The Enforcer turned her hands over, looking at her palms. It was strange to her that her hands were still almost as small as they'd been when she'd first dawned the gauntlets to rescue those miners, all those years ago. Her skin was pale from seeing the sun so little- in stark contrast to her shoulders and legs, which were often hovering at near-sunburned levels of tan.
Her hands were not nice hands, Vi decided. Maybe that was why she'd never let anyone see them.
A trumpet sounded outside. Vi reached down and locked into her gauntlets, feeling their familiar, comforting weight settle. She brought her fists together with a mechanical clunk and a soft hiss of steam.
That was fine by her. Better for punching things.
Vi left her simple room in the Human wing of the League dormitories. The rooms were separated by race not for political purposes, but for convenience. Different beings require different rooms, and what was comfortable for one race wasn't for another. There were some exceptions, of course- Shyvana was housed along with Brand and Malphite in a high-heat area more suited to their biologies, but for the most part, members of the same race had the same dorms.
Some champions transformed their rooms into havens. Vi had left hers mostly alone, only installing a bench to maintain her gear and a large Hextech station to charge her gauntlets. Caitlyn's room was filled with guns and the various paraphernalia that went with them, along with filing cabinets for the hundreds of case files she always seemed to bring.
Vi made a mental note to see about upgrading her room. A mirror, some oak floors, and a punching bag would do nicely. She walked along the path that led to the League common areas and entered the dining hall.
Breakfast on the opening day of the new season was always a fun time. Friends caught up, rivalries reignited, and old flames prodigiously avoided each other.
The dining hall naturally divided itself by faction. Vi spotted Ziggs, Heimer, Jayce, and Corki already at a table eating. The Zaun table was nearby. Jinx was polishing her weapons, Zac was... Doing whatever Zac did, and Viktor was using his death laser to toast bread for Sion, who was visiting the Zaun table from the Noxus table. Zaun and Noxus were staunch allies- unlike Piltover, which had no real allies to speak of. They were on friendly terms with Demacia, but Demacia would defend almost anyone if they considered the action just. And they'd received no help when Jinx had nearly levelled the city.
Vi scowled at the thought. Jinx caught her eye and stuck out her tongue, then flipped her hair somewhat attractively. Vi snorted and looked away.
"Hey Vi!" Vi turned to see Annie behind her, Tibbers tucked under her arm and a sweet smile on her face.
"Sup, girl on fire?" Vi grinned back, squatting down to hug the Dark Child. Annie was an independent, and had opposed Vi on the Fields of Justice more than once, but they were good friends. Vi's confidence and easy-going nature, combined with her tough as nails appearance and her bright pink hair made her almost like an imaginary friend brought to life for the little girl. "How's the bear?"
"A little hungry," came the answer. "They never have food for Tibbers here. Something about a bloody mess or something."
"I'm sure he'll find a snack on the Fields. Maybe Jinx, eh?" Vi joked, knowing full well Annie was on friendly terms with that violent criminal.
In fact, Vi couldn't think of anyone that Annie wasn't on friendly terms with. She had a way of charming even Champions who didn't have emotions.
Annie giggled.
"Jinx is too skinny. She might give Tibbers tummy troubles. Anyways, I gotta go talk to Amumu before the matches start. Bye-bye!" Vi waved goodbye and watched Annie skip away. She got in line for breakfast and found herself behind another friendly face. She tapped a shoulder with a giant mechanical finger.
Lux turned around and lit up, so to speak.
"Vi!" She threw her arms around her. Vi hugged back, laughing.
"Night-light. How've ya been?" Lux took a supporting role in the field, and a handy throw of her baton had rescued Vi from a sticky situation more than once. A friendship had naturally evolved.
"Well enough, I suppose," Lux returned. "The off-season is kind of lonely."
"Missed the Prodigal Explorer, did you?" Vi asked with a smirk. Lux blushed slightly.
"Him too."
"Still hoping he'll explore your caverns?" Lux gasped and slugged Vi in the shoulder, turning scarlet.
"Vi!" The Enforcer burst out laughing.
"Have you seen him, by the way?" Lux asked, attempting to change the subject.
"Nope. Cait neither." Vi gingerly spooned some scrambled eggs onto her plate.
"Do you think they're... Together?" Lux asked hesitatingly, her expression carefully guarded. She picked at a salad bar, eventually only taking a handful of croutons.
"Together as in physically? Most likely. Together as in together? Not on her life." Vi piled bacon on to her plate. Lux wrinkled her nose at the meats.
"Alright. Its just that they spent so much time together last season, I thought maybe..." Vi laughed.
"No, nothing like that. Ez knows the tunnels better than anyone, and Cait thinks her mystery thief might have used them." They walked side by side away from the food lines. "I don't think Cait can even have feelings for other people. I've never even seen her hug anybody." Even me.
Lux nodded thoughtfully.
"Thanks, Vi. Good luck today- have they posted the matches yet?" Vi shook her head. "Alright. Hope we're on the same team. See you!"
Lux headed off to the Demacia table and Vi went to Piltover and sat next to her partner, who had materialized in the time Vi hadn't been looking. Ezreal was sitting across from them, tucking into a large plate of pancakes.
"Hey, Ez. Morning, cupcake."
"Greetings, Vi," Ezreal returned cordially. "How have you been?"
"Pretty good. Jinx went on another spree in the off-season. Yourself?"
"Lots of spelunking, caving, mapping. Didn't find any artifacts this time, though- at least, none I'm turning in." Ezreal winked.
"Stop calling me cupcake," Caitlyn muttered. She was picking at a bowl of oatmeal and scrutinizing a case file.
"Sure, cupcake. We have matches today, could you lay off the case for like, a few hours?" Vi said reproachfully, then snatched the file away from her and tucked it inside a gauntlet. Caitlyn grabbed at it, looking annoyed.
"Give me that!"
"Nope." Vi resolutely shook her head and held her partner back with a power gauntlet. "Focus on the matches."
"She's got a point," Ezreal said. Vi nodded to him.
"Crime never rests and neither do I," Caitlyn declared, sitting back with a grumpy look.
"I'm pretty sure I've seen Jinx sleep once or twice," Ezreal pointed out. "Although that might just have been unconsciousness."
A horn sounded, and the League looked up as one.
"Matches in ten," said Caitlyn grimly. "Let's check the matches."
Vi always liked to see the entire League in motion. Humans, Yordles, and creatures with no name all moving as one, chatting and taunting each other. It was a marked difference to the politics and violence on the outside world.
In the briefing area, a tall hooded figure stood next to a desk. As each champion entered, he pointed to them and a paper flew off of the desk to that specific champion. Vi folded up her sheet in a massive gauntlet.
"Oops." Caitlyn delicately caught hers and held it up for Vi to see.
Vi, Caitlyn, Lux, Garen, and Annie. No problems there.
The other team: Ryze, Nocturne, Fizz, Thresh, and...
Jinx.
Vi brought her fists together. The only sound Caitlyn made was a sharp intake of breath. She unslung her rifle, took out a bullet and a hunting knife, and began to carve something into the bullet. Vi craned her neck to see what it was.
"Um... Cait, why are you carving Jinx's name into a bullet?" Vi asked, confused.
"A named bullet always finds its mark." Caitlyn replied, a weird tension in her voice. Cait despised superstitions, and the named bullet was one of the ones they'd always made fun of. Vi shifted uneasily.
"Katarina again!?" Bellowed Karthus from across the room. He slammed his staff on the floor and ulted, only a single errant beam actually hitting anything, striking and instantly killing Teemo.
The room cheered.
They filed into the prep room and took up positions on the summoning stones. There was an expectant buzz as the crowd gathered, a noise that was quickly filtered out by the Rift's systems. A flash of blue light, and they landed in the field. Vi felt her body adjust as the Rift's magical rules settled in.
Vi breathed deeply the fresh air of Summoners Rift. She activated her gauntlets and headed off into the jungle.
Smite and Flash. Pretty standard for jungling. The opening blows of the match went well, with the teams evenly matched. Garen struck the first killing blow against Ryze topside, while the other lanes maintained. Vi saw nothing of Nocturne, an infamous counter-jungler… Which was cause for concern. But Vi felt no doubts as she entered the fray.
Vi loved combat. Her breath came fast and hard, her heart beat rapidly. Energy seemed to rush through her veins. Her gauntlets smashed through minion walls as her Excessive Force ability took sway. She roared a battle cry.
"Vi!" Annie cried out from midlane. She was low on health and mana, fending off the enemy Fizz. Vi sprinted towards her, lunging at Fizz and smashing her fist into his face, sending him flying. He landed on his trident and jumped back towards her, staggering her with a shockwave and stabbing at her with his trident, hitting her. Annie sent a wall of fire roaring over Vi's head, forcing Fizz to back off. He fired his fish at her, sticking it to her.
A pool opened up below Vi and she grunted as she took a hit from Fizz's shark. She charged a gauntlet and punched the shark in the nose, the concussive wave rippling over the ground.
"Get some!" She yelled, then flew towards Fizz and landed an uppercut, slamming him to the ground. Annie finished him off with a fireball and began to recall, high fiving Vi before disappearing.
Vi headed towards the dragon as the rest of her team moved to top lane to respond to an enemy deathball.
"Jinx is still bot!" Yelled Caitlyn. Vi nodded and ran down the river. She crashed into bot lane as everything grew dark- Nocturne's ult.
That was when things went horribly wrong.
The game disconnected. The Hextech systems went offline, and Vi felt the constraints of the system release.
The League Constraints were the only things that kept them alive in the arena. There was now a significant chance of death- and nobody was limited anymore.
Vi emerged into bottom lane, looking around. The game would be back up momentarily and Jinx would be her-
"Hey, fat hands!" A taunting voice called out. She whirled around to see Jinx standing behind her, Fishbones on her shoulder. She fired a rocket that Vi managed to block with a gauntlet, sending her to the ground.
Thresh appeared out of a bush and used chains to bind her to the earth, fixing themselves around her legs and arms. Vi struggled helplessly like a caught insect.
"You have about a minute," he told Jinx. She nodded as he teleported away.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't stupid hat lady's slap happy sidekick," Jinx said, walking around her. She giggled and tossed her weapon aside. "Confused, fat hands? Thought I was going to kill you? No no no- hat lady is the only one who gets that privilege."
She sat down on Vi, straddling her waist and bending to look her in the face. Vi stared into the face of insanity, struggling against the chains. Jinx placed a hand on her cheek, gently caressing her face. Vi revolted at her touch, growling in anger. Jinx's eyes were bright pink, the same shade as Vi's hair, and wide open. Her chest was heaving as she breathed. Her pigtails draped around Vi's head, and her bright blue hair hung over one eye. There was a manic gleam to her gaze- and also a hint of something Vi really didn't want to be there.
"I could do anything to you, you know," Jinx whispered, practically in her ear, her breath hot. Vi opened her mouth to reply- and Jinx pressed her lips against it.
There was a stunned moment of shock before Vi ripped an arm free and tossed Jinx off of her. She stared wildly as Jinx giggled.
"Took you a minute there, fat hands. Did you like it? Ooh, you're breathing so hard. You did, didn't you? Naughty, naughty vixen." Jinx picked up her rocket launcher and fired it up.
"Did you just… Kiss me?" Vi choked out. Jinx grinned.
"Think about it. What if your partner found out about this? What if your friends found out about this?" Slowly, the implications of what she was saying dawned on Vi. If her team found out, she'd be disgraced… and if Caitlyn found out...
"Plus, no matter how you deny it, how you try and forget it- there's a part of you that enjoyed that."
"You piece of shit!" Vi roared. She broke free from her chains and leapt at Jinx, who blasted off into the air. Vi clenched her fists in anger.
Jinx spun and made a heart with her fingers, then blew a kiss to her quarry.
"Get Jinxed!" She whooped, and rocketed away.
Vi had just begun to move when the blue light paralyzed her. A recall. She noticed a dot against the sky that was growing bigger.
"Well, fu-" The rocket hit, Vi was knocked out, and the recall finished.
Summoner's Rift wafted away.
Vi came to in a bed to the sound of soft music and clinking china. She opened her eyes and groaned. That last rocket had done a number on her; she hurt all over. She sat up slowly and looked around. She was in her own room in the League dorms, her power gauntlets resting in their charging stations and the room in general cleaned up. She looked to her right to see Caitlyn sitting in a chair, rifle leaning against the wall, with her legs crossed, holding a gently steaming teacup.
She raised it meticulously to her lips, took a dignified sip, and set it down on a tiny plate in her lap. Silently, she gestured to the end table, where another cup of tea rested. Vi slowly reached for it.
"I don't like tea," she muttered. Her partner merely smirked and sipped her tea again. Vi shrugged and took a drink, choking when she discovered the tea was hot.
"So," Caitlyn said softly when she recovered. "What happened with Jinx out there?"
What should she tell her? That a teenage criminal had taken her down and used her as a plaything in her twisted games?
"Nothing," Vi lied. Caitlyn's eyes narrowed.
"Nothing?" Vi nodded.
"She ganked me from a bush, got me with a rocket. Nothing to tell." Caitlyn merely raised an eyebrow. An uncomfortable silence passed.
"So… What happened? Why did the game stop?" Vi asked.
Caitlyn sipped her tea.
"Someone has sabotaged the games," she answered calmly. "The season is off."
The Piltover faction convened in Orianna's room, a majestic affair floored and paneled in dark mahogany. Her room contained no bed- merely a table and assorted chairs, with paintings hung on the walls. The Ball settled into a small pad in a corner and beeped.
Vi respected the clockwork lady, and considered her a friend, but wasn't very close with her. There always seemed to be something off in the way Orianna acted, as if she was trying very hard to be human but not quite making the mark. She sat at the table, motioning to the other chairs- there were exactly enough for the rest of them- and saying, "Please, sit."
They took their seats.
"I'm very sorry I don't have any refreshments," Orianna apologised profusely. "I can call for something if you'd like."
Caitlyn shook her head.
"Thank you, Orianna, but that isn't necessary."
Orianna was insistent.
"A spot of tea, Sheriff?" Caitlyn shook her head.
"C'mon, cupcake," Vi chimed in. "We all know you don't work well without your tea."
Caitlyn shot a look to her partner, who merely crossed her arms and smirked, her gauntlets whirring quietly. She met the gaze of the entire rest of her faction.
She sighed, the perfect noise of exasperation, and waved a hand in consent.
"Fine. Tea and refreshments." Orianna bowed, and left the room. She returned momentarily and ten minutes later, the meeting got underway.
Vi felt a nudge from her left and looked to where Ezreal sat. He subtly passed her a small piece of paper.
Caitlyn looks much less tense now. Thank you.
She gave him a tiny, almost imperceptible nod. It was comforting to know that others shared her concern for the sheriff. Caitlyn was her partner, and that meant watching out for her, whether she liked it or not.
"So," began Heimerdinger, "What do we know?"
"The system went down approximately fifteen minutes into the first matches," Ezreal put out. "There's no origin point located yet."
"Wait," Vi said suddenly. "Fifteen minutes? That would be-"
"About the same time Nocturne ulted in our match," Cait finished. "Anyone else experience anything similar?"
Shaking of heads all around.
"Then that's gotta be it!" Vi exclaimed, thumping the table with a gauntleted fist, shaking it.
"Vi, my table," Orianna said reproachfully.
"Sorry," Vi apologised.
"Anyways," Corki contributed. "We have a lead. Now we need evidence."
"Evidence, schmevidence," Vi contested. "I say we punch some people."
Ziggs nodded at her.
"I agree. Except with bombs." He looked around. "Big bombs."
"And who do you suggest we punch, Vi?" Ezreal put forward.
"Zaun," she said, as if it should be obvious. "Jinx was in our match."
"Personal vendettas aside, Jinx is a good guess," Jayce argued. "Viktor is on her team and has the know how to do this."
"Without proof, attacking the Zaunites would violate the League's rules." Heimerdinger said with authority. "There must be evidence."
Caitlyn nodded.
"Just so," she said. "There must be an investigation."
"Yeah!" Vi shouted and punched the air. "Investigate! Interrogate! Punch people!"
Caitlyn sighed and covered her face with her palm.
"A real investigation, Vi. Questions, not fists."
"Punch first, ask questions while punching," she responded confidently. Jayce chuckled. Caitlyn sighed again and took a long draught of tea.
"Alright, here's the plan. Jayce, Heimer, Ziggs, go to the League HQ. See if you can find answers in the systems. Corki, Ezreal, Orianna, check the Fields substructure."
Ezreal raised a hand and Caitlyn gestured to him.
"Isn't access to the substructure illegal?" He asked skeptically. Caitlyn hesitated and slowly nodded.
"Yes, it is." Ezreal whooped.
"Awesome!"
"Meet up back here around sundown. Good luck, everyone." Caitlyn gave orders and stood, going to stand by a window. Vi remained seated while the rest of their faction filled out.
"So who am I with?" Vi asked.
"With me, of course." Vi smiled at how duh, obvious Caitlyn's tone was. "We're going to do some old fashioned detective work."
Vi started to get up, but Caitlyn's voice stopped her.
"Vi..." She began, sounding softer than usual, "Why do you always wear your gauntlets? I've known you for years and I don't think I've ever seen you with them off."
Vi thought about it for a long while.
"Remember all those years ago, when I rescued those miners?" She said softly. Caitlyn nodded. "Ever since then, people looked at me like I was some kind of hero, you know? Tough-as-nails sort of thing. But I was a kid then, and I don't know if its from wearing the gauntlets, but..."
Caitlyn heard a hissing sound and turned around to see Vi's gauntlets on the table. She held up her hands, blushing slightly.
"I've still got a kid's hands." Caitlyn walked over and sat down across from her partner. Vi's hands were small and pale white, free from the scars and calluses so many of them developed over the years. Cait reached out and took one of Vi's hands, turning it over and running her fingers over her palm. Vi's breath caught in her chest; it felt like sparks jumped between Cait's fingers and her skin. Vi blushed heavily and looked away.
"You have very soft hands," Caitlyn said quietly. Her normally intense gaze had softened and she was looking at Vi's hand with an expression of something that looked almost like tenderness. If Caitlyn were capable of such an emotion, that was.
She looked up and their eyes met, and Caitlyn seemed to snap back to reality. She let go of Vi's hand and stood up.
"Enough. We have work to do." Vi reached into a pocket, pulling out leather fingerless gloves and putting them on before shoving her hands into her gauntlets and locking in. She'd never been more relieved to feel their weight settle on her.
It was ten minutes later, as they were leaving the building, that Caitlyn broke the silence and murmured "thanks."
Vi understood what she meant. She lagged behind as they walked so that the sheriff wouldn't see the huge smile on her face.
Vi always loved hitting the streets. Something about being down, walking along the ordinary people, and looking out for anything out of place struck well with her. She felt that consistent patrols kept them up to date on everything and assured the people that there was help nearby.
"So," Vi said as they moved through a crowd of visiting humans. "Remind me why there's a whole village attached to the League?"
"Most of these people are refugees, looking for a better life," Caitlyn responded. "Some are just tired of all the fighting on the outside."
They stopped to let a caravan of Yordles pass. The tiny creatures waved hello to all they saw, and most everybody waved back.
"The town was originally here just to provide for the League. But as the League accepted members, disregarding race and politics, it became something more. A place where everyone was equal, where what you looked like and where you came from meant nothing. Wasn't all of this covered in the League introduction when you joined?"
"Definitely didn't sleep through that," Vi said. "Just needed a little reminding."
Caitlyn raised an eyebrow.
"Right. Where do you think we should ask around for clues first?"
"Bars and inns. Bartenders know everything, and I've yet to meet one that couldn't be bribed into telling you."
"Just so," Caitlyn decided. "Just like old times. Good cop-"
"Bad cop," Vi finished with a grin, bumping her gauntlets against each other. They entered the first inn they saw, a small place called The Door Back Home.
"Weird name," Vi commented. "I wonder if-"
"Caitlyn and Vi!" Interrupted a familiar, north-accented voice. Braum shouldered through the crowd and grabbed both of their hands, shaking them vigorously. "My two favourite police members!"
A small head poked up over Braum's shoulder, revealing Annie clinging to his back. She waved to Vi.
"Hey Vi!"
"Caitlyn, accurate as ever, I assume?" Braum said warmly. "And Vi, I have always admired your gloves. We must arm wrestle over a pint one day!"
Vi grinned. Braum was one of her favourite people. Friendly, funny, and at his heart, a good person. There wasn't a bad bone in the man's large body.
"Come, come, where are my manners? We must sit and drink!" He ushered them into a back room and set a table in a whirl of motion. Before long, the table was set with a pitcher of beer, a small pot of tea for Annie, and a cake baked by the man himself.
"Now that we may speak like civilised people, what brings Piltover's Finest to my humble bar?" Braum asked, taking a swig and looking around intently. It was easy to forget that Braum's enormous muscles his a sharp mind.
"We've come for information," Caitlyn answered, pouring a cup of tea for Annie. Braum opened his arms.
"Anything I know I will share. Ask!"
"You've no doubt heard- thank you, Annie, but I've already eaten- of the attack on the League?" Cait began, gently rebuffing the offer of cake from Annie. Vi reached for it and patted Annie on the head gently.
A dark look crossed Braum's face.
"Aye, that," he said heavily. "A shame, that is. What of it?"
"We're looking for who's responsible. Have you heard anything?" Braum shrugged helplessly.
"If I had, I would have reported it," he said.
"What about Jinx?" Annie interjected. "Tibbers and I saw her just the other day around here."
Caitlyn and Vi looked up sharply.
"Jinx?" They said together.
"What about Jinx?" Vi asked. Braum waved a large hand.
"Probably nothing. She's a regular in this area. She hasn't committed any crimes, though."
"It's when Jinx doesn't commit crimes that we worry," Caitlyn muttered. Vi nodded in agreement.
"Anything Jinx is doing is worth investigating," Caitlyn continued.
"Or punching!"
"Right. Or punching. Do you know where to find her?" Caitlyn had a lead now, and leaned forward attentively with a gleam in her eyes. She looked like a predator.
"No. But Annie does." They all looked at the small child.
"I can take you there," Annie put forward cheerfully. "But she doesn't like Katie very much."
"Good point- Jinx probably has it out for Cait," Vi said.
"What about you?" Braum pointed out. "You're her partner. Wouldn't she hate you just as much?"
"Jinx and Vi grew up the same way," Caitlyn interjected. "Jinx isn't likely to respond well to either of us, but I'm willing to bet Vi has the better shot at it. We'll have to split up."
"I don't like it," Vi argued. "Without me there, who's gonna watch your back?"
Braum thumped the table.
"I will help!" He exclaimed.
"That's not necessary, Braum," Caitlyn said politely. "We're trained in this sort of thing-"
"No." Braum was staunch. "Back home, we had a word for men who let their friends go into danger without helping them- a coward. And a coward is one thing I will never be."
He stood up and grabbed his shield from where it hung on a wall.
Caitlyn looked to Vi, who shrugged.
"Sounds good to me." Having somebody to watch her partner's back made Vi feel better. Having it be Braum was just icing on the cake.
"Alright, fine," Caitlyn relented. "Vi and Annie will investigate Jinx. Braum and I will poke around and see what else we can find."
They left Braum's tavern, following Annie. When they got close they split off, and Vi was alone with the Dark Child.
"So, do you hang out much with Jinx?" Vi asked conversationally.
"Not really. Usually she's sleeping when I'm awake. She's asleep now, actually."
"She's nocturnal?" Vi asked, amused.
"No, silly, we're talking about Jinx, not Nocturne. She usually sleeps a good part of the day. I think she was up late last night and crashed- that's what she calls it when you get really sleepy all of a sudden- pretty hard." Annie skipped along, Tibbers tucked in her backpack.
"Party animal, huh?" Vi commented. Annie nodded.
"Kinda. She never has tea parties though." Annie looked very disappointed. "Here we are!"
They'd arrived in front of a dilapidated old warehouse. The metal that made up the structure was green from decades of corrosion. There was no sign of habitation.
"Are you sure?" Vi asked skeptically. Annie nodded cheerily.
"Positive. She closed the doors, though. Can you open them?" Vi stepped forward and grabbed the edge of a door, pulling it open. The fingers of her gauntlets left deep impressions in the metal. They walked inside the warehouse.
Sunlight filtered through from somewhere above, revealing- a lot of empty space. The back quarter of the warehouse was filled with shipping containers. The middle featured a raised dais with a mini-fridge, a sofa, and a table with half eaten food and empty bottles all over it. Clothes lay strewn about that space.
Catching Vi's attention much more was the large workshop area in the front of the warehouse. There were a bunch of metalworking machines, a pneumatic lift, a life size model of a rhinoceros, and drawer upon drawer of every tool Vi could imagine. It was truly impressive.
A yawn caught Vi's attention. She walked quietly towards the living space in the middle of the warehouse. Jinx was passed out on it, her head on an armrest and her arm dangling off the side. Her hair hung in front of her face and swayed as she breathed. Vi walked closer, almost enthralled. Jinx's face, while asleep, contained none of the malice and craziness that defined her waking hours.
Jinx rolled over and yawned, eyes blearily opening. She saw Vi standing over her and blinked, still half asleep.
"Fathands here? Am I fantasizing again...?" Jinx yawned again and registered that she wasn't dreaming. She bolted awake and sat up with a jerk. Her usual evil smile snapped into place.
"Well hey there, Vi-xen! Come for more?" She taunted, tilting her head and making a kissy face.
A look of surprise registered as Jinx found herself flying through the air after Vi delivered an uppercut that sent her flying.
"We'd better get outta here, Tibbers," Annie remarked to her bear. "These guys have some issues to work out."
She skipped out of the warehouse and closed the door behind her.
Vi heaved the sofa off to the side, sending dust flying everywhere as Jinx landed with an oomph some 20 feet away. She struggled to her feet, her blue hair in disarray.
"Ooh, Vi- that really hurt… My feelings."
"You piece of shit," Vi growled. She punched the ground, sending herself rocketing over to Jinx. Her fist slammed into the ground as Jinx rolled off to the side. She laughed.
"Too slow, fathands. Has anybody ever told you you're hot when you're angry?" She said. Vi rushed at her, throwing a left hook that caught Jinx in the ribs and flung her across the room again.
She struggled to her feet and wiped a trickle of blood out from the corner of her mouth.
"Okay, playtime's over, fathands," She purred, doing a backflip and producing her weapons from nowhere. Vi squared off into a fighting stance, her gauntlets whirring as they charged.
"Fishbones missed you!" Jinx sang and fired a rocket. Vi rolled to the side and dodged it, coming up running at her as it exploded somewhere behind her. Jinx pulled out her minigun and started firing, a savage grin on her face. Vi hunkered down and used one of her fists as a shield as the other one rocketed straight at Jinx's face.
The Loose Cannon swapped out for Fishbones again and jumped up, doing a frontflip over Vi as she ran under her, her long pigtails brushing the top of Vi's head.
"Ooh, so close, fat-hands- too bad hat lady isn't here to help you!" Vi leapt at her and she jumped again, landing behind her with a whoop.
"Tauro! Tauro!" She shouted in glee. Vi activated her gauntlets and rocketed towards Jinx, who jumped up in the air. Vi reached up and caught one of her pigtails, tugging on it and spinning before letting go. With a scream of pain, Jinx impacted heavily against a wall, dropping her weapons.
Vi kicked away the rocket launcher and picked up her minigun, bending it in half and tossing it aside. Jinx was sitting where she'd fallen, dazed. Her temple was cut and bleeding.
Vi looked around and found a long bar of metal. She snapped it in half and bent the halves around, then took Jinx's wrists and slammed the metal around them into the wall, trapping her there.
Jinx coughed up blood and looked up at Vi. She spat off to the side.
"Is that all you got, fat-hands? Hat lady would be soo-"
Vi smashed her fist into the side of Jinx's face, cutting off her taunt.
"Gimme all you got, stupid-face!"Jinx screamed. Vi roared, slamming her fist into Jinx's stomach and right hooked her again.
Jinx coughed, blood dripping down her mouth onto her chest, and giggled faintly.
"Y-you like that, fat-hands? You like hitting me?" Her voice was weak, yet just as annoying. Vi wound up to hit her again- then saw the look on Jinx's face. She took a step back and her nose wrinkled as she had a thought.
"Are you freaking enjoying this?" She asked, disgusted. Jinx merely grinned.
"C'mon, fat-hands, hit me again! You know you wanna!" She was breathing heavily and there was a frenzy in her eye.
"You sick bitch," Vi said, making a face. Jinx smirked.
"I'm the sick one, fat-hands? You kept hitting me. You're enjoying this! Hit me again!"
"Shut up," Vi said, unwilling to face the tiny grain of truth in that sentence. Jinx pouted.
"You're no fun. Remember what happened when I had you tied down?"
"Maybe I will hit you again," Vi growled.
"Do it, fat-hands! Hit! Me! Again!" She spread as much as her restraints allowed her to, exposing herself.
Vi turned away and ignored her. She tapped a button on her right gauntlet- activating an ingenious hextech device that contacted Caitlyn.
"Vi. Go." Caitlyn sounded tense.
"I got Jinx," she reported. "Suspect subdued and awaiting interrogation."
"Is that hat lady!?" Jinx yelled. "Hit me again, fat hands! Let her hear it!"
"Excuse me for one moment," Vi calmly stated. She turned and backhanded Jinx across the face, knocking her out. She turned back to the gauntlet.
"Follow my tracker, I've got her locked down."
"Roger." Caitlyn signed off. Vi stretched out her shoulders, swinging her arms and yawning. She sat down on Jinx's sofa and drifted off to sleep.
Jinx's eyes snapped open.
Well, here we are again, with a brand-new story!
This story is unique in that my beta testers are both plentiful and good at their jobs. Before, I only had one or two people to give a quick glance to my works, but now I've got three that I talk to almost daily that know the subject matter well.
Anyways, my beta testers really liked it, so I hope you guys will! Leave reviews to let me know how I did!
Chapter Two, as well as the read-along guide, are already in production.
Thanks for reading!
-Pikdude
