The week after his chance encounter with Taylor was more or less the same. He made sure to always carry a disposable camera with him — his more expensive analog camera that he had purchased second-hand safely at home — using the opportunity to document the occasional gang fights.
That allowed him to get another nice physical boost. He wasn't strong enough to count as supernatural, but he was getting closer and closer to peak athletes, which was decent enough.
During the week, he didn't miss the fact that he had just gained a cape stalker. He didn't blame her … much. It happened only after he decided to help her a few times in small ways to gain her goodwill, hoping to show her that there were some people she could trust.
He did so only in small ways, by blocking Madison while she was chasing Taylor, or by colliding with one of their hangers-ons while carrying a tray full of food. Of course, he didn't do any of those where Taylor could see him, not wanting to look like he was manipulating her.
He was manipulating her, but considering his aim was to make sure she could graduate before killing half of the school, he didn't feel any guilt. The last thing the world needed was another Cornell Bomber.
Taylor stalked him, but it wasn't paranoia. It wasn't paranoia when they were trying to get her. She was bullied by a team of bitches, one of their numbers — either Sophia or Emma — another cape. He would be scared if it was Taylor as well.
Still, that meant his week had been extra tense, adding another task to his stealth photo sessions. The whole week, distracted by helping Taylor, he only managed to get two photo sets that were able to give him a permanent power-up. One made him slightly stronger, and the other made him a slightly better fighter.
So, when he found his car not working merely a week after the first time, he wasn't in a good mood. This time, unable to find the reason, though the number of bugs that burst out when he opened the hood had been suspicious.
"Someone must be pranking me," he murmured in annoyance even as he started checking the most common problems. "Just the time. What a terrible Friday," With that, he checked the most common problems, but none made the car work.
He was considering whether to just call a mechanic and lose even more of his meager savings when he saw Taylor walking out of the school wearing a large coat. She walked immediately toward him.
He was smart enough to get suspicious immediately, but he hid that. "Hey, Taylor. Just in time," he called cheerfully. "Do you want to help me again? The same deal?"
"I would love to," she said. Her answer made him hide a frown. It was the first time he had heard her being that enthusiastic, which didn't help his suspicions. Then, he noticed her pulling her coat even tighter than it was necessary.
There, he remembered something. Of all the times he watched her, he had never seen her wear a skirt, but right now, she wasn't wearing pants. "You should wear skirts more often. It looks good on you," he commented, testing her.
Her blush was too thick even with her shyness. Another prank, he guessed, was one that forced her to get rid of some of her clothes. Interesting. Then, her shocked expression went back to neutral with a speed that scared him … and the bugs around them started to buzz louder.
Marcus had always prided himself on being observant, and knowing that Taylor was a cape, it was enough to tell him her power.
Bug control.
Suddenly, he was glad that he decided to help her. A bug controller going crazy would kill dozens of people just by the sheer panic it created. Hundreds, if she was determined. But, that satisfaction was tinged with some annoyance. He still remembered the bugs bursting out of his car, telling him that Taylor was responsible for it.
He decided a little revenge was in order. He went through the same routine, but the car didn't work. "Maybe you should check the igniter. My father always talks about it getting loose."
"Smart," Marcus said, though he wasn't particularly impressed. Knowing how to fix a car was easier when she was the one who sabotaged it in the first place. The car worked. "Thank you for your help, but I wished you arrived earlier," he said even as he moved to the driver's seat.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because I had a model waiting for me. Now that I'm late, the deposit I had paid her is gone." As he said that, his heartbeat picked up a bit. Since he was punishing Taylor, he wanted to see if he could use some light emotional blackmail to convince her to help him.
Actually having a cape to model for him was the exact thing he needed to test how his power worked.
"A model?" she asked even as her face was contorted with guilt. Marcus smiled viciously. Fake or not, she deserved some emotional suffering.
"I'm trying to put together a portfolio for my college application," Marcus said as he started to drive, which was closer to the truth. He was trying to do that before he lost all his savings. "And, as a part of it, I need some portrait work. I have managed to save enough money to hire one, but now…"
"Maybe you can call her and reschedule."
"I tried. She refused," he said.
"And, your parents wouldn't give you?" she tried hesitantly. Marcus could see she was feeling responsible. She shuffled in discomfort, and Marcus's gaze dipped down, enough to notice that her coat had shifted, showing her legs.
Marcus had to admit, she had excellent legs. Long and sexy, and toned enough to show she was running regularly. Also, the coat had ridden high enough to wonder whether she was wearing a skirt underneath, or just underwear.
Considering the merciless nature of the trio, even nudity was not impossible. It meant, she was in an emotionally heightened state, which meant even more effective photos. He decided to bring in the big guns.
"No, I lost them the last year," Marcus replied. "Cape fight gone wrong."
Her face blanched. "I'm sorry," she gasped guiltily.
"Don't worry, you didn't know," he waved her off. He was sad, but not enough to fall apart at their mention. He still stayed silent, looking as sad as he could manage. It was not a nice thing to do, using the death of his own parents, but considering the importance of her help, he decided that they would have understood.
A willing cape helping him was too important.
"Too bad I'm going to miss the admission date," he muttered, then he made a show of widening his eyes. "Unless, of course, you're willing to do me a favor in turn and model for me?"
Her expression of shock was striking. "Me, a model," she gasped. "It's a terrible joke. I'm not Emma. You can't use me as a model."
He waved my hand dismissively. "I don't know if I can use it…" he started, only for her to look devastated. "It's not about how you look. Believe me, you're pretty enough, especially since you decided to finally wear something other than boring, loose jeans," he added, pointing at her legs. Her blush was spectacular even as she fixed her coat.
"I'm not."
"You are, but let's not argue about it. I'm not sure whether I can use it for my set because I don't know if you can play along with the set I'm trying to put together. I need some serious emotions for it. It's more about acting abilities. Have you acted before?"
"When I was in middle school," she replied, looking surprised.
"Excellent, why don't we take a small test shoot when I drop you off, so we can see if I can use them in my admission."
"I …"
"Please, Taylor. It's for my admission. I'll even drop you off at your home for the rest of the year. Please," he begged, pushing forward now that she looked hesitant. Too great of an opportunity to lose.
"No putting anything online," she warned.
He smiled. "Don't worry. I work with an analog camera. Nothing digital."
"Why?" she asked.
"It feels more real," he responded, which sounded better than telling how his power preferred it. The rest of the drive once again passed in silence. When they stopped, he pulled his camera from his bag. "So, would you prefer the garden or the living room?"
"Living room," she said as she stood up. "Just let me go up and change and…"
"No need," he said with a sudden decision. She was clearly uncomfortable with what she had underneath, and it meant his power would work more efficiently. "I still have a lot of things to do. We can just take your photos now. It'll take only five minutes." Seeing her hesitancy, he added. "You don't even need to remove your coat."
He had a feeling that, without her guilt of ruining his imaginary future career, she would have never accepted that. Instead, she just sighed. "Alright," she said.
He followed her to the living room, feeling his power charging the camera once more. "Look away, and give me a sad expression," he started even as he snapped the first photo, feeling his power build up.
Success.
She said nothing but followed his directions obediently, which was all he needed. Soon, she was cycling through some basic poses. While he would have loved to say that she was some kind of raw talent, she was not.
She was shy, awkward, and hesitant, resulting in some truly awful photos. Luckily, he didn't care about them a lot. She was reacting to the camera with more and more shyness, and he could feel the feedback from his power.
He couldn't wait until he printed the photos and saw if he could actually get some permanent powers. Bug control sounded useless for anyone who didn't want to become a villain, but it was better than not having anything.
And, watching her struggle to keep her coat tightly closed while displaying her beautiful legs was certainly entertaining.
"Good instincts," he lied to make sure there was a repeat, knowing that even if his power worked, he required multiple shoots to make it useful. And, even if her power wasn't permanent, just the physical boost from a successful set would be enough. "You make a good model."
"Really?" she said, her smile showing that it had been a while since she had received a compliment. It tempted Marcus to stay and push, but he decided not to try his luck too much with a potentially unstable model.
"Yes. I would love to have a session with you tomorrow if you want," he said, then paused. "Unless, of course, you have plans."
"No, no plans," she said immediately.
"Excellent, then I'll pick you. Make sure to prepare a small bag with a variety of clothes. How does eleven sound?"
"Sounds excellent," she said, and sent me away with a shy smile.
He was feeling happy as he drove away, too anxious to process the film before something ruined it.
Two hours later, he was looking for a new set of photos. They didn't look good. The lighting was terrible, Taylor's poses were uninspired, and his compositions were lazy. But, none of those details had actually mattered.
Because, he could feel his new power, and understand how it worked. And, it wasn't bug control. No, his new power gave him the ability to feel the emotions of his models and help them pose better. More communication than control, just conveying his orders better, but still, it was enough.
He even tested it by taking a couple random photos of random people, enough to know that
For anyone else, it would have been useless. For him, it was the holy grail. He always liked photography, but he was nothing more than a mere amateur. But, with his new power, he could actually be an expert, meaning he would have people pay for his photos rather than him stalking them.
He couldn't imagine just how quickly he would grow if he could take twenty successful sets a day rather than two a week.
… especially if he could convince a few heroes for a photoshoot.