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Chapter Text

Watching through the cracks in the glass, Powder listened to Greyson’s offer. 

“This will reach me, and only me.”

She bit her lip, pressing her forehead against the glass. She closed her eyes, remembering Mylo’s words, the disappointment in Vi’s eyes, the bruises on Claggor’s face. Her fault, all her fault. She could help them. She could fix her mistakes. And maybe it would be for the best. Maybe it would be better this way. Maybe.

                                                                                                                                   ~

Greyson stared at the scrawny little girl in front of them. She was skin and bones, skin so pale it was practically translucent. In her hands was a little monkey toy, the kind that clanged cymbals together. “You are the one who sent the message?” She asked. “You caused the explosion?” 

Powder nodded, pulling out the crystals from her pocket. “It was all my fault. Please, if I go with you…will you leave my family out of this?” She asked, looking up at the two enforcers. Even Marcus gave pause, those big blue eyes boring into his very soul.

Greyson thought for a moment, scanning the little girl. A crime was a crime, but…She nodded at Marcus, who took out handcuffs and put them around her wrists. Even tightened to the highest setting, they were still loose and rattled around her skinny limbs. 

Powder took one last look back, at the home she’d never see again, at the people she was leaving behind. She knew, at this moment, she was doing the right thing. She had to be.

She had to be.

                                                                                                                          ~

Vi walked up to the room all of the kids shared, taking a breath. “Powder…” she opened the door, expecting to find her baby sister in her bunk, making another attempt at a bomb. But she wasn’t there. “Powder?”

She started tearing the room apart. “Powder!” She shouted, looking everywhere. Mylo and Claggor scrambled up the stairs when they heard Vi shouting. “Powder!” she was panting, standing in the middle of the room.

 “What did she do-” Mylo started in

“Powder’s gone, I can’t find her!” A million horrible realities started to play in her mind, dead or taken or worse, and she couldn’t think beyond them.

“I’m sure she’s fine, probably off sulking some-”

“Mylo, shut the fuck up!”

“Uh, guys…” Claggor held up a note, written in purple crayon.

I’m sorry I always mess everything up, but I’m going to fix it. The enforcers offered Vander a deal, and if he’s not going to take it, I will. All I ever wanted was to help. I love you, I’m sorry.

Goodbye

Powder.

Vi felt like her world was falling apart as she stared at the letter, hands shaking. “No, no no no-” she whispered, clutching the paper in her hands. “We have to go find her, come on!”

The three started searching, and every footfall, every whisper on the wind, sounded like Powder. Her laugh, her crying, her apologies, and justifications. Under it all, there was a whispering voice in the back of all their heads. 

You’re too late, too late.

                                                                                                                            ~

Greyson started her walk with the girl, asking what had happened. Before she could answer, a sound stopped the three. There, in the dark, stood a man with one glowing red eye. He had a boy next to him, and Greyson had a sinking feeling in her stomach as he drank some kind of purple fluid, pulling out her gun and shoving the girl into Marcus’ chest. “Marcus, take the girl and run. Go, now!” She shouted.

Marcus didn’t question the order, lifting Powder into his chest and sprinting. Shots rang out in the night, and he was stopped when he felt someone grab onto the girl’s braid, hearing her scream. He didn’t even react, just pulled out a knife, cut her hair, and kept running.

Powder was sobbing, clinging to his shirt as he ran. He was over the bridge and well into Piltover before he stopped, looking down at the little girl. Her hair hung in choppy layers around her cheeks, and she looked even younger now. There were tears in her eyes, and her sobs broke his heart.

Marcus held the girl close to his chest, rubbing her back. “Hey, hey, its okay, you’re okay…I’ve got you.” he whispered, feeling shame for all the thought’s he’d had about everyone in the undercity. If little girls had to grow up in dirt and filth, then maybe he was wrong. Maybe he always had been.

“I’ve got you…”

                                                                                                                  ~

They had searched for hours, yelling for Powder all the way, and Vi had a sinking feeling in her stomach. Too late, too late, they were too late.

“This isn’t helping. We need to tell Vander.” Mylo said, panting.

“Shut up, just shut. Up.” Vi snapped, turning and grabbing Mylo by his shirt. “If your stupid ass hadn’t made those stupid comments, then none of this would have ever fucking happened, and Powder would be safe in bed right now!” She dropped him. “So we keep looking.”

The night was cold, and there was the smell of metal in the air as they kept searching. It got stronger as they got closer to the bridge, puddles of water pooling on the ground, and Vi felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She kicked something and looked down, starting to shake as she fell to her knees, directly into a puddle, and grabbed the toy. 

A monkey toy. The water was thick and dark, and the smell of metal burned Vi’s nose.

She felt her heart stop as she looked up and saw, in the center of the street, a pile of blue. Powder Blue.

“No- no no no- no!” she scrambled to her feet, running forward. She dropped to her knees, grabbing the tangle of blue hair and holding it in her hands. The sky opened like a wound, and rain poured out. As thunder cracked, the splatters of blood across the wall were revealed, and Vi felt like her world had caved in. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but scream.

And scream

And scream. 

Mylo didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to say. Claggor stood next to him, speechless, as they stared.

“This is all your fault…” Vi whispered, standing and cradling the monkey in her arms. 

“I- I didn’t- I-”

“This is all your fault!” She struck him across the face, sending her brother sprawling onto the ground. “Powder died because of you!”

As Mylo laid on the ground, holding his stinging cheek, he stared up at Vi. “No! I didn’t- I never meant-”

She didn’t listen and just walked away, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

Mylo laid on the ground, and Claggor just watched, his eyes frantic as he tried to make a decision. As he tried to choose.

Chapter Text

Powder was surprised when she was given a bath and a meal before her trial. Her clothes were washed and returned to her, and as she sat in her cell, she played with the rough ends of her hair, which hung in shaggy layers around her cheeks. She was to be tried in the morning by the council for her crimes against Piltover.

Deep in her chest, she felt fear. She wondered, quietly, if she should have done this. If there could have been another way. She leaned against the wall, tucking her knees into her chest, shivering.

The door opened, and in walked the Enforcer from before. The one who had carried her away from the monster. What had the lady said his name was, Marcus?

 “Hello, I…brought you this.” He held out a blanket in his arms. As Marcus scanned the little girl, those same hot flushes of shame traveled down his neck and spine. His wife was pregnant right now, and he imagined his child being in this same predicament. The thought made him sick.

He wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, settling it on her gently. “There we go. If you need anything, ask the guard at the door, they should be willing to help.” He said, not sure what else there was to do.

Powder wrapped the blanket around herself tighter, nodding and looking away from Marcus. If Vi was here, she would have spat in his face, told him to go fuck himself. Vi would have never given herself up to the Enforcers. But…she wasn’t Vi. She was Powder. And she wasn’t brave enough to do that. She wasn’t brave enough to fight.

                                                                                                                               ~

The next morning, Powder was given breakfast and walked to some sort of meeting room, standing on a platform and feeling anxiety course through her veins. She jolted as she was blinded by a spotlight, covering her eyes and wincing. Around the room, she could hear gasps and murmurs as the audience caught sight of her.

“A child? Preposterous.”

“How could a little girl have done so much damage?”

“She can’t be any older than ten…”

“No older than my daughter.”

One of the councilors cleared their throats. The most beautiful woman she had ever seen spoke up, her eyes dotted with gold. “Please state your name.” She said, looking at Powder with something like pity.

She was trembling as she spoke up. “P-Powder.” She said, wringing her hands. 

“Family name?” She asked.

Powder shook her head, staring down at the floor. “Just Powder. I don’t have a family name…”

Again, the murmurs and whispers settled across the room. Another councilor, a yordle with golden blondish fur, nodded. “And do you know why you’re here, Powder?” He asked, his voice kind. 

“I broke into that lab, and stole stuff, and caused an explosion…” she said, looking up and quickly back down. She was terrified, trembling in every limb.

“Did you intend to cause the explosion?” Heimerdinger asked. 

Powder’s head snapped up, and she looked horrified. “No! No- I didn’t- I never meant to-” She didn’t know what to say or do. They asked her more questions, and she gave them the best answers she could while not incriminating her family. Tears welled in her eyes, and the girl started to cry, hiccupping in front of them and wiping her eyes with her bound hands.

“Do you have parents?” One of the councilors asked, a woman with greying hair and a slight gap in her teeth “Aunts, Uncles, any living relatives who might take care of you.”

Powder paused. Vander. Vi. Mylo and Claggor.

“No. It’s just me.” She said, sniffing and staring at them. The room once again broke into whispers. 

“They can’t possibly send a child to Stillwater”

“Exile a kid? She’d die out there!”

“No family, nobody to go home to…”

Once again, the murmurs were broken by a councilor speaking up. The yordle from before looked around empathetically.  “My fellow councilors, I believe in this case does not deserve incarceration. This is clearly a child who made a tragic mistake. Nobody was killed in the explosion, and I am sure we can find a way to reimburse the Kiramanns.” He said, looking around. “I believe rehabilitation and education is the proper course here.” He could see a spark in her, a note of genius. Such imagination would be wasted in a ten-by-ten concrete cell.

The woman who had asked her name nodded. “I agree with Professor Heimerdinger. However, this begs the question of where she would go? Piltover does not have any orphanages.” She said, looking around. There was no need for them. Such a city of wealth and excess had no need for a place to put their youths.

Professor Heimerdinger thought for a moment, looking back at Powder, who sniffled and wiped her eye with the heel of her palm. “I will take in the girl. I will make sure that she learns the error of her ways and becomes a contributing member of society.” He said, nodding. “All in favor?”

Several of the councilors raised their hands, and in the end, it was a six to one in favor. The lights went up, and an Enforcer walked forward, uncuffing Powder. She rubbed her wrists, watching as Professor Heimerdinger walked forward, looking up at the child he had just taken in.

“Come, my girl. Let’s go home.” He said, leading Powder out of the room.

                                                                                                                          ~

The professor’s estate was modest, but wealth dripped from every corner of it. “This will be your new home. I will be enrolling you in the primary school the academy offers, and of course, you’re going to need a few check-ups and vaccinations from doctors and such.” He said, leading her through the house and up the stairs to her new bedroom. “We’ll have to get you new clothes and such, books, shoes. We can take care of all of that later, though. For now, this is your room.”

Powder walked inside, her mouth dropping open. The room she shared with her siblings could have fit inside here twice, and there still would’ve been space to spare. “All of this is mine?” She asked, looking at the large bed. She sat down, sinking into the soft mattress, running her hands along the heavy comforter and cotton sheets. 

“Yes, of course.” He said, voice gentle and kind. His eyes scanned her choppy hair and wrecked clothes, and he thought for a moment, trying to decide the best course of action. “Tomorrow we’ll get you a haircut and new clothes, and we’ll go from there.” He said, walking up to the girl and sitting next to her on the bed. “This is a second chance, Powder. An opportunity for you to use the potential that is simply burning inside of you. Do not squander it.” He said gently. “I only want the best for you.” He patted her shoulder. “Now, dinner will be done in around two hours. Until then, make yourself comfortable.”

There was the urge to run, deep in Powder’s stomach. Throw open the window, scale the trellis, jump the fence and be back in the lanes by midnight.

But was that what she wanted? All she would do was bring the enforcers down on her family’s head. Solve one problem with another.

No. This was where she was meant to be, and this is where she would stay. She had saved her family, and if that meant playing Piltie and living this life, then that’s what she would do. Who knows, maybe things would be better this way. She could be better.

She could be something more than a jinx.

Chapter Text

Powder Heimerdinger had spent the better part of the past ten years learning.

She learned about explosives, about stars, about engineering, about places she could have never even dreamed of, cultures, religion, history, biology, artistry, music. You name it, she had probably read a book or two on the topic. At only seventeen years old, she was better educated than most adults and could talk circles around any one of her teachers. 

But that didn’t mean she never made mistakes. No, not at all, she fucked up all the time. The key difference was what happened after the mistake. Before, in her old life, a mistake was the end. It meant something was over, done, completely finished. Someone was dead, the loot was lost, they had one shot, and if everything wasn’t perfect, it was ruined. Not here, though, not at the academy. Here a mistake could be a brand new beginning. A mistake had brought her here, and she had never been so glad to fail before.

Leaning back from her desk, Powder coughed as she removed her goggles, scrubbing the soot from the most recent mishap from her face. “Note to self.” She murmured, scribbling down the results in her notebook. “Friction will cause raw blackpowder to suddenly self-ignite” She sighed, rubbing her face. She had been working on variations of her newest weaponry for weeks now, and she had reached a plateau. She was well known by now for her gun designs, and she was hoping to have this next creation finished by Progress Day. She needed to make the Professor proud.

“Burning the midnight oil, my dear?” 

Powder turned her head and smiled when she saw the yordle walk in with two mugs. One had his favorite tea, and the other hot cocoa, with her favorite toppings. She took the mug, sipping the thick, chocolatey liquid. “Mmhm.” She hummed, sighing as she looked down at all her notes. “I don’t get it. I keep changing the ratios and messing with the calculations, but the results end up the same.” She sighed, shaking her head. “There has to be something I’m missing here.” She murmured.

Heimerdinger hummed, looking down at her notes. “Well, it appears like you’ve reached a standstill.” He said, nodding at her notes. “Perhaps if you attempt a different perspective, you’ll find what you need.” He said, putting the book back. He checked the time. “You should be getting some rest. There’s something we need to do tomorrow.” He said, patting her back. 

Powder finished off the rest of her drink, nodding. “I’m going to go take a shower, then I’ll head to bed, promise.” She said, leaning down and hugging Heimerdinger. “Goodnight, Professor.” 

“Goodnight, Powder.”

                                                                                                                           ~

Blood splatters across her cheeks, a dirty hand grabs her hair, the enforcer cuts it. All she can see is one glowing red eye, watching her like a wolf

“She jinxes every job”

“You’re right, Mylo, there’s a lot of things Powder just can’t do.”

Their eyes are dark and full of contempt as they stare, whisper about every detail, every mistake, every monumental fuck up she had ever managed.

The cuffs rattle on her skinny wrists, she’s scared, so scared, she’s powerless and there’s nothing she can do as the blood and whispers rise up, up, up, threaten to swallow her whole. She’s drowning, she’s dying-

Powder turned the water in the shower ice-cold, gasping as the frigid bite snapped her back to reality. Panting, she stared at the tile of the shower wall, both hands coming up to wipe the water away from her face and eyes. Shivering, she rinsed the last of the conditioner out of her hair. Stepping out of the shower, she dried herself off as she went, wiping the mirror and looking at herself. As she got ready for bed, she thought back to that night. The night everything changed.

Did they ever think of her, too? Did they look for her, or just let her go? Were they better off without her?

Did she do the right thing?

Of course, I did she thought to herself, scrubbing her hair dry with the towel. They were right. I couldn’t do a damn thing then she flipped her hair back, feeling it settle along her waist. I fixed my mistake, and everyone is better for it. If I saw them now they’d thank me.

She grabbed her toothbrush, shaking her head. I did the right thing.

Crawling under the sheets, Powder curled up on her side, cuddling the pillow close. In the beginning, she’d found the quiet and calm unnerving. She was used to hearing the others breathing, snoring in Claggor’s case, she was used to creaking and the bar settling, the sounds of the undercity lulling her to sleep. But she had learned to love the peace and quiet, the hush of the wind through the trees outside her window, and the sound of crickets chirping at night. Soon, Powder drifted off into dark and dreamless sleep, her mind falling still.

                                                                                                                            ~

Following Professor Heimerdinger into the Academy, Powder looked around as she walked with him. “Now, I want you to understand that this is an opportunity you can always say no to if you feel you are not ready, my dear.” He said, looking up at his ward.

“Where are we going?” She asked, holding onto the strap of her cross-body bag. “I don’t recognize this wing of the academy.” 

“That is a surprise.” He said, smiling a bit. “Come on.”

Up an elevator, down several hallways, and through a foyer later, Powder found herself standing in front of a large set of doors. The professor smiled as he opened them. “Powder, meet Jayce Talis and Viktor.” He said, watching as the two men looked up from their work and smiled. “They have offered you an internship with hextech.” 

Powder’s mouth dropped open as she looked over at the professor. “You’re kidding, right?” She asked incredulously. 

“No, he’s not,” Viktor said, walking forward on his cane. “I have reviewed your work myself, and what you have done is nothing short of exemplary. A little crude at times, but inspired.”

Jayce nodded, flashing that million-watt smile “We wanted to offer you this internship because we think you could truly be an asset to the hextech team.”

That wasn’t the whole truth, of course. Viktor had been…well, not watching, but paying attention to Powder over the past couple of years. He remembered her trial, watching this blue-haired child sob in front of the council. He had seen a piece of himself in the girl, and now he had an opportunity to extend a hand out to her, to help her achieve her own greatness.

Professor Heimerdinger nodded “So, what do you say, would you like to give it a shot?” He asked, looking up at the girl.

Powder, meanwhile, couldn’t believe it. She felt like she was in a dream as she nodded, her twin braids bouncing. “Yes! I mean- of course!” She said, shaking Jayce and Viktor’s outstretched hands. “I accept the internship.” She couldn’t stop smiling. It was every student’s dream to even work with hextech, to be acknowledged by Piltover’s man of tomorrow. And she was here, being offered the world on a plate. She’d have to be crazy to deny them.

Viktor smiled at her enthusiasm. “Well, when is the earliest you could start working?” he asked, looking as the girl bounced on her heels 

“Immediately- as soon as possible!”

Jayce nodded, smiling at her. “In that case, why don’t you take that free desk over there, and we can see what you can do.” 

                                                                                                                        ~

It was a long day, but fulfilling in its own way. She wouldn’t have traded any of this for the world. Walking home that night, she couldn’t help but run her mind through calculations and possibilities, hypotheses and tests they would need to run. She’d still be at the lab if Viktor hadn’t insisted she go home because of how late it was. Apparently, no matter how brilliant you were, you still had to get rest.

But Powder’s mind wouldn’t stop, and eventually, she ended up asleep at her desk, head resting on the wood as she snored. 

Heimerdinger smiled when he saw her, grabbing a throw blanket from her bed and covering her up, turning out the lights, and simply letting her sleep. She needed the rest, Progress Day was coming up soon, and she needed to be at the top of her game if she wanted to do her best.

Chapter Text

Progress Day was here, and Powder couldn’t be more excited. The team had a new innovation, and she knew that the future of Piltover was right here, right now. The hexgems would finally do what Jayce and Viktor had been striving to do all along: make life better for real people, right now. She stood back while they gave their little presentation, nodding excitedly.

But, nobody was less surprised than her when he rebuffed their progress, going on about needing ‘time’ and blah blah blah. She sighed, watching her guardian walk out. “He’s going to say that no matter what you guys do. I say, screw it.” She said once he was out of earshot “We know what we’re doing here is good, we know that we put in the effort. We have progress and innovation right here!” She said, her enthusiasm was infectious. 

Jayce chuckled, ruffling her hair good-naturedly “Slow down, cowboy. We should really think this through before getting in over our heads.” He checked the time “I have to go to a meeting with Councilor Medarda, you and Viktor finish up here and I’ll meet you at the stage.” he said.

                                                                                                                     ~

The Progress Day fair was one of Powder’s favorite events of the year. Even as a kid she used to beg Vi and Vander to let her go, even just to look at all the marvels, like a kid pressing his face against a sweetshop window, only able to imagine what wonders lay just out of reach.

She walked along the street that had been set aside specifically for progress day, sipping a cup of lemonade as she did. It was a few hours until it was time for Jayce’s progress day speech, and she had been told by Viktor to go ‘live a little’, whatever that meant.

She kept seeing things and thinking of her family. Claggor would’ve loved the sweets, Vi would have wanted to test her strength against the games and prizes. Vander would have killed to get his hands on some of these wines and ales. Mylo would have tried to steal just about every single thing that had gold on it in sight. Ekko would’ve run wild with her, flipping off enforcers and just being kids. She smiled at the image the thought conjoured.

She sighed, leaning against a wall. She didn’t want to think about her family. Not right now. She didn’t want to remember that she just…abandoned them. Left them behind. In her heart, she knew she had done the right thing, for everyone, but she still couldn’t help the guilt and shame that ate away at her core. 

She shook her head, sighing. She just…needed to rest. Yeah, that was it. She just needed to rest and stop thinking about the life she had abandoned, the people she had left behind. Things were better now. They were better. She was finally, for once in her life, truly happy.

And she wasn’t going to feel bad about it.

Powder looked up when she heard her name being called by some friends from the academy, smiling and setting her glass to the side. No, she wasn’t going to feel bad about a thing.

                                                                                                                    ~

Watching the speech from behind the curtain, she and Viktor waited excitedly to reveal the hexgems, the future of hextech, the future of Piltover, and Jayce…cut that all short. Powder was confused, backing away. “I knew he didn’t have the balls to go against the professor.” She scoffed, shaking her head. Anger, frustration, a sense of betrayal, all of this rattled around in her chest like a bunch of marbles, smashing into one another and bruising her ribs. She clenched her fists.

“I’m going out to get some air,” she said to Viktor, rushing out before he could stop her.

She had no idea what was to come. If she did, maybe she would have stayed. Maybe it wouldn’t have happened the way it did. But it did, and there was no going back from here. 

But she didn’t stay. Powder walked away, and everything that came next…who’s to say if it mattered at all.

                                                                                                                    ~

As she walked in the cool night air, Powder was struck by a sudden sense of doom. Her skin crawled, the wind whispered something is wrong, something is wrong, in her ears, and she felt like someone, something, was watching.

Somewhere to her right, she heard the sound of…fire, a child calling for help. Her head snapped up, and immediately Powder was running, trying to find the source. She passed some enforcers on the way, locking eyes with a blue-haired one as she ran.

“Fire- Fire!” She shouted, looking over her shoulder at the enforcers.

That was when the bombs went off.

The first thing she felt was the heat, scorching her skin as the blast knocked her off her feet. The sound hit her a second later, not unlike the mishaps at her lab, only much, much louder. As the girl was sent flying, a million thoughts raced through her mind. Professor Heimerdinger, Viktor, Jayce.

Vi, Mylo, Claggor, Vander.

Ekko.

As Powder hit the wall, she could only picture their faces in her mind’s eye, her head slamming into the concrete with a resounding crack

And the world faded away to nothing.

Chapter Text

Vi waited in the dark, standing on a hoverboard next to Ekko, watching. In his hand he held that pocketwatch he always kept on him, tracking everything down to the second. She glanced at him, watching for the signal, waiting. Another day, another shipment of Shimmer, another chance to hit Silco where it hurt.

A chance to redeem herself.

She could still remember that last night. Making one more mistake. She could remember abandoning him in the cold and rain, and by the time she’d gone looking for him the next day, he was gone. 

She couldn’t shake the shame she felt every time she remembered it. Every time she remembered what came next. Silco had taken over the Lanes in the course of months, and Vander was only just barely able to keep a small faction loyal to their original ideals. He had promises, honor, ideals.

But Silco had results, and when it came down to it, results won out over promises. Each and every time. On top of his results, he flooded the streets with Shimmer. Almost everyone in the undercity had not only dabbled with shimmer, and a not-insignificant portion was addicted to it. Vander had slowly, but surely, lost control, and now the only safe havens left in the lanes were The Last Drop and the firelight base. Everywhere else was owned by Silco, one chem baron or another.

Vi was shaken from her reverie when she saw the signal, moving forward with her team from one side, while Ekko attacked from another. 

The attack was going according to plan, trapping goons, destroying the shipment of Shimmer, avoiding enforcers. It was usually easy to take out the fuckers quick, but that was Ekko’s job. Vi was much more…hands-on,

She grunted as she dodged a punch from some guy who looked like he was still high from his last hit, elbowing him as hard as she could in the face before driving her knee into his groin, watching him fall. She looked around, hood up and mask secure. At least, she’d thought it was.

A shot rang out, and Vi’s head whipped to the side, grunting as she felt her mask tear off, sliding across the floor of the airship. Purple flames whipped around her as she stood to full height, tearing off her hood and looking towards where the shot had come from, narrowing her eyes.

She clenched her fist as she faced her past.

Her greatest shame.

Her brother.

Mylo.

                                                                                                                    ~

Dear friend across the river

              The air was thick in Powder’s lungs as she clung to Violet’s hand, covering her eyes

My hands are cold and bare

              She stepped over shattered glass, over corpses, picking through rubble and, above all else, not looking. Violet had told her not to look

Dear friend across the river

              The air was cold, biting into her skin and chilling her to the core. In the distance, she could hear enforcers yelling, shouting. Gunshots. Screaming.

I’ll take what you can spare…

                                                                                                                     ~

Powder snapped awake in a hospital bed, gasping and panting as she looked around. She sat up slowly, hissing as she reached up to touch her head. She had been bandaged up, and she felt incredibly sore. She looked around, seeing she was connected to an IV. 

A nurse walked in and blinked. “You’re awake. That was fast. Usually, with this level of injury, we’d expect you to be out for a day or longer. Professor Heimerdinger had to speak to some enforcers about the incident, I’ll be right back with him.” She said, checking Powder’s vital signs all the while. 

Powder watched in confusion. She shook her head, groaning. “What happened?” She asked, looking at the nurse. The woman paused, glancing over at Powder.

“I’ll…let your father explain.” She said quietly.

Powder didn’t feel strange at all to hear the professor referred to as her father. She laid back, groaning and trying to remember what happened. Heat, fire…an explosion, and…a boy, with dark brown hair wild around his head, and purple eyes.

She opened her eyes when she heard the door open again, looking over as Professor Heimerdinger walked in, leading in Jayce and Viktor. “Powder!” the yordle rushed to his daughter’s side, taking her hand. “Thank the stars, I was so worried about you.” He sighed. The next few minutes were spent fretting over her until she eventually demanded to know what happened. 

Jayce shook his head. “Earlier today there was an attack on the hexgates, and just after I finished my speech, there was a break-in. Somebody stole one of the hexgems.” He said, crossing his arms. “The explosion you got caught in was a diversion.”

Powder nodded, crossing her arms. “...Was anyone hurt?” She asked, looking up.

Viktor and Jayce glanced at each other. “Six enforcers died, one more was injured,” Viktor said quietly, deciding against sugarcoating it. 

Powder closed her eyes, rubbing her face. “Oh…god..” She shook her head

“At least you survived. You have a few injuries, and you need to rest for a bit, but the doctors expect you’ll make a full recovery.” Heimerdinger explained, looking up at his daughter. “I know you’re upset, what happened would be a lot for anyone, but you’re okay now.” He said gently “I promise.” 

Powder nodded, looking at her dad. “...When can I go home?” She asked quietly.

Heimerdinger sighed, patting her arm. “You should be cleared to go tomorrow, but they want to hold you overnight for observation,” He explained “We should be going, an emergency council meeting has been called,” He squeezed her hand gently one last time. “Rest up, my dear. You’re going to need it.” 

                                                                                                                     ~

I ask of you a penny, my fortune it will be

        Violet was calling out for their mom and dad, praying it wasn’t too late. 

I ask you without envy

        The smell of death and rot got stronger, blood and gore. The ash in the air was thick with the stench

We raise no mighty towers

         The ground shook underneath them, fear in every movement. Powder tightened her grip on Violet’s sweaty arm, clinging to her.

Our homes are built of stone  

         She heard footsteps approaching, clinging to Violet

So come across the river

         She opened her eyes

Caitlyn Kirraman walked into Powder’s room at the hospital, watching as the girl scribbled in a notebook. “May I have just a moment of your time?” She asked. She was the only possible lead in this situation. The prisoner in Stillwater had led her nowhere, but the suspect’s notes he had left behind had the name 'Powder' repeated constantly, layered over themselves again and again. It was a stretch, but it was all she had.

Powder looked up from her notebook. “You were the girl who helped me after the explosion- I…yeah, what can I do for you?” She asked, setting her notebook.  

Caitlyn pulled out a file full of pictures, looking around and making sure nobody was coming. Technically this wasn’t a cleared investigation. “You were adopted by Professor Heimerdinger around ten years ago, correct?” She asked. Powder nodded, looking up at her.

“Though I don’t see why that has anything to do with my injury at the progress day fair.”

Caitlyn opened the file, showing pictures from the attack on the hexgates earlier in the day. “Do you know anything about a Mylo?”

And find…

Chapter Text

Mylo laid on his back in his room, tossing a ball in the air and catching it.  He could feel his bruises settling along his skin, sinking in deep and reminding him of every failure. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Powder, exactly the way she was the last time he ever saw her, scribbling on one of her useless bombs that never actually worked. He avoided looking at her like he always did, not wanting to face what had happened.

“You lost again.” She said casually without looking over. She kept scribbling on her bomb, humming a little under her breath. 

Mylo stopped tossing the ball, squeezing it tightly. “Yeah, well, the fuck do you know?” He snapped, glaring over at her. He looked back up at the ceiling, closing his eyes tightly. He could hear her getting up, moving around the room. When he looked over again, she was scanning his schematics. His temper started to flare as he sat up. “What?”

She giggled a bit, looking over at him. “Silco thinks you’re weak.” She said in a sing-song voice “How long before he leaves you behind like Vi did? How long until you fuck up and he realizes how worthless you truly are?” Her voice was mocking, resounding around the room, echoing and bouncing off the walls.

“Shut up! Just shut up! You don’t know anything, you’re dead!” He yelled, throwing the ball at her. It hit the wall. Powder was gone. Mylo stood up, panicking as he looked around. “Powder- wait- please! I’m sorry! I-...” he looked down. “I’m sorry…” he whispered.

Mylo shook his head and walked over to his worktable, sitting down. He glanced at the little calendar he kept on his desk, sitting up and snatching it up. He checked the date, realizing what day it was.  “...I’ll prove I’m not weak.” He smirked. “I’ll prove it to you and Silco, do you hear me, Powder!?” Mylo shouted into the empty air. There was nobody listening to respond.

                                                                                                                    ~

Honestly, the security here was kind of pathetic. Rigging the bombs was easy as hell, and setting the audio to scream was easier. The enforcers were too busy getting drunk to notice. When the bombs went off, he watched a girl get thrown through the air, slamming into a wall. He took a moment and looked at her, watching her as she faded in and out of consciousness before falling still. She had blue hair, quickly being stained red as blood pooled under her head, and her face…she looked just like Powder, if Powder had a chance to grow up. For a moment, he froze, feeling Powder grab onto his arm. 

“That’s what I’d look like if you hadn’t killed me, huh?” She murmured, tilting her head to the side. “By the looks of it, you killed her too.” She shrugged, letting go and skipping inside with a hum. 

Mylo stared after his sister, then glanced back at the girl. With a quiet huff, he dragged her to a more visible area, grunting as he laid her down her and wiped her blood off on his pants. “There,” He muttered to himself “Now she won’t die because nobody saw her.” He said. He couldn’t kill Powder a second time.

                                                                                                                   ~

 When he got back to his lab, he immediately got to work, looking over the gem and trying to figure out how to make a weapon out of it. When Silco walked in, he stood up, grinning and pulling his safety goggles down around his throat. “I know you’re mad, but I think you’re gonna like what I have to show for all my hard work,” he smirked confidently, oozing with faux charm and bravado, grabbing the hexgem and tossing it at him, watching the man catch it in the air. 

Silco examined it, his good eye going wide.

“No need to thank me.” Mylo grinned, leaning back against the table and crossing his arms. He felt sweat beading at his temples, knowing that he was entirely expendable to Silco. Hell, everyone was expendable to Silco. There was nobody in the world the man wouldn’t kill or get rid of to complete his goals. Not one single person.

Silco nodded, chuckling a little as he handed the gem back to Mylo. “You’ve redeemed yourself.” He said, turning and walking towards the door “Don’t let this mistake happen again.” He murmured before leaving.

Mylo let out a breath, wiping his face. He had done it. He had proved he wasn’t weak. 

And he never would be again.

                                                                                                                     ~

Vi walked into the infirmary at the base, falling onto one of the beds and watching Ekko grab the supplies to suture her up. She stared down at her bruised and bloody knuckles. She closed her eyes when he walked up, wiping off the blood from her arm, cleaning it with an antiseptic that stung her nose and burned on her skin. Neither of them could look the other in the eye. Outside, they could hear children laughing. Children. Laughing. In the undercity. That sound alone was proof of miracles.

But they needed more than miracles to survive.

“You held your punches,” Ekko said eventually, shattering the uneasy silence. “You had him, you could have ended it.”

Vi shook her head, not even wincing as he stitched up her arm. She couldn’t look him in the eye as he finished off the sutures and bandaged her wound. She closed her eyes, feeling the weight of the unspoken words between them building, growing fat and heavy in the air, bloated with emotion and tears.

“Why.” One word held the weight of worlds.

She stood up, crossing her arms “You know damn well why,” She snapped, finally looking Ekko in the eye. “You know why I can’t just end it.”

Ekko looked away, putting the supplies back where they belonged. “Mylo is gone, Vi. You know that as well as I do. No amount of guilt or talking is going to bring him back.” He said it quietly, closing his eyes as he heard her slam the door on her way out.

Vi stormed to her room in the compound, locking the door behind her. She sat down heavily on one of the beds, holding her head in her hands. She closed her eyes, remembering every mistake, every failure that had led to her losing not just one sibling but two that awful night. She looked over at the table where she kept the various weapons she liked to keep on her. Stacked on top were several grenades. She couldn’t remember their names anymore.

Powder would’ve told her ‘no, that one’s mouser, this one is whiskers’, and talked about how this or that had nails or acid or smoke. Vi stood up, walking over and grabbing the monkey toy she had found in the rain. She traced it with a fingertip, running her nail over one of the grooves. No matter how much she cleaned it, she was sure it would always feel bloody and wrong. Tears welled in Vi’s eyes as she looked at the toy, pressing her forehead against it.

“I’m so sorry, Pow-Pow…I’m sorry…” She whispered into the empty air.

                                                                                                                    ~

Vi walked through the undercity, keeping her hood up until she made it to The Last Drop. As usual, Vander was tending the bar while Claggor was probably out, keeping an eye on the area surrounding the last drop, making sure none of Silco’s goons made it in. Out of all of them, he was the one who never quite left the nest. Just as well. She needed to know that at least one of them was safe here.

Vander watched Vi sit down in one of the bar stools, sliding her a glass of whiskey that she knew tasted like absolute shit. She downed it in one gulp, throwing her head back and coughing as the liquid fire burned a path down her throat.

“Something on your mind?” Vander asked, taking a puff from his pipe as he looked at his daughter. His eyes scanned her bruised, bloody knuckles, the bandage on her arm. He knew why she was here, even if she didn’t. Absolution. Benediction. Reassurance. She needed to know what she was doing was right, even if she would never ask.

“...I saw Mylo again.” She murmured, looking down and tracing the rim of her glass with one fingertip. “I saw him and I fought him but I just…I couldn’t..” she closed her eyes. “I don’t know what to do, Vander. I can’t convince him, I can’t…I can’t save him.” 

Vander remembered being in this situation, so many years ago. Holding Silco under the water, driving his thumb into his eye. The pain of having his arm cut down to the bone. The pain of losing the man he considered a brother and knowing that he had failed him. That he was the monster he had created. “Violet. I know he seems far gone, but if there is a chance that Mylo might still be in there, that he might hear you, you have to try.” he shook his head. “I…I wish I could say it gets easier, kiddo. I really do.” He reached out and ruffled her hair. “But he needs you. They all do.” He ducked his head, looking at the little cup he still kept under the bar. The one Powder had drawn on for herself. Losing her that night, knowing his girl had died while he was drinking himself into a stupor…the shame he felt. The shame he would never be able to shake.

Vi looked up at Vander, tears in those big blue eyes. “I miss her.” She murmured, shaking her head and closing her eyes when he tugged her into a hug, letting out a shuddered breath. She stood with a sniffle, wiping her eye with the heel of her palm. 

“Get home safe, Violet.” He said, squeezing her arm gently. 

“I will.”

Vander watched her walk out the door, closing his eyes and hanging his head. He couldn’t protect his children anymore. And he never would be able to again. 

                                                                                                                    ~

Powder paced around her room, worrying at her nails. No, no no no no. This couldn’t be happening, what she did wasn’t supposed to end like this. “Are you absolutely sure it was the name Mylo?” She asked the blue-haired Enforcer, who nodded as she pointed out the papers. 

“He signed his notes. Your name was scribbled in every margin. The man seemed to be obsessed with you.” She said, looking up at Powder, who shook her head. “Is something the matter?”

Powder huffed, grabbing a hair tie and pulling her hair back into one, long braid. “We have to go to the undercity. I can help you investigate.” She said, looking at the bag of clothing the professor dropped off and feeling grateful he’d grabbed pants instead of a skirt. She started to get dressed immediately, not even bothering to warn her new partner in crime. Or…partner in crime-fighting?

“You aren’t cleared to leave the hospital yet, and your father will be incredibly worried-”

Powder rolled her eyes “Okay, and? Do you want to stop Silco or not?” She asked, zipping up her pants and shoving on her boots. She pulled her shirt over her head, looking over at Caitlyn. “Come on.”

Cait bit her lip, looking out the door. “How are we going to get past security?” She said, pushing her notes into her backpack and pulling it on.

Powder thought for a second, then looked out the window. “Have you ever climbed a tree?” she asked.

                                                                                                                    ~

Perhaps leaving a non-explicit note behind about her plans in her bedroom at home wasn’t the best course of action considering her track record with that sort of thing, but it was the only idea she had. She also needed to grab the guns and bombs she had been hiding away under her bed. Just in case.

Powder ignored the bruises and burns and cuts that screamed at her as she ran, the way she used to run so long ago, when she was still wild, panting as she jumped across rooftops and slid down gutters. She felt like a kid again, running across rooftops with Vi. She could hear Caitlyn calling for her to wait and ignored it, grinning as she slid down a wall into an alleyway, brushing herself off with a grin.

She looked over when she heard a whistle, peering up at a man at least twice her size as he approached her with a knife. She tilted her head to the side, almost owlishly, and a small smirk appeared on her face as she reached behind her and grabbed one of her grenades.

                                                                                                                    ~

Caitlyn panted as she dropped down the alleyway after Powder, looking up as the girl walked forward, humming and tossing her some clothes.

 “Put those on. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb wearing that.” She said easily.

There was pink and blue powder splattered across the walls, and glitter shimmered in the air as she heard two voices groaning from the dark. She decided against questioning it and simply got dressed as Powder had said to.

“Where are we going?” She asked, following the girl. 

Powder seemed to think on it as they walked, rolling the question around in her head. They approached an intersection where the city got even deeper, the air even thicker, and Powder stared down at one of the buildings below, a pub of some kind called The Last Drop.

“Home. There’s someone I need to see.” She said quietly.

Chapter Text

Vander was wiping off the bar, watching as Claggor tossed out the last of the drunks. He was getting bigger every day and soon would likely end up taller than Vander himself. “Put up the chairs, will ya?” He asked his son, drying off a mug with a rag. He kept thinking about what Vi had said, about Mylo. About…

The door to the bar opened up, and he heard two sets of footsteps entering. He didn’t look up, knowing it was likely two drunkards on a bar crawl. “We’re closed.” He said firmly. The footsteps stopped, but he didn’t hear them leave. “I told you, we’re closed-” He finally looked up and dropped the glass, not even registering as it fell to the ground, shattering and sending shards everywhere.

“Even for family?” Powder asked quietly, tears brimming in her eyes as she held her hands tightly in front of her, sniffling. Her eyes overflowed as Vander rushed out from behind the bar, immediately wrapping her up into his arms, crushing her against his chest, pressing her close. Powder clung to his shirt, sobbing into him.

Vander felt tears soaking into his shirt, but he couldn’t care any less than he did at this moment. “Powder- I-” he didn’t have words as he pulled away, reaching up and caressing her cheek with his thumb, wiping the tears away from her eyes. “Oh, Powder…” He whispered. He scanned her face, taking in every detail, in case this was some cruel dream or joke. “Powder, what happened? Where did you go?” He asked quietly, stroking her cheeks. 

“You aren’t mad?” She whispered, sniffing and wiping her nose.

Vander shook his head, pressing his forehead against hers. He looked up when he heard someone clear their throat. “Who’s your friend?” He asked, standing up straight.

Powder looked over and nodded. “Vander, this is Caitlyn. I’ll explain everything in a second.” She looked around, almost desperate. “Where’s Vi?” She asked quietly.

Vander took a breath. “Come on. Not here, we should get somewhere more private, eh?” He looked over when he heard Claggor come down the stairs.

                                                                                                                      ~

After a few minutes of heartfelt reunion, Powder was pacing around the basement, chewing on her nail again. “Okay. So, after I left, you guys found my note, came racing after me, found my hair in a pile of blood-”

“And your monkey toy,” Claggor interjected

She nodded “And the monkey toy. And you just…thought I was murdered? What happened?” She asked, looking over at her father and brother. 

Claggor took a breath, shaking his head and running a hand through his beard. “Vi…she completely lost it when she thought you died. Hit Mylo across the face and sent him flying. I went with her and expected him to follow, but he never came home. We tried to find him the next morning, but he was gone. We looked for months, but he was just…gone. Like he disappeared. Then we found out he was running with Silco and…” He shook his head.

Powder ran a hand over her head. “And these…firelights. Vi started them with Ekko?”

Vander nodded. “As a way to push back against Silco. Ah, you’d’ve loved to be part of them, Powder.” He said. 

Caitlyn was bouncing her leg, listening to everything. This was all so much more intense than she had imagined it was. “So this, Silco character…” She asked, looking up at the two men “He’s the one who controls…everything.”

Claggor shook his head “Just about.” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Production of shimmer, the gambling halls, the brothels, and shimmer dens. You name it, he has a hand in it.” He said, sitting up.

“Why haven’t any of you gone to the council with this?” She asked, sitting up. “They could send an army of enforcers down here and-”

“And what? Clean house?” Powder scoffed “Enforcers don’t care about the undercity, the council doesn’t care about the undercity. As far as they’re concerned we’re nothing but nuisances.” She said, biting her nail.

Caitlyn furrowed her eyebrows. She bit back her words but wanted to comment about how Powder had been living under a councilor’s roof for the past ten years. Now wasn’t the time for petty comments.

“Where were you, Powder? What happened?” Claggor asked finally, looking up at her. 

Powder looked away, not able to meet his eye as shame coursed through her veins. “Not important. We can talk about it later. What matters right now is Mylo and Vi. Where is she? She doesn’t live here anymore?” She asked.

Vander shook his head. “She stays at the firelight base. Claggor can take you.” He said, standing. “Someone needs to stay here and guard The Last Drop.” He said, patting Powder on the shoulder “Vi needs to see you.” He said quietly. 

                                                                                                                       ~

Powder followed behind Claggor, avoiding looking at Caitlyn. She knew they all had questions, but answering them out on the street wasn’t safe.

 “So. Who’s your friend?” Claggor asked, looking over his shoulder at Powder and Caitlyn. He scanned them, still wearing those blue goggles on his forehead. “I never got your name.”

“Caitlyn.” The enforcer said, looking up at him. “You are Powder’s…?”

“Brother,” Claggor said, deciding against going into specifics about how their little family functioned, back before it was broken.

Powder nodded, clearing her throat. “So…what happened?” She asked, looking up. “The truth, this time. Vander sanitized it, I know he did” She squeezed her hands. “How badly did I fuck everything up?” She asked quietly, her head hanging low.

Claggor stopped, turning around. “Powder, come on…you can’t blame yourself for this. You couldn’t have known what happened…” He said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You tried your best-”

Powder’s head snapped up, looking around as she held up a hand “Wait- did you hear that?” She asked quietly. The world around them seemed to fall still, as if even the wind was listening.

Claggor and Caitlyn looked around, but Powder quickly pulled out the dual pistols she kept strapped to her thighs. Her eyes widened, she pointed one pistol and pulled the trigger right under Claggor’s arm. His head whipped around, and he saw one of Silco’s goons go down in a spray of red. Leading the pack was Sevika, that all familiar sword in hand as she took a chug of Shimmer, eyes glowing purple and veins engorging.

Caitlyn looked as Claggor and Powder immediately dropped into fighting stances, pulling out her gun and backing up. She wasn’t used to this kind of fighting, up close and immediate, and it was impossible to aim when every move brought a friend into her sight instead of foe, and Powder…Powder wasn’t helping.

Powder moved like a hurricane, like a pile of snakes twisting and undulating upon itself, skinny limbs flying through the air and striking. It started to take on a pattern. Kick, strike, shoot, kick, strike, shoot. She didn’t just move, she flowed. Her opponent went to strike her and she just…wasn’t there. She was smoke on water, she was sharp and thin and fierce and alive. 

Claggor was a bulldozer. He didn’t have the tact or grace that Powder had in the tip of her pinky finger, but in trade, he had power, the kind of force that knocked a man on his ass and kept him there. Caitlyn watched the man square off against Sevika, dodging her attacks. He grabbed the sword she tried swinging at him, ignoring the pain as it sliced into his palm. It became a bit of a tug of war between the two, pushing this way or that.

Caitlyn could see that Sevika was winning and took a breath, aiming and firing off two shots into her shoulder. She didn’t see the man next to her holding a knife, so focused on her aim, and gasped as she felt it plunge between her ribs, a slice of fire and a gush of blood, grunting and kneeing him in the gut, shooting at his retreating form as he ran, collapsing to one knee and supporting her weight on her rifle.

Powder stood in the center of the chaos, panting as she watched Sevika and the remaining goons retreat. She looked over when she heard a body fall and rushed to Caitlyn’s side, panicking deep in her chest as she saw the knife fall to the ground.

“Caitlyn! Shit- shit shit that’s a lot of blood-” She tried to help her up, but stopped when Claggor gently pushed her aside, lifting the woman up. “How far is the firelight base?” She asked, looking up at her brother as Caitlyn continued to bleed.

Claggor looked down, glancing at an alleyway. “Not far, I know a shortcut, come on. They have healers.” He said, starting to run. Powder followed close behind.

                                                                                                                     ~

Vi was talking to Ekko in their map room, plotting out their next plan for an attack on Silco “If we focus on this shimmer production factory, we can essentially cripple their main source.” She said, tapping the location.

Ekko nodded, rubbing his chin a bit. “I think we should form three strike teams and attack all of them at once. Take them out by the knees.” He said, looking over at Vi. She seemed to have calmed down, and he was glad. Infighting would hurt them more than any attack from Silco or the chem barons ever could. They needed to be united if they wanted to survive.

They continued their conversation until the door slammed open, and a girl stood in the doorway. “Vi, Ekko, quick we need you for a situation in the medbay.” She panted, leaning over on her knees. 

“What happened?” The two asked in unison, immediately following the girl 

She shook her head. “Claggor came in-”

“Claggor?” Vi interjected, “Isn’t he usually patrolling around the last drop by now?” A million horrible possibilities filled up her mind as she shook her head. “I knew I should’ve forced Vander to let us establish a patrol-”

She was cut off by the girl, who cleared her throat, leading them to the elevator and pulling on the lever that brought them to the right floor. “He wasn’t alone. He had two blue-haired girls with him, and one was fucked up, really bad, pale as a ghost.”

Ekko thought for a second “One of ours?” He asked, looking over. 

The girl shook her head, crossing her arms “Nuh-uh. Don’t recognize either of them.  But the one girl, the one who wasn’t stabbed, demanded to talk to you by name, Vi. She refuses to talk to anyone or explain anything until she can see you. She’s got guns and grenades and..” She shook her head “Just come on.”

Vi rolled up her sleeves, immediately preparing herself for a fight. She could hear shouting inside the med bay, multiple voices demanding dominance over the conversation. One…sounded so familiar. The way a smell was familiar, or a particular shade of blue reminded her of-

“Touch me and I will shoot your fucking dick off!” That familiar-but-not voice shouted, firing off a warning shot

Vi slammed open the door, eyebrows furrowed “What the fuck is going on in-”

She looked up

and locked eyes with a ghost.

Powder stood in the middle of the room, gun pointed at one of the firelights who held a knife in his hand. “Vi…” She breathed.

And time stopped

Chapter Text

Ekko couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think of anything but Powder

The Powder who had been his best friend since he was five years old and they would dig through scrapyards for nuts and bolts and cogs. The Powder who used to jump on beds with him to see who could touch the ceiling. The Powder who was his first love, the girl he had daydreamed of, even if he could never say that to her face.

The Powder who’s funeral he watched through blurry eyes as the only piece left of her was burnt and scattered to the wind.

The Powder who was right in front of him, pointing a gun at one of his lieutenants.

“Everyone stand down!” He snapped, taking control of the situation. He leveled his man with a look, staring until he put the knife away. 

Powder put her gun on the ground, kicking it away from herself and raising her hands. “I can play nice, see?” Her eyes were focused entirely on her sister.

Ekko glanced over at Vi, who seemed to be in a state of shock. He reached out for her, but she moved faster than he would have thought and he thought, for half a second, she was going to attack Powder, call this out as some kind of trick or ploy.

Vi wrapped Powder up in her arms, cradling her close and shaking her head “Powder!” She gasped, cradling the back of her head before pulling away, holding her cheeks. “Oh, Powder I- how- What-” She didn’t understand what was going on, but she didn’t care.

Powder shook her head, gripping Vi’s wrists and looking up at her. “I don’t have the time to explain. My friend is hurt and she needs medical attention, please.” Powder begged, looking over at Ekko with fear in her eyes “Please.”

Ekko nodded, looking over at Amira, the girl who had gotten them. “Go grab Nyota, she’s probably in the mess hall.” The girl on the table let out a groan of pain, coughing up blood. “Go, now!” He snapped. “Claggor, you stay here and make sure she doesn’t die. Everyone else, out.” Nobody questioned his orders, and he watched Powder pick up her gun, sticking it in a thigh holster.

“Vi…Powder. Come with me, we should have a chat.” 

                                                                                                                    ~

Powder sat down heavily on one of the seats in the little office/room that she was brought to. Along the walls were various maps of Piltover and Zaun, all in great detail. Little notes were spread along the margins, and specific coordinates had been circled, underlined, crossed out, or otherwise marked up. This was the work of years. The work of a decade. How much had she missed while she was off playing Piltie? Guilt rushed through her as she looked down at her hands.

“What happened? Where were you, we- we thought you were dead.” Vi asked quietly, crouching in front of Powder and taking her chin gently, forcing her to look up. She scanned her face, love and confusion and concern mixing and mingling in her chest.

Powder looked away. “Well, when I went to the enforcers, I was arrested. On the way to Piltover, we were stopped by this man with a red eye-”

“Silco…” Vi murmured 

“Him,” Powder nodded “That guy who had harassed us on our way home from the lab was with him. He drank some sort of purple liquid and…he turned into a monster. One of the enforcers pushed me into the other one’s chest. He picked me up and we started to run, but he grabbed onto my braid. The enforcer cut it and we kept running. I looked back and saw…I saw them slaughter the one we left behind. But they…they took her body with them. Like some kind of demented trophy.” She said quietly.

“What happened next?” Ekko asked, looking over as Powder stood up, wrapping her arms around herself.

She closed her eyes, shaking her head. “I was arrested, and put on trial…” She said quietly

Vi closed her eyes, looking down “Powder, I-”

“I wasn’t sent to Stillwater.” She said quietly

Ekko and Vi looked over, confused.

“Professor Heimerdinger, the head of the council, took me in. Said he would make me a contributing member of society,” She had tears in her eyes and couldn’t look at the two, squeezing her hands. “He’s been raising me ever since…” She almost couldn’t get the words out, shame dripping off of her, pouring out like blood from an open wound 

“Powder-” Vi said quietly

“I thought about running, I did! But that would’ve brought enforcers down on our heads, and- and that would have brought us back to square one and-” She started to hiccup as tears poured down her cheeks “and I didn’t want anyone to get hurt because I f-fucked up, and I always ruined everything anyway so-”

“Powder-”

“So I thought you all might be better off without me and-”

“Powder!” Vi grabbed her sister’s cheeks, wiping her tears away. “Powder, it’s okay. You did what you had to do.” She said, stroking her cheeks. “I understand. Okay? You were trying to do what you thought was right and…” She shook her head, pulling Powder into another hug. “I’m just…I’m glad you’re okay…” She said, pressing her forehead against her sisters.

Powder kept crying, nodding as she hugged Vi again. She pulled away, sitting back and wiping her eyes. 

Ekko cleared his throat, looking over at Powder. “What made you come back?” He asked quietly. “After all this time?” 

Powder nodded, wiping her eyes. “While I was in Piltover, I joined the academy. Eventually, I became part of the hextech team.” She said, standing up and reaching into her bag, pulling out one of her journals. “We created something new called the hex-gems. These are way more powerful than the original hex-crystals. Just one has enough energy to level a city if used correctly.” She shook her head “There was a break-in at the lab on progress day, and Mylo managed to get his hands on one of them.” She looked over at Ekko, tapping the page. “He has his hands on one of the most powerful sources of destruction and creation in Piltover.” She said quietly “He could use it to launch a mass scale attack and…”

“Start a war..” Ekko murmured.

Powder nodded, rubbing her face. “The Undercity wouldn’t survive an all-out war with Piltover. We need to stop Mylo before it’s too late and he gets everyone killed.” She said, standing up straight. 

Vi nodded, crossing her arms. “We need to find a way to get through to him.” She said, looking at Powder. She saw Ekko shaking his head, deciding to ignore it for now. “He’s our brother. And if he knew that you hadn’t died, maybe he’ll see reason.” She said, placing a calming hand on Powder’s arm. “But we can focus on all of that tomorrow. We aren’t getting anywhere tonight.” She said. Vi checked the time, nodding. “I’m going to go check on Claggor and your friend.” Vi squeezed Powder’s arm one last time before turning and walking out. She had a feeling that Ekko and Powder needed to talk to one another. 

                                                                                                                     ~

Ekko looked at Powder when Vi left, scanning her. He had no idea how he felt, no idea what to do with himself. “You…look good.” He said quietly. She wasn’t the scrawny, underfed girl he remembered. She was…just as beautiful as he remembered. He cleared his throat, looking down.

“I’m sorry.” Powder said quietly, looking up at him. “Ekko…I never meant to hurt you. I..I tried writing you your own letter.” She said, walking up and placing a gentle hand on his arm. He looked down, meeting her eyes with an emotion she couldn’t quite place. “I wrote it at least half a dozen times. But I never quite got it right…I thought…I thought you’d be better off without me. Better off living a better life where I couldn’t mess anything up.” She said, looking up and meeting his eyes. 

Ekko’s eyebrows furrowed, and he shook his head. “You were the brightest part of my life. Did you know that?” There were tears in his eyes as he pressed his forehead against hers. “Losing you was…it was like losing part of me.” He felt vulnerable in this moment. Like he was exposing some part of himself to the world that hadn’t seen the light of day since he was seven years old. “I missed you..so much.” He whispered, pulling her into a hug he never wanted to let go of. He couldn’t help but notice the way she smelled, like roses and mint.

Power closed her eyes, wrapping her arms tight around Ekko and burying her face in his neck. “I missed you too.” She said, sniffing. “I used to write you letters. I never intended to send them, but it was a way to talk to you. To all of you..” She said, sighing “...I wrote you the most..” She laughed a bit, wiping her eye with the heel of her palm. “I kept them in a box under my bed, and any time I had a bad day or I was upset, I’d write you a letter, and I’d seal it, and…” She shook her head. “I just wanted to hear your voice again…” She sniffed, pulling away and looking up into his eyes.

                                                                                                                     ~

Vi made her way back to the infirmary, walking in. Nyota seemed to have taken control of the situation. “Claggor. Can I talk to you?” She asked, jerking her head towards the hallway. 

He nodded and stepped out into the hall with her, looking down at a cut that had been wrapped up by someone else while their main healer was busy making sure that Caitlyn didn’t die.

“What happened? And, who is that? How does she know Powder?” Vi asked, looking up at her brother.

Claggor sighed, rubbing his wrist. “It was Sevika. She got us not too far from the south-street entrance. You should block that one off, just in case. We got into a fight.” He shook his head “You should have seen Powder. The girl was practically a living hurricane.” He said. “And, the girl in there is Caitlyn. She’s some Piltie friend of Powder’s. She’s good with a gun.” He looked around. “I think she might be an Enforcer. I found this in her pocket while helping Nyota open her shirt to get a look at that stab wound.” he held out an Enforcer badge.

Vi took it, nodding and putting it in her back pocket. “If Powder thinks she’s trustworthy, she’s probably safe, but even so we should be careful. I’ll question her when she wakes up.” She said, crossing her arms. She closed her eyes. “...I fucked up.” She felt her throat becoming tight. “It’s my fault that Mylo joined Silco. It’s my fault that all of this is happening.” She said quietly.

Claggor put a hand on Vi’s shoulder. “You made a mistake. But it’s not too late to fix it. Together, alright?” He asked, pulling his sister into a hug.

Vi nodded, pulling away after a moment.

“I should be getting back to the last drop. But don’t be afraid to stop by, okay?” He asked, squeezing her arm.

                                                                                                                     ~

Vi led Powder to her room, showing everything to her. “For tonight you can stay with me. We’ll figure out long term arrangements later.” She said, getting dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top for sleeping, tossing Powder an oversized t-shirt to sleep in. “It’ll be like when we were little.” Vi smiled, pulling a blanket out of the closet so they didn’t have to share.

 Powder put all her various weaponry on the table, dropping her bag on the ground. She got dressed for bed and crawled under the blanket, facing Vi for a moment. “Are we still sisters?” She asked after a moment, clinging to the sheets and looking up with those big blue eyes.

Vi sighed, rubbing Powder’s cheek for a moment. “Of course we are, Pow-Pow. Of course. You’ll always be my sister.” She murmured, “Now go to bed.”

Powder nodded, turning over in the sheets and closing her eyes as Vi flicked off the lights. “I love you…” she murmured

“I love you too. Goodnight.”

                                                                                                                 ~

A world away, Professor Heimerdinger was pacing his sitting room, reading and re-reading the letter that Powder had left for him, shaking his head. When there was a knock at the door, he absentmindedly shouted for whoever it was to come in.

“You requested to see me, sir.” 

Heimerdinger looked up and felt relief course through him. “Marcus, thank goodness you’re here.” He held out the letter “My daughter, Powder, has gone missing. I need you to look for her. Please.” 

Marcus nodded, taking the letter. He remembered that night, carrying Powder in his arms. Saving her life. “I’ll take a small squad into the undercity and we’ll find her. I promise.” 

                                                                                                                   ~

Silco sat in his office, examining his eye. He watched Sevika walk in, tilting his head at her condition. 

“The sister is back from the dead.” She snapped.

Chapter Text

Powder woke up alone in bed, yawning as she sat up. After redressing in her clothes from the day before, she started to wander around, looking for Vi. She had no idea how large this place was, how many people it held. As she walked out onto some kind of balcony, she looked around. This place was…a safe haven. She could see sunlight, filtering through the trees. The air here was clean and pure. 

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Ekko murmured as he came up behind her. “We built this community to provide a home, resilience against Silco and the Chem Barons.” He said, looking over at Powder as her eyes scanned the mural. Staring back at her was her own face.

“It’s everyone we’ve lost.” He said, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck. “I made sure that you were the first person we put up.” He said, looking at Powder. “I painted you myself. I..I wanted to be the one to remember you. I didn’t want anyone to get anything wrong.”

The moment was somber and quiet, until Powder chuckled a bit.

“You made my teeth look bad.” She teased him gently

Ekko glanced over, looking at the mural “What? No I did not-”

Powder laughed, pointing it out “Yes, you did, I did not have that much of a gap between my front teeth!” She said, elbowing him in the side

“Oh yes you did!” He laughed, smirking at her. “Lemme check, lemme check, something tells me you still got that goofy smile.”

Powder gave him an open mouthed, wide smile, and he tilted her head towards him, holding her cheeks and examining her smile.

“Mmmm…yep you still got a gap between your front teeth.” 

Powder rolled her eyes, laughing as she shook her head. “Whatever…” She said, looking away. She stood up with a sigh. “Where’s Vi?” She asked after a comfortable moment.

“I think she’s questioning that enforcer friend of yours.”

                                                                                                                     ~

Caitlyn opened her blurry eyes, groaning as she looked around. Next to her was a pink-haired woman, leaning back in a chair with her arms crossed. She looked over, blinking awake. For half a moment, she was convinced she was looking at an angel.

Then she opened her mouth.

“Rise and shine, cupcake. I got some questions for you.” Vi said, leaning forward onto her knees. Her eyes scanned Caitlyn’s body as the girl sat up. “So, you’re an enforcer. Officer Caitlyn Kirraman, right?”

“How do you know my name?” Caitlyn asked, eyebrows furrowed. She looked at Vi as the woman pulled out her badge, dropping it in her lap.

“Word from the wise, don’t leave important shit out where anyone could get to it.” Vi said. She looked at Caitlyn, watching her reactions closely. “What are you doing with Powder? How did you meet her?” She asked.

Caitlyn frowned, shaking her head. “She was injured during the progress day attack in Piltover. She got caught in the explosion and landed in the hospital. I went to her to interrogate her about someone named ‘Mylo’,” The enforcer said “She offered to investigate with me, and seeing as she was my only lead I couldn’t exactly say no.” 

Violet sat back, looking at Caitlyn. She looked conflicted, the parts of her that were clinging to hope warring with the parts of her that had already given in to what had happened. What she couldn’t change. “Mylo did this?” She whispered

“How do you know him?”

                                                                                                                    ~

Mylo was huffing as he fiddled with the hexgem, groaning. None of this made any sense to him. He circled a diagram in the book, ignoring Powder in the corner. She hadn’t said anything for a while, and it was ticking him off more than when she would actually say anything. She just…stared at him. 

“What?” He snapped, looking over at her.

“You need to figure this out. You need to prove to Silco that you aren’t worthless.” She whispered, tilting her head to the side. “If you fail, Silco will kill you. He’ll see how weak you really are. He’ll realize he should have never taken you in.”

Mylo looked away, standing up and dropping the book. “That’s enough out of you. I’m getting real sick of your bullshit.” Mylo snapped. He knew what he needed. He knew what he had to do to get her to shut up.

He’d said it would be only once. Try it, just once and never again. Once became twice. Twice became three times. It had only spiraled from there. He had found himself needing more and more shimmer, and he needed it often. He grabbed his jacket, throwing it over his shoulders. He’d just go to the den, take a few hits, cool his nerves and get back to work. That’s all he needed to do. That’s all he could do. Just one hit, just one, and he’d be fine.

Just one hit.

                                                                                                                     ~

Marcus kept his head down, walking slowly through the city. Thankfully, he hadn’t seemed to have drawn much attention. As he stepped down an alleyway, he saw an explosion of glitter on the wall, and signs of a fight. He’d recognize Powder’s bombs anywhere, and followed the most likely path she would have taken, eventually finding himself standing before a tavern known as ‘The Last Drop’.

Pushing the door open, he walked inside, scanning the area as he sat at the bar. He ordered a glass of whiskey, just hoping not to look too suspicious. He recognized the owner. Vander. Hound of the underground. If he was correct, the man knew everything about everyone in the undercity. Or, he did ten or so years ago.

“Barkeep, I was hoping to get some information out of you.” Marcus said, sipping his whiskey and having to suppress a gag. 

“Oh? And what’s that?” Vander asked, tilting his head to the side and leaning on the bar.

“I was…hoping to find a girl. Blue hair, maybe seventeen, scrawny.”

Vander’s eyebrows furrowed, but he shook his head. “Sorry, haven’t seen anyone.”

Marcus nodded, downing the rest of the vile liquid before walking out, deciding to try and follow the dead trail elsewhere. There had to be somewhere she had gone.

Vander, meanwhile, whistled for Claggor. “Go to Vi, there’s someone after Powder. An enforcer.” he murmured.

                                                                                                                       ~

Powder looked at Vi as she told her about where Mylo would be. “Are you absolutely sure he frequents a shimmer den? There’s no way that Mylo would touch that stuff.” She said, eyebrows furrowed.

Vi took a breath “No, he does. Frequently.” She said quietly. “His eyes are purple now, a tell-tale sign of shimmer dependency.” She shook her head, tapping the map on the wall. “We’re going to break into two teams. Me and Caitlyn will hit The Powder Room while you and Ekko go to Smoke and Mirrors. If either of us find Mylo, we don’t engage. This isn’t going to be a fight. We need to talk to him, get him on our side, and maybe we can have a mole into Silco’s operations.”

Ekko shook his head “Vi…”

Vi cut him off “Ekko, not here. Not now. I know what you think. But we have to try, alright? With Powder here, we can fix this. We can…we can try. Alright?”

Ekko took a breath “Fine. One shot. We try it one time your way, and then we do it mine if it fails, got it?” 

Vi nodded, crossing her arms. “Deal. Come on, we don’t have time to waste.”

Chapter Text

Heyyyy guyssss.

It’s me

The biggest disappointment you knowwww Sorry I haven’t been posting! I’m…..depressed really and I’ve been finding it hard to do pretty much everything 

HOWEVER I am almost finished with the next chapter soooo, stay tuned!

For real, tho, I do appreciate all of you so much, and I read every single comment. I promise I haven’t forgotten about powder blue in here, I’m just a college student trying to make it work!

all my love!

Chapter Text

Mylo wasn’t sure why he started taking shimmer. Maybe he’d wanted to look cool, maybe he had felt the need to prove his loyalty. Or maybe he had wanted to forget, but that was entirely counter productive, in hindsight. Powder had only shown up after he took his first hit.

The why didn’t really matter much anymore. Only that he took it. Only that he felt the purple in his veins. He didn’t shoot it up the way some people did, instead choosing to smoke and inhale the stuff. As he entered the shimmer den, he made his way to his usual room, ignoring Powder as she stared at him from the corner, her blue eyes accusatory.

As the first hit entered his lungs, he immediately relaxed. His body sank back into the cushions under him, and Powder faded away, along with everything else. This was what he needed.

                                                                                                                     ~

Ekko and Powder rode on his hoverboard through the city, her skinny arms tight around his waist. He felt bare without his mask, but Vi had told them they needed to be incognito here. He was already pushing it with the board, but they needed to be fast. They couldn’t afford to miss Mylo.

“Are you sure you know where we’re going?” Powder asked, clinging tighter to Ekko and burying her face against his back.

“Just trust me, I know this city better than the back of my hand.” He responded, chuckling at her tightening grip on his waist. “Don’t tell me you’re scared.” He grinned

“Oh, no, definitely not. We’re just almost a hundred feet above the ground, flying on a two-by-four piece of metal.” She snarked.

Ekko sighed, patting her hand. “You trust me, don’t you?” He asked, his voice gentle.

Powder peeled her head away from his back, looking at him as he stared back at her. “....Yes.” She said after half a moment.

Ekko nodded, squeezing her hand. “Then you should know I’m not going to let anything hurt you.”

Powder just nodded, pressing her face against his neck. The two eventually dropped down a few blocks away from Smoke and Mirrors, stashing his hoverboard in one of the cache’s the firelights had hidden around the undercity.

“You know this place?” Powder asked as they walked to the den. She brushed by several seedy characters, but thankfully her hair allowed her to blend into the crowd. 

Ekko nodded, taking a breath. “Technically, shimmer can be bought and used anywhere, but Shimmer Dens are popular. They’re one part brothel, one part bar, and the rest are private rooms where anything goes.” He explained, wrapping an arm protectively around Powder’s waist when he saw several men leering at her, shooting them a glare. He knew she could protect herself, but he still felt the need to keep her safe.

As they entered the building, he led her to a dark corner, looking around.

“We need to find him discreetly,” He said quietly, practically whispering in her ear. Powder ignored the way his voice sent goosebumps down her spine. “A full out brawl in here would be…difficult.”

Powder nodded, but her eyes widened when a familiar figure entered the building.

                                                                                                                      ~

Caitlyn was…annoyed, to say the least. Powder had been a character, yes, but her sister was, simply put, absolutely infuriating. She had never wanted to throttle another woman more in her life. 

Vi refused to explain a thing they were doing, and had a seeming distaste for the enforcer. She panted as they finally stopped running, looking at Vi. 

“What is this place?” Caitlyn asked, following after Vi as the pink haired woman walked inside, pulling her hood up. 

“The Powder House. It’s a shimmer den.” She said quietly, walking to the front desk and paying a fee for a room. It was the only way to get inside. “Also technically a brothel.” Vi may or may not have used those specific services a few times.

Caitlyn nodded, ducking her head a bit as they kept walking. “And how are we supposed to find Mylo in here-”

She gasped a bit as Vi suddenly pinned her against the wall. “You talk too loud, cupcake. And you’re gonna get us caught. So just stay quiet and follow my lead.” She murmured. 

Caitlyn ignored the way her stomach fluttered as she looked down at Vi, blushing. “...right.” She said quietly. 

Vi smirked a bit and let Caitlyn go. 

Together, the two traveled deeper into the den. 

                                                                                                                  ~

Powder was panicking, grabbing onto Ekko and dragging him into an empty closet. “We need to hide.” She hissed, looking around. 

“What’s going on?” Ekko asked, looking down and grabbing Powder’s shoulders. “Powder, talk to me.”

She looked back up at him. “There’s an enforcer here. I think he’s looking for me.” She whispered. She could hear footsteps coming to the dorm and panic bubbled in her stomach.

Ekko had an idea. Looking around, he grabbed Powder’s hips, swallowing thickly. “Powder, I need you to trust me, okay?” Ekko said before pinning Powder against the wall, caging her in, his back facing the wall, slotting one of his knees between her legs, and pulling her into a kiss. 

She melted against his chest, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. The kiss was…fantastic. It felt like fireworks were going off in her chest, and she never wanted it to stop.

The door swung open, and a man with black hair peered inside. Ekko looked over his shoulder with an annoyed expression, sneering. “What?” He snapped, hiding Powder in his chest..

The man stammered out an apology and quickly shut the door.

Ekko let out a breath, looking down at Powder. “I think it worked.” He said quietly.

Powder nodded, looking up at Ekko with a blush. “Right…yeah, uh…you can…let me go now.”

Ekko blushed as well, clearing his throat. “Right, sorry.” He backed away, clearing his throat as Powder brushed herself off. “So.”

“Mylo.”

“Right. Yes. Mylo.”

“We should. Uh. Keep looking for him.”

“Yes. Lets, uh,” Ekko cleared his throat “Lets go.”

                                                                                                                       ~

Mylo sat up from his couch, coughing a bit. He groaned as he rubbed his head, stretching his back and feeling it crack. He stood, making his way downstairs. He bumped into a man who was practically running. “Fuckin watch it.” He grunted.

“Right, sorry.” The man said, nodding.

Mylo scoffed and rolled his eyes. He turned a corner, seeing a blue haired girl.

That same blue haired girl he’d saved.

Their eyes met, and he felt all the breath leave his chest.

“Powder?”

Chapter Text

Time had stopped. The sand in the hourglass paused midair, and the hand on the clock stopped ticking. Mylo couldn’t breathe.

This wasn’t happening, was it? No, it couldn’t possibly be happening. He was high. He was high, Powder was in the corner, and everything was normal. He’d wake up, and get back to work, and he’d be stuck in his old crummy life. Silco would yell at him again for getting high, he’d redeem himself with some heist or another, and everything would go back to normal. He didn’t even register that Powder- the older Powder with long hair and fancy clothes, was speaking. 

Until there were two Powders.

“Mylo…” Powder whispered, eyes wide and wild. She took a step forward, Mylo took a step back. He looked like a cornered animal, tensed and ready to strike should he feel threatened. She kept her hands up, away from her guns, and prayed Ekko kept back.

“Mylo?” Powder asked, grabbing his arm. He looked down at her, those big blue eyes boring a hole into his head, “who is she?” Her voice was accusatory, annoyed. How could he dare to have hope? Hope that he could be redeemed, horrible him, awful him, the him that killed the little girl he loved so dearly because she lost a bit of loot?

Who is she?

Who is she?

His eyes locked on Ekko, and the hourglass didn’t start again. No, the hourglass exploded, the clock spun out of control, and everything happened fast. Faster than he wanted it to, faster than he’d meant for it to.

Powder watched as his hand dropped to his waist, and she threw herself in front of Ekko, grabbing his wrist as he grabbed the large wrench he kept. “Mylo, no!” She shouted, but it was too late. An explosion of red rocketed her off her feet, and Ekko caught Powder in his arms as they hit the wall.

The crowd started screaming, running for safety. Glass shattered, and Ekko rolled on top of Powder so she wouldn’t get trampled. After a moment, there was a lull in the panic.

He looked up, and rolled, yelling for Powder to wake up as Mylo swung a pipe at them.

“You aren’t real!” Mylo shouted, anger burning in his chest as his eyes burnt purple. “You aren’t real! Stop it! She died! Stop acting like Powder!” He slammed the wrench down again, missing Ekko’s head by a hair. He knocked the young man in the chest, sending him reeling. Mylo whirled on the girl pretending to be his sister, panting, his eyes wide and wild.

Powder stood, scrambling backwards. “Stop! Will you stop! Let me explain!” She pleaded, backing away and ducking as Mylo swung at her, again and again. “Please! I know you’re angry, you have every right to be!” She grabbed the pipe, dragging Mylo closer. If he would just look, he would see it was her! He would understand, she could explain, she could fix this. “Please, Mylo! It’s me! Look into my eyes! It’s-“ 

She hardly expected the knife in her stomach, and she was almost surprised at how badly it hurt. She looked down as blood poured between her lips, choking. Mylo kicked her back, sending her to the floor. Hot, red blood dripped from the blade, and she laid on the ground, choking and coughing. She pressed her hands to the slick skin of her belly, curling up small to protect herself

“Powder died years ago, you aren’t real…” Mylo hissed. He raised the wrench high, and Powder closed her eyes tight.

A second passed

Two

The wrench didn’t fall.

Powder opened her blurry eyes, and saw Marcus tackle Mylo, pinning him to the ground. The two wrestled, and she felt warm arms lift her, dragging her back to the exit. She tried to struggle, but Ekko wouldn’t let her.

“We have to go! Come on, Silco’s guy’s will be here any second!” He snapped, and without an argument, the two disappeared into the panicking crowd.

Powder didn’t make it far, limping. Her pale skin had turned all but translucent, and Ekko panicked. “No, no, no, no, c’mon, c’mon, I just got you back!” He hissed, picking her up and dragging her to the board, “Please, please, you can’t die, not again, damnit! Not again!” He pleaded, laying her on her back and exposing the wound. If he could just stop the bleeding, he could get her to safety.

Ekko’s eyes landed on the welding torch he kept in his bag, and his stomach twisted with an idea. “Powder, this is going to hurt. Please, please stay still,” he begged, pinning her down as he lit the torch.

The scream she let out could have shattered glass. She tried arching off the ground, but he kept her down, apologizing through gritted teeth. But, it worked, the wound was sealed. He wrapped her stomach with his shirt, tying it off and lifting her.

She wouldn’t make it to base, he needed someone closer. And there was only one place they could go, one person who might have the resources they needed, or at least the connections to get them.

Tossing her onto her shoulder, Ekko started up his board and made his way through the city to Vander.