Marcus had a problem.
Well, that statement was a bit of an understatement. Marcus had many problems, though most of them were shared by other unlucky people. Like living in Brockton Bay, especially since he wasn't rich or academically successful enough to get a spot in Arcadia, and ended up in a gang-infested hellhole that was also called Winslow High.
He had other problems that felt more personal, like the fact that his parents had been killed a year ago, leaving him an orphan — luckily he managed to get emancipated and stayed out of the system.
The fact that he had enough mixed DNA to make him visibly non-white to turn him into a target for Empire was another problem, though he only added that to the list two months ago, when a dozen Empire goons decided to have fun by lynching him, almost killing him in the process.
All because he was stupid enough to go out in the middle of the night for a little photography project — his only hobby — hoping to use it as a part of his college admission. Unfortunately, staying in the hospital for a month had cost him most of his inheritance, making college a much more challenging affair.
It was hard to go to college when he could barely afford a small apartment in the bad part of the town, hoping that he could somehow stretch his savings until graduation. Luckily, the bad part in question was between the territories of ABB and Empire, and not in Merchant territory.
Brockton Bay had a lot of bad areas to choose from.
Then, he had a problem that was rarer. That night of beating had Triggered him, 'gifting' him with a power. A trump power, to be exact, requires a camera to work. Particularly ironic when it triggered when one of the goons smashed the camera under his feet alongside his fingers, making it utterly useless against the beating he received.
His power, taking photos to get stronger. His only hobby turned into a power.
It sounded broken at first, but unfortunately, it wasn't particularly useful, because his power came with a lot of conditions.
For once, it required his target to be in an emotionally heightened state, be it happiness or anger. Second, his target needed to fill a significant part of his photo to trigger his power, so no sniping a photo of Lung from a great distance to suddenly get a lot of power.
Then, there was some kind of charging period where he had to stand still where he imbue the camera with his power before taking the photo. And, he required taking multiple photos of the same target in one session to make power permanent. If not, he still received the power, but it was a fleeting power-up, lasting merely a few seconds before fading away.
And, if all those weren't enough, his power didn't work with digital cameras, requiring a bulky analog camera. His power only triggered once he printed the pictures, and only if he bathed the negatives personally.
While there were an annoying amount of conditions, the reward was not bad.
If all the conditions were successful, he would get a fraction of the target's power. Luckily, assuming he fulfilled all the conditions, the resulting power-up was permanent. Even if the pictures were destroyed, the power stayed with him.
It was a complicated power to process. His life would have been much easier if he had been a part of a larger group. With their support, he would have grown much faster. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
PRT was out, because they were the poster child of incompetence. Marcus didn't know what would happen, but he didn't trust them. Not after his parents died because PRT was too lazy to fight against the gangs.
Then, there was the fact that joining PRT meant that he had to actually fight against the villains, something he wasn't willing to do. He wasn't a hero.
New Wave would have been tempting, but they were literally a family. Marcus didn't think they would make an exception for him.
He didn't want to become a villain, but even if he did, he didn't have any good options. Empire was out, for obvious reasons. Merchants would force him to get addicted, ABB would turn him into a slave — assuming they accepted him in the first place — and Coil was too slimy to be trusted.
No, he refused to join any group. As a trump with potentially unlimited growth, he didn't need any help.
Instead, he decided to pick an easier path. He just needed to take a lot of photos at the school. There were enough gang fights, bullying, and other nonsense going on to keep the students emotionally charged, and every day, he got slightly stronger.
Even now, he was able to bench over three hundred pounds and run a 4.7-second forty-yard dash, which would have been enough to get him a sports scholarship if he wasn't a cape. All he needed was to keep his head down until the end of the school, hopefully, get strong enough to qualify as a Brute before he dared to get closer to the cape fights, and see if he could get their powers.
A photo of Glory Girl he took from a distance confirmed that it was a viable strategy. The power only lasted for a second, not enough for him to truly assess, but enough to confirm that it was a viable strategy.
It was a very simple strategy … too bad his most urgent problem had ruined it.
He had a picture in hand, one that was showing three people. A picture that he only snapped because they had walked in while he was capturing a fight between the Empire and ABB goons, their flared tempers representing a lot of power for him.
Emma and Sophia, bullying their favorite target Taylor.
And, the moment the photo had been developed, he had been affected by two powers. One that felt like some kind of invisibility, and one of control.
Two powers. Three people.
A problem indeed.
Marcus didn't want to get involved with the Queen bitches of the school. Everyone knew that they had half of the teachers wrapped around their fingers, and the other half was too cowardly to ever stand up to them. Unfortunately, he didn't know if he had the option.
Even worse he couldn't just inform PRT. Unmasking capes was a big taboo, and having a power that made it trivial was a good way to get killed. No, he needed to handle it himself.
He was almost hoping that Taylor was the unpowered one. While the idea that he was going to the school with two capes cruel enough to almost kill someone with a prank was a scary thought, it wasn't as scary as the alternative.
That one cape, along with her normal friend, was bullying another cape. A target that was clearly depressed and frustrated, armed with powers that were potentially strong enough to kill half the school.
No, he much preferred Taylor to be the weak victim. He just didn't think it was the case. He was at the hospital when the locker incident happened, but the gossip about it was still ongoing even when he returned.
It was a trigger event if he heard of one.
"Fuck, what am I going to do," he muttered even as he considered the possibilities. The first step was clear. He needed to see if Taylor had powers.
Which meant, he needed to stalk a potential cape that had been a target of a bullying campaign for more than a year, to see if she had powers. Fun.
Knowing what to look for, it didn't take long for Marcus to make sure Taylor had powers. The way she moved around the school as she tried to avoid Sophia, Emma, and Madison was enough. He had seen her change direction without a reason three times. All three times, one of the trio had passed near almost immediately after.
All that remained was to do something. But, he wasn't able to find a way to do so before the last bell rang, and he walked out, only for my car to stall once again. Not a shock, considering it was cheap garbage that ran on miracles more than gasoline.
Still, it was better than taking a bus to his house. The last time he took the bus, he ended up in the hospital.
He much preferred to try to fix it alone even when all the other cars had been pulled away, no one offering to help. "Fun," he grumbled even as he started digging. He wasn't an expert, but after dealing with the same problems again and again, he was able to find it easily. But, just as he was about to finish repairing the car, he saw Taylor walking out of the school, much later than anyone else.
He didn't need to wonder about the reason. Her clothes were drenched, no doubt from another bullying session.
An opportunity to have some kind of rapport with her. "Hey," Marcus called, thinking that maybe he could offer her a ride. A small kindness that might help her. Taylor flinched the moment he shouted, and he could see her panic.
One advantage of having photography as a hobby, he knew how to read people, not that any expertise was required to read the depths of her suspicion. "Are you amenable to a trade?" he asked.
Marcus could see that she wanted to just walk away, but at that moment, a cold wind hit the parking lot, making her shiver. It must feel like torture in her wet clothes. "What kind of trade," she asked instead.
"I need some help fixing the car. And, if you do, I can drop you at home as payment," he offered, making the deal clear.
"I don't know how to repair a car."
"I just need you to sit on the driver's seat and turn the key whenever I ask," he offered. She was skittish enough to run away, so he stopped talking and turned his attention back to his car. It was like trying to feed a street cat, paying more attention would only make her scared.
Marcus sighed. He didn't want to talk with a potentially unstable cape, but it was better than letting her continue spiraling until she decided to go with a bang. As he worked on the engine, he deliberately didn't pay attention to her. Only when her footsteps got close, he raised his head. "Sit on the driver's seat, and turn the key whenever I call," he requested.
"Fine," she replied, trying to sound confident rather than confused. Even with her power, Marcus could see that she considered escaping. Only the cold convinced her to stay. "But, do something, and…"
"You mace me. Fair," Marcus said. Considering she was a cape, she could probably do worse, but he let that slide.
His easy acceptance made her even more suspicious. "I just threatened you," she said.
"I understand," he said, finding a chance to get some kind of rapport. "This fucking place is dangerous. The last time I forgot that, I got lynched by an Empire mob and ended up in the hospital for a month. Only two weeks ago I was able to return," he said, his tone deceptively light.
In actuality, it was pure manipulation. By indirectly informing her that he wasn't at the school when she had suffered her own disaster. Not the nicest thing, but considering what was at stake, Marcus didn't feel bad.
"Y-yeah. It's a shitty place," Taylor replied, her tone getting slightly lighter in the process. Silence ruled for a few seconds before Marcus finally fixed the problem, and the car started working once more.
"Slide over," Marcus ordered as he stood at the driver's side. It was the time to drive. It was tempting to push more, but he decided against it. Too much, and she would realize that he had an ulterior motive, and from there, suspicions about knowing her power were only a step away.
No, it was not something Marcus wanted to deal with. So, he was more than happy driving in total silence until he dropped her off at her house.
Success, he thought, though he made sure not to say it out loud. Not knowing her power, it felt like the safer option.
All characters are above 18.
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