She could have been convinced that she'd actually perished back in the labyrinth of sewers, or even before that in the interrogation chair; that being carried down a tunnel in the arms of a great, steel golem was only a projection of her fading mind on the verge of brain-death.
Jinx struggled to keep her eyes open, though her carriage was anything but gentle — the thing thudded forward without any grace, puffing steam from its back and sounding with a constant metal crunch as hulking gears transferred kinetic force down to its legs.
The creation was far and above anything she might have expected from the guy when she'd met him…
Viktor trudged along ahead of them, breathing through the respirator strapped to his face. Purple metallic fibers glimmered in the dim light from underneath his clothing — she'd only managed a glimpse at him before the machine had scooped her up, but it looked like even less of his regular skin remained from when they'd last spoken.
"…Not too much farther, Miss Jinx," he told her, as she felt herself fading.
The robot managed to bring her up a steel ladder with her in its arms, and deposited her upon a set of flat stone steps. Only a flickering glow of orange ember distracted her from the night's sky, as her weary eyes drifted upon the sight of Vander's face, sculpted in steel.
She hadn't been to visit the statue in some time…
"Power-down for a moment, Blitzcrank…" spoke Viktor, as he leant down to observe the state of her.
"SEVENTEEN HOURS REMAIN BEFORE RECHARGE CYCLE IS—" the machine began to sound.
"—For discretion," Viktor clarified. "High importance."
The golem promptly acquiesced, folding its arms and legs inside of itself, the glow of its eyes and chest turning dark.
Jinx let her eyelids fall closed again.
"Can't stay here…" she rasped. "Might find me, still…"
"You cling to life, Miss Jinx— save your words…" She heard him open and close some part of the dormant machine's frame, before returning to her.
"Do not mind the sting," he warned, before slipping a needle beneath her skin.
A jolt of vigor snapped her eyes wide as it electrified her nerves, while she saw the blood-vessels crossing through her pupils pulse with purple. She found herself suddenly sitting up, her jaw clenched.
Viktor studied her. "Who… brought these injuries upon you?" he asked.
Her body shuddered briefly — she still needed a moment to gather her battered self…
"…You wouldn't know 'em," she muttered, dejectedly stroking the remaining part of the finger they took from her.
She glanced at the strange little modified injecting device he'd used on her. "I don't know how all you people can actually take that stuff… Shimmer…" she groaned.
His brow raised slightly. "Yes, well… I suppose I experienced it similarly, my first time…"
Her lips quivered, as she exhaled.
"I, uh…" she began, "I'd bet you didn't expect to run into me again so soon, huh?" She managed a sliver of a smirk, but it felt joyless.
The smile he returned her was a sadder one. "I… wish to know, Miss Jinx— had it been your intention the entire time? To incite Piltover's fury in this way?" He nodded into the distance, his tone turned frosty. "I can only gather that you played a role in this, given your forewarning a night ago…"
His expression was unreadable — what did he want to hear? That it was all some sort of accident? Maybe he could go talk to Silco sometime; the philosophical tirades were always his thing…
"They always wanted to do it to us…" she glumly shrugged, "hardly anything new here…" It was her best summation of Silco's words, repeated to her over the years.
Viktor sighed, after a moment. "You should accompany me to my lab — the serum's effect will wear off, and you will be as vulnerable as before. It would be wise of you to treat that, sooner rather than later…"
He motioned to her hand — the stump had begun to weep again.
"Crap…" she muttered, pressing against the bandage.
The robot whirred back to life upon Viktor reactivating it. It briefly re-tested the range of motion of its various joints, before treading the path back for them.
"Can he fight?" she wondered, as she hobbled along behind it, alongside Viktor.
"Not by my design, but its capabilities thus far have not always comported with my expectations," he said.
"…So, you did get lonely, huh?" she remarked, eliciting a less-than-amused expression from him.
"It assists me in my work," he replied.
"What— 'til you turn yourself all the way into a robot…?" she prodded.
He gave the small sliver of exposed fiber between his glove and the end of his sleeve a glance. "I… don't believe that's what it is, Miss Jinx."
"Right— you experiment on your own skin, I remember..." she retorted. "Well, whatever's going on with all that, it does seem like it's already taken your sense of humor, if you ever had one…"
He side-eyed her, and after a moment, she shrunk from his gaze.
"Sorry—" she muttered, "it's been a long day…"
~~~~~
~~~~~
~~~~~
It was unusual, seeing her boss be led around by one of the Chem-Barons — their single-serving interests usually left them earning very little in the way of respect from him.
But Silco had shown up with Chross at his side of all people, and had ordered her to bring herself and a detachment force to yet another location — no doubt he was under the impression that he'd find Jinx there; the perpetual spanner in their plans, the foolish girl who'd never actually learned to take care of herself despite Sevika's hampered efforts over the years…
Something had seemed off by the time they'd made it there, though.
Sevika hazarded a step toward the place, meeting only silence. She could see plenty of fallen about — had the kid done all this? Boss had mentioned him having gone ahead of them, that they'd likely find him here, but… the scene was brutal, even to her…
Silco joined her side, as their men began to sweep the place.
"I see more of Renni's men than Smeech's…" he grimly remarked.
Sevika couldn't help but stare at one of the bodies, fixated on the nature of the wounds — they'd been sliced apart, in every direction…
"I've seen the kid fight, sir," she said to him, "but, I've never once seen him rely on a blade…"
"Mm…" Silco was quiet; contemplative. She couldn't read his expression.
"Boss—!" one of the men called out, standing over a dead somebody.
They made their way over. "What—?" Silco demanded, impatiently.
"Isn't this—?" the man returned.
They both turned their heads down to look at it.
The body soaked there in a pool of its own blood, having oozed from countless horrific gashes painting it up from head to toe, but simultaneously, its features were unmistakable — it was him…
They both stood silently for some time.
"…Take it he insisted on going it alone?" she ventured.
He met her with silence, so she shot a covert glance his way. She'd only witnessed him simmering in such a manner a handful of times before. Dire times…
"…Guess he was more of a fool than I took him for," she went on remarking.
Silco finally tore his gaze from the body. "It matters not— it's done."
She could sense his rage. She didn't imagine there was much she could do short of bringing him an unharmed Jinx that would assuage him; the rational part of her did hope that would be the night's outcome…
Chross strolled over toward their party before long, flanked by his own grumbling men on either side.
"You got some sort of insightful explanation for all this, Chross?" she spoke up, shifting her head.
The man took note of Garou's hacked-up corpse. "Regarding this one? Well, perhaps Smeech is indeed able to make use of that arsenal of blades he had made up for himself— have you laid eyes on him as of late? He's taken to augmented limb replacement with an even greater enthusiasm than you have…"
Sevika eyed him. "Mine wasn't by choice…" she shrugged.
Silco's flame-fueled gaze landed on Chross. "Is there a particular reason you wouldn't expect to find that Yordle rat among this pile of corpses…?"
Chross stepped back slightly. "Of course not. I'd say itappears the two factions must have turned on one another — I mentioned that it seemed a shaky alliance, at best…"
Silco pinched his nose, between his eyes. "And where, exactly, might they have been keeping her during all of this?" he growled.
"Well, Renni has been known to perform interrogations in the old vault underneath her Chemtank armory." He gestured to the right of them.
It wasn't particularly obscure — by the time they began toward it, several of their men were beginning to make their way out having already searched the place.
'Damn…' she thought, as they carried out what looked to be some of Jinx's droll-looking weapons. And, something else…
She caught her boss' eye twitching a little, as they drew closer.
"Sir—" one of them spoke up, "wasn't any sign of her, so, we figured to check all of the cold-lockers, and, well…"
He held up a bag of ice.
"We weren't so sure at first, but, Boss— the painted nail…"
Silco snatched the frosted bag away from the man. She noticed his breaths become had more deliberate.
'Shit…' she silently cursed.
All stood timidly.
Her boss wouldn't tear his eyes away from the sight of his daughter's severed finger.
~~~~~
~~~~~
~~~~~
Whatever the thing was, it had certainly captured Ekko's attention.
He'd come across all manner of exotic creatures, having been brought through Zaun's ports for grey market trading from all corners of Runeterra, exposing him to the stunning variety of forms it appeared that life could take. Still, he found himself disturbed by this beast; the ferocity it displayed, and worse, the implication presented by it having been set loose on the city.
He could only describe it as a wolf, but one grown to the size of several men; a stature which didn't slow it down one bit, Ekko thought as he pursued the blur of blue fur from the safety of Zaun's rooftops.
A familiar presence joined at Ekko's side.
"Tell me you aren't thinking of going anywhere near it…" Scar urged him.
Ekko huffed. "Maybe we can divert it — I've already had to watch it cross paths with one unlucky soul… dude didn't stand a chance…"
They both hopped onto their boards when they ran out of roof space, crossing the chasm through the air and landing upon the next building.
"It's gotta be something they cooked up…" Scar replied, "look at all that strapped up on its back."
"Even still… I've never seen anything like it…" Ekko shuddered.
Scar seemed to notice how near they were to the Bridge of Progress.
"You think we can really lead it over there, so the enforcers can try their hand putting it down?" he said.
They both flinched slightly as the beast pierced the air with a low, blood-curdling howl.
"Oh, shit…" Ekko quickly hurried ahead.
"What—?" Scar called, his tone hushed.
Ekko peered down below, steeling himself to take action — there was a child down there…
"Hide, kid," he whispered in hope.
Scar grabbed Ekko's arm. "Wait, man…"
The kid was cloaked, cowering behind a dumpster, but the wolf wasn't moving on; it seemed to sense something in the air.
"We have to distract it…" Ekko whispered back.
Scar exhaled, releasing his arm. "In and out — bombs first."
Ekko had his in hand, ready to prime.
The beast let out a growl which reverberated through the air from below, skulking in a circle while it tried to follow its nose.
"Go," he whispered, taking the plunge whilst activating his crystalline explosive.
He landed it at the beast's hind foot, hearing it sent into a startled fury as the crystals tethered it, but Ekko didn't dare look back. He beelined for his short, cloaked target, holding his arm out. Scar's bomb also sounded off behind him, but then there was a shout…
"EKKO—!"
His reflexes were barely quick enough for him to pull up on his board and avoid a swipe of brass claws, sharpened into razors.
'So fast…' he panted, gathering his senses before he could circle back around.
He turned to see Scar make a dive toward the beast, bludgeon in hand.
The wolf was the victor of the collision; Scar was sent careening into a balcony, his weapon falling and clattering on the pavement.
'Shit—' Ekko felt wobbly all of a sudden…
He had no choice but to loose his remaining two bombs. Scar's board teetered on the edge, threatening to fall, too…
He saw the kid in the cloak make a break for it, at the limited speed they could manage. The beast wouldn't be held for long…
Ekko gritted his teeth and sped down to scoop them up. They let out a small yelp in surprise as Ekko forced them into place on the front of his board.
He heard the crystals shatter as he knew he would — he just needed height…
They wobbled violently in the air, as the beast's swipe partially hit its mark. The board threatened to capsize with the additional weight of the two of them, but Ekko managed to maneuver such that he could counterbalance them.
He checked on Scar, his heart feeling relief as he spotted his comrade's green sky-trail above them.
The beast roared so loudly that it felt like it was right about Ekko's ears again as they sped off; he could barely bring himself to turn back and make sure that they'd lost it.
'It can't fly, you idiot…' he reassured himself.
He hadn't felt that type of visceral fear for as long as he could remember…
"Hold on—!" he called into the ear of his passenger as they made landing, Ekko lifting them into his arms to dismount from the air.
He placed them down again, on solid ground; an inconspicuous spot Scar had found for them.
Ekko keeled over, taking some time to catch his breath. He felt a hand on his shoulder after a moment, presuming it to be his comrade.
"Are you hurt, good lad?" an older, unfamiliar voice spoke.
Ekko was startled by the sight of the concerned Yordle before him, pulling back his cloak for the first time. No— not just any Yordle…
"I cannot begin to express my gratitude, dear boy — I do hope you're both alright…" he went on.
Ekko and Scar briefly glanced at one another in bewilderment.
"You're… Councillor Heimerdinger…?" Ekko ventured, beginning to doubt himself.
"Oh…" The Yordle looked almost crestfallen, for a moment. "I'm… quite glad that my reputation still precedes me, even in times such as these…" He let out a short, sad chuckle.
Ekko found himself a little stumped. "I… what are you doing down here, Councillor…?"
"It's… just Heimerdinger now, I'm afraid," he replied, attempting to sound cheerful. "And… well, I'd rather like to say that I think the citizens of this city might need all the help they can get, now of all times. In fact, given all that just happened, I'd now very much like to begin, if I may, by repaying the two of you. You saved my life, back there — if I can be of service in any way at all, dear lads…"
Ekko and Scar both looked at each other once more.