Marcus was far too tense for a guy who had spent the last few hours aggressively fucking a sexy young woman to a puddle and still fingering her. Unfortunately, common sense didn't work when the sexy young woman in question was potentially a villain, and Marcus needed to talk with her about that.

Without revealing that he knew anything about her powers, or her criminal association.

And, if that wasn't enough, he promised to meet with Amy after her hospital shift, which was about an hour later.

He sighed. It was almost enough to ruin Taylor's presence on his lap, gyrating elegantly to drive him to another climax despite her exhaustion. Her determination was truly admirable.

Any other time, Marcus would have convinced her to take a break. However, this time, it was the perfect time to question her. And, there was only one real way to start questioning her. Her phone was within his reach. Not a coincidence.

"Let's take a nice photo," he said even as he grabbed her phone and activated the camera. He wasn't really a fan of digital cameras, which was true even before his rather unique power. Digital cameras had a really poor light sensitivity — unless one was buying some kind of tinkertech one.

But, his distaste wasn't going to make him waste the opportunity he had been working for the last hour. "Smile," he said as he took a photo. Taylor moaned even louder as he turned the phone, and showed her how she looked.

Her emotions flared strongly, the connection already active. A touch of shyness, but with a far stronger hit of desire, and a hint of satisfaction. Taylor clearly loved to see herself.

Combined with the fact that she was already at the edge, it was the perfect time to push. "Tell me, Taylor. Why did you suddenly decide to buy a phone," he asked.

He didn't need the emotional connection to realize the question made her panic. She tensed on his lap, her motions ceasing. "I … what do you mean?" she gasped, trying to come up with an answer.

"A simple question, Taylor," he said even as he continued to invade her core, his hand still around her hair to pull her back. "Why did you suddenly decide to buy a phone?"

"No reason. I … I just managed to get enough money," she replied, trying — and failing — not to look suspicious.

"How?" he asked, pushing her even as he continued fucking her, trying to keep his tone casual. He felt like he succeeded, as her emotions were more toward panic and guilt than suspicion, but he couldn't be entirely sure.

Emotion reading was not mind reading.

For a moment, he wished that he had received a weaker variant of Tattletale's power rather than Thinker resistance, but it was a fleeting thought. He was happy with the power he received.

However, he was glad that his copied powers also came with a general understanding of how they worked. And, the variant of Thinker resistance he received was quite interesting. It didn't exactly protect him against the thinkers. They would still be making conclusions based on him. It was just that their predictions would underestimate his presence, particularly when relating to his powers.

He had a feeling that it wouldn't work equally well against every type of Thinker power, but when it came to that topic, every little bit helped.

"I-is it really that important?" Taylor asked, slowly getting tense.

"Well, it wasn't, but the way you're reacting makes me think that it might be," he answered, trying to convince her that it was her fault that he was being so determined on the topic. Yet, he continued impaling her, keeping her even more unbalanced. "Tell me, are you working for a rival studio."

He followed that with a chuckle, only to freeze halfway. He stopped fucking her. "No, but it's about work, right?" he said even as he lifted her and put her to the side. She suddenly turned small, like he was bullying her.

He felt bad, but he was doing it for her own good. He didn't want her to fall in with the villains just because they offered an easy payday. He wouldn't have cared that much if the villains in question had been more professional and had the sense of staying under the radar, but Undersiders was too arrogant. Just a week before, they had hit one of ABB casinos. Luckily for them, Lung had been arrested before he attacked them.

He didn't want Taylor to end up another forgettable villain, especially since she clearly didn't have what it took to be a villain. She was too naive, too trusting.

"Taylor," he repeated as he put his hand on her shoulder, and she flinched even more. "Is this something illegal? Did you get mixed with the gangs, or maybe," he added, letting his gaze dip down.

Her sudden panic didn't make him any happier. "No, not that!" she gasped, mortified, the bugs in the room suddenly buzzing. "I started working with a small gang, but it's not what you think. I'm infiltrating them as an undercover agent. I'm going to bring them down."

"I see," Marcus muttered. He didn't need to fake his shock, as he was genuinely stumped. He could see that it was the truth … but who would actually believe that they could infiltrate a team of supervillains led by a thinker.

Taylor, apparently. Just like that, he was able to re-contextualize the guilt he had been feeling from Taylor when she had been talking with Tattletale. She wasn't guilty because she had turned villain. She was feeling guilty because she would sell out her villainous friend.

A villain who probably understood Taylor's objective before Taylor could even find a way to join them. Taylor was a vulnerable, affection-starved young woman. Turning her didn't need a mastermind.

Worse, he could feel an utter determination as she delivered her idea. Meaning, he couldn't just change her mind, especially since he wasn't supposed to know that she was a cape. That meant, he needed to find an alternative path. "I'm proud of you," he declared.

"Y-you are," she stammered, shocked.

"Of course. This city is a cesspool. It takes a brave soul to fight against it, particularly since it can be dangerous," he said, playing to her ego even as he tried to find a way to tell her just how terrible of an idea it was.

"Yes. Brockton Bay used to be a beautiful city. Yet, with the gangs growing, it's suffocating. We just need to do our job, and everything will be fixed."

"Of course," he said even as he patted her shoulder. "But, do you mind if I ask a few questions, just for my peace of mind? I can't imagine my favorite employee risking her life thoughtlessly, alright?"

"Well, maybe it's better—" she started, but he ignored it.

"Perfect. Now, I'm guessing you have a contact in the police department, arranging your undercover work, right," he said, acting like he believed it. He suspected that police would send civilians as undercover agents, but he didn't confront her with that. Doing so would only put her on the defensive. But, a lot of laws were different when it came to capes. Still, as long as she coordinated with Protectorate, there wasn't too much immediate risk. He could work on convincing her slowly.

"Yes," she said, but her voice fluctuated just as her emotions did. Not a good start. Not at all.

"Excellent," he said, acting like he missed her reaction. "And, you have already sat together with that officer and a lawyer and drew some papers detailing the conditions for your immunity," he followed. She opened her mouth, shocked. "The answer is clearly no," he continued.

"I-it's complicated," she said.

"How?" he asked. "Since you're coordinating with the police, you need to have some paperwork. What if they decide to betray you —" he started, but the sheer sense of disbelief that radiated from her showed that it was not a good idea.

Even the thought of her contact being untrustworthy caused such a reaction. It meant that she was probably coordinating with one of the premier heroes of the city. Maybe Miss Militia?

"Or, what will happen if something goes wrong and you get arrested by a different team? Or, worse, PRT? Imagine the trouble you'll be in. Are you ready to pay something like fifty thousand dollars to get a decent lawyer to defend yourself? Imagine how your father would feel?"

"I'm sure that he'll solve things," she said, which meant it wasn't Miss Militia. Maybe Dauntless or Armsmaster?

"Assuming he can," Marcus answered, barely keeping himself from smirking as he realized he had the perfect angle. "But, are you sure he could. What if his captain has a different idea. Imagine he's working for someone like Blackwell. They won't be happy with a potential PR disaster. Maybe they'll just sweep everything under the rug?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking panicked.

"Well, it's clear that using an eighteen-year-old as an undercover agent wouldn't look good in the press. That means, their boss would be happier painting you as another Winslow youth that had ended up in a gang. And, imagine what would the other students say if they interviewed them."

He could see Taylor's panic growing. "It'll be a disaster. I can't imagine what Emma would say … and the rest. No one would defend me."

"I will," Marcus answered even as he hugged her, her arms tight around his body. "But, I don't think mine would be enough to solve anything if they were determined to railroad you into prison."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound good. I'll try to get some guarantees."

Then, he chuckled. "Good. That's a relief. Still, you're lucky that you're not a cape. I can't even imagine how badly it might have gone that way," he continued.

"W-why?" she asked, her tone thick.

"Well, mostly because the local director really hates capes. There's not a lot of information about why, but the general consensus is that she had been injured in a cape battle. So, she's prejudiced against independents," he said, mixing some of the worst rumors he had read on PHO with some flat-out lies.

And, since she didn't know that he knew she had powers, she wouldn't suspect those comments to be intentional. Not the nicest thing, but as long as he could make her think somewhat critically, it would be enough.

He was hoping to have another talk about untrustworthy gang members, but he could feel that she was already at the edge. Any more pressure, and she would pull back, ruining his gains.

"Now, since we have resolved that boring stuff," he said even as he grabbed her hair and pulled her for another searing kiss. "Why don't we have some more fun?"

"G-good idea," she stammered as she climbed onto his lap.

Marcus was proud of the progress he had made…

Hopefully, his next meeting with Amy would go just as well.

I also have a pat - reon, so feel free to visit for advance chapters.

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