Chapter Four: Surprising Science

Jayce had honestly no idea how to deal with this situation. His former nemesis had regained his humanity just a short time ago – and he could definitely not deal with it. It was common knowledge that Viktor despised everything biological as "flawed" and "weak". His new body must be his own personal nightmare.

The no-longer-machine herald sat distanced from him on the bed, obviously having a mental breakdown. Jayce had seen old pictures of Viktor when he was still human – in scientific magazines or newspapers. He looked almost exactly like back then. But that was impossible! He knew that Viktor was actually older than he was, yet the man on the bed looked like in the years old pictures. The doctor had not only healed his body – he had rejuvenated him! Jayce was the biological older one now... a rather strange feeling when natural constants like this were bent by the power of science.

Now he had to calm down Viktor somehow or he would go really insane. Jayce knew what scientists were capable of if they really had a screw loose. Also this was a once in a lifetime chance to stop Viktor's glorious evolution. Maybe – just maybe – he could convince him to accept his new-found humanity.

But Jayce had no idea how the human psyche worked. Sure, he was known for seducing women back in Piltover, but that was just something he was naturally good at. Maybe if he thought as Viktor as a generic damsel in distress... no that was not going to work. Then the inventor remembered something else: Back at school he had read a book about animal psychology. Just what was the most important thing back then? Ah, yes... food. No, that was no good idea either... That would maybe work with Vi, but not with Viktor.

Running out of ideas the inventor decided to improvise: he approached Viktor with fast steps and grabbed him at his shoulders while looking into the panic-filled eyes. Instinctively the man tried to get away from him, but he was too weak to escape the inventor's grip.

"Calm down!", Jayce ordered in a warm tone, still looking inside the eyes that were focused on something beyond this world. Jayce waited patiently until the shaking stopped and reason returned into the eyes of the scientist. Viktor had stopped resisting the touch and simply collapsed into Jayce's arms like a bag of potatoes.

After an awkwardly long moment of silence Jayce could hear a whisper: "You have turned me weak! Powerless! You have taken everything from me... again. Just how long do I have to suffer for your greed?"

It seemed like Viktor put him together with the ones who stole his work before he mechanized himself. For Jayce the scientist's story was a really sad one. He had been a prodigy - a genius even. The first one who created a sentient life form out of a steam-golem. The first one whose research made a revival of the dead possible without using necromancy as main process. Yet he did never see anything for his hard work. The opposite happened: his cries for justice were ignored as he was labeled an outcast in the academic society of Zaun . After that he vanished in his laboratory, turning into the Machine Herald everyone feared, leading his glorious evolution.

That was when Jayce had met Viktor for the first time: He was to study a high energy level crystal for the academy in Piltover when the machine-man appeared and demanded to use the powerful object for his own goals. As Jayce denied him this request, the Machine Herald took the crystal by force, completely destroying his workshop during the process. Everyone knew what happened after: Jayce grabbed his Mercury Hammer and went on a rambo-like rampage in Zaun, totally wrecking Viktor's facilities and the crystal. From that moment on their childish feud started. Viktor used him to test the power of his latest creations by "accidentally" dropping them in Piltover, while Jayce did the one or the other devastating raid on the Viktor's laboratories to pay him back and to hinder any more of his creations running wild in the streets of his hometown.

But the man in front of him was nothing like the man who entered his laboratory a long time ago. Back then it had been hate on the first sight, but now... Jayce could only pity him right now. Viktor started to mumble something that Jayce could not understand... only when he looked at his face he realized that he looked feverish. Maybe an after-effect of the operation? Immediately he put the man back to bed. Strangely Viktor did not put up any resistance. He just mumbled something, probably hallucinating.

Never had Jayce expected that one day he would be worried about the Machine Herald.

Sigh, what a troublesome roommate I got here...

The roaring sound of an explosion woke Viktor from his sleep.

The fever had gone down, so he was able to think more clearly. The sound was rather... familiar - maybe just Singed testing some of his latest mixtures. Yeah, that had to be it. Right now he was sleeping in his lab and everything went how it was supposed to be. Maybe he should go back to sleep, since this was nothing out of the ordinary... there were just two things that crushed this illusion of his: the fact that other strange explosions that sounded totally different had appeared and the fact that his third hand felt like it was asleep.

The panic came back, but this time he managed to keep his emotions in check. From his cybernetic brain came no response but a silent static noise. He had to find a way to repair it soon... Viktor opened his eyes. Small rays of sunlight shined through the curtains. Next to him was Jayce sleeping on a chair next to the bed. Had the inventor watched over him all night? Probably not. Viktor guessed that the inventor had worked until late at night and then was too tired to actually stand up and go to bed. The need for sleep was one of the first things that Viktor had taken on with his technology. Less sleep meant more work - and that meant more progress.

Just how was he supposed to operate with his body like this? His first impulse was to just upgrade himself again. This was the perfect chance to improve some of the outdated technology he had used as a foundation for his old body. But he had no idea how this new body of his worked. There was only one doctor that could rid him of all his technology while keeping him alive. He had no idea what Mundo had used on him, but there were surely certain side effects that still lingered inside his body. Also there was the problem with his third arm. Could he be even sure that his body operated still in the way it used too?

He would need to run a full check on his organism, but the equipment for a process like that... he would have to order certain materials from Zaun, but this would take a lot of time, since those stupid bureaucrats were a perfect example for living incompetence.

Moving felt a bit easier now, so the man grabbed his lab coat. It looked like someone had washed the cloth, but there were still traces of blood... among other stuff. But Viktor did not really care. He also stole some of Jayce's clothes and walked out of the apartment, looking for the thing that disturbed his sleep: the strange explosions. Lacking his usual mask he just used the high collar of his coat to mask the lower part of his face.

As he went down the stairs the explosions grew louder and louder.

The lobby had been turned into a battlefield. On one side he could see Ziggs and Rumble, on the other were Singed and Warwick. Both duos had erected barricades and threw chemicals, bombs and all kinds of ballistic projectiles at the other. Apparently each team was to hit some marked target behind the barricades. Just why would Singed take part in a childish event like this?

Viktor saw the look on Singed's face as he mixed some chemicals together and threw the highly unstable mixture at the Yordle's barricades. Ah yes. Live experimentation. That had to be it.

"AND NOW THE BIG ONE!", screamed the crazy Yordle as he packed one giant bomb to a machine that looked somehow like Rumble's mech, but smaller. "YORDLE TECH ATILLERY OF DOOM!" The machine shot the needlessly large projectile into the air.

Singed was totally unimpressed. "Special chemist barrier!", he just answered and flung Warwick into the air – right into the incoming bomb.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Having a nearly immortal werewolf by ones side was surely useful in some situations, but not even Viktor was sure if the cursed man could actually survive something of a scale like this. When the dust had settled they stood around the burned, yet surprisingly alive remains of Warwick.

"Maybe we should blow him up again?", asked Ziggs, who still had to learn that not every problem could be solved with explosions. The werewolf regenerated at an terrifying speed, slowly starting to move towards Ziggs. Apparently he had heard the yordle and was definitely not pleased with that idea. The wolfman's claws extended as they grew back, only centimeters from the yordle he was stopped by a rather surprising event.

"INCOMING!"

From the entrance of the building a giant green blob came crushing down on Warwick. Viktor was surprised. What was the living weapon doing here? Usually the green giant avoided them, unless Singed called him in and even then there was the chance that he would simply not care. The green goo took back the form of a muscular, yet somehow strange-looking man.

"I'm getting married!", he exclaimed to the scientists. Everyone, even Ziggs and Rumble, froze in shock.

"TO THE PANIC ROOM!", yelled Singed who was the first one to break the silence.

"We don't actually have one...", answered Rumble

Singed just grabbed some of his chemicals and blew a hole into the next wall, opening an entrance to the conference room of the building. On another note: he could have also used the door four meters away.

"TO THE (NEW) PANIC ROOM!", he declared as he walked into the room, dragging Warwick behind him on the floor. Viktor, Zac and the yordles followed him. As everyone took a seat Singed ordered Zac to tell them the whole story.

Yesterday, after the chaotic operation of Dr. Mundo, he had fetched Riven from the main building of the institute. The two had known each other for a long time by now. Also they were really similar: peaceful by nature, but outcasts in their societies. They had known each other for over a year when Zac had the idea of proposing.

Now they needed someone to organize and hold the event... the problem was just that both of them were totally broke. Noxus had taken in all her belongings when she defected and Zac did not really bother much about material things in the first place, but he had promised her that he would find a way to make this "the most awesome wedding that had ever happened in Valoran".

"... also we need someone to take care of possible noxian assassins.", concluded Zac his report. No one was surprised at the last part. A good noxian wedding had at least three attempts of murder or it was not considered a real wedding. Apart from that there was still the possibility of poisoned food or drinks or the classical murder-in-the-giant-cake-trick. "And who the hell are you?"

Viktor had to wave with his third hand so Zac could recognize him. He really needed a new mask...

"Didn't you ask the summoners for financial support?" asked Singed after hearing the explanation.

"Yeah, but they wouldn't give me anything...", answered Zac, "They said providing the rooms was already enough..."

The mad chemist thought about all this. First, this was a great way to bind Zac closer to them and second: this was the perfect chance for some publicity. A wedding of league champions was basically equal to a wedding of royalty – including media coverage and all that other stuff. This was the perfect opportunity to gather some funds for their next projects...

Viktor on the other hand was completely confused by the situation. But his problem was something else: he had some trouble understanding the sense or purpose of marriage. One should not expect an understanding of love from someone who had sealed his emotions for the last years. Also he had always been single in his life, his only love being work and science. He could not even imagine the feeling of affection towards an inefficient biological construct.

Singed agreed on helping Zac and they all headed out to speak with the summoners again. Maybe they were willing to pay more if a bloodthirsty werewolf was sitting in front of them – a business strategy that had never failed Singed and Warwick so far.

They all forgot just one tiny detail: Singed had been the one who had murdered all of Riven's soldiers back in the Noxian-Ionian War in a barrage of chemical mass-destruction. Although Viktor had the feeling that they had forgotten something really important for this matter he followed the group. Apparently mad scientists don't have the time to watch for insignificant details like this.

Somewhere at the institute Riven felt a cold shiver running down her spine.