It was midnight, and he was tired. He wanted to sleep, but he couldn't.
As much as his superpower excited him, it wasn't enough to make him stay up all night in excitement. He stayed awake because he had spent all night turning a corner of his apartment into a studio.
A mediocre one, just a couple light bulbs, and a repurposed monocolored blanket, but the best he could do with his budget. but making sure his tiny apartment had enough space to move had been another challenge.
However, the biggest challenge had been cleaning the place until it was sparkling. The only thing he could do to make his cheap apartment somewhat decent. All he needed was to make sure there was no dust anywhere —
He was interrupted by a movement in front of his window, and saw a trash can. In front of his window, on the fourth floor. Living in Brockton Bay, he knew an emergency when he saw one. He threw himself on the ground, only for the trash can to demolish his window and a good portion of his wall.
He looked out, only to see Glory Girl fighting against Rune and Alabaster. Winning as well, considering the speed Empire goons were running away while their capes defended them. That gave him a flare of satisfaction. He was not exactly fond of Empire, so watching Glory Girl beat them was fun.
It would have been much more fun if my apartment hadn't been destroyed in the process. Another crash reached my ear, and he realized Rune was bombarding the apartment with various garbage to keep Glory Girl from chasing them.
The smart thing would have been to immediately abandon the apartment, but the opportunity was too great. Glory Girl was sticking close to the apartment while she flew. Maybe he could get enough photos to get another power.
He desperately needed a power that he could use to defend himself, and a heroine famous for her Alexandria package seemed like a good idea. Any of her powers would help, particularly since she was casually shattering the rocks thrown by Rune.
So, he took the risk of getting splattered by an attack from Rune and used his camera to take a photo of Glory Girl.
The resulting sensation was … interesting. Taylor's power, combined with his own, had a unique taste. He could feel the presence of Glory Girl in his mind, stronger than usual. But, alongside her presence, along with her emotions. Excitement, adrenaline, a smug sense of superiority.
He would have blamed her, he would have felt as smugly as if he was a flying brick … a very sexy flying brick that could easily manhandle a small army and punch giant concrete slabs.
He took a few photos, feeling his power charging further with each successful attempt. Unfortunately, his luck didn't last, and before he could finish taking photos, the Empire thugs finished escaping.
Marcus expected that Glory Girl would either retreat or follow them … but to his shock, she had floated toward him. He felt fear hit him … one that didn't feel natural. Glory Girl's famous aura. "Now, tell me why I shouldn't break your camera," she said.
He might have let her if he didn't depend on those photos to empower himself. Unfortunately, fighting with her was not an option. Nor was threatening her. Marcus had a very good idea of how little people would care about a broken camera when the fight turned his apartment into something useless.
No, he needed to convince Glory Girl to let him keep those photos, and he needed to do it quick. Her powers, even a reduced variant of them, were too valuable not to take a risk.
"Because those photos will help you," he responded with a sudden inspiration.
She raised her eyebrow, looking surprised. "What do you mean?"
"You have an … unfair reputation for collateral damage," Marcus said rapidly. He knew it wasn't unfair, but insulting the cape he was trying to convince didn't feel like a good idea. "But, I have many good photos of you fighting against the Empire, defending the building while they attacked it. I'm sure they will help you to reverse the situation."
That earned a raised eyebrow. "You think so. Maybe you just want to keep a naughty photo with you and sell the rest."
"Well, it's not a digital camera. You can stay with me to wash the pictures, then take them all. We can destroy any you don't like," he offered, hoping that it would work. Her sudden amusement felt promising.
"Why would you do that?" she asked.
"Think of it as payment for your incredible heroics. You defeated Empire singlehandedly," he said, then pointed at his face, showing a mixed heritage that was hard to identify, but certainly not white … at least not the way Empire understood.
"I see," she muttered with a smirk. "Alright. Sounds interesting. And I have to wait for the PRT to show up," she said with a shrug.
Her amusement was an excellent opportunity. "I still have ten shots remaining in the film. Do you want to finish them? We can add a few poses where you're getting rid of the rubble on the road."
She looked thoughtful. "Why not," she said as she flew down the road, getting rid of the discarded rocks that had remained from her fight with Rune, and lifted the rocks. With his power's charging speed, it took a while for him to take the necessary photos. The necessity of taking good photos slowed him even more.
So, when she returned, he still had six shots remaining. "Done?" she asked.
"No, just six more times," he said. "Want to pose?" he said as he pointed at the studio at the corner, which was still intact — unlike half of his wall. He only dared to ask, because, despite her aura, he could feel her amusement.
Taylor's power was already proving useful.
For a moment, her fear aura got stronger, and then she smiled. "Alright. Let's do it," she said cheerfully. "What kind of pose do you want?"
"Alright. Let's start with something powerful. You're Glory Girl. Strike a confident pose, like you own the city," he started, his power allowing him to convey exactly what he wanted, with every single detail. Of course, he could feel that a part of it was her being used to the camera, but his power helped. "Now, throw your head back and smile."
It was an excellent photo. "How was it?" she asked.
"You're the best model I have ever worked with," he said. Not that he had many, but she didn't need to know that. Her flare of pride confirmed that he played it correctly. She was clearly somewhat of an egotist. "Now, something playful. Lean against the wall, one leg straight, the other bent at the knee with the foot resting on the wall. Grab the edge of your skirt."
However, as he added the last part, he decided to have another experiment. While he asked her to grab the skirt, he mentally imagined her raising it up. Her naughty smile showed that the power managed to convey it. "How about now?" she said playfully as she pulled it up. She had shorts under her skirt, but that still made it suggestive.
"As long as you're comfortable," he said and took another photo there. He couldn't help it. Glory Girl posing suggestively was too much to resist.
He focused on her pose once more, this time sending an image of her giving a sexy pose. "Why don't you pick the last pose yourself."
"Alright, let me impress you," she said even as she turned her back, and suddenly leaned forward to grab her ankles, which showed her legs perfectly. She showed her head from the side, winking at the camera while he took the last photos.
He cursed the fact that she wore shorts underneath that skit.
"And, that's the last of the film. That's it … unless, of course, you're interested in taking another film."
She looked thoughtful, but the sirens at a distance changed her mind. "I don't think we have time," she said, clearly disappointed, which excited him immensely. "But, I need to talk with PRT. Start working on the photos. I'm not going to leave without taking them."
"That's not exactly encouraging me to work harder," Marcus said with a wink. He never had been particularly good at flirting but feeling the emotions of his model made his life much easier.
"Oh, you're bad," she giggled before she flew away from the large gap in his wall.
He immediately went to his dark room and started working, working carefully not to make a mistake, knowing that correct exposure and other quality details impacted his power as well.
It shouldn't, but it did. Even then, he used the fastest working chemicals rather than targeting the best quality. He didn't want to ruin things.
Glory Girl didn't return for an hour, which had been barely enough to print the photos. "Excellent," he muttered even as looked at the photos, but his attention was somewhere else.
Particularly, at his new power … super strength, with flight. Excellent.
Well, the super strength clearly wasn't too much, probably barely Brute 1, and flying was more like a slow float. Still, the combination was useful.
It also gave him a good idea about how his power worked. He had received strength and floating because she was using them aggressively. As for why he received emotion and control from Taylor … he remembered Taylor suddenly calming down whenever she got too excited.
She was clearly using her power to control her emotions while they were taking the photos, which affected the power he received.
At least, that was his latest theory.
He was tempted to test his super strength to see his exact limits, but he didn't dare to. Glory Girl could come back any moment, and he didn't want to reveal his strength to her. Instead, he worked silently to pack his clothes, as his apartment was no longer livable.
He needed to find another place to live in.
While he was working, Glory Girl floated in. She waved even as she reached the photos. "Hey, not bad," she said as she examined them. "A little grainy, but much better than those terrible cell phone photos."
"There's a reason I love my analog. Unless you use a tinkertech camera, it's impossible to match the quality."
"True," she said even as she checked the pictures. "As promised, I'm taking both the pictures and the negatives," she said. "I can't afford them getting around."
"Sure," he said as he quickly ripped a paper and filled his name and his number. "In case you want another photoshoot," he said as he put his number. Then, feeling her amusement, he decided to tease her a bit more. "I'll even give you a discount," he added.
"Oh, a discount, how generous," she said as she floated to the great gap on the wall, and waved. "See you later, Marcus," she said.
With that, she floated away, leaving him alone with a huge hole in his wall.
"Altogether, not a bad way," he muttered even as there was a knock on the door. "Sir, this is PRT, here for damage check…"
He sighed. He still had bureaucrats to deal with.