kind of abuse."
"Sorry, shopkeeper."
Jessica instantly realized what she'd almost done and hurriedly apologized.
Then, without waiting for him to say anything else, she rushed out of the shop and stopped in front of a tree by the roadside.
She took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and activated the power.
Buzz!
A wave of sound really did burst from her mouth and slam into the trunk.
"No way... this is actually real!"
Jessica's eyes widened on the spot, her face full of shock.
Even after proving it with her own eyes, she still couldn't believe it.
This was a superpower.
And she had just gotten it that easily?
Just from taking one bite of a fruit?
A storm of emotions surged through Jessica's chest.
If superpowers could really be obtained so simply, then that man's power...
The thought flashed through her mind and instantly took root.
Jessica spun around and strode back into the Devil Fruit shop.
"Shopkeeper, do you have any fruits here that can give someone the power to control other people?"
She stared at Rorschach without blinking, her voice tight and intense.
Rorschach knew exactly what kind of power she meant, and he also knew who she was talking about.
Still, he played dumb and asked, "What kind of control? Can you be more specific?"
"Giving verbal commands."
Jessica forced herself to calm down before continuing.
"I know someone. Whatever he tells people to do, they do it. Even if he tells them to kill themselves."
So it really was Purple Man.
To be fair, Purple Man's ability was absurdly terrifying.
One sentence from him was enough to turn people into puppets, like they'd been hit with some flawless illusion.
"I don't have a fruit here that works like that," Rorschach said, shaking his head.
"No?" Jessica's face showed clear disappointment.
But she refused to give up.
"Then do you know any other way to gain superpowers?"
"I only know that eating the Devil Fruits in my shop grants abilities. As for other methods... sorry, miss, I have no idea."
Rorschach shook his head again, telling the truth.
Jessica's disappointment deepened, but she quickly accepted it.
Of course.
What were the odds?
Just because she'd stumbled across a strange Devil Fruit shop didn't mean it had anything to do with Purple Man's power.
Besides, she remembered clearly that this shop hadn't even existed here half a year ago.
Sure, she spent most of her time drunk, but Jessica Jones was still a private investigator. Her memory was better than most.
"It's fine. I was just asking."
She shrugged.
"So, what do you think of the Soundwave Fruit?" Rorschach asked with a smile.
"To be honest? It's incredible. And honestly kind of shocking."
Jessica didn't hold back with the praise.
Then her tone shifted.
"But sorry, shopkeeper. One look at me should tell you I'm not exactly rich. My rent's been overdue for two months. My landlord almost threw me out."
Right.
Rorschach had been so busy talking with Jessica that he'd completely forgotten the most important thing.
Jessica Jones was broke.
Forget three million. She probably couldn't even come up with three thousand.
Rorschach mentally ran through the Marvel heroes.
This woman might actually be the most miserable one of them all.
"Sorry about that, shopkeeper. I wasted your time... and one of your samples."
Jessica let out a dry laugh.
Truth be told, even if she had the money, she still wouldn't buy it.
She didn't want any damn superpowers.
If she hadn't been superhuman to begin with, Purple Man would never have noticed her.
And if he hadn't noticed her, she never would've become his toy.
"It's fine. Even if there's no deal, there's no bad blood."
Rorschach smiled, completely unconcerned.
"Still... sorry."
Jessica gave him a quick nod and turned to leave without lingering.
"What a miserable life."
Watching her back as she walked away, Rorschach couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Plenty of Marvel heroes had tragic pasts.
Tony Stark, for example, had spent three horrific months trapped in a dark cave.
With another man.
Surrounded by armed men the whole time.
That was bad enough.
But compared to what Jessica Jones had gone through, it barely counted for anything.
Jessica had been turned into Purple Man's plaything, body and soul.
Still, Rorschach didn't dwell on it for long.
He sighed once, let the thought go, and pushed Jessica Jones out of his mind.
Then he went right back to Allen's new album.
He was only halfway through it when the bell above the door rang again.
A man in a perfectly tailored suit walked into the shop.
Elegant.
Polished.
The moment Rorschach looked up and saw his face, his pupils contracted.
Purple Man.
The man who had just walked in was Jessica Jones's greatest nightmare—Purple Man.
Jessica had always believed he was dead.
But the truth was, he'd never died at all.
Rorschach hadn't expected something like this.
Jessica had only just left, and Purple Man showed up right after her.
How could the timing be this insane?
In an instant, Rorschach's heart filled with caution.
This was an extremely dangerous man.
A deeply twisted one, too.
Even for Rorschach, that remained true.
Because as of now, there was still no clearly known way to counter Purple Man's power.
"The woman who was here twenty minutes ago."
Purple Man's voice cut through Rorschach's thoughts.
"The one in the black jacket and light blue jeans."
"Do you know her?"
"And why did she stay here for so long?"
He questioned Rorschach in a tone that reeked of superiority.
So that was it.
He'd been tailing Jessica Jones the whole time.
He hadn't come here by coincidence.
And in that very same instant, Rorschach immediately felt an invisible force begin taking over his body.
He was rapidly losing control of himself.
[Author Note]
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