The Most Undoing Thing

by BlehBluhBlah

Several years after the Split, Piltover and Zaun's symbiotic societies are on the cusp of prospering. With a bright future on the way for many Pilties—and even some Zaunites—Jinx is left with nothing but wonder for what her future entails. But what's she to do when her path leads down to the pair of orphaned Zaunites: bombardier Zel and pickpocketer Evi? Simple: do better.

10. Chapter 10

A/N: Not really proud of this chap's chap summary but eh, can't all be winners.

This one's a HUGE doozy. Going into the second act of this story, I figure the chapters will all teeter the long side, but this one had much going on and I had to keep it as contained as possible. But yeah, it's a long one! I grossly underestimated how long this chapter would be, so this MIGHT be the longest chapter of the whole series (for now). You'll probably get a sense that portion of this chapter was supposed to be in the last, but I moved it to here. Hopefully I paced it well enough for you guys to still enjoy. ( ^‿^)

---

Chapter Summary: Ekko and Jinx have a chat. Zel and Evi want to make her bond with Jinx known and are proudly ready to fight for it! A test of bonds begins once again.

Word Count: 21,597

---

—EKKO—

Patrolling the streets of a Zaun was often a thankless job as a Firelight, especially in the eyes of Zaunites. They did good work, Ekko knew this (even Heimerdinger commended them for it!). But for all that, Zaun just didn't care about their "vigilante ways" unless it involved major things. Standing up to Enforcers or Wardens who strayed a bit over their boundary past Piltover was a given. Stopping occasional muggings and murders, well, they hardly received thanks for that either. But Ekko didn't employ his troops to do this because he wanted gratitude. He wanted to change Zaun and to do that, it would need a force to be taken seriously.

He just wished he didn't get stuck with a back to back night shift and morning shift.

He yawned into his mask then shook himself out of his exhaustion. He swayed his hoverboard around, turning himself over to the market district. He was lucky he had a soft spot for Scar's kid. The boy wanted some time with his dad, so Ekko obliged the father's request for some last minute time off. The only issue was that no one else would fill his space. In all honesty, he could've made someone else take the shift. But he didn't want to impede on anyone else.

With another sway of his body, Ekko turned from the centre of town and headed toward the market district. Quite a stir had been racking up in those parts the past month: more fights, more dealings, and even chemtech bomb went off, killing someone in the process. He wanted to expand the reach and get a more secure patrol route to watch it, but that area seemed to be more guarded and skeptical the more Firelights showed up there consistently. That thought made him feel a bit bitter.

As he flew overhead, he could hear the shouts and curses.

"Wannabe cop!"

"Fuck off Warden Knock Offs!"

"Oh my Janna, that's Ekko! Yaay!"

He flew on.

Zaun had become a bit more receptive to the Firelights' presence, but they were still seen as a force of "law enforcement." Some wanted to trust them, some looked to them as saviours. Others thought they were ruining Zaun's flow of underhanded crime and dealings. Others didn't want watchdogs. They were "idealists" fighting a fight that didn't need to be fought. Or they weren't fighting hard enough. One way or the other.

Ekko sighed as he weaved his board, casually evading an airborne brick heading his way. He cringed as he watched it arc back down. Leaning downward, he quickly zipped toward the projectile and caught it before it landed in the crowd, then tossed it on a roof.

"Hey!" a man shouted, "That was my good brick!"

Ekko simply flipped him off over his shoulder and carried on.

He'd been going for three hours now, maybe he should take a break. As he neared the market district, he slowly lowered himself near the rooftops as he scanned the area. As usual, a good many heads looked toward his arrival before scowling or gasping in awe. His gaze caught a nearby billboard as he passed by, which made him scowl at it. The actual contents of what it was advertising—the Zaunite Ring Fights which could be tuned into every Friday at 8PM—wasn't the issue. It was the graffiti atop it.

A giant cartoonishly drawn monkey holding a gun, coloured with blue and purple neon paint.

Ekko scoffed at the artwork.

Zaunites just gave up on their billboards, not even bothering to fight The Loose Cannon's "jinxing". That type of thinking was what made Ekko more bitter. Succumbing to complacency or letting disorder and chaos roam about free because it was easier? That was how Zaun stayed like the shithole it was. He looked away from the graffiti and sighed. Who was he kidding? She was such a menace it was hard for anyone with a spine to stand up to her. Ekko turned his board back around, returning right before the giant billboard.

Maybe he should be the one to clean these up?

It'd show Zaun they were actually trying to clean up the streets.

"Hey, you think that Firelight's gonna clean up that shite?" he heard from below.

"He better. If he ain't, I had half a mind to just cover that Jinx shit with my own graffiti if that's what passes for artwork 'round here," another mused, earning a round of laughter from his group.

Ekko turned his head down to look at the group. Nothing more than a group of bums, gathered in a circle around some stall selling booze. Of course it wasn't anyone with an actual axe to grind for initiative or change.

"I'd watch what ya say 'bout that crazy kook," a woman chimed in, waving her bottle around, "she was barreling in these streets not too long ago—never can tell when she can hear ya!"

That made Ekko furrow his brows.

The rumours.

It wasn't hard to live in Zaun and pick up the word on the street. By accident or choice, hearing the news of what's surfaced publicly was as easy as breathing sometimes. Getting the more sly information, the dirty dealings underneath tables, the kind of details that would make some thugs blush, that kind of digging came at knowing who and where to ask. Fortunately for Ekko, he knew a good guy. As he made his course toward Jerciho's stall, his thoughts lingered on the recent rumours he'd heard about Jinx.

Frequenting Babette's brothel.

Working with the Chem-Barons.

Running around with big boxes and mattresses.

And then the mention of looking for children.

Ekko's worries were starting to peak since he hadn't heard this many rumours in such a short time. Not since the days way back. The days when Silco's death was first announced. But back then Jinx's name was hushed like a bad omen, like something terrible had gone wrong and was the preface of big change to come. Now? It was different. She was as chaotic and irritating as usual, but these rumours were incredulous. They were absurd. Jinx didn't have a penchant for anything sexual aside from jokes. She wouldn't put herself under snobs like Renata Glasc or Corina Veraza. And she thought kids were too snotty and bratty to deal with.

The rumours spread to all sorts of camps. Most coming from The Last Drop, where club goers saw Jinx threaten Sevika. The wildfire had also sparked a bit from Babette's side with her clients who witnessed The Loose Cannon storm in one day. Ekko slowed his hovering to a crawl as he landed on a roof, slipping his board onto his back as he began to stroll casually.

If he had to think about it, the weirdest and most bizarre thing was not these rumours… but that in the past month and a half, this was all anyone could say about Jinx. Nothing about Topside or nothing about big paint bombs covering half of Zaun. Just a few skirmishes of gunfights, some running through town, and whispers about her appearances here and there. Ekko stopped as he was across the roof facing down toward Jericho's stall. Speaking of appearances, he had to hang back. As much as he'd like to walk up to his old friend's stall, Ekko knew being a Firelight, let alone being him, wasn't the most welcoming or conspicuous of approaches he could make. He had to assess the surrounding area first before waltzing in.

That meant checking the neighbouring stalls.

That meant watching out for potential hitman or assassins or thieves.

That meant being on the lookout for… Jinx?

Ekko blinked in disbelief as he watched the blue haired woman stroll straight through the crowd. She had a familiar pep in her step. A hop and skip that reminded him of… well, Powder. But that image alone wasn't what shook him. It was the sight of her walking with two kids, holding their hands as she approached Jericho's stall. Ekko readied his weapon as he crouched down, staring at the scene. Were they captives? Did she string some bombs to them and was using them as human shields? Ekko watched nervously as the woman greeted one of the customers at Jericho's stall.

He watched as the small, messy haired blonde sat herself on the stool near the man Jinx was talking with as the boy with spiky brown hair sat near Jinx. He watched as they settled in and glanced back and forth between Jinx's exchange with this man, almost looking… fond? He hung back, disbelief coating him as the two talked and smiled and blushed around Jinx like…

Like the way they did whenever they went out with Vander or Benzo.

What in the name of Janna was going on?

Jinx was looking happy, Jericho seemed to be eating in the sight, and the kids were laughing alongside the madwoman!

Part of Ekko wanted to grab his Z-Drive and go back, soaking in more of this side of Jinx he'd never seen before. This side that was cheerful, but not in a maniacally way. This side that was more lax, but not in a mischievous manner. This side that was… different. But another part of him wanted to race down there and grab the kids, fear telling him to save them as soon as possible. Rationality told him they were scared for their lives, just playing along. That classic twisted Jinx was just having fun.

And yet…

Another bout of laughter erupted, most notably from Jericho.

And yet Jericho seemed overjoyed by Jinx's presence.

Ekko wasn't an idiot. He knew the chef always had a bit of a soft spot for Jinx, though he had those reserves with just about any Zaunite. His stall was like neutral ground—no one was allowed to fight there. He was never an active Zaunite, not one to start fights or run around putting down gangs. But he did put an end to fights. In any case, Jericho didn't mind if one talked shop, verbally fought, or shouted at the top of their lungs. The second that behaviour evolved into something physical? That was when Jericho stepped in.

Needless to say, even though it was Jinx, Ekko didn't think Jericho would let her just take a couple of kids hostage. He wouldn't let her just sit there and talk.

But she was paying for their food—it looked like two Cutpurse Combos! She even bought the boy a soda too! Ekko's instincts weren't alert at all. The only screaming at him right now was to keep out of sight and watch. They ate for about fifteen minutes, talking and laughing.

And never before had he felt like such a stalker.

He'd done stakeouts before. He'd watched over people for half a day to a day at most. But he was watching over potential suspects, thugs, gangs, drug deals, basically anything related to crime. This? This felt intrusive. Like he was witnessing a private scene, and though it was on public display, it wasn't meant to be intruded upon. Ekko clenched his grip on his weapon as he sighed.

It made his stomach churn.

Evidently, the three pulled away from the stall, bidding the fishman goodbye. And it was then, as Jinx wrapped her arms around their shoulders, that Ekko saw it. The little blonde girl. On her thigh.

Was Jinx's gun.

What. Was. Happening.

As they began to make their way up to the rooftop across from him, Ekko slid down and into an alleyway, waiting for the three to make their leave. In that, Jinx let the two climb on their own and they followed her! He had half a mind to pursue and follow them, but he didn't want to risk her catching him out in the open like this. Besides, he needed info. So giving it another minute or SOC he emerged from the alley and made a beeline toward Jericho's stall.

The crowd parted slightly, making way for his approach as he walked.

The second he arrived at the stall, he stood still, waiting for Jericho to notice him. The chef was busy wiping down the counter with a big smile, cheerily whistling to himself. Ekko cleared his throat, driving the fishman's attention toward him.

"EKKO!" he exclaimed with big open arms, "IT'S BEEN AWHILE! FIRELIGHT BASE KEEPING YOU BUSY?"

Ekko chuckled, allowing himself to soak up the warm reunion as he lowered his mask and hooked it onto his belt. "'Sup Jericho," he greeted, sitting himself on the stool on the far right. "But yeah, I guess you can say that."

"THE USUAL?"

Ekko nodded. "I'll eat it here, thanks." As Jericho began to work away at his food, the white haired man took another scan of his surroundings. He could still catch the occasional glance or glare, but the whispers varied. And from what he could hear, there was still some disbelief lingering in the crowd at the sight of Jinx and those kids. He might as well bite the bullet himself. "So… hear anything interesting lately?"

Jericho scoffed. Looking over his shoulder, he flashed him a smile. "YOU'VE NEVER BEEN ONE TO BEAT AROUND THE BUSH, EKKO."

He chuckled, shrugging. "Fine, I'll cut to it: what's Jinx been up to?"

Jericho laughed as he turned back to his fryer. "NOTHING SPECIAL FROM WHAT I HEARD!"

Ekko scoffed. "Somehow I doubt that." He leaned closer on the counter. "My group's been hearing rumours and gossip here and there. Some crazy stuff's being passed around."

"WOULD IT BE JINX IF IT WASN'T CRAZY?" Jericho mused.

He was tired of this. He slammed his fist on the counter and gritted out, "Stop dodging me Jericho."

The chef whirled around, plopping Ekko's order of fried fish unceremoniously before his face. "YOU KNOW I DON'T SQUEAL, LITTLE MAN!" Jericho narrowed his eye. "AT LEAST NOT IN THE WAY YOU'RE ANGLING."

He sighed. When was anyone gonna drop that nickname? "I know, Jericho, I know." He couldn't hold it against him either. Jericho was a friend. An old friend. "But can you at least confirm if the rumours are true?" he softly asked.

Jericho slammed his knife into his cutting bird shoulder and crossed his arms. "LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING! ARE YOU ASKING BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE THEM? OR BECAUSE YOU ALREADY SAW SOMETHING YOUR EYES COULDN'T BELIEVE?"

Ekko paused at that.

With a smile, the chef leaned over and held his hand out. "THAT ANSWER ENOUGH FOR YOU?"

Ekko laughed. He scrounged the coins in his pocket and tossed them into his friend's hand, fulfilling the payment for his meal.

He let that be the end of it. It was as good of an answer as any in terms of vagueness. The natural flow of catching up and idle chit chat overtook the two as usual. Amongst all things, Jericho was a staple of Zaun that lasted longer than most figureheads, but was acknowledged as a close friend to those who knew him. What might've started as a business or concerned sake, still had room for friends being friends. Jericho revelled in hearing about Ekko's expanded progress with the Firelight's outreach and space, while the leader himself took solace in knowing Jericho's regulars had still been making appearances.

Ekko had qualms about it at first—way before The Split—back when Silco was still kicking; the idea that Jericho willingly and happily served the worser parts of the Undercity didn't sit well with him. But as time grew, Ekko realized Jericho's stall, along with many other aspects of Zaun, were constants that just couldn't change. No matter his beef with whoever, anyone was welcomed to Jericho's stall provided they paid and they weren't being a complete asshole. Many encounters of Firelights and Sevika's goons, Chem-Baron right hands and Ekko himself—they all sat at this stall and ate. It was something he had come to accept, but not something he willingly would encourage. And after a nice meal like today's, Ekko was reminded that sometimes every person in Zaun deserved to appreciate its core beauties, like Jericho's food.

With a push of his empty bowl, Ekko beamed a grateful smile up at his friend. "Thanks for the good eats, Jericho. Best there is, as always." As he made a move to stand, Jericho's hand came down on the bowl, grabbing Ekko's attention raptly.

He looked down at him with a serious look as he said, "THIS SIDE I'VE SEEN OF HER?" He paused, and soon a proud smile fell on his face. "I THINK IT'S MY FAVOURITE ONE YET."

Ekko blinked at that. With a parting nod, he turned and made his leave, hopping straight on his hoverboard and taking off. He figured that would be all Jericho would say about it anyways, so he didn't wanna push his luck. Despite Jericho's biases, Ekko didn't think the chef had said that without a reason. But still…

As he took to the sky's Ekko, leaned himself over to one last area near the downtown, the last of his patrol route. He let his thoughts fly all over the possibilities. Whatever it could mean, he just didn't know where to start. The rumours of her working with the Chem-Barons? Could that be linked to why she was visiting Babette so frequently—to get gossip on the streets for them? Were the supplies she was seen carrying meant for another project, one for the Barons' next big break?

He shook his head.

Despite his reservations, over the years, Ekko reluctantly knew Jinx well. She would never put herself under them. There had to be other reasons. Whatever they were, he'd have to find out.

As he arrived at the last route, his eyes began to scan the scenery, eyes open for anything suspicious. His heart ached a bit as he flew on. There was a reason he tried to keep off this patrol route as much as possible, or at least, this part of town. Over the years, Ekko had many friends to bury and lives to remember for the rest of his lifetime, but this area? It was a reminder of a time that was well before. A time with five kids, messing about, trying to be big in a city bigger than them and a world much larger.

Kids.

Why was Jinx with kids? And why did that girl have Jinx's gun? The very same gun that took the lives of so many innocents, friends, and—

Ekko shook his head as he lowered himself near the rooftops. He had to stop letting his thoughts wander like this. This time was… long gone. His hand idly wandered to his Z-Drive, grabbing its handle as he let out a breath. He knew time well at this point. Not every memory was worth getting choked up over. Not every memory was worth recalling over and over. Not every memory…

His eyes widened as he looked upon a familiar spot.

A spot that hadn't been touched in over a decade.

The arcade windows… were repaired?

Not every memory stayed the same.

With caution and curiosity, Ekko flew himself toward the area. As he neared, he noticed the window's were reinforced with metal sheets. It wasn't just any haphazard or half assed job either. Whoever did this knew what they were doing. They were doing this to patch and secure. The choice of panels wasn't something done by coincidence—it looked like it blended in with the city streets and walls. They wanted to be secluded. Which made him wonder… were they using the empty space for something nefarious? Was it being used to store Shimmer?

No… a sense of bitterness and personal anger set in.

It was the idea of someone else using a space that was once his and his friends'... for their own needs. A space that he saw as a scenery of mourning or the past, something that was unchanged. But now a space that was telling him right to his face that it was no longer his. Ekko knew he had no real reasons to investigate. But part of him told him he'd regret it later if he didn't do it now. Flying over to the back alley, he landed and was surprised to see the door wide open.

A sense of unease crept along his stomach as he saw the flashing and flickering lights from inside.

It was on.

The arcade was on.

Did… did it still work after all this time?

With a deep breath, Ekko slowly approached the door. As he stepped in, he was greeted with the familiar whirring sounds of chemtech pumping through the pipes and wires, as well the twisting shifts of cogs and gears. He pushed on, carefully and quietly evading the moving targets. But his surprise increased as he realized that in the centre, things were different. There were actual big bright lights overhead, brightening the room, there were more machines and a pool table! And—

Ekko's eyes widened as he saw, just beside the new skeeball machine, a familiar looking minigun as well as a set of legs sticking out of the rear of the machine. Before he could even stop himself, the words left his mouth as he uttered in disbelief…

"Jinx?"

In one swift motion, the woman shot out from under the machine, swiped her minigun off the floor and trained it right at him. Ekko had his hand on his Z-Drive and his other holding his clocktower bat with a fierce grip. Their eyes locked as Jinx's Pow-Pow began to spin up. Jinx shot him a smirk as she tilted her head to the right, letting her bangs fall. "Little Man! How ya been?"

He narrowed his eyes, adjusting his stance more cautiously. "What are you doing here, Jinx?"

She furrowed a confused brow. "What does it look like? I'm fixin' stuff!" she nodded her head toward the machine.

"Why are you here?" he asserted.

"Uhh, because I'm fixing stuff? Duh?" She looked at him incredulously. "Why are you here?" she challenged.

"Patrol. Kinda caught me off guard seeing this place all patched up," he fished out, gauging at her reaction.

To his surprise, she only sighed and facepalmed, entirely letting her hand go from her weapon to express her annoyance. "I knew I should've set up the damn keypad," she muttered. She looked back at him and grabbed her gun, making a shooing motion with it as she said, "Not that this hasn't been fun, but can ya… y'know, scram?"

He blinked at her, almost feeling a sense of offence. Pardoning the fact that she had never done something like this before… there was also another reason. "Really? You just act like you can waltz into this place and kick me out?"

She blinked back at him, befuddled. "Uhhh, yeah?"

Ekko growled at her. "What's your game here, Jinx?"

She snorted, dropping her stance completely as she gestured to the machine beside her. "Skeeball? Or do ya mean the other ones?" She skirted around the other side of the machine and pointed eagerly toward the pool table. "I-I got pool! It doesn't have all the balls but eh," she shrugged, turning back to Ekko with a casual smile, "I'll get around to it."

How.. how could she be so…

No.

If he let her jerk him around they'd be talking in circles all night.

He needed to press harder.

"What's been going on with you?"

She tilted her head. "Whattya mean?"

"The rumours 'round town. You've been causing quite a stir. But strangely enough, not much has been blowing up or been shot at. Least not in your typical way." He leaned back a bit, taking a casual stance as he scoffed. "Imagine my surprise when I hear word on the street is that you've been playing lapdog for the Barons."

Jinx snorted, devolving into a cackle as her body shook. "Y-You serious? You think I'm puttin' myself under those wannabe snobs?" She blew a raspberry and waved her hand. "They wish!"

Ekko scowled, despite the fact she couldn't see it, and narrowed his head at her. "So what's the story then?"

She shrugged. "Call it a partnership." She impishly smirked as his open annoyance. "Needed some coins, and a good outlet to put my skill set to use! I do the occasional bounty or odd job, they put some hexes and cogs on my plates!" She shuddered. "Not that I'm eating coins. Tried that once—didn't taste so good."

At her giggle, Ekko stared at her in disbelief. "You're… you're really working for them?"

She groaned, throwing her head back. "No! I just told you! It's a partnership! They're the only spineless trenchers I can count on to gimme a decent reward while also listening to my fantastic suggestions!"

"And what suggestions are you offering?" he shot back.

"Only that they let me do all the fun shootin'," Jinx remarked, "or else I might… blow some things out of proportion for them." She smirked impishly.

Ekko stared at her in disbelief as he tried to process the meaning of her words. That was the kind of smirk she had when she was talking about threatening people with her bombs. "Are you saying you threatened them into paying you for doing their dirty work?"

Jinx gaped at him in awe. "Thank you! Everytime I explain it, people make it sound so complicated!" She applauded him.

"Why didn't you just kill them!" he shouted at her, "Then take their money for yourself after that!"

She scoffed. "Like that would save the precious Zaun you endear in that saviour complex head of yours," she snarked.

He bristled at that. "So what? You just let them live after threatening to spite me?" he gestured to himself.

"No! 'Cause unlike you, Little Man," she sneered, "I know how complicated those wannabe snobs are. You're talking to someone who's upset the natural balance of politics based off 'splodin' shit—twice. I know a thing or two 'bout the consequences of doing that."

His anger faded ever so briefly at her words. Her smugness threw him for a loop. With a bitter laugh, he shook his head. "I'm surprised you understand that killing people is wrong."

Jinx snorted once again. "I never said that. I just know killin' those Baron Bastards won't solve anything. Like 'em or not, Janna's Little Saviour, the only good you do is keepin' kids out of their crummy lil' hands."

He stared at her, confusion winning over his face. What was she on about? He mustered a small, unamused smirk as he mused, "Did you just compliment me?"

Her bravado of being an annoyance stopped as she stilled, gripping her biceps as she shrunk in on herself. "Don't read into that, asshole. Better than those sumprats out there getting swept up in Shimmer."

"Says the woman who's literally pumping it in her blood," he sniped.

She chuckled bitterly. "You're kidding yourself if ya think I had any say in that." Her eyes were downcast, looking toward the floor. A quick breath and she was looking back at him, smiling as she placed her hands on her hips. "Again, not that this hasn't been fun, but could ya get the fuck out?" she said in a polite tone completely offset from her words.

Ekko sighed. She wasn't making a move to attack or aim at him, but he got the sense that if he pushed further she would. But… he had questions. Many questions. And she barely answered one of them. He internally scoffed. Who was he kidding? He really wanted to ask about one thing and one thing only. Biting the bullet, he readied himself for an attack as he narrowed his eyes and barked out, "What're you doing with those kids!"

He watched as Jinx's eyes widened, her posture dropping all semblance of aggression. She looked at him with… pleading eyes? "Ekko," his heart froze, "please. Just… don't bring them into this."

She… she hadn't called him Ekko since a little while after Vander died. She'd already been corrupted by Silco but the night they reunited, the night he learned she was too far gone? It was the last time he'd ever have heard her call him his name. Boy Saviour—for when they were younger, Janna's Little Saviour, Little Man, Firetwerp, basically any other nickname to the point where he honestly thought she forgot his name.

But here, he was seeing a semblance of someone he hadn't thought of in a long time.

A little blue haired girl with a bright mind.

He shook his head, reevaluating the madwoman before him. That kind of hesitation would have cost him—it had cost him before. But this time? She didn't act on it. She stood there, still staring at him pleadingly. Like… like she was sincere. He had a feeling he'd regret this decision… but he still did it anyway. He released his hold on his Z-Drive and lowered his bat, letting a sigh fall as moved his hand to his mask. In one swift motion, he pulled off his mask and cowl, letting his hair free as he revealed his skeptical expression.

"Talk," he demanded.

She gulped, and darted her eyes around. It must've been those voices she heard. Shaking her head, she muttered, "Shuttup." She took a deep breath, clenching her hands, almost as if she was recentering herself, before lowering a steady gaze at him. "Whattya want to know?" she asked in a low voice.

He furrowed a brow, surprised by her cooperation. "You take 'em?"

She scoffed, amused. "Off the streets? Yeah," she shrugged. "Eh, technically an alley." She giggled.

He tightened his grip on his bat. "What're your plans with them?"

Jinx brightened at that. She took a step back and gestured all around them. "This. For now."

He blinked. "Wh-What?"

"Yeesh, and I thought ya were smart," she muttered, shaking her head. "Why do ya think I'm fixin' this place?"

Was she… was she being serious? He stared at her, baffled. How could he decipher this… this perplexing and infuriating person before him? "You're fixing this place… for them?"

Jinx beamed at him. "Call me a proud parent, Little Man."

A twisted feeling churned up in his stomach at the thought. He looked at her, aghast, horrified. "No fucking way," he blurted out.

She gasped, offended. "What's that supposed to mean!"

"The… The rumours are true?" he uttered softly.

Jinx scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Should be, haven't been exactly subtle walking around with them."

Ekko stepped back, a wave of nausea hitting him. Her? A mother? This… menace? This mass murderer? The idea of that little girl using her gun to kill innocents… the colour drained from his face at that.

"What?" He looked up at her, noticing her glare. "The thought of me with kids makes ya sick to your stomach?" She chuckled. "Don't lose your lunch over it, Mister Saviour. Or are ya just sick 'cause ya realized you missed out on saving two more kids?"

He clenched his teeth, recentering himself as he glared back. "That why you took 'em? So you could lord it over me?"

Jinx's glare faltered as she dropped her smugness, slowly shaking her head. "I… it's hard to say."

He furrowed his brow. "What?"

"I said, it's hard to say, okay?" she shouted, stomping her foot. "I-I can't just… explain why I took 'em in. I just… I did." She grabbed her arms again and looked down. A small sigh escaped her. "They were the ones responsible for the plaza bombing Topside."

His eyes widened at that. He heard about that awhile back. Topside was in a bit of a tizzy over it, but he never could've devoted much manpower into investigating anything on their end since most of them thought it was Jinx anyways. From the reports of what'd he heard on the news radio and in the papers, Ekko knew it wasn't Jinx. Still, the loose whispers he caught from the incident was that Sevika's crew was on the payroll, that the bombing was a distraction. If that was the case… did that mean—

"They weren't working for Sevika," Jinx interrupted his thoughts. "I mean, they were working for her, but not working for her, working for her." She giggled, running her hand through her right braid. "They blew up that rooftop near the market district and lost some supplies so they tried robbing Shimmer from The Last Drop, the ogre caught 'em, liked what they could do, and wanted to use 'em as a distraction for a job. I was… I was already looking for the copycat myself so when I saw the bombing Topside I chased the boy back here.

"Basically led me right to his partner. He and her, they… they were 'bout to get jumped by some bums. I saw 'em and…" she stopped, looking down at her hands. "I dunno. I scared off the bums. Then I found out 'bout all the Sevikki shit and… I thought taking 'em in was the best way for them to lay low. To keep outta the ogre's sights to 'til it all blew over." She tilted her head up and laughed softly. "I… I didn't expect to… to love 'em soooo much."

Ekko's heart stilled at those words.

No.

Fucking.

Way.

This was a sick joke, right?

He laughed.

Ekko couldn't help himself. Jinx. The Loose Cannon of Zaun. Loved children. It was goddamn comical! Janna herself must've been laughing at the idea! He was holding his stomach, vibrating with joyous laughter; he hadn't processed Jinx's movements. In a flash of a flicker light, he was suddenly pushed against the wall. The wind knocked out of him for a moment, he blinked and realized Jinx had him pinned against the wall, hands to his shoulders as she gritted her teeth at him.

"Ya think that's fucking funny?" she growled out.

Shit.

Watching her hands slide up toward his neck, Ekko quickly pushed off Jinx with his boot straight to her stomach. As soon as the space between them opened up, his hand flew toward his Z-Drive handle.

And then he pulled.

‹‹EKKO‹‹

Jinx tilted her head up and laughed softly. "I… I didn't expect to… to love 'em soooo much."

Ekko let out a breath, trying to collect himself, but it was too late, Jinx's eyes were on him.

"You reset," she stated. Not a question, but an accusation.

He cursed quietly before raising his hands. "I did something to piss you off," he admitted, putting the cards on the table. "Let's not do this," he pleaded, knowing she was about to ask about it, "please?"

She narrowed her eyes before scoffing. "Just poured my heart out for ya, Little Man, now what?" She raised her hands and dropped them to her sides, motioning the floor was his.

Ekko kept his hands up as he bit his lip, thinking.

She was really serious about this. Or at least, easily triggered by it. Making light about it could set something off and with all the chemtech in here he didn't want to risk an explosion. Not since this district was still populated. Even if Jinx was on some new "kid friendly path", he doubted there was much room for caring about innocents being caught up in her rage spells. But seeing her talk about them, about what happened…

"THIS SIDE I'VE SEEN OF HER?" he remembered Jericho's big proud grin. "I THINK IT'S MY FAVOURITE ONE YET."

He took a deep breath, clenching his fists.

Was he really about to do this?

"I want answers," he began. "None of this Jinxy style shit, I mean actual answers. About what's happened, what you've been doing."

Jinx tapped her foot impatiently as she rolled her neck around. "Fiiine," she groaned. "But not here, not today," she asserted, raising a finger. "I gotta work on this. And you've already overstayed your welcome."

Ekko scoffed. "I built this place too, y'know?"

She nodded. "I remember," she softly replied. "But it's not either of our places anymore." He looked at her with confusion but she waved her hand. "Ya wouldn't get it. And there's no time to explain. I gotta hurry and get as much done as I can so I can cook dinner for them."

He had half a mind to comment about her cooking but decided not to, for his better judgment. He jerked his thumb behind him. "Jericho's? Tomorrow?"

"Noon," she nodded.

It was neutral ground. It'd look weird as Hell to anyone watching, but they could talk. And if Jinx didn't mind people knowing, then they could talk openly.

Ekko nodded back. "Goes without saying, but I'll come alone." She hummed her acknowledgement before turning back to her skeeball machine. Taking that as his sign to leave, he made his way over to the practice range, pulling on his cowl and mask as he walked.

"Ekko?" He stopped and turned toward her. Her eyes squinted at him as she frowned. "If you tell anyone 'bout what I told you… 'bout them being the bombers responsible for the plaza up Topside and that market incident, I'll burn that fucking treehouse of yours in seconds. The rest of your home?" She smirked, tilting her head. "An hour will do."

He turned back and walked out, thankful for his mask. For the fear that struck his eyes at her warnings was something even he couldn't hide, not for a moment.

He had to hold out hope that tomorrow would be worth it.

—JINX—

Seeing Ekko again… it was, strange.

Jinx walked back home in a bit of a daze, absentmindedly strolling through the tunnels. She managed to finish the skeeball machine, but making sure it ran consistently had to be a task for another day. And then there was the lighting. She still had so much to do. But now? Now she had to worry about Ekko. Worry about his motives, about his questions, his prodding and skepticism.

HE'LL TAKE THE KIDS!

"He could try," she amusedly remarked, turning into another tunnel.

They wouldn't go.

Not because of any lovey dovey reason, but because Jinx already knew their stance on the Firelights. One night, the Zaun News Radio mentioned a squad of Firelights breaking up a big drunken brawl near town centre and that sparked a conversation. The kids didn't think much of them, mostly chalked them up to a last resort if things got really tough. In the end, they just didn't mesh with their entire anti-Shimmer policy. And since Zel's undermines had them, and they used it medicinally in the past before—for Evi's leg—they figured they'd clash too much.

Honestly, Zel put it more lightly. Evi had said, "That Saviour thinks he's rescuing Zaun but he's just denying what Zaun really is."

Which, Jinx didn't exactly agree with.

At least… not until recently.

Fighting for Zaun's future? Maybe she didn't give a shit about all that. But the future of her kids? Maybe she could see why it was worth doing. Zaun was more than what she thought it was, or maybe… it had more than she thought. Not scrap or material wise. But people wise. Those types of feelings, the way Zel and Evi impacted her, it made Jinx consider a bigger picture. Working with Chem-Barons, learning to cook, doing interior decorating—she was seeing bigger now. Seeing Ekko again? In the arcade of all places? It should've triggered a lot more than Mylo saying,

DON'T TELL HIM!

Yeah, that.

She shook her head and sighed. She had a gut instinct that telling Ekko, going clean with it all out in the open, was necessary. Seeing his insistence, she had a sense he knew or suspected more than he was letting on. But Jinx wanted to be done with it. She just wanted to focus on her kids, and that was all. If talking about a bit with Janna's Little Saviour would mean he'd back off, then she'd gladly accept.

Jericho's was a good option too.

She hoped he'd have her back. After all, he met the kids! Easily biased to put their best interests at heart!

She didn't have to care about that now, she had two kids to celebrate with! Jinx had passed by the tunnel entrance near the market district and hadn't seen the kids, which meant they made their way back all on their own.

Arriving at the small hidden crevice, Jinx slipped right through and casually made her way over to the vault door. After entering the code, the door swung open. With a wide grin, she stepped in and was ready to announce herself but was startled by a loud sparklingly explosion. A sparky noise that was much louder and crackly than Zel's usual tinkering. Caution screamed at her as she quickly shut the door and ran down the turbine, shouting, "Brats? What was that!" She gripped at the railings as she looked down at their fan blades.

She watched the two, gathered at Zel's workshop area, look up at her and wave. "Jinx!" the two shouted. There was green sparks dissipating in the air around them along with plumes of smoke. But they looked unharmed.

"Come down!" came Zel's voice.

"Ya gotta see this!" shouted Evi.

Jinx breathed out a relieved sigh. They didn't sound in danger. They sounded excited, if anything. "Gimme a sec!" she announced as she shouldered off guns at her desk. She made her way down the ladder in an aptly time, swinging out from the door with curiosity coursing through her. "Alright, alright," she said, making her way over "what's all the hoopla 'bout?"

She took a scan of the two, and felt something was off. Not with Evi, but Zel. He looked covered in grease, ash, and other dirt, but that wasn't too different from a usual session of tinkering. She couldn't place it yet, and opted to sit on a vacant box as the boy explained.

"So," Zel spoke, cracking his voice. As she and Evi snickered, he cleared his throat, elbowing his sister. "So, I-I wanted to get started on breaking in my new tools. An-And Evi wanted to get to practicing with your—her gun, and well, that got me thinking about inventing stuff for me," he explained as he walked over to his desk and grabbed a small silver spinning top-like orb. It was pulsing with green lights around its rims and edges, and with Jinx's experience, she could hear it vibrating with a live battery. He tossed it up and down as Evi handed him a slingshot with a circular ring as its top. "I thought I could use my own long distance weapon. But guns aren't up my alley, so…"

In one swift motion, he spun around and loaded the green ball-like battery into his slingshot and pulled it back, aiming toward the cavern walls. He released it and Jinx watched as it flew, the ball sparked with green electricity and spun, separating into two halves as they rotated fast. The collision against the rocks created a plume of green and ashy smoke, with a brief interval of green sparks shooting off.

Jinx whistled in awe as she applauded him. "Well, shit, I'll be Rookie, that was impressive!"

Evi grinned as she gave her partner a commemorative slap to his shoulder. "Th-Thanks."

"It uses chemtech?" she guessed.

Zel nodded. "A small sliver. The battery feeding off it is what makes it fuse together, but the chemtech is what gives its kick." He grabbed another one from his desk and tossed it to her.

Jinx looked it over and whistled once again. It wasn't soldered or screwed shut or anything. It was fused together by the electricity! "So it's always on?" she asked, receiving a nod. "How did it activate and pull apart when it flew?"

"When it launches from this ring," he waved his slingshot, "the magnetic coating diffuses the charge temporarily."

She grinned, piecing it together. "So when it's in flight and powered off that's how it separates," she gave it another once over as she explained, "but then it powers on immediately and sends the chem capsule inside a charge and that's how the circuit still functions even when it's separated like that."

"Exactly!"

"Yeesh that's the fourth time it was explained and I still don't get it," Evi muttered.

"Boy's a genius, nothing new," Jinx teased, enjoying the way he blushed.

Evi smirked. "Oh I know! 'Cause, well, that's not the only thing he did." She nudged him eagerly, making the boy gasp in excitement before running off to his workshop desk while she ran past Jinx. "Ya see, we both were really thankful for today," she explained as she returned with her practice dummy, setting it up on in front of Zel's desk, "Between eating out together—"

"Getting my tools—"

"And ya giving me your gun." Evi sheepishly shrugged, smiling at Jinx. "We had a cool idea." Zel returned with his hands behind his back and a big dopey grin on his face.

Jinx just smiled at the two. "Brats, I told ya, ya don't have to—"

"We thought you could use a new one!" Zel excitedly finished. He pulled his hands from behind his back and held out a gun. It was much smaller than her usual pistol, but coated in gold with the exception of a glass tube running through its barrel and two more protruding out from the hammer. Inside, she noticed a coil running through it to the other end, while the rear tubes had two coils that were illuminated blue. Jinx stared at it as Zel placed it in her palm and backed away. "Give it a go."

Jinx stood up and gave the gun another once over. She could tell the electricity running through this was strong. She brought her finger down on its trigger, aiming at the fake body. She took a shot and watched as an arc of blue electricity flew out at the body. As it hit, the entire mannequin convulsed for a couple seconds before ceasing, with smoke singing around it. Jinx cackled as she looked at the gun once again. "That was awesome!" she cheered.

"Zel built it," Evi announced.

"B-But E came up with the idea! And coated it with the paint! An-And the name! Tell her!" he excitedly shook the blonde's shoulder.

"Zapper," she softly said.

Jinx's eyes widened at that. Zapper. "Heh, that's a good name, E… a good name."

It was perfect.

She gave the gun a quick twirl on her finger before holstering it on her thigh. "This is just… wow!" She rushed forward and hugged the two, squeezing them so much. These freaking kids. "I-I can't… ya made all this? I wasn't gone that long, was I?"

"A little bit," Zel shrugged. "And honestly, we found our way back so quickly I just had to get started."

"Shoulda seen him," Evi smiled, "Sparks flying all over, running around for parts, he was in the zone!"

Zel flushed at that. "Your gun is what gave me the idea for the pulse bombs, so after I finished it was hard not to—"

Jinx gasped. "'Pulse bombs'?" She pulled away and chuckled, looking between the two with excitement. "By Janna, did the Rookie finally come up with a cool name?" Evi snickered as the boy rolled his eyes. "Nah, I'm serious, Zel, that's a great name."

As he sheepishly rubbed his head, Jinx realized what was off with him: his goggles were gone. "Hey, Rook, where's your goggles?" she tilted her head curiously.

He frowned at that. Rifling through his back pocket, he pulled them out and showed her. "First couple tests with the pulse bombs were… a bit much. They got busted." That was a kind way to put it. The actual lens had been cracked wide open and the band was snapped.

Jinx stepped toward him, grabbing his face as she observed him. "You're good though, right? Nothing hit ya in the eye or whatever?"

"I'm fine, Jinx," he chuckled, gently moving her hands off his face. "They did their job. They protected my face."

She stepped back and frowned at him. "Nah, this won't do. Come with me," she waved the two to follow her to the elevator. They exchanged a look before following.

"J-Jinx, you really don't need to give me yours," Zel insisted.

"I'm not," Jinx replied as they all hopped in. She leaned over and flicked the lever, sending the three upward. "Having 'em is good for safety. Your eyes are the most important thing in inventing and art. It's how ya see shit. I ain't gonna let ya run around without a good pair."

Once they reached the top, Jinx ran over to her desk and sifted through her drawers. Ever since the tea party incident, there wasn't much she took with her after that. She did her deed then left. She couldn't take her Mylo doll or Vander's gauntlets. Only small things. Claggor's goggles, Vander's pipe, Vi's bunny. Even in all that agony and disarray, she knew she wouldn't be able to come back there. Not just because of Piltover's Finest, but because the memories would be even worse now.

But she didn't care about that right now. Doing this… it felt right. Maybe it was because she just saw Ekko, maybe it was because she was just at the arcade, or maybe it was just because the excitement of them making her a gun was pumping her. She grabbed the goggles and popped the lens out. The years passing had made it easy to do so. Zel only needed the frame itself, he could do the rest. Turning back, she approached the boy and held it out to him with a smile.

"Ya can patch this on your own right? Make 'em like mine," she pointed to her desk. "Less glass lens, more of a protective enclosure?"

Zel nodded. "I-I can!" As he grabbed it, Jinx adjusted her grip and held onto it firmly, making him lock eyes with her. "J-Jinx?"

"This was my brother's…" she gently told him. "His name was Claggor."

His eyes widened at that, the realization setting in. They knew her past, knew what she'd done. He looked to Evi, but Jinx kept her eyes on him. But she wanted the sentiment to stick.

"I'm giving you this for the same reason I gave E my gun—to protect ya. But this?" she shook the goggles, "carries a lot more meaning to me. I—"

"Jinx," Zel brought his other hand over, clasping it around the goggles delicately. "I'll take good care of them." He smiled.

At that, she couldn't help but smile back. "I know ya will," she softly said as she stepped back. "Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go start up dinner! It's getting late."

"Wait!" Evi stepped forward, drawing the woman back to her. "So now that I've got your gun and Zel's got his pulse bombs, can we go out tomorrow morning and do some aim practice?" she pleaded, shooting her a set of doe eyes. Zel quickly followed suit, pouting his lip along with her.

Jinx giggled, warmed by the two's excitement. "Sure thing, brats! Make sure ya find a good scrap heap to play in."

They exchanged a fist bump before Evi turned back with a confused look. "Wait, you're not coming?"

"Nah. After all, y'all know how to find your way back, huh?" She winked. "I got business shit to do tomorrow anyways." She shrugged.

"Barons?" Zel guessed.

"Nope. An…" Jinx's lips grew into a fond smile. "An old friend." The two shared a curious look. But Jinx thought on her next idea. There should be no problem with them being around, right? She looked at the two with an excited grin. "Actually, we're meeting up for lunch at Jericho's tomorrow. So if you two want to stop by, feel free!"

"Really?" they asked together.

She nodded, placing her hands on their shoulders. "Really. I'll give ya the ammo tomorrow before we leave," she told Evi, "And you should work on more of those pulse bombs of yours. Make as many as ya can carry so ya have plenty to practice with." She pulled away and walked over to the kitchen area. Raising a finger, she added, "Oh and make a list of the supplies ya need to make those things! I wanna know too incase I need to resupply ya!"

"Will do!"

"Thanks Jinx!"

The two rushed back to the elevator, hopping on and descending with visible joy. She could see from her spot on the kitchen wing, the way they talked animatedly with each other.

She smiled at them.

Ekko could go screw himself, these kids and her were not separating for anything. And she wasn't going to beat herself up over it if he wasn't convinced after tomorrow.

—EVI—

Jinx's gun kicked.

She had warned that much before they left. Once they woke up and ate, Jinx gave her a quick run down on how to handle firearms. The safety, keeping your finger off the trigger, all that jazz. She was surprised at first at Jinx's discipline but she was quick to inform her she didn't really have much of that growing up and it caused a lot of accidental kills, so that was why she was warning Evi now. Jinx's pistol could hold up to twenty rounds and had a revolver-like chamber for its magazine. She told her the kick was strong, but over the years, the muzzle flash and smoke was what was hard to deal with.

"A good technique to try is to adjust and change your sights after firing so the smoke trail doesn't block your aim!"

Evi managed to only hit five cans today. Out of fifteen.

With a frustrated sigh, she grabbed another set of bullets from her new fanny pack and started loading them into her gun, staring down the lineup of cans resting on some scrap of metal.

A crackling sound emitted behind her and then—a loud explosion of dissipating electricity and chemtech occurred. She groaned and turned round.

Another random device destroyed by Zel's new pulse bombs.

"Hah! That's twenty for me now!" Zel cheered, running toward his target. "Damn, I'm gonna need to find more appliances to shoot at this rate!" He looked at Eiv with a smug grin.

She scowled. "This competition was stupid," she muttered.

"Your idea," he shrugged, tossing a pulse bomb up and down from his hand. With his new gear, Zel now had to carry his backpack with undermines, but also another satchel around his waist to store his pulse bombs. Evi feared it made him slower, not with much to carry but the way those items dragged when running, but Zel said, "We don't run anymore."

And he was right.

They were doing this to show their worth to Jinx. They could handle shooting and launching bombs with percision. It just took practice. With new found vigor, the blonde turned back toward her targets and lined up her sights. She took a shot and whiffed completely, the bullet flying way overhead the cans and into the towers of scrap in the distance.

"Heh, maybe we should call it a quits for today?" Zel lightly suggested.

Evi scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You haven't been fuckin' missing your shots all mornin'!" she complained. She took another two shots, watching as the first just barely went over a can and the last nailing it right off the platform. She groaned, stomping her foot.

"We've been at this all morning," he pointed out, "maybe it's time for a break? Jinx said she her meeting thing was lunchtime, and it looks like it's 'bout noon." He glanced up at the sky, his new goggles decently protecting his eyes and he looked toward the sun's position. "C'mon, maybe getting some food in your stomach will help. We can come back after."

Eiv sighed, nodding. It was like her practicing on the doll. She couldn't just keep going without rest or refills. She did need a break. "Usually getting my mind off frustrating shite like this involves punching," she mused as she unloaded the bullet from the gun's chamber and turned on its safety. Slotting the bullet into one of her new fanny pack's bullet loops.

"And here you are without a dummy to punch," Zel teased.

"Wouldn't say I'm completely dummy-less," she shot back.

"Now, now, E, mirrors don't count."

She snorted, slinging her fist at his shoulder as the two laughed. As they made their way out of the trash heaps, and into the public streets, Zel lifted his goggles up to his forehead. "You liking 'em?" she asked.

He nodded. "It feel a lot better than my olds ones." He managed to style the lens practically the same way as Jinx's, a small slit for the glass but the rest was the same shielding prefect for protection against welding. Or at least, that was what both he and Jinx said when they looked it over last night before heading to bed. Jinx seemed proud of it, of him.

"Ya think she has other stuff like that?" she asked.

"From her past? With her family?" he guessed.

She nodded. It had piqued her curiosity for a bit. But she didn't really have a hankering to ask about it, not in fear of upsetting Jinx or anything, but because she wasn't entirely that curious. People's pasts were something to move on from, and staying with Jinx made Evi realize that more often. Still, Zel was wearing something that belonged to Jinx's brother. He had to have some thoughts on it.

"I dunno, I don't think so." He shrugged as they slipped past a cart carrying cages of Poros. They could've gone on the rooftops, but walking toward the market district from here was something they rarely ever did, and it was a good change of pace. It was also a way of showing Zaun they weren't scared to walk without Jinx. That was how Evi felt about it anyway. "It's weird," Zel flicked his finger to the goggles, "knowing I'm wearing something her brother wore."

Evi chuckled. "Sometimes I think that's the part that surprises me the most."

"That she had a brother?"

"That she had siblings," she corrected. "I mean… I dunno, she gave an only child vibe, but then again, I don't really know anyone who has siblings."

She looked at Zel and noticed he had a contemplative look on his face. It worried her for a second, like she had said something to offend him, but before she could say anything a round of echoing laughter and cheering startled the two. She noticed from their surroundings, all eyes were looking above them. And that was when Evi saw it.

Just atop the roofs, was a billboard advertising the Zaunite Ring Fights. Across its face, was Jinx's typical graffiti of monkeys. But it was being… vandalized? Evi and Zel stepped back and watched as a gang of people stood on the billboard's platform, spray painting over Jinx's work with lame insults like, CRAZY BITCH, or LOONEY FREAK!

Seeing them up there.

Doing that.

Evi just snapped.

"Hey assholes!" she shouted.

"E—"

"Get the fuck off the billboard!"

The group seemed to notice her—as well as damn near everyone in the area—and stopped. A big burly guy looked down and scoffed. "What's it to ya, blondie?"

"If ya think graffiting over somethin' already graffitied is clever, you all might need another hour to think of a better joke," she shouted.

"Fuck off!" another of the group shouted.

Evi glared up at them. "I'm giving ya to the count of ten to step off."

"E, c'mon—"

"What? You're defending this crazy bitch's work?"

Zel stopped and turned. "Don't call her that!"

The group exchanged looks while the burly guy laughed and crouched down. "Who're you, her fanclub?"

Evi gritted her teeth.

They were her kids.

They were her kids.

They were her kids.

Say it!

"Come on down and find out, assholes!" she shouted.

That sparked the reaction she wanted. Seconds later, the group had made their way down and the two got a good luck at their numbers. About five bums, who were clearly drunk, and maybe twice their height? Evi scoffed. They've dealt with worse. The entire street had backed away now, all watching attentively as the five began to circle around the two.

"E," Zel whispered, finding his back to hers.

"Zel just stay—"

"No, I'm with you," he hissed. She spared a glance at him, watching as he lowered his goggles on. "Don't do anything stupid."

She smirked, turning back to the surrounding gang. "And don't do anythin' slow," she finished, bringing her hand down to her right thigh, gripping her gun's handle.

"Wait a minute," one of them mumbled, "these sumprats are The Loose Cannon's brats!"

A sense of pride instilled in her as she chuckled. "Exactly. So we can't exactly just let you assholes get away with what ya did."

The big burly guy stopped circling, staring right at her with a few metres between them. He held his hands out and scoffed. "Yeah? Well what are yo—"

In one swift motion, Evi flicked the safety off, pulled her gun out and aimed right at the man.

A shot rang out and the crowd screamed, all ducking as the man's body fell to the ground, a bullet hole right square in his chest.

"Nice," Zel laughed, "ya got him!" He pulled out his slingshot and pulse bomb and fired, managing to hit a guy and causing him to spasm on the ground.

Three guys left.

Evi crouched down and grabbed her knife from her boot as another burly one rushed at her. She pushed forward, shoulder checking him back then following with a kick with her left prosthetic leg to his stomach, sending him right to the ground. One more came at her, but she was too fast, ducking under his punch, she swept her knife right up at his forearm. A big gash and spurt of blood flew as he screamed in pain, but Evi had already kicked his shin, sending him to the ground. She turned toward the burly man a few feet away from her and shot at him, missing his body by a few inches but scaring him nonetheless.

She clicked her teeth in annoyance, holstering her gun before turning back and kicking the guy before her right in the face. His body went limp and she smirked. She looked toward Zel and gasped.

The last guy had him in a headlock, and was aimlessly punching the boy in the face. "Zel!" she shouted, but before she could run to his aid, the burly man from before returned and yanked her back by the collar of her shirt, spinning her right into his fist. She recoiled from the shock but stayed on her feet, ignoring the blood dripping from her nose as she was ready to dodge his next punch. As it flew toward her, she sidestepped and jabbed at his gut, causing him to wince and fall to his knees. She gripped his head and kneed his face with her left leg, busting his nose and sending him back.

She spun back to Zel, just in time to see him twist out of the man's headlock and slap a pulse bomb right to his face, causing his whole body to convulse. He fell and writhed on the ground before her partner as he kicked his face. "Assshole," he muttered, rubbing his neck.

Sharing a lookin, the two smirked and walked up to each other, exchanging a quick fist bump before turning to the only conscious guy left, who was holding his stomach and nose in pain.

"Fuckin'... fucking freaks," he spat out, blood dripping from his mouth. He reached around his back and pulled out a knife, not too different in size from Evi's.

She looked at his pathetic state and scoffed as he tried to stand up. "Hey, this was a warning," Evi asserted, staring him down as twirled her knife in her hand. "I wouldn't make the same mistake twice."

With a withered groan, he dropped the weapon and ran, hobbling out into the alleys.

The crowd turned away and erupted into murmurs as she and Zel continued walking. He rubbed at his bruised cheeks as she wiped her nose from the blood. Certainly wasn't the worst they had for injuries. When Zel chuckled, she looked at him, puzzled. "What's so funny?"

"I'm just surprised you managed to hit someone with your gun."

"Oh fuck off."

—EKKO—

"YOU BETTER REALLY HEAR HER OUT, LITTLE MAN!"

Ekko sighed, nodding as he held his hand up placatingly. "I know, I know. I will." He smirked up at the man before taking a bite of his fried fish. "You better make sure she doesn't kill me."

"SHE WON'T!" he confidently told him.

Ekko frowned at that, wanting to believe his friend. He hadn't told Scar and everyone else the entirety of yesterday, but he did tell them that he had a meeting with Jinx at Jericho's. He said he was going to confront her about the rumours and that he wasn't to be followed by anyone. Scar had protested profusely but he reminded his lieutenant that out of everyone in their group, he was the only one who stood a match to Jinx. Any reinforcements would be just fodder to her.

But he told them.

"I… I wanna hear her out."

He meant it. Just like yesterday, he meant that too, he wanted actual answers. He just hoped she'd be straight with him.

"Sorry if I was late!" he jumped, hand on his weapon as he looked to his left. Over at the other end of the stall, sat Jinx. She was turned toward him, left arm resting on the counter as she leaned on it, but her kit was the same? Well, except for a new gun of hers on her left thigh. "I wanted to work on the arcade a bit 'fore coming here."

He pointed his chin down at her new gun. "What's that? A replacement for the one you gave to the girl?"

Jinx shrugged. "Guess so. Didn't really need one but the kids made it for me anyways!"

His eyes widened. "They made that?"

"Well, Zel—the cute lil' boy—did." She tilted her head and dropped into a low whisper, "Shouldn't surprise ya considering what else I told ya he's capable of." She pulled back and smiled. "But Evi—the cute lil' blonde—came up with the name! Zapper!" she said as she pulled it out spinning it in her hand. "Aren't they the sweetest?"

"HEY!" Jericho barked.

Ekko breathed a relieved sigh, seeing it in her hand gave him unease.

"Relax! I was just showing it off," Jinx muttered, holstering it. "So, ya wanna talk, let's talk!"

He furrowed a brow. "Aren't ya gonna order first?"

She shook her head. "Told my kids I'd be here, so we're gonna eat together. I'll wait for them." She looked to Jericho, silently confirming if that was alright and he shot her a thumbs up. Ekko scoffed, he imagined the chef didn't have to worry about potential customers when both he and Jinx were at the stall. "So yeah, go on Ekko: talk."

He stared at her for a couple seconds. Then took a deep breath. Forget about Jinx. Forget about the Chem-Barons. This was about two kids. He had to make sure they were okay. "So you 'rescued' them from Sevika," he started, "why?"

Jinx's grin fell as she raised a brow. "I told ya—"

"No, I mean why save them? If they were the ones who did the—" her brows flared and he stopped himself from slipping, "then why did you care 'bout them getting caught by Sevika? In fact, why even save them from the bums that were about to jump them."

She frowned as she looked down at the empty seats between them.

She just stared.

Many seconds passed into what felt like a minute, and for someone who's dealt with time so much his patience was wearing thin.

But she just continued to stare.

"Dammit, Jinx, answer m—"

"I saw myself and Violet," she softly said.

Ekko gaped at her. Violet. It was never Violet. Fat Hands, Sis, rarely Vi, but Violet? He slumped his shoulders and watched as she smiled at the empty space between them.

"I saw those kids 'bout to get jumped in an alley full of grown ass adults and they looked scared. And suddenly I wasn't looking at them. I was looking at me and Violet on the bridge again, looking for anyone to help us." Jinx shrugged, her smile still beaming. "I had selfish reasons for chasing. I wanted to stop the copycat, sure," she quietly said. "But when I found out they were kids, that they were the same age as Vi and I… I just… I just wanted Zel to get the message he couldn't do it anymore.

"Then they told me they'd gladly stop if it meant I'd back off, but they still had to endure Sevika's wrath 'cause stopping meant they'd be no good for her and she'd want payback." She sighed, spinning toward the counter and dropping her hands on it flat. She tapped at it with her fingers. "So I offered my place. Temporarily. Just so they could lay low 'cause they had no home and—"

She took a breath, and it was then Ekko realized she was getting choked up a bit. She… she was about to cry?

"Evi has a prosthetic left leg," she quietly informed him, "From her knee all the way down. I patched it up, they told me their sob stories and… fuck. They've been on those streets for too long." She looked at Ekko and smiled at him. But now just any smile. Nothing mischievous. Nothing prankster like.

It was like Powder was smiling proudly at him.

"Now I get why ya do what ya do, Ekko," she told him. "They… they had some shitty hands dealt to them by Janna and… shit. I just wanted to hear their laughter for the rest of my life. Their smiles, the way they just eat food like absolute pigs—I want that to be my days for all time, y'know?"

Ekko, despite himself, despite the craziness of it all, nodded. He had plenty of parents in his ranks and under his protection. They all spoke about their kids the exact same way Jinx did. Was… was this for real?

"So what," he couldn't help his flat tone, "You just adopt some kids and suddenly you're a better person?"

"Better? Hell no." She snorted. "But I feel better. They… they make me want to be better. Not for all those uptight morally Enforcer reasons but for them. Better for them. And that's all that matters to me." She shrugged, clasping her hands together and letting her fingers intertwine. "The voices… they can't bother me as much anymore. Not with them around."

"So you keep 'em for yourself."

A slam on the counter startled the both of them. Jericho's fist was between the two and he was fixing the man a glare. Ekko sighed, nodding his understanding of the silent request. "Forget what I said," he muttered.

"Forget what?"

"That I—" he blankly stared at her as she stuck her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes. "You say you're better, or on the path or whatever but… going back to who you are? That's not something that can just happen," he asserted, narrowing his eyes. "You talk about them the way Powder did about anything back then, like gadgets and food itself. But…" he clenched his fists and looked down at his nearly finished food. "Last time I really saw Powder… was on that bridge when I had my weapon to her throat and I was beating her lights out." He turned to her and scowled. "You haven't been her ever since."

Without hesitation, she nodded, tilting her head to the left. "You're right Little Man," he stared at her in disbelief. "And wrong," she said as she tilted her head the other way. "Powder's just a young Jinx, Jinx is just an older Powder—I'm not the same me you know." She smiled at him, sitting her left elbow on the counter as she rested her cheek against her palm. "But only the names changed."

Seriously?

He scoffed. "A countless pile of fallen comrades beg to differ," he said before taking another bite of his meal.

Jinx shrugged. "The past is the past. I can't be caught up in it too much anymore. Hurts my head." She pulled her head off her palm and flicked it with her finger. "But also 'cause of them. They need me to look ahead so they have a future to look to."

He chewed on that thought.

Many in Zaun had that way of thinking. A lot of them, himself included, had done shitty things. Beating yourself up over everything was no way to live. Trying to do better than the last day was all that counted. This kind of talk… it was his words reserved for his people. He didn't know how to feel about them coming out of Jinx's mouth with a proud smile. She was speaking in a way he hadn't heard but also not, like she was still Jinx. That her Powder-Jinx point was actually real. Was Jinx really just Powder all this time? Was he really still fighting his old friend for all these years?

He looked to Jericho and nearly did a double take at the fishman's proud smile at her. He seemed to take it earnestly. And Jericho was a good judge of character, biases be damned. Ekko looked down at his meal and sighed. He was losing his appetite over this. This… woman who killed so many of his people, innocents and fighters, and he was eating with her over conversational talk about her "children". Zel and Evi. Two kids she talked about like they were all she needed.

"Oh, and speaking of the future," Jinx announced, startling his thoughts as she shot her hand up and waved past him.

Ekko turned and hitched his breath as the two kids from yesterday sprinted toward them. As they arrived at the stall, they slowed their approach, no doubt aware of his presence.

"The fuck?" The blonde—Evi—exclaimed. "Ya didn't mention your old friend was the leader of the Firelights!"

Old friend?

He looked at Jinx bewilderedly as she shrugged and gestured to the seats, letting the kids sit between them. Evi was the closest to him, but gave him a skeptical look. Was she in the campaign that hated the Firelights? Great. Giving her a once over, he noticed she really did look a bit like Powder, save for the hair and freckles, but he also noticed a bit of bruising on her nose. Curious, he looked over to Zel and froze.

While he did notice the bruising on the boy's cheek, he immediately noticed the set of goggles on his forehead.

They were Claggor's.

"Hey!" Jinx hissed, leaning toward the boy. She grabbed his chin and turned him toward her. "Evi, face me," she barked, making the blonde jump a bit before turning toward her. "Why're you two so bashed up?"

"This?" Zel scoffed, shaking his head despite Jinx's grip on his chin. "It's nothing."

'"Ya should see the other guys," Evi teased.

Jinx's eyes widened. "Plural? You two fought a gang?" she questioned in a stern voice.

The two froze at that. Ekko blinked out of his stupor. The boy even sounded a bit like Claggor, but had Mylo's hair. What… what was happening? He watched their exchange cautiously, fearful of Jinx doing… anything.

She leaned over and narrowed her eyes, inspecting their injuries more.

"J-Jinx, we're fine," Evi assured her. "Really, the other guys had a much worse time of it, honest!"

She sighed, shaking her head. "Not the issue, E." She turned to Jericho and snapped her fingers. "Make our usual to-go, pretty please!"

"Aw what?" the blonde whined.

"But we wanna eat here," the spiky haired boy argued.

Jinx frowned. "Jerry's tastes good in and out of the stall, ya know this. 'Sides, I gotta look over those injuries of yours." She strained her neck up and locked eyes with Ekko, making flinch a bit. "Mind if we cut this short? I gotta take 'em home."

"Jinx, we're fine—"

"We're going home, and that's final," the woman asserted, levelling a stern stare at the kids. They wilted under her gaze and nodded.

Ekko blinked.

That kind of tone, that serious and demanding speech, it… it reminded him of Vander. Janna, he was seeing all kinds of shit from their past today, huh? Maybe he was the one losing it.

"Whattya want with Jinx?" He shook himself out of his thoughts and looked at the blonde.

"I… I wanted to talk to her."

"We're not five," Zel amusedly pointed out, "saying vague shit like that won't make us go, 'Oh, okay!'"

He looked to Jinx, who was smirking at him.

Okay, he was seeing some resemblances here and was definitely not sure how to feel about that. "We're talking about you guys actually," he casually explained, slyly gauging Jinx's reaction. She didn't seem bothered by him admitting that.

"What?" Evi blinked.

"What for?" Zel asked.

"I was… concerned when I heard about Jinx rolling around with a pair of kids."

"You think she kidnapped us," Evi blankly accused.

Well, shit. He nodded. Leaning over, he whispered, "You can tell me. I can protect you and your friend."

Evi glanced back behind her and nodded, leaning toward him. "Nah, we're good."

He pulled back and stared at her, shocked. "Seriously?"

Evi chuckled. "First off, even if I did wanna leave how or why the fuck would I tell ya here? Or actually, why would you ask here! That's asking for more trouble!"

"I-I just, I wanted to—"

"Second, we don't need your saviour complex," she said with a frown. "We're happy with Jinx."

"Aww," the blue haired woman cooed, "I'm happy with ya too, Urchin!"

She rolled her eyes at that.

"'Sides," Zel chimed in, "We use Shimmer."

Ekko's eyes widened. "What."

He dug into his backpack and pulled out a bomb. It was a design he had never seen before but he could definitely see that it was Shimmer and it was a bomb. The kid tossed it up and down in his hand before slotting it back inside his pack. "E's used it for her leg before too," he added, pointing to the blonde.

She smiled brightly at that, shaking her left leg as she tilted her head. "It saved my life, if anythin'. Your group's whole anti-Shimmer policy isn't somethin' we really jive with so…" she trailed off, shrugging.

Ekko sighed. "You don't have to rely on those things anymore. We could take you in and make sure you don't ever have to do anything like this again."

The kids exchanged a look then looked to Jinx, before settling back at him.

"Nah we're good," Zel plainly announced.

"Yeah, Jinx has got us," Evi affirmed.

Ekko couldn't believe this. He'd have kids before who denied his help but never had he had it where they denied him for Jinx! He looked toward her, angry at her smug look. To Hell with it. "Do you know her past?" he asked them, "What's she capable of? What she's done?"

Jinx whistled, clicking her teeth as she shook her head. "Damn, that's a low blow, Ekko."

"You mean the fact that she kickstarted the whole of Zaun's independence? That she was Silco's daughter?" Zel shot back.

"Or what she did to her sister and brothers?" Evi guessed, staring at him with a scowl.

Ekko's heart stilled. Brothers? He didn't think he could ever recall—not even before everything changed—her referring to them as that.

"Gotta say, that's a shitty thing to do if you know her past and were 'bout to use it against her right here," Evi remarked.

Ekko scoffed. "Over the decade of shit she's done to me and my people? To Zaun? Revealing a bit of truth is hardly anything." He narrowed his gaze at Jinx.

"Eh, we know all 'bout that shite, Mister Saviour," Evi teased. "Doesn't change the fact we'd rather come back home to her every time."

Zel smirked, pumping his fist high. "Here, here!" he cheered.

Jinx's fond smile returned again and Ekko ignored it. He looked at the kids and chuckled. "So you willingly stay with her? Jinx? Are you sane?"

Zel snorted. "Of course we're not! We're staying with her!"

As the three of them erupted into a fit of laughter, Ekko sighed as he stepped off the stool. "Fine, if you two wanna stay with Crazy, far be it for me to take you away from her. But if you ever need my help, I'm willing to come."

The kids' laughter ceased immediately as they fixed glares at him. Janna, never had he been more startled by a child's stare. "Don't call her that," Zel sternly told him.

Evi scoffed. "'Preciate the offer, but again, fat chance of that, Mister Saviour."

Ekko shook his head, sighing again. "I know, but…" he looked to Jinx, who shrugged at him with an innocent face. "I had to try." He shot a two fingered salute and Jericho, thanking him for his meal and hospitality. As he pulled on his cowl and mask, the three collected their takeout food. But before they could head their separate ways, Jinx whistled for his attention.

He turned back and caught her devilish smirk.

"Ekko, don't know where this puts us and I don't know if I much care. I answered my piece and that's all I needed." She squinted at him challengingly. "Don't go you-know-where. I won't be bothering ya Firetwerps anymore anyways. Even if the Barons ask me to." She tilted her head. "Just leave the kids alone."

"Seriously, just like that?" he asked her. Earlier, he wouldn't have believed it, but now? Well, Hell who knew if up was still up anymore?

"Just like that," she easily answered. "Take care, Little Man!" she waved before turning around with her kids. The three walked off, heading toward an alleyway.

He hopped on his board and took to the sky.

He had some thinking to do.

—JINX—

She wasn't sure if she got through to Ekko.

Though frankly? She didn't care about that right now.

She knew for certain her threats and truce she offered did get to him. If there was one thing Jinx knew, it was that Ekko was as serious about his Firetwerps as she was about her brats. Which, speaking of… she looked over her shoulder and squinted skeptically at the two trailing behind her. They quickly averted their gazes, obviously advertising they were looking at her. Each was holding onto their respective takeout box for their meal, while Jinx tucked hers under her left arm.

She chuckled as the rounded a corner. "So… ya got question, I imagine?"

"Ya never said you were old friends with the leader of the Firelights," Evi pointed out.

Jinx shrugged. "Old friends was a kinda loose term. I think he is, but the feeling's not mutual." She smirked at the blonde. "I've… caused a lot of trouble for them over the decade so yeah."

"But why didn't you mention that?" Zel asked.

Jinx sighed. "He's not like the ogre, or Jerry, or Babs, or even Fat Hands," she explained. "I… I forget 'bout him sometimes. In the beginning, back with Silco, I had to deal with 'em." They turned another corner, now leading to the home stretch all the way down to the secret crevice. "But after all that, Zaun got bigger, and so did my distractions. Playing with them wasn't as entertaining anymore. I ran into them sometimes, sure, but I… I just didn't think 'bout him much." As they arrived at that secret entrance, she stopped and smiled back at them. "Honestly, it wasn't like anything with Sevika—I just… I just forget."

Evi's free hand flew to hers, grabbing it reassuringly. "Jinx, we believe ya."

Zel followed suit, smiling up at her. "We were just curious is all."

She smiled back, touched by their words. "Cute, but that's not gonna get ya outta my hazing for, that," she remarked, gesturing at their faces.

The two groaned as Jinx pulled her hand away and slipped in. Once they made their way into their home and settled at the living area to eat, Jinx brought out her medkit she kept near her desk and set it at the table. The two frowned at the sight as she stood before them, tapping her foot patiently. "Now we can do this before we eat, or ya can drag it out until after?"

"Now," the two decided at the same time.

Jinx beamed, sitting herself on the table as she pulled out some rubbing alcohol and wipes. She looked over Evi's face, frowning at the bruise on her nose. "The fuck happened?" she asked them. The two were exchanging glances, no doubt silently telling each other to not say anything. But Jinx wasn't having it. She continued to dab at Evi's nose as she barked out, "Zel."

"Some drunkards were messing with one of your graffitis," he immediately caved.

"Zel!" Evi hissed.

Jinx sighed, shaking her head. "It's just graffiti, brats, ya can leave it be."

"They were calling you crazy," the boy explained.

"So? Everyone does—"

"But they shouldn't," Evi interjected, slamming her fist on the couch.

She smiled softly at the blonde's aggression. "I appreciate the gesture, I do, but ya can't just pick fights 'cause people don't like me." She pressed a cold, iced towel toward the girl's nose and scooted over to Zel, moving to wipe his cheeks.

He wince at each stroke. "B-But they were making fun of you!"

"But nothin', Rookie," she dismissed. She bit her lip as she dabbed at his face. "This entire city does that already. Heck, Time Travelling Saviour does too! He doesn't like me either. But ya can't just shoot or 'splode every person who has beef with me. You'd be blowing up all of Zaun."

"Well what if we want to do that?" Evi tried.

"For you?" Zel tacked on.

Jinx's cheeks warmed a bit as she giggled. "That's sweet, brats, but nah. Take it from someone's who's tried to blow the world up," she stood up from her seat and ruffled their hairs, making them both groan, "That gets exhausting." She chuckled as she turned and grabbed her box of Jericho's, sliding it over to her as she sat between the two, kicking her feet up on the table.

The two took that as a sign to eat and dove into their meals. They still enjoyed each bite, but were clearly hung up on her advice. She chewed on her tentacle and sighed. All things considered, they were probably proud of themselves for what they did. And they were using what she taught them. She nudged their shoulders with her elbows, nearly making them spill their food. "Ya gave them a good beating?"

The two exchanged a small smile before nodding.

"One's dead," Zel quietly said, "E shot him."

Jinx smirked, proud at that. "The one's that aren't?"

"Ran away like cowards," Evi chuckled, "or were left twitching from Zel's pulse bombs."

"So not all were taken care of, huh?" She narrowed her brows, the two's smiles fell at that. "If ya can't finish the pack then don't start."

"We basically did." Evi scoffed, resting her head into her palm, clearly done with this conversation.

Jinx clicked her teeth, shaking her head. "No. Enough of that," she argued. "I don't want you two startin' fights if ya can't finish 'em. That's how shit starts up in Zaun." She took another bite of food and fixed a serious stare the two. "'And if I'm not going to be with you two all the time then I can't be there to protect you." She dropped her gaze into a soft look, smiling back and forth between the two as she dropped her meal in her lap and tugged them close to her. "Just let it be, kiddies."

"We just want them to take you seriously. The way we do," Zel admitted.

Evi nodded. "Messing up your marks 'round town is asking for a beatin' if ya ask me."

"I wasn't," Jinx sternly stated. "I ain't gonna take away any privileges or whatever, but I just want it known: don't go picking fights okay? Not until you're older." The two's shoulders slumped at that. "Guys, I mean it, 'kay?"

"We hear ya," Evi begrudgingly replied.

"Yuuup," Zel sighed.

Jinx chewed quietly at that. She had a gut feeling that what she was saying just wasn't sticking. But they were smart kids, she just had to hope they'd be smart with their next moves.

—ZEL—

He was surprised when Jinx let them go back out the next day.

After last night's hazing, lunch had ended on an awkward note where the two retreated to their rooms as Jinx went to tinker. Dinner hadn't faired much livelier either, but Jinx tried to keep the atmosphere up with some more stories about her and Ekko from when they were young. And some about her brothers and sister. At first it sounded nice, hearing about how they were such a tight knit group who tried to make the Undercity their own. Yet after a while, Zel pieced together she was trying another hand at a lesson.

"We used to start fights all the damn time."

"Vander had to bail us out a lot at the start!"

"I could never stand on my own."

Evi had exhaled a very loud, "We get it Jinx," and dinner ended there. Not on a bitter note, they still laughed at her heavy handed attempt and wished each other a good night's sleep. And today's breakfast was a good showing that Jinx wasn't beating herself up about it either, since she served breakfast like normal and saw them off. She had more to do for her surprise—which he wagered was taking longer than even she anticipated—and told them she trusted them to be safe.

All that talk though about her past… about Ekko…

Zel cast his eyes over a few feet away from his targets, just in time to see a shot ring out and a can flip off Evi's platform. Her aim was a bit better than yesterday's. But she seemed all the more determined to do better now. He… he could get why. Part of Zel agreed with Evi's thinking. Jinx wasn't what Zaun made her out to be, what Ekko made her out to be. If they were gonna waste their breaths ridiculing her, then he and Evi were proud to waste theirs standing up for her.

Two more shots, one miss, but one dead on. Evi pumped her fist in celebration, making the boy smile.

What Jinx and her siblings got up to, it wasn't too different from what he and Evi did. Some of it was more hardcore, some of it was more tame. But he couldn't get the idea out of his head. His hands self-consciously flew to his eyes, rubbing his two fingers against his new goggles.

"Claggor was a bit of a timid kid, but had a good heart," she told him, "Mylo had a big mouth, but he had some nicely timed humour. Very dextrous." He recalled her fond smile as she looked at him. "Ya remind me of them."

She shortly told Evi right after that that she reminded Jinx of her younger self and her sister (the latter of that made her shudder). It was strange being compared to people he'd never met, but still feeling a conneciotn to them. He was wearing Claggor's goggles. That meant something. Not just to Jinx, but to Zel too. Hearing Jinx speak about her family, despite the past she shared, it had a sense of warmness that made Zel smile. He wasn't sure what it was or what it meant. He did know it was the same feeling he felt about Evi or Jinx.

Grabbing another pulse bomb, he nocked it into his slingshot and aimed at the broken microwave perched atop the tire stump he set up. He released, and in a flash, the device was shattered and sparks of green were surging off it.

He did know he'd do whatever it took to protect that feeling.

"Hey Zel," Evi called as she rushed over, "Ya wanna try some combo shots?"

He grabbed another pulse bomb and furrowed a brow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she brought up her pistol as it clicked, emptying a shell from its chamber, "you throw a pulse bomb mid air and I try to shoot it!"

Zel blinked. "Uhh, why?"

Evi sighed, rolling her eyes. "Your bombs ain't like your undermines, they don't have timers. They discharge on contact, right?" At his nod, she went on, "Me shootin' it detonates it early! A nice surprise, eh?"

That… had many glaring issues.

He cringed. "I dunno, E that's kinda dangerous."

She blew a raspberry at him. "Aw, lame! C'mon! It might come in handy!"

"It's also a bit more advanced than us just shooting stationary targets," he reasoned.

"It'll be fun."

He chuckled, crossing his arms. "Okay, fine but!" he hastily added, before she could get excited. "Only if you can nail five cans in a row."

Evi's excitement drained immediately. "Oh fuck off," she laughed, turning back toward her targets. "You're on!" Zel took a seat on a thrown out bed frame, smiling to himself as Evi readied her stance. This was gonna be good. The first shot fired: right on target. As the can fell to the ground, Evi turned and blew the smoke from her gun, smirking back at him. "Nervous?"

He snorted. "First, there's not much riding on this 'bet'," he teased, listing off his fingers, "and second, if there was? I'd start sweating the second you hit more than three."

She muttered something along the lines of, "Smartass" as she aimed again. Dead on target once more. Shell shot out, another in the chamber, she took a breath before taking her third shot. It barely hit the can—just grazed the tip of it—but it hit nonetheless, and was still enough to send it off the platform. He whistled in awe at that as Evi quickly shot her fourth, nailing this one completely. Zel chuckled to himself as he watched her happily cheer. The bet was long forgotten at this point he wagered, and she was just happy to hit shots consecutively.

"Number five, here we—"

"Hey!"

The two startled at that. Zel was on his feet following Evi's eyes, who was already looking at the source of the voice. Over near one of the pathways leading from the street side entrance, was some sort of gang. They were a group of men and women, all decked out with some punk outfits and spikes, but most notably, bats and knives. Zel had his hand gripped on his slingshot carefully as he looked to Evi, pleading with his eyes.

Jinx told them not to.

She sighed, lowering her pistol as she tilted her head, leading her bangs hang in front of her face. "Whattya want," Evi shouted at them.

"We heard a bit of a ruckus down here," a buff brunette with spiky hair announced, "thought shit was going down since it was like, nonstop gunfire. But then ol' Raz here tells me it ain't no gang or Wardens shootin' the shit up, but a pair of kids." They continued their approach, their numbers revealing more clearly as they spread out. Seven, four men and three women. "And then I figure we can go scare of the sumprats making a racket, but then I come here and see it's you two."

Zel's grip tightened more. "And?"

"You ain't just Jinx's brats, you two were there that night. Ya tried to rob The Last Drop. I saw you two get jumped at the club." She narrowed her eyes. "You two got a bit off scot-free from what I heard, and now you're runnin' 'round with The Loose Cannon."

"So?" Evi asked.

"You two cause quite the stir yesterday," a lanky man chimed in.

"Way I see it," the spiky haired woman continued, "brats like you are getting a lil' carried away."

"We don't want trouble," Zel spoke up, leveling a stern glare at the woman.

She smirked. "Way I see it, trouble seems to find you and your partner here." Zel glanced to Evi, who had her finger on her gun's trigger. He looked back at the woman. "And the trouble y'all are wreaking is somethin' we don't want in these streets." They could run. They had a good distance and— "Like that fucking crazy bitch."

His hands moved before he could even think. A pulse bomb loaded into his slingshot as he brought his arms up and released, launching it right at the bastard's face.

An explosion of green sparks flew around as the woman screamed in agony, falling to the ground as she gripped at her charred face. The other surrounding her flinched away as the sparks zapped them, all watching in fear as she writhed from the static.

All eyes, including Evi's, fell on him as he nocked another pulse bomb into his sling, aiming it right at the group. He narrowed his eyes as he spat out, "Don't talk about her that way."

Evi chuckled, brandishing her gun at the group. "Ya heard him, assholes."

"Kill 'em!" the lanky man shouted, before a gunshot rang out the man's throat exploded in blood and gunpowder.

Five left.

Zel fired his pulse bomb and an over eager man running straight at him, clocking him right at chest with it. As he convulsed in pain, Zel reloaded and fired at another woman trying to flank him. She took a leap, arching her hand for a punch, but his bomb caught her leg, sending her tumbling past him as he sidestepped. He quickly nocked another bomb and looked to Evi. She had holstered her gun and was straight up beating the shit out of some big buff guy, sending blow after blow to his face. But before Zel could even take care of the last two trying to circle around her, Evi spun and sent her fist to the last woman's midsection, causing her to fall to her knees.

The blonde ducked under the last guy's fruitless swipe. Zel took that as his opportunity. "E!" he shouted. Without looking, she leapt out from the cross fire as he fired his pulse bomb at the man. The poor bastard couldn't see it coming and caught it right to his chest, causing him to spasm and twitch and fall right on the woman beside him, making her twitch and convulse as well.

Zel and Evi hurriedly found their stances once again, reassessing their surroundings.

All seven punks, all on the ground.

They both breathed out of exhaustion. Zel himself slumped his shoulders as he looked to Evi, who was massaging her knuckles. She caught his gaze and raised a brow. "What?"

"Don't tell Jinx?"

"No shit," Evi chuckled.

—JINX—

They were avoiding her.

Well, not avoiding her, but trying to hide things. Most obviously? Bruises and injuries. One day when they came back home Zel's cheek was a bit discoloured. But for the past couple days blood was stained on Evi's shirt or pants, or heck even her prosthetic leg! The worst part was it was becoming less and less that they were coming back with bruises, but more obvious that they were fighting someone. Zel had to get more overzealous with making pulse bombs because he was running low and Evi had nearly run herself out of ammo.

Jinx promised the two that she'd run a supply errand for them today, but she had the sneaking suspicion they were pouring all their ammunition into just "aim practice". She would just ask, "Anything exciting happen?" and they'd tell her about how much better their aim and synergy was getting. Zel would talk about how he found some good scrap in his spare time when resting. Evi would say her consecutive shooting was getting way faster, fast enough to shoot someone "probably".

But she didn't want to pry.

She wasn't a warden. Jinx couldn't just keep hovering. She still had her own things going on. The arcade was nearly finished, with the keypad finally installed, but some final touches were needed. It didn't help that Jinx also had to do a couple escort jobs for the Barons, which delayed her project. More and more populated parts of Zaun were getting rowdy and the Barons were getting restless because of how public all the commotion was.

Jinx wasn't sure what was the cause, but she had a hunch she hoped was wrong.

Swinging the steel door open, Jinx shouted, "Ames! I'm here!"

A bang echoed, the sound of something hitting wood, followed by, "Fuck!" A bit of shuffling could be hear and then, "Coming Jinx!" Seconds later, as Jinx stood at the counter, the raven haired woman of the hour arrived. Approaching the counter, she waved with a smile. "What can I do for ya? Need more supplies for the arcade?"

Jinx smirked at her. "No thanks Ames," she shook her head, "I got everything I need." She fished out the shopping list she wrote up from her back pouch. "I actually need a resupply." She looked down at her list. "Just some ammo for the handgun and chem capsules. And a couple aluminum wires."

"Really? Haven't heard you causing much of a ruckus these days." Amy chuckled, crossing her arms. "Must be the kids, huh?"

Jinx shrugged. "Wouldn't know. They're hiding' shit from me."

Her supplier offered a sympathetic smile before ducking into the backroom. "It's how kids are, Jinx," she said as the sound of rummaging occurred, "what is it you think they're hiding?"

Jinx pouted, bringing out her pouch of coins. As she sifted through for the payment, she said, "I dunno. That they're getting into trouble? I think they just want to prove to me that they're strong."

When Amy reemerged with a small bag, she handed it to Jinx to inspect. As the woman made sure it had a decent fill, Amy said, "I get it. All us sumprats were like that at their age. It's just how they are." She held out her palm. "Total's twenty-five silver cogs"

Jinx raised a brow. That was startlingly cheap.

"I'm cutting you some slack," Amy smirked, "you could use it." Jinx handed her the payment and collected the stuff, making her way to the door. "With how much of a handful those kids have been to the streets, a whole day of slack could be used."

Jinx stopped at that. She spun around and cocked her head. "Whattya mean?"

Amy's eyes widened. "You didn't hear?"

"Hear what?"

"The other day they shot up a portion of the pier," Amy explained, throwing up a finger gun. Jinx's heart dropped. No. "Tons of shipments got wrecked 'cause of it." Jinx dropped the supplies back on the table. "What—"

"I'll be back for those later—just hold onto them!" Jinx shouted as she sprinted out the door.

THEIR FAULT!

No.

THEY'RE IN TROUBLE!

No, no, no.

Dashing toward the Chem-Baron Chambers was exhausting but Jinx couldn't let up for a second. She needed to talk to them first. The kids were the rowdiness being caused around town? How did she not hear about this? Jinx mentally cursed herself. It was the damn arcade: she was too locked in there she couldn't catch much of the word on the street. But those jobs Jinx had to do, they made them sound like gangs or thugs were running their shipments down. But it was just the brats? Why!

She had to talk to them soon. But first? She had a fire to put out.

Kicking the chamber doors open, the entire room jumped.

"Jinx," Renata remarked, narrowing her eyes, "I trust you've just found out who's responsible for our recent supply of Shimmer ending up in the ocean?"

Jinx panted, holding her knee with her left hand as she raised her right finger. "Gimme… a sec…" she took a deep breath and levelled a look at Renata. "I didn't know."

"Sure." Corina dryly scoffed. "Like you weren't conspiring for them to ruin the shipments so we'd hire you?"

She scowled at the plant lady. "That makes barely any sense and ya know that was a stretch," she shot back. "The rumours were random fights were being started. Not targeted shit."

"And today we learned it was your brats who were at the centre of nearly every one," Renni sniped at her.

Jinx fished out her detonator, and narrowed her eyes. "Ya threatenin' them?" she challenged.

Renata sighed, rising out of seat as she flexed her chemmed up, augmented arm. "The explosion will do its work, sure, but I assure you, while I abhor violence I will defend myself from your wrath." She narrowed her Shimmered eyes at Jinx's.

She scoffed at her. "Ya can try whatever ya want. The second this detonator hits those pretty lights that have been sitting up in your rafters for weeks will level the whole room. And you and I can tussle in the rubble if ya want, Glassky." She smirked, tilting her head as she grabbed Zapper, aiming it right at Renata. "But you're fighting for your investments and money, I'm fighting for my brats. I think I'm willing to burn down more than you. But we can always put it to the test right here and now?" A few seconds passed and Jinx narrowed her eyes again. "I'll handle them. They're my kids."

With the tension so thick, Jinx was tempted to just blow them all up so it'd create space. But then Renni laughed, startling the whole room. As Jinx looked at her incredulously, the woman covered her mouth. "S-Sorry, I just can't help but think," she shook her head, "who am I staring at right now? Vander? Or Silco?"

Jinx smirked, shaking her head as she lowered Zapper. "Neither," she softly said, "Just Jinx. It stands for Jinx." She looked back to Renata. "Ya can take the damn costs of the shipment out of my next five jobs but the kids stay out of this."

Renata sat back down. "Keep them in line, please."

She nodded, then made her way out. But once Jinx slipped into the elevator, her eyes widened at the sight of the city beneath her. The Chem-Barons Chambers were practically like Topside, high enough to look down on Zaun. But it had a killer view of nearly everything the city had to offer visually. Right now? It had a new feature that wasn't at all in the brochure. Right in the centre of town, one of the oldest memorials to the past, Vander's statue.

And a huge plume of chemtech smoke was coming from that area.

A look Jinx recognized too well.

An undermine explosion.

—EKKO—

Hearing about a fight breaking out at Vander's statue sent Ekko into action immediately. He reset a bit to give himself a head start, telling Scar about what was about to happen. The two had been on patrol in the west scrap heaps area but heard a bunch of running and were brought over. Of course by now, Scar had just learned to put up with Ekko just suddenly knowing about something before all the yelling starts up because of the Z-Drive. Ekko wasn't sure if he'd have to reset again once they arrived, but gunshots and the sounds of electricity crackling was nonstop.

And then…

A series of loud booms broke out and Ekko watched in horror as he saw chemmed up smoke emitting from the centre. No. She wouldn't do that. Both he and Scar stepped on it, zipping straight toward the statue area. Once they arrived, they stopped at the roof and tried to assess what they could, but Ekko couldn't believe it.

It was the kids.

Evi was wrestling with some fat Vastaya, she had Jinx's gun in her right hand and her knife in her left. "Take that back, you bastard!"

"What? That that bitch disgraced this city—" he got cut off as Evi sent her knee to his groin.

Zel, meanwhile, was on top of some big man, laying into him with a series of punches. "You don't know what you're talking about! You don't know shit!" he shouted.

Ekko watched in horror. What were these kids doing? Scar gripped his shoulder, nodding down to commotion below.. "We have to help."

They looked back at the scene and Ekko realized, just a few feet away from the statue, the marks of the ground zero of an explosion were seen. The statue was unharmed, but the base of the plume of smoke was a charred body. These were Jinx's kids. And they were killing people over talking shit about her. Ekko heard about these rumours, about the brawls in the streets, but this? In front of this statue? He gripped at his bat. "We need to—"

"Hey!" he froze. That voice. He looked over to the rooftops of the other side of the courtyard. It was Jinx, stood atop with her minigun aimed at the commotion below. "What're you doing to my brats!"

The fighting ceased instantly, with the kids pulling away and gathering at the base of the statue while the group gathered around the fight ran. The two that were being beat up, slowly stood up and scowled at Jinx as she hopped down.

"We didn't do shit! They just jumped us for saying you did your old man dirt—"

"Fuck off!" Evi shouted.

"Evi," Jinx hissed, making the blonde slump. She turned to the two guys and frowned. "A body's been burned, people have been shot at or shocked, 'nuffs happened today." She spun up Pow-Pow and aimed right at him. "Leave it here, or ya can leave your bodies here instead."

The two ran off and Scar gripped Ekko's shoulder again. "What now?"

Ekko looked back. He had half a mind to go make sure no one had been hurt, that those guys—whatever they did—weren't too badly injured. But when he looked back at Jinx, his heart melted. She was embracing the kids, hugging them like a big blanket as she cupped her hands around their heads.

"Ekk—"

"Wait," he hoarsely whispered.

He thought he was done with this too. He told Scar and everyone else that much. That Jinx wouldn't bother them, that the kids were none of their concern, that to himself? He was just done with this story. But seeing her cry and hug them… it was the most human thing he'd seen Jinx done.

"Don't ever fuckin' do that again," she barked out.

"W-We're sorry," Zel sniffed.

"Next time, you run and get me, understand?"

"We don't run," Evi firmly spoke, "That's not what we do in Zaun."

Jinx pulled away and looked at her with an angry face. "Yeah well I do it all the time! I run away from Piltover on a daily basis!" She breathed out a sigh and cupped the blonde's cheek. "Runnin' is how we live down here, my little Urchin. What you're doing is gonna get you and Zel killed."

Evi started to tear up, shaking her head out of Jinx's palm. "We just want everyone to love you the way we do."

Ekko dropped his bat. His breathing had picked up and he found himself being held by Scar. He just realized his partner was watching this in awe as well. Like him, Scar had seen Jinx do so many horrible things. But they both just couldn't look away from this… this reality. This was Jinx now?

Jinx snorted, wiping the kids' tears away with her thumbs. "It's okay, E," she brought the two in for another hug as she said, "your guys' love is more than enough for me." She kissed both Zel's temple, then Evi's. "I don't need you two go around and defend my honour. I just… I need you two to live muuuuch longer than Claggor and Mylo. Longer than my dads. Longer than Zaun itself!"

Evi giggled. "We can't live that long, Jinx."

"Then ya two have to figure out how to do that!" she replied, making the three laugh. "Just… keep each other safe. That's what makes me happy." She pulled back much further, scooting on her butt. "I'll handle the annoying shithole that is Zaun. You two? Just be kids. My kids, please?"

He'd seen enough. Ekko pulled back from the ledge and pulled off his mask, trying to find his breath. Scar steadied him, trying to ground him in the here and now but Ekko tuned him out. Thinking. Those words, that kindness, that heart? It was Powder. It was like Powder was back and begging them all not to fight over the arcade machine again because they all could get a turn. But it wasn't just Powder he was seeing… Benzo, Vander, Vi? It was like Jinx hadn't buried them. Like she didn't bury anything. It was like…

He opened his eyes and scoffed. "Name's all that changed, huh?" he muttered.

Ekko stood up, grabbing his bat and hoverboard, then turned the other way.

Scar raced after him hopping on his board. He called out, "What're you doing?"

He stepped on his board and paused. "I've seen enough. Leave it be. Head back to the base and report." They took to the skies.

"What about you?"

Ekko turned his head back to look at the statue. Right before his feet, Jinx, Zel and Evi. He shouted to Scar, "I got a project to work on."

Powder might be the image he was holding onto. Jinx might've had a point, that she was still her but not her. It didn't matter anymore. The small part of Jinx that cared? That really loved and cried and lived? That was still Powder. And if the name is all that really changed? Then…

He had a favour to do for an old friend.

—JINX—

The crying had stopped, but the looks of sadness hadn't.

Seeing them cry and shout so desperately, to plead her case? It broke Jinx's heart a bit.

But they were good kids, and they just loved her.

Like she loved them.

She glanced up at the statue, smiling at Vander. "I'm tryin', 'kay?" she whispered.

"W-We're sorry," she looked down and pouted at Evi.

Zel sniffed, nodding. "W-We didn't mean to make you worry."

Jinx snorted, bringing her hands down to their shoulders to squeeze them reassuringly. "Well ya two gave me a bit of a scare. Had to find out from the Barons you guys were the ones causing the fights?"

Their eyes went wide at that. "W-Wait, those boxes we knocked over were theirs?" Zel exclaimed.

"A-Are ya in trouble?" Evi asked.

Jinx shook her head, squeezing their shoulders again. "It's fine, I handled it. Might not get paid for awhile but—" she saw them sink their heads and held back her words. How was this not different from her as a kid? Small to big mishaps or mistakes that she burdened as her fault. Some things were her fault but she didn't need to carry it for years. Seeing them now? Jinx sighed. "Don't worry 'bout it. I'll be mad later," she chuckled.

They looked up at her, confused.

"I mean, you two are totally getting punished for this. Ya won't be going out for a couple days but you're definitely not going to be able to tinker," she looked to Zel. "And paint," she looked to Evi.

Evi nodded, swallowing back a sob. "Th-That's fair."

"Y-Yeah," Zel muttered.

Jinx snorted. Janna, these two…

She brought her hands down to theirs—her right holding Evi's left and her left holding Zel's right. "You two, are… are perfect as you are. You don't ever need to change for me," she told them, shaking their hands gently, "Ya don't need to go out there and defend my honour or act all tough 'cause you're my kids." She took a breath. "You make me better… so I can't lose you. Either of you. And… you can't afford to lose each other either." She smiled and squeezed their hands. "So, how 'bout we stick together… as a family?" Their eyes went wide at that. "I mean it when I say you're my kids."

Evi nodded rapidly as Zel launched forward with another hug. She patted the boy's back as Evi smiled at her. "We'll… we'll try to do better… Mum."

Jinx's heart fluttered as she giggled. "Janna that's weird to hear!"

Evi snorted. "Felt weird to say! But… still felt right."

Zel pulled away and looked to Evi. "Family, right?" She nodded at him. "Then… it'll grow on us. Like you did," he said to Jinx, making her smile. He took a breath and turned Evi. "I… I know it's a bit obvious to say and very late to address… but if we're family… you are my sister. No matter what."

Evi's eyes welled with tears as she nodded. "Right. And you're my brother." The two leaped at each other, hugging with all their might.

Jinx laughed. "Man, hormones are high now! Didn't think I'd see you two be so sweet to each other for a change!"

"Fuck off," the two muttered, pulling away.

She snorted, bringing them in for another quick hug. "Good brothers and sisters are hard to come by. You two… you found each other well." She looked up to Vander and sighed. "Now, you two find your way home. I still got shit to do."

They turned to her and furrowed their brows.

"The surprise, still?" Zel asked.

Jinx nodded. "Don't worry, you two… you'll love it. It's almost done." She gripped their shoulders and smirked. "Last bit of punishment is to head to Funsmith Amy and get the supplies I left after I ran here." The two flushed and nodded. "No detours! Tonight, I cook us stew and we cuddle on the couch! No exceptions!" she shouted. She leaned in and pecked both their foreheads quickly before turning away. "Ya hear!"

"We hear!" they said, moving the other way.

"Hey… Mom?" Zel called out.

Jinx stopped and turned, smiling at them. "Yeah?"

They shared a smirk at each other before turning to her.

"Don't do anything stupid," Zel mused.

"And don't do anythin' slow," Evi added.

She chuckled, nodding. "Right back at ya."

As they went their separate ways, Jinx couldn't care less that practically the heart of Zaun was staring them down in shock and awe.

She made it known, and that's what mattered.

—JINX—

When she arrived at the arcade, she punched in the keypad combo and waltzed in, ready to get to work. She had a lot to do but today was the day she finished it. She had to be home more often and she had to have this ready for them too. That stew wasn't going to make itself and that cuddle was more than earned at this point! But when she walked through the shooting gallery, Jinx realized… it was on.

She pulled out Zapper and leaped into the centre of the room.

It was Ekko, working on the fridge she set up. He turned his head and nodded. "'Sup." He turned back to the fridge, opening and closing it. "Nice, it works!"

She stared… baffled at the sight.

He was using her tools (rude) and from the look of everything around her, he finished the lights. She narrowed her eyes and pointed Zapper at him. "How'd ya get in?" It was a weird priority but she had to know if her keypad was shit or not.

"The old rooftop access, 'member?" He chuckled, nodding upward. "The vents?"

She groaned, throwing her head back. "I knew I should've patched that."

"Nah it's a good backup escape or entrance. I won't use it again, promise," he assured, holding his right hand up.

His words… it seemed sincere, so she lowered Zapper. "What're ya doing here, Little Man?" she cautiously asked.

"What's it look like," he smirked, "fixing shit."

Her eyes widened as he levelled a serious stare at her. Something about his eyes, the way he stared, she just knew he got it. How, she didn't know, but she was glad he finally did. And he was here, fixing shit to prove it. She raised a finger as she narrowed her eyes. "Ground rules."

He scoffed, nodding. "No shop talk?" he guessed.

Jinx rolled her eyes. "Uh, dur, but not that. I mean this place. Ya can help me finish, but after that? You're not welcomed here. This is my kids' space. Not yours, not mine, theirs. If I ever here they ran into you while they came here—"

"Message received," Ekko chuckled. "So basically… what it was for us, it is for them?"

A small smile fell on her face as she nodded. "Exactly."

—JINX—

Three days later, and the kids' punishment was up. She wasn't sure if that was enough time but she honestly couldn't care less. This arcade was practically two weeks in the making and they deserved to use it! The nights since, they had been sleeping with Jinx and cuddling like one big happy family. She grew giddy at the word. Family. They still called her Jinx, rarely threw it around, but the air was as different as it was when Jinx declared they were staying permanently. It was like… Janna graced them with something.

"Are we there yet?" Evi whined.

Jinx scoffed. "We're in an alley walking to a dead end, whattya think?"

"Parkour?"

"Smartass," she muttered as they arrived at the door. "So! This is the surprise!" she gestured toward it excitedly.

The two exchanged a look.

"A door?" Zel tried.

Jinx groaned. "Stop being smartasses for one second?" They straightened up and smiled. "Okay, so like a week or so back when ya guys made your rooms I thought 'bout how you two wanted space. I thought that yeah, when we first fought and ya needed air, that was good. And that the lower fans being yours was nice. But… that's not enough." She smiled at them. "I know all of Zaun is yours to run now that your punishment is over, but having your own private space is different. But luckily, I happen to know one. Or I knew one. And I patched it up."

She turned to the door and motioned for them to come close. "This keypad is how ya get in." She entered the combo, 05102016, and the door clicked. She turned the handle and said to them, "Commit that to memory kiddos!"

"What was the first number?" Evi asked.

"Wait, wait, was it zero first or five?" Zel asked.

Jinx frowned. "We'll work on that too." As she led them in, she took them around the shooting area and into the centre of the arcade. "Wait there," she said as she rushed to the switch. With one flick, the entire place came to life.

Lights brighter than before, machines working with no grease, a full pool table, a fridge, and some lounged seating.

It was no longer the arcade she knew.

But theirs.

With that, Jinx pumped her hands to the air and shouted, "Ta da! An arcade!" She ran around the room, pointing at each and every machine. "But not just any arcade, the one Ekko and I made for my siblings when we were kids! I patched up the punching machine, the shooting area, the pinball, added some skeeball and pool, a fridge, some seats and now—" she stopped running and slid toward the two, jazz handing her surroundings with a smile. "It's all yours!"

"Ours?" they exclaimed together.

"Yup! I mean it in every way. You two can go here if ya need space from me, to chill and hang out, or even to sleep if ya want!" she told them. "Ekko helped me patch the last of it, but I told him he's not allowed in here. And neither am I!" At their confusion she explained, "If I need to get ya two I'll knock at the door or come in to call ya but that's it. Emergencies and stuff only. It's completely yours."

"For real?" Evi asked.

"As real as me, E," Jinx winked. "Now lemme give ya the tour."

Watching their awe and amazement grow at each machine she talked about was adorable. She told them about the two points of entry, how the wiring and the power switch worked. She talked about each game, how to play them, how to work their power if something feels odd. But she could just sense they were aching to play. She wrapped it up at the pool table and stepped away. "Alright, enjoy, brats!"

"Wait… you're… leaving already?" Evi softly said.

"Uhh, yeah?" Jinx paused at the pathway leading to the backdoor.. "Showed ya how they all work, didn't I? And if something breaks, eh your brother's got enough smarts to fix it, I'm sure."

"W-Wow, thanks? But…" Zel trailed off.

"What?"

"Well, I mean…" Evi looked to Zel.

"It'd be cool to play with you?"

Her heart warmed once again, the sight of their doe eyes was her goddamn drug.

Jinx sighed. She fixed this whole damn place to give the kids a space away from her, their own safe haven—as well as some free time for herself for a change—and now they wanted her to stay? She grinned. "Whelp, long as you're okay with me dominating the top scores!"

—JINX—

The kids played their damn hearts out. But Jinx told them she needed to head home to prepare dinner anyways. They were reluctant for her to leave but she told them they had the run of the place anyways. She also figured she didn't need to start right away since she wagered they'd take their sweet time there. And sure enough, with them eating dinner around 7PM, she was right. They were sheepish about it, but she didn't hold it against them.

At least they weren't killing anyone over it.

But when they returned home Jinx got the sense something was going on. They had an impish, excitement to them that at first she chalked up to their passion about the arcade, but during dinner she was growing more suspicious. And then, as Jinx chewed on her salmon, she was hit with it.

"Can Zel and I get tattoos?"

She cocked her head up from her plate and blinked at Evi. "Tattoos? Plural?"

"Yeah! I mean, you have some," the blonde argued.

Jinx snorted, putting her plate down. "Relax, kiddies, I wasn't knocking it. Well, depending on where and what. Sometimes pain tolerance can be a bitch and if it's dumb I'm gonna save ya from a permanent mistake," she casually remarked. The two shared a bit of a sheepish look between each other. "Well? C'mon, out with it."

Zel spoke first. "We were hoping… we could get your tattoo?"

Her heart quaked. "M… Mine?"

"Yeah! I-I wanted to get it on my left arm!" Zel exclaimed.

"And I want mine on both, but only on the exposed parts," Evi chimed in, gesturing to the gap between her sleeves and gloves that exposed her skin.

Jinx smiled at them "I… okay. Sure." She chuckled. "But why?"

"Family right?" Zel said.

"And, after today at the arcade, we thought… this might be the best way to show off that… we're your kids," Evi said.

Jinx snorted, biting her lip to suppress her dopey grin. It was a fruitless effort. "Y'know, back before it all went to shit, my sister gave me a smoke flare and told me to light it and she'd come find me."

The two stared at her, confused at the non sequitur, but Zel snapped his fingers in realization."It was a blue smoke flare, huh?" he guessed.

"Bingo, Rookie." Jinx winked. "I guess I got 'em 'cause it was a way of just… screaming for help without using my voice," she softly said, looking at her right arm, "I didn't regret it the next day or anything. They just meant something to Powder. To me back then." She looked at the kids with a smile. "Now? They're just a reminder of a time I tried to cry out for help. But I still wear it proudly."

"And now they're a symbol of our bond," Zel chimed in, smiling at her. "Family."

Jinx nodded. "Yeah, family."

And after dinner, she started to work.

---

A/N: So the first non-tritagonist POV has taken place, but I wanna preface with saying you shouldn't expect that often! Our main three will always be the main perspectives for us to follow, but using Ekko here was an avenue to one: surprise you all. And two: offer a new lens on the relationship of the Jinx household from an outside perspective. It also holds as a great way of shifting the narrative from a new driving character.

"But Bleh," I hear some of you thinking, "You saying for us not to expect that OFTEN means you WILL be doing other POVs eventually, right?"

Hahaha, ( -_-). I obviously won't answer that. ( ^‿^)

If you feel like Ekko's turnaround or ability to trust Jinx in their first interaction during the arcade was a bit too quick, I kinda wanted to pool from his exchanged with Vi in act 3 episode 7 of Arcane. He has every reason not to trust Vi there, to suspect her as a Silco goon or whatever, but when she breaks free and hugs him it's almost as if he lets his guard and walls down and accepts that a friend has returned. In this sense, him seeing Powder isn't to dissimilar to his fight with Jinx in that same episode at the end, but instead many years have passed now. He knows Jinx pretty well and despite all odds, trusts her this ONE time.

Luckily, it was a good move! Though if you have issues with Ekko's aggression to Jinx or such, that if feels too played out, sorry but I'm KINDA working from Runeterra works in how he views Jinx but in a future format. He's known "Jinx" longer than he's known "Powder" so he has a right to his mistrust and bitterness, but overall it's a lot for him to take in. In the end, him coming to terms with it is kinda Jinx-like because it's the only way he can express that he gets it.

And the kids! If their casual sense of murder and violence has shocked you all, then you must've forgotten that they DID brutally murder some people in the beginning of this story. They aren't strangers to violence, but now they have Jinx's loyalty so their desire of wanting to prove themselves kinda blurs that barrier really thinly. And ahh, them getting Jinx's tats was an idea I got around writing chapter 5 or 6, but I knew the second I thought it up I wanted to pursue it. Their constant drive to not just want to prove themselves but show their worth isn't too far off from Violet and Powder's whole upbringing, which spawns the unique POV of Jinx realizing what Vander was all about.

Zel's new pulse bombs and slingshot are weapons he and Evi had in their trailer! You can see it here (for ao3 only there's a link, FFN users just search "Legends of Runeterra Official Trailer). And yeah, you see the two pop up fighting with Darius around the 1:50 mark. It's likely a non-canon video, but I thought it was such a cool concept to add I'd mesh it into this story too. And yeah, they made Jinx's Zapper. I know "technically" the gun Evi is using is also a reskin of Jinx's Zapper, but I think Zapper's functions is very different from Arcane Jinx's straight up pistol. Plus, it was a nice touch to have the two make something for her for a change.

I know this chap had bit of a rushed ending, but the general idea of the fluff was hurried along because it sets up more to come. I decided a bit of a faster paced, scene to scene montage was a good way to end it for an act 1 because it makes it FEEL open ended but more final. Like, here's the beginning of a new lifestyle. But y'all can call me lazy, eh.

A timeskip ensues now, as the first ten chapters was more of the establishment of not just the status quo for our loveable family, but the way they function as a unit WITHIN Zaun. I'd say don't expect a LONG chapter like this again, but to be honest I always end up going pretty long if I delay. The delays usually happen not just 'cause of family things but because I realize the editing and rewriting process of certain things is MUCH longer than I think, which results in pushing things to the next chapter. Because otherwise? Well, we get chapters like these which are over BLANK words long! I know plenty of you don't mind that but I did say my goal is 20 chapters and I intend to keep it in that scope, no more or less!

Nonetheless, if the latter half of this chapter wasn't as strong as you'd like I promise the next one I'll try to do better.

Also, 05102016 is Jinx's Star Guardian AU debut date. Hehe.

Next chapter update: [EDiT] September 28th-30th! (tumblr "TMUT Update" post explains delay)

Stay safe and stay lovely y'all.

Until next time,

- Bleh