Avengers Session - Finesse

[Martyr]

---

  
Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired;

---

They couldn't risk it. Another incident caused by any manner of emotional instability or psychological distress. If public relations were already fragile, another major incident would leave them shattered. So, here they were in a small room.

There was not the infamous couch. There were, however, a number of chairs some short, some tall, some upholstered, some not. Around them were a variety of things. Tissues, should it come to such things. Both water and coffee and the means to drink them. No alcohol. Coffee was the only vice being indulged here.

She sat in one of those many chairs, Doctor Leyla Demir. Her hair was prematurely silver was worn fully up in a crown braid. Both of her stud earrings depicted a seven-pointed star. She wore a midnight blue sleeveless dress with knee-length skirt. It had a contrasting silver trim in a pattern similar to a belt. Around her right wrist was a bracelet with a series of blue beads covered in white eyes with blue stylized corneas.

"Good afternoon. I am here because I have been asked by your organization to talk to you a bit and assess your mental state. Before we begin, do you prefer Ms. Foucault or Finesse?"

---

But then begins a journey in my head
To work my mind, when body’s work’s expir’d
- Shakespeare Sonnet 27

Template adapted from Silv.

[aquarius]

Psychological assessments of the Avengers Academy students was a wise precaution, Jeanne knew. So why it had taken them this long was unclear. However the reason for that quite possibly was Jeanne herself. She was extremely capable at concealing her emotions, inevitably knowledgeable about the principles of psychology, and could surely conceal anything against a mundane counsellor over even long term time scales. Thanks to the anti-telepathic training the Avengers gave, it seemed likely even a mid tier mind reader would be an uncertain outcome.

So this meant either that this newcomer was an incredibly talented mundane therapist, at least a lower-end of high tier telepath, or... or they had given up trying to get hold of one of the few out there adequately skilled and were just hoping to bluff her into honest answers.

Of course, without knowing for certain Finesse wouldn't risk actively lying in such an examination, less so because she had nothing in particular to hide. Her only major issue regards her mental state had already been diagnosed by her fellow students - she had to admit fairly accurately even if inelegantly. 'All head, no heart'. This wasn't all there was to her naturally, but to know her better would take a lot more time in far more stressful situations than the occasional training exercise. And so... maybe that was today's real purpose. To prompt some 'personal growth' on her part.

Taking a seat largely at random, Jeanne had taken in all the details of the room in the few seconds it had taken to pass from the door to the chair. The first question was met with an unconcerned tone in reply "Whichever you feel more comfortable with. Jeanne, Ms Foucalt, or Finesse are all names I answer to and all are acceptable to me. How would you prefer I address you, though?"

[Martyr]

---

  
Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired;

---

"Leyla, please. Titles on my end tend to create an unnecessary power dynamic."

That was a distinct in itself. The doctor did not offer a first name as an option of Finesse's possible names. Maybe it was a presumption of distance. Perhaps it was a matter of not assuming anything. She gave Finesse the more formal option and if she wished to sidestep it, that was her prerogative.

"As Jeanne is a name you're comfortable, let's go with that. Not everyone would offer their given name, especially considering your profession. Rest assured, confidentiality is important. Anything you say to me will be as secret as a code name."

The doctor leaned forward a bit.

"What can you tell me about your early history with the Avengers Academy?"

The question was open-ended and purposefully so. It was as close to value neutral as she could get. She didn't ask about a positive experience or a negative one. She just asked about experience.

---

But then begins a journey in my head
To work my mind, when body’s work’s expir’d
- Shakespeare Sonnet 27

Template adapted from Silv.

[aquarius]

The concept of a power dynamic was one that Jeanne was of course familiar with. She almost certainly knew the theory of psychology better than this doctor did. It was only lack of experience that prevented her from being better at it. Well, that and an almost total lack of natural empathy. If she stopped to think she could anticipate emotional reactions with at least some accuracy, even if it was still woefully short of that of an ordinary person. Sometimes superpowers could be over-rated.

"You knew my family name, it would be incredibly unlikely that you did not already know my given name also. The Avengers will have checked your background exceedingly thoroughly before retaining your services for this meeting, especially so given the very few qualified individuals in your field with any experience of superhumans. As you have observed, secret identities are generally a closely guarded secret."

The opening question was a good one, of course. She'd expect nothing less from anyone in this sort of situation. Clearly it was designed to get her to open up on her own terms. Jeanne knew enough psychology to likely obfuscate any real insights from her answers, but then her instructors knew this, which meant that this 'Leyla' presumably did too, and would likely be able to make deductions accordingly, and would likely be far better at unravelling any emotional aspects than Jeanne. So... best to simply be honest, even if she wasn't sure if she was ready to share everything just yet. Not least because she wasn't even sure what she thought about it all.

"I am learning a lot. I'm sure you've read my file, you know how important that is to me. But I'm also... enjoying the occasional field work, mostly unplanned, that I've been involved in. I confess I would not have anticipated such a pleasure derived from what most call heroics. I am... even experimenting with an ongoing social association with an individual I met during one such outing. More than once my instructors have encouraged me to interact more with others on a social basis, but most times have felt largely tedious and wastes of time, as I have little in common with most of my peers. Neither does my new... friend."

She was being vague of course, to avoid revealing any details about who it was she was talking about. It was probably possible that the Avengers would be able to work it out if they really wanted to, but she was certainly not going to hand over someone else's secret identity without an exceptionally good reason.

[Martyr]

Argent Arcanist
(Leyla Demir)

☽🜛☾

"Even if a thing is know, it still can, and often should be held in secret. It's not an infrequent occurrence to have clients request to be called by their surnames. Even if I know their first name, verbal masks can be a comforting thing to wear until one feels able to remove them."

This was true of both of them. Leyla was not going to reveal her own nature, that she herself was a superhero to Finesse. It was not the time. It was not the place.

The adjective unplanned was a telling distinction. There was a difference between rushing into a burning building and actively moonlighting.

"It is not uncommon to feel good when we do good. Altruism has a social as well as a personal benefit."

"Let's talk about this friend. You say that they have little in common with your peers. So, what it is then that connects the two of you and separates you from the others? What do you share?"

Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired;
But then begins a journey in my head
To work my mind, when body’s work’s expir’d
- Shakespeare Sonnet 27

Template adapted from Silv.

[aquarius]

Jeanne simply shrugged at this. They were essentially talking about semantics and equally meaningless trivialities, after all. "You know my name, that much was clear. Anyone able to overhear us will also know my name. Whether you say it or not, nothing changes. My mindset is one others have called 'Cold logic', though in truth I simply do not allow emotional responses to dictate my actions."

The shift of focus in the conversation to Robbie was predictable, albeit mildly inconvenient since she would have to remain careful about what she said to preserve his anonymity. Whilst it seemed very likely the Avengers knew who he was already, she was not going to hand his identity over through carelessness. She'd deduced it with great ease and there were a few intellects in the Avengers she believed capable of doing the same, but unless they asked her directly, they'd have to work it out for themselves.

"I am separated from most others my age by my 'different' mentality. I do not understand emotions in the way that almost any normal person does, even though I comprehend the principles of psychology as well as a qualified professional. My friend is... similarly distanced from those who would commonly be considered their peers. We have different circumstances, but a similar consequence of them. We are both outsiders, and whilst we are no closer to each other than anyone else, we can at least understand a little more how the other feels about it."

Hopefully Robbie's sense of self worth would improve enough that he'd accept the invitation to the Avengers Academy she was sure she'd be able to secure him, but whatever it was that seemed to be holding him back in that respect Jeanne still hadn't figured out, let alone overcome. Why it mattered to her so much, she still didn't fully understand. She'd need a lot more time around him before that enigma of a social connection began to make any sense to her.