2014.05.02 - Paternity Test and Killing Moves

Around this time of night, the only people out in the Suicide Slums are criminals and crazy masked people wanting to beat them up. Or people with plans looking for a quiet place to enact them.

Taskmaster, is of the latter, though some could say he is also of the first. He was told someone wanted to meet him, that they could be related to him or something. Whilst he didn't know what to think, curiosity got the better of him.

So, this is why he's outside a rundown apartment in the Suicide Slums. Very few people live here, and those who do are smart enough to not poke their nose in. It's a perfect location to not be interrupted, and if things go bad, that could potentially be useful.

As Taskmaster doesn't know exactly what to expect, he's armed to the brink, along with his skull mask. He has his broadsword and replica shield on his back, his twin .45s in their holsters, and his bow to his side.

This is a day that Jeanne Foucault has been eagerly anticipating. For just more than a year she's been trying to track down Taskmaster, ever since she first devised her hypothesis that he must be her real father. But whenever she got too close, he would get away, or send assassins after her. Of course she didn't know he was the one who sent them, but it was a crazy coincidence that they would ambush her at just about when she got close enough to potentially meet him.

Today, after having joined with Imperator of Genosha, Magneto, she is dressed in her self-made Finesse guise, about to step into Suicide Slums and finally meet him. Twin katanas extend over her shoulders, and combat batons hook against her thighs, she seems quite ready for anything as she takes a deep breath and marches out into the open. "Dad...?" Finesse asks as she approaches the infamous form of Taskmaster outside that rundown apartment, "Taskmaster?" She continues in case he won't take favorably for being called 'dad', after all, it is their first meeting and he may doubt her claim.

Taskmaster is unaware he ever sent assassins. He was unaware this girl existed until the meeting was hooked up. But, that's how things work for him.

As Finesse marches into the open, weapons visible, Taskmaster places his hand towards a pistol, as a precaution, but makes no move. He knows why she has the weapons. He's not known as the nicest guy, after all.

"You th' girl who thinks she's my daughter?". Whilst his voice is skeptical, Taskmaster doesn't know for sure. "Didn't know what ta expect. Seems a bit random, though. Why ya think you're my daughter?" He's definitely not letting his guard down, though, watching Finesse /very/ closely.

"Getting shot by my dad before I can even say 'hello' would make this meeting a tremendous failure," Finesse states in a surprisingly calm voice, considering Taskmaster could likely shoot her head off before she took another step if he really wanted to.

She shakes her head when he asks the question, "no, I'm the girl who knows she's your daughter, otherwise, it's really hard to explain how I'm so thoroughly perfect in every way," Finesse offers her own take on her claim. Lifting her arms in the air, as if to show no intent to harm, as funny as that be considering Taskmaster is likely the real threat here. "Well, show me something...I'll replicate it perfectly. I'm 15 years old, there's bound to be something you can show me I couldn't possibly know how to execute on my own."

"I don't think I'll shoot ya. Yet.". Taskmaster says this rather calmly as well, removing his hand from his gun, but still watching her cautiously. "Anything? You'll regret that."

At this point, Taskmaster's lunging forward, stopping right infront of Finesse and grasping her neck if possible. He is exerting no pressure and is likely not even hurting her in the slightest, though his fingers are lightly on a position where if he /did/ exert enough pressure, he could kill her in seconds. This technique is foreign and a highly advanced method, not likely to be well known from someone who googled it.

But, of course, Taskmaster doesn't kill her. About a minute later, he lets go, taking a few steps back, if possible. Whilst he is genuinely curious if she can replicate it, he's also using it as a sort of warning towards her.

"Gee, thanks for that," Finesse remarks with surprising ease, still not showing any signs of panic. "Will I? I hold that anything you can do, I can do." Finesse sounds quite confident in her assertion as she looks eagerly at Taskmaster, wondering what test he might conjure for her.

Before she knows it, Finesse is faced with a very real threat on her life, as she's easily grabbed at the neck in such a way that she fully comprehend how Taskmaster could easily snuff her out with the slightest pressure of a fingertip. She looks positively emotionless throughout, not moving a muscle, and once she's released she reaches to touch her neck carefully, "that was fast."

But she doesn't tarry much longer, as swiftly she swoops in at Taskmaster with the exact same motion he used on her. But as he's quite taller then her, she instead improvises by leaping and scissoring her legs around his waist, her one hand reaching to support herself by grabbing his shoulder, but her other winds up precisely as his hand was moments ago on her throat. One finger just inches away from taking a life. "Is this good enough?" She asks before carefully removing her hand from his neck and leaping down to the ground.

As Finesse swoops in, Taskmaster is freezing up. He's not scared, more of a shock, but he doesn't move in the case that she actually does attempt to kill him, and as she leaps down, he's stepping back, hand back on his gun, realizing that if her claims are true, he might have just taught her a very deadly technique.

"Alright, I'll give ya that. But what else do ya got other than th' fact we got similar powers? What's ya mother say about this?". Taskmaster pointedly has not denied it yet, though.

"Thanks for the lesson, by the way," Finesse remarks with a bit of a smirk as she looks up at Taskmaster after having mimicked his move. "My mother was a lowlife who attended one of your camps teaching bad guys how to be better at being bad guys. Admittedly, she and my supposed 'father' really turned out quite sleazy, milking my abilities for their own gains." Tilting her head aside, studying Taskmaster's body language as she can't see anything through his mask, she continues, "I grant that my mother could potentially be my real mother, heck, you probably sleep around with some of your better looking students, don't you?" Finesse doesn't ask the question with underlying judgement, so much as taking it for a fact. "Maybe she wound up getting knocked up by you, but there's no way that miserable idiot slob who calls himself my father could really be my father. I'm genius, I graduated MIT a year ago when I was 14. I have tremendous athleticism, I was on the Olympic Gymnastics Team. And I can learn anything I see...just like you do, Mr. Taskmaster, so to me it was fairly obvious. You're the only one who can really be my father, and I needed to meet you." She backs a few steps a moment later, realizing you might be concerned she wants you to look after her, and quickly adds, "I take care of myself, I've been independent for a while now. I got a fake ID I made, it gets the job done more often than not. Right now I was just hired by Magneto, he was impressed with me...so, I'm not looking for support or acceptance. I just need to know, do you agree that it is beyond reasonable doubt that you are my father?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't know. I don't remember any of ma students. I wouldn't remember your mother if I saw her in a picture. And that's th' way things are. I can't help it. So, that's why I'll tell you this.". Taskmaster steps closer, actually having no clue.

"Even if I'm your father, I won't know later. I probably won't remember this conversation by next Monday. So, if I'm ya father, you met him."

Taskmaster steps back. If she's truly his daughter..he doesn't know what to think. Except that even if she is, he can't get close. He can't do anything. He'll forget. He always forgets.

"I heard about the memory issue, I dread the thought I may be affected as I grow older," Finesse admits, looking intently at Taskmaster as he draws nearer to her. "Would you agree to a DNA testing then? I will conduct it, I -need- to know," Finesse insists as she looks at Taskmaster through her domino mask, "even if you forgot...knowing will matter to me. Besides, if you're my father, I can't let anyone hurt you. Wouldn't it be nice to get some unexpected help now and again?"

As Finesse asks for a DNA test, Taskmaster's stepping back again. It's not unusual he'd be hesitant, seeing what he does for a living. "I'unno about that. I don't trust people who ask for ma DNA.". He hasn't ruled out giving it to her, but he'll need a pretty good explanation.

"If you wanna help me unexpectedly, go ahead. I can't guarantee I won't shoot 'ya."

"You'll never hit me," Finesse guarantees with a certain smugness, before offering, "I can do it right here right now, and we can destroy the sample after...I don't need to steal your DNA, I already have it," Finesse concludes as she points at herself, "I just want to prove it beyond doubt."

Taskmaster laughed briefly, glaring at the girl. "Cocky one. Perhaps we may be related.". And then he thinks for a minute, no movement, but eyes still watching. "I'll admit, I'm a bit curious myself. Even if I won't know.". His brows furrow under the skull mask, as he removes a glove..draws his blade..and makes a small incision, offering the blood to her. "This isn't fer you. It's fer me. And if this gets out? Well..hope I don't remember.". Once the blood is taken, he's parting silently, wondering if he made a mistake or not. Then again, a load of people probably have his blood by now, so.