During those past six months, Vi had self-doubted a lot, more than she had ever did in her entire life. She couldn't completely understand what she was anymore, a human or a machine? After allowing herself to use the ATLA gauntlets at their full potential, she had found herself getting lost into oblivion. That was at the beginning, though. These machines were powerful but she was more stubborn. With Ashe's advice and the rest of the G/NETIC's, she had managed to wield them. There were times that she felt like she was about to loose control. But these occasions became more rare as time passed. Slowly, the power of the ATLA gauntlets became hers. Was what happened with the rest of the PROJECT initials? Possibly. But her greatest worry was whether she was doing the right thing or not. If she was told that once day she would join the PROJECT team in a mission to save the world, she'd laugh and punch them straight in the face. Who would ever imagine her, one of the greatest haters of the PROJECT technology would become one of them? After all, wasn't one of the initials who killed her sister? She wondered what she would say about all this. Problem was, she wasn't aware which PROJECT initial had murdered her sister in cold blood. It could be any of her current «friends», if she could ever call them that.
Yeah, Karma is a bitch.
But there were ideals far more important than her vengeance. Vi realized that. She might didn't know where she belonged yet, but she knew exactly what path she was supposed to follow. She had already chosen that path and there was no coming back, no matter how dark her thoughts would become. She struggled to free herself from that self-doubt and self-pity. She struggled from letting herself flee from the guiltiness that filled her heart since that terrible night. If there was a possibility that the gauntlets could delete those memories, she'd choose to forget. Maybe. Did it even matter anymore?
"Excuse me, officer Vi."
The sharp and cold voice brought her back. She turned to face the agent, trying not to look surprised. There she was again, that mysterious beauty. She wondered for how long they were going to meet like that.
"Good afternoon agent. How can I be of use?" she asked casually as she leaned against the wall of the Downtown Police Precinct. It was cloudy but wasn't raining yet. There was an persistent air though that was blowing everything out of their typical place. Leaves and garbage rolled all over the road and pavements.
"I have a couple more questions I hope you can answer," Caitlyn explained the reason of her new visit. She was alone this time. Vi wondered what her partners were up to.
"I'd be happy to help in any way. Let's head over somewhere warmer. My office preferably."
"No need to," she interrupted. "It won't take long." she added and handed over a hexetech machine that Vi would recognize immediately. "Do you know what that is?"
The enforcer turned it over to have a better look around it. "Of course. That's Ezreal's gauntlet, the one he used while we were working together."
"Do you know how it works?"
"I built it up myself. I think I know a thing or two." Vi nodded as she examined the gauntlet.
Caityn furrowed her brows. "How many gauntlets are there?"
"Three. The original, this and the one he is currently using," the cop replied. "Alright, here's the deal. The gauntlet is fueled by a rune, which is placed right here," she explained, pointing on a small hole on top of the palm area. "Then, the user charges the gauntlet and through those mechanisms on the knuckles and palm they can charge different kinds of energy blasts. I think you know how those look like."
Caitlyn nodded in understanding. "Is that it?"
"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Vi handed the gauntlet back at her. "Though, I'm not sure how's that going to help you with finding him."
Caitlyn did not respond to that. "Thank you, officer. We'll keep in touch if you're needed again."
Vi huffed. "You call your showing up communication? Please."
Caitlyn raised a brow. "Are you questioning my methods?"
Vi pushed herself off the wall and stood in front of the Pulsefire agent. For some odd reason, she felt irritation building up inside her. There was something she despised on that woman. She was taller and thus looked more imposing. "Pretty much, yeah. You're going straight into a dead end if you keep it like that. I can help you."
Caitlyn didn't hold back a laugh. "No offense officer, but me and my team can handle it just fine."
"Don't underestimate me, agent."
"I don't underestimate you. I just don't want a machine involved into my business."
Vi narrowed her eyes at her even though the Pulsefire couldn't quite see them. "You don't know what I am."
"And I really am not fond of finding out," Caitlyn deadpanned. "I already got enough problems even without you around. So do me a favor and stay out of my way or suffer the consequences of it. That's my case, officer."
"Oh, I see what the deal is. Your pride is at stake, of course. How didn't I see that?" Vi faked a facepalm. This was what irritated her. Her demeanor and behavior, her pride. She couldn't stand this kind of people. "Listen here, missy." she took a step closer to the Pulsefire, almost intruding her personal space. "Be careful otherwise your pride will be your downfall."
Caitlyn starred back. There was such an intensity in her voice that she almost sounded completely human. Somewhere deep inside her she had already regretted calling her a machine. Was she scared though? Not really, no. Just overwhelmed.
"I just wanted to say that same goes for you. Don't forget that there's a warrant, meaning that I got every right to investigate, a right I'm going to use at its full potential. Get in my way and we'll have trouble. Savvy?"
"Yes, of course." Caitlyn replied coldly.
"Good." Vi backed off. "And if you want my advice, you're looking it the wrong way. If you really want to find out what Ezreal was interested in, you should check out the museums. That's were he sold most artifacts he retrieved."
Caitlyn furrowed her brows. "Why are you telling me this? I thought each of us was going to mind their own business."
The corner of Vi's lips curled up into a mischievous smile. "I'm just giving you a heads up so you have a chance of catching up. Later, agent." she added as she turned her back at her, waving. Caitlyn starred at her back with a piercing look before she left herself.
Back at their headquarters, the rest of the team was working hard on deciphering the diary. It was written in such a complicated code that so far they had made little progress. Their only lead was the gauntlet. When Caitlyn stepped inside, they turned to face her.
"So, what did you find?" Riven was first to ask.
"Not something we wouldn't have guessed by ourselves." Caitlyn huffed and placed the gauntlet onto the table. All around there were notes about their clues. The room itself was well equipped with the latest trend in the hexetech technology that enhanced the agents' ability of tracking down criminals. "There's something else that bothers me, though."
"And what's that?" Shen inquired as he raised his head off the diary and the notes accompanying it.
"She mentioned something about Ezreal selling those artifacts in museums." she explained, refusing to use Vi's name because that way she'd loose her cool again. "So, my only guess is that Ezreal was some sort of illicit dealer in antiquitie?"
"That would explain his troubles with the law. Illegal trafficking of artifacts... Sounds fruitful." Twisted Fate mused, stroking his beige.
"That could only explain his troubles with the law." Shen completed the thought. "That does make sense."
"That creates another issue, however." Riven pointed out.
"What is it?" Twisted Fate asked curiously.
"What if the only reason he returned back in Piltover was to sell one of his artifacts? Wouldn't he leave right away?"
"You're not mistaken." Caitlyn praised thoughtfully. "But we can't be sure unless we check it out."
"That's right." Shen agreed. "I think here we should split up and start picking up museums. That way we're going to cover more ground, and most importantly, fast."
"But there are dozens of museums in Piltover. It's going to take us ages to investigate them all!" Twisted Fate complained.
"So will the deciphering of the diary." Shen argued. "We're going to collect more clues that way. I'll stay behind, see what else I can discover from it."
"You're absolutely right." Caitlyn stepped in, putting an end in the argument. "We're starting now. Riven will cover the west side while Tobias the east. I'll take the north and south. No more messing around. Let's get cracking." she ordered and turned her back to them while she walked outside.
"Caitlyn, wait a sec!"
It was Riven that ran after her. Caitlyn paused for a moment to allow her to catch up.
"Is there a problem?" she asked.
"I don't know, you tell me." Riven deadpanned. "You seem kind of off since you returned. Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine." Caitlyn responded coldly. "Is that what you wanted to tell me?"
Riven got offended. "Is that a bad thing now? Sorry, I didn't know."
"I really don't have time for this..."
"I know that the council puts a lot of pressure on your shoulders but you need to ease off a little. You don't get to boss us around. We're your partners, not your surbonites." Riven stated matter-of-factly. Caitlyn narrowed her eyes at her. She really wasn't prepared for yet another overwhelming situation but since this was inevitable, she had to respond.
"And you really don't get to tell me how to behave. Both you and that cop are under the impression that you're allowed to scold me off."
"Is that what this is all about?" Riven crossed her arm, raising a brow. "About what she told you?"
Caitlyn felt like a little child caught doing something mischievous. However, she didn't hesitate in front of Riven. "Nothing that's of your concern, I assure you of that."
Riven huffed sarcastically. "Oh yeah sure. I'm pretty sure she insulted your pride, didn't she? In that case, I praise her. Someone needed to put you in your place."
The sniper got outraged. "How dare you?"
"How dare you?" Riven argued back. "You're stillbitter after all these years. We get it, what happened in Bellmoor was mostly our fault but you can't keep acting like a child, Caitlyn! And I think you keep forgetting your fraction of responsibility. It's never only one's fault! But you're pride doesn't allow you to accept that!"
Riven literally screamed in Caitlyn's face. As a result, when she stopped she tried to catch her breath while glaring at the sniper. Caitlyn glared back. A fight between two intense gazes.
"You know what? Forget about it. It doesn't matter." Riven said, slicing through the thick silence that fell between them. "No matter what I say, it's still the same for you. So, let's just get this done as quickly as possible."
"Never have I imagined I could agree more to that statement." Caitlyn nodded. Riven stormed off, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Your pride is going to be your downfall
She clenched her fists. Everyone kept talking about her pride, while in fact it had absolutely nothing to do with it. They knew nothing. And she had zero obligation to give explanations to people that didn't even care. She had to focus to achieve her goal. No matter what.
