Vi had never liked Piltover all that much. Sure, she had lived there practically all her life, and she did know it's seedy backstreets like she knew her own hands, but it never really fit with her. Maybe it was the focus on progress, on intrusion into Vi's life and privacy. Maybe it was the crime, the horrible, vicious maniacs that prowled the streets, looking for innocents to steal from, to harm. Then again, maybe it was the police.
The more she thought about it, the easier the choice became; the police were always ruining her fun. She tried to help them out a bit, beating the snot out of as many criminals as she could get her hands on, trying to dissuade them from making the same mistake twice, but it seemed like they treated her worse than the other criminals. For peet's sake, she was HELPING them, and they hunted her like a dog. What ingrates, you know? You'd think they would appreciate it at least a bit, but no, once again, they were chasing her through the back roads right after she stopped a robbery that they were just letting happen. The crooks were getting away, and the cops just stood and watched. Not on Vi's watch. So what if she had brought down part of the bank? The money they saved from the robbery would more than cover that!
"There she is!" she heard an officer shout from behind her. "Don't let her get away!"
"Fuck people, can't you cut me a break?!" she shouted back, grabbing a dumpster and spinning in into the path of the cops to try and slow them. "I did your job for you!"
She clenched her fist in that old familiar way, beginning to charge one of her gauntlets. She heard the whirring and hissing as the Hextech inter-workings began to work furiously, preparing to catapult her further. "No time to chat boys" she shouted back to the pursuing officers. "Maybe some time next week! My schedules full of catching the creeps you let go!" With that, she thrust her fist upwards. The massive glove recognized the movement and sent her rocketing skyward, nearly pulling her arm off as she went. Vi grunted as she felt her shoulder dislocate, sending shooting pain throughout the limb. She landed on the roof of the apartment building she had been running beside, crumpled in a heap.
"Let's not do that again" she muttered to herself, trying to massage her arm back to normal. "Dam that hurt." She pulled herself to her feet, hearing the cries of the police below. Vi jogged across the roof, hopping to the next building. "Easy escape as always" she said, smiling to herself. As the voices of the officers grew fainter, her steps grew slower, until they were just a slow walk along the rooftops. She glanced around, trying to get a bearing on where she was. She had a safe house in the bell tower of a church nearby, so she started moving in that direction.
Vi was never awake during the day. She did most of her work under the cover of darkness, when the most criminals were out. The bank heist had lasted well into the morning, and at this point, Vi mused it must be ten or eleven, long past her bed time. She scratched the back of her neck with her enormous gauntlets and yawned loudly. Dam was she tired. The bell tower loomed overhead, marking home like a beacon of light in the very dark city. She took her "Service ladder" up (Which was really nothing more than a rope ladder she had hung and painted the same color as the bricks to keep it hidden) slowly, trying not to test her injured shoulder to much. She would need her strength the next night, and hoped it would be back to normal by then.
Reaching her hidden lair, she sighed happily. The unused bell sat idle in the center of the tower, a testament to the old days. The church had long since been taken over by some kind of clothing store, and while they used a majority of the building to sell cloths, up here was all Vi's. She threw back the flap of her small tent, revealing a bed just big enough for the woman and nothing else. She disengaged her gauntlets, which fell to the floor with a thump, and flopped onto her bed. "Another day, another hundred people I got to beat the shit out of. What a wonderful world we live in" she chuckled to herself, closing her eyes.
"Not a full hundred people I hope" came a voice from outside the tent. She sat up instantly, eyes shooting open as she did. The voice was female, with a strange accent Vi didn't recognize. The intruder continued. "Before you think about putting those gloves of yours on, do know that you'll be dead before you step out of that little house of yours...I'm not here to fight" she added after a moment. "Just talk."
Vi snorted. "Judging by your tone" she called out "you're not a criminal. If you were, I would be dead by now. You wouldn't have even spoken. No average citizen would spend as much time as it takes to find a way up here. So that means you're either a vigilante, like me..." she paused.
"Or a cop." she said slowly.
The intruder chuckled. "You're right. I'm not a criminal. Come on out and we can talk. Leave your gloves, you won't need them."
Vi sighed. This was a stupid idea, but she was too tired and aggravated to care. She swung her legs off of the bed and pushed the tent flap aside, stepping out into the open.
A cop. Definitely a cop. The first thing she noticed was the had, a large, proper looking top hat that seemed much to big for her, and yet just big enough. She wore a purple dress that hung to her knees, eloquently made and pristine, not a stain to be seen. Her raven hair hung low to her back, her tall leather boots a perfect contrast to the look of her. Ironicly, the last thing she saw was the massive rifle that leaned against the wall next to her. Definitely hextech in make, the cartridge pulsed red every few seconds. The brasswork along the stock and body made it look like a dragon with an exceptionally long snout, ready to spit fire on command. The cop was leaning against the wall beside her gun, arms crossed, lips pursed in what Vi could only interpret as a smile.
"I've been looking for you for quite some time, Vi" she said, showing of her white teeth. Vi's eyes narrowed.
"Ya?" she said, crossing her arms defiantly. "I don't even know you. How did you find me? I go to a lot of work to make sure cops like you DON'T find me, ya know." She eyed the rifle suspiciously.
The cop saw. "No need to fret" she said, stepping away from her weapon. "Like I said, I'm just here to talk."
"Then talk" Vi spat back. "I don't have all day you know. I've been up for quite some time, so the more sleep I can get the better."
"Quite" the cop said, pursing her lips once more. "Strait to the point then. You catch criminals efficiently. More efficiently than almost any officer in the force. We need more people with your drive, your care for helping people, so I'm here to offer you a job. Work for me."
Vi stared, dumbstruck at the women. Her jaw opened slightly, her stance relaxed. Some cop in a big hat had stalked her, followed her back to this particular safe house, gotten there BEFORE she had, and yet instead of arresting her, had offered her a job? Vi couldn't help but laugh. A chuckle at first, then uproariously. She had to steady herself with a hand on the wall to keep from toppling over. The cop's eyebrow twitched, her smile curling into a frown of irritation. "You think I'm funny?" she said, her voice full of malice and frustration."
"Hell ya I do!" Vi said through bouts of laughter. "You go through all the trouble to find me and offer me a job? How dumb do you think I am? I bet you're not even a cop!" another bout of laughter overtook her, and she clutched her stomach in pain. She tried to compose herself, gulping in air. "I mean come on" she said more seriously. "The least you could have done was dress like one. Your outfit is SO uptown it almost hurts. And that hat is WAY to big for regulation!" another bout of laughter. She pulled her arm a bit to hard, causing pain to shoot through it, which cut her laughter a bit short.
"Are you quite finished" the woman snapped.
"Girl, I could go on all day. I'm pretty sure you would shoot me if I did though" she said, standing up a bit straighter. She looked the woman up and down once more, studying her stance. She wasn't laughing. Not even a hint of a smile. A criminal would have given up the gig at that point. "You're serious?" she half asked, half stated.
"I'm serious" she responded. "One way or another, you're coming with me to the station, in handcuffs, or in the front seat of my car. Your choice really."
The threat hi Vi hard, and she grimaced. "I don't like being threatened by cops" she said coldly. The woman smiled again, but this time it was different. Her eyes didn't match the smile.
"Oh dear" she said quietly "It wasn't a threat. It was a promise."