Marcus knew that even with his ability to give him a real-time tracker of their location, distracting Amy through sex was a bad idea. Unfortunately, the longer Undersiders stayed away, the more Amy started to feel like heroism was something she needed to do.
He disagreed. Particularly since, the idea clearly stemmed from self-hatred rather than even seeking some fame and glory that wasn't about healing.
No, that would have been a reasonable thing.
So, he kissed her hard, which was a good way to distract her from the movement of the giant dogs and giant spiders famous for their venom. His tongue invaded her mouth even as his fingers slipped under her ugly hoodie.
"T-they will see us," she whispered once he pulled back. However, it wasn't the not-so-secret desire in her tone that excited her. It was merely the fact that she had forgotten her desire to intervene in an ongoing battle.
Alright, he was excited about the former as well. He was a hot-blooded male, and kissing someone intensely enough to make them forget a bank robbery while she was a hostage was very flattering.
A guttural growl, like an animal in heat, left her mouth as she kissed him again. He barely managed to look back to confirm that indeed no one was paying attention to them before he continued. As he kissed her, he dragged them even deeper into the little corner they found themselves in.
Super strength was surprisingly handy.
His heart lurched into his throat when he heard a sudden howl. Desperate, he looked back, checking the room from the reflection of a glass, afraid that the dog decided to attack. Luckily, it seemed to be still in place, just bored.
Despite its nightmare looks, the dog seemed to be well-trained. His gaze darted to Amy, still trapped under him. Unfortunately, while her eyes still sparkled with desire, a certain kind of alertness was back in her gaze.
She was about to do something stupid.
In the space of a panicked heartbeat, Marcus wished that the control aspect of his power could have been used whenever he wished rather than immediately after the photo was taken. That way, he could have stopped her from touching the spider.
Pain and confusion hit him, not from himself or from Amy, but from Taylor. Whatever she had done, it was clearly something that interfered with her power.
Panicked, he looked back, afraid that whatever she had done angered the other spiders. Luckily, they simply didn't react. "What are you doing?" he whispered even as he clamped his hand to her mouth, feeling the other four panicking. Even Regent was showing some emotions, but it was far too muted.
He wasn't surprised when Undersiders started to rush back to the lobby. He didn't know whether it was a wild guess, or Lisa's power somehow deduced it, he didn't know. Or really cared. His plan of staying safely out was ruined, but it was not something he could do. "Alright, I have a plan," he said.
"A plan? What happened to not interfering —" she started, but he silenced her with a sharp gaze.
"It died when you decided to interfere," he said even as he ripped his shirt, and covered his face with a mask. At the same time, he was thinking about what to do, faster than he had ever done in his life.
Trying to act like he didn't have any powers was not an option. So was the more … ethereal parts of his power, including the power-up effect. Then, he decided to go with something very simple. Something that would not only reveal more combative aspects of his power without too much fuss but also actually make her trust him more.
"Now, I'm going to tell you a secret, but you have to keep it a secret," he said.
"I … I promise," she said.
"I'm a cape," he admitted. "A self-manipulating, slow-acting biokinetic, to be exact," he said. Her eyes widened. "I know, it's wrong for me not to tell that, but you know how biokinetics are treated. I'm not an amazing healer like you."
"Y-you," she gasped, a sense of relief that he couldn't imagine hitting her. He had known that being a biokinetic was a big part of her problems, but he didn't expect it to affect her like that.
"Later. Please keep it a secret. I don't want to be birdcaged," he begged. "Now, I have improved my strength, and I have limited self-recovery, so I'll target them. Meanwhile, can you heal dogs?"
"Yes, why?"
"Because you're going to offer to heal that dog to make Hellhound calm down if she starts acting after my action. She cares about her dog at least as much as her teammates."
"Your actions?" she asked.
"I'm going to take their leader out. That's the easiest way to confuse them. When I give you the signal, wait for ten seconds, and unravel the effect on the spider. And, if anyone actually reveals my identity, please tell them that you empowered me. Please," he begged.
"Wait, why?" she asked, clearly surprised by the number of his requests.
"I'll explain that later," he said, then suddenly he leaned and pecked her lips. "While removing that nice plug you put on for me," he added, hoping that their carnal relationship earned him the right to free a villain. "And, interfere with the bugs again if there's an emergency. I'll return immediately."
It did.
"Just give me the signal," she asked as he shifted, moving closer to the door. Undersiders would be here in two seconds, which somehow felt like they stretched into an eternity.
He turned on the flash and turned it to the max — an easy trick that required his finger on the light sensor, tricking the flash into believing that the room was completely dark. Then, just as they were about to take a turn, he pushed his camera hand and pressed the flash.
At the same time, he used his biokinetic power to send a stabbing pain to their head, just like one would feel if they were confronted by an unexpected flash from such a close distance — if that flash had been ten times stronger.
It was enough to freeze all five, which was his opportunity to rush forward. He grabbed Taylor and Lisa, and started running away, both girls, he was able to lift with one arm. At the same time, he had used his emotional manipulation heavy-handedly, giving Rachel a strong sense of worry.
With her mood, it should make her retreat with her dogs. Her priorities were obvious.
Meanwhile, he didn't even care about Grue and Regent. Grue seemed to be smart enough to recognize a failed operation and retreat while Regent … well, he had no idea what Regent might do, but he didn't have the luxury of disarming every little wild card.
With that, he just ran toward the back door, and kicked open one of the smaller windows, strong enough to open it. "W-what's going on," Taylor groaned, but Marcus had already shifted his strength to carry both of them together.
Lisa opened her mouth, but Marcus squeezed her neck just enough for her to take the warning. He could feel Taylor getting restless, so he let his mask fly away. "M-Marcus," Taylor gasped. "What are you doing?"
"How do you know my name?" Marcus replied, doing his best to look shocked. He doubted that he was good at acting, as Lisa was clearly getting suspicious. "But what I'm doing is clear. I'm bringing you away from the bank that so you can't threaten the hostages before my boost fades," he said.
It was an absurd explanation, particularly since with Taylor's power, one thing she would never lack was hostages. However, Taylor was too distracted to notice it, while Lisa was smart enough to keep her mouth shut until they could stay alone.
After all, he could always carry her in an unconscious manner.
"I …" Taylor gasped, surprised. Meanwhile, Marcus was doing his best to focus on Amy, testing her emotions. From the way her stress turned into relief, it seemed that she was successful. It was good news, but he still wanted to stay near just in case.
He just needed to find a safe spot. But, before he could even start looking, Taylor actually pulled her mask, revealing her face. "Taylor. This is you!" he gasped, faking shock. He was clearly not as good an actor as he thought when he was distracted, because even with her power spoofed, she was able to catch that he had been faking it.
But, he ignored it, because Taylor was more important in the short term. He could feel her panic and fear mixed with her guilt as she revealed her identity. It didn't take a genius to realize she was worrying about him believing that she was a villain.
One that he could address easily. "Damn it, Taylor. Don't tell me that the gang you're supposed to be infiltrating is a bunch of villains led by a famous Thinker," he growled. Taylor's eyes widened as her panic shifted slightly, while her gaze turned to Lisa.
He could feel her panic suddenly shift into determination. "Just point me toward a nearby empty basement, and warn me if someone's getting near," he added. He needed to act.
"Fine," Taylor said. Her tone was acrimonious, but feeling the extent of his confusion, he didn't blame her for it.
He said nothing else as he followed Taylor to an empty basement.
Desperately thinking about what to do.