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It was a solemn day.
One that called for an urgent council meeting.
Each member of the council took their seat at the table, except for one.
"Where's Cassandra?" Asked Heimerdinger.
A sigh escaped Mel's lips as she looked down, avoiding the gaze of the other councilors. When the dust settled and the enforcers moved in, three bodies were found amongst the rubble.
"Where's my Caitlyn? Where is she?"
"She was caught within the blast radius."
"No. No, no, no... she can't—"
"I'm sorry."
After speaking to the enforcers, Councilor Kiramman was in hysterics. She clung to Mel desperately.
"I'm so sorry, Cassandra."
She knew it was futile. That statement wouldn't erase what happened, nor the loss and the grief.
"I don't think I can do this anymore, Mel..." The mourning mother shook her head.
Mel answered Heimerdinger's question; the question that was on everyone's minds.
"Cassandra Kiramman has resigned from the council."
Salo rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable..."
She shot him a glare. "Her daughter just died."
"I understand that, and a grieving period is in order. But a resignation? Our people are looking to us for answers and she's running away."
Councilor Bolbok chimed in, "he's right."
The rest of the council seemed to silently agree with this sentiment.
Compassion. A severe lack of compassion.
Salo continued. "What are we going to do about the situation at hand? Three people are dead. Two of ours and one of theirs—"
"No," Mel cut him off.
She interlaced her fingers.
"There is no 'ours' and 'theirs'. We are one people. Two children are dead. The fact that one came from the Undercity shouldn't dictate how you feel about the matter." Mel stated.
"I'm sorry. Did you forget about the part where the little Undercity rat was robbing a place?"
"I haven't forgotten..."
The council couldn't come to a consensus on what to do. The discussion was tabled.
After the scene of the tragedy was cleared out, Mel decided to pay it a visit. Carefully navigating through the rubble, occasionally getting one of her stiletto heels wedged between the collapsed walls and roof that now laid on the floor. As she made her way inside, she realized she wasn't alone.
"Viktor?"
His head immediately turned to meet her gaze.
"Councilor Medarda? I... wasn't expecting to see you here."
"Neither was I." She asked, "what are you doing here?"
The councilor stepped further into the room. Viktor picked up several damaged notes and prototypes.
"One of the victims of the explosion was an aspiring scientist."
"Jayce Talis," said Mel.
Viktor nodded. "I'd like to try and salvage whatever I can. See if I can make anything out of it."
"Does Heimerdinger know?"
He scoffed. "Heimerdinger would never authorize this. As much as I respect his contributions and his wisdom... his aversion to any kind of change is slowly starting to make me lose my mind."
"Trust me, I know that better than anyone..."
Heimerdinger was by far the oldest on the council. He had been there since the beginning. He was old and wise... and out of touch. Very out of touch.
"Heimerdinger wants to be a peacekeeper," Mel explained. "But the way he chooses to go about 'keeping the peace' just reinforces the status quo."
"The City of Progress isn't very progressive, is it?"
Mel cracked a smile.
"No, it's not..."
Viktor tinkered with one of Jayce's broken prototypes.
"Councilor, are you familiar with the diffusion of innovation theory?"
"Enlighten me."
She knelt down beside him.
He adjusted the gears.
"It can be applied to just about anything. Politics, technology, philosophy, fashion, religion, science, any trend or new discovery." He stated. "It starts with the innovators. The pioneers of the idea. Many of them are ridiculed or hated in their time, before becoming influential figures with long-lasting legacies."
Mel listened and watched as he moved the intricate parts of the device.
"After the innovators comes the early adopters. The ones who saw what the innovators were doing and took it on themselves. Then comes the early majority. The ones who don't partake in the trend, idea or belief until its staying power has been proven. Most people fall into this category as well as the next category... the late majority. The skeptics who took a lot more convincing than the average person. Finally, there's the laggards. The most unwilling to change or broaden their perspectives." Viktor explained.
"I see."
Viktor turned a knob and got the device working.
Mel smirked. "So in this case, would that make Jayce the innovator and you the early adopter?"
"I managed to fix it, I think I deserve to be considered an innovator too." Viktor pouted slightly.
She smiled. "Fine, you can be an innovator in this equation. I'll consider myself an early adopter. Most of Piltover will be a part of the early or late majority and Heimerdinger will be a—"
"Laggard." They said in unison.
Something blue caught Mel's eye.
"What is that?" She asked, getting closer to it.
What appeared to be blue crystal fragments were embedded in the wall. The two approached it cautiously.
"I'm not sure..." Viktor said, grabbing a pair of tweezers.
"Be careful." She warned, grabbing his arm.
Slowly, he brought the tweezers up to the wall and clamped them around a piece of crystal, taking it out. As they took a closer look, they were both struck with the same feelings of wonder and curiosity.
Potential.
"I've never seen anything like this before..." Mel said.
"Me neither. Where did he get this?" Viktor looked around at the destruction. "Did... this cause the accident?"
"Possibly. If that's the case, that means it's highly dangerous."
Viktor nodded.
Mel placed a hand on his shoulder. "We just won't tell Heimerdinger."
"I like the way you think, Councilor."
It was their little secret. The 300 year old councilor was kept totally in the dark about Mel and Viktor's escapades. On Mel's part, all it took was a little bribery and feminine charm to keep everyone away from the lab during their unauthorized experiments.
"Can you pass me the hook wrench?"
"Yes," Mel's eyes scanned the tools scattered across the work station.
They all blended together like noodles in a silver pasta.
"If I knew what a hook wrench was."
"It's alright," Viktor found it himself.
As he worked, Mel noticed him twirling the ends of his hair with his unoccupied hand.
"Your hair's getting shaggy," she mentioned.
Viktor paused. "Does it look bad?" He asked.
He's self conscious? That's kind of sweet.
"No, not at all. It looks good."
He continued working.
It had been weeks since they started experimenting with the peculiar blue crystal fragments they found. Trying to stabilize it had been a huge hurdle all on its own. Trying to actually use its power was another.
"It's going to work this time," Viktor promised. "I've figured it out."
Mel watched as he placed the crystal into the previously broken device that Jayce invented and that Viktor repaired.
"It works like a battery... powering the device." He said.
Blue electricity crackled.
"I have a bad feeling about this, Viktor..."
"I thought you had faith in me, Mel. You're the early adopter."
"I do have faith in you, it's that I don't have faith in..." She eyed the blue crystal in the device with caution.
Am I being hypocritical?
She sounded like Heimerdinger. He would say something like that. His doubt, his inability to accept new ideas, even if they were groundbreaking or revolutionary.
Then it happened.
The explosion.
As the walls came tumbling down around them, Mel awaited the inevitable. Her eyes were shut tight.
"Mel?"
When she heard Viktor's voice, she was shocked. Had they entered the pearly gates that fast? She slowly opened her eyes. They were both unharmed, safe inside a translucent dome around them.
"Mel, your eyes... they're glowing..."
She gasped and it all went away. The glowing, the shield.
"What just happened?" She asked.
"You... protected us."
Her eyes widened.
"How? I didn't—"
She looked at her hands.
"The arcane stirs within you."
Viktor looked at her like she was the most fascinating thing to ever exist.
"I'm a mage?" Mel asked, more to herself.
"The offensive capabilities of this artificial magic we've been working on could not stand against your natural defense." He put his hands on her face.
Her cheeks felt hot. She was getting more flustered by the minute. This scientist whom she had been working with for several weeks was suddenly staring into her eyes and admiring her as if she was a piece of art.
"Um... thank you?" She said uncertainly.
"Sorry..." Viktor pulled his hands away.
"It's fine."
"So..." She started. "In this scenario, I suppose that makes me the innovator and you the early adopter?"
She had a cheeky smile on her face. Viktor shook his head, sporting a half smile of his own.
They abandoned their vision, forgetting all about the mysterious power of the blue crystal. Heimerdinger was regressive in his way of thinking and wrong about a lot of things. But maybe he was a tiny bit right just this once.
Either way, Viktor found himself far more enraptured by Mel's power than by anything that a glowing rock could do.