My back slams against brick with enough force to rattle my teeth, the impact sending pain radiating through my shoulder blades. Taskmistress's forearm presses against my throat, just enough pressure to remind she could crush my windpipe if the mood strikes her. The skull-faced rcenary looms over in the narrow Manhattan alley, her white hood catching the faint moonlight filtering between buildings.
"So what's your deal, golden boy?" she demands, her voice muffled slightly behind that expressionless mask. "Tell how your powers work."
My heart hamrs against my ribs like it's trying to escape. I'm acutely aware of how vulnerable I am right now, Ellie's still battling Big Wheel six blocks away, completely unaware that I've been snatched.
"Are you going to kill ?" I manage to choke out, my voice embarrassingly thin beneath the pressure on my throat.
She sighs, the sound unexpectedly human coming from behind that skull face. "No," she says, easing the pressure slightly. "I'm just here to bring you to Fisk."
My brain stutters to a halt. "Fisk? The Kingpin?"
Taskmistress scoffs, her head tilting slightly. "The Queenpin," she corrects . "And yes."
My mind reels, trying to process this information. The most powerful cri lord in New York wants to et ? This can't be good.
"Why?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady despite the fear crawling up my spine.
Taskmistress loosens her grip slightly, allowing to breathe more easily. "Her daughter wants to et you," she says matter-of-factly.
I blink in confusion, mories of that chaotic night flooding back. The young woman I pulled away from Taskmistress's gun.
"I didn't hurt her, though," I say, bewildernt evident in my voice.
"Exactly." There's sothing like amusent in Taskmistress's tone. "She wants to et the man who saved her from . Apparently, you made quite an impression."
"Oh." It's all I can manage as I try to wrap my head around this bizarre turn of events.
Taskmistress leans in closer, her skull mask inches from my face. "So tell ," she says, voice dropping lower, "how do your powers work?"
"I teleport," I reply automatically, gesturing vaguely with my hands.
She makes an exasperated sound. "No shit, idiot. I an the other thing." Her voice hardens. "The thing that made almost rape you in that alley."
My face heats up beneath my mask as I rember how she reacted to my powers, how quickly our confrontation had shifted from combat to sothing else entirely.
"When I teleport," I explain reluctantly, "my body releases pheromones. It's a side effect."
"Oh, that's all it is?" She sounds almost disappointed. "Just pheromones?"
"Yeah, but it gets bad if I teleport a lot." I swallow hard, uncomfortable discussing this with soone who'd tried to kidnap just minutes ago. "It builds up in my system."
She nods slowly, seeming to process this information. For a mont, neither of us speaks, the distant sounds of the city filling the silence between us.
"Well," she finally says, "since you're going to et Fisk, I might as well see your face." Her hand moves toward my mask. "We should present you to fisk properly."
I jerk back instinctively, my head hitting the brick wall behind . "Wait, I don't…"
Her hand moves faster than I can react. In one fluid motion, she rips the gold mask from my face, cool air hitting my exposed skin. I flinch, bracing for whatever cos next.
But nothing does.
Taskmistress freezes completely, her body going rigid. Through the eyeholes of her skull mask, I can see her eyes widen in shock. She quickly shoves my mask back onto my face, adjusting it with surprisingly gentle fingers.
"You know what…," she says, her voice suddenly different, almost casual, "I forgot to ntion sothing before." She glances around the alley nervously, checking our surroundings. "While I was hired by Fisk, I was also hired by soone else... to protect you."
"What?" I stare at her, completely blindsided.
"We're going to keep your mask on, alright?" She steps back slightly, giving space to breathe. "And I'll be by your side when we're up there. No one's going to hurt you."
"Huh?" I'm struggling to keep up with this sudden change. "I don't understand."
She sighs, shoulders dropping slightly. "Look, I'm actually on your side, alright?.”
"You're a villain for hire," I counter, skepticism dripping from every word. "You had a gun to that woman's head."
"I sure am," she agrees with a casual shrug. "And soone definitely hired to protect you. So I'm on your side, whether you like it or not."
My mind races, trying to make sense of this revelation. "Who hired you?”
Taskmistress shakes her head. "Can't tell you that. Client confidentiality and all that jazz."
I stand there, my mind reeling as I try to process everything she's just told .
Before I can formulate another question, Taskmistress's gloved hand clamps around my upper arm with surprising gentleness. Her grip is firm but not painful as she starts guiding toward the end of the alley.
"Co on, golden boy," she says, her voice softening slightly. "Ti to et one of the most dangerous woman in New York."
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