Chapter Text
“Breathe.”
Beyond the ringing in her ears, an unfamiliar voice cut through the haze.When she forced her eyes open, the world spun violently around her. Everything was blurry—smears of dim lights and dark alleyways melting together. She couldn’t tell where she was, or where she was being taken.
Someone was dragging her through the alleys.
The last thing she remembered was—
What was it?
The thought slipped away before she could grasp it.
“Breathe.”
The voice came again, steadier this time.
For now, it was the only thing keeping her alive. Every breath felt like a fight. Her eyes fluttered shut, then opened again. The ringing in her head only grew louder.
She tried blinking the blur away.It didn’t help.
Pain twisted violently through her stomach, sharp enough to steal the air from her lungs. Her hand instinctively pressed against the wound before pulling away again. Even through her unfocused vision, she could see the blood coating her fingers.
“Maybe I finally died”.
The thought lingered for only a moment before exhaustion forced her arm back to the ground.
Rain and blood.
Those were the only things she could smell.
Usually, rain in Zaun carried the sting of chemicals and rot. Acidic. Polluted.
But this smelled… it smelt… Natural.
Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her.
Silco used to talk about rain like it meant something.
“Water provides cleanliness. Some say it washes sin. Rain is nature’s way of refreshing the mind and body.”
His voice echoed faintly in her skull.
Why was she remembering that now?
Then she saw her.
Vi.
Standing just ahead of her through the blur.
“You’re not Powder.”
The mechanical whir of hextech gauntlets echoed through her mind.
An enforcer uniform.
Jinx’s chest tightened painfully.
Not again.
Her eyes burned with tears, clouding her already fractured vision. Weakly, she reached toward the hallucination.
“Don’t leave me again…”
“Easy.” The stranger’s voice cut through the panic. A hand carefully lowered her arm back to her side. “You’re alright.”
Alright.
Right, Breathe.
She tried again, only for pain to lance through her ribs hard enough to make her choke.
“Slowly,” the voice said. “Breathe slowly.”
This time she listened.
The next breath was shallow, but manageable.
When she opened her eyes again, the motion beneath her had stopped.
No more alleyways, and no more rain.
She was lying on a pile of worn blankets spread across the floor. They were thin, rough and hardly comfortable.
Still, it was better than bleeding out in the streets.
A few moments later, someone stepped into the room.
Tall, slim, dark clothes. His hair fell just enough into his face to obscure his expression. Her vision still refused to fully focus, leaving his features blurred around the edges.
“…Who are you?” she managed weakly.
“That’s not important.” His voice was calm, controlled. “You’re Silco’s girl, aren’t you? The Jinx.”
Recognition hit immediately.
The voice.
The one that pulled her out of the alley.
“I’m not anyone’s girl.”
“Good.”
Then he pulled the bullet from her side.