"Beep..."
"This is the 911 emergency center."
"I need to report something!"
"Ma'am, please provide your location and the situation you're facing."
"I found an alien."
"...Sorry, ma'am, could you repeat that?"
"I said, I found an alien. I opened my door, and he was just lying there at my doorstep, and..."
"...Alright, we'll get there as soon as possible. Oh, and happy April Fool's Day, ma'am."
"...Hey, wait!"
"..."
Cole, from the New York City emergency call center, hung up the phone and took off his headset. He then turned to his colleague standing by a large blackboard and said, "Gray, add one more to the alien tally!"
Gray, who was standing in front of a blackboard borrowed specifically for this day, gave Cole a gesture before adding another mark under "Aliens" on the board. After glancing at the current scores displayed, he clapped his hands and addressed the group of operators, "Alright, we've got fifty-two votes for aliens, thirty-six for magicians, fifteen for supernatural events, and three hours left until midnight..."
Just then, a male operator on the right side of the room spoke into his headset, "Gray, add another one for aliens. I just got a call saying someone encountered an interstellar cop."
Gray nodded and added another mark.
On the left side, a blonde woman five workstations away from Cole raised her hand and said, "Gray, I got a call about a car driving off on its own. What's that count as?"
Gray shrugged, "Supernatural event, add one."
The blonde woman spread her hands, indicating she was fine with that.
April Fool's Day, a joyful occasion. Every year on this day, pranks take center stage. With the widespread use of phones, emergency call centers have become prime targets for prank calls. Almost every April Fool's Day, 911 centers across the country receive a flood of fake reports about alien invasions, magicians appearing, ghosts popping up somewhere, and the like.
However!
Over the years, the call centers have gradually perfected a way to find amusement amid the chaos, turning these fake reports into a game.
All the staff at the call center participate, choosing categories like "Aliens," "Supernatural," "Magicians," "Animals," and so on to bet on. Then, at midnight, the category with the most reports wins, and that group takes all the bets from the others...
What?
What if it's real?
Come on, it's the twentieth century, after all. Besides, New York City and its callers have developed a certain understanding. If you make up something like a murder case and the police actually show up, you'd be the one in trouble later...
So.
This has become an unspoken rule between the call center and the public.
April Fool's Day, you know.
A time to have fun with the people.
However...
Michaela Vicks, wearing clothes that perfectly showcased her well-developed figure, stared at the blond, blue-eyed man lying on her couch and didn't feel much like laughing.
It was simple.
When Michaela Vicks had opened her door earlier, the blond, blue-eyed man now unconscious on her couch had black hair. And just a moment ago, his clothes were blue, looking very sci-fi, but now they were...
Instant hair change...
No.
An instant transformation.
Michaela gripped her mobile phone and cautiously approached the couch. She could hear the blond man's breathing clearly.
"What should I do?"
Michaela squeezed the phone in her hand. She had already called the police, and the patrol car should be on its way. Right, I need a weapon.
Snapping back to her senses, Michaela grabbed a baseball bat from the corner and assumed a defensive stance. Every girl from Queens knows how to fight.
"Ha!"
"...Who?"
Michaela heard a sudden laugh, instantly tensing up. She then turned her gaze to the couch in the living room.
The blond man...
He was gone.
The next second.
Michaela froze, feeling a breeze from behind her. Her expression stiffened, and she slid forward a step, gripping the baseball bat with both hands and swinging it backward.
Clang!
Thud!
Lake, dressed in a well-fitted black suit, watched the baseball bat whistling toward his right cheek. He lowered his head with a smile, the corners of his mouth curving upward slightly.
A mere baseball bat could take down him, Lake Reese, the one known as the Miracle of the Valoran Universe? The one who had crossed Demacia, passed through Ionia, flirted at the peak of Targon, fished on the Shadow Isles, fought in Noxus, witnessed the glory of Shurima, seen the little yordles of Bandle City, and slain monsters in the Void?
Heh.
Utterly delusional!
With that thought, Lake extended his right hand, forming two fingers, and reached directly for the incoming baseball bat.
The next second.
Thud!
Crash!
Michaela blinked as she watched Lake collapse to the ground. Seeing him twitching on the floor, she suddenly felt curious.
"Wait, what was he planning to do with those two fingers?"
"Was he asking for a cigarette?"
"..."
Half an hour later.
Lake opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling that came into view. The right side of his head throbbed faintly. Pain. What had just happened?
Lake tilted his head to one side, looking at his right hand.
It was tied up.
His left hand?
The same.
His feet?
Lake exerted some force. No doubt about it, they were tied too.
Heh.
The corners of Lake's mouth curved upward. Did he earn the title of the Miracle of Valoran in this lifetime so easily? He had endured the curse of the Moon Goddess, survived the guillotine of Noxus, been swallowed by the River King, faced the Warden roaring to ignite his soul, had the Death Singer perform a song in front of him, and heard the Madman of Zaun threaten to gut him. And yet, what happened?
Ha.
A bunch of clowns, raging impotently.
So.
What was being tied up by hands and feet compared to that? Was it scarier than the guillotine or worse than the River King's bad breath?
What a joke.
With that thought, Lake flexed his limbs, but he didn't hear the sound of the restraints breaking...
...What's going on?
Lake frowned slightly and tried again. The restraints were still there.
What the hell?
In all of Valoran, the only thing that could bind him was the dragon sinew inside the Star Forger Dragon King. Could it be that the Dragon King had finally grown tired of living?
Lake pondered this curiously. Just then, with a creak, the sound of a door being pushed open rang out.
Lake gave a cold smile and fixed his gaze ahead.
Michaela, holding the baseball bat, walked cautiously into her bedroom.
Heh.
A weakling.
With just one glance, Lake saw through the woman who appeared somewhat familiar in front of him. Then, in the common tongue of Valoran, he asked, "Tell your master to come out. Who kidnapped me? Was it Caitlyn, Miss Fortune, Sona, Diana, Akali... or all of them together?"
Michaela frowned, "What are you talking about? Can you speak English?"
"English?"
Lake frowned slightly, then paused. His language shifted into English with a hint of an East London accent, "Who are you? Where am I? Is this Earth?"
Great.
Lake felt a surge of excitement. He knew combining the old man Time's great clock with the Void Core from the Void would allow him to leave Valoran.
He had succeeded.
I, Lake Reese, the Miracle of Valoran, an Earthling from the East, Lake, after wandering for a full fifteen thousand three hundred sixty years and forty-five days, have finally returned.
Earth.
I'm back.
Your child, who wandered far, has finally found the way home and returned.