And here it is at last.
I know it's been a while since Legends and Marvels got an update. Especially after the fiasco last year.
But thanks to arcane and my guy, Mrsauce906 (Shout outs to him, this wouldn't exist without his idea in the first place). I can feel the fire slowly burning again to write on the LoL universe.
And what better way to re-start, if not with the best thing they've done?
Here's to a new journey, my friends.
Chapter 1 - Welcome to the world.
"C'mon, we're almost at the top,"
Along a massive wall that reached deep from the ground, a young pink haired girl called out to the group below her position. Each held tightly on the grid of pipes, gaps between spaces in the stone, and metal pieces while going up.
At 15, she was the oldest of them. The rest had their ages in order between 11 to 14, dressed in clothes far from fancy, nearing tatters, with areas sewed together and dirty.
"Finally," One of them with a sharp face, sleeveless shirt, and spiky hair groaned., Both in relief and fatigue, reaching for a new point to continue the climb.
A yelp caught his attention on the side. His friend, a slightly overweight boy with curly hair and goggles over his eyes, almost slipped from where he held. With a quick thought, he reached for a circular screw-like part, stopping a possible fall.
"You good, Claggor ?"
Claggor nodded. Forehead pressed against the wall, he breathed. "Aw, man. How long we've been at this ?" He wasn't one to let activities take a toll on him, even with his size. The climb was proving to be more than a match to the statement.
"Dunno, maybe an hour, two max," Spiky replied, minding where he would grab on next. " I don't get why we had to choose this of all things," He reflected in a low voice before turning to their leader. "Yo, VI!" The pink haired girl looked at him over her shoulder. "Weren't there other ways to get up here ?"
"Oh, there were many Milo," Vi replied in faux sincerity. "There was the river filled with chemicals to melt our skin off. Go on the ground under the sewer to get lost and never see daylight again. Or, the best of all, cross the bridge where the enforcers will welcome us. I'm sure that's going to be pretty,"
"...The worst is that we may die sooner than later," Milo murmured, turning away from her. His complaint didn't go unheard.
"Stop whining. We are already here," The youngest member of the group, a blue haired girl, said from above him.
"How being worried for my life considered whining ?!" Milo exclaimed.
Before they could go into an argument while hanging on for their lives, the fifth member of the group, another boy with brown hair, voiced his thoughts, hoping to appease them.,
"Look, you two can go down," He was beside the girl, arms spread to hold in place against the wall. "Or head home and wait for us there," His words were friendly but had a light teasing tone.
"And let you and Powder get all the credit? Forget it, Peter," Milo stated, matter of fact.
"Alright, alright, if that's over, we still got a job to do. Let's go," Vi said with finality to all four.
The next couple of minutes had the air filled with grunts and puffs as they finished climbing along the wall. Vi reached the roof first, pushing herself over the edge. Hand on knees, she took a few quick breaths, then turned her gaze forward.
Hearing the sounds of struggle from behind, she said without looking at who they belonged.
"Hey, you two, take a look,"
As Peter got to the roof, he offered Powder a hand. When Vi spoke, both of them went to stand on her left side. They let out a short whistle and a whoa for the sight before them.
There are places that one could call a piece of paradise by looks alone. The city was one of them.
Piltover.
An Utopia, A city of progress, a land of tomorrow. It had many names for itself, and they all had value., A single island between continents in the sea. Small when looking through the lens of a map, but not on first hand.
Vi remembered the first time she ever saw it when she was younger. Even with bittersweet feelings regarding it. Her breath taken away from the magnitude and beauty. The sun-light shined in its white stone buildings. Towers so high it looked like they could touch the clean blue skies above. The aircraft came and went in all directions, carrying people and goods. And air without a trace of pollution or toxins.,
Time hasn't changed anything about it, Vi reflected before turning to her little sister and friend. She held a laugh at their spellbound faces.
"It's nice getting above it all, isn't it ?" The comment got only a slight nod from both as they stared on. As Claggor and Milo came to join them at the view, one of the aircrafts flew over their hands, shaking the building and blowing a strong wind.
Seeing it make course towards the towers, Peter said to Powder. "We're going to make one of those someday,"
"And I'll fly it," She happily added. "Way above the clouds,"
Milo didn't have such light thoughts about it. "And then, I gonna shoot it to the ground," He said, making a gun with his fingers and pretending to hit the aircraft.
Vi groaned at his antics, lightly elbowing him in the belly. "Asshole," She said, only for him to hear it. Peter and Powder, on the other hand, just stared at him with narrowed eyes.
Claggor pretty much tunes out their voices, mind racing with worry. While Milo had issues with how they got in Piltover, his were about their goal.
"Vi, are you sure about this ?" He asked, rubbing his hands together to stop the nerves. "Trouble in the lanes is one thing, but if we get caught up here... as you said, it won't be pretty,"
Confident, Vi went ahead, with all four following. "We won't get caught," She said to him as they walked across an extended part of the roof. "Keep the noise down, stay out of sight, and we'll be in and out before anyone can notice,"
Milo chirped in again. "Was that directed at someone in specific ?" His gaze went to Peter and Powder. The former ignored it with a shake of his head while the latter stuck her tongue out at Milo.
The trek ended when Vi came to a stop at the edge. Traveling across the rooftops of Piltover was both easy and challenging. Each building was close to one another, yes. But they were tall and with many flat surfaces, making it hard to find a firm grasp. One mistake, at best, they die. At worst, the enforcers would be in their necks in moments.,
Leading by example, Vi said. "Ok, everybody, follow me and don't look down," Grasping her bags' shoulder strap, she slides down till her feet meet a metal bar. Taking those seconds of momentum, Vi reaches for a small balcony. Turing her body around in the direction of the next building, while holding the bars, she launches herself in the air.
After safely landing, she looks back with a gesture for the rest to take their turn. Milo and Claggor went next, repeating the steps smoothly.
Peter shakes his shoulders, getting ready to start. Milos's voice cut him out of the mood.
"Called it. That's on you, Vi,"
Confused seeing his friend's attention focused on one thing, he follows their gaze. Understanding falls on his face as he winces. Powder had her eyes intensely fixed in the gap between the buildings. Her breaths shallow, her back tense, and her hands were shaking.
Vi was about to call her sister out of the trance, but Peter acted first.
"Hey, Powder," He said, making her turn to him. Putting an ease smile, Peter commented, jerking his head downwards. "It's really high from up here, isn't it ?"
"...Yeah," Powder replied meekly.
"What do you say we leave?" Peter then asked.
The blue-haired girl opened her mouth to respond, hesitating. "I-I- don't know if I can,"
Peter could understand why she felt that way. Even he was on the same mindset to a degree. They had done this before. Although on a smaller scale. Here several stories above the ground, however, posed a real danger to anyone.,
"And if I helped ?" He started to think.
"Like...carrying me ?"
"Yes and no,"
"Uh ?"
"Come with me,"
Back with the other three, they watched as Pete and Powder moved back.
"What was that about ?" Milo raised a brow.
Claggor offered. "I can get them if you want,"
Vi considered it for a moment before saying. "No, let's give them a shot,"
That was the thing between Peter and Powder. Having just one year gap between them, both grew up very close. Her little sister spent almost just as much time with him as she did with her.,
When it came to hobbies, they were identical. Vi was more into practical, getting things done with her own hands. Powder was a thinker, spending hours and hours with Peter, lost in their ideas, putting every single one in a stack of infinite drawings and notes that made people hide clean papers from them. And they were good.
So Vi was rightfully curious to see what they were going to do.
Said plan was now in motion.
Peter had both of his arms extended, one hand on top of the other, slightly crouched.
"The wind isn't strong now, and the distance is average, and you're not heavy. It'll work," The boy murmured the variants before exclaiming. "Good to go!"
On the opposite side, Powder couldn't look more unsure of this idea of his. "Don't you have a better idea ?"
"Trust me. It's going to work, simple physics," Peter assured her.
Powder didn't have many reasons to distrust his judgment on things, even more on numbers. Her heartbeat, however, was nothing but a loud sound in her ears now.
"But, what if I don't make it ?" She said to him, again with the same fear.
Seeing doubt poison her spirit, Peter used the big gun. "Remember what Vi said earlier today ?"
Powder paused, but he could see focus returning in her eyes and her chest expansions slowing down.
"She...," Powder exhaled. "She said that I'm ready,"
Pulling the bait, Peter put it to her, head tilted. "Going to let her think she was wrong in believing you ?"
Powder's eyes widened at the possibility. No, she wouldn't let it happen. Pressing her lips together, she breathed strongly and readied for the leap of faith.
Peter followed suit, inwardly jumping in triumph. Firming his stance, he said. "Alright, on three,"
"1,"
Powder opened and closed her fists.
"2,"
A minor change at her feet.,
"3!"
She ran.
Before getting too close, she raised a leg, putting on Peter's hands. Then, for a moment, she flew.
"Holy -!"
As she got over the gap, Claggor rushed forwards, arms wide open. Powder landed right on him, and he held her tight, taking a step back to not fall at the impact.
The girl had her eyes open the whole time, and her reaction was instant.
"I DID IT!" She exclaimed, still in Claggor's arms. "You saw it, Vi ?!"
"You flying? Yeah, everyone saw that," Milo stated. "Damn near gave us a heart attack,"
Vi didn't dispute the last part. For a second, her throat closed, seeing Powder coming at them like that. It later became relief and joy.
"You did great," She said to her sister, rubbing a hand over her hair softly., Powder's smile was almost face breaking as she got put down.
Between all of this, Claggor noticed something. "Hey, where is -"
THUMB!
All jumped at the sound of said boy's jump from the other roof. He landed with an arm extended at his side and crouched.
"There goes the pose again," Milo quipped.
"What ?" Peter asked. "Is cool,"
"Meh, weak," Milo shrugged.
Peter humphed before Powder went up to him, grasping his arm and shaking it repeatedly. "it worked, Peter, it worked!"
"Told you so," He returned her smile.
Vi allowed their moment to linger on for some time then it was back to business again.
"Moving on, guys, time is key,"
Despite having a few bumps along the way, the group soon came to their target.
It was a simple-looking building, nothing special compared to others they had gone over. Three stories tall, beige-colored, transparent windows with gold lines over them. But more guarded.
Not taking any chance of the enforcers finding them by bad luck, the group took a more narrow path., In the whole meaning of the word. In line, all walked sideways slowly, backs and chests pressed against a dark blue roof passageway.
The environment put them on edge. And it didn't help Claggor's previous concerns about the what ifs of the job.
Forcing his eyes to stay aimed upwards, he said to Vi while moving along. "Did you stop to think what happens if Vander finds out we are up here ?" He referred to their caretaker, the current boss of the lanes. The man had a heart of gold. And also an iron fist when necessary.
Of course, Vi had, since the beginning.
It was what caused her to reconsider this whole thing and stay home. But as Vander protected their people, she would do what was necessary to fill her part. Even by going against the man's wishes. Seeing Piltover so close also added more to her dedication.
"Look around you," She jerked her head to the other houses and buildings. "You think the people here going hungry? Or go through the same things as we do? I don't believe that for a moment. Besides," She added, taking a quick look at her step. "This is exactly the sort of job he and others would've pulled at our age,"
"Yeah, and he will kill us when we get back," Claggor insisted.
"He's not the only one," Peter pointed out, gulping. The others stopped frozen, grimacing. Seeing and hearing a familiar sound of a cane hitting the floor loudly in their minds.,
Vi had to shake her head for the image to be gone. For a second, Peter took away hers and everyone's resolve.,
"As I said, we don't screw this up, and none of the two will be at our necks at home," After signing, she put on a brave face and gave an ultimatum. "I'm going all the way. What about you ?"
Her friends all shared looks, silently debating if it was worth continuing. It was Milo who decided. "Well, we already here," He quoted Powder. "And going back with empty hands after jumping and climbing for hours ain't for me. So let's get this over. Agreed ?" He asked Claggor, Powder, and Peter. The three nodded in yes.
"Good," Vi Reached the edge and swung her body to a large balcony. Not before addressing them one last time. "Wait till I take a look. And remember, don't screw up,"
Dropping on the railing, Vi jumped to the balcony. She crouched and peeked through the doors and windows of a large workshop, squinting her eyes to see anyone inside. Finding none, she called: "All clear,"
Milo came in with a casual manner, giving the spot a once over. "Nice place," He commented before reaching the door's handle. Groaning when seeing it didn't move. "Locking the balcony, who does that ?" He asked no one in particular.
"Why would anyone leave it open ?" Peter responded, Pulling Powder into the balcony with Claggor's help.
"Bleh, rich people," Milo shook his head, getting into eye level with the lock. Out of his belt, he pulled a long, thin tool and put it inside the opening. Focusing, he twisted it back and forth, hearing the pieces moving, searching for a combination to get the doors open.
At the same time, Claggor was watching the streets below. Recognizing the blue uniforms and hats on sight, he warned: "That's a lot of enforcers down there,"
"Dude, get back!" Peter whispered, pulling him away from view in worry.
Vi had a different outlook on their presence. From what she had learned, places with the most enforcers were those with significant value in Piltover. Or they could be the property of some wealthy family.
"Means we're in the right place," She reflected, turning to a still working Milo. "How's the door going ?"
"Working on it," Milo had his lips pressed in concentration, making more and more turns with the tool. "It could be faster, but I'm the only one who knows how to pick locks. So, I suggest you guys bare with me on this,"
Vi rolled her eyes. "You know what, Milo ?"
"Wha-?!"
SLAM!
Vi kicked the door hard in the middle. Bits of the handle flew, and it busted open. She didn't bother to speak, wordlessly going inside.
A wide-eyed Milo watched as everyone passed by him. Being the last ones, Claggor smacked the back of his head, grumbling. And Peter added his piece by looking over his shoulder: "Slowpoke,"
Rubbing the smack area, Milo said back, rising to join them. "Animals,"
The workshop was moderate in space, a little messy, but it screamed expensive with all that was inside. Ample bookshelves, a long table covered in many types of instruments, jars, boxes, scrolls, and tablets of all kinds.,
It must be an inventor's shop. Vi concluded. "Grab wherever you think is valuable," She said to her friends, giving one, in particular, a glare. "Before he grabs only junk,"
"Ah, piss off," Milo spat.
Dropping the bag in the middle of the room, Vi started her search on the shelves, picking the books one by one, seeing if there was any worth in them.,
The others also didn't waste time.
Milo's target was the table. With glee in his eyes, he snatched random parts, not caring what they were nor what they did. It was about quantity over quality, in the end, junk or not. Throwing them inside the backpack, he watched Claggor examining the insides of a wooded box. After a moment, he shrugged, lifting the whole thing and lowering the contents over the bag.,
One of them was a piece of glass with a red prism jew inside. Milo could imagine some people killing to get their hands on it in the lanes.
"Tell you what," He said, making Claggor look at him. "We definitely shouldn't be here,"
For the following minutes, it was a back and forth of picking and throwing for most of them.,
But Peter, meanwhile, wasn't so invested in sacking.
At the end of the workshop was a blackboard filled with drawings, equations, and small notes everywhere., He hummed in thought, mind working to understand what they were for., The basics were there, but you can't form a complete picture with missing details.,
"Still with us, Peter ?"
"Uh ?" Peter saw Vi standing next to him, hands on her hips, also looking at the board. She had an easy smile, turning to him.
"I'll never get how you can learn of all of this so quickly," She commented.
Peter shrugged. "Patience and study," He replied. Seeing Vi snort lightly, he could guess her thoughts. For all her qualities, patience was definitely lacking. Powder also had traces of that.
"What'd you think this is ?" Vi then asked him.
It wouldn't be the first time she did, and he was always happy to answer.
"...Ok, you see this ?" He began, pointing at a drawing of a cube with another cube inside of it. "That's used when you're trying to figure out compatible containment storage for energy, depending on the potential it has., As for this," Next was a circle divided in five parts, each with single notes on them., "I don't know what those are," Peter mentioned the letters. "But the circle is for equal redistribution. Dangerous, depending on what is going through it and the accuracy of the calculations. And those equations, if I'm right, are to try make both work in syntony. Whoever owns this place is trying to reach something big. Even if it's incomplete,"
"Like ?"
"No idea. It goes on many things. It could be power fuel or something like a core, no, a reactor! That's better. Going by what I read, the prime of those theories would be to create the impossible. Imagine something the size of an apple, making the lanes and Piltover never go without energy, let's say, forever basically,"
One thing Vi always appreciated about his explanations is that he kept them close to her level. So, hearing the last part and getting the scope of what it meant left her astonished.
"Holy shit," She whispered, which was an accurate reaction to the reveal., The inventor was going beyond the sky on this little project of his. "I own the little man a lot for this,"
"Little man ?!" Milo heard the name from the other side of the shop. "He tipped you about this place ?"
"Yeah, he's the only one that actually wanted to help us with this," Vi said. "Now pick up the pace," Addressing Peter, she added with a gentle nudge on his shoulder. "You as well. But thanks for the class,"
Peter nodded, now looking for any goods to take.
While no one was paying attention, Powder slipped away from the main area. Finding the owner's bedroom at the end of a hallway., It was much smaller in size. Way messier, but an inventor's room nonetheless.,
Having a single bed, most of the space went for three tables. One at the bed's feet, the other on the side, and the last, which Powder just picked a small watch from it, was next to the door.,
She didn't bother with the first. Instead, going straight to the bed's side, and not because she saw a piece. Doing what she did to get there, one would logically get hungry. And the two perfect and fresh sandwiches on top of the table were calling out to her.
She answered by taking a greedy bite out of one, groaning in bliss by the taste. After finishing it, Powder went to grab the last. Before she saw it.,
Underneath a blueprint was a silver metal container. Curious, Powder tried to pick it up, but the weight was too much for her thin arms., So, she ran her hands around it, seeing if the lock was anywhere. There wasn't one, but right at the left backside, she felt a more elevated part. Testing, Powder pushed with a finger.
Instantly, the mechanisms within started to click and rattle, and the container opened itself. Powder's eyes were cover with bright blue light. Inside the container were five circular crystals. She stared at them in a hypnotized state as their light pulsated at every moment. They were beautiful and alluring.
Such spell went further as Powder reached out to pick one up.
"What ya doing ?"
Letting out a startled gasp, she turned quickly, hand over her now pounding heart. Peter was right next to her, holding a small binocular in hands.
"Don't scare me like that!" Powder hissed, punching him on the arm.
"Sorry," Peter had the decency to look innocent in his apology. "But what were you looki-Wow!" His eyes widened at the sight of the crystals. Falling in the same state as Powder did.
"Holy," Peter said, leaning forward at the container. "What are they ?"
"I don't know," Powder now grabbed one, getting right at her face. "There's something inside of them, tho,"
Humming, Peter adopted a thinking stance, rubbing his jaw and not taking his eyes out of the crystal, more so from the light it emitted.,
The crystalline layer could be a containing lawyer, either fragile or tense enough to hold it against any impact. The light doesn't seem natural. That rules out any mineral origin. Maybe it could be a new ener-.
Powder flinched at Peter, suddenly smacking his hands. Suspense grew, however, when she saw the glee in his eyes. It was what he always had when making a breakthrough.
"I don't know what they are," He clarified first. "But I think I know what they are for,"
"For what ?" Powder basically demanded.
But before Peter could say it, Claggor came into the room, breathing quickly and with distress written on his face.
"Guys, someone's coming. We gotta, now!" He whispered/shouted at them before dashing back to the main room. In a full alert, Peter looked in the corridor. From the other side, Peter heard muffled voices and constant bangs. Before it could escalate, Milo rushed to the entrance, jamming a chair right under the handles.
It would buy them a few precious seconds. They couldn't waste any.
"Powder, quick!"
The young girl never moved faster. Picking each of the crystals, she placed them in her pocket before joining Peter. Both Milo and Claggor were out on the balcony, desperately gesturing for them to pick up the pace.
"How do we get out ?!" Powder asked.
Kneeling to retrieve the loot's bag, Vi replied, hearing the door bangs getting more intense. "Through the roof, it's our best chance,"
That didn't happen.
Unknown to Powder, one of the crystals had slipped out of her pockets. It rolled across the room floor, sparkling and cracked for the fall. With its unstable state, a simple bump against the wall was all it took to set it off like a bomb.
Boom!
As Vi stepped a foot onto the balcony, the whole building shook by the explosion, throwing all of them away.
She was the first to recover, going over Peter, Claggor, Milo, and Powder as they lay on their backs. If anything, the blast left the four more scared than dizzy. And with a few particles of dust in their lungs as they coughed.
"Is everyone ok ?!" She asked all. Only three confirmations came. Peter's face turned white as he looked over her shoulder.
"V-Vi," He said, pointing in the direction.
"Wha," Vi's voice died. The building's walls held as much as they could against the explosion. But slowly, their structure was starting to give away. Large cracks spread all over, even to the balcony's floor.
Ending right around the group.,
For a moment, there was nothing. In the next, the five felt the floor beneath getting lower.
"Oh, shit,"
If the sound of the explosion wasn't enough to draw attention, the series of falling screams and large pieces of rubble hitting the street were.
With wide eyes, the group didn't register they were still alive after the fall. Luck had its sights on them. The building's size helped lessen the collapse and keep the balcony's integrity intact.
Vi was brought back to reality by an equal dreading sound. From a distance, great horns placed at a tower's top honked. They were a call and a warning. And through the smoke surrounding them, Vi saw the silhouettes of those who answered it.
"There they are!" One of the enforces shouted.
That was their cue.
"Guys, RUN!" Vi gave her own shout over, starting to sprint. Instinct spoke louder as the four instantly went into a mad dash after her.
In the lanes, they have many advantages in situations like these. Many places to hide, quick turns, and escape routes they knew at the palm of their hands.
But the lively streets on this part of Piltover were wide and exposed. As they jumped over any staircases and ran across plazas and squares, the enforcers didn't lose sight of their trail for anything., Speed and distance were the only allies they had at that moment.,
Even those were an iffy advantage.
None of the enforcers would dare to open fire in such populated areas. From their belts, they pulled the next best weapon against runaways. Throwing blue metallic spheres in the air, each split open in three separate parts, forming high caliber bolas.
The weapon spun fast across the air. By a nick of time, it didn't hit Vi by the neck. Instead, wrapping around a post as she dodged.
"Faster!" She yelled as bolas rained on them from all corners.
"Where are we going ?!" Milo rolled across the ground to avoid one thrown by an enforcer at a higher point.
"Across the river!" Vi replied, pointing ahead.
Milo was close to considering her insane.
Connecting sections of Piltover by the sea, the bridge wasn't just a solid construct. On certain occasions, it would lift and open in two parts to allow large boats to go through the canals.,
Just as it was happening right now.,
"The bridge ?!"
"We're not making it through that!" Peter shared Milo's thoughts.
"Any better ideas ?!" Vi replied.
An enforcer didn't allow Milo to speak.
"You're not getting away!"
"Stop them!"
The boy dared to look back. What was once a simple squad was now fifteen men in force.
"Screw it!" Milo stated, head snapping back to the front, his pace getting faster. "I'm going in!"
And so they all did, ignoring any fatigue, using the bridge getting higher and higher as a motivator. Passing under an open golden gate, all went even faster, pushing any who stood in the way aside to make it.
Time slowed down as the ascend run started. And came back crashing when they jumped over the forming gap., The five got to the other side, sliding over the bridge, bumping into each other before hitting the ground.
They let out a series of groans, whines, pants, and moans as the adrenaline from the chain of events started to wear off.,
Claggor turned on his back, staring up at the sky. "Guys ?" He breathed out.
"Yeah ?" Powder's voice was low as she layed face down.
"Let's never do this again,"
"You got it, buddy," Peter said, head craning back at the sound of screams.
Some of the enforcers brave enough to try following them didn't have the same luck in the jump, falling to the waters after hitting the far edge and losing their grip.
"Hehe, morons," Milo smirked at their misfortune, standing up and dusting himself off.
Vi did the same, cracking her neck. One by one, she helped her sister and other two friends back to their feet. Their small moment of relief was cut short by the whistle blows coming from the district they were in.,
"Shit," She murmured, thinking the bridge had bought them more time. "No time to rest yet," With apologetic eyes, she said to them., "A little more, and we are home, ok ?"
A few grumbles later, they were again running for their lives.
Thankfully the enforcers hadn't gotten close, so they slipped into an isolated alley with no windows and plenty of cover. With Vi's lead, the trek ended at a dead end.
Not for long.
On the left side, a manhole, blocked by a metal bar, would be their way out of Piltover.
Grunting, Vi pulled the bar with all of her might, ripping it out. It was wide enough to fit two people at once.
"C'mon," She gestured to it.
Milo crouched closer to the opening. And felt like throwing up. The hole wasn't all but inviting. The stench was like something had died in there. It probably did. The gooey substance running along the tunnel? He didn't even want to think of what it was. The flies seemed to like it, however.
"Oh, hell no," He shook his head. "I ain't doing this one more time. Besides, I just got this shirt,"
"Dude, get in," Claggor insisted.
"You get in,"
"Milo, now is not the best place to start shit," Vi pressed.
"Climbing, that I can forgive. But not this," Milo continued to protest.
As they bickered, Peter kept an eye on any enforcers coming their way. Right on time, he tensed, seeing silhouettes and shadows running through the area's walls.
He made a choice.
"Get in there before I throw you!" Vi hissed through her teeth.
"I'd like to see you tr-!"
"Allow me!"
"PETEEEER!" Milo's voice echoed across the tunnel. Peter crashed into his back, making both fall down on it.
Vi, Claggor, and Powder all stared in momentary shock before the latter giggled.
"That's one way to do it," She proceeded to jump in after them.
"True," Claggor shrugged, following suit.
Vi waited for him to get far enough. Taking the bar off the ground, she sat, the bag over her lap. Entering the tunnel, she quickly placed the bar back in its place, letting go to slide down the tunnel.
The enforcers got there a few seconds too late.
"You do that again. And I swear you're losing teeth!"
"Yeah? Next time I'm leaving you to the enforcers,"
"I can take care of myself,"
"Go back up there then if that's true,"
"Only after you or Powder answer what happened there,"
None of what they went through would've come to pass if not for the explosion.
"Yeah, what was that ?" Claggor wanted to know as well, not to point fingers. Something like that doesn't just happen out of nowhere.
"So ?" Milo pressed, focusing on Powder mostly now.
"How should I know ?!" The girl said back defensively. "I didn't do anything,"
Milo scoffed. "Right, we could fill a damn library with the stuff none of you didn't do. You, Powder, occupying almost all of it!"
"Hey, knock it off," Peter came to Powder's support.
"Says one of the experts on that,"
"Enough! all of you!"
Peter and Milo instantly shut their mouths as Vi exclaimed from above them. After going through the tunnel, an enormous pile of different kinds of trash was what met them on the other side. With waste, rotten food, and other substances dripping from their bodies, the group's mood wasn't bright.
Milo was instantly on Peter, cursing and venting for what he did to get them there. The younger boy didn't back out, pressing against Milo, justifying his actions.
That went on until Vi became tired of it. Coming down from the pile, she landed, breaking up the two aside and putting herself between them.,
"He started!" Peter pointed at Milo.
"For a good reason!" Milo mimicked the gesture.
SLAP!
SLAP!
"Ouch!" Both cried as the pink-head gave them a hard overhead slap.
"What was that for ?!" Milo's voice dropped at the pain.
"Well, it made you shut up. So I'd say it worked," Vi stated.
"But it hurt," Peter said.
"Great!"
They were going to be the death of her one day. She was sure of it. Summoning whatever calms there was in her being, Vi breathed. "Look." She looked at both back and forth. "We just emptied a Piltover penthouse, right under the enforcer's noses. Then we almost fell to your deaths and ran across half the island in minutes. Between all of that, things could've turned for the worst in many ways,"
"But we are here. We made it. Together. Even when we had to make choices for others," The look Vi gave to Milo dared him to protest against the statement. He smartly stayed quiet. "So stop beating each other up, and let's get back to Vander. Ok ?"
After a few exchanges of glances, the four nodded in agreement.
Satisfied, Vi placed the bag over her shoulder, waving for them to follow.
It wasn't the first time they had ventured on those sewer parts. After finding the hatch leading outside, they were off to the lanes.
The sun was starting to set, painting the walls and streets orange as the group walked through the isolated corners of their side of Piltover. Keeping a low profile was almost a necessity everywhere for them. No one minds their business. And them theirs.
And because of it, they didn't say much to each other, just focused on getting at the undercity's passage. Occasionally, however, taking a look around to be safe.
In those areas, it was never something really out of the ordinary. A couple of Junkies, others sitting around doing nothing, a few smoking, sleeping, or taking a walk for fresh air.
But then there was a specific kind of people.
"Nice haul ?" A voice said to the group when passing under the shadow of an abandoned building. Turning towards such, they saw a guy a few years older than them sitting on a bench, a barrel rolling back and forth under his foot. Blonde hair, slim, wearing a vest over a simple black shirt and twisting a coin in his hand.,
Vi spared him five seconds of her attention before looking away and going on.
"You could say that," Milo replied simply over his shoulder.
Before they could continue, the blonde's next worst stooped their tracks.
"I heard there was some action today, right across the river," He said casually. Getting up, pocketing his coin, he added. "Someone really kicked Piltover's nest, huh ?"
Seeing where he was getting to, Vi subtlely urged the others to turn away from the scene. "Is that so? Well, good for them,"
She soon saw it was a little too late to disregard him.
Right ahead, two goons blocked the path. And more came from behind the blonde. Eyes not leaving any off them, Peter slowly pulled Powder to stand behind him.,
"Yeah, I'm sure you are all proud," The blonde started pacing around, hands at his back. "But now here you are, tracking that mess of yours all over my streets, tsk, tsk, tsk, not cool,"
Vi's fist closed. "Your streets ?!" She said, affronted by his words. "Last I checked, two people ran this side of the city. And you ain't one of them,"
Stopping his walk, seemly in thought, and with recognition filling his eyes, the blonde looked solely at Peter for a couple of moments before he shrugged off the statement.
"It's not like they are here now, are they ?" He countered.
"As if that's -" Before she could finish, Claggor stopped her, getting at the front.
"Look, we don't want any trouble," He tried to soothe the situation. "Just get home,"
"Heh, heard that, Deckard ?" One of the goons said with a mocking tone.
"You guys know, in this place, trouble finds you," Deckard declared. "Things don't need to get ugly, tho. How about a deal ?" He offered. "Share a part of the treasure, we call it even, and go on separate ways. Fair ?"
Not if it was up to Milo.
"Like hell it is," He replied with vexation at Deckard. "We worked hard all day to get this, and you think you can just take it ?"
"A small price to pay," Deckard replied casually. "You're not the only ones that need goods from time to time,"
"Why won't you go so-"
Vi stepped in, silencing him by placing her hand on his shoulder.
Walking past him and the others, she pulled the bag over her shoulder, holding it by the handle.
Everyone on her side was in disbelief. While Deckard smirked.,
"Not so hard, see ?" He said with open arms.
"Vi, are you serious ?!" Peter shouted with ire.
"What are you doing ?!" Powder gave her own shout.
"Guys," The pink-head warned, looking from the ground to straight into Deckard's eyes. "A part ?" She first wanted guarantees in the deal.
Deckard looked at his goons with amusement, replying. "Just a part,"
"..."
"..."
"...Ok,"
Any sense of triumph left Deckard's face instantly. Vi wrapped the handle around her wrist and used the bag to deliver an uppercut at his jaw. With many heavy and solid objects inside to strengthen the blow, Deckard fell on his back to the ground, lip split and missing a tooth.
Instantly, all knew a fight was on.
"Powder!" Vi threw the bag into her sister's hands. "Behind the box!" She ordered Powder to hide the moment she caught it.
At the sound of movement, Vi turned back to the front.
Despise the damage, Deckard quickly got to his feet, grunting loudly. "Get them!"
The goons were more than eager to comply.
With a yell, one of them advanced, heading towards Milo. He thought of throwing a punch against the incoming charge. Yet, seeing he was about to be tangled to the ground, Milo lowered his arms and pushed against the goon when they collided. Surprise was evident on the goon's face when Milo also locked him in a hold. Using it, Milo kneeled him in his gut hard. It was enough for the goon to let go and Milo to hook him across the face, followed by another hook. Seeing the goon fall to the ground, Milo reflected.
Man, his training really worked!
Peter was about to join him, but a different goon came at him, wielding a pipe as a make-shift club. He quickly dodges every swing, the metal cutting through the air or hitting against hard stone as it missed. The goon lost his temper against Peter's reaction speed. When he started to swing more wildly and less precisely, it was his loss. Growling, he lifted the pipe over his head. And Peter, being the smaller of the two, crouched and punched right between the legs!
The sound that came out of the goons wasn't one to be expected out of a man's mouth. His face was in pure agony as he dropped to his knees first and then fell to the side.
"...Better put some ice on that, buddy," Peter himself cringed at what he had done. He received a painful whine as an answer.
Claggor, meanwhile, could say he had no trouble at all. The goons thought it would be easy to simply tag-team him. His strength erased that idea. Picking them up with little effort, he threw their bodies left, right, or slammed them down. One tried to hold on to him by the waist. With a grasp on his hair, Claggor pulled him out and kicked him against a wall. As soon as the goon hit it, Claggor charged. Using his shoulder, drops of blood and a wet noise followed when he crashed against the goon's face. He fell face first. Nose smashed and red. A short breath was all Claggor managed before being jumped again by the other goons.
As the three were handling their own fights, so was Vi with hers against Deckard.,
It was a fact for the group for years. When it came down to it, none of the four outclassed Vi in a fight., They could learn how to defend themselves, but she was the one born with the spirit.
Deckard was just the new test subjected o such.
Even when he managed to land a blow, Vi reacted by giving it back tenfold. With a guarded stance, she went in on him, using all techniques she had learned., Head, jaw, stomach, ribs, none were left untouched by her rampage.
As both didn't relent to the other in a flurry of punches, Deckard became cornered against the area's rubbish, his sides blocked by Vi's fists every time he tried to go around. In survival mode, he pulled a knife from his belt. He went to return the favor, aiming an uppercut slash at Vi's face. She dodged, the blade taking a few strands of her hair. Then he threw a strong jap. Vi skillfully swapped the blow away with her forearm. Twisting his hold, Deckard went to jam the knife on her face. Raising her guard, one of the edges made contact with her skin, blood flowing out instantly from the wound.
Deckard didn't stop, putting more of his weight forward, pushing the knife closer and closer against Vi.,
Gritting her teeth, Vi, instead of going against the pressure, raised a foot and stomped on Deckard's. His eyes wide, he rasped at the sudden pain, letting go of Vi. It gave her enough time to head butt him. His back hit the debris, and the knife slipped away.
Seeing Deckard open, Vi went for the kill.
In quick succession, Vi grabbed onto his shoulder, punching him straight in the gut. Then a set of two solid crosses at his jaw. Quick jabs at the chest. A knee to the face after pulling him down by the head. And ending by taking hold of his neck and putting all of her force in a linear punch.
It was enough to break the rubbish that held Deckards back. Wood and dust rose as his body went through them.
Taking steps back, catching her breath, Vi looked over to the back. Like her, Peter, Milo, and Claggor were also panting, with bruises and dirt all over them., But still victorious in their fights.
"Holding up ?" She asked, walking towards them.
"I'll live," Peter waved, hands on his knees.
"If anything," Milo popped his neck with a low groan. "Tis' day is turning alright after all," His ego was a little boosted after pretty much owning his opponents.
"Sure it is," Vi said dryly.
Her eyes traveled the area, going from the beat-down goons lying on the floor, moaning in pain or passed out like their boss. Everything seemed ok. Until her heart skipped a beat, and she froze.
"Guys," Her voice was a low breath. "Where's Powder ?"
Through the streets, away from anyone else, she ran as fast as she could, with heavy footsteps in her wake, not daring to look back for long.,
After everything, Powder wouldn't let go of the bag. Not to someone else.
As her friends fought against the goons, one of them passed by unnoticed during the commotion., In that window of time, he saw her hiding behind the boxes, focusing on the loot she held instantly. It was what they wanted in the first place, so why not go for it already?
Their chase led them to a small pier, with boats left at a sea and abandoned warehouses. Buying herself a few precious seconds, Powder pulled a pile of old barrels.
"You little shit!" The goon exclaimed after being hit by them in the path.
They served their purpose for now. Powder reached the pier's end first, darting her gaze left and right to find a new direction to run. Other than the water, the only option was a wooden bridge extension.,
Going for it, she stopped in ill surprise moments later.
"Oh, no," It was another dead end, blocked by heavy debris. Thankfully there was enough space for Powder to lean against the wall and hide from the goon's view.
Holding her breath, she focused on hearing any noise. The goon charged in, no doubt knocking something in the process. Foots franticly stomped against the wood floor while he searched for her.
"Dammit!" He cursed. "Where are you ?!"
Powder shook and covered her mouth to stop all sounds from coming out.
After a few long and dreaded moments and not hearing much, Powder knew she shouldn't, but her curiosity got the best of her., Slowly, she leaned to the side to face the pier. Which she would regret not long after.,
THUD
In her state of worry, she didn't notice a couple of planks placed on the front side of the wall. Her shoulder made contact when she leaned in and pushed them forwards. Powder gasped silently, seeing and reaching to stop them. It was too late.
The goon sharply turned upon hearing the impact. And Powder's breathing quickened when he started to approach.
Thinking quickly, she used the last resource.
Powder was a name with another meaning for the people who truly knew her. Many afternoons she spent stuck in a world of her own mind, working on making devices to help the group when the opportunity arrived. After all, bombs can be of use on quite a few occasions.
Now was one of them.
Picking an empty cylinder with a drawing of a blue cat from her belt, Powder filled it with nails she kept in a small bowl. Closing the cylinder's top and rotating the timer, she made a short prayer to it.,
"Mouser, I need you to help me!"
Turning around the corner, Powder threw Mouser on the floor, right ahead of the goon's feet. As his face turned white, Powder bit her lip, waiting for the bomb's outcome.,
The goon jumped, covering his face as the cylinder exploded in a cloud of pink dust.
And nothing happened afterward.
Peaking over his forearm, he saw that all it was left were broken pieces and nails spread everywhere.
"No," Disappointment was short-lived in Powder. The goon chuckled at her failure, marching towards her.
"Give me that," He said, watching her walk back until her back hit the pier's fence. "Give it, now!"
She would not.
Quickly pulling the bag into her hands, she held it over the waters. "Stay back!" The threat was evident as the goon stopped, eyes shifting between her and the loot.,
He took a breath and warned. "You better think about what you're about to do, really well,"
Powder didn't much care, putting the bag even more over the edge.
She wouldn't need to follow through with the threat.
"That's what I was about to say," A voice said from behind the goon.
The moment he turned around, a plank connected and broke against his face. He saw darkness not even a beat later.
When the body fell, Powder saw her savior. A sense of relief came when she saw a familiar hooded jacket, white shirt, and messy brow hair. It was Peter!
She didn't have time to say something.
Holding the remains of the plank, he places one foot over the goon's back, striking a pose, breathing hard after his second marathon on the day.
"Have no fear, young lady. I am here!" He says in a tired, but over-the-top tone.
Powder can only gratefully laugh at him.
And, there.
Originally it was going to be a larger chapter, covering the first episode completely., But in the process, and with others happening in life,(And watching Moon Knight/Batman, playing Elden Ring/, which was all awesome Btw) I saw it would be better to send this first half already and not drag it along for more days/weeks.
The next should be coming sooner than later if all goes well.
And boy, believe me, there's a long road ahead with this one, and the "Iron Hunter" as well...
God, I need a co-writer, Lol (No, seriously, help me!)
Hope you enjoyed this little introduction. Comment and Review as you please.
See you next time.
Peace.