A/N: For those of you who haven't heard about this fic through my Tumblr I will preface this with saying that this fic takes heavy inspirations from the Legends of Runeterra card game, even utilizing the characters as my OCs! Zel is the Boomcrew Rookie Card and Evi is the Zaunite Urchin Card. Feel free to search up about them because there isn't much so it isn't hard to do, but they are some of my favourite Piltover Zaun Region Follower Cards in the game, and I like using them in conjunction with Jinx! I guess, hence this AU?
If you want to headcanon this takes place in the same universe as my "Just for Display" Arcane oneshot, go ahead! Though there really isn't any connecting features to confirm or deny that approach. Anyways, without further ado, enjoy!
Chapter Summary: Zel and Evi return from Piltover with a sweet haul, but not without incident—explosive incidents that is! As Piltie's Enforcers and Wardens are slowly made aware of another chemtech bomber, so is The Loose Cannon, and she is none too pleased about competition...
Word Count: 8,587
—EVI—
Evi coughed as she tilted her head down, letting her messy blonde bangs cover her right eye. She continued to cough and wheeze, releasing her lung's air into her right fist. She held her stomach with her left hand and released a sigh before raising her head. The glint of the sun's reflection off the Piltover shiny rooftops made her wince, but she soaked in the light for what it was. Basking in the moment, she glanced at the nearest passerby and lowered her lip. "Spare a coin?" she softly asked, holding her palm out.
The elegantly well dressed man before her pouted sympathetically as he leaned over, fishing his hand in his back pocket. "Hope it gets better," he replied while he placed a single coin in her hand. He smiled, likely proud of himself, before walking off.
Evi quickly pocketed the coin into the satchel next to her. Hacking up another cough, she tilted her head again as she let a few more passerbys go on. The next one was a batch, no more than a metre's space between all of them as they walked. As they neared she raised her head and frowned once again. "Anythin' helps…" she said to them.
As expected, the majority of the Pilties walking by averted their gazes and kept their noses high. Evi still held her expression, making sure each and everyone got a look at her as they passed. Then she saw them. A man and a woman, both well dressed in the classic Piltover blue colours, stop their conversation and spare a glance at her before scoffing and turning away.
Evi released another cough before taking a step forward, falling before the two. They gasped as they stopped. "Sorry," she muttered, pushing herself up on her feet. The two walked around her and continued to mutter to themselves. As soon as they had their backs turned, Evi sprung up and swiped up under the man's coat and yanked the purse pouch predictably sitting on his belt. She quickly sat back down in her usual spot, coughing once more.
"You'd think the sumprats look after their own," the man spat out as they walked on.
"Too busy basking in their self-pity, brother," the woman said, sniffing to herself.
"Shame." He suddenly slowed in his steps as he started to shift his hands around his coat. "Ah… have you seen my purse?" Evi's eyes went wide as she hastily tossed the purse into her satchel. "It's not on my…" Instinct told Evi his eyes were on her, and instinct told her to run.
So she did.
Snatching up her bag with one swipe, she slung it over her left shoulder as she bolted down into the alley right beside her. The shouts of, "Thief!" and "She stole my money!" drowned out behind her as she continued to dash and turn within the alleyways of Piltover's obnoxious buildings. A left, a right, and another right and she was already near the next street over.
Memorizing routes was key to the job.
Evi smiled to herself as she slowed her pace and assumed her role again, curling in on herself as she stepped toward the bright street. But then in came a boy running at full speed, knocking her right on her ass. She winced as she quickly rolled herself back up, hand to the knife she kept her right boot as she fixed her eyes on the obstacle before her. But as the boy got up, her glare increased as she sighed.
"Zel, why the Hell are you here!" she hissed.
The spiky brown haired boy winced as he raised his bronze goggles up his forehead and rubbed his temple. "Ouch, you know that flashlight you keep on your head hurts. Why're you wearing it out here anyways?"
"For the damn dark, genius," Evi hissed as she marched up to him. "Answer the question, why're you here!"
He blinked out of his confusion and shook his head. "I thought you were working the Goldway!"
"I thought you were hittin' Wilton!" she shouted back, pointing over his shoulder.
"I was!"
An explosion boomed a couple blocks away, startling a round of screams and cries.
"I did," Zel corrected, smugly smiling. He placed his hands akimbo, flexing his sleeveless arms with heroic pride.
Evi rolled her eyes as she facepalmed. "Thought we agreed on no blowing up shit?"
"You did," he shrugged. He pulled out of his undermines and tossed it up and down in his hand. "But I needed a diversion. Too many patrol Wardens were gathering around me."
"Well this is my escape route!" she jerked her thumb to her chest.
As if to punctuate her point, the shout of, "She must've gone this way!" echoed down the alley behind her.
The two stilled at that, eyes widened as they both glanced behind the routes they came before looking back at each other with sheepish smiles.
"Sewers?" she shrugged.
"Sewers."
—JINX—
"Hmmmmm," Jinx hummed, tilting her head at the structure just across the street from her. "Whattya think, Fishbones? Shall I exact my well earned revenge?"
She turned to her beloved weapon, resting right beside her atop the roof, and began puppeteering, "I dunno Jinx, the shopkeep was right about you being topless!"
She scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. "What was I supposed to do? Eat cake with a top? That's how ya make messes!" She giggled as she turned back and smirked at the bakery below. Seriously, not getting served cake for not wearing a top was honestly one of the lamer things a Piltie could've done to her. "Buuut, I think they are due for a bigger mess than any cake I could've eaten!" She grabbed Fishbones and put him on her shoulder, aiming him down at the shop. It was time to top their cakes with a layer of her own!
GO AHEAD AND MAKE ANOTHER MESS!
Jinx frowned as she slumped down a bit. "Shuttup," she muttered, "Now you're taking the fun outta it."
ALWAYS FUN TO RUIN LIVES, RIGHT?
JINX!
She sighed as she threw her head back and groaned, letting her voice ring out through the sky. "Now I want cake!" She slung Fishbones over her back then dropped her chin into her palms, pouting. "If I blow up the bakery, how am I supposed to get cake?" she wondered, "But if I don't, how am I supposed to blow something up if I don't blow anything up!"
Piltover wasn't as fun without all the explosions after all.
But that was a recurring issue for Jinx. Topside was getting stale and Undercity was getting too bleak. Not a lot of fun in Zaun worth riling up, especially since the Chem-Barons shrunk their spines and told all their goons to, "Leave the Loose Cannon to her own devices." Everyone down there understood getting in her way led to dates with Chompers and Pow-Pow, so Jinx had less muses to play with. She still had her fun down there every so often, but it was too… depressing.
It was getting dull and dull meant quiet. Quiet led to Jinx being with herself and her thoughts, just all alone. The more thinking got involved the more it made her head hurt. She hated that. It wasn't like when she was younger and it was because she was all confused or whatever. Now? It was like… she was forced to actually think. The scary thoughts that Jinx thought she had all heard by now screamed one thing she never realized she feared: nothing to look forward to.
What the heck was her future?
What was anything at this point?
It didn't matter. Because the one consistent thing Jinx had was explosions. They were enough to keep her occupied for now. But they were fleeting. As big as they boomed and as bright as they burned, their flames all sizzled for so long as their plumes of smoke faded. They didn't last. It was all temporary. That fact was scarily becoming aware to her now. Her distractions were starting to become actual distractions. All this to get her mind off thinking. Thinking of things that made her hurt. But now? She was running out of distractions.
And it. Was. A. Bore.
"I need to blow somethin' up!" Jinx determinedly declared, sitting straight up. "But it's oughta be somethin' worth a 'wow'! Y'know?" She started to rub her chin as she thought it over. "It's gotta get people talkin' and all… chatty-like. Maybe then I can go and get myself a cake!" She grinned at that. That made a bit of sense, right? "Perfect!"
A loud boom rang out in the distance behind Jinx, making her blink in confusion. "I didn't even do anything yet!" she incredulously exclaimed, turning toward the source. She recognized that type of smoke anywhere—that was a bomb. Not just any bomb, a chemmed up, little Zaun-made bomb. The explosion wasn't anything special aside from the obvious Shimmer-infused charge. No, it looked like a bomb and an accident altogether. Kind of like how Jinx's first set of Chompers worked before she figured them out.
Nonetheless, it was the first time she'd ever seen a Chemtech bomb go off and it wasn't her work. A shoddy imitation, sure, but it was certainly interesting to see.
At that, Jinx grew a wide grin as she clasped her hands together. "So someone's going around taking up my act, huh?" She looked over her shoulder and met Fishbone's eye. "Well we better scope out the imposter, eh buddy?"
With an excited pep in her leaps, she began to hop from roof to roof, carefully staying out of sight of the Wardens and Enforcers running around beneath her. As she neared the smoke, Jinx's disappointment grew once she realized it was actually a pathetically small explosion. Worst off, it barely did anything! It was set off in some small little alley near a tight street, at most incinerating a dumpster bin. Lame.
Somehow, the crowd that emerged around the spectacle—if Jinx could really call it that—were scared out of their minds. There looked to be a Warden heading the whole scene, dealing out boring orders and tasks to the others, making sure that the Pilties stayed back from the fire. She was short and had a bald head with exception to a long black comb over mohawk. The way she carried herself was like she was trying to emulate Hat Lady's authority but mimic Fat Hands' stoicness—she was too short to pull either off. But then Jinx heard it,
"Was it the Loose Cannon?" one of the Wardens asked.
"Oh, Janna, I hope not!" another whined.
"Where does that twisted trencher get off, blowing up a dumpster!"
Jinx's eyes narrowed as she felt her Shimmer infused blood begin to boil. The voices, which were surprisingly out loud for once, were murmuring all around and spreading the worst kind of lies. They thought she did this? This was an amateur's work! Heck, she ought to show them what a real explosion looked like. That thought excited her, making her reach out to Fishbones but then—
"Unlikely," the Warden giving out orders spoke up, looking to her subordinates, "I've worked closely with the Sheriff and Captain Vi, I know that psychopath's M.O. well enough that this is too tame." She began to pull out a notepad and started jotting it down. "However, this isn't the first explosion of this kind that's happened in the past few months. There may be a competitor on the rise."
"A competitor, Warden Mir?"
"Indeed," she nodded. "However minimal the casualties were, they're clearly still in the experimental phase of their arsenal." Pocketing the notepad, she stared at the flames being put out by the fire brigade on the scene. "Soon enough, we might have two explosive maniacs running Topside."
Jinx gritted her teeth as she shook her head. "Not if I have somethin' to say 'bout it!" she muttered to herself as she walked away. Distractions? Well now she had a big one. All her questions and concerns could wait because they'd mean squat if a complete newbie tried to take up her place. If her future was one of those annoying questions her alone thoughts kept asking, it wouldn't matter the answer if some rival took all the attention at the end of the day.
A mischievous grin fell on her lips as she casted her eyes toward Zaun.
It seemed like Jinx finally had something to do.
—ZEL—
A good kick to the door, and they were out from the sewers. Evi turned off her forehead flashlight and lowered the band down her neck, letting it hang as she shouldered her satchel protectively. She continued to stomp ahead, leaving Zel to chase after her. He panted exhaustively as he shut the door behind them and rushed to catch up with Evi, who seemed all too determined at giving him a cold shoulder.
"E, c'mon, I said I was sorry!" he pleaded, walking up alongside her.
"Good haul today was it?" Evi sarcastically asked as she shot him a glare.
Zel shook off his backpack and smiled, shaking it in front of her. "It was! That's why I had to—" he stopped, shutting his mouth as he looked over Evi's shoulder. Evi read his eyes and could tell what he was silently saying to her, People were coming.
"Fine, we'll talk later," she muttered.
With that, the two broke into a sprint and ran toward the nearest dumpster. Zel quickly analyzed the path ahead of them and smirked. "I got it!" he shouted, hopping onto the dumpster. He then jumped toward the pipes above and began to climb. "Hurry!" He continued to make his leaps as he grabbed the next pipe, and the next, scaling the building in a matter of seconds. Once he was over the roof, he dashed back to the edge, hand ready for his partner.
Evi's hand was instantly in his grip and he tugged with all his might, pulling her onto the roof. "That… That was a bit slower than usual," he panted out, leaning on his hands.
He watched as the blonde sat down and hugged her legs close to her chest. The way her right hand rubbed against her left metal shin, Zel grimaced at the sight. "Your leg's acting up isn't it?"
Evi turned her head away. "You weren't supposed blow anythin' up."
"E." Zel scooted in front of her, fixing her with a serious stare. "Talk to me."
She sighed before meeting his gaze. "It's fine, Zel," she grumbled. "I just—" she rubbed her shin again, "it might've gotten scratched when we slid down the sewers is all."
Zel closed his eyes and released a sigh. He was an idiot. Great. Because he fucked up, and made a whole big mess, they had to use the sewers again and now Evi's leg was botched. Again. "We can use today's haul to get you—"
"No!" she hissed, reaching forward to grab his hand. She enclosed his right hand with both of hers and pleadingly looked at him. It wasn't the same eyes she gave the Pilties, no… it was a genuine plea. "My leg's fine. We don't need to get a repair or-or a new prosthetic or nothin'." His reluctance must've been obvious as she growled and clenched his hand tightly. "We cannot waste today's haul on somethin' as stupid as my leg," she sternly said.
Zel sighed, nodding. "Okay, we can try and get a meal tonight." He stood up and held his hand out to her. Once she accepted the offer, he pulled her up with ease and flashed a small smile. "For the record?" She raised a brow at him. "Your leg ain't stupid."
She snorted, rolling her eyes as she bumped her shoulder with his. "Whatever dude, let's just get going before we get any good noses sniffin' us out."
Making their way to the market area over the roofs of Zaun was not only child's play (for literal children) but also a timely manner. No better way to stay safe in the Undercity than keeping above it. Of course many Zaunites knew this, but they also knew those running high were also running fast for a reason. So Zel and Evi had to be quick and careful if they were going to make the most of today's job.
"What stall this time?"
"Doesn't matter," Evi shrugged, sitting down. "I've got no preference. Just want food."
"Fair enough," Zel chuckled, sitting next to her. He scanned the marketplace for a couple of seconds before locking eyes on the stand. "'Tuskan's'?" he read out. "Looks like they got Demacian fruit."
Evi snorted. "Riiiight. I didn't know your haul had hundreds of golden hexes," she dryly remarked.
"It's called haggling. Ain't no way someone's dumb enough to charge golden hexes for fruit in the marketplace," he retorted, frowning at her. "'Sides, I heard Demacian fruit like, doesn't spoil for a loooong while. So we're so good!"
She furrowed a brow. "Who the Hell did ya hear that from? I'm the only person you hang out with."
"Eavesdropping, duh," he easily replied.
"Whatever," Evi shrugged again. She pulled off her satchel and handed it to him. "Pool it together. You know the drill. Keep twenty percent in the sack and I'll use the rest to get us some grubs," she said as she stood up and began stretching.
Zel's eyes widened as he stopped counting the coins. "Huh? Why you? Your leg—"
"Is fine, I told ya," she waved him off. "'Sides, I'm the one who knows how to shank a swiper," Evi pointed out as she knelt down and unsheathed the curved, jagged knife in her right boot, "you'd just lose everythin' the second someone swipes you and bolts."
"That's the whole point of why one of us stays up here though?" he gestured around them. "To watch the other's back and catch a swiper?" She frowned, sheathing her knife as she crossed her arms. "Flip for it?" he suggested, holding a coin out. She blinked at him with a tired face, but he held his pleading smile and shook the coin out to her.
With a wordless nod, she swiped the coin out of his hand and flicked it into the air. "Call it," she monotonously stated.
"Heads!" Zel eagerly announced.
Evi caught it and her blank look morphed into a wide grin. "Yes!" she pumped her fist, determining her win. "Hurry up and pool our loot! I wanna make it a quick run!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he grumbled as he began sorting their coins into their separate sacks. Zel hurriedly sorted their earnings from today and placed the spending coins into Evi's satchel, leaving the twenty percent in his backpack. With the spending money ready, Evi hopped off the roof and down the series of pipes alongside the building they were on, making her way down into the street with ease. He immediately assumed his position and perched near the edge, carefully looking after the blonde as she waded her way through the crowd of Zaunites and toward the stall selling Demacian fruit he locked eyes on before.
As soon as Evi made it to the stall, Zel breathed a sigh of relief. No trouble on that part. But the hard part was getting back. They'd need to find a good place to sleep tonight and one where they could keep their food from any rodents or other trenchers looking to swipe stuff. Evi proposed finding shelter near the border of Piltover for a change, but today's… diversion might've brought more attention to the outlines of Topside—the Enforcers would be looking at Zaun. He sighed as he looked at his backpack resting beside him.
His undermines were getting better at least. This time he managed to get the timer working and it went off as planned. Or at least he thought so. He didn't stick around for the explosion but it went off! Whether the explosion was effective was something he'd have to test another time. He glanced back at Evi, who was now stuffing her satchel with fruit, and smiled. It seemed like the transaction went well.
But a sudden metal creak made the boy freeze.
That… sounded eerily like the pipe they had just climbed moments ago. But Evi was in front of him, just down below. Zel gulped as he reached for his bag, rifling his hand for one his undermines. Evi was right… he needed to get himself another weapon. With a deep breath, he clicked on his bomb, setting the fuse to two seconds. And within an instant, he whipped around and launched the undermine from his hand, sending it straight at the thief sneaking up behind him.
His eyes widened as he realized there were three of them. Fortunately, his bomb latched onto the middle thug, sending him back a few feet, but the other two rushed him. Zel brought his fists up, ready to guard, but one of the thugs already sent a a swift kick to his ribs, launching him to the side.
Then a puff of fiery green smoke bloomed as his ears recoiled from the sounds of a loud boom—his mine went off.
He relished in that satisfaction as the pain started to set in.
The other one had already started rummaging through his pack while the burly kicker decided to beat the shit out of him. He was probably an adult, judging by the massive amount of weight Zel felt as he sat on his chest. He brought his forearms to his face, shielding it as the man kept punching and punching.
"You fucking kid!" he screamed, "You killed her! You fucking killed her!"
Zel winced and gritted his teeth at every punch. He… couldn't make an opening!
"Imma fucking kill you!" Another punch, Janna his arms were hurting.
"Leon!" the other woman yelled. "Let's get the Hell outta here! C'mon!"
"Not 'til this brat is dead!" he screamed as he launched a right hook to Zel's cheek, slipping past his flimsy shield.
Zel spat out blood as he felt his face recoil from the blow. "Hey man," he muttered, turning his head back as he opened his face. With a good look, he could see the man was an ugly bearded guy, with the look of Shimmer in his eyes. Another damn addict, huh? Another metal creak echoed, and it was then Zel could sigh in relief. He chuckled at the man sitting on him.
"You think you're funny, Kid?"
"Nah," he shook his head. "I think… she was right."
"Wha—argh!" the man's eyes rolled back within an instant as a knife was suddenly embedded into his throat. Zel covered his face, shielding himself from the blood splatter as he heard a gurgling whine before the sound of a knife tearing out from flesh. He pulled his arms away and smiled as he watched Evi kick the bastard off the roof and into the crowd.
She immediately turned toward the woman, who Zel now noted was a lanky bald girl, and assumed her stance. Knife held upside down and with her free palm extended forward, Evi hunched over as she stood in front of Zel. "You wanna try your luck too, bitch? Or you wanna give us back our fuckin' bag?"
The woman gripped onto Zel's bag as she smirked. "Thanks for taking care of the deadweights, kids!" She laughed before turning away and hopping off the roof, likely into the alley down below.
Evi groaned as she kicked at the ground. "Shit, shit, shit!" she shouted, stomping her foot. Turning back, she held out a hand to Zel as he began propping himself up. With her help, he was up on his feet, a bit dazed in his stance but not too worse for wear. He proceeded to wipe the blood off with his hands then onto his pants. "You good, Zel?" she tilted her head at him in concern as she shook the blood off her knife.
He scoffed, feeling his left cheek. "Arms will be sore, cheek stings, but I think I'll just be dizzy tonight."
She rolled her eyes as she knelt down and sheathed her knife back into her right boot. "You need to work on your punches."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better I didn't even get to punch because that asshole kicked the shit out of me," he dryly remarked, looking over the edge. As expected, the bearded man was a splat on the ground and casually being stepped over or around as the market goers kept walking. That was Zaun in a nutshell. Zel looked back and frowned at the burnt carcass at the other end of the roof.
"Least ya got one of 'em," Evi noted. "Don't think that woman's gonna mess with us, but she didn't seem to give a shit 'bout losing her buddies." She looked away from the body and started to scan the roofs. "We gotta find out where we're staying tonight."
Zel swallowed as he clenched his fists.
She was ignoring it.
He hated when she did that.
"E," he called out.
"Don't think staying near the bridge would be a good idea anymore, 'specially since that woman ran off in that direction," she explained.
"E," Zel spoke up, exasperatedly staring at her.
"If we camp out near the brothel again Babette might charge this time." She clicked her teeth and shook her head. "She did say she couldn't keep housing us near her turf—plus I don't like the sort that group there."
"Evi!" Zel shouted.
She whipped around and scowled at him. "What Zel! It's not a big deal! We still have food," she patted her satchel, "so don't mope 'bout it!"
"But that was all our money," he softly said. He aimlessly gestured at the direction the thief ran off. "How are we supposed to save up for your leg?"
Evi closed her eyes and clenched her fists. "I keep tellin' ya, my leg's fine. Worry 'bout your bag! You lost all your undermines again." She lowered her head as she kicked the ledge. "And you liked that bag too."
Zel chuckled, in spite of the situation, as he rubbed his cheek. "I did. It had a lotta pockets."
The blonde took a deep breath as she shook her hands. It was a bit of a habit of hers, whenever she brainstormed, to loosen up her wrists as she thought. "We'll have to scavenge for more scrap parts tomorrow. And a sack for you. Then you can get crackin' at making undermines."
"And then we'll do another operation?" he wagered.
She shook her head. "Nah, we got food to last the week," she patted her satchel again, "We just gotta make sure you've got your bombs again. All the sumprats out there know messing with chemtech is a recipe for disaster. It'll ward off most until we need to make another op."
Zel sighed, running his hand through his spiky brown hair. "I dunno, E, wouldn't it be better to do another op right away?"
"What, like you know how to beg?" she amusedly shot at him. "Zel, c'mon, we'll talk 'bout this later, let's find a spot to eat and sleep first." She snorted as she jerked her thumb over at the burnt corpse a few metres beside them. "Smell of chemmed up burning flesh never sits well before a meal."
He chuckled and nodded. "You're right, go on. Lead the way!"
The two broke into a sprint, and Zel was more determined than before to make the most of himself. That was a promise he always made.
—JINX—
Above all things, Jinx had to be smart.
EASIER SAID THAN DONE, HUH?
She frowned to herself as she crouched down and peaked her head over the roof's ledge, peering right over the Piltover Precinct. Homebase to none other than the biggest thorn in her side, Hat Lady. Jinx knew if she was going to start her search, she'd have to start her search with someone who knows how to search for someone not wanting to be searched. And while she knew how not to be searched, also knowing how someone would search for someone not wanting to be searched was just as helpful as knowing how not to be searched for.
It made perfect sense!
She chuckled to herself, very proud of her justifications, before settling more comfortably in her camping position. In all honesty, searching for a bomber was easier parts said than done. Jinx only caught a decent amount of what that Piltie Warden said—that didn't mean enough of it was sound for her to launch into a mad spree yet. She had nothing on the actual bombs, its materials, or the targets. If she was going to chase someone like her, she needed to understand what they targeted first.
Mylo thought otherwise, thinking she was simply wasting time, but she couldn't be wasting anything if she didn't even know what to look for. With that sound logic out of the way, Jinx had to consider the other issue at hand…
Her pride.
She needed to sneak into Hat Lady's office—only because she would be the only person investigating who would know what to look for. Not that she was actually good at her job or whatever! But it was simply that Jinx needed to see if Piltover's Finest knew more about this new bomber than the Warden at the crime scene. And if she did, whatever information she had must be helpful in the most minimal way possible. Because, Hat Lady wasn't that good.
JEALOUS JINX!
SHE PROBABLY ALREADY KNOWS WHO IT IS!
"No she doesn't!" she hissed, slamming her fist against the ledge. "If Hat Lady knew then that bomb wouldn't have gone off today! That copycat would already be locked up! She's still searching. Only difference is she can't search in Zaun the way I can," Jinx smugly remarked, jerking a thumb to her chest. "The ol' Piltie's definitely got some leads. But I bet most went cold the second they pointed toward the Undercity." Which meant it was the perfect time for Jinx to swoop in.
She just had to make sure she didn't get caught. That's right: breaking into Piltover's home to all Wardens and Enforcers undetected… totally doable! Jinx giggled to herself as she hopped up to her feet. The cover of darkness in the midnight sky was the best advantage for her, and thanks to her Shimmered up body, speed was not an issue. It just came down to timing. There were a couple Wardens stationed outside and on the roof, but they were never prepared for someone like her.
Which was honestly insulting.
After a quick stretch, Jinx was off the roof and zooming toward the Sheriff's office. Narrowly avoiding sightlines and skirting around the edges of shadows and spotlights. Scaling the building up toward the top floor was child's play, and sneaking through the window was baby's play (was that even a thing?)! Stepping into the office, she scrunched her face at the snobby sight in front of her. It smelt exactly like she thought: Piltie and detective-like. She got enough of that stench running from the Hat Lady already, but now being in its natural odour of origin made her gag.
"Janna, this place is so stuffy," she mumbled, tiptoeing over to the big desk.
The office was covered in paperwork. Mountains of stacks towered around her desk to all the vacant cabinets and tables available. Bulletin boards hanging from the walls: they were plastered with notes, photos, clippings of newspapers and reports. The stench of eraser shavings and dried up pen ink hung in the air. Even in the shroud of the dimly lit room, with the exception of the moonlight seeping through the windows, Jinx could recognize this place was equal parts organized and messy. She hoped that among the clutter, something useful for her would be found.
She started with a quick scan of the bulletin boards. They were exhausting to look at. Hat Lady apparently had everything from minor muggings and pickpockets to gang warfare. Information ranged from newspapers posting about said crimes, to reports that listed arrests or potential suspects. But then she caught something worth noting. The board nearest to her desk had a newspaper about a chemtech bomb going off and destroying the Man of Progress' statue in some park. The headline ran with, LOOSE CANNON RETURNS?
"Bingo," she grinned, focusing on the threads connecting the article.
The biggest catch Jinx noticed was the sticky note attached with the words, IMPERSONATOR? Her eyes widened at the rhetorical question as she began reading around the notes and reports surrounding it. "'Evidence and leftover bomb residue suggests materials used for this chemtech bomb were severely less powerful and percise, as well as less calculating in its placement. While Jinx would target Councilor Talis' statue, the lack of spray paint and graffiti highly suggest Jinx's hand in this was next to none, if not at all.' Wow!" she giggled, lightly clapping her hands together, "You really do know me, Hat Lady."
"Careful," Jinx's spine stiffened for a split second, before she whipped her body around and unfolded Pow-Pow, spinning it up as she locked eyes with the blue-haired woman standing in the door, "That almost sounded like a compliment." She dared a small smug smirk as she kept her rifle trained back at her.
"Hat Lady!" she greeted with a grin.
"Jinx, care to tell me why you're in my office?" Her raised brow fell as she spared a small glance toward the board beside her. A knowing smile overtook her face as she tilted her head a bit. "Or are you also looking for this bomber and need help?"
Jinx gasped, dropping her jaw. "Help? From you?" She scoffed as she shook her head. "No! An-And who said I was looking for a bomber anyways?" she shot back.
Caitlyn's smile remained as she stared at her.
"Okay, fine. Maybe I was," she muttered.
At that, the Sheriff chuckled and lowered her gun, resting it against the cabinet nearby. Jinx's eyes went wide at that. What was she— "Good," she chirped, walking over to her desk unarmed. Jinx kept her machine gun trained on the woman as she began to sort through her stack. "Apologies for the mess—Vi makes fun of me for it but I assure you there's an order to this."
The mention of her… of Vi, made Jinx flinch a bit.
SHE'S NOT YOURS ANYMORE!
Jinx growled as she stepped closed and pointed the barrel of her gun toward Caitlyn's face. "The Hell you doin', toots?" she asked with a tight lip.
She looked down at the barrel, unimpressed, before turning back to her pile. "Getting back on the case?" she stated as if it were obvious. "Now if we're going to chase after this bomber, I need your expertise on its compositions. Or better yet—" she yanked a paper out from the stack so fast Jinx's impulse told her to shoot her hand at the caution of her suddenly having a gun. But it was just a paper. Hat Lady turned back to her and held it out, "You can tell me if the forensics we've obtained on them have something worth noting."
Jinx blinked, cocking her head owlishly as she stared at her. Was there something she just missed or—
WORK TOGETHER?
SHE'LL BETRAY YOU!
At that, she laughed, letting go of Pow-Pow altogether as she backed up toward the bulletin board behind her. "W-Wait, wait a minute—'we'?" she clarified through a fit of giggles. At Caitlyn's earnest nod, she snorted. "No way you're being serious!"
The Sheriff sighed. "We both share a common target here—"
SHE DOESN'T SHARE ANYTHING WITH YOU!
Jinx's smile dropped to a scowl. "—You also want this bomber, as do I. You need leads, I need evidence to prove it's not you," she stated as a matter-of-factly.
Jinx scoffed at that. "And how do you know it's not me? And I'm not just doing this to mess with ya? That I wasn't here to tamper with your creepy murder boards?" she asked with a semblance of teasing in her manic eyes. She doubted this would even trick her, but she also wanted to gauge at whatever the Hell was going on in this woman's mind right now.
Caitlyn rolled her eyes, waving the paper in her hand exhaustively. "Aside from you verbally confirming it just a moment ago? Perhaps because you snuck into my office and instead of laying any traps or bombs or even outright shooting me, you seemed transfixed with my board of cold cases?"
"Gosh, you take the fun outta things when you're so analytical," she muttered back, crossing her arms.
DON'T DROP YOUR GUARD!
SHE'LL KILL YOU!
She shook her head, knowing that even that was a bullshit thought. It was as Caitlyn said, she needed information from her. Hat Lady made a big show of putting down her gun and everything because she also knew that would get a reaction out of her. Not that she knew Jinx, or anything…
"Wait," Jinx blinked, lifting her head at her, "Why's it a cold case?"
Caitlyn sighed and moved to sit on her desk, dropping her paper to her lap. "The Council and a fair amount of my force who made these reports are convinced it's you. Council wants to believe it's open and shut, while the majority of the Wardens at these scenes make the call it's you and add it to the files attached to pursuing you." She shrugged as she looked back at the stack. "Of course as Sheriff I could order them to continue, but my men have their own discretion at their own cases and if it's their call—it ends up in your files before I even get the report on my desk. Hence, me needing to re-sort all this," she gestured around them.
Jinx snorted at that, leaning up against the board entirely now. Fishbones would whine about being so harshly against the wall, but she was not sitting near the Piltie. "Sounds like a swell operation ya got going on, Hat Lady." She seemed unbothered by the comment, in favour of turning back and lifting the paper again. Jinx rolled her eyes as she swiped the paper and began giving it a look. "Whattya want me to say? It's not mine? Ya need that on record?"
"I know it's not. And frankly, a recorded statement from you would hardly count as valid evidence," Caitlyn remarked.
"Why," she raised her head from the paper and scowled, "because I'm crazy?"
Hat Lady's eyes widened as she bit her lip, looking as if she wanted to hold her words. Sure, like she wasn't aching to say that…
"What I want to know is if you recognize its handiwork." She turned back and grabbed another paper, this time with photos of scattered parts, and handed it over. "Is it someone you recognize? Is the device's design sophisticated in any way? Anything that could point to something?"
Jinx gave the photos a glance before chuckling. "You do realize these are photos of literal scrap, right?" Caitlyn held her stare. She rolled her eyes again in turn. "That's a hint by the way. Scrap."
The Piltie's eyes widened. "You mean to say they built it from the trash heaps in Zaun?" It was Jinx's turn to stare. "So crude craftsmanship and underfinanced. Unlikely related to any gangs of any sort."
Jinx snorted. "Crude and poor are the basic descriptions of the Undercity, Hat Lady. We can't all be 'Progress'," she mocked.
She grabbed the photos back from Jinx, but tapped at the other one she still had in her hands. "What about that one? The traces of Shimmer—it's chemtech, correct?"
Jinx scowled impatiently. "Can we knock it off with this whole, 'Yes and?' thing you've got going on?"
"Just answer the bloody question."
"Dur, of course it's chemtech," she irritably answered. Deciding to be generous, Jinx added, "But no one works with chemtech bombs the way I do, especially this obvious rookie. I saw the explosion today," that earned a raised brow from the Sheriff but she continued, "it was pretty, but the whole thing looked like it was more of a miracle it went off than it was planned."
"So you believe the bomber never intended to even set one off?"
Jinx scooted over a metre as she jerked her thumb over to the board behind her. "The other bomb sites and targets are almost as random as the one that went off at Golden Boy's shrine," she lamley explained, "either this bomber's got real specific axes to grind, or—"
"They're diversions," Caitlyn concluded, eyes wide with realization. "Which begs the question, what are they diverting attention from?"
She scoffed, waving her hand as she tossed the paper over her shoulder. "That's a detective question for you to figure out, Hat Lady." She waved her fingers as she made her way over to the window. "You don't have anything of use to me so I guess I'm on my own."
She heard the woman scramble to catch the airborne paper before scoffing under her breath. "You mean you already have everything you need from me?" Jinx didn't give her the satisfaction of an audible answer or a visible reaction as she brought her left leg up toward the windowsill. "Jinx," Caitlyn called out, surprisingly softer than before, "when you catch this bomber, can you at least leave a decent amount of evidence behind to suggest the possibility of someone aside from you being the perpetrator?"
The genuineness of her inquiry made Jinx's Shimmer-infused blood boil.
And yet, there were other things that made her feel… all weird inside. Like how she said "when" and not if. Or how she was talking to her like a person, and not like a terrorist. Or just the candidness of their whole exchange—just two women sitting in an office late at night, talking about work. The air of familiarity and calmness was oddly… fitting?
DON'T GET YOUR HOPES UP!
She turned her head back, narrowing her eyes with suspicion. Because that's what's kept her alive: suspicion. And then she asked her, "Why're ya workin' so hard to prove it's not me anyways? Ain't it just easier to slap it on my rap sheet?"
She straightened up at that, as if she expected the question but was also preparing a politician's answer. With a stern voice, she replied, "Because if I'm seeking to bring order and justice, then every part of that pursuit matters. Including rightful punishment to the proper perpetrators. The crimes your punishment entails are your crimes. It wouldn't be fair to add things you hadn't done just because it makes things convenient. And it would be wrong to let another run free under the guise that 'all crime looks the same' to us. If I'm going to change the system, I have to enforce the little things too. Even if I have to file it myself in my own office late at night." She gestured around them, before half-heartedly shrugging.
It was always when the talk of "the future" or "change" came in, that the voices would be eerily silent. Like the possibilities of what those topics suggested made them afraid too. A bitter part of Jinx latched onto the annoyance that even Hat Lady had her future mapped out. Everything and everyone was moving forward, huh? And here she was… starting to chase after someone who threatened the only identity she had. She closed her eyes, scrunching them real hard as she tilted her head slightly.
"Ya lost me after 'because'," she lied, opening her eyes with a smirk. Caitlyn rolled hers, but didn't seem convinced. Whatever. It wasn't like she actually knew Jinx. She began to turn back outside but stopped, realizing something. "And you're just gonna let me go?" she asked, legitimately befuddled.
"And you're just not gonna kill me right now?" the Enforcer smugly replied, crossing her arms across her chest. "I'm unarmed and with your skills, you'd surely kill me before I even make it to my gun."
Jinx giggled at that as she hooked her left hand onto the window's frame, angling herself out. "Careful, Cupcake, that almost sounded like a compliment." She looked unamused, instead, opting to raise her eyebrow and asking her unspoken question. Janna, this woman was no fun. "It wouldn't be fun," she answered honestly, even surprising herself, "without all the distractions." She smiled at that, which made Jinx frown. "This doesn't mean—"
"That you like me," she finished, nodding in amusement, "I know, I know." And as Jinx pushed herself out the window, the last thing she heard from the Sheriff was, "Good luck with your search!" And she was off to the roofs of Piltover, running back to Zaun.
Whatever that was, Jinx couldn't be bothered with it right now. She had a new distraction to focus on.
—EVI—
Rummaging her hand in scrap metal was always a bit of an exciting gamble in Evi's eyes. Aside from the possibility of cuts or bug bites, one could never know what they'd get scavenging like this. She had her forehead flashlight on as she sifted through the trash, discarding all the rotten waste and truly useless things as she kept digging. They decided, the night before, that sleeping near the Northside heap would be a good way to get an early start on scavenging. They weren't so close that they had to worry about any critters sniffing out their fruit. Though she wasn't sure if it was fruit bugs found worth eating. Whoever Zel's eavesdropping source was, they left out the part where Demacian fruit also tasted like shit.
But literal beggars couldn't be choosers, she supposed. She just hoped he was right about it not spoiling for a while. Zel meant well for a lot of things, but she also hoped he wasn't beating himself up about yesterday. Evi casted a look at him, just a mountain heap away, and frowned at the sight of him hastily working through the piles. With determination and unnecessary haste, the boy was working hard. She understood why. It was two issues that happened on his end and he felt like it was all his fault—especially because of her leg.
Evi looked down at her left leg and felt her shin. It had a bit of a scrape, but was barely noticeable and it wasn't acting up or anything. The last time it did, was back when she was like eleven and her leg was outgrowing her. She remembered how hard Zel worked to earn enough to get her new prosthetic, but she hadn't any issues since. Two years later and she was still doing fine. That probably meant she hadn't grown, but it also meant she didn't need to look into a new leg yet. But Zel was always counting the days.
He always looked at deals and vendors offering prosthetic treatments and kept checking on her since last year. He was obviously worried its warranty was expired. However, Evi couldn't care less about it right now. She just wanted him to stop beating himself up so much. She didn't even get to ask him about how his undermines were—if they worked the way he wanted—because of yesterday's shitstorm. It'd be a total blow to his pride to ask about his pride and joy when he doesn't have them.
"This fuckin' sucks," she muttered, kicking her leg at the tossed out hairbrush at her feet. The clanging sounds it made as it toppled down the trash mountain echoed throughout the entire yard.
Evi wanted Zel to blow up Piltie things, much like how she wanted to swipe their wallets! But ever since Zel's first bomb worked (the way he intended) a couple months back, they had to start being cautious about how they worked up Topside. Zel's undermines were always handy weapons in their arsenal in Zaun, but it was always… luck, that managed to make them work for the two.
Back when they were first running around these streets it was just a miracle if it blew up! Nowadays? Zel's been experimenting with timers, explosive kicks like Shimmer, and "lighter scrap material" for easier weight. All the sciencey stuff was lost on her, but she loved the way Zel's explosions looked. She would've said it last night—but he was still all mopey—that seeing his bomb go off on the roof from the market looked awesome! Evi just wished he'd get out of his own head about things sometimes and just appreciate his coolness.
"I got something!" Zel shouted, startling her from her thoughts. She looked over and laughed at his frantically excited waving. "A full on toaster! This is perfect!" He shook the appliance over his head with a look of joy she missed seeing on him.
She snorted at the goofy sight. "I don't think toasted fruit tastes good!" she joked.
He shook his head good naturedly, most likely rolling his eyes too, as he tucked the toaster under his arm. "Classic comedian!" he shot back.
Evi smiled as she watched him continue sifting through the trash. She also knew when he distracted himself in his fixations of making bombs or scavenging, he could cheer up pretty quickly sometimes. Looking back at her own mountain of scrap, Evi took a deep breath before getting back to work. She wasn't as good as Zel was at picking things that would be useful for a bomb (because how did one even know where to look?), which often meant she grabbed a bunch of excess useless techy looking things and dealt with the aftermath of watching Zel toss them over his shoulder like empty pop cans.
So Evi did her best as she continued to sort and sift, though even in her limited knowledge, she could tell most of what she was going through was completely useless.
But then her eyes saw it.
Just near the top of her heap, under some rods and pipes, was a big brown leather backpack.
With eager excitement, Evi raced up the trash mountain and yanked the bag out from the pile. She looked it over and grinned at each turn and pocket opening—no rips! "Hell yes!" she whooped, pumping her fist to the sky.
"Found something?" Zel shouted.
She turned his way and laughed, shaking the bag in the air. "Yup!" she shouted back, "New bag!" She gave it a quick inspection, shaking it free from any dust while also checking all its pockets. At that discovery she laughed again. "It's got a crap ton of pockets!
She watched as he pumped his fist in the air, releasing a similar cheer to hers.
Evi then decided it would be best to hand it to him now, so he could carry that darn toaster more easily. But just before she descended the trash heap, she released a relieved sigh. A scan of their surroundings, from the towering buildings all the way up in the damned City of Progress, to the gardens of trash down here in the Sunken City. They robbed from up top only to be robbed from their own down below. Shitty hands dealt after one another, it became very easy to forget: sometimes luck did come through in Zaun.
If only they could look forward to that often…
A/N: And yup, this is the starting point of this series! I honestly was going to make it a massive oneshot, but I decided dividing it into chapters and really breaking up the pacing would be a better story. And then it became a whole thing and well, here we are, lol. The POVs in this story is honestly very different from my usual style. It's a… experimental experience, but I'm enjoying how it works so far. My usual narrative description is more formal and less 4th wall breaking. Jinx's POVs will definitely be in more later on, but for now we get a bit shifting around Evi and Zel.
As stated before, Evi and Zel being based off of their respective LoR cards, Zaunite Urchin and Boomcrew Rookie left a lot of room to take inspiration from their voice lines! If you play the game, or just search up their wiki, you'll find a decent amount of their voice lines/card lore buried in this chapter and throughout the fic. It was a great point of reference at establishing their personalities but also just little enough for me to leak in my own takes on their characterizations.
Also the whole, "Jinx not wearing a top in a bakery" bit is a reference to her and Ziggs' story, "Paint the Town." Fun lil' comic!
As for what this fic entails going forward? Well, there's sort of a roadmap? But for now, it's just a bit of a casual ride. I hope you all embark on it with me-for however scuffed it may seem.
Next chapter update: May 4th!
Stay safe, and stay lovely y'all.
Until next time,
- Bleh
