Smoothest of Criminals – Ch. 25

Author's Note: Here it is everyone, the final chapter of the series. It's hard to believe it's been over a year, but here it is. As sad as some of you may be that the story is over, fret not; it does no end here. If you wish to see what happens next for the Law Enforcement of Piltover read my new story The Siren's Call. As always, I wish you the best of luck in life and literature. Enjoy. –Kiba

The next day, Vi and I decided that it would be best if we were to spend it together. While normally, I would have suggested we split up to make our own preparations today was different. We were going after Mundo, and that meant it may very well have been our last day together. Neither of us said it out loud, but the tension in the air did it on our behalf. This was dangerous.

Taking her hand in mine, we decided to do all the things we'd wanted to do together. We went on a walk through the city's zoo, we had a picnic, went to an amusement park. We did the stupid couple shit that we should have been doing a long time ago. And despite the fact that both of us were smiling and laughing the entire time, I think deep down we both knew it was just a shallow mask to hide what we were really feeling. Fear. I wasn't used to feeling this dread. I've hated Mundo for a long time now, and I've always had the mentality that if I were to face him, I'd throw myself so hard into it that I wouldn't care if I lived or died afterwards. It was meant to be the final chapter in my life, my magnum opus. But now, that feeling was gone. Because whenever I looked at Vi…whenever I heard her laugh or smelled her scent or tasted her lips only one phrase ran though my mind. "I don't want to die."

Vi looked up at me in surprise from her coffee. "What did you say Thane?"

"I said, 'I don't want to die.' I…" The hard emotions I'd tried to hide today began to peer through the cracks in my mask. "I used to not care." I finally whispered. "I used to picture that whenever I met Mundo again I'd give my life to ensure he died. Some stupid heroic sacrifice or something. But now…" I looked up at her to see that her mask too had slipped, the sad expression surfacing in her yes. "I don't want to die. I don't want to leave you Vi."

"And you won't." She assured me. "Don't forget…you're not facing him alone. You have me. Not to mention you also have my sister and Lief. Mundo is expecting you to be alone Thane. He wants you to come at him with your mind angry and distracted, so if you really don't want to die do me a favor…don't worry about me."

I looked down into the murky liquid that rested in my cup. I hadn't even taken a sip of it yet, despite we'd been sitting here for nearly ten minutes. "How can I not? Aren't you scared?" Vi nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose I am. But I have to suppress it. I've got to put it away otherwise I'll be putting you and everyone else in danger. And it's what you've got to do too."

I took a deep breath, slowly exhaling as I finally raised the coffee to my lips. It was cold, though that was hardly a surprise. "You're right Vi. I'm sorry. But Vi, listen…if the worst should happen…"

"Thane, no! Stop right there. You cannot think like that."

"Vi!" I snapped. "Please…we can't dodge what may happen. Just promise me one thing okay? If I die, or worse…if Mundo captures and does something to me…run. Don't hesitate, don't look back, just run. "

"You know I'm not going to do that." She whispered. "I couldn't do that to you any more than you could do that to me."

The two of us sat in silence for a moment. "Vi…under my bed, in the trunk that I keep my disguise in there's a false top."

"Thane…"

"Inside of it is everything I have. My bank accounts, my identities, everything. Every penny I have, it's yours."

"Thane, I won't say it again, for the last fucking time I'm not going to leave you! Do you understand me? I'm not. I don't care if you tell me to go with your last fucking breath, I will die right beside you if I fucking have to. So quit trying to pull all this 'I'll take care of you, save yourself' crap, because it's not who you are, and it sure as hell isn't who I am. Every day we're on the job we could fucking die, this isn't anything different from what we always do. Look at me!" My head lifted to look into her eyes as she placed her hand on mine. "Mundo is just another piece of scum to be smeared off the street like a streak of paint. And that's what we're going to do, do you understand me? We're not doing this for your mom, or Nera, or the Black Lotus; we're doing this because it is our job to do this."

She was right. I'd been so focused on who I was going after, I didn't even pause to consider that what I was doing was for anyone else's sake but the people I'd lost. "Gods, when did you get so much smarter than me?" I asked finally with a chuckle.

She grinned, glad to see that she'd managed to get through to me. "I'd say it was around the time you started doing stupid shit but…well you've always done stupid shit." I leaned forward across the table, placing a swift kiss on her lips before placing the money for the check. "Ooh, we're leaving? Please tell me we're going to do something naughty. Are we doing something naughty?"

"Oh yes. There's something I've wanted to do with you for a long time now." I replied, guiding her by the hand.

Lief and Jinx sat on either side of the coffee table in their apartment, the only sound between them was the occasional schlink of Lief's whetstone as he continued to sharpen one of his many large knives. Jinx however, was more preoccupied with doing inventory.

"Let's see…rockets, check. Bullets, check. Hand Grenades, check. Incendiary bear traps, check. Giant bomb…" Looking at all of the things littered around her, she hoisted up a cyclinder that was the size of a small child. "Check!" She beamed.

"Where do you even keep all that stuff?" Lief wondered, pausing for a moment to take a look at her.

"My bra, duh."

Lief set down the stone to give her a dubious glance. "Your bra…?"

"Yep."

"Really?"

"Absolutely." He sighed pinching the bridge of his nose as if he had a terrible head ache. "What?"

"Jinx…not to be mean, but you don't even wear a bra. You're so flat-chested, you could honestly pass off as a ten year old. To be honest, I'm surprised you haven't tried it yet." Jinx said nothing in reply. "Oh Gods, you have tried it haven't you? Why? Why on earth would you disguise yourself as a ten year old?"

"Hey! Kids eat free at El Pollo Loco on Thursdays okay? It doesn't matter anyway, they caught me and kicked me out."

"Really? Surprise, surprise." He muttered sarcastically.

"I think it was the giant novelty lollipop that tipped them off." She mused before going back to her weapons. "Hey, do you think I'll need the weapons grade Uranium?"

"You have weapons grade Uranium?! In our apartment?!" Lief asked in shock.

She shrugged. "Where else am I going to keep it? In my bra? That's just asking for cancer."

"You don't wear a bra!" Lief objected with a groan.

"All the more reason not to keep it there." She shot back.

"Sorry I asked." Lief sighed in exasperation. "Alright? I don't care where you put your weapons, or how the hell you carry it all. I don't even want to know anymore."

Jinx kept quiet for a moment before picking up a handful of disks the size of a milk cap. "Panty explosives, check."

"Oh for fucks sake, you've got to be kidding me." He looked at her. "There's no way you're being serious right now. Please tell me you're joking."

"Hey! I'll have you know that these babies busted a friend and me out of jail a while back. Panty explosives rock! Besides, you don't have any reason to judge me. All you're bringing is that stupid knife." She retorted before sticking her tongue out at him.

He reached forward, pinching her tongue between his fingers. "Who needs a gun when I can just do this." He teased causing her to whine.

"Owww, owww, owww leth meh goh! Leth goh oth mah tung."

"Not until you say, 'Sorry Lief for calling your knife stupid.' Then I'll let you go."

"Oww! Othay! Thorry Lief foh cahlin yoh knithe thupid. Pleathe leth goh." Lief grinned, releasing her tongue from his grip. She quickly pulled it back into her mouth before grumpily folding her arms over her chest. "Jerk."

VIII smiled, leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. Licking her hand she quickly rubbed it to wipe it off. "Are you nervous?" Lief asked finally, causing Jinx to look at him confused.

"Nervous? About what?"

He blinked. "What do you mean 'about what'?! About Mundo!"

"Ohhhh. No, I'm not nervous. He's just some crazy nerd right? Crazy nerds aren't very bullet resistant so no worries about that."

Lief's eyes became stern. "Jinx, you cannot underestimate him. He is dangerous, more so than anything we've faced before. The vampire, Nera, all of them were made by him. This man is not someone you can just put a bullet in."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, it'll be fine." Jinx replied, shrugging off his warning.

"I'm dead serious Jinx. This guy is dangerous. Don't take any unnecessary risks. You see an opening, take it. But don't put yourself in a dangerous situation for no reason, understand?"

The blue haired psychopath looked at her lover. Despite her rather casual nature, she could tell by the tone of his voice that it was something that gravely concerned him. For a rare moment, expression became serious as she reached for his hand. Her touch surprised him, and with a soft smile she squeezed it reassuringly. "We'll be fine." She insisted, and with that Lief knew they would be. "Now then, back to my list…" she commented, pulling her hand away. "Box that goes 'PING'…check!"

My chest rose and fell as I looked up at the beautiful deputy, her beautiful pink hair disheveled as her hips continued to grind against mine. She'd taken my hands in hers, placing them upon her breasts as she let out mewls of pleasure that were music to my ears. It was funny how, after all the times we'd made love in the past, changing one little thing could cause such an exciting rush that was almost as satisfying as the warmth of her folds squeezing and caressing my member.

"Gods this is one of the best ideas you've ever had." She moaned, continuing to rise and fall as I teased her small and sensitive pink nubs.

"I thought you'd like it." I gasped, giving one of her nipples a tug that drew a low purr from her lips. Despite the amount of pleasure she was giving me, my back was already beginning to hurt from the stiff surface we laid on, and I almost hoped that she and I would finish soon.

The door banged open loudly followed by a familiar refined voice. "Freeze…scum…? What in the hell?!" Vi's eyes rolled back in pleasure as she came hard, forcing my body to respond in kind as my hips rose to meet hers. She collapsed on to my chest, causing us both to turn to see Caitlyn, eyes wide and cheeks a bright red with her rifle pointed at the both of us.

"Hi cupcake." Vi giggled nervously. "Thought you went out to meet with a C.I. heh…"

"I-I did…I left about an hour ago…really though you two? In my office?" Vi and I grinned at each other as she climbed off of me, allowing me to roll off of Caitlyn's desk. "And you!" She stormed up to me reaching forward. "Give me my hat." She growled snatching it off my head. "You should both be ashamed of yourselves! I have to work at this desk you know? Now I won't be able to sit there without picturing the both of you going at it on top of my Saturday Morning LoLz calendar."

"Sorry Cait…" I offered apologetically. "It's just that tomorrow will be dangerous, so we wanted to do the exciting things we may not get a chance to later."

"And 'Have sex on your boss' desk while wearing her hat' was on your bucket list?! I repeat, what the hell?"

"Oh come on cupcake, don't be upset. We were just having a little fun." Vi objected, the both of us redressing.

"Why is the inside of my hat's brim moist?" Caitlyn asked suspiciously.

I scratched the back of my head anxiously. "Well…I may have done the whole "hanging your hat over your erection" thing in order to be sexier for Vi. And…she may have already excited me a bit about the prospect."

The Sheriff's eyes narrowed, an angry fire brewing in them as she lifted her hand and pointed at the door. "OUT!" She roared, causing Vi and I to quickly leave just before she slammed the door shut behind us.

Vi and I looked at one another before giggling like children. "That was so worth getting yelled at." She laughed. "Gods, you just continue to surprise me with ways to keep things spicy."

"Sometimes literally."

"And I'll get you back for that little red vial of yours once this whole thing is over. But…don't you think we should tell her about…"

Her words were interrupted as the door swung open revealing a livid Caitlyn. "Really you two? The chair as well? Couldn't just have sex on my desk where I work and occasionally eat lunch, you had to have a romp in my chair as well!"

"I think she knows." I whispered loudly to Vi who covered her mouth in an attempt to hide her snickering.

"UGH! You two will be the death of me!" She cried in exasperation, returning to her office to reorganize the papers that had become strewn about on the floor amidst our wild lovemaking. With a grin, Vi and I held hands.

"Sorry Caitlyn." Vi called again. "We're going to leave now okay? No more sex in your office, I promise." Caitlyn responded by slamming the door to her office again. "Today." Vi added under her breath, bringing a grin to my face as we walked to the apartment. The night had already come quickly, bringing our day to an end and I knew that it wouldn't be complete without one last thing.

"Vi…"

"Yes Thane?" She asked.

I stopped on the corner of the road, bringing her close to me beneath the street light. "Listen…I want you to stay at my place tonight."

Vi smiled and releasing my hand wrapped her arms around me. "As much as I'd love that Thane, tomorrow we should be at our best. You already seemed to be running out of steam in the office I'd hate…"

"That's not what I meant." I interjected. "I mean…I just want to be able to sleep beside you tonight. If you don't mind." She answered me with a soft kiss before wrapping her arm around mine.

"I've no objections. Your bed is comfier than mine anyway." The two of us walked back my home, her head resting on my shoulder as we walked. It was hard to believe the two of us had become this. To anyone else on the street looking at us, we'd just be a normal couple. But I knew, there was still one obstacle left before we could finally move on with our lives.

Reaching my door, I fished for my keys, sliding it into the tumbler and twisting. As I did however, the door simply swung open, letting out an ominous creak. Vi already went to step inside, but before she could I grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the door, just in time for a sharp cleaver coated in a foul liquid to embed in the doorframe just where her head was. Her eyes were wide as I pulled her off balance causing her to fall on to the road, her eyes wide in surprise.

"Who's there?!" I called out, my hand going behind my back to one of my concealed daggers. In the door frame, a large silhouette appeared in the moonlight with a maniacal laugh. One that was all too familiar. "No…Mundo…" I whispered, taking a quick step between him and Vi.

"Mundo think Thane a big sissy, so Mundo decide to pay Thane a visit himself." As he stepped out I felt my heart stop for a brief moment as I took in his monstrous visage. His eyes were white and pupiless, glowing in the shadows as he stepped forth. His arms were large and bulky as though they belonged on some sort of ape instead of a man. The most frightening thing however, was the way his flesh bulged and rippled, a sickening purple hue with veins bursting against the skin.

"Gods Mundo…what have you done to yourself?" I gasped in shock as he pulled the cleaver from the door frame, lumbering towards us with a sickening grin spread across his face. Raising it over his head, I quickly threw my dagger at him, piercing his chest and causing him to stumble back before collapsing on to the ground in a heap. My heart was racing as he fell still, Vi scrambling to her feet beside me as we looked down at his body. His eyes were closed, the tongue that was sticking out of his mouth was inhumanly long and glistened with an alien blue.

"It's…over?" Vi asked.

"I think so." I finally sighed.

"Well…that was a lot easier than I thought it would be." Vi commented, just before his body seized and he stood up with a laugh.

"Mundo trick you! Mundo trick you!" He taunted as his flesh sealed up, pushing my blade out on to the ground. I watched the metal clatter on to the stone and shoved Vi down the road.

"Vi, run! I'm right behind you!" She took off like a shot as I threw two more knives into Mundo, each one embedding into him where his heart should be, but after a moment, they too just fell to the ground. I turned, rushing after her as I heard Mundo's insane laughter following us.

"That's Mundo?!" She gasped as I caught up to her. "Why didn't you tell me we were hunting down some large purple freak?"

"As cliché as it sounds, he wasn't always this way!" I took a moment in our fleeing to glance over my shoulder, only to see that Mundo had disappeared from sight. "He's gone!"

"What?!" She asked in surprise, skidding to a stop to look for herself. Sure enough, he was still missing. Or so we thought. A loud scraping sound could be heard coming down a nearby alleyway. A light flickered overhead, as the hulking shape emerged from the shadow, dragging his cleaver along the brick wall with an evil hiss. How had he gotten there? He couldn't have run that fast!

"Here he comes again Vi. Quick, run! We've got to get to Jinx and Lief!" Again, the two of us took off into the night, followed by the mad man of Zaun as his bulking footsteps crunched the concrete beneath him. Suddenly, a splitting pain in my leg sent me sprawling to the ground as I looked back to see his cleaver embedded in my heel. Already I could feel it burning as the infected substance drained my energy, and I watched as Vi stopped to turn back. "No Vi! Go!"

She ignored me, picking me up under her arm and hobbling away with me, tossing the cleaver aside as Mundo continued to close in on us. "You stupid son of a bitch, I told you I'm not going to leave you. Don't you ever fucking listen to me?"

"Damn it Vi." I coughed, "He'll kill us both if you don't drop me and run."

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear." She growled, before lifting me bridal style and running as fast as she could. "I'm not leaving you behind!" As embarrassed as I was to be carried like this, the poison had removed my strength to argue.

"Vi…"

"What damn it?" I watched as Mundo scooped up the cleaver, cocking back his massive arm to hurl it. No way! He was almost a hundred yards from us; he wasn't planning on throwing that thing all the way from there! But sure enough, to my shock, the tainted blade swirled towards us at an incredible speed, thrown so hard that it easily would cleave a limb free if it struck.

"Turn down the alley now!" I shouted. She did it barely in time, the cleaver embedding to the handle in the masonry as she peered behind her with a surprised gasp.

"That was close!"

"Keep running, I'll tell you when he's coming." I told her. Already, she was reaching her physical capabilities, but luckily we were almost a block from Jinx and Lief. "Like right now…" I muttered as Mundo grabbed hold of the cleaver and without almost any effort, pulled it free. He continued to run towards us, just as Vi slammed through Jinx's apartment door, rushing up the stairs with me as quickly as she possibly could.

"Jinx! JINX!" She screamed up, causing a few people to look out of their doors, only to shut them quickly when they saw the blood dripping from my leg. The door to their apartment opened, a light blue head peering out to see us coming. "Jinx, he's here!" Vi gasped, rushing through the door.

"Vi, what…?"

"Mundo! He's here!"Vi panted, her chest rising and falling heavily as she tried to catch her breath. She lowered me to the ground, allowing me to stand on my feet as I gestured to Lief.

"Lief, shut the door!" I commanded, causing him to do so before bolting it shut. Standing up, I began pushing on the bookshelf beside their door, my strength too far gone to do it by myself. Lief went beside me, pushing as well and with a screech it slid into place just as a loud pounding could be heard on the other side.

"Little Thane, little Thane, let Mundo in!" He bellowed through the door. Lief picked up his knife getting into a combat stance if he managed to break in.

"That won't do you any good. The sick bastard experimented on himself. I plugged him in the heart three times and it didn't even slow him." I winced as another wave of fiery pain ran through my leg, causing Jinx to look at me concerned before picking up Fishbones and leveling him at the door. "Vi. Inside of the room beneath the dresser, there's a loose floorboard. Pry it up and grab everything inside of it. Quick!" I added through gritted teeth.

The deputy quickly did as I asked, pulling up the board to find that inside was all of the gear I had stashed in case of an emergency. Well now was the fucking time to use it. Vi grabbed the gauntlets, placing them on her hands and powering them up before grabbing the bandolier of chemicals and weapons. "Here." She called, handing them to me.

My fingers ran through the chemicals before I plucked out a particular one. I shook it up before pouring it on my leg. Already, the antidote began to surge through my veins, combating his poison and granting me back my stamina. With a loud crack, the cleaver broke through the door and the bookshelf, revealing the bright white eye of our attacker. "Here's Mundo!" He laughed just as Lief tossed his knife perfectly to embed it into Mundo's face.

He screamed first, before we heard the knife hit the ground followed by more of his hideous cackling. "You hurt Mundo eye! But that's okay, Mundo going to hurt you more."

"Damn it." Lief growled, just as Jinx tossed him her shock pistol.

"Told you the knife was stupid." She teased as he lifted it, aiming at the door.

"Yeah, yeah! Thane, any idea how to stop this guy? And I swear if you say lead him to a factory I'll…"

"Here's the plan. Clearly his face is vulnerable, so go for a headshot! We've got to do as much damage as possible to him, it's the only way we'll be able to kill him for good." I stood, the pain faded now as my pants leg dropped back down around my calf. Strapping the bandolier around my torso, I poured a different vial of chemicals onto my blade before sheathing it to let the poison soak on it.

"What was that?" Lief asked as I stood beside him, the rumbling against the bookshelf becoming louder.

"A very special poison. One I've been saving just for this son of a bitch."

"Will it work?"

"Gods, I hope so. Vi, charge up your gauntlets, right as he bursts through let him have it. We'll send this bastard down the ten flights of stairs and see if that does anything at all. Lief, Jinx. Open the window in your room. We have to draw him out until we're on a level playing field."

"Got it." Jinx called, breaking from our formation to go to the window. Already Vi's gauntlets began to whir as the powerful jets in them kicked on and began to charge. With one final harsh thud, the bookshelf splintered revealing Mundo, one eye bleeding profusely from Lief's knife.

"Get some!" Vi cried as she launched forward, slamming her fist hard into his jaw. There was an audible crack as it unhinged from his skull and the surprised butcher stumbled back crashing through the railing.

He flailed his arms, trying to regain his balance before he began to fall. Just as he did, his hand lunged forward grabbing Vi's in a vice like grip. She looked horrified as she disappeared over the edge of the balcony. "Vi, no!" I shouted, running towards it to see that her other hand had latched on to the ledge.

She was in pain, her arms torn between the sheer weight of the enormous Mundo and her will to prevent herself from falling. I watched as he laughed; using his free hand to grab his cleaver, ready to take her with him. But before he could a voice beside me spoke up. "Hey Mundo! This is for my brother!" Lief growled, firing the shock pistol point blank. The electricity arced around Mundo, causing him to release Vi's hand and fall down to the ground floor.

"Good work Lief." I gasped in relief, pulling Vi up from the banister and hugging her tightly. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, we need to go." She replied, before leading the three of us to where Jinx waited by the window. One by one, each of us leapt from the fire escape to the nearby roof as we'd done so many times in the past.

"Did that kill him?" Lief asked, just before his question was answered by a flying cleaver that passed overhead. "Jinx."

"Got it." She grinned, leaping on to the eaves of the building and leveling Pow-Pow towards the surprised Mundo. The barrels began to spin in a mad whir as she launched a barrage of bullets in front of him, causing him to quickly leap out of the way buying us more space. She laughed, shouldering her minigun and catching up with us.

"Jinx, what sort of weaponry does he have currently?" I asked, as we dove onto yet another rooftop.

"None at the moment. That was his last cleaver that he threw." I smirked, quickly cartwheeling over the edge of the roof and sliding down the gutter as the others quickly came to a halt.

"Damn it, what is that idiot doing?" Vi snarled as she turned back to watch as I stood off with Mundo.

I could feel all of my rage and hatred for him coming back again, having been suppressed all this time by fear. Fear for what he'd do to my friends, fear of what he'd do to Vi, fear that perhaps killing us was the best I could hope for if he were able to catch up with us. Soon he caught up to me, confused that I had ceased. "Mundo confused, you no run from Mundo no more?"

"I've spent far too much of my life running from you." I growled, clenching my fists tightly. "I'm done running."

"So Mundo get to 'fix' you now?" Mundo asked with excitement, clapping his hands.

"No, now I fix you." I roared, rushing straight towards him. Time seemed to slow down as Mundo's one eye grew wide in surprise at my head-on charge. Quickly throwing his bulky fist outward in a harsh punch that had the force behind it to shatter my body, it wasn't fast enough to match my surge. I leapt upward, planting a hand on his fist and striking at his head with a vicious roundhouse kick. It was a kick that held my fury for him that had only grown and culminated with everything I'd been through. I felt his flesh, all the way through my shin guard as if I'd struck a steel pole, but from the way he stumbled back I knew he felt it.

I landed on my feet, unwilling to give him any ground as I rushed forward, striking at him quickly with my fists, first with an upper-hook that struck hard beneath his jaw followed by a quick right cross rabbit punch to his throat. In a normal fight, it was a punch I'd never use because of its ability to sever the spinal cord. But I knew as my fist made contact with his neck that this monster could take it and still get back up. I just wanted to make sure he felt it through his entire body.

He coughed, spitting out a tooth as he swung at me with his other fist, almost like a whip the way it flailed outward. But he was slow, and ducking under it I placed my hand on my right fist and with all the power I could muster, struck him in the stomach with my elbow. Again Mundo gave ground, the blow forcing him to a knee in surprise. "That hurt Mundo." He complained, but I just remained in my stance.

"Get up." I barked, ignoring his stupid comment. He remained completely still, that stupid grin still on his face despite the beating I'd given it. "I said, 'GET UP!'" I roared, my anger carrying me forward. He struck at me again, almost as if trying to swat away a particularly large wasp, but again he was slow as my fist went for his other eye. Just before it reached him however, a gleam appeared in it and his entire body erupted outward in flames that singed my clothes and burned my arm. Rolling in the air, I was able to maneuver myself to avoid running straight into his fiery chest, leaping back to get out of range.

"Surprise!" Mundo jeered clapping his hands again. "Bet you didn't know Mundo was like birthday candle!" I looked down at my arm, most of the flesh had blistered almost instantly but from the excruciating pain I could tell it was only a second degree burn. Had it been much worse, I wouldn't be able to feel my arm much less use it. "Now you can't punch Mundo!" He stepped towards me, the flames swirling around him like a vortex from the Hells.

"But I can!" A voice called from behind him, and just as Mundo turned in surprise Vi's heavy gauntlet crashed into his face, sending him tumbling down on to the street. "Surprise yourself, bitch!" She smirked. "And you, idiot. I'll deal with you later." She pointed at me, as if it weren't clear enough. But despite the anger in her words we couldn't help but smile at each other.

"Gods I love you." I muttered just as Lief appeared from the shadows of a wide alley, indicating for Vi and I to follow him. I nodded, turning back to the doctor as he stood up again. "Hey Mundo! I've changed my mind, let's have another run!" I taunted, before running straight towards the alley with Vi right on my heels.

"So what's the plan?" She questioned as she ran alongside me.

"I've no idea." I answered, causing her to frown before our eyes lifted to see Jinx and Lief across the street just standing side by side. We rushed towards them, the heat from Mundo's fire already catching up with us as he stepped from the side walk. Lief then stepped to the side, revealing their plan. Jinx stood with a detonator in her hand for the small bomb that was planted on the fire hydrant behind her. Vi and I quickly leapt in either direction to get out of the blast area as Mundo stopped quickly.

"What clown lady got there?" He asked confused as Jinx's grin grew even larger. Pressing the button, the cap was blown clear off, slamming against Mundo followed by a torrential jet of water. Mundo was blasted clear off his feet, his flames dying down as he struggled to get up under the water's intense pressure.

"Now who's the clown?" Jinx taunted before her smile faded. "Umm guys…he's getting back up." Sure enough, Mundo had stood and was now slowly making his way to us, taking the full brunt of the water to his chest. For the first time that night, he was no longer smiling as he pulled a syringe from his pocket and stabbed it into his arm, causing him to grow even larger. The needle, still embedded in his arm was trapped by the swelling flesh.

"Mundo angry now! Mundo smash you! MUNDO SMASH YOU ALL!" He roared. Vi clenched her fist, rushing up with an inarticulate battle cry. Her gauntlets hummed as they locked on to Mundo, and with an amazing upper cut she lifted him clear into the air before he flung her aside with the back of his hand in a dismissive sweep. If not for her blast shield, she could have been seriously injured by the force with which she struck the wall, and Jinx knew it too.

"Hey! That's my little sister!" She shouted, charging up Fish-Bones and taking aim. Mundo began to lumber towards her, the Fire Hydrant's water now ceasing its flow. Before Mundo could reach her though, Lief grinned firing the shock pistol at the ground and causing it to arc across the water's surface and electrocute the soaked killer. "Nice work…Tree-man." Jinx whispered firing her incredibly large missile.

Mundo however, lifted his hand, stopping the missile entirely despite the fact its jet was still active. Grabbing hold of it, he hurled it back at her as if it were a child's lawn dart causing her and Lief to scramble out of the way just before the explosion sent them sprawling. That was when Mundo heard something. It was an alien sound, one that didn't belong in the current situation. PING.

Seeing my opportunity, I had slipped into the alley as Mundo was rushing towards Jinx. PING. The sound came again as Mundo looked down to see a small box at his feet. Leaning closer, he got on all fours to examine it. PING. "Works every time." Jinx chuckled weakly as I drew the dagger coated in the special poison.

It was said to be strong enough to kill anything, even a God. It was created by throwing ten of the most venomous creatures on the planet together in a pit, and after one of them had eaten all of the rest and distilled their toxins into its own it created Gu also known as Golden Ionian Silkworm. It was powerful, I'd only used it once before: to put my mother out of her misery when nothing else would kill her.

I leapt towards his back, blade raised high over head. And as I came soaring down on top of him, I knew, at last, this battle was finally over. I was about to have my revenge. For my mother, for Nera, for Vi, this was the end! Suddenly however, the world around me turned to black and white, my body frozen in air just above him. "That's far enough." A voice echoed around me. With a great deal of strain, I turned my head to see five hooded figures in robes appear in the street. "You there." One of them addressed me. "By order of the League of Legends, you are to stand down in pursuit of the Champion Dr. Mundo."

"What?" I gasped as Mundo stood dusting himself off, one of the robed figures going towards him. Suddenly, I dropped out of the air and color returned to the world as the quantum lock spell was removed. "No. You can't do this…"

"We can, and we are." The hooded man replied. "As a Champion of the League, Dr. Mundo is protected. After the Magnus incident caused us to lose over half a dozen champions, we have now taken measures to ensure that they remain unscathed."

"Please, you don't understand." I begged, falling to my knees. The dagger clattered to the ground. "That…thing is a monster! He's killed my family, my friends!"

"And you can rest assured that you will be compensated for your troubles." The representative replied calmly. "But the order remains. He is under our protection."

"Compensation?" I hissed, bitter and angry tears forming in my eyes. "COMPENSATION?! The last ten years of my life have been a living nightmare, all because of that bastard! No amount of "compensation" could ever undo the pain he's caused me!" The tears fell on the ground as I shouted at the man.

"Then, you do not wish for compensation?" The man asked, his voice showing no indication of caring about my anger.

"You can take your compensation and shove it up your ass." I growled.

"Very well." The man answered. "Have a nice night." And with that, the five of them turned to escort Mundo away.

I watched as he turned back to look at me, the lop-sided grin on his face. "Bye-Bye Thane!" He called back, waving to me before turning back around. Vi, Jinx, and Lief had gotten up, watching the discussion between me and the representative.

"Thane…" Vi whispered to me gently, reaching to touch my shoulder. But I didn't even hear her, dagger in hand I ran after them. I couldn't let it end this way! I would kill Mundo even if it meant that doing so would bring down the wrath of the whole damned League! He would not get away with this. Just as I got within range, the man I had spoken to turned and raising his hand formed a shield around them. My dagger fell, it's sharp blade shattering against the magical barrier that had been formed.

"You have been warned." The man spoke through the bubble. "If you continue to attempt hostilities against Dr. Mundo the League will take action. We will use lethal force and you will be killed." I slammed hard on the bubble with my fist.

"You can't do this!" I cried. "He's a damned killer! If you don't let me end this now, he'll just kill even more people."

"That is not our concern." The man replied coldly.

"What do you mean, it's not your concern?! You're the League of Legends! You're supposed to exist for the good of Runeterra! Your job is to keep the entire world from being destroyed! How is this not your concern?!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"It is not our concern." He repeated simply. "Do you wish for the League to allow you to intervene in Mundo's dealings?"

His question made my blood boil. "You're damn right I do."

"Then you have only one option." He answered before turning away, the bubble vanishing as they continued to walk down the street. "Join the League of Legends as a Champion. Then the League will not interfere with your personal dealings." I watched, stunned as they led Mundo back towards Zaun, his words echoing in my head over and over again.

"Thane, what are you going to do?" Vi asked as she approached me, her hand seeking out mine. I turned to her, taking a deep breath. I wanted to spend my life with her, to put all of this behind me so that we could finally be at peace. But I knew that that wasn't a possibility, not anymore.

"Vi…I have to stop him. If not for myself, then for everyone else in Valoran. There are probably people just like me, whose lives have been ruined because of Mundo's insane experiments. If no one stops him, then there will be even more." My words trailed off as I placed my hands on her gauntlets. "Vi, I'm going to join the League of Legends. If I do, then at least I'll be able to keep an eye on him and stop him from hurting anyone else. I love you, more than I've ever loved anyone before. But I have to do this. I'm sorry."

She looked down at the ground, slipping off her gauntlets and tossing them aside before hugging me tightly. "Thane, I'm coming with you." She spoke, burying her face in my neck. "I love you too, and you're my partner. And as your partner, I'm not going to let you take this on all on your own." I hugged her back, holding her tightly as Jinx and Lief joined us as well.

"We're coming too." Jinx assured me with a grin. "I mean, I'm already a Champion, but it sounds like fun!" I looked at Lief curiously, causing him to groan.

"Alright, alright. Fine. I'm coming too. I just want to be able to put this bastard Mundo six feet under as many times as I like." Holding on to Vi tightly, I nodded in understanding.

"Alright then. Next thing tomorrow, we leave for the Institute of War. Get ready Mundo, I'm still coming for you." Turning, Vi and I parted ways with Jinx and Lief, waving farewell to them for the night. Tomorrow, my new life with Vi would begin.

Epilogue

Mundo couldn't help but laugh as he felt the tickling sensation of the summoner in his brain, his cleaver easily mowing through the wave of minions that had rushed the path to cease his progress towards the first tower. The thought had only just occurred to him that it was rather odd that he hadn't met any resistance from champions when out of the brush, a rocket flew towards him striking him hard in the back and exploding on contact. He turned in surprise, just in time to see a huge metal fist that struck him hard sending him sliding backwards. He looked up in fear at the vicious sisters who had already prepared for another assault.

He turned, running through the shallow water of the river away from his attackers. Mundo was strong enough in real life to take on all four of them and have a chance, but here in the League, their powers augmented by their summoners, there was no way he could take them both on at once like this. He gasped as he ran, taking in breathfulls of air as he turned to see if they were chasing him. Finding they were still somewhat far behind, he gave a sigh of relief as he broke through the reeds into the next path to find Singed, lying on his back as the militant Lief yanked his knife from the chemist's forehead. "Going somewhere?" Lief asked, balancing the tip of his knife on his finger.

"Get Mundo out of here!" Mundo screamed to his summoner in his head, and with a bright wave of energy, he flashed away from the three attackers, racing towards his base where the safety of its walls would protect him. When he saw that the way ahead was empty though, he began to feel very frightened. An ambush! Looking either way, Mundo took off through the lush forest, stumbling over logs and large rocks until he found himself in a dirt clearing. "Phew. Mundo tired. Bring Mundo back to rest." Sure enough, the summoner's magic began to swirl around him in a beautiful blue light, until Mundo looked down to see something beside his foot. PING.

The noise reverberated in his head as he looked up, just in time to see the sun blotted out by a wide black cape, a cowl-covered masked man descending towards him with a blade held high, dripping with poison. Mundo only had a moment to realize what was happening to him, and before he could the darkness of the cape swirled around him as the blade pierced his chest.

"An Enemy has Been Slain. First Blood." The announcer's voice echoed in the heads of my teammates as they all came to stand over the deceased body of Mundo, just before it began to vanish away to be reformed at his team's Nexus.

"That was fun." Vi grinned, looking up at me. I said nothing, simply giving her a kiss on the lips before I looked down at my watch. 5…4…3…2…1…Respawn.

"He's back." I announced, gripping my dagger tightly. Sure enough, the ever foolish Mundo was now waddling down the Northern path, a cluster of minions all around him…as if that would help at all. Jinx scooped up the small metal box, tossing it to me as I pressed the button to silence it.

Just as Mundo reached the end of his lain where the minions clashed, a familiar sound came from below. PING. He whimpered as once more a shadow was cast over him from above; another kill for Thane, the Smoothest of Criminals.

The End