Chapter 01

A tall, dark haired man sat alone at a work bench. His hands, covered in grease, were busy as he tinkered with a small contraption at the metal table. He was slightly hunched over as he gently tightened in a tiny screw at an awkward angle. He glanced up at a clock mounted on the wall to his right before placing the hextech device down with a light clink sound.

It was late, more like early at this point.

'Who needs sleep?' he murmured to himself as he leaned back on the black leather stool and stretched his arms above his head while arching his back. Although he held his looks in high regards, he wasn't wearing his usual outfit, not wanting to get grease or oil on it. A faded black tee that fit just snug was what he was sporting tonight. Despite it's color, a few spots of darker stains where just visible in certain areas.

He stood up, stretching his arms forward this time, then shook out his right leg. He hated the numb sensation it got when it fell asleep. Luckily it didn't take long before he got the feeling back into it. He brushed off his denim pants, they were a thick material so when he sat for a long while they would form deep creases under the front pockets. Still he liked the dark denim better then most of his other pants.

He glanced around the workshop, it was nothing amazing, but it made him feel more at ease being there then anywhere else. It was a large enough space too, with five rows of long work benches. The walls where a slate colored concrete and the main reason why it was always so cold in there, however in the summer the coolness was welcomed. The walls were tall, with large rectangular windows spaced around the top. Metal shelves reached up just below the windows, filled with boxes of parts and slabs of metal along with other interesting contraptions and trinkets. The wall he was facing had a large, metal garage door with a track that led to a car lift a few feet in front of him. The building had a very modern yet industrial vibe to it that he loved.

Turning back to his work area, he began to collect his tools and pushed the stool back underneath the counter with his foot. He walked toward one of the shelves against the wall closest to him, pulling open a few drawers and placing the metal objects back into them.

'Almost done.' He said, looking back at the small device that caused him to stay up all night. Stepping toward it he extended his arm with intent to examine his small masterpiece but was interrupted by a smooth beeping sound. The computer monitor to his left lit up, he squinted at it, adjusting his eyes to the bright light.

'Oh!' His face lit up as he pulled the stool back out and plopped down on it. He quickly smoothed out his hair and grabbed the computer mouse. The sound coming from his desktop was still ringing away. He quickly clicked on a green phone shape on the screen and the sound stopped, the screen went black for a moment then the video feed opened. It was slightly pixelated at first but adjusted itself out to reveal pink hair and a smiling face.

From what he could see she was sitting in at her usual spot in her apartments computer room. Her hair looked damp as though she had just gotten out of the shower. He could see from her shoulders that she had a white tank top on, but couldn't see past that due to the camera angle.

'Vi!' He exclaimed, 'How's it going good looking? What are you doing up?'

'Just got off work,' She sounded tired but still smiled 'Had to break-up some late night gambling ring.' She rolled her eyes. 'What about you Jayce?'

'Oh, you know, the usual... Being sexy and brilliant.' He grinned. 'But hey! Look at my latest amazing invention!' He reached over to his current project, picking up the small metal object and held it up near the webcam.

'Is that what I think it is?!' She exclaimed and leaned in closer to get get a better look.

'You know it!' Jayce eagerly replied 'Now we can store even more power without the heavy weight in our weapons! This is gonna solve so many of our current problems with the space issue! I'm just that good.'

'That's amazing Jayce! How did you manage to fit everything into such a small thing?'

'Well...' He hesitated, examining the device. 'I had to take out a lot of the stabilizers...' He looked up at the monitor expecting her to say something, her face was more serious now and she raised an eyebrow at him.

'Um, so it's not quite in working order yet.' He continued cautiously. 'It just needs some tests, to make sure that it won't cause any-'

'Explosions?' She interrupted, grinning.

'Y-yea... But i'm positive we can make it work! This is just the first prototype!'

'We...?'

'I was kindda hoping you could come by tomorrow and help me work out the... kinks?' He blushed.

'Are you asking me on a date Jayce?' She teased, starting to laugh.

He paused, looking back down at the device then back at her. Clearing his throat he leaned in and with his lady charming voice he replied, 'Yes.'

Vi stopped laughing and looked at him for a second. 'Wait you're serious?'

She searched her mind for a reply but noting came to her, 'Uhhhh... haha... I'm not to sure what to say...'

Jayce felt awkward now. Why did you say that you stupid oaf? You've ruined everything! He sighed 'Lo... Look it's ok-'

'Sure! Why the fuck not!' Vi exclaimed in a panic.

'...Yeah?' Jayce smiled 'You don't have to... I mean if you don't...'

'No! I mean I want to, and it's not like it'll be any different from all the other times we've worked on stuff together in the lab... right?'

'Yeah! Haha! Just like all... the other times...' Jayce tired to stay happy. He knew from Vi's answer that she didn't want this to be a date. He felt bad now, but at the same time felt relieved that he had put the question out there. He really did want to be closer to Vi. She was everything he loved, smart, funny, strong, beautiful. He had never met anyone like her before, and he had met a lot of girls in the past.

'SO!' She began, trying to make things less awkward. 'Tonight that gambling ring! Woo~ was that something! I mean... those criminals have to get pretty creative with their hiding places now that we've closed down most of there normal hole-in-the-walls! This place was-'

The building shook and erupted with a loud sound. Jayce was flung off his stool and he gripped for the metal counter for support. Smoke and dust filled the room as the sound of debris flying around and crumbling concrete filled his ears.

It was hard for her to see but she could make out Jayce hunched over the counter through the dust and shaking. 'JAYCE!' She called out 'JAYCE WHAT'S GOING ON?!'

She saw him look up towards the source of the explosion. It was toward the garage door not far from him. He couldn't see much from the dust cloud. What's going on? he thought. Did someone leave something turned on? Is that what caused this? It didn't make any sense to him, no one else was with him in the lab tonight and it had been hours since the last lab tech left.

He coughed as he waved his arm trying to push away some of the dust.

He knew this couldn't have been an accident. Whoever it was probably wanted to steal materials. That's when it hit him. He had seen this exact thing before, before he was part of the institute of war, back before when he was just a normal scientist, before his life became so crazy! His eyes widened, trying to see through the dust even though he knew exactly who was back there.