Leon unleashed the current and kept it going. Machine Head's body seized, a high-pitched, metallic shriek echoing through his vocal processors as the electricity arced across his faceplate.
All Leon felt was pure, unfiltered satisfaction.
"Uh, shouldn't we be stopping him?" Rex pointed out.
"White Mask, that's enough!" Eve shouted, stepping forward with her hand raised.
Her voice snapped him out of it, and he shoved Machine Head back into the dirt. The cyborg laid there, his eyes flickering erratically. Leon looked at his hands still crackling with electricity, then back at the Teen Team. The silence was heavy, broken only by the distant, approaching wail of sirens.
His hands clenched into fists.
"If any of you think he didn't deserve that, you're dead wrong. That wasn't even close to the kind of torment those kids went through. They all showed signs of malnourishment, physical abuse, even PTSD for fuck's sake. A few of them looked like they've been captives for weeks. If I had my way, I'd end this piece of shit's life. For good."
"We aren't defending him. We know he's a monster," Eve said, looking down at Machine Head with a furrowed brow. "Believe me, I want him to pay as much as you do. But if we start using their methods, the line between us and them gets a lot thinner than you'd think."
He disagreed with her, but he held himself back. It wouldn't do for his first interaction with them to go even more sour over this.
The wail of sirens grew louder, and the Chicago PD's Meta-Human Task Force shortly arrived. Blue and red lights reflected off the surrounding warehouses as half a dozen armored transport vehicles swerved onto the docks.
The officers moved with practiced efficiency alongside the Teen Team. They approached the downed villains with heavy-duty, power-dampening collars in hand and mundane restraints for those without powers. Kursk and Magnattack were the first to be secured, the metallic rings snapping shut around their necks with a clear clink.
I guess it's time to get the tablet.
"Lily, can you hear me? Remember the tablet I was holding before I left?" Leon asked to open air, gaining odd looks from the Teen Team.
(Yes. If I remember correctly, you left it on the kitchen counter… Found it.)
"Who's he talking to?" Rex whispered to Eve, who could only shrug at his question.
"I assume it's the person he left to take care of the children," Robot answered. "I'm not detecting the use of a radio frequency from him or his equipment. Perhaps he's using some form of long-range telepathy."
"Or maybe—and hear me out—he's just crazy," Rex suggested. "You guys saw what happened a few minutes ago. You heard what he just said. This guy's got a couple of screws loose!"
"His frustration was… understandable," Robot countered.
"Could you hand it to me?" Leon asked, ignoring their discussion. "I'm about to open the portal."
(I'm ready.)
"Sweet."
Leon reached into the empty air, his fingers closing around a grip that hadn't been there a second ago. The Portal Gun materialized into reality, its white casing gleaming under the dock's floodlights.
"Woah." Dupli-Kate's gaze locked onto the gun. "Where'd you hide that thing?"
Leon brought a gloved finger to the mouth of his mask. "A magician never reveals his secrets."
He squeezed a trigger, and a glob of orange energy splashed against the cracked concrete. As the portal bloomed, the air from the Suite that smelled of cedar and cool nebula wafted into the salty dock air.
Because of how the portals were positioned, it looked like his familiar was standing perpendicular to the ground. Adding to the situation's strangeness, Lily had discarded his miniature form.
Lily was no longer the small black cat that could be mistaken as a stuffed toy. In his humanoid form, he was a mountain of obsidian fur and corded muscle, his silhouette dwarfing even Leon's physique. The dagger that usually rested on his back had grown, its steel now a massive slab of a greatsword that looked heavy enough to cleave a tank in two.
"Huh. You guys are seeing this, too, right?" Eve asked. "Not just me?"
"Yup. That's a cat on two legs and it looks like a brick shithouse," Rex added. "I knew it. This guy's crazy and that's his science experiment."
"Fascinating portal technology," Robot muttered.
"Thanks, Lily," Leon knelt, taking the tablet.
Lily scanned Leon's suit, his red eyes narrowing.
"You look terrible," the Exceed rumbled, his voice grinding like stones. He sniffed the air and frowned. "And you smell like burnt toast. What happened?"
Leon offered a stiff smile from behind his mask. "Let's just say I had a pretty rough night. I'll tell you about it later. How are the kids?"
"They're doing fine. Most of them are already asleep and I'm keeping an eye on the ones still awake," Lily answered. "Was that all?"
"Yup. Thanks again, Lily. I'll see you later."
Leon clenched his fist, making the surface the portal sat on pull inward. The portal disappeared, and after opening his fist, the ground was back to normal.
Returning to his full height, the questioning stares of the Teen Team greeted him.
"What?"
"Dude," Rex answered first. "Your friend's a talking, walking cat the size of Iowa! Are we sure that guy's not just going to eat the kids?"
"That's never gonna happen," Leon said, chuckling at the absurd thought. "Here's the tablet. You'll see everything's in there."
Robot began analyzing the tablet's contents, his face illuminated by its screen. "Excellent. With this evidence, Machine Head now has a near-zero probability of evading a life sentence without parole."
Not if he somehow breaks out. I doubt any of the supervillains going to prison today will stay imprisoned for long. Maybe a year or two at most. But when that happens, I'll find them and personally ensure that they won't have the luxury of breathing for another day.
As the officers cuffed Machine Head, Leon turned back to the Teen Team. The weight of the night's work was beginning to press on him.
"I need to find that facility," Leon said, looking directly at Robot. "Machine Head mentioned a deadline. If Project Genesis somehow moves to its next phase, those kids might be gone for good. But I don't know where to start. Can you help me track them? You've got the resources I don't."
Robot nodded. "I have already started searching. The information you shared provides the necessary context to narrow our search parameters. We would have pursued this lead regardless of your request, but your participation would prove beneficial."
"Thanks," Leon said, genuinely relieved. He looked at the others who were watching the last of the injured guards being loaded into the police trucks. "Sorry about before. I lost it and took it out on you guys, too."
"No harm done," Eve replied with a smile, her expression much softer now.
"We understand," Dupli-Kate added. "I would've done the same in your shoes."
"You did good tonight, White Mask," Robot said. "You saved the lives of multiple children and apprehended three supervillains. That matters more than you may realize."
"I hope it does," Leon said, appreciating their words, but he felt hollow. He glanced back at the police truck where Machine Head was being loaded.
The idea of telling them about Machine Head's involvement with The Order crossed his mind. But after recalling his interaction with the tin head earlier, he decided it would be better to keep some things to himself for now until he could validate his information.
"I think we should exchange phone numbers," Leon proposed. "Otherwise, I'd have to visit your base, or you'd have to visit mine. Do any of you have a phone or…?"
"Here. You can have my number," Eve offered, taking out her phone.
"Really, babe?" Rex crossed his arms. "Taking a guy's number when I'm right here?"
"What? It's not like he asked me out or anything. This is purely for professional reasons," Eve said as she and Leon exchanged contact info.
Pocketing his phone, Leon internally rolled his eyes at Rex's reaction. As if you're not the one who is far more likely to cheat on her.
No longer having any reason to stay, the Teen Team's silhouettes disappeared into the night sky. Leon stood alone on the street for moment, the cool night air biting at his skin. He brought out his phone and looked at the new contact in his list. Eve's number. A slow breath escaped his lip.
Professional reasons, huh?
With his Goth Magnet trait, Eve was a prime target for its effects. Her relationship with her father was horrible.
Leon shook his head, refusing to entertain the thought for another second. Eve wasn't the type to cheat. Perhaps the extent of his trait's effects only increased her friendliness towards him.
His gaze shifted toward the police trucks. The specialized containment unit holding the cyborg boss himself and his supervillain underlings was heavily guarded. But Leo knew the truth of this world. Walls and bars were only temporary inconveniences for people like them.
Someway, somehow, they always escape.
Let's take the scenic route. Get a little more cool evening wind in my hair.
As he began traversing through the sky and towards the motel, his mind started racing. He'd decapitated the head of the city's largest criminal organization tonight, but he wasn't naive enough to think that meant the body was dead.
Machine Head is out of the picture. Leon's eyes narrowed. In the original canon, that's when Titan makes his move. He uses Isotope to stage a coup and takes the throne for himself.
Titan had manipulated Mark into helping him. Here, Leon had bypassed that entire sequence by crashing the party early. But the power vacuum was still there, gaping and hungry. Without Machine Head's calculating—if arrogant—leadership, every lieutenant and street-level thug would be looking to carve out their own piece of the pie.
If things change, Titan won't have the chance to step into the empty spot, Leon realized, stopping mid-air. Or worse, The Order could fill in the gap themselves.
The thought of that mysterious group made his head hurt. He still didn't have much info on them aside from surface-level knowledge.
I can't take it anymore. I need to get in contact with Cecil.
Leon landed on a roof and fired the portal gun. After getting in, firing the same trigger transferred the portal inside the Suite. The place was more crowded now.
Three kids he recognized as the ones he saved from the first compound were huddled on the big couch, watching a TV report.
A news helicopter's spotlight washed over the Chicago docks, capturing the chaotic aftermath of the battle. The headline scrolling across the bottom read: MYSTERIOUS VIGILANTE AIDS TEEN TEAM IN BRUTAL TAKEDOWN OF MACHINE HEAD.
Leon pulled off his mask, the cool air of the Suite hit his face, but the victory felt heavy. The three kids—two girls and a boy—flinched as he entered, their eyes darting from the TV to him.
Lily stood by the kitchen island, his massive, obsidian form a stark contrast to the modern decor. He was currently peeling an orange with claws the size of steak knives, his expression unreadable.
"The younger ones are in the guest rooms," Lily rumbled, not looking up. "I gave them some warm milk and blankets. These three insisted on staying up until you returned."
Leon softened his expression as he walked toward the couch. "Hey. I'm back. You guys okay?"
The oldest girl, maybe twelve, looked at the TV and then at him. "Is it over? Are the… are the bad men gone?"
"They're all going to prison. And they aren't getting out of anytime soon," Leon promised, though the thought of the power vacuum he'd just created gnawed at the back of his mind.
I need to get these kids out of here, Leon thought. And I need to do it without leading a trail back to my front door.
He looked at the Portal Gun resting on the coffee table. He could drop them at a hospital or a police station, but he didn't trust the system. Machine Head's reach had been deep. Who knew how many precincts were on his payroll? He needed someone who stood above the red tape. He needed Cecil Stedman.
But there was a problem.
I just played the 'clueless rookie' role with the Teen Team, he reminded himself. If I suddenly start asking Robot if he could get me in contact with the big boss or take me to the Pentagon, he's going to start calculating the odds of me being a plant. A 'new' hero shouldn't know the Director of the Global Defense Agency even exists, let alone how to find him.
Asking Robot for a direct line was out. He had to make the GDA come to him. He had to be a problem they couldn't ignore.
"Lily, keep an eye on them. I'm going to go handle something," Leon said, grabbing his mask.
"Again?" Lily sighed, finally tossing a piece of orange into his mouth. "You're going to run yourself ragged, Leon."
"Can't sleep yet. Don't worry. It'll be quick."
He left the Suite and entered the normal room of the motel. Room 214 was exactly as he'd left it. Shabby, smelling of stale cigarettes and cheap disinfectant.
Once inside, he sat at the small, laminate desk and pulled out his phone.
Time to leave some breadcrumbs.
The GDA's cyber-surveillance was legendary. They probably had algorithms that flagged keywords across the entire internet in real-time. If he wanted Cecil, he had to shout in digital.
He connected to the motel's free Wi-Fi and opened a browser. His fingers flew across the keyboard.
Search: "Who is Cecil Stedman? How do I get in the GDA base under the Pentagon?"
Search: "Director of the Global Defense Agency location"
Search: "Donald Ferguson GDA contact number"
Search: "Olga, wife of Red Rush, address Chicago"
Leon felt a pang of guilt for using Olga's name as bait, but he wasn't left with that many options. He continued for ten minutes, throwing out names and phrases that no "new" hero should ever know. He was practically shouting into a microphone in a silent room.
Leon paused, staring at the blinking cursor. Finally, he typed one last search query into the bar, his fingers steady.
Search: "Sleepy Traveler motel, Room 214. I'm waiting."
Leon shut the phone off and leaned back in the creaky chair. He didn't put his mask back on yet. He just sat there in the dark, watching the door.
"Tell the kids to get some sleep," Leon told Lily through their connection. "Help is coming for them. The real kind."
Now, all he had to do was wait for arguably the most powerful normal man in the world to knock on his door.
I hope this works.
OOO
"Sir, we've got a situation."
-x-
A/N: Sorry for the slight delay. Forgot to set the publish time properly.
Also, I forgot to do the poll I promised a few weeks ago, so I'm doing it now. Two love interests or just one? Give your vote in the chapter comments.