Leo watched it happen and his anxiety ratcheted up. The computer was slow to reboot. Everyone'd been dismissing that popup asking to install updates forever, as far as Leo knew. The system was down. There was no one, but his button to keep a record of what was going on right now.

He turned back to Saphirus, AKA Tank Top Tiger, and watched his eyes grow hard and angry. Was this how it happened? Was a slow slide between personas? Was he in trouble now? Leo glanced at the closed office door. It may as well have been ten miles instead of ten inches away.

> "You'll have to be more specific... You see... I don't know what the #$%^ you're talking about."

Cursing. Bad sign number 364. He was ready to come clean now, but Mr. Saph wasn't done.

>"It's illegal to record people in this state without their permission. That's what you're doin, ain't it?"

"Yes, sir. I'd turn it off if I could, but I'm afraid for my life right now, and I'd like my parents to know what happened if, uh... you know." Well, that was seeming like a more real possibility now than when he'd originally reasoned that out. Leo swallowed. Hard.

"You want me to be specific," Leo frowned. He had wanted Mr. Saph to be specific. He wanted to get him to admit it. And he didn't. That was why they were both still tapdancing around all the important words.

"Look. I don't especially want you to be in trouble. I want you to get help." And he could get some trust if he turned off the camera, right? Leo pulled the button off of his shirt and set it on the counter next to the computer keyboard. It was still sending video (of the ceiling, but whatever) and even if it got smashed, the audio was really being recorded by the phone in his pocket.

So. Here goes clear...

"Mister Saphirus, I have some pretty compelling evidence that you have a persona too violent to show even to the X-men. He's hurt people. He's even... killed people for his own brand of justice."

It was coming together in Leo's head that he was not a smart man to be telling this to the man who'd done all that.

"He calls himself..."

Leo waited half a beat just in case Saph wanted to help him out. No such luck.

"You call yourself..."

Was he really going to make Leo say it?

"Tank Top Tiger."

That did it. He knew that look. The one behind someone's eyes when their soul was shaking. The glance toward the door didn't hurt to enforce the thought that he had this kid's back against the wall. Still, like the dog who caught it's tail, he wasn't sure what he would do once it came out.

This kid knew he was the Judge. He could ruin him. After hundreds... No... Honestly, thousands of fights, it would all be over. He'd fought men that could level buildings at barely more than a thought; titans who could throw mountains across seas. And a high school kid with a camera was going to bring him to his knees. He couldn't kill this kid. He couldn't silence him with threats.

All that was left was to hear it. The camera was set down, he looked to it. It was a good guess. He knew that this kid was into recording things. Heck, he was apparently given access to the security cameras to shoot some sort of documentary.

"Mister Saphirus, I have some pretty compelling evidence that you have a persona too violent to show even to the X-men. He's hurt people. He's even... killed people for his own brand of justice." His eyes found themselves on Leo once more. They made a slow transition from hard to empty.

"He calls himself..."

Here it was. The unraveling of it all. Prison would be interesting; he'd have a lot of criminals to fight. Solitary would likely be a regular home for him. Could he handle that?

He would miss Shelby. He would miss his daughter. Would both of them understand? Elke would get why he did it, but how would she deal with another parent leaving her? She'd been doing so well in school. He wouldn't blame Shelby if she left him.

"You call yourself..."

He braced for it. The mortal blow.

...

"Tank Top Tiger."

Tank... Tank top tiger.

He stared for another moment, and then blinked.

"Tank Top Tiger." Oh #^%*. No way! He thought- He really did think. No $#&kin way! Everything was going to be okay. He couldn't ruin this. He stuck his face in that serious expression as he slowly reached out.

"So... You know. What do I do with you now?" What did that kook even sound like? Nope, he wasn't even going to try an impression. His hand got closer and closer. Would the kid cower?

"I know what i'll do."

The hand would seek to plop itself down on his shoulder.

"I'ma give a crazy kid a month of detention for recording me without my permission, and point and laugh at him for honestly thinking i'm Tank Top freaking Tiger. Seriously, you couldn't have picked one of the cooler vigilantes? I dunno... Blue Torch or The Strange Doctor or something. What, I look like I dye my eyebrows like tiger stripes and run around in a tank top punching jaywalkers for a good time?"

The security system kicked back on, and he turned to a chart on the wall next to them, leaning over to check off the system refresh on the weekly maintenance chart.

"How's community service sound? I'm having my daughter clean gutters after that last stunt she pulled. Sounds like good work for someone with an imagination like you, eh? You can pretend you're anywhere else, doing anything else." The built mutant turned to start the recording program again."Kid, I dunno what evidence you think you have, but there ain't enough hours in the day for me to be anyone but me."

With a deep breath, he stared the juvenile right in the eyes. "You gotta take a deep breath, Leo. This is a goddam school. You're safe here. No one is gonna hurt you. If they try, they got me, and a whole lot of other people to contend with first. Try to take it easy, okay?"

He looked down and chuckled to himself, adding in a head shake for good measure. "Tank Top Tiger. I'm keeping the camera for now. Don't let the door kick you in the back on the way out."

He sounded... relieved? Maybe it was for the best that it was all out there and in the open, now.

> "So... You know. What do I do with you now?"

"You let me go because I have enough evidence to sink you and I'm not dumb enough to have it on me." But he was dumb enough to tell him about it. Leo eyed the hand that approached him with increasing alarm. 3T didn't exactly care about the sanctity of life.

But he only pat Leo on the shoulder. It seemed that the Masochist persona was the dominant one, after all. If he was a balloon, he would have deflated from sheer relief.

> "I'ma give a crazy kid a month of detention for recording me without my permission, and point and laugh at him for honestly thinking i'm Tank Top freaking Tiger."

Leo blinked and then despaired. A month!

"No. You totally don't get it. If you're not tank top, then you're somebody else, Mr. Saph. Even if you don't know it." Except... he did know it, right? He'd looked hella nervous when he'd gotten those notes. Mr. Saph did have a good point about the eyebrows. Frik. He'd overlooked that one. "Okay, well if not 3T," and not The Strange Doctor, "then you're the Punchinator. Say 'I'll be Bach' and then we'll all know it's you!"

> "How's community service sound?"

Noooo! He was losing him! He couldn't hide behind his mask of adult responsibility and the ruse of someone protecting him. Leo was not going to let him shrug this off. He did, however, let Saph confiscate his button camera. He would definitely check in on that badboy whenever Saph put it somewhere.

"Well, it's not like you could be RoboChop or The Judge, for obvious reasons." Obvious reasons that Leo neglected to share because his brain was on overdrive trying to think up who Mr. Saph could really be besides himself.

"I got it!" Leo snapped. "Your secret-secret identity is actually a rock star. You sing in a band, but you suck! I'll bet it's NickleFront."

And just as suddenly as this whole thing had started, Leo was standing outside the security office door.

What... just... happened!?