There was a banging knock at the factory's door.

"Please open the door, Viktor," Blitzcrank said, "I have returned with Subject Renatus. He requires medical attention."

Before Blitzcrank had even finished speaking, the garage door of the factory was clanking open. Viktor was there, waiting. Blitzcrank ducked inside. He was cradling Ren in his arms and he turned the boy to look at Viktor. Ren gave a weak thumbs-up.

"Hey, Doc," he said groggily, "we did it. We helped the people."

"We will discuss your accomplishments later," Viktor replied, "your health comes first. Is anything broken? Can you walk? Has your augmentation been damaged again?"

"I don't think so. I think so. And I'm pretty sure it isn't." Ren answered, "Blitz, can you put me down, please? We'll figure out right now if I can walk."

Slowly, the golem righted Ren and helped him get his feet on the ground. He looked stable until Blitzcrank completely let go of him. Immediately, Ren felt all his muscles ache in unison as he knees buckled. He felt Blitzcrank's hands wrap protectively around his waist to keep him from falling over.

"It's okay," Ren reassured, "just tired. I can walk. Thanks though."

Viktor went over and pulled Ren upright. He helped the boy get his arm around his shoulders to steady himself.

"If you want to walk," Viktor scolded, "you may, but not without assistance. I refuse to have my patient fall due to stubbornness. We are going to the workshop. If you become unable to walk, inform Blitzcrank and he will carry you the remaining way."

"I can do that."

Steadily, they all made their way to the workshop. Viktor helped Ren up onto the operating table and with the removal of his armor. Bruises, ugly and discolored, splotched across Ren's skin. The largest one, the size of Ren's hand, bloomed where he had been kicked. As Viktor continued his examination, Ren reclined on the table, letting out a long groan as he did. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, he could feel each ache and pain in high definition. Outside the room, Blitzcrank waited patiently.

"So Doc, is anything broken?"

"Not that I can tell," Viktor answered, "which is incredibly fortuitous considering the extensive bruising you have sustained."

"Excellent, so I can get back to work tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we're on a roll. I wouldn't believe it myself if I weren't actively feeling it, but we did more than just fight off some petty criminals. We took down a gang leader. Heh, can you believe it? Ouch. Maybe I bit off more than I could chew, but I don't care. I'm going back tomorrow to find the rest of 'em and clean that gang out for good."

"I refuse to allow you to leave with your body in this condition. I would be irresponsible of me to do so. You need to recover."

"So day after tomorrow, then?"

"That depends on both your recovery and Blitzcrank's repairs."

Ren sighed.

"Now," Viktor continued, "please explain in detail, but without excessive exaggeration, what exactly happened to you two."

Ren smiled.

"Crystal. I can do that but I promise it will be a better story if I can exaggerate a bit."

"I will settle for a duller but more accurate retelling."

Ren proceeded to recount his and Blitzcrank's adventure into the Sump, from the cleaning at the apartments to the brawl at the bridge. Viktor listened intently as he tended to Ren's injuries. If something seemed too farfetched, he would ask Blitzcrank for clarity. Much to Viktor's surprise though, Blitzcrank was able to confirm almost everything Ren described, albeit with less colorful language. It made him wish he could have seen Ren's movements in person, and he resolved that as soon as the boy was able to, he would ask him to reenact certain parts of his story.

Viktor's mind was swimming with possible upgrades he could make to the augmentation, but he forced himself to focus on healing his subject first. As Ren finished his story, Viktor was finishing with cleaning Ren's knuckles, which had split in several places.

"Thanks, Doc," Ren said as he looked over his hands.

"You are welcome," Viktor replied as he packed up his medications, "but the next time you get into a brawl, I ask that you avoid causing property damage. That factory was owned by a wealthy Piltover family and their involvement could complicate things for us."

"I like to think of it more as creative property rearrangement."

Viktor turned and looked back Ren, who didn't need to see his face to know he was being glared at from under the mask.

"In my defense," Ren huffed, "it was that thug who actually tore up the place. I was performing property damage mitigation."

"The Piltover nobles will not care for such distinction," Viktor said, "they will only see two people from Zaun destroying their property."

"All right, I'll try to avoid it in the future."

"Please do so. I will not hesitate to bring your 'hero' experiment to an end if Piltover becomes too heavily involved in this early stage. The cost to benefit prospect skews heavily out of our favor if Piltover sends one of their enforcing 'heroes' to hunt you or destroy another one of my labs."

"They wouldn't do that, would they? Wait, another? This has happened before?"

"Years ago," Viktor answered, "but I will not discuss it more tonight. My word on this is final."

"I understand."

There were a few minutes of silence as Viktor searched for the tools he would need to repair Blitzcrank. Ren swung his legs over the side of the table and shuddered as a new wave of pain washed over him. He placed his hand over his bruised side. Viktor was right; it was incredibly lucky that he hadn't been severely injured during that fight. But how long would that luck last?

"Hey, Doc," Ren spoke up.

"Yes," Viktor responded without turning from tool rack.

"I've been thinking, if I'm going to keep doing this, I'm going to need to get stronger. I know that there's the obvious path with exercise and strength training, which I do plan to do, but that can only carry me so far."

Viktor turned and looked at Ren. His subject now had his undivided attention.

"So," Ren continued, "if possible, maybe, is there a way you could augment me further, just a little?"

"Do you wish for your other leg to be augmented?" Viktor asked bluntly.

"Hey, that's a lot. I did say 'just a little,' right? Maybe we could start with something small and exclusively under the skin. Oh, and anything to my face is right out, especially the eyes. The thought of needles near them, ugh, still makes me queasy."

"Subdermal augmentation only. I can accommodate that request. Do you have an idea as to what else you want augmented?"

"I don't know. I said I was thinking about it, but not thinking too much. You're the doctor, not me. I trust that you know what's best for me. But please, again, keep it small. I'm still very much attached my arms and other leg. But hey, if anything catastrophic should happen to my other limbs, you get full say over what happens to them. How's that sound?"

Viktor paused and thought for a moment.

"That sounds exciting."

"Ooh, 'exciting'," Ren smiled, "that's a very energetic word for you to use. I thought you would say something like 'agreeable' or 'acceptable' or something else dull like that."

"This is an exciting moment, N-12. You are beginning to embrace my vision of progress."

"Well, now that you're in a good mood, can I ask about something else exciting? Another type of upgrade?"

"What is it?"

"I want to paint flames on my augmentation."

Viktor sighed deeply.

"Is there any reason beyond your vanity that this should be done," he asked.

"I know how you're looking at me under that mask," Ren said, "please don't and just hear me out. I have wanted this so badly. So so badly. And I defeated the boss with a flaming kick. It's meant to be, Doc. Please, I think I have earned a little fun. Besides, look at it. It's scorched and needs a cleaning anyways. Please?"

"I can confirm," Blitzcrank chimed in, "the lead aggressor was defeated when Subject Renatus kicked off his augmentation as his leg was coated with burning oil. The sight appeared to resonate with the spectating civilians. Painting Subject Renatus's augmentation with a flame motif could invoke that awe and become a foundation symbol of his reputation moving forward."

"I will concede," Viktor said begrudgingly, "and defer to Blitzcrank's expertise as a positive symbol for the people. However, I will be selecting the paint and assisting you with its application. I will not allow my work to be marred by an unprofessional finish."

"Yes! Thank you, Doc! Trust me, this will all pay off for us."

"I am still not convinced, but since you trust me with augmenting you, I will trust you with your own reputation."

"Our reputation."

"Our reputation."

Greetings Summoners,

I hope you all have a safe, fun Snowdown season.

Best of luck on the Rift,

-Gwoo