Their budding camaraderie was shattered by a psychic shriek.

  It was a straining pull on Leon's mind. The brands he had pced on the six children bred like fire arms. He clutched his head as the collective terror of six hearts smmed into his consciousness.

  "Leon!" Lily was on his feet instantly, his hand on his bde's hilt. "What's wrong?"

  "The kids I saved," Leon gasped, his eyes glowing with a faint violet light. "Something's wrong. They're terrified and they're calling for me."

  Lily didn't ask questions. He didn't know the kids, but he knew the look on Leon's face. "Then do what you must!"

  Leon reached out to the pulses of light in his mind. He didn't care about the energy cost, flooding the Branding ability with every scrap of power he could muster.

  Come to me!

  Six circles of violet light erupted on the gym floor. In a blink, the six children from the b appeared. They tumbled onto the mats, their faces pale and tear-streaked. The oldest boy was shaking so hard he couldn't stand.

  "You're okay! You're safe!" Leon assured, rushing toward them.

  The children scrambled toward him. They clung to his clothes, their small hands gripping the expensive fabric as if it were the only solid thing in the world.

  "The policeman!" one of them choked out. "The scary one at the hospital... We were… He said our caretaker was a 'failure' and that he was taking us to some kind of permanent residence'! H-He had a gun! A-And he said if we screamed, he'd shoot us!"

  Leon's blood turned to ice.

  He'd been right. Machine Head's reach was everywhere. If the police were already reciming lost "stock," then the news of his raid had reached the top already.

  He had wondered before if taking the tablet was a good move. The police could have used it as evidence. Now he knew that was just wishful thinking. With Machine Head still in power, that would've been pointless.

  "He's not taking you anywhere," Leon reassured. He began patting their heads, his own calming presence working to dull the sharpest edges of their panic. "This pce is safe. The bad guys can't reach you here."

  As their breathing slowed, Leon spotted their injuries—dark, mottled bruises on the their arms and cuts on their lips. He couldn't leave them like this, not when he finally had the power to fix it.

  He took a steady breath, reaching for the warm, vital outlet of energy. A soft, gentle green light began to radiate from his palms, bathing the small, huddled group in a soothing glow. The swelling on a girl's face subsided instantly. Jagged scrapes and bruises on their limbs vanished, the skin becoming as smooth and pristine as if the trauma had never happened.

  "Cool..."

  "Woah."

  "It feels warm..."

  Leon stood up as the children began calming down, his white mask already in his hand. He looked at Panther Lily, who was watching the scene with a look of concern.

  "Lily," Leon said, his voice low. "Please look after them. There are three bedrooms here big enough for all of the kids. Let them sleep. Actually, the kitchen is stocked, so feed them something first. They probably haven't eaten anything good for days—maybe weeks. Perhaps even months. I'll expin everything when I'm back, but right now, I have to move."

  Lily looked at the kids, then back at Leon. He nodded, his eyes hardening. "Go. This 'Order' has much to answer for. I shall keep the kittens safe."

  Leon grabbed the Portal Gun and aimed it at the gym wall. A blue portal bloomed.

  "I'm leaving this portal open. Every other kid I find tonight, I'm sending them straight back here. If someone comes through that isn't me or a kid... You know what to do."

  "They will regret it," Lily promised, his voice like grinding stone.

  "I'm counting on you," Leon said, nodding in approval. "But tell me something first. Are we able to communicate through our Master-Familiar connection like in Fate? If I ever end up in trouble ter, I might need your help."

  Lily nodded. "If you focus on our connection and speak with intent, I will be able to hear your words. The reverse is true as well."

  "Okay. You'll be hearing from me soon."

  As he stored the Portal Gun, Leon pressed the white, featureless mask to his face. He pulled out the tablet he'd taken from the first compound, memorizing the coordinates of the other four sites.

  Leon had to hurry.

  I'll need to ignore everything else and focus on saving the kids before they're transferred to somewhere I can't find. Can't waste time taking out whoever is watching

  Leon checked the phone photos of the maps one st time before he turned to the mahogany door, the High Roller key tight in his hand.

  OOO

  The cold Chicago wind whipped against him as he stood atop a building, observing. He barely felt the chill. In the back of his mind, the six pulses of the children back in the Suite were steady and calmer now, likely under the watchful eye of a very confused but very disciplined bck cat.

  The coordinates of his first target brought him to a nondescript undry processing pnt on the edge of the South Side. To the public, it was a business that smelled of detergent and steam. But to Machine Head, it was a processing hub for "Bio-Stock".

  Time to go.

  Leon approached the facility from the rear, where the concrete was stained with chemical runoff. His enhanced spatial awareness allowed him to gradually map the building in his mind.

  Four guards stood on the ground floor, and a concentrated group of around a dozen were in the sub-basement.

  I may not be good at pure stealth, but I've got new powers to compensate.

  He knelt by a metal grate. Normally, he would need to rip it off by hand or earthbend it out of the way. Leon activated Slip In instead.

  His body flowed, his body's structure feeling like high-density liquid as he poured himself through a narrow st of the grate. It was an almost nauseating, surreal sensation where he felt his ribs compress and his skull elongate. But within three seconds, he nded silently on the concrete floor inside.

  Not wanting to stay in the open for long, he palmed the floor, his earthbending reaching deep into the foundation. The solid material softened into circur fine sand. Entrance made, he jumped into the hole and covered the opening, creating a shaft that bypassed the internal security cameras.

  Moments ter, he emerged in the sub-basement. The room was filled with the hum of machines and the smell of sterile pstic. Eight children were huddled in a single, rge cage. They immediately noticed his presence and pressed into themselves or moved back with fear in their eyes.

  Leon destroyed the security cameras in the room.

  "Lily, get ready. I'm about to send eight kids through the portal," he whispered.

  Lily's voice resounded in his mind like his own thoughts.

  (Affirmative. Send them through.)

  He fired the Portal Gun and a blue portal bloomed on the nearest wall. Lily stood on the other side, his face stern.

  The kids were now staring at the portal and at him, desperate hope burning in their eyes.

  "I'm here to save you kids," Leon said, peeling back the bars like they were wet cardboard and pointing at the portal. "Go through the portal. See that cat on the other side? He's a friend. You'll meet the others I've already saved, too."

  The children looked at him as if they were too stunned to react. They didn't move. It ticked Leon off a little. The cameras he'd destroyed had probably let those upstairs know something was wrong already. Time was ticking.

  "If you don't move, the bad guys upstairs will come! Hurry!"

  That knocked them out of their stunned state and they scrambled through. The moment the st one stepped inside the portal, Leon nodded at Lily before he colpsed the wall the portal stuck to.

  He escaped not a moment ter.

  [Feat Achieved! Infiltrated a high-security facility and rescued your priority targets without any casualties. Reward: 150 GP]

  Next one.

  The second site was a jarring shift. It was a residential brownstone in a quiet neighborhood. As Leon crouched on the roof, he picked up something that made him hesitate for a moment. Rhythmic, muffled sounds of a family having dinner on the second floor reached his ears. Laughter and the clink of silverware drifted through the air.

  Wanting to make sure he was at the right pce, he used Slip In to through a chimney flue, descending into the celr. He moved with cold, focused silence, neutralizing two guards with non-reinforced strikes before they could drop the sandwich in their hands.

  [Defeated 2 armed guards! Reward: 4 GP]

  Seeing the notification confirmed his theory from before.

  I really do get less points from weaker enemies the stronger I get.

  Directly beneath the family upstairs, in a reinforced celr, he found and saved five more kids.

  [Feat achieved! Executed a high stakes rescue in a residential zone without colteral damage or casualties. Reward: 200 GP]

  The third site, an old electrical substation, tested his swiftly-growing stealth capabilities. The yout underground wasn't simple, and he couldn't just make rge tunnels due to all the infrastructure hiding within the walls and the floor. He was even nearly spotted during his infiltration.

  A guard turned the corner just as Leon was halfway through a hole in the wall using Slip In. He had to freeze, his body half-liquid, half-solid, hidden behind a stack of crates. He waited for the guard's footsteps to recede before finishing the transit.

  Inside a room they had hidden from pin sight, seven more children were being held in a room that smelled of ozone and bleach. After the st child stepped into the Suite, he broke the portal leading to it and let out a sigh.

  Last one.

  But before he even reached the fourth location, he received an ominous message.

  [Feat Achieved! Gained Machine Head's hatred. Reward: 150 GP]

  I can get points this way?

  Leon paused in the air, frowning in confusion. This was the first time he'd ever gotten points because of someone simply hating him. The only different factor this time was Machine Head's significance to the original plot as an antagonist. Could that be it?

  Did he finally realize I knew where all the kids were being held? Shit. I need to speed up!

  The fourth location was a sprawling logistics hub near the docks. By the time he reached it, it was deep into the night.

  Below him, an inconspicuous truck was idling. A small group of men in tactical gear wielding assault rifles shoved and manhandled small, shivering figures into the back of the vehicle. One guard, a man with a scarred neck, threw the st one—a young girl—into the truck with such force Leon heard her body crash against the metal interior.

  I was almost too te. I need to stop that truck from taking off.

  He stepped off the roof, catching the air with his heels as if the empty space were as solid as stone. His feet then nded on the concrete without a sound before he smmed his palms against the ground. Beneath the idling truck, the floor transformed into a deep, fine sand that swallowed the tires up to the axles in an instant.

  Shouts erupted, but Leon was already a blur of charcoal and purple. He moved with swiftness that made the guards' movements look like they were under mud.

  The first man tried to level his rifle. Leon caught his forearm, the snap of bone echoing like a dry branch breaking, and hurled him into a wall. He didn't stop to check the damage. He no longer cared if they lived or died from his blows, but he still restrained himself just enough to not pop their bodies like gory balloons.

  He weaved through a barrage of bullets, evading most, but each one that did hit felt like a painful flick. His kick struck another man's torso, and he felt ribs break as the man crashed into a wall. Not slowing down, Leon lightly jumped over another hail of bullets, soaring more than a dozen feet into the air.

  Those rifles are starting to annoy me.

  He flicked his hands, and two charged cards clipped the weapons right out of the remaining guards' grasps. The localized bursts of force unched them into the shipping containers behind them, knocking them out. Their hands and parts of their faces were mangled, bloody messes.

  That's all of them.

  [Defeated 4 armed ex-military convicts! Reward: 20 GP]

  Taking a survey of his surroundings, Leon knocked out those that were still conscious and restrained their limbs with reinforced and molded rock cuffs. After waiting for possible reinforcements and seeing no one come, he double-checked that the area was now clear.

  "Lily, I'm about to send the st round of children through," he said, mind centered on his and Lily's 'tether'.

  Leon received Lily's reply immediately.

  (Message received. Ready when you are.)

  By the time Leon reached the back of the truck and opened it, the children were all staring at him with fear and apprehension in their eyes. Before saying anything, he pulled the Portal Gun from the subspace and fired an orange pulse at a brick wall.

  "It's okay, it's okay. I beat up all the bad guys," he said, raising his hands in a pcating manner. "I'm here to save you. Go through that portal over there. See that cat with a big head on the other side? He's a friend."

  Not wanting to waste any more time, Leon ushered the children through the portal one by one. As the st child scrambled into the portal, a notification appeared.

  [Feat Achieved! Succeeded in a high stakes rescue operation all across the city. Reward: 350 GP]

  Not bad. I could get another ptinum ticket now and some-

  He sensed a violent ripple in space. It was unlike anything he'd sensed before. His eyes widened.

  Don't tell me-