Due to Cecil's vigilance and the Guardians' swift response, the Mauler Twins only caused minimal damage. While some of the White House's turrets were still destroyed and the people in the area still had to be evacuated, there weren't any close calls like Darkwing nearly sacrificing himself for a civilian's safety.
Cecil said Immortal was the first to reach the scene, stalling the twins long enough for the others to arrive shortly after.
They were small, but good changes. Tangible ones. Even though Leon was nervous as hell about the other butterfly effects he already caused and the ones coming soon, seeing changes like this tamed his worries.
Leon got a grip on his anxiety and stomped it down. "So, what's the plan?"
"We wait and see," Cecil answered. "Be on high alert. You never know when something unexpected might happen. Expect a status update before midnight."
Just like that, Cecil ended the call. Wiping a hand down his face, Leon took another deep breath. Things were moving way too fast for his liking.
Gotta take things one at a time. First breakfast, then I tell Lily and Nyx.
-x-
Lily's face was the epitome of satisfaction.
"Another excellent meal," he said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "What was the dish called again?"
"Sinigang. It's from an archipelago in Southeast Asia called the Philippines," Leon said, certain he butchered the pronunciation of the dish's name. His mind wandered to a simpler time of his life. "One of my old coworkers who's from there used to share some of her food with me. This was one of my favorites. Glad you like it."
"Its vibrant and fruity sourness blends extremely well with the savory and salty broth without overpowering it. I also understand why you were so adamant that I try it with rice. Without the rice, it feels incomplete."
Hearing Lily compliment his cooking like critic without restraint, Leon smiled. Pride filled his chest. This wasn't the first time his coach had done this, but he doubted it would be the last.
His cooking had improved by leaps and bounds. Potentially far more than his fighting abilities did. He'd already made a variety of dishes from eight different cuisines, including this one. Desserts and baked goods were next on his list.
Leon turned to his feathery friend. "What about you, Nyx?"
"Good," she said before diving back into the remains of her bowl of assorted fruits, sliced boiled egg, nuts, and diced cooked meat. A feast for any bird.
It had been a surprise to hear her "speak" the first time. Turned out crows could mimic human speech. He always thought they just squawked.
Nyx had just been holding back all this time because she had been practicing in secret whenever she went out for a stroll. Only recently was she confident in her mimicry.
That brought a smile to his face when he heard it. Nyx being the shy type hadn't been on his bingo card. His first idea was maybe she thought they'd mock her or made fun of her.
Could crows feel insecure? Normally, he'd say no, but Nyx was just as intelligent as any human. Thoughts for another time.
He really didn't want to interrupt her while she was still finishing the last bits of her food, but it was time for the reveal.
"I know this is rather abrupt, but I have to be the bearer of bad news," Leon said, grabbing their attention. "Cecil called me earlier to make me check what happened on the news broadcast. What we've been waiting for has arrived."
Lily's face tensed. "You mean…?"
Leon nodded, imitating Lily's expression. "Mark should be getting his powers today."
"I see…" Lily digested the information I gave, the frown on his face growing deeper by the second. "Then what will our course of action be?"
There was only one thing they could do.
"What we've been doing since the start," Leon answered. "Cecil told me we should just wait and see, but I think we can do more than that."
Runes of enchantment swirled atop his held out hand.
"You two ready for an upgrade?"
-x-
It wasn't difficult to understand how Greater Enchanting worked, but it had its drawbacks. Consecutive Rare or higher enchantments drained his reserves quickly. The time it took for each enchantment also increased with every rise in tier and level of complexity.
Then there was the matter of capacity.
Ordinary objects could only hold so much. Through trial and error, and one bracelet that cracked in half when he got greedy, Leon worked out the general rule. A mundane object could take one Rare enchantment, two Uncommon ones, or three Commons. Push past that and the item either rejected the enchantment outright or broke.
The exceptions were the Musica Sword and his item rewards. The Unknown Mask, Gordon's Crowbar, and the Guardian Shield all accepted multiple Elite and Rare enchantments just fine.
Complexity ate into capacity too. A single Uncommon enchantment loaded with conditional activations took up almost as much room as two simple ones. He learned that one the hard way when a shirt refused a second enchantment despite having a slot free on paper.
Nothing in life is free. Not even magic clothes.
For nearly three hours, Leon worked through Lily's gear. The Musica Sword. Pants. Boots. Gloves. A bulletproof vest and helmet they'd... borrowed from a mercenary on the island, both Altered until they fit a gigantic cat with shoulders wider than a doorway. Four bracelets from the Wardrobe of Mending rounded out the set.
The sword got Flash and Voltaic Reinforcement. The latter enchantment only applied to the blade itself, wrapping it in crackling lightning without extending the cloak to Lily's body when activated. Leon was still figuring that part out. Something about the boundary between wielder and weapon kept rejecting the transfer.
The rest were simpler. Iron Fist and Fight Mode went on the gloves. Strong Legs on the pants. Light Step on the boots. Shock Absorption on the vest and helmet.
The bracelets were for worst-case scenarios. One enchantment each. White Mage, Hypnos' Blessing, Receptive Body, and Healing Light. The last one carried conditions. If Lily ever went unconscious with injuries present, or took a fatal wound, the bracelet would activate on its own and keep healing until it ran dry or Lily was whole again.
Leon hoped it would never trigger. He enchanted it like it would.
Nyx's set was smaller. Three pairs of rings, Altered into snug bands around her legs. Two held Healing Light. The other four carried White Mage, Shock Absorption, Hypnos' Blessing, and Receptive Body.
"You're my medic," Leon told her as he slid the last ring into place. "If anyone's hurt and I'm busy, you get to them. Civilians, allies, whoever needs it."
Nyx puffed her chest out. She'd been strutting around the counter since the second ring went on.
She was perfect for the job. Small, fast, able to reach places no one else could. Nobody looked twice at a crow, right until it landed on a trapped civilian and their wounds started closing.
Every enchantment recharged off its wearer's energy. Lily's own reserves of Magic Power could refill his gear within hours. Nyx would take far longer, having barely any, but her set wasn't built for sustained combat anyway.
-x-
They spent the next few hours sparring in the gym.
Lily needed to relearn his own weight. Strong Legs powered-up his lunges, and the first time he swung the lightning-wrapped Musica Sword, he overshot and carved a trench into the reinforced floor. Leon treated himself to a rare laugh at his coach's expense and paid for it immediately when Lily recovered faster than expected.
Even Nyx joined in, weaving through the crossfire and tagging them with healing whenever someone ate a hit. By the end, Lily was moving like the gear had always been his, and Nyx had turned battlefield triage into a game only she knew the rules of.
Leon called it there. His reserves were down a third and he wanted them topped off before nightfall.
-x-
He sat on the gym floor afterward, back against the wall, running through his mental checklist.
Lightning generation was done. Finally. The breakthrough came from using Voltaic Reinforcement's activation as training wheels. Every time the cloak wrapped around him, he memorized the sensation of electricity pooling in and around his body, then chased that same feeling without the ability active. A few days of that and he got it down pat.
Lavabending took Hlanith Wine to finally understand. One long chug, and the mental clarity it granted rearranged something in his head. The insight hit him halfway through a training session.
When it finally clicked, it came with a change in style. Fluid steps. Supple redirection. A combat style closer to waterbending than anything Hung Gar taught.
The Branding marks were placed too. Lily and Nyx had both agreed without hesitation when he asked, which he appreciated more than he let show. He wouldn't have even proposed it if they didn't need all the cards they could get.
What's left?
Practice. That was it. His newer abilities needed reps, especially Flow Method. The ability had layers he hadn't touched yet, and every session hinted at insights buried deeper in.
The communicator buzzed against his thigh before he could plan the evening around it.
"Wild Card." Cecil's voice was all business. "I need you moving. Now. You're the closest capable asset we have."
Leon was already on his feet. "Coordinates."
"Sent. Shopping mall, north side of the city."
He snatched the earpiece from the Bag of Holding and hooked it on, then looked at Lily and Nyx. "Trouble. I'll summon you two when I'm there."
Lily nodded, gear already on. Nyx flared her wings once and settled, ready.
Leon shot out of the Suite. Voltaic Reinforcement roared to life the moment his boots hit pavement, lightning swallowing his body whole, and he became a blur.
"Talk to me, Cecil."
"When could you-" He sighed. "Nevermind. Titan took his family to the mall. An escaped supervillain named Rampage decided today was the day to settle some kind of grudge. He has superhuman strength and invulnerability, both a class or two above Titan's. Titan's losing, and there are hundreds of civilians still inside."
Buildings blurred past.
"And Wild Card," Cecil added. "Watch yourself in there. Aria Grayson was last seen entering that mall."
Leon nearly lost his balance mid-stride.
"What the hell is she doing there?!"
"Camera shopping. Kid's been into photography lately."
Leon cursed the universe, its mother, and whoever wrote his luck lately.
The cloak around his body thickened as his speed ramped up.
OOO
Cecil watched the map on the main display. Wild Card was predicted to arrive at the location within thirty seconds. The kid found a way to get even faster somehow. Only this time, he wasn't flying.
Always full of surprises, this kid. They still haven't figured out what the source of his powers could be.
Cecil turned to his right-hand man. "Any luck, Donald?"
"No, sir."
He clicked his tongue.
They only had a few suspects so far, the prime one being Embrace, another member of The Order. The GDA was already in the process of dismantling The Order's operations in Europe and Cecil had no doubt their group had been itching to retaliate. She was also the only one in The Order with the power to go through solid objects, the perfect power for infiltrating.
But how did they find out Titan was the leak?
Cecil already knew the answer the instant the question emerged. The GDA was compromised. But for how long? Since when? How deep did it go?
The answers eluded him.
He added it to his growing pile of worries and drank the last of his water.
Rampage was desperate for a way to escape the confines of the armor trapping him inside, but not even the GDA's resources could do it. But that information was kept in classified files. For Rampage to go after Titan so vehemently, they must have offered a way to pry the armor open.
Cecil crushed the empty cup and tossed it.
"Donald. Pull every set of eyes that's touched Titan's since the deal. Somebody on my payroll sold him out, and I want a name before the day ends."