AN: Ok, throwing this out there because it might confuse people… since I started writing this story BEFORE the Galio rework, Galio will have his old appearance for the entirety of the story.
Seriously, Riot has done everything they can to fuck with my story. First, they retcon'd the Institute of War, Summoners, and the whole in-universe League in general, then they started changing character's bios, backgrounds, and appearances from Gangplank to Galio, etc. It makes things annoying but thankfully this is a fanfic, so I can just ignore all that.
Lengthy AN at the end of this chapter, so brace yourselves.
AN2 June 12th: Had to re upload this chapter (already) since this site decided that it wanted to delete one of the horizontal line breaks, making it confusing where the change in POV was occurring.
The Blooming Lotus
Ionia (City), Ionia
"So, what have you two been doing while I was out?" Isaac asked as he walked along side and more or less followed Ezreal and Blitzkrieg through the streets of Ionia. It had been only a few minutes since the near-fiasco at the hospital, and they had already gotten more then their fair share of odd looks from passerby's as they made their way to… wherever it was that Blitzkrieg and Ezreal were going.
Most of the odd looks had been in Isaac's general direction as opposed to Blitz's, but Isaac chalked that up to the fact that Blitz had probably been around the streets for awhile.
That, and Isaac was suppose ably the more well known one of the two meta-humans.
Blitzkrieg gave a humph. "You mean when I wasn't giving that Irelia girl the low-down on meta-humans and the Ascension? I spent most of my time at the place we're going to right now. Its an inn called the Blooming Lotus, odd name if you ask me. Food's good, bartender keeps my drink full and is well traveled, and people know where to find me. Helps that Irelia is footing the bill for me, since I haven't got a das ficken idea what the currency is here."
"And League champions get to stay for free. Still have to pay for our food and drinks though." Ezreal joined in. "I'm staying there too, so are the other champions that came along with us. The guys who came with Blitzkrieg included."
The other champions? How many are here?
"So… who are these champions?" Isaac asked. "I've already met Nami and Soraka, who else is there?"
"Well, at the inn we have Galio, Shyvana, Sona, and Nami. There's also Fizz, but he doesn't stay in one place for long." Ezreal listed them off. "You already know about Irelia, Karma, and Soraka, but Akali is here as well with Shen and Kennen. From what we know they're working for Irelia right now."
"That's quite the list of celebrities. Is there a Hollywood style party coming up?" Mute gave her two-cents to Isaac as Ezreal spoke.
"And there's going to be more soon too." Ezreal continued. "The Ascension has everyone spooked right now."
Blitzkrieg gave a humph again. "As they should be." He said. Ezreal gave a sigh in response.
"Anyways…" Ezreal continued after being interrupted by Blitz, "Karma gave a recall order a few days ago, every champion with allegiance to Ionia has been ordered to return to the capital."
"A recall?" Isaac asked. They can do that? Makes sense I guess… with what happened at Bligewater, I'd imagine they want all hands on deck.
Ezreal nodded. "Yep. And you can bet that Ionia won't be the only ones to do so. The League has put a temporary hold on all future League matches. No one wants to risk having a champion out on the Fields on Justice when their homes might get attacked."
"Well, attacking when the enemy is out to lunch has always been a military favorite." Mute agreed.
Isaac went over the list of names in his head. Ok, so I've met some of them… but so far only two of them are any important and that's Irelia and Karma. Akali's that ninja girl if I recall correctly. She's a bit of a uptight bitch, but I'm guessing she's just doing her job. Nami and Soraka were pretty nice, and I heard the name Sona before, but other then that, I'm flying blind with the rest.
Isaac let out a "hmmm" as he thought over the situation. He was apparently going to be having a "meet and greet" with at least some of the people on that list, and given what Ezreal said about a recall, that list of champions was going to get larger.
They took the rest of the journey in silence, with the odd break of small talk that Ezreal tried to strike up with Isaac and/or Blitzkrieg. After around forty minutes they arrived at the Blooming Lotus, and Isaac appraised the inn. It looked far more fancy and upper-class then any of the inns he had stayed at so far in Runeterra, and was quite large. It was three stories high, and Isaac could make out what appeared to be a garden on the second floor.
"At least they're living in style…" Mute muttered. "Well… for a medieval inn that is."
It does… seem rather nice… from the outside that is. Isaac thought as he followed he companions through the double doors. The entered a lobby of sorts where a receptionist awaited them.
"Ah, welcome back champion Ezreal and mister Blitzkrieg." The young man behind the desk greeted the two of them, before he noticed Isaac walk in after them. "Oh, and you as well champion Archangel. I am glad to see that you have recovered."
"Thanks." Isaac replied, half-hearty. He wasn't sure if the man was sincere or just doing his job. Either way, Isaac didn't care about him or what he was thinking.
"Thank you." Ezreal replied with a smile, meanwhile Blitzkrieg just gave the man a nod.
Isaac glanced around him. There were a four of doors insight, not including the one they entered. Two on his right, one on his left, as well as one behind the receptionist. Before he could speculate about what door lead to where, Blitzkrieg spoke up.
"The two on the right are lead to the rooms, with the far one leading upstairs." He pointed to the right side. "The one behind the receptionist is for staff only, and the one on the left is to the bar and lounge." He informed them as he and Ezreal already made their way to the left door.
"I'm assuming this is where I'll be staying too?" Isaac questioned. Seeing how the Ionians liked keeping them all under the same roof, he imagined he'll be here as well.
Blitzkrieg gave a "mhm" in response.
Guess I better get the layout of the place later when I get the chance. Isaac though. He'd need to know all the entrances, potential escape routes, and the surrounding area as well.
Isaac followed Ezreal and Blitzkrieg into the lounge, which reminded him of how hungry he was starting to get. And thirsty. Normally he could go lengthy periods of time without needing either, courtesy of his meta-human enhancements; but after being unconscious for such a long time period, he was eager to gouge himself on some food.
Unlike the disorganized, loud, and rundown bar that he had spent time in at Bligewater, the lounge of the Blooming Lotus was the exact opposite. While there was plenty of tables and chairs about (it was a rather large establishment) the entire place seemed to be well kept and clean.
Only a few tables were occupied at this hour so there were plenty of places to sit, but Isaac quickly spotted a particularly large table with three individuals siting at it, one of which he immediately recognized as the girl who had walked in on him naked a short while ago.
Well, that's a bit awkward… Isaac thought with a tint of humor at seeing the same person at a completely different location in the city in the same day.
But what caught his attention at the table the most were the other two creatures. One was a blue skinned female humanoid that even without Mute's scanner Isaac could tell was not human. The other, looked like some kind of gargoyle.
The hell kind of creatures are those…? Isaac thought. He had seen odd ones such as them before at the Institute of War. Perhaps Ionia was native to beings such as these?
Before he could ask Ezreal gave him a nudge.
"Ah! There they are!" The blonde pointed at the very same table of individuals Isaac had been inspecting. "Come on, lets go." Ezreal motioned for Isaac to follow as he walked towards said table.
Isaac looked back to Blitzkrieg, only to see his squadmate following suit.
"Let's go Arch. Time to make introductions." Blitzkrieg said to him as he followed Ezreal.
Isaac shrugged and followed the pair. "Mute? Scan those two?" Isaac asked the AI, referring to the gargoyle and blue-skinned woman.
"I've already scanned them while you were out cold." Mute replied.
"And…?"
"Don't ask me how the stone gargoyle is alive… but he's alive…" Mute muttered.
Isaac bit his lower lip in thought. "So… magic?"
"Yep… magic…" Mute sighed.
The concept of magic really throws AIs for a loop… I don't blame them… Isaac thought he watched Ezreal sit down at the table, giving a greeting to the occupants who nodded in return. Blitzkrieg did likewise, but got a less friendly reception. It wasn't hostile, but Isaac could easily notice how less welcoming the three occupants were towards Blitzkrieg as opposed to Ezreal
To Isaac's subtle surprise, Blitzkrieg sat in a seemingly normal wooden chair and it didn't give out from his weight. He was about to ask when Mute spoke up.
"Goth mentioned that the furniture here is reinforced with magic of sorts to support the weight of things like that gargoyle. So it won't break on you and Blitzkrieg." She explained.
Ah… clever…
Isaac glanced about the area and noticed only one more seat open at the table, between Blitzkrieg and the blue skinned girl. As he made to take his seat, he noticed that the blue skinned female had noticed him, had made an amused grunt.
"Humph. So, you live after all…" She said in a somewhat deep but sultry voice that made Isaac's hairs go slightly on end. But that was also due to him noticing her features and unsettling eyes.
She's dangerous… Isaac thought. He would have to keep on edge around this one.
The other two at the table prior to their arrival looked up from their food and conversation.
"Ahhh… good to see that you are on two legs once again Archangel." The gargoyle said.
It talks…. Why am I not surprised? In fact, why would I even be surprised by anything in this crazy world anymore? Talking scorpion thing? Check. Talking fish? Check. Talking gargoyle? Why the fuck not?
The blue haired woman didn't say anything, but she gave Isaac a brief nod. It was painfully obvious to Isaac that she was trying her hardest to avoid eye-contact.
Isaac didn't have to think very hard as to wondering why she was acting like that. Hopefully I can just ignore that…
Blitzkrieg must have seen it too, because the older soldier just shook his head and muttered a word under his breath. Isaac still heard it through the COM though.
"…Mute, what's Jungfrauen mean?"
"...It means virgins. I believe he was making fun of the blue haired one."
… Oh….
It was at that point Isaac realized that he hadn't acknowledged either of the two comments made to him, and that he was likely coming off as rude. Let's not piss off the blue skinned woman and a gargoyle on my first day out of a coma…
"Thank you." Isaac nodded to the gargoyle. Glad to be out of that coma. "It seems like I've missed a few things while I was out."
"A few. Worlds moving fast." The Gargoyle nodded. "We have to do our best to keep up, least we risk falling off."
The blue skinned woman looked at the gargoyle and gave a humph before looking back to Isaac, her unnerving eyes giving him a one over. "You're shorter then I expected."
Isaac responded by closing his eyes and mouthing the words oh my god to himself under the secrecy of his helmet. He made no vocal comment.
A sissing noise caught Isaac's attention and he noticed Blitzkrieg pulling his helmet off, revealing a weary and grim face with small amount of facial hair covering the lower half of his face. Goth blinked into existence over the man's shoulder and to everyone's credit, no one seemed fazed by his sudden appearance.
"Right, lets get introductions out of the way…" Blitzkrieg began nodding to the Gargoyle sitting across from him first. "That's Galio," he pointed to the blue haired girl, "That's Sona," and then lastly to the blue skinned one who had just taken a shot at Isaac's vertical disability "and that's She-Hulk."
…. That fits what Ezreal was saying about the champions here…. Wait She-Hulk?
The one Blitzkrieg called She-Hulk looked past Isaac to Blitzkrieg and narrowed her eyes. "Again, why do you insist on calling me that?" She said, but it sounded less like speech to Isaac and more like a growl.
Blitzkrieg shrugged. "Shoe fits, might as well wear it." She-Hulk responded with a growl.
"Ahem." Galio interrupted. "Her name is Shyvana. It is a pleasure to meet you at last Archangel."
Pleasure's all yours… Isaac thought, but he nodded in response. "Same to you. I'm assuming you're champions of the League then?"
Galio nodded. "Indeed. We were sent by the crown prince of Demacia to find you. But that conversation can wait until after you've had your fill of food. I'm sure you're hungry after having been unable to eat for such a lengthy period of time."
Read my mind. Isaac thought, but before he could answer a waiter came between him and Blitzkrieg to get their orders. Since Isaac had no idea what anything was on the menu, after Blitzkrieg was done Isaac just responded with "I'll have what he's having."
After the waiter left, Ezreal spoke up. "How long you guys going to be around for?" He asked the trio that had occupied the table before they had arrived.
"Until we have what we came here for. Unless we get new orders." Galio replied. "Our ship has a summoner aboard, so if something happens we'll know right away, but that will be unlikely until our current orders are completed."
"He said have what we came here for." Mute said. "I think you know who he's referring to."
Yeah… me.
But Isaac didn't want to bring that up just yet. Like Galio said, he was pretty hungry.
Blitzkrieg it seemed, wasn't bothered by that at all, and scoffed. "Yeah, yeah, Scheiße Kopf, we get it. You're keeping an eye on us."
His comment got a him a glare from Shyvana and a readable look from Galio. Sona and Ezreal's eyes darted between the three of them and Isaac with corcern.
Isaac furrowed his brow. He had a feeling Blitzkrieg had something to tell him later regarding these three.
"Those three came with Blitzkrieg and gave him the means to link up with us." Mute informed him, as if she was reading his mind. "They knew where you were and had the means of transportation. Blitzkrieg was the friendly face that would get them to meet you, so they made a trade."
"So… what do they want in return?"
"They… haven't told us that yet, but I'm pretty sure they're going to want us all to come back to their home with them."
"Great… I'm just the loveable stray dog that everyone on the block wants to adopt huh?"
Mute shrugged in response with a look on her face that said "whatever, I don't care, I'm just along for the ride".
Isaac rolled his eyes back at her.
By the time Isaac and Mute's conversation was over, the tense atmosphere around the table had dissipated somewhat. Isaac glanced around the group and spotted that Shyvana's creepy orange eyes were staring into his visor.
"Yes?" Isaac asked, a little unhinged by her staring. Those eyes… damn…
"You're companion took off his helmet, why do you keep yours on? Even I've removed mine." She said, tapping a horned, red, ornate looking helmet on the table with her hand. Isaac didn't miss the fact that her hands appeared to have talons on them.
Note to self… if this one ever offers a back massage, refuse it.
Isaac shrugged in response. "Food's not here yet, don't see a reason to take it off."
"He's paranoid." Blitzkrieg threw in there. "He's never outside without his helmet."
Isaac turned his head to face Blitzkrieg and glared at him. As much as it irritated him to have his squadmate and superior throw him under the bus so nonchalantly, he understood Blitzkrieg's answer was far closer to the truth then his own.
Shyvana scoffed with either amusement or scorn, Isaac couldn't tell. Galio shook his head.
"We mean you no harm Archangel." Galio spoke. "I understand your reaction to the presence of ones such as myself and Shyvana and that is quite normal. But I assure you that you are safe here."
Now, it was Isaac's turn to scoff. "I'll bet right? I knew a soldier in the army once, he liked to take his helmet off in so called safe places. A few seconds later, I was wearing his blood and kicking fragments of his skull off to the side."
Sona, being the only one at the table actually eating anything at this point, appropriately began choking on her food and leaned over the side of the table. Ezreal and Galio gave her concerned looks.
"You ok?" Ezreal asked, ready to get up and assist her if she needed it, but Sona gave them a nod to let them know she was fine… although it was obvious that she was trying her hardest to keep her lunch down.
…. Oops…
Mute rolled her eyes. "Lunchtime manners Isaac, lunchtime manners. You've already traumatised the poor thing, don't make her lose her lunch too."
Lunchtime manners she says… I never learned those things asshole! I was in a testing tube at that age!
Still, Isaac felt kind of bad for that. "Err… sorry." Isaac mumbled to the blue haired woman.
Blitzkrieg just shook his head and muttered something in German. Isaac didn't bother asking what it meant this time, he knew it wasn't anything positive or important.
Thanks to Sona's episode the conversation died there. That was made all the better at that moment because Isaac, Blitzkrieg, and Ezreal's food arrived then and there.
Isaac glanced down to meal before him. It appeared to be a combination of vegetables, mashed potatoes, and meat in decently large portions with a glass of water. He eyed Blitzkrieg's own plate and saw that it was indeed the same. His comrades wasted no time in grabbing their forks and began the long standard tradition of eating like civilized human beings, although it was clear Blitzkrieg had a little more difficulty holding the utensil in his hand thanks to his size.
Isaac glanced down to his own meal again and the fork next to it. He then also noticed that Shyvana, Sona, and Galio were all staring at him expectantly.
"I think…" Mute began. "They want to see what your face looks like."
"Sona already knows what my face looks like."
"She was too busy staring at your dick to get a good look."
"Shut up Mute."
Isaac glanced between all three of them, then back to Blitz and Ezreal who both seemed to either have failed to notice the stares in his direction or just didn't care. Isaac looked back to the three and noticed how patient Galio and Sona were compared to Shyvana, who's eyes seemed to be narrowing by a few centimetres with each second he delayed.
… I hate being me.
Isaac sighed and released the seal on his helmet. He had long been used to being stared at, but he still found the whole thing to be a little annoying. Regardless, he didn't want to show his face to Galio and Shyvana, but mainly Shyvana since she was being a bitch about it. At least Galio was polite. However, he was damn hungry, and eating with his visor only partly up was less then ideal since he couldn't see through the lower part of his helmet.
With a sissing noise, his visor lifted and his face was put on display for all to see. Isaac noticed the various reactions he got from the trio of Demacian champions, but rather then give them any more attention, he grasped his fork and knife and started on the chicken in front of him.
"Look who's mister popular right now." Mute's laugh in his ear really didn't make him feel any better.
Shut up Mute…
As Isaac started eating he noticed how Galio seemed to lose interest or remember that staring was rude, because he returned to his own meal with considered of… rocks? Sone and Shyvana on the other hand were still staring, although their expressions both displayed interest, it was the subtle differences that Isaac had noticed the most clearly.
Sona's showed shock with what Isaac was guessing concern. Shyvana's on the other hand was one of intrigue and, to Isaac's own concern, something that shouted bloodlust.
As good as Isaac was at ignoring these kinds of things though, it was starting to get annoying.
He looked up at Sona first. "What is it?" He asked the blue haired woman.
Sona's eyes went wide for a brief second before returning to normal. She pressed her lips together and then went back to eating her meal.
Strange... Isaac thought, but then he noticed that Blitzkrieg and Ezreal were now also looking at him. "What?"
Ezreal gave an awkward chuckle and scratched the back of his neck. Blitzkrieg sighed slightly.
"She's a mute."
Isaac's eyes darted from the duo to Sona again, who at her meal in silence but looked back up at him.
"… Oh…" Isaac muttered. "Sorry…"
Ok, now I look like a total asshole…
Mute's response to that exchange was to laugh. It annoyed him, but Isaac decided it would be best to just eat his food and shut his mouth.
Shyvana picked that moment to stop staring and to start talking.
"For someone who appears so much younger then your companion…" Shyvana 's voice made Isaac's hairs stand on their ends, "you appear to have had far more scars."
Isaac rolled his eyes before he remembered his face was no longer hidden behind a visor. "Nice of you to notice." He mumbled between bites.
Isaac heard Blitzkrieg swallow before speaking his own piece. "That's partially because my Meta powers makes me borderline indestructible." He explained briefly before taking another bite.
"Oh?" Shyvana raised an eyebrow at Blitzkrieg before looking back to Isaac. "Are your powers more offensive in nature then? I saw what you did to that… Avenger, or whatever that ship was called."
Funny, I didn't see you there... maybe that's because I too busy trying to win the battle for us.
However, Isaac decided that it was far more important to him that he eat his meal while it was warm instead of satisfying Shyvana's curiosity. Besides, it was lunchtime manners to chew with your mouth closed and he was currently ensuring that he was always chewing something.
Isaac did pause long enough to mention to everyone at the table that he thought the food here was good though.
Thankfully, a second and another bite after he made his compliment to the food, Shyvana got the hint that Isaac wasn't interested in this conversation. Unfortunately, that didn't really seem to deter her all that much.
Shyvana turned back to her own meat filled plate and rose an arm. Isaac thought she was going for her own fork when he once again saw that her hands had talons. She simply impaled a small steak in front of her with her finger, using her talon as a fork instead of the normal utensil.
She let out a low chuckle as she brought the meat to her mouth. The tone of her muted laugh only reinforced Isaac's initial thoughts of the blue skinned woman.
She's dangerous…
That left Isaac in a bind. She was clearly trying to edge him towards something, made more obvious by the fact that she and her two companions were sent after him for… something they weren't a hundred percent sure of yet. She was also being somewhat aggressive towards him. That meant Isaac should probably stop trying to antagonize her. It would be in his best interest.
"I wonder… are those scars the signs of a veteran warrior?" Shyvana spoke as she left the meat hanging from her talon inches away from her mouth. She turned slightly to look Isaac in the eye, and Isaac didn't miss the challenging expression on her face. "Or are they signs of incompetence and weakness?"
She took a bite out of her meal. After she swallowed it, her face went from challenging to taunting. "Perhaps that would make more sense. You did fail to protect the summoner assigned to you, did you not?"
….
With the eyes of everyone at the table on him, some questioning some worried, Isaac silently swallowed his food and took a sip of water, letting out a dramatic "ahhhhhh" as he finished. He then dug his fork into the mashed potatoes.
He then did the exact opposite of avoiding antagonizing Shyvana.
Isaac slowly turned his face to glare at Shyvana, and proceeded to fling a massive wad of mashed potatoes into the woman's face.
"Fuck you She-Hulk."
Dragon's Dogma
"He is well then?" Irelia asked her riding companion as they rode through the streets of Ionia. She had just visited the hospital where Archangel had been staying at only to learn that he had just left. Curiously, the hospital staff got rather tense when she had asked.
Akali nodded. "He seemed so. They had just arrived at the Blooming Lotus. They had talked about getting food and meeting the Demacian champions there before meeting with Duchess Karma."
Irelia was slightly concerned about that at first, until Akali had mentioned that they had indeed spoke about meeting the Duchess. She was worried that the Demacian champions might have their own agenda regarding Archangel and Irelia knew that she and Karma would need him on their side for the coming storm.
"I assume they had no idea you were trailing them?" Irelia asked as she waved to a group of children who had begun waving franticly at her. Irelia gave the children a smile and they scampered off with glee.
Akali shook her head. "I was not seen. However, the two of them… the meta humans are rather aware of their surroundings. I do believe the last time I spied on Archangel he noticed someone had been watching him. So I would not be surprised if they had noticed me shadowing and eavesdropping on them through the streets."
"Were they alone?"
"No, Ezreal was with them."
"He seems to have gotten rather close to Archangel. I do not believe I have had any report of one being without the other in public." Irelia thought deeply as she said that. Could there be a deeper reason for that? Was Ezreal working for someone? Sure, it made logically sense that the League would assign the legendary explorer himself to act as Archangel's guide, but could he secretly be delivering notes on Archangel's deeds and whereabouts to the Institute?
She would have to investigate that herself later. It was also entirely possible that Ezreal was a hundred percent genuine and had recognized the Ascension for the threat they posed themselves. Archangel was actively hunting them, so it would make perfect sense to team up with him.
Pointless for now, I will pounder more on that later. Irelia thought as she maneuvered her horse down the street, followed by Akali and her personal guard. A pair of guards on the side of the street saluted her as she rode past.
"They are afraid. They fear for their lives and for their families." Akali said out of no where as Irelia returned the gesture to the soldiers.
Irelia didn't respond for a few seconds. "I know. And from what we now know, they have every right to be."
"What about you?"
"I'm not afraid for my life or my brother, wherever he has gone to." Irelia answered with nothing but the truth. "I am, however, afraid for Ionia's future." She turned to look at Akali with fire in her eyes. "But we will not be another Bligewater. We will stand in the darkness in defiance and Ionia will endure."
They rode in silence for a good minute after Irelia's bold claim. Before Akali shattered it.
"Do you truly believe that we can defeat them?" The ninja asked. "We are struggling against Zed as it is, and he has grown bolder. Can we truly defeat an invading force from another world?"
Irelia closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, looking up at the blue sky overhead. "That is why we need Archangel's aid." She looked back down to Akali as the group got within sight of the Blooming Lotus. "From what I know he is not a hero, but he has the abilities and traits of a reluctant hero. He is untrusting and paranoid, but he understands who the true enemy is and their scope of power, and he is calm enough to act accordingly."
And if fate was playing a cruel joke on her, as soon as Irelia finished that line of dialogue, a single and familiar black armored figure came flying out of one of the walls of the Blooming Lotus, causing passerby's and guards alike to scramble for cover as wooden debris flying in all directions. After rolling to the other side of the street, the black armored figure came to a stop on his back.
Irelia and her entourage came to a complete stop. Even one as stoic as Irelia was unable to stop the look of surprise that made its way onto her face.
And as humorless as Akali tended to be, even she couldn't stop herself this time.
"You were saying?"
Irelia had no response. She simply stared at the scene from a distance as she saw a familiar blue skinned female emerge from the same hole that Archangel had moments before, as the later scrambled to his feet to stare the blue skinned female down. She did notice how Archangel's face was exposed and his faceplate was resting up higher on his helmet.
She was very confused about what was happening when she saw that Shyvana was holding her own helmet in one hand and both her weapons in the other. That confusion became a minor case of concern when she saw Archangel slam his faceplate down in its proper place and Shyvana place her own helmet over her head.
And that minor case of concern became very real concern when she saw Shyvana charge at him.
It was then one of her personal guards broke his silence.
"Uh oh…"
A few seconds ago, Isaac was inside a nice-looking building, enjoying some surprisingly nice food, and a conversation that had royally pissed him off.
Now, he was lying on his back in pain on a street with the sun baring down on him.
How the fuck did she just throw me through a building?
"WHAT DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN?!" Mute screamed at him, which caused Isaac to wince slightly.
Not now Mute…
Isaac groaned and scrambled to his feet. He noticed how there was a hand full of passerby's and guards who were all staring at him with a tint of fear on their faces and they had a good reason to. People don't just go flying through walls.
However, it was also likely since Isaac had his visor up, revealing his heavily scarred face and very pissed off expression to them all.
He saw the source of said anger emerge from the wall where he had gone soaring through a moment ago. Shyvana had two shield looking objects in one hand with her horned helmet in the other.
She also had the facial expression of child who had just been given candy. Minus the whole part where her eyes were a pair of burning orange balls of fire that just screamed to Isaac that she wanted him dead.
Didn't think it was possible to look both so happy and so fucking pissed off at the same time… but there you have it.
"Wait!" Mute shouted at him again. "Isaac! Stop! You better apologize now or…"
She started to trail off as soon as Shyvana put her helmet over her head and held one of her weapons in each hand, angling them to reveal their true purpose.
They were not shields, they were some kind of massive brass fucking knuckles.
"Uh oh…" Mute gasped as Isaac looked Shyvana right back into her glowing, rage filled orange eyes with his own grey eyed version.
"… It's on bitch." Isaac darkly muttered to himself and slammed his visor back into place, his HUD coming to life. It quickly placed a targeting reticule over Shyvana, identifying the blue skinned warrior as a severe unknown threat.
And Isaac didn't need a computer to tell him the Shyvana was a threat since she was now charging at him with a feral battle-cry.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Shyvana screamed as she sprinted at Isaac with a furious look on her face. Her alien appearance combined with her unnatural height and now her horned helmet made her look fucking terrifying.
"Oh we are SO GETTING ARRESTED FOR THIS!" Mute shouted.
"Don't care!" Isaac retorted as he quickly fell into an unarmed fighting stance, ready to meet the She-Hulk's charge head on.
She closed the last few steps with a leap, swinging at his head without any regard for what kind of damage it would do to him.
Isaac ducked under the first blow, taking a step back. She swung again, with yet another cry of rage. Isaac caught the weapon by its edge, feeling a jolt of pain shooting up his arm as he did so as he absorbed the sheer force behind her swing.
Shyvana undeterred by having one of her weapons in Isaac's grasp made a lower jab with her free weapon, only for Isaac to grab that one too. With both her weapons in hand, Isaac threw Shyvana to the side with all his might, hoping to disarm her.
To his annoyance Shyvana kept a solid grip on both her weapons and the two of the struggled there for a moment. Shyvana pushed back at Isaac causing him to slide back an inch.
Holy shit! She's strong! Isaac was glad he had his helmet's visor down, because he certainly surprised at just how much strength Shyvana ACTUALLY possessed. Having a non-meta human going toe-to-toe with a meta-human in a contest of strength was something he wasn't used to happening.
Then again, less then then a minute ago, she had thrown him through a building.
Isaac wasn't as surprised though when a feral grin creeped across Shyvana's face as she glared at him as she pushed back at him.
"I've been waiting for this for far too long…" Isaac heard her growl under her breath and her facial expression went from rage filled to borderline blood crazed.
Ok… you want it that badly bitch!?
"I WANT IT ON RECORD THAT I ADVISED AGAINST THIS!" Mute shouted at him.
Not now you damn piece of software!
Isaac let a out a growl of his own and let the dark mater around him flow right into his arms. With a grunt, he threw Shyvana off to the side, but he was forced to let go of her weapons. She had a vice grip on those.
Shyvana landed only a few feet away, still within arm's reach. And she knew it. The berserker spun around with one leg extended and managed to kick Isaac square in the chest sending him stumbling back a few feet. Thankfully his suit managed to absorb most of the damage, but Isaac still felt the force behind that kick.
She's fucking fast too! What was I thinking?!
Shyvana leapt at him again, but this time Isaac used the unwanted momentum from Shyvana's kick to tumble backwards, dodging the blow. As he did he shot his own foot out in the air and felt it hit something. As he got back to his feet, Isaac saw Shyvana recovering from a blow.
Hit her there.
Isaac charged this time, transferring the dark matter in his arms down to his legs to give himself a speed burst. He closed the gap between them in a blink of an eye and delivered a knock out punch to Shyvana's face, something he had to leap slightly upwards to do since she stood a good head or two over him.
His fist slammed right into Shyvana's face, causing the blue skinned berserker to stumble back with a grunt of pain. However, she recovered from the blow quickly and snarled at Isaac with her razor-sharp teeth in full view.
What the fuck? She just ate a full on armored punch to the face and she not only took it like a champ but she also has all her teeth?
Is this bitch built like a tank?
"What is this freak made out of?!" Mute shouted franticly as if reading Isaac's thoughts.
"Don't know, don't-Shit!" Isaac began to respond but had to dodge an upper cut from Shyvana. "CARE!" Isaac shouted as he dodged again but this time responded with a left hook, hitting Shyvana in the side of her ribs causing her to growl.
She responded by bitchslapping Isaac across his visor with one of her weapons. The force of the hit caused Isaac to spin around on the spot, causing the little bit of dizziness from the blow to get a little worse.
Holy shit… Isaac thought with awe as dodged Shyvana's follow up blow, both his eyes fixed on the small crack in his visor that he had just received from Shyvana's blow.
She cracked my visor in one hit? OH, I DO NOT want this bitch hitting me again!
The two went back and forth for a few seconds that felt like long minutes. Both of them dodging and swinging, growls and snarls from Shyvana and growls and curses from Isaac. He ducked and weaved between Shyvana's swings and managed to get a jab or two in of his own, but none of them seemed to do anything to Shyvana aside from piss her off even more.
Eventually, Isaac dodged one of her swings by spinning to the side. He thrust his left leg out will all his strength halfway through his spin and felt it connect to Shyvana's torso. The blow staggered her back, giving Isaac the opening he wanted.
He leapt up into the air towards and slightly to the side of Shyvana. As he passed her, he grabbed her head with both hands and brought her down backwards with his weight and momentum.
Shyvana let out a loud snarl as Isaac brought her head smashing down into the street behind her via the wrestling move. Isaac kept her head pinned there and grabbed one of the horns on her helmet and tried to rip her head protection off.
Either she must throw me off or I get her helmet off, giving me a better chance at knocking this bitch…
Isaac's thoughts were interrupted when he felt Shyvana grab him with both hands and throw him off.
… out… fuck me. Isaac cursed mentally as he flew back a few feet, catching himself with a tumble and somersaulted several times backwards to get some distance.
When he got right back to his feet, he couldn't help but notice that he and Shyvana's brawl had gathered a LOT of spectators, who were thankfully giving the pair a very wide berth. Some of the spectators were even Ionain soldiers, who seemed about as eager to break up the fight as the civilian spectators.
Isaac then remembered that he and Shyvana were having a very public brawl on a somewhat busy street.
Oh… this can't be good for our reputation…
He also managed to pick out Ezreal, Blitzkrieg, Galio, and Sona in the crowd.
Ezreal had a nervous look on his face that said he was concerned for Isaac's safety, but clearly wasn't looking to join the fight. Blitzkrieg had his helmet in one hand and was watching the fight carefully, likely in case he had to jump in. Honesty, Isaac had no idea why he HADN'T yet, but he was hoping it was a good reason. His eyes kept darting off to the side somewhere but Isaac didn't look where.
On the other side of the cheerleading field was Galio and Sona, and the gargoyle was in the middle of performing a face palm that spoke wonders about how he had likely been down this path with Shyvana before. Sona on the other hand had both her hands covering her face and clearly showed her shock and worry about the scene.
Of course, what concerned Isaac the most was Shyvana, who was in the middle of charging right at him again with a murderous look on her face. She was also now unarmed, but while that was great of Isaac, it wasn't that great given the fact that she had talons for nails that were now glowing red.
Rather then dodge this one, Isaac returned her charge with one of his own. As they closed the gap between each other, Shyvana tried to grab Isaac, who responded by catching both her hands with his own. Both hands slammed into each other, fingers interlocking.
The two entered a gridlock, both grunting to try and push the other back. Isaac saw how Shyvana was trying to sink her talons into the back of his hands, but they were too long to be of any real effect at this range. That, and his armor was durable as all hell, but so far Shyvana didn't seem to care about that.
Isaac let up on his strength slightly, which allowed Shyvana to push him back a few inches. However, in doing so her body got closer to Isaac's, allowing him to deliver a nasty knee to her own. Shyvana grunt and winced from the blow and forced some space between the two so Isaac couldn't do it again, but she retained a grip on Isaac's hands.
To Isaac's surprise, Shyvana's hands started to glow a hot red. Surprise turned to worry quickly when his HUD highlighted both hands and pair of DANGER icons appeared over both hands.
What the fuck?
"What the hell?!" Mute's voice was filled with surprise. "Her hands are starting to rapidly heat up! You've got seconds before your suit can't take anymore!"
Oh, for fuck sakes, what other tricks does this bitch have?!
Isaac tried to let go of Shyvana's hands but she didn't her grip go, keeping him locked in place. She must've realized that Isaac was trying to get away because another feral smile emerged on her face.
"Alright then…" Isaac growled through his helmet's speakers so that she could hear him. "If that's how you want to do THIS!" Isaac shouted that last word as he renewed his grip on Shyvana and drove himself forwards and upwards with all his might, using his dark matter powers to try and overpower Shyvana.
He succeeded, and Isaac drove his helmet protected head into Shyvana's face.
That's what you get for having an open face helmet bitch! Isaac thought as his opponent let out a growl of pain and reared her head back in response to the force Isaac just delivered to her face.
Taking advantage of the height difference, Isaac, still maintaining the grip on Shyvana's hands even though they were starting to burn through his armor, dove between her legs feet first. As he did so, he pulled Shyvana down with him behind him.
As he passed through her legs, Shyvana's grip on his hands weakened enough that he was able to rip his own hands free.
He grabbed both of Shyvana's legs and yanked on them as he finished passing under her. Shyvana cried out in surprise as she fell to the ground behind him onto her stomach.
Isaac quickly got up to his feet and turned to see her trying to get back to her feet.
Nope! Isaac ran at her and grabbed both her in-human shaped feet from bottom of her boots. Before Shyvana could kick him off again, he leapt over her downed body and performed a mid-air spin.
Isaac landed in front of Shyvana, with one of his armored boots stomping on each of Shyvana's hands. She cried out in pain from having her hands crushed under Isaac's boots. To make it more painful for her, Isaac hadn't released the grip on Shyvana's feet and they had come up and over with him, crossing over one another in an uncomfortable fashion.
He fought against her immense strength with a loud and long grunt, but he managed to bring her feet down towards her back, bending her legs in a very painful way that only a yoga master could.
And Shyvana let him know it. Rather then growl, the female warrior screamed in pain.
It was not a sound Isaac enjoyed.
"Give up!" Isaac shouted at her. He looked down at her as she tried to look up at him. He was only able to make out her mouth from that angle. It was twisted into a painful scream, but that quickly turned into one of absolute rage.
"Y-Y-YOOOOOU!" Shyvana screamed.
And then everything went to hell.
Her body started to glow and ignited into a burst of flame. Isaac was taken completely off guard again, and leapt back and away from her body, releasing her.
What the fuck?! Isaac though as he somersaulted backwards to put some distance between them. When he got to his feet, Isaac's jaw dropped.
Where Shyvana was a moment ago, there was a fucking dragon.
The fight's spectators started to panic a bit and back away from the fight even more now. Ezreal, Galio and Sona's face now showed outright worry, and Blitzkrieg's own facial expression clearly stated "oh shit".
The soldiers in the crowd suddenly remembered they were fucking soldiers and turned back to shout at the crowd to back away even farther.
Isaac on the other hand could do nothing but stare in disbelief at what he was seeing as Shyvana got to her new feet and reared herself up to full height.
What. The. Fuck.
In her new form, Isaac could see the similarities instantly, which eliminated any doubt in his mind that this dragon WASN'T the one he was just fighting. While the dragon still had her blue skin, her red armor had expanded in around her head and long neck, but her greaves were completely gone without a trace. Her arms now had enormous wings extending from her arms. She also had grown a tail that was encased in red plated armor.
She was also now the size of a fucking building.
Once she had gotten up to full height, Shyvana let out a massive roar that enveloped all other sound around her.
The few civilans who hadn't run took this as their moment and broke off screaming in panic.
"MUTE?!" Isaac shouted at his AI companion as his helmet tried to dampen some of the volume from Shyvana's roaring. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!"
Mute's avatar appeared in its usual spot. Isaac was expecting her to be just as surprised as he was, but instead she had a nervous look on her face.
"Uhh…. Well, you see… uh…" She started to ramble.
… No way!
"YOU KNEW?!"
"Uh… maybe… I kind of… forgot to mention…"
"YOU DON'T FORGET TO MENTON THAT SOMEONE CAN TURN INTO A FUCKING DRAGON!"
Isaac's freak-out at his AI partner ended as soon as Shyvana slammed both her arms down on either side of Isaac and brought her face down towards him. She opened her mouth wide enough to eat half of Isaac's body in a single bite and let out another massive roar.
"YOU!" Shyvana screamed at him in rage, her voice was even more unnerving now that she was a damn dragon. "TEMBLE BEFORE THE POWER OF A DRAGON!"
Before Isaac could pull himself together, Shyvana grabbed him with one of her hands and lifted him high into the air.
"This is bad!" Akali shouted at Irelia over the sound of Shyvana's roaring. It sounded more like a whisper to Irelia.
"WE have to stop them!" Irelia shouted back as she struggled to keep her horse calm. All the horses that she, Akali, and her guards were riding were starting to panic.
"Dismount!" Irelia shouted at her guards. "This has gone too far!"
I should've never let it get this far! I forgot about Shyvana's temper! Irelia cursed herself. She had nearly stepped in and stopped the fight the moment she realized what was happening, but she had stayed her hand. She had to admit, she was interested in seeing Archangel in action. It became painfully aware to her that she wasn't the only one, as a large crowd had gathered to watch either in surprise or curiosity at watching two League champions have it out in the streets.
She almost dismounted several times during the fight to stop it, but she had also noticed how Archangel's own teammate hadn't done so either. He had spotted her quickly and had been making eye contact with her, likely to let her know that he was also ready to step in.
Then, just when it looked like it was over, Shyvana's rage got the better of her and she transformed.
Irelia leapt off her horse and let her weapon unfurl itself from her back. However, she took her eyes off the fight for a second.
"Captain look out!" One of her guards shouted.
Irelia listened to his warning and leapt back away from the fight, just in time to see Shyvana slam Archangel down right where she had been standing a moment ago, and hold him there.
She's lost herself in her rage!
"Enough! Cease-" Irelia shouted at the pair, but she had to leap back away from the fight yet again in shock as Shyvana unleashed a torrent of fire onto her downed opponent.
NO! Irelia looked on in horror. All around the fight, the crowd quickly dissipated as everyone ran for their lives while the soldiers backpedaled away and griped their spears, aimed at Shyvana. Akali dismounted and drew both her weapons, while Shyvana and Archangel's companions got themselves ready to intervene.
"SHYVANA!" Irelia shouted as she made ready to leap into the fight herself. "STOP THIS!"
But before she could, she saw a trio of bursts of purple energy shoot out from under Shyvana's fire and the dragon in the face.
Shyvana stopped breathing fire immediately and bolted her head back up into the air, screeching out in pain, clawing at her face.
The fires died away quickly, and to Irelia's surprise, Archangel appeared unscathed, although smoke was streaking off his armor. He had one arm raised in the air that had black and purple energy spiraling around it.
He quickly got to his feet and he threw both his hands out towards Shyvana, a black and purple whip emitting dark energy flying from each hand in the same direction. The pair of whips circled around Shyvana's neck, capturing her.
The human-dragon hybrid felt them and she clawed at both whips, only to have no effect.
Archangel grasped his end of the whips, and as he did so, both whips shifted into the form of chains. He then sprinted towards Shyvana and performed a similar move as he did before, diving between her legs. As he did so, Irelia saw the chains tighten and retract.
Irelia immediately realized what he was doing and threw both her arms out to stop two of her personals guards from charging in to stop the fight. "Stay back!" She ordered.
Shyvana, once again, came crashing to the ground head first. Her body collapsed in on itself in a roll, but her tail flew into the air and slammed down onto the ground hard. Thankfully, everyone had cleared out of that area by this point.
Irelia was honestly surprised that Archangel could bring a dragon down with a pair of chains single-handily. Was it the dark energy she could feel coming off them? Or was it the wielder?
It didn't matter at that moment.
Irelia and her soldiers rushed forward, now that they had an opening while Shyvana was on her back. They quickly surrounded the dragon as she struggled to get to her feet. Irelia saw Archangel look in her direction and he took several steps back away from Shyvana, releasing both of his chains. The dark energized weapons flickered once and then vanished.
Irelia waved her hand in the air and her blades split off and formed up around her, all pointed at Shyvana. Her personal guard and the nearby soldiers all stood in a fighting stance with their spears pointed right at the dragon.
"Shyvana! Enough!" Irelia shouted again, this time it got the dragon's attention. She turned her massive neck to glare Irelia down, but made no aggressive moves.
"Shyvana!" Irelia heard Galio come up behind her. "Control yourself! Please!" He pleaded with his companion.
After a few tense seconds where Shyvana stared the two of them down her body flashed and shrunk back down.
Irelia could only sigh in relief as Shyvana's transformation completed, and she was back in her human form, sitting on the ground. Her facial expression was no longer one of rage, but instead of fatigue. There was also a trio of black marks on her face from Archangel's attack that were clearly painful, although Shyvana made no effort to do anything about them. Her orange eyes darted from Galio to her before she turned her head to look in Archangel's direction.
The black armored man in question had taken several steps back and seemed to be now standing on the sideline. The only damage on him Irelia could see was a small crack in his visor and several scraps across his armor.
"Alright." Irelia said, "everyone, stand down. Its over."
Isaac watched as the Ionian troops surrounded Shyvana's human form. Knowing that he would only make things worse by getting involved, Isaac backed away from the scene.
"Well, that got out of hand in a hurry." Mute sighed. "Was starting a fight in the middle of the day really necessary?"
She was being a bitch.
Isaac shrugged in response. He knew what set his temper off, he just didn't feel like saying anything. The sheer surprise and shock of Shyvana's dragon form nearly took all the rage out of him, and he was calming down now.
A distance away, he watched Shyvana get to her hands and knees and rise. Galio and Sona quickly approached her while the Ionian soldiers started to lower their weapons and go on their way, with the exception of Irelia, the ninja Akali, and a handful of guards Isaac was assuming belonged to Irelia.
Didn't realize that the captain herself was part of the spectators… or did she just arrive?
Isaac also noticed the looks he and Shyvana were getting from the citizens who had been watching the fight. The ones who hadn't turned tail and ran for their lives after Shyvana turned into a dragon that is.
They looked upon the two of them the same way people did back home when looking at a meta human. Some of them were eyeing Shyvana carefully, but the majority of the disapproving looks were reserved for Isaac and Isaac alone. Either way, it only reminded Isaac more of how much he hated being out in public.
"I doubt this helped our public image…" Mute mumbled. "And what did I say about not doing anything stupid?"
"… Shut up Mute." Isaac sighed, looking down at his left hand. Thankfully, the nerve damage hadn't made a noticeable affect on his performance in that fight, but it would have to be something he tested later on.
He also noticed that the crack in his visor was shrinking, however the superficial scrapes on the rest of his armor were not.
Guess that's how Mute plans on keeping my self repair unit going on as long as it can.
"Mute, suit status?"
"Fine… but getting yourself basked in fire certainty didn't help…"
No shit…
"You ok?" Ezreal asked as he ran up to Isaac, with Blitzkrieg following him at a slower pace.
"Fine." Isaac nodded. "Think I got my point across to her pretty well." He nodded in the direction of Shyvana.
Ezreal looked over his shoulder at Shyvana. "What point?"
"That I'm not going to let someone trash talk dead teammates." Isaac stated as he watched (what he was assuming at least) Shyvana getting an ear full by Galio and Irelia, with Akali and Sona just watching.
"Don't get too complacent. I'll be they're coming to talk to you next." Mute said, stopping just as soon as Blitzkrieg got up to Isaac and looked down at him.
Oh boy… here it comes…
"Verdammt kid. The locals already hate us enough as it is, this won't help at all!" Blitzkrieg cussed. "We need people on our side, not having them worry about us starting brawls with dragons in the middle of a city!"
Isaac looked up to his squadmate and superior, both had their visors down so neither could make out the other's face. "You should've mentioned that she was a bloody dragon!"
"I doubt that would've stopped you from picking that fight after she got under your skin. She was egging you on pretty damn good there." Blitzkrieg shook his head. "Damn it, that dragon girl seemed to have a pretty big interest in you from the moment she saw you when you were out cold. I didn't think THIS is what she had in mind though."
"What DID you think?"
"The Demacians want something from us. What that is, I don't know for sure, but I'm willing to bet they want us back in their home city. Probably for the same reason the Ionians do, only they're going about it like a bunch of Arschlöcher." Blitzkrieg sighed and put both his hands on his hips. "I wouldn't be surprised if we find out She-Hulk was ORDERED to fight you."
"… You think they would actually be ordered to do that?"
"Who knows?" Blitzkreig shrugged.
"Umm… actually…" Ezreal interrupted. He clearly had been doing his best to stay out of the argument between the two metas, seeing how only stood over him like a giant. "I feel like I should actually mention something here…"
Both soldiers turned to Ezreal. "What?" They both asked.
"Yeah, you see… Shyvana's a half dragon, so her personality and desires are influenced by her dragon side as much as her human side. That's why she's got such a temper." Ezreal gave an awkward chuckle. "And… well… dragons are attracted to strong mates so its likely that her fighting you was simply a way to see if you're a good choice for courtship."
There was a good two second pause. Isaac and Blitzkrieg turned their heads to each other, stared at one another for a moment, and then turned back to Ezreal.
"… Bist du verdammt ernst?"
"… Are you fucking serious?" Both men asked the same question in their native tongues.
Ezreal's eyes darted from Isaac to Blitzkrieg, and back again before a shit-eating grin appeared on his face. "Nah, I just wanted to lighten the mood."
"…"
"….."
Both men were speechless. Mute on the other hand, started howling away in laughter.
…. I hate all of you so much right now…
Blitzkrieg just shook his head and muttered some German curse words before turning away from the two of them. "Don't look now, but I guess it's our turn to get our legal rights…"
Sure enough, Irelia, Akali and their guards were walking up to them. Isaac's eyes went right to the single orb and four floating blades that followed Irelia as she walked.
Huh… mute was right about the similarities between Irelia and Flammenschwert… they both seem to have a telekinetic power. Isaac thought as he watched the orb and blades follow behind Irelia. He wouldn't be surprised if Irelia was capable of slaughtering everyone around her with a wave of her hands with those things.
Shyvana, Galio, and Sona were all on their way back to the entrance of the Blooming Lotus. Each one of them was looking at Isaac. Galio had an unreadable expression on his face, Sona's was an apologetic one.
Shyvana's delivered a loud and clear message that said this wasn't over yet.
Isaac felt a chill go down his spine. Mating huh?
"Don't even think about it." Mute warned him.
"I'm not."
"She would rip you apart the moment you got naked."
"I said I wasn't thinking about it!"
"You're so full of shit!"
"I'm not! Shut it!"
Mute responded by laughing in his face, again. So, Isaac responded by muting Mute.
She didn't find that as funny.
But Isaac had the perfect excuse to ignore it since Irelia had reached them.
"Greetings again Ezreal, Blitzkrieg." Irelia nodded to both men before turning her attention to Isaac, a somewhat forced smile on her face. "Archangel, as glad as I am to see that you've fully recovered, starting public brawls with another champion is against the law."
Pretty sure starting public brawls is illegal everywhere BUT Bligewater…
Isaac rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… sorry about that…"
Irelia sighed. "You know I can't turn a blind eye to this. Property damage, disturbing the peace, assault." She gave him a slight grin. "I guess it was consented fight though, so I might be able to downgrade that charge."
"…. Come again?"
"Well, she wanted a fight, you gave it to her of your own free will. That means you both consented to assaulting one another."
"… I guess?" Isaac raised an eyebrow. Now that he thought about it, he really had no idea what any of the laws were in Runeterra.
That… might have to be something we consider… and by we, I mean Mute.
That way I have an excuse to ignore legal advice, as long as it comes from Mute.
Ezreal groaned. "Is he REALLY going to be arrested?"
Irelia gave Ezreal a small smile. "That depends on his choices with his meeting with the Duchess."
Isaac felt that pin drop. Blitzkrieg must have come to the same conclusion because he crossed his arms over his chest. "Let me guess. We don't do as your Duchess commands, and its off to jail for the outworlder?"
Irelia looked up to Blitzkrieg and raised an eyebrow, smile replaced with a more serious look. "Did I say that? Well, regardless, he DID break a few laws just now. Some rather serious ones. It would be proper for me to arrest him."
Isaac sighed and shook his head. He wasn't having any of this right now. "Yeah, look. Irelia. Thanks for all the help, but I'm not interested in wordplay games right now. What's my charge and what am I going to have to do?"
Not that I'd really serve time in a jailcell…
"I believe I've already listed your charges. But if you are so eager to get on with this." She took a step to the side and motioned with her arm to follow. "Then come. Let us meet with the Duchess immediately."
Isaac glanced to Ezreal, who shrugged and then looked to Blitzkrieg, unfurled his hands from across his chest and let them fall to his sides.
Isaac furrowed his brow. "Aren't you the LT here?"
"You got us into the mess Sergeant." Blitzkrieg shrugged. "You can dig us out."
… Thanks…
Isaac rolled his eyes and walked between the two. As he approached Irelia, she turned and began walking along side him.
"I will take you to her." She told him with a nod.
"So… what about Shyvana?" Isaac asked, his curiosity suddenly needing to be sated.
"She is under house arrest for the time being at the inn, until I have time to deal with her. She will not be allowed to leave without an escort." Irelia shook her head. "I can't do much about her since it would cause a diplomatic incident with Demacia, something none of us can afford here."
I'm sensing some favoritism here…. And its not in MY favor.
Isaac turned his head to Irelia and was about to say along the lines of "what about me?" when Irelia continued.
"As for you, you don't have any national allegiance. Only League status. And the popularity for that is running dry around the world. The League will also not protect its champions from illegal actions taken outside the Fields of Justice."
Isaac furrowed his brow. "What's the deal with Jinx then?"
"Given the situation, I can't afford you to be in a jailcell. So, I'd advise you give the Duchess your undivided attention. I'm sure you will find yourself in agreement with her." Irelia continued, completely ignoring Isaac's question about Jinx.
"If this is about fighting the Ascension…" Isaac said as he turned to face forward. "Then I'm always listening."
Goth's Meta-Human Lecture Number Three: The Betas and Rebellion
"Now, where were we? Ah, yes!"
"Although the Alphas were extremely powerful and dangerous, everything a power-hungry corporation would dream of, Mr. Ito considered them to be a failure. Why? They were TOO powerful, and too prone to forming some kind of god-complex of their own. He needed to be able to control his own superhuman soldiers."
"So, Mr. Ito tried again. This time, he would try to get his scientists to make the next group of meta-humans less powerful, less insane, and hopefully, less prone to going on murderous rampages. To balance this out, Halcyon expanded the potential gene-pool and safety protocols in order to ensure both a larger supply of suitable… "acquisitions" and "resource management". I guess they understood that having children die during the meta-human experiments was a waste of resources and a potential meta-human soldier at their hands."
"And thus, came the second batch of meta-humans: The Betas. Our mon amie Archangel is native to this group of talented individuals, as well as the rest of our squad. The Betas were also the last of the meta-humans developed directly by Halcyon, but more on that later."
"Betas can be seen as the more numerous, less powerful version of the Alphas. While on paper, this may make them seem less valuable then the Alphas, they were however, much less prone to issues of insanity then the Alphas were. They were also tortured less, but when you're already spending your childhood in a facility that is already injecting your body with synthetic fluids, genetically enhancing you, and all around being seen as a base in hell, saying "But at least you were tortured as much as the Alphas!" really becomes a moot point by then."
"Sorry, where was I? Right, the Betas."
"Like the Alphas many Betas died during the meta-human augmentation process, but not nearly as many as the Alphas. As a result, by the time their initial training had been complete, the Betas tripled the number of Alphas. Present day, there are believed to still be roughly around a hundred Betas still active, both in TRANS-Ops and in the Ascension. Of course, there is no way to get an exact number given how some are still in hiding after the Uprising."
"While Alphas had between one and three primary powers, the Betas only processed a single primary power although there are records of some having two but those instances are very far and few between. As for secondary powers, Betas had between two and four, with two being the most common."
"To put all that in context, lets look at Archangel shall we? His primary power is the ability to manipulate dark matter to his will, while is secondary powers are his extra-sensory perception and his so-called internal time control."
"Its not really time-control in it's fullest extent, but I don't think a scientific explanation on the subject of time is really warranted right now."
"Moving on, the Betas were considered more of a success to Halcyon. They had more of them, they were more obedient, and some of them received training from the Alphas, which made them even more deadly. Archangel again, was one of those, which is why he is considered to be a more valuable Beta then someone like… oh… he calls himself Flammenschwert now I guess?"
"Of course, this meant there was some resentment between fellow Betas, more so then Alphas. They were more competitive, as failure to produce satisfying results meant more training and torture. Something anyone would seek to avoid."
"However, all the while this was happening, Halcyon shifted most of their attention away from the Alphas, allowing some of the Alphas to get ideas. A group of said Alphas came up with a plan… they started to pool their powers and knowledge together in secret, gaining pull and power around the world without the knowledge of Halcyon. Some of them even contacted rogue Alphas in hiding and got their support."
"And as the Betas grew in power and age, these Alphas started to plant the seeds of rebellion in their heads. Many of those seeds bore fruit, and a quarter of the Betas joined this growing faction started by the Alphas."
"This faction soon took to calling themselves… the Ascension."
AN: Well it has been a long time, hasn't it? Rather then give everyone a full blown winded explanation as to my most recent hiatus, I'll just sum it up and say life happens (more specifically, work happens).
I started writing this chapter after the last one was posted... that was five months ago, and only in the last two weeks did I go and grind out the remaining 80% of it.
It was during that time I realized something... I could use a beta-reader. I tried to find out more information about it but while gives me info on what a beta reader is, it doesn't really tell you HOW to acquire the services of one. Do I post a request somewhere? Do I just randomly message people and risk annoying them? Since I couldn't figure out how, I'll make the request right here.
I AM LOOKING FOR A BETA READER. If anyone is interested, PM me and we can work out some sort of arrangement... or however else beta-readers work. Like I said, I don't know.
Anyways, I hereby announce the end to my hiatus... I will be updating When Worlds Collide every Monday for the following three weeks and every second Monday after that. This is because the next three chapter's draft copies are actually done and just need some editing and stuff added in. The reason for going to a every second week update after that is because I don't want to make deadlines I don't know if I can keep, seeing how I've been tugging everyone around with waits far too much. I will TRY to get them done weekly, but its more likely to be biweekly.
I had LONG planned to have this story complete before now and I'm not happy I failed. I'd like to say I'm going to have the entire story done by the end of the year via these every 1-2 week updates but I don't know how many chapters its going to take, so I'm not going to make that promise.
Along with this new chapter, I updated some of my older chapters with various typos and fixes. I also added a few lines here and there to explain things better but nothing major, you DON'T need to go back and read it. Its just more so for people starting out. I'm also planning one day to re-write the prologue chapter up to the point Archangel arrives in Valoran. I wrote it back when I was starting out in college and since then, I'm well aware that the whole using jet-packs to dive through the ground without any risk or damage to the user is beyond possible. But that's not a priority right now, new chapters are.