Leon clenched his fist before the thought even completed forming. The brick wall holding the portal to the Suite crumbled.

  "I fucking knew it!" a synthesized voice yelled.

  Leon spun, his heels grinding into the concrete as three familiar faces and an unfamiliar one materialized in green shimmers. He recognized most of them, but not the unfamiliar man in shiny metal armor.

  His eyes narrowed into a heated gre aimed at one figure. Machine Head!

  Machine Head, dressed in a tailored white suit, looked at the empty truck, then at the restrained guards ying on the ground nearby. He turned toward Isotope, his mechanical neck moving with deliberate slowness.

  "Isotope, you absolute redundant waste of a paycheck," Machine Head growled, his synthesized voice dropping into a dangerous, autotuned rumble. He stabbed his finger into his underling's chest. "I told you that tablet was sensitive. You left it sitting in Vane's office like a goddamn invitation. On top of that, you didn't tell me you lost it and were too damn zy to use the biometric lock! Now this… this wannabe viginte managed to find a master key to my project's entire logistics network and dismantled it overnight!"

  Isotope winced, his smugness momentarily repced by a look of guilt. "Sorry, boss. Honest mistake, really."

  The pieces finally clicked into pce. Leon had wondered why a high-level information like that was sitting on a desk in a back-alley gang office. The crime boss needed better goons.

  Machine Head turned back to Leon, gesturing at the empty truck. "So, you're the dipshit stealing all my precious little b rats. Do you have any idea how much I pay those lowlives for every kid they send my way? All those payments add up! Overhead, logistics, bribes! It's a goddamn nightmare for my margins!"

  He stepped forward, gesturing into the air. "Even worse, what you've done will dey my project by another month at the very least. It was on a deadline, and now I'm gonna lose even more money. You understand the severity of what you've done? Good. Tell you what—give me the location of the kids you so shamelessly stole, and I'll make this a little less painful for you."

  Leon stared at him, his jaw clenched.

  "Why?" he asked, his voice low. "Why are you taking children? What is Project Genesis?"

  Machine Head let out a robotic bark of a ugh. "Ha! Man, you're funny. You really are. Why the hell do you think I would even consider satiating your curiosity? You think I'm like those maniacs that can't stop monologuing about their grand pns like an idiot? Think again, asshole."

  Leon's scowl deepened behind the mask. "It doesn't matter. I'll destroy you and tear down whatever The Order wants to do with Project Genesis."

  The silence that followed his words was heavy. Machine Head's head tilted, and Isotope's smug grin vanished. Across the docks, the supervilins looked unsettled by their boss' uncharacteristic silence.

  Leon could only wonder why his words caused the shift as Machine Head reached out, fixing the knot of his tie.

  "Huh. You know about us? This changes things. Not even the GDA has any clue we exist. What confuses me is you know too much, but you're also so damn oblivious." He chuckled, gncing at each of his cohorts with hands raised in disbelief. "It just doesn't compute! I mean, you don't even know what Project Genesis is for! So, tell me. Who the fuck are you and how the hell did you get that information?"

  Leon's mouth went dry.

  …What? The GDA doesn't know about The Order? That doesn't make sense! The GDA is a massive organization with eyes and ears all around the pnet. You're telling me The Order managed to hide their tracks from them?But no matter how hard Leon tried to deny it, it added up. The GDA wouldn't let an international organization like The Order operate unopposed if they could help it.

  "Aww, what? Cat got your tongue? Can't remember your name all of a sudden?" Machine Head crossed arms, tilting his head. "Or maybe… You didn't know that little tidbit of information I just revealed. I'm right, aren't I?"

  "How can I even be certain you're telling the truth?"

  "Oh, man! Haha! That's precious! Really. You're pying vengeful detective with a head full of ignorance as the cherry on top. I'd almost feel sorry for you if you hadn't just flushed a quarter's worth of R&D down the fucking drain."

  Leon's scowl deepened behind the mask, his mind racing to process the gap in his meta-knowledge.

  Machine Head turned to the two supervilins behind him, his rectangle "eyes" glowing with a cold, purple intensity.

  "Don't kill him. I need to interrogate this motherfucker. Isotope, I'm docking your pay for the next six months. Let's go."

  You're going nowhere!

  Before Machine Head's hand could reach Isotope's shoulder, Leon acted. He shifted into his earthbending stance, swiftly circling his hands in one clockwise motion. A short scream was all that escaped Machine Head before his body spun, swallowed whole by the ground.

  [Defeated Machine Head! Reward: 300 GP]

  [Feat Achieved! Captured and restrained a member of The Order in one move! Reward: 150 GP]

  Now there's no chance you're getting away.

  Leon grinned under the mask. He had just put Machine Head ten feet under with no leg room whatsoever. Would the ck of oxygen kill the cyborg? Probably not. But it wouldn't be the least bit comfortable.

  Isotope froze, his eyes wide with a mixture of terror and utter disbelief as he stared at the seemingly untouched concrete.

  "Boss?!" Isotope shrieked, his voice cracking. He scrambled back, realizing he was now the primary target standing in front of a man who could apparently make the ground swallow people whole. "What the—where did you put him?!"

  Kursk didn't waste time with questions. The Russian supervilin powered up, arcs of yellow electricity emerging all over his body.He wore a yellow suit that covered his entire body. His eyes were covered by orange lightning bolts that pointed outwards, in opposite directions. On his elbows and the upper part of his calves were yellow lightning bolts that were the same color as his suit. A yellow crest sat on the top of his head, shaped simirly to a lightning bolt as well.

  Kursk's danger rating was Lethal.

  "I feel the boss. He is in ground!" Kursk said, his accent thick and heavy. Electricity condensed in his palms, illuminating the area like intense lightbulbs. "Magnattack, we crush white mask and force him to dig boss out!"

  Hmm. So that's his name. Never saw him in the show, but he could just be one of the many supervilins that weren't named.

  Beside Kursk, shiny metal ptes encased the tall, unfamiliar man wearing a pitch bck undersuit, forming a suit of armor full of gaps that left his eyes visible. Magnattack's helmet reminded him of Gactus.

  Dangerous.

  However, the ptes weren't attached to his body or linked, making Leon wonder how it managed to hold itself together. He received his answer when Magnattack lifted his arms and aimed them towards him, his intent clear. The metal ptes covering his elbows to his fingers separated from his body and circled his arms.

  "It would be my pleasure!"

  Leon debated on summoning Lily to his side using his Command Seals. Panther Lily was someone that gave Gajeel, a Dragon Syeer, a decent fight. He doubted these two would be much of a challenge for the exceed.

  But bringing in Lily could mean losing the GP that beating these two by himself would grant. Weaker enemies were now giving him far less points than before. This was his chance to potentially gain another few thousand points while testing his capabilities in real combat. And unlike that time with Killcannon, he actually had enough power to deal with them on his own.

  I can win. Isotope looks like he's about to piss his pants, so I don't think he's joining in. Just can't let those two gang up on me. But the moment I feel like I'm gonna lose, I'm calling Lily.

  A long, drawn-out breath escaped Leon's lips. His skin transformed, turning into a bruised purple with bulging veins as he tapped into his body's tent power. The beating of his heart reached a crescendo, hammering against his ribs.

  Removal: 95%!

  Leon smiled. He had no idea how much of this dock was going to be left standing at the end of their fight, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

  For once, I can let myself loose!