Marvel: Starting with the forced creation of villainous characters

Chapter 78 Brainwashing Erica.

Erica, lying weakly on the ground, looked up and stared intently at Mark at the doorway.

Mark, in his true form, disguised himself and looked like a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy.

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Wasn't the fight just now exciting? Why didn't you continue?" Mark asked three questions in quick succession.

Erica glared at Mark with resentment, knowing she was doomed this time.

But now she was more curious about what the golden chain wrapped around her waist was.

Mark tilted his head and looked at Erica: "Not going to say anything?"

Erica demanded, "Who are you?"

"A superhero who's just doing it for fun? Of course, he could also be a magician who's just passing by," Mark joked with a laugh.

"A magician?" Erica frowned as she looked at Mark. She had seen descriptions of magicians in the Hand's files, but she had never seen a magician in real life.

If what the boy in front of her said was true, then this would be the first time she had ever seen a magician in reality.

Erica was also pondering the difference in strength between the two sides, since the attack was sudden, or rather, it could be said that the opponent had ambushed her.

But according to the information on the magicians in the Hand, he might not necessarily lose to a magician in a head-on fight.

Mindy, pointing a gun at Erica, approached Mark and said in a fierce yet endearing way, "This guy almost got away. Should we just kill him?"

Erica also realized that the three of them were in cahoots.

Now she can finally be sure that she has messed up.

Realizing that she had no hope of being saved, Erica decided to utter a harsh statement before she died.

"Kingpin and the Hand won't let you off the hook." Erica said, then closed her eyes and gave a look that said, "Go ahead and kill me if you dare."

Erica now truly desires death; knowing she can be resurrected, Erica has no fear of death.

"I can understand Kingpin taking action, but what's the Hand's purpose?" Mark asked, puzzled.

It's normal for Kingpin to take action, after all, he's helping Hammerhead challenge the other's position.

But what is the purpose of the Hand?

Aren't those old geezers searching the world for dragon bones? How dare they interfere in Hell's Kitchen?

For the Hand, it doesn't really matter who rules Hell's Kitchen, since it's just a matter of changing partners, and their interests won't be directly harmed.

Erica didn't say anything, and continued to close her eyes and wait for death.

Erica's lack of cooperation did not cause Mark any trouble.

A surge of magical energy flowed into Erica's body along the golden chains, and Erica, who had been waiting for death with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

She stared blankly at Mark, like a living puppet.

Mark raised an eyebrow as well.

Mark hadn't expected this woman to have such poor mental resistance, but considering that she had been cultivated by the Hand as a vessel for the "Black Sky Beast," it was normal for her mental resistance to be so low.

After all, high mental resistance is just asking for trouble for Black Sky, isn't it?

"Now you can answer me, right?" Mark asked again.

Erica remained expressionless, her words devoid of any emotional fluctuation, and replied stiffly, "Because Kingpin and the Hand are cooperating, he persuaded Alexander to help."

"It seems the Hand really is going to get involved in this mess," Mark sighed.

He had originally planned to leave the tough challenges for later, but he never expected that Alexandra would dare to cut in line.

"Do you know where the Hand's five fingers are?" Mark asked again, but he didn't have much hope.

After all, Erica was just a tool, and it was highly unlikely that she would know the exact whereabouts of those fingers.

"I know." Erica nodded.

"Huh!"

Mark looked at Erica with some surprise. Did this woman really know?

Mark quickly asked, "Tell me more details."

"Alexandra is waiting for me at headquarters to return and report, Mrs. Gao—"

Erica honestly told everyone the location of all her fingers.

After Erica finished speaking, Mark looked at her thoughtfully.

What should we do with this female assassin?

Kill them outright?

Mark felt it was a bit of a waste. Erica's assassination skills were quite good. An assassin like Erica would have virtually no rivals in this steel city, as long as she wasn't under heavy fire.

At least if she were prepared, Erica might even be able to assassinate Magneto.

Unfortunately, that's just how the power system in the Marvel Universe works; basically, most powerful characters have their own fatal weaknesses.

For powerful individuals like Magneto and Professor X, whose physical abilities may only be slightly stronger than those of ordinary people, their fatal flaw is their fragile bodies.

If we don't kill them, we can't just let them go, can we?

Should we arrest them first?

and many more.

Mark suddenly remembered something very important: this woman's mental resistance seemed to be a bit weak. Could he perhaps take action himself?

LeBlanc's legacy contains a great deal of bewitching and even brainwashing magic.

Mark used to look down on these minor spells, since they were risky and could backfire, while the villain's aura was immune to such attacks.

Having made up his mind, Mark used the Phantom Chains to bind Erica.

After finishing all this, Mark finally looked at Mindy and the others: "Did you complete your anti-gang task for today?"

"We were all ready to go home after we finished, but this woman suddenly showed up and delayed our departure time." Jessica glanced at Erica on the ground with some disdain.

Mark nodded and said, "Then you guys go back first, I'll take her somewhere."

"Let's go with you," Jessica said quickly.

"No need, it's not important," Mark declined Jessica's offer.

After all, he was going to use magic to brainwash Erica, and it wasn't appropriate for a third party to be present. Mark also didn't want to affect his image in Jessica and Mindy's eyes.

Killing Erica would solve the problem once and for all, but brainwashing and persuading her would have more advantages. The only problem is that she might come to her senses in the future.

But it doesn't matter.

He could take this opportunity to ruthlessly exploit Erica. Even if she regains her senses, the value she has created would be enough to redeem her.

As for whether this approach is inappropriate?

Mark felt that he was relatively kind compared to the Hand, since the Hand not only exploited Erica but also "craved" her body.

"Alright then." The two women, who already obeyed Mark's every word, didn't force him.

After saying goodbye to the two women, Mark took Erica to his alchemy room and got to work.

The brainwashing process is simple: just blur the other person's perception, change their loyalty to the opposing faction to their loyalty to Mark, and then increase their loyalty.

After a while.

Mark snapped his fingers lightly, and Erica, who was unconscious, opened her eyes in a daze, then stared blankly at Mark.

Once her pupils refocused, Erica greeted her respectfully, "Master."

Mark nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this, then commanded, "Introduce yourself?"

Erica said blankly, "My name is Erica, and I am my master's weapon."

"Do you know the Hand?" Mark continued to probe.

Erica: "I used to work for the Hand, but now I only serve my master."

Mark was now completely relieved. After unlocking the phantom chains on the other person, Mark instructed, "You are free to move around for now, but you must return here tonight."

Erica nodded.

After Mark left, he returned home.

When Mindy and Jessica got home, they didn't go to sleep, but waited for him to come back in the living room.

Upon Mark's return, Mindy eagerly asked, "Mark, were those chains your superpower?"

"Yes." Mark nodded.

"That's really cool," Mindy exclaimed.

Jessica poured Mark a glass of water and then asked, "Is everything resolved?"

"No," Mark shook his head, then said, "There's a very troublesome matter now."

"Is it because of that female assassin?" Mindy asked sensibly.

"To be precise, it's the person behind that female assassin. Your actions in Hell's Kitchen have already affected the owner of Hell's Kitchen, and now he's brought in a supernatural organization to prepare to eliminate you," Mark explained.

He didn't say that the main reason Kingpin was targeting them was because Hammerhead was following them around and taking advantage of their situation.

Mindy clenched her fist and said confidently, "Then let's take care of them too."

How could she, a fearless young woman, possibly bow down to evil forces?

Before being enhanced, she wasn't afraid of Kingpin, let alone now that she's been enhanced and feels incredibly powerful. Mindy has decided to send rockets to the villains Mark mentioned.

Mark shook his head helplessly at the sight.

When Big Daddy was still around, his and Hit-Girl's actions were planned and targeted only one gang, so Kingpin turned a blind eye.

But it's different now.

After Hit-Girl and Jessica teamed up, they could wipe out a gang in almost every two or three days, which seriously affected the order of Hell's Kitchen.

After all, the gangs in Hell's Kitchen don't refresh every day.

"Mindy, don't go out to fight criminals for the next couple of days. Instead, focus on making some better weapons to arm yourself. We'll take care of the Hand in two days," Mark said with equal confidence.

Compared to Kingpin, the Hand is easier to deal with, since he now has information about the Hand's five fingers.

Mindy nodded.

"Jessica, you should get ready too. We'll need you as a key player then." Mark looked at Jessica again.

"Leave it to me," Jessica nodded.

Mark's targeting of the Hand actually stemmed from an even more important reason: he also coveted the Hand's Qi cultivation method and the secret to achieving immortality through dragon bones.

The former can be practiced on one's own, since the Qi cultivation method can strengthen the physical body, while the latter can be used to corrupt those top nobles.

The Hand headquarters.

Alexandra looked up at the clock again; this was the third time he had looked at it.

Erica, who was sent out to deal with the two vigilantes, still hadn't returned, and he was starting to worry that something might have happened to her.

As Alexandra waited anxiously, the landline phone on his desk rang.

Alexandra quickly answered the phone.

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