Chapter 1: The Best of All Curses
Chapter Text
Time
Kaleidoscope of color blended together in his peripheral vision. The wild hexcore swirled and tightened around him as he levitated from the force of the z-drive. Yet all he could see was her.
He was unable to break his gaze away from powder blue eyes full of wonder, concern, not knowing what emotion to settle for as she held onto him . Another version of Ekko but him all the same.
Yet no matter how perfect this world was, he knew deep in his heart that he had to go back. She wasn’t his. He wasn’t hers. Powder. Jinx. In every version, In all timelines, In all variations, deep down he knew.
He had to go back.
Ekko took a deep breath, chest filling with something warm as he smiled at her. He hoped it conveyed the deep gratitude he felt. Powder taught him so much. Something precious. He had to make it right again.
He just hoped it wasn’t too late.
The wild hexcore consumed him, cutting off their connected gazes with an abrupt force. Webs of color surrounded him — vision blurring as he was sucked through a vortex tunnel full of bright patterns blending seamlessly together. He was traveling faster than the speed of light. Astral projecting with full force before he came to a sudden stop. He was pulled back into his body, a grounding presence. He felt like he was being tugged in different directions as he settled into himself. He stumbled. The faint ringing in his ear overpowered every other sensation as he stumbled forward and collapsed on a metal surface.
It was like being kicked in the stomach by Scar after one too many training sessions at the Firelight base. All the air knocked out of him. His lungs strained. He choked. The moment felt like forever as panic gripped him.
Then, he greedily gulped in air after a tortured gasp. It burned down his throat, chest, until it reached his desperate lungs. He laid on the cool metal floor for a moment, grounding himself, before he lifted onto his knees.
The ringing in his ears became faint and his blurred vision settled as he looked up to see the gate. This was where he was. . . before—
Eyes shifted over the stabilizing reactor in the middle of the room and the lack of presence around him. Dismay filled him as he gazed far below to the utility ducts that ran for miles deep into the underground through the see through surface. He didn’t know why he felt so disappointed. Maybe. . . He just thought that maybe Professor Heimerdinger would be here with him. That he somehow made it back with him. Still, he couldn’t dwell on it.
He had to keep moving forward.
Ekko slowly picked himself up, rubbing the tension from the back of his neck. The blinding light and hum of the reactor brought him further to the present as memories shifted into one. He groaned and stumbled forward before catching his footing. He had to go. Move.
One foot in front of the other until he pushed through the entrance of the hexgate. Surprisingly, there were no guards. Not that there were any when he first entered with Professor Heimerdinger and his former pupil, Jayce. Ekko pushed the grief and concern back as one thought came to the surface.
Jinx.
He had to make sure she was okay.
Ekko retraced his steps until he went into the ducts that Professor Heimerdinger and him first appeared through. He wanted to avoid the enforcers that milled about. The crimson armor and the way the soldiers marched in unison told him that there was a new force in this ridiculous game of power and independence.
For a nerve-wracking moment, Ekko was beginning to believe that this was an entirely other alternative universe he time-traveled to. That was, until he saw his hoverboard where he last placed it at the end of an air duct that Heimerdinger and he arrived at initially.
His heart stuttered in relief. He shook his head, lips lifting as he picked it up and turned it on. Despite the layer of dust that coated the hoverboard, it worked like a charm, glowing his signature green and levitating a foot off the ground.
He hopped on, shifting his foot back to test its function and himself. After all, it's been three months since he flew one. He braced himself as he launched out of the air duct. He flipped through the air, bracing himself against the cutting wind, as he traveled further and further down, passing Piltover into the Undercity.
Passing the bridge was troublesome in itself. It was heavily militarized. Full of enforcers and the crimson armored soldiers, but Ekko was nothing if not evasive when in a tight spot.
As he glided above the towers of the Undercity, over the spotlights and barbed wire along the streets, the more he steered away from the firelight hideout, passing through the lower levels, to the Last Drop devoid of light and people. The entire streets were empty and speakers at the end of each block would repeatedly blast orders about curfew hours.
Any in violation would be arrested on sight.
It felt like a fever dream of every nightmare coming to life the more Ekko observed the horrors below him.
He traveled further into the sump levels through an old pump station that led to one of the endless tapped mines in the fissures. It was where Powder’s hideout was in the other world.
He half expected it to be empty. It was Powder’s hideout in a different universe, not hers. Then something faint echoed through the dark tunnels: Laughter.
He felt his chest tighten at the familiar sound. His gaze adjusted in the dark as the tunnels opened to a chasm with one of the propeller arms of a decommissioned fan faced at the opening of the tunnel. He stepped down onto the propeller and in the same motion, locked his hoverboard into place on his back. What greeted him was something soft, homey. Blue and pink hues of color blended together from string lights illuminating before him.
The surface of the propeller had faint lines of graffiti eerily familiar of a monkey with clapping cymbals. It was an obsession from across universes — Powder and her. Her and Powder.
“Ta da!” Her voice rang loudly , echoing across the fissure chasm. Soft rock music played in the background but he couldn’t pinpoint from where.
“You like it?” Laughter in her voice. “You’re lucky. I didn’t get to do much of this with my older sis.”
Ekko assumed she was speaking to herself. Especially with there being no response to her one-sided conversation. “She was more into. . . hitting things.” Her voice turned softer as if reminiscing.
He carried himself forward, following the string lights, smeared neon paint, and hanging gears and tools that reflected the soft glow around him. A roundabout circle wrapped around the main shaft of the fan as part of the propeller itself, which she turned into a makeshift workstation.
Hextools, gears, loose pages of notes and stuffed plushies were sprawled across the table in an organized chaotic mess. He could see makeup, nail polish and spray paint cans scattered along blueprints, not even bothering to put away her more feminine products from the half constructed gadgets.
It was her. Powder. Jinx. All in one.
He looked at a metal contraption. One that looked like a miniature version of the stabilizer for the hexcore made with haphazard parts from scraps. He looked at her drawn out blue prints written with her familiar sprawl then to the loose notes that were signed at the bottom: Jayce Talis.
His brows furrowed.
Jayce had a knack for always being at the center of every crime scene, it seemed. He never changed from being the chump Ekko knew him to be when he first saw him walk through the doors of Benzo’s shop, acting all pompous and asking for parts as if Ekko was someone slow. His fingers brushed against the hexcore stabilizer Jinx created.
Ekko should’ve never followed him back home that day.
“I had a different name back then, ya know.” Softly she whispered, “Powder.”
Everything felt overwhelming. Ekko wasn’t ready to face it yet. The difference in such a familiar voice that had never had a tone of optimism in all the years he’s known her as Jinx. But what he saw before him was a stark contrast. The chaotic nature of her work station. The feminine products haphazardly sprawled next to blueprints and loose gear parts.
For the longest time, he thought that Powder was gone. He believed her in that fateful night when she sarcastically called him the boy savior in their preteen youth. He was hurt. Shamed. The last vestige of childhood erased. Never really wanting to understand why she was who she was.
The Undercity tended to do that to people. Chew them up and spit them out. Forever changed.
A journal laid half open with a design for. . . a finger. The drawing looked realistic, carefully put together with expertise and understanding of the inner mechanics. He only recognized this hand sprawl as hers. He had read it almost every day as they worked on equations for the z-drive.
“Stupid right? I thought I was rid of her for good, but, uh, you kinda remind me of her.” The voice carried over from the other side of the roundabout work station.
There were doodles along the corner of the journal next to the drawing of the finger. He blinked. For a second, he was back in the other timeline. Doodles of Powder and Ekko with hearts strewn around. He pressed his thumb against his temple before opening his gaze to see the difference. Familiar silly drawings of two figures holding hands.
One with twin long braids down to her feet, cheesy grin and pink eyes. The other shorter, smaller, with shaggy brown hair peeking underneath a hard hat that was reminiscent of what the miners wore before Silco forced them to work in the shimmer factories when the drug became more in demand.
The voices sounded closer, startling him out of his contemplation.
There was a deep sigh. “Did Sevika put you up to this?” Her voice sounded exasperated. “That’s a past life, kid. And it was about as sweet as last year’s milk.”
Ekko rounded the corner, stunned at what greeted him.
“Jinx is dead.” She threw a gold bullet right against the eye drawn on what remained of her gun: Fishbones. It hung among trinkets of blue, pink and amber stones, reflecting the soft glow of lights strewn high above. He recognized the stones. He often brought back the dull, grimy rocks found in the scrapyard of Piltover’s trash, spending his free time polishing them before he presented them to her.
That. . . was a long time ago now. He remembered it like it was yesterday.
A shudder ran through him as the bullet she threw bounced off and rolled to his feet.
A pair of pink and amber eyes landed on him.
He realized two things.
This was his Jinx, and she wasn’t talking to her gun.
“Um, hi.”
He felt lame as soon as the words left his mouth.
Jinx tilted her head, eyes wide in contemplation. “ Why — ” She began. At the same moment, a girl he didn’t recognize gasped and ran behind Jinx. Jinx didn’t budge with the extra weight on her leg. Her hand moved back to steady the girl’s shoulder even as Jinx took a slight step back. “Why are you showing up now?” Her voice was quiet, broken.
He swallowed — unable to find the right words to say.
Jinx then looked at the little girl, who couldn’t have been no older than nine. Her freckled chubby cheeks made her amber eyes look rounder in shock as she peered up at him from the overly large rim of her miner’s hat — littered with spray painted doodles. Choppy short hair coated in blue dye stuck out from the ends of it. Her button nose crinkled in confusion as she looked from Jinx to Ekko before hiding further behind Jinx’s legs.
“No,” Jinx breathed. She looked up. “You’re alive?” She whispered, round eyes widening.
He could see her straighten, tension lining her shoulders. Eyes wide. . . in fear.
“Wait,” he lifted a hand in a placating manner, “I. . . I’m not here to fight.” He showed his empty hands. “Just wanna talk to you.”
Her gaze flickered from his hands then up, up, across the expanse of his face, searching for something. Her eyes seemed to glow as she looked directly into his own.
It was like staring into the sun.
He felt the urge to look away from her shimmer filled eyes. How the hell did that happen? But he fought his initial reaction of disgust. Looking away from Jinx, even for one moment, was almost like a death wish. Again, he tried to fight his instincts to just brace himself and to relax in her presence. Probably wishful on his part. Still, his mixed feelings didn't get in the way of the overwhelming relief when seeing her.
She’s alive.
Her brows furrowed, blinking several times as if still processing the fact that he was standing there. Here. In her hideout, which he shouldn’t —didn’t even know about if it wasn’t for Powder. Her. He really wasn’t thinking, coming here now that he was face to face with Jinx.
“How did you find me?” She finally managed.
“Would you believe me if I told you I time traveled from another alternative universe to get back here?” He said, shifting the z-drive against his hip with ease. Saying it out loud made him cringe but it was the truth. The truth was probably going to be the only thing that’ll help him at this point.
“Huh.” She shifted her stance to put her weight on one hip. “That was lame but points for trying, I guess.”
The child, who’s gaze was shifting to him and her , back and forth, was slowly inching away from Jinx, probably coming to the understanding that maybe he wasn’t a random person simply because Jinx hadn’t attacked him yet. He, also, was coming to that understanding. It didn’t stop him from still bracing for an attack.
Jinx, instead, flicked a braid behind her back and gestured at him with a thumb as she looked at the kid. Her shoulders were still lined with tension as she regarded the girl with a raised brow. “See, this is what happens when you slack off, kid.”
The girl’s gaze rolled skyward as if Jinx going off on a lecture was commonplace.
“We really need to brush up on your sneaky skills 'cause you just blew up our spot. To firebug boy of all people!” Jinx gave a wild gesture in his general direction, acting the part of someone distraught rather than the deadly person he and all of the undercity knew her to be.
The child’s head tilted at that — mouth parting into an ‘o.’ Round eyes transfixed on the hoverboard strapped behind him.
Jinx regarded him with a roll of her eyes. “You caught me, firebug boy , the vile villainess. Nightmare of your dreams. ” She put her hands together and presented her wrists.
Ekko stepped back as she stepped closer.
“What are you on about?” He couldn’t help the exasperation leaking from his voice.
She paused and blinked in stunned silence, looking just as confused as him. Her mannerisms so similar yet so different.
“Huh? Aren’t you going to take me in? Be the big hero?”
Jinx looked at the child in confusion but the child was already pointing at a piece of parchment. And, of course, Jinx would have her wanted poster pinned on her corkboard next to her doodles and old band posters.
He knew what happened to the council and Silco. She threw the entire Undercity into chaos. Gang wars in the streets brought more disparity, more victims. An endless cycle. But with his tree affected by the hexgate and wild runes, his worry for the firelights future, and then being stuck for months in a different universe, he just didn’t have the capacity to care. He thought she was beyond saving.
He rapidly blinked. Focus. “Look, I just want to talk.” Ekko waited until Jinx’s gaze landed back on him then what was slightly beside him. When he looked, he realized it was a bomb.
His gaze lingered too long because when he looked back he saw a strand of pink highlight from her shimmer gaze. Her hand was already on the bomb, pulling the pin with a thumb. His hand pulled the cord on the z-drive as the child let out a little noise, running forward to grab Jinx’s arm.
He fell back into his body as Jinx looked from the child, who was pointing at the poster, to him.
“I’m just here to talk.” His voice sounded more confident. Hand reaching for her, something, as a show of faith.
Jinx gave pause and looked at him. He could see it then. The resolve slowly formed in her gaze. ”What. Ya need permission?” Her gaze glowed. It was like. . . she was activating her shimmer. “Talk.”
He nervously laughed. “Maybe without an old friend trying to blow us up this time?”
Her brows furrowed as her gaze shifted to the bomb on the workstation and his z-drive. The spinning monkeys with their clapping cymbals were slowly coming to a halt. She looked to Isha, giving a little hum, before she launched at him again. He pulled the cord just as her nail scratched the surface of his cheek. Fuck! She was fast-
He stumbled and braced himself on the railing right as she was speaking, “-Talk.”
He tried to catch his breath. Control the rate of his heart as adrenaline pumped through his veins. This time frustration coated his voice as he chuckled, “Always a dance with you.” Ekko held her gaze, couldn’t help the lift of his lips as he watched her tilt her head at his roughed up appearance.
Her gaze lingered on his bloody cheek. Brows furrowed as her gaze shifted down to look at the z-drive and the monkeys that spun slowly after its activation. The obsession of clapping circus monkeys wasn’t lost on him. Not with her standing right on top of a spray painted monkey face on one of the propeller fans.
Ekko continued before she could make up her mind again to attack him. “I-I learned from someone, very special,” he tried to swallow down the lump in his throat as he met her gaze again. “That no matter what happened in the past. It’s never too late to build something new.” He took a deep breath as he awaited her reaction. “Someone worth building it for.”
The little girl tugged on Jinx’s hand. “Mm!” She pulled Jinx to the table and picked up a mechanical firelight. The same ones Jinx used that night on the bridge. Long ago.
Jinx seemed to be on autopilot. She grabbed the firelight and stared at the mechanical design, twisting it so it reflected the soft pink glow from her lights above. Without moving from her position, she passed him a wary look.
The child moved to stand between Jinx and him, crossing her arms with a pout.
“ What -” Jinx sighed defensively before tossing the mechanical firelight to the table. He let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding when it didn’t explode. “Was just thinking ‘bout it,“ she mumbled before she turned back to Ekko.
Jinx nodded to the scratch on his cheek. “That was all me, wasn’t it?”
He rubbed the dripping blood, smearing it on his cheek in the process. “Yeah. . .” He waited for her reaction but Jinx only looked down to his z-drive, brows furrowed, as she tried to put two and two together.
The little girl turned to him, snapping him out of his staring.
He felt the tension leave his shoulder as she pointed at the mechanical bug Jinx emulated after a firelight. He vaguely wondered if the girl was unable to speak.
“Yeah,” he answered with a small smile. His eyes flickered up to Jinx, keeping her in his peripherals as he regarded the kid. “Firelight. I’m their leader.”
Jinx gave a small scoff as she leaned against one of the railings — crossing her arms with a little frown. The railing creaked under her weight. A nail toppling off into the depths below. She didn’t startle. She only watched with a certain wariness in her shimmer pink gaze.
The girl looked at Jinx excitedly before moving to the table to grab Jinx’s favorite gun. Zapper . The gun responsible for the death of Eve, so, too, the broken girl being presented with it. Ekko felt the remnants of an old anger. But with it came a deep ache in his bones.
Jinx sighed as the girl held it up with both hands before pointing it at Ekko offhandedly. Ekko tensed but the bullet hole on the side of it was all he needed to know that Zapper was out of commission.
“So he put you up to this, huh?”
The girl looked away and shrugged. Definitely from the Undercity. Never admit to anything but also never deny it either.
But Jinx needed the truth or else she’d create her own assumptions, spiraling until she listened to nothing else.
“I just got here.” Ekko copied her stance, leaning on the railing opposite of her with the little girl between them — a sort of buffer that put them in a fragile truce. He crossed his arms. “So. . . if Powder is dead and so is Jinx, what’s left of you?”
Jinx tensed. Her hand slid up her arm as if to comfort herself. “Nothing,” she bit out, but when she glanced at the girl, her gaze melted. “I-I don’t know. . . I-Ugh, fuck off!”
She pushed off the railing and gestured to him meaning to flip him off but — He blinked, stunned. Her middle finger was missing. How did that happen? She seemed to realize this too when her eyes crossed in exasperation before she dropped on the stool. She brought her magnifying glass down and picked up a mini hex-drive to tinker with what looked to be a half constructed mechanical finger.
“I’m still deciding whether I should kill you or not, ya know!” She called back.
“You can try.” Ekko tried to fake his nonchalance with a half shrug even though he tensed at her words. “So far, been pretty good at avoiding death by explosion.” He gave a nervous laugh, allowing himself to glance over her figure. “Looks like you have too.”
Jinx spun on her chair. He braced himself. But all she did was lean back her elbows against the table, relaxing in her seat. She smirked at his reaction. “You,” she began. The words rolled off her tongue — dripping in honey coated consternation. “Have no idea.”
Ekko slowly let go of the handle of his z-drive as if he didn’t reach for it at all.
“What. . . happened to you?” He asked.
Her gaze fluttered from his hand, settling on top of the z-drive, to him. Truce. Her gaze seemed to say.
“What happened to you?” She echoed back with a tilt of her head.
He sucked in his breath. “I wasn’t lying, you know.”
She held his stare. “I know.”
He couldn’t look away from her deep magenta gaze, eyes no longer glowing. It was like the shimmer was a part of her. He was half expecting her gaze to fade back to the familiar powder blue hue. Her high would’ve faded by now, assuming she took it within the past 30 minutes.
What happened? He wanted to ask again.
Jinx beat him first. “Tell me.” Her voice came out more as a question.
They stayed there in silence. It wasn’t comfortable. He couldn’t relax. She was a ticking time bomb, ready to go off any second. She was calling the shots here. He just had to make sure not to set her off.
But despite that, despite everything , he still slid down to the floor, back bracing against the railing behind him. His tired arms folded on his knees as he leaned his head back. His gaze never left hers, never broke away. He was lost. Melting.
“Okay,” his voice was soft even to his own ears.
She broke eye contact first as she stood and wrapped her arms around herself. The little grabbed Jinx's belt, stopping whatever thoughts that were spiraling in that enigma of a brain, and with a nod from both of them, Jinx moved to sit down opposite of him.
The little girl moved to sit next to Jinx, wrapping tiny arms around her. Her round gold eyes danced across the expanse of Jinx’s face.
Ekko felt the lump in his throat grow as he watched Jinx fix her helmet before wrapping an arm around her. “This is Isha.” Her hold tightened. “She’s family.”
His smile warmed. “Hi Isha.”
Isha huddled close to Jinx. Her gaze moved from Jinx to Ekko before giving a small wave in greeting.
“Isha, this is. . . Ekko.” Jinx looked up at him. The same look in her gaze from when they last saw each other on the bridge before she released the safety pin on her bomb. The furrowed brows, the molten gaze and soft smile that faded as soon as it appeared. “An old friend.”
Chapter 2: Possibilities and Probabilities
Notes:
I have an idea, an outline, a vision, so to speak. I have a couple chapters lined up just to get the foundation of the story settled in. After that, chapters will come every other week.
Thank you for your support <3
Chapter Text
Time
Telling a story to Jinx was like telling a story to a child. She became alive at this world he spoke of. A world of what could’ve been. Her eyes bright and curious. The pink in her gaze tempered down to purple hues under the fading light of the candles above them. She asked many questions, interrupting him time and time again, whereas if she waited in patience, she would’ve gotten her answer.
“Were Claggor and Mylo nice to me?”
“Mylo didn’t get. . . mad at me anymore?”
“Vander and Silco. . .” She smiled, eyes glowing as she leaned forward. “Friends?” She would laugh it off but her gaze shined as she glanced up, shyly. “Was Benzo,” her voice trailed off.
He leaned forward too. “Yeah, he was alive. Vander, Silco, Benzo. They often spent their days at The Last Drop. They only reminisced about the happy times. Raising the lot of us in a world where Piltover and the Undercity got along. There was no poison in the air. Everything was bright and warm. All we did was go to school and build things.”
She laughed. “We went to school like some snot-nosed Piltie?”
“Yeah,” his voice warmed at her underlying meaning. They lived in peace where the only thing they had to worry about was some science competition and not life or death against their enemies.
They shared a smile then. Her chin was cradled between the palms of her hand. Elbows braced on her crossed knees. One of her long braids was cradled against Isha’s chest, who had long fallen asleep against Jinx’s thigh. But Jinx wanted to listen still even when Ekko asked if she wanted to call it a night.
“What about us?”
“What?”
He didn’t intend the bite in his tone.
Jinx flinched. “Everything’s so. . . perfect in this world you visited. I’m just wondering.” She looked away. “If we were too.”
He breathed in. The truth. “We were.” She smiled then. “You were.”
She deserves the truth. Tell her. He swallowed past the lump in his throat as memories of Powder flashed to the forefront of his mind. “You were more than that. You’re everything.”
She met his gaze as if not quite understanding. Maybe because she wasn’t ready. He didn’t think he was either.
“Just,” he sighed, changing the topic. “Makes me think about how much we’re victims in all of this, Jinx. Just victims of circumstance experiencing tragedy after tragedy. I couldn’t help but think that if Vander and Silco became friends in that world, maybe. . . you and I can too. We can try.”
Jinx brought her knees up to hug them. It was a pattern he was seeing now that he was finally seeing her. It broke his heart to know that she did this in seek of comfort.
“You never know when to give up, do you?”
He couldn’t help but laugh.
She frowned. “What?”
He rubbed a hand over his face and peaked past his fringe of locks to gaze at her. His calloused hand warm against the back of his neck. So different compared to the smooth fingers and manicured nails of the Ekko from the other world. The Ekko who had everything.
“No,” he answered seriously. “With you, I can’t.” Not again anyways.
He took a deep breath. “It wasn’t always like that. That time. . . at the bridge-“
“No.” She shook her head and tightened her arms around herself. “I don’t want to.” Her clipped tone stopped him from pressing. She kept repeating no. Her nails scratched at her scalp as she pressed her palm against her ear.
He knew now that both her and the Powder of the timeline had the same mannerisms as if holding back a beast from breaking through its cage. One wrong step and their anger would open the floodgates. But whereas the Powder of before asked him to leave before she’d do something she’d regret, Jinx reverted back to a child. Her emotions became more intense. More volatile. They scared her.
He witnessed this time and again when he interacted with Jinx in the past. Her worst outburts was when she saw dead people from their past. They haunted her. Taunted. Her worst insecurities and paranoia in the form of loved ones until she couldn’t differentiate the good memories from the nightmares of her hallucinations.
Seeing these things as if from a cleared lens only worsened the bitter aftertaste in his mouth. He couldn’t help but wonder if he handled things differently that night, years ago, maybe she would’ve taken his hand and left Silco.
“Okay,” he agreed with ease as the silence between them grew. She glanced up in surprise before relief showed through. She slowly moved her hand from her scalp, looking resigned at the blood on the tips of her pink and blue colored nails. Her eyes darted around before she scooted forward. Her movements were hesitant. Her boots pressed together between his spread ones.
He tried not to tense as she neared, but his fingers still twitched as he watched with wariness.
Jinx tightened her arms around her knees and blinked up at him. “Tell me more?"
And he did. He told her everything. Minus the dance. The kiss. Vi.
But she must have known he was holding something back from the lack of mention. “And Vi?“
He shifted. “She was dead in that world,” he continued on before she had a chance to stew too much in her thoughts. “When Powder went topside with Vi, Claggor and Mylo after Ekko gave the tip, she died there. A victim of the explosion. That was why there was no hextech in that world and why the councilors of Piltover decided to share their wealth and opportunity to them as reparations. They spread the wealth to the rest of Zaun as they sponsored. . . Mylo, Claggor, Powder and Ekko’s inventions at the Innovator’s competition. Inventions that made Zaun a better place to live. For everyone in the undercity. ”
“Well, if it isn’t Zaun’s royalty,” Mylo had said. “My liege.”
He waited with baited breath at her reaction but she only scoffed before wiping her eyes. She stood up but was careful to gather up Isha in her arms. “A world without Vi,” she whispered without looking at him, “is not perfect.”
The irony wasn’t lost on him. They lived in it. An imperfect world. Because for the longest time, they both thought Vi was dead.
It doesn’t have to be like that anymore, he wanted to say. But the moment passed as he followed her to the pillow and blanket fort. Beautiful twinkling lights shone above Jinx as she knelt and placed Isha on the worn, yellow couch. She pulled a blanket over her and moved to the side to crank down the lights until they were a soft, faint glow. She looked up at him as she crawled out of the homey blanket and pillow fort before standing to her full height.
“She doesn’t like the dark,” she whispered as she held his gaze.
“Where do you sleep?” His voice quiet, matching her energy stride for stride.
She blinked several times. “I don’t sleep often.”
His fingers twitched at the vulnerability in her voice. “But when you do?”
“Next to her.” She nodded back to the carpet below the sofa. The pillows strewn around. It looked comfortable as a play area but not for sleep. “Keep her safe from the monsters in the dark.”
He didn’t know what to say to that, so he remained silent.
”You built the machine here in that world . . . is that how you knew where to find this place?”
“Yeah. I had to find you.”
Jinx sighed. “You’re stuck in. . . that world but that’s not ours. This wasteland is ours and-” Her gaze landed on the z-drive. The monkeys. “I’m not her.” She scoffed as she looked away. “I’m different.” But as the last words left her mouth, her shoulders dropped and something showed through her expression. Something hopeless. Something longing.
He understood her completely. To yearn for something that isn’t possible because they’re all dead but that shouldn’t stop them from creating something new. A better future.
“And I’m not the Ekko from before. I’m different too.”
She was silent for a moment as she moved to her workspace. It was like she was trying to find something to do with her hands. She fiddled with her welding goggles before sighing and propping her hands on the table.
She was slightly bent over as she looked up to his reflection through the fractured mirror. She waited until his own gaze met her own. “We were more then just friends, weren’t we?”
He swallowed. “We were.” Something compelled him to step closer, but he stopped when her shoulders straightened with tension. “Can you look at me please?”
She kept staring at him through the mirror. “I am.”
“You know what I mean.”
She dropped her head and sighed before turning around until she was leaning against her makeshift workstation. It took her a moment to wrack up the courage to meet his gaze, but when she did, she held it.
“I can’t help but think that in every timeline, every alternative universe, there’s an us. I didn’t come back for Powder. I didn’t come back for Jinx. I came for you.” He took a deep breath as his intentions were laid out bare. “Not because of some misconception of what was or what could be between you and I but because you’re worth saving-”
Ekko didn’t have time to react when she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed herself against him. He floundered. Heart beating fast with adrenaline. It took a second for his brain to realize that this was not, in fact, an attack, but a hug.
He breathed out in relief before he slowly wrapped his arms around her wiry frame. He didn’t let go first for the same reason why he didn’t initiate touch with her in the first place.
Jinx moved away but he was slow in unwrapping his arms from around her. “Okay buster.” He froze at her words. “You win.”
He watched her move to her workplace and sat down. He was left dumbfounded behind her as she snapped on the goggles over her eyes. It was a poor attempt to hide the visible track of tears on her cheeks. The tears that still flowed. She picked up the mechanical finger and slowly twirled it around to see where she left off.
She worked in comfortable silence as he watched her. The bittersweet moment festered in his chest as he couldn’t help but think how. . . how easy it was. Is that all it took? Talking?
Perhaps not. Probability wise, he failed in talking her into just listening two out of five times. Three if he wanted to include the time he wanted to heroically save her when he was a kid.
His knuckles trembled, itched. The ghost feeling of blunt force his fist made against her cheekbones, nose, teeth. He felt bones crack under pressure. He’ll never forget the sound of her whimpers. Her smaller frame underneath him. She was vicious when it came to long distant fighting. All the losses and mission failures had led to the moment where he could finally, finally, get in close range. His anger and grief for his friends, who died at her hands, all led to that moment.
But when he saw her visible fear, her remorse, her acceptance. It was as if. . . as if she was thanking him. As if she wanted to die. His festering anger turned to regret.
Regret, regret, regret.
He locked his hands together to stop the shaking.
She glanced back. “Do you know I’m a hero now?"
He raised a brow.
She pulled up her goggles and laughed at his reaction, or lack of one for that matter. “Oh yeah. Sure did one up your, uh, show of heroics, little ol me. Just wanted to go out with a bang, ya know. Then,” she waved her hexdrive in the air. “All of a sudden got a bunch of suckers looking at me to fix things.” She gave him a side eye as if to say he was one of them. Those suckers. And maybe he was.
“Must be pretty desperate and all,” she muttered. Her eyes still shined, so he looked away for her sake.
“I didn’t know. . . I came straight here when I transported back. I guess I assumed all the purple, pink and blue graffiti was all you.”
“Not all me.” She turned around. “You should go, Ekko. See for yourself.”
He heard her dismissal loud and clear, but still, he hesitated. “Will you be here when I come back?”
Jinx didn’t look back. “Never really leave a lot. Wanted criminal and all that.” She glanced at him before looking up to her reflection. “ ‘Sides, I have nowhere else to go.”
“I’m coming back.”
She paused with her fiddling. Eyes glancing down to the half done mechanical finger.
“Okay,” she allowed.
Chapter 3: Nexus of the Sister Cities
Chapter Text
Time
He was gone for three months. Just disappeared. In a peaceful world, three months wasn’t a long time. Days blurred when one was. . . happy. In the desolate Undercity he called home, three months under martial law was enough to restrict freedom and uproot people’s livelihoods. It was enough to make anger fester at the injustice of it all. It lead to riots, gunshots, death, and resentment.
They had checkpoints at every level of the Undercity, blocked with fences and barbed wire. People of the Undercity were lined and unnecessarily searched. A lot of them had. . . dyed blue hair, braids, spray paint along their ragged clothes.
The absurdity of it all intensified when he navigated through an alleyway that was a popular blackmarket spot. It was where the poorest of people bought their food and necessities in the entresol level of the Undercity. He happened on it by chance, navigating the city with ease to avoid the military checkpoints.
Ekko did a double take. Eyes widening in disbelief and jaw slackening as he took in a mural of Jinx.
He reversed back and halted in front of it. The hum of the hoverboard was overpowered by Jinx’s laughter, which echoed fresh in his head for some reason. It was what he imagined her reaction to be at the sight of his face right now.
He quickly smoothed his features to not be caught lacking even if she wasn’t here.
Janna was an ancient figure. Benzo often talked of the famous guardian spirit of the Undercity who rescued countless miners from the Grey. It was an old mural faded with time as the newer generation of the Undercity prayed to her less and less.
Over Janna’s mural was a familiar blue haired figure. Braids flowed behind her to her ankles like a makeshift halo. Hand over heart with her other raised high above her head. She held a smoke signal releasing blue wisps of clouds that wrapped around the old mural of Janna. The cloud designs reminiscent to Jinx’s own tattoos across her arm and hip.
Above in heavy pink graffiti it said, the people of Zaun deserve to breathe.
Zaun. The people of the Undercity didn’t dare brave mention that name after the massacre at the bridge decades ago. The people fought for the free Nation of Zaun and lost hope after a crushing defeat. The idea was for the Undercity to be an independent city from Piltover, which prided over the fact that they were one rule. One city. One people. It was all hypocritical. Piltover advanced in technology and wealth at the expense of Zaun and further created a gap in wealth all the while Zaun was left behind to fend for themselves.
He almost wanted to turn back around and head to Jinx’s hideout to ask how in the world did she go about uniting the Undercity. Unintentional or not, this changed things for Zaun. Her actions, whatever they were, became a catalyst for people to stand behind.
Then he remembered how she hugged herself, how she subconsciously dug her nails into her scalp to block off whatever paranoia her hallucinations were feeding. How vulnerable she was with him. For the first time in this lifetime, he finally got through to her.
His brows furrowed as he gazed at the painting one last time. He didn’t want to force her into anything she didn’t want to do. She had to want it. He looked away and glided further down the alleyway until he was traveling through familiar pitch black tunnels that he knew like the back of his hand.
He had remained lost in the tunnels for what felt like days after being chased by some chembaron lackies. It was long ago when he used to be a street rat eating whatever looked edible in dumpster bins, which wasn’t much. Then he resorted to stealing until he stole from the wrong people. He barely made it out safe. . . and discovered something that forever changed his future.
Arriving at the end of a particular tunnel lined with utility ducts never ceased to awe him as light shone through, revealing the streaming gold of sunshine peaking through the canopy of leaves. The tree still looked intact as green hues of firelights softly floated in the air.
None of the laughter and happiness was present, however. He felt almost somber as he glided through on his hoverboard until he was in open air. He heard a gasp. Ekko tilted his masked head to the side to see a small group at the mural where they dedicated the loved ones who passed.
They stood, almost defensively, until Ekko took off his mask and stepped off his hoverboard. He slung it across his back as he took in the new addition to the slab of concrete: him.
“Janna, he’s alive!”
There was no cheer.
Ekko met the familiar gaze of Scar. He placed baby Kieran on his two little legs and the boy toddled over to his mother, who was staring at him as if she was seeing a ghost.
His heart ached as Scar walked up to him. They looked at each other and as moments passed, Ekko bemusedly wondered if he was about to get punched. He relaxed his grip on the z-drive. If he was going to get punched might as well take it like a man-
The air was crushed out of him as Scar pulled him into an embrace. Ekko was surrounded in warmth, stunned, before he hugged his friend just as fiercely. He couldn’t help but reminisce on how familiar it was to Benzo.
“I’m sorry.” His sight blurred as he looked up at Scar. “I never meant to abandon you. Any of you.”
Scar gave a nod in affirmation. “I know. That’s why I couldn’t help but accept that you were gone. For good.” Scar looked to the crowd of onlookers. “Give us some privacy.”
Almost as one, the firelights, what was left of them, began to direct the others away from the mural and as they passed, they clapped their hands on his shoulder or back.
“Good to see you alive, boss,” one of them whispered.
He didn’t attempt to see who it was. Faces blended together in his peripheral vision as he stared up at the painting in likeness of him. It was odd, seeing himself in this image. Even in Jinx’s fractured mirror, he avoided his own reflection, feeling torn between who he was both in this world and the other to who he is now. After everything that happened, he felt older, wiser, tired.
Scar broke the silence. “Not as good of a painter as you. Didn’t want to do it but the rest of the firelights and little ones had already accepted that you were dead. . . moved on.” He gestured to Ekko’s z-drive. “I’m sure you have a good explanation.”
Ekko shook his head. “I’m not sure you’ll believe me if I told you.”
“All those months ago when you left, you said you were going with the Yordle to see if you can find a solution to healing the tree. I’m sure something went terribly wrong for you and the Yordle not to come back.” Scar reached to pick up a leaf. "The tree holds strong, but it won't be like that forever."
Ekko took a deep breath to steady himself as he looked at the tainted leaf, corrupted by the wild runes from the greed of Piltover. Feeling angry did no good. It solved no problems. “I wouldn’t have been able to come back without Professor Heimerdinger and someone else. Someone special. They helped me come back from a different timeline.” He looked up to see Scar’s reaction.
He was smiling. “Come inside.” He uncrossed his arms. “I’m sure I’ll want to sit for this one.”
Scar took it in stride, accepting his story at face value. He rarely interrupted as Ekko confided everything. Told every single detail. How he worked days and nights to try to find his way back home. How he fell back in love and still left it all to come back. Yet when it came to leaving Powder and how the first thing that popped in his head when he came back was to find Jinx, Scar just shook his head and looked out the window.
The muscles in his jaw moved as he tried to work through what to say.
When he didn’t say anything, Ekko sighed. “I’m not going to change my mind.”
“We can’t help who we love. I get that,” Scar finally said. Ekko shifted in his seat. “But she has a long path of redemption ahead of her and to be honest, brother, I don’t think she even has the capacity to love.”
Scar tapped his long claw against the table. “Not like you do for her.” His words felt like something final. A curse. Maybe it was.
Maybe they weren't good for each other.
Ekko scoffed. It doesn't change things. His determination. He pressed a thumb against his temple as if that’ll hold back the massive headache growing by the minute. “I’m not going to give up on her again.” He said aloud to Scar and to himself too.
Ekko held Scar’s stare waiting patiently for Scar to question him as he used to when they first looked for Powder after rumors of a little blue haired girl, who hung off Silco’s coat tails around the Last Drop, spread. How Scar used to when they were to face Powder turned Jinx in the next battle.
Do you really think you can save her?
Do you really think she wants to be saved?
Are you determined to do what's necessary?
He didn’t have the answers to it. He didn’t even have the answer now but he knew that she was worth it even if it meant getting burned in the process.
“It’s not up to me to decide when she’s redeemed herself. She’s already on her path.” Scar tapped his claw against the table again. “Maybe it does take someone like her to pull off something impossible like uniting Zaun against topside.”
“What exactly. . . did she do?” Ekko wasn't too sure he wanted to know yet. He wasn't too sure he could stomach her killing innocent people again.
“She blew up half the council.” He shook his head and looked back to Ekko. “Which you already know. It was the quiet before the storm. Nothing happened in those days but when you left to try to find a solution for the tree. . . that’s when everything went to shit. Enforcers came as a show of force. They redirected the Grey back into the streets.” Ekko’s eyes widened in horror. “They were looking for Jinx. Started off sweeping the streets with the Grey. Held curfews. No one left their homes for days. Shut down all the blackmarkets and starved people out and arrested them. Then they started knocking down doors. Threw gas in and raided people’s homes thinking that one of us were keeping Jinx safe, hiding out.”
Scar continued, “Some of us firelights started looking for Jinx, thinking that maybe if we found her and turned her in. . . they’d stop. Leave the Undercity alone.”
Ekko couldn’t help but think that Scar’s solution would’ve been his own too. . . The Ekko he was before had no room for forgiveness. He locked and hardened his heart. Would’ve done anything to save the Undercity. He mentally prepared himself to kill Jinx. What was one more time? One more betrayal?
For the longest time he thought Powder was gone and Jinx was someone else. Now he knew that they were the same person; split in two to deal with the trauma that life threw at her.
“Then the fans started working. Crazy genius fixed them, even the ones that have been supposedly broken for decades.” His scoff was a mixture of a laugh, frustration and. . . admiration. “She aired out all the Grey in colorful explosions, redirected it to Topside and painted the whole city of Piltover in a bunch of colors. The people of Zaun could finally breathe. Topsiders can’t stop them from working either. Apparently she blew up what used to be an old cavern that was Janna’s temple. Who knew the wall was there to stop the Grey from filtering into Topside after the fissures opened in the sumps. But by doing that they also kept the Grey in the Undercity without filtration to the side airducts which that Kierreman enforcer shut down before pushing martial law.”
Ekko filled his air with lungs. It burned, making him realize that he was subconsciously holding his breath at Scar’s retelling of events.
Scar shook his head. “It shifted something. People started painting their hair, braiding it. A faction born out of the injustice started calling themselves Jinxers. They bombed enforcers. Killed them.” He sighed. “The firelights first started doing recons. Going to the rallies to see what the Jinxers were about.” He met Ekko’s gaze then. “And some of them joined. Even the ones that swore they’d pass vengeance on her for killing their comrades.”
Scar gestured vaguely to the firelight hideout. “That’s why it’s so few of us now. Just me and the ones who initially joined the firelights. Even Sevica is trying to rally the people to fight back but. . . the people want Jinx.”
“You spoke with Sevica?” Ekko couldn’t get the incredulousness out of his voice.
Scar chuckled. “Can hardly blame me. Things changed. We adapted. We’re all under martial law. She’s also. . . probably the only one who knows where Jinx is besides you now. I asked her several times if she’s convinced the crazy genius to pick up a gun again. Sevica just says she’s not ready. She refuses to tell people where she's hiding.”
Ekko gave a nod, recalling what Jinx was telling Isha when he stumbled into her hideout.
“Thanks Scar.” He leaned his elbows against his knees and rubbed at his furrowed brow. “It’s all making sense now. I’ve. . . been gone a long time.”
Scar smirked. “And what’s the first thing our leader does? Goes running back to see if the crazy genius is doing alright.”
Ekko chuckled but he didn’t deny it. “This changes things. . . She pulled something off that none of us dared to and. . . maybe she can put her crazy geniusness into something good.” Ekko’s gaze landed to his z-drive. Maybe he can convince her. “I think there’s something bigger going on too. Something more then just the fight for independence and peace. I have to find out what it is.”
He stood.
“Put the savior complex to the side for a moment,” came the familiar feminine lilt of Scar’s wife. Ekko looked up, feeling warm as she settled a hot cup of coffee in front of him. “Stay a while and have dinner with us.” She patted his shoulder. “Foods almost ready.”
“Thanks Eba. I think I will.” He looked between Scar and his wife. The shared look of warmth between them and slowly sat down.
Chapter Text
Bomb
Outside, Isha would sign to her. Probably once a day. Let’s go outside.
Her persistence for Jinx to get out of her hole intensified after Ekko’s grand entrance into her top secret hideout even though it was days ago. Probably. Maybe. Time passed differently down in her hideout.
Isha knew she’d cave eventually, however. The kid was a smart cookie and just as stubborn as boy wonder despite Jinx’s groaning and mutters of protestation. That’s how it went down on her end when he arrived being all nice and she refused to admit to anything else.
“Fine,” Jinx bit out after Isha won at playing the floor is lava. She wasn’t being a sore loser. A deal was a deal and Jinx was all about keeping promises. And no matter how much Jinx protested, she could never deny what Isha wanted.
Even if Isha did fake almost falling off the edge of the propellor, causing Jinx to step out of her safe space that was their combined graffiti. Jinx should’ve known this was Isha’s plan all along when she spray painted that bunny face so close to the edge days ago. She should probably put railings on these things.
Another day. That was a problem for another day. Today, her problem was. . . sunlight.
Despite it all, Jinx couldn’t help but admire the kid’s perseverance. The little rascal picked up on her competitive streak from hanging with her 24/7. Isha would poke at her with games all the time as if she wasn’t some tickin’ tickin’ timebomb. First it was harmless fun when Isha won.
Draw the blue smoke on her to match Jinx’s own tattoos.
Paint her hair blue to match with Jinx.
Isha was slowly becoming her little mini me!
So, like the pushover she was, Jinx accepted her challenge at the floor is lava and lost spectacularly. Even so, Jinx had lit another side of the propellor wings up with string lights and trinkets to set the mood for the game. It was like a ritual no. Another part of her symbolic loneliness gone.
“Well if we’re gonna play, we cant do it in the dark or else the monsters will get us!” She had responded back to Isha’s curious gaze. The kid had given a serious nod and helped her decorate and set the mood for their challenge.
The kid accepted Jinx in stride. Understood that the monsters were code for her hallucinations that intensified when Jinx was surrounded by the darkness and when she was alone.
But she wasn’t either of those things anymore.
She had something good going on now although she acknowledged it in anything but words. She was afraid that if she admitted it aloud. . . the universe would rip it away from her. Only solidifying the deep resentment she felt for herself. Reminding her that she didn’t deserve it. Any of it.
And most certainly nothing good.
Isha cheered and skipped in a circle around Jinx before grabbing her wrist and pulling. Jinx felt the taste of bittersweet acid intensify in the back of her throat. Nausea hitting her all at once when she realized what’s about to happen next. Her gaze blurred. Her heartbeat did a weird little pitter patter, in her chest and throat.
A promise was a promise but dammit if she wasn’t afraid.
Jinx put up a front at least for the kid. “Puh! I really thought I’d win this time.” She kicked at nothing in particular but let the kid lead her around their workstation toward the tunnel at the end of a propellor wing, which led outside.
Outside.
The kid stopped and pointed to her record player in passing and quickly signed. Dance after!
Jinx understood immediately that Isha meant to compromise. Go outside to play then do what Jinx wanted to and that was to dance. Jinx loved dancing. It was one of the constants in her life that always made her feel happy.
Jinx looked to the record player deep in thought.
It was the only thing that wasn’t bent out of shape since she took meticulous care to upkeep it. She handpicked it herself straight from some piltie’s home. Heh. She was especially excited to play an old song from the Chem Sisters for Isha since Isha was so obsessed with riots and rock and blowing stuff up. Like her!
Jinx straightened, becoming incredibly still as an idea popped up in her head. Ding!
Isha jerked back when Jinx didn’t move. She gave Jinx a questioning look as she fixed her lopsided helmet.
A grin, feral, playful, made her lips curl as she met Isha’s gaze full of growing excitement.
“Ya know, I got just the thing we can do!” She moved to her workstation, trying to look for her journal full of poems and doodles. She found it open with a recent doodle she did of Isha and her. She flipped through the pages to find her poem, Paint it Blue. “I wrote this thinking of you kid. Maybe we can bribe the Chem Sisters to write a song ‘bout it?”
Isha frowned at the words and signed. It’s hard to read!
Jinx raised a brow. “Yeah you wouldn’t be struggling to read in the first place if you just practiced your ABCs.”
She pointed to Isha’s little whiteboard that listed her ABCs.
A for Arson.
B for Bombs.
C for Cats.
and so on.
Isha shook her head and signed, I can read. Just hard to read yours.
“Huh!” Jinx looked at her scribbles. “What’s wrong with my writing?”
The D and B look the same, Isha signed.
Jinx raised a brow. No, they didn’t. That was beside the point. “We’ll figure it out later, kay?” At Isha’s nod of confirmation, Jinx took her hand. “Maybe it’ll be better when you hear it. Readings lame anyways.” She snapped her journal closed and tucked it between her belt and hip.
Even though Jinx didn’t want to be the revolutionary figure that the Undercity wanted her to be. So dumb. She still wanted to at least try for Isha. No shooting. She. . . left that in the past. But being a misfit was something she was familiar with. She can do that.
It’s never too late to build something new.
She took a deep breath, shaky.
Someone worth building it for.
She breathed out, steady.
Isha and her won’t get hurt. It’ll all be harmless fun. She won’t jinx it. She won’t. Bonus point if it gave a little moral boost for the people of the Undercity that Isha and leftie loved so much. Blah. Blah. Blah.
“This song is gonna be a hit, kid,” Jinx reached over and they did their little handshake, ending in finger guns. “Pew,” they echoed in unison.
Jinx smirked as she pulled her cloak off from her makeshift coat wrack and wrapped it around her in one smooth motion. She also strapped on a couple colorful bombs to her belt and the inside of her coat. One of them being the bomb she was going to throw at Ekko to make their grand escape.
Who knew firebug boy was as speedy as her with his z-machine cheat code or whatever. It wasn’t as cool as her new abilities though. She was just as fast.
She squinted at the first streams of light and raised her arm up as if that’ll thwart away the blinding white that temporarily blinded her. “Yeesh, that’ll do it. I think that’s enough sunlight for today.” Jinx faked turning back around and laughed as Isha pulled her back on path in renewed determination.
“Relax, kid. Just messing with you.” She playfully knocked her knuckles against Isha’s shoulder to get the kid’s attention.
“Let’s just run out together. Fly high.”
Isha paused then exaggerated the big drop from where they were in the ducts that led to their hideout. Her hands expanded wide and then splat as she clapped them together. She then gave her the you serious? look.
“I got us. Trust me?” Jinx reached her palm out and within the same moment, Isha already had her hand in hers. Amber eyes glowed with so much. Jinx felt it all. In that moment, Isha shined brighter than the sun.
Jinx refused to look away. Even as she ran at Isha’s pace, pulling her along before they jumped high from the ducts. Wind rushed around them. Her braids flapped high above her. Jinx kicked in the air, eyes glowing brighter and brighter as Isha’s laughter filled the air. She pulled Isha into an embrace and landed onto the rooftops way, way, below, using the boost to run along the metal frame of the rooftops until she slowed to a stop.
Isha’s giggles took a while to die down. She swung their arms back and forth, uncaring that their palms were clammy against each other from the humidity of the Undercity. Again! She would sign and Jinx would laugh along with her.
“Sure kid, we can do that again.” She paused. “But, um, don’t do it without me, okay? You have to be safe.”
Isha gave a firm nod and lifted a pinky. Jinx completed the promise and playfully scrunched her nose at her. “I’m holding you to it, kay?”
Isha scrunched her nose back like a bunny and nodded.
So cute. She knocked down her too large of a helmet so that it toppled over her cute bunny face. Isha grunted in protest as she fixed it.
“We’re almost there, kid.”
Jinx and Isha navigated the alleyways like the professional misfits they were until they finally got to the pressure valve. It looked like any normal pressure valve that purified air for the interior of the houses, but enforcers didn’t know it was inactive. Jinx twisted the valve until she popped open the opening of the metal frame.
“You first!” Jinx sing songed. Isha nodded and hopped in. Jinx followed right behind. Gaze looking along the alleyway to make sure there were no onlookers before closing it shut behind them. She had to crouch down to get through the metal piping, leading right into a warm basement.
“Ash!” She exclaimed, flicking her braids behind her. “Got an idea.” As her gaze traveled up, Jinx paused in a mixture of disbelief. “You look like one of my little blue clones.” She guffawed as she pointed at her and covered her mouth with the back of her other hand.
“If it isn’t our little freedom fighter.” Ash raised a blue brow. “And it’s Gert. Ash is my girl.”
Freedom fighter. Terrorist. Revolutionary. Jinx was going to barf from how desperate it all sounded. “Whatever tickles your fancy.” She smirked when Gert merely shook her head and went back to her drum machine synthesizer. Jinx pulled out her journal and ripped her poem out.
As Jinx began to fold it into a paper airplane, Isha sat next to Gert to play with her machine. Gert smiled a bit at the kid. “Who knew you of all people would get a stray?” Isha tilted her head at Gert. “What? Jinx never talk about us? We go way back. Used to dj at The Last Drop with my girl.”
“Do we?” Jinx threw the plane over to Gert. Memories often blended together for Jinx. She tended to forget things when the hallucinations were super mean to her. “Crazy and memory loss go hand in hand sometimes.”
Somehow, for some reason, however, Jinx still remembers attending after parties in the Chem Sisters basement when she was younger, which was why she knew how to find her way over.
The airplane barely glided across the air before crashing to the floor. Too far out of Gert’s reach. At that same moment, Ash walked into the basement and picked up the crumbled airplane before skipping over to practically sit on Gert’s lap.
Jinx tilted her head. Oh. Oh. That’s what she meant by her girl. “Chem Sisters no longer sisters, huh?” She muttered.
“Name’s too catchy to change,” Ash pulled apart the paper and read through her poem. She giggled. “This is going to be so good! Mind if I make a few changes?” She passed the poem to Gert.
Jinx shrugged. “Work your magic.” She made to turn around but stopped at Gert’s voice.
“What’s in it for us?”
Jinx smirked. She played right into her hand. “Behold!” She turned around and opened her coat. The Chem Sisters leaned back against the couch in shock as Jinx grabbed one chomper and fingered the safety pin. “Glad you asked. I was thinkin’ of giving you a little gift if you didn’t want to do what I want.”
“You going suicide bomber on us again, Jinx?”
Jinx raised a brow. Did she do that with them too? “No silly,” she snorted and gave a playful shrug. “Not with Isha here at least.” In complete contradiction to her words, she tossed chomper to them, twirling the safety pin on her ring finger.
They yelped as it landed on Ash’s lap. Chomper began to furiously beep, glowing eyes red. Jinx laughed in anticipation, waiting for them to get painted in blue since they wanted to be her clones so bad.
Isha rolled her eyes at their antics or hers, Jinx couldn’t tell, before she reached for the bomb and began to disarm it. A small poof of blue smoke escaped just in time.
“They’re nonlethal,” Jinx elaborated. A bit disappointed in Isha putting a stop to the fun. Maybe she did go a little too far. She sometimes did that.
Gert shook her head. “Couldn’t say that before?”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“This would scare the jeebies out of the enforcers,” Ash said excitedly. Gert and her looked at each other and gave a nod.
“We want all of them.” Gert nodded to Jinx’s cloak.
Jinx pulled it off and draped it on the couch along with herself. She giggled. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
Notes:
Writing Jinx’s pov is like healing my inner child. I can't wait to go through the process of writing her inner thoughts as her character develops.
Also idc idc, Ashnikko and Paint The Town Blue is canon for me.
I got the idea of the ABCs scene from a one shot fic. I’ve been scouring my history to try and find it through my unhinged timebomb list of fics I’ve read, but couldn’t find it 😔 If anyone knows what I’m talking about, please link me. I’d like to give them credit for the inspo!
Chapter Text
Bomb
Isha jumped off the Chem Sisters’ worn brown couch in a silent cheer, giggles exploding out of her, after their one-of-a-kind performance. It took almost all day, but they were master craftsman in developing music even in such a nasty little place like the Undercity. Jinx could acknowledge that at least. She had her own few songs that they helped her produce back when she was younger. She vaguely remembered jumping up and down, and singing her little heart out in their makeshift closet turned sound booth.
Jinx breathed heavily from their dancing and looked up to see Ash put down her mic and open the door that separated the basement from their sound booth. “How’d it sound this time, Gert?”
Gert pulled off her oversized ear muffs she called, headphones, and gave a thumbs up to Ash. “This is the one.” Gert gave a satisfied nod and pulled out the vinyl once it slowly spinned to a stop. “Here’s a copy I burned for you two.”
She slipped it into its sleeve and handed it to Isha. Sparkling eyes of wonder flickered up to Jinx as if asking if it was okay.
Jinx smiled, warmly. “It’s a gift for you, kid. Keep it safe.”
Isha held the vinyl and hugged it to her chest with such carefulness as if it was the most precious thing in the world.
Gert tilted her head and smiled at the sight. “Even if you break it. We’ll have more copies.” She nodded over to her music thingy set up.
“It’d be cool if we can perform for the Undercity like the good old days.” Ash sighed. “Too bad we’re under lockdown.” She tossed up one of Jinx’s chompers and caught it, feeling more braver now that she knew they were nonlethal.
At the exact same time, they could hear the faint sound of the curfew announcing in the streets. Jinx tilted her head and curiously moved to the large air pressure valve they entered from and pulled it open.
By decree of Piltover Police Department's Sheriff Kiramman, the Undercity is under curfew from 1800 to 1100 everyday and applies to all minors under 18. This Order prohibits public space and private establishment meetings.
Gert scoffed. “Sheriff? More like dictator.”
Those in violation of this Order will be searched and seized.
“And sent to Stillwater,” Ash added in. “Though they forget to add that pretty detail.”
This Order shall be terminated once the terrorist, Jinx, is apprehended.
Her lips curled, joke ready to slip from her slivery tongue until she saw the look on Isha’s face. Jinx paused as Isha frowned, blinking away tears. She hugged the vinyl tighter against her chest. It softened something inside of Jinx.
“Ya know,” Jinx drawled out before she could think twice. Three pairs of eyes transfixed on her as she ran her hand down her braid before flicking it behind her. She stood up, eyes on Isha. “This song was gonna be just for you and me.” She propped a hand on her hip and gave a playful shrug. “But why not have the whole of the Undercity dance with us!”
Isha’s eyes brightened and she nodded enthusiastically. Gert and Ash shared a look, smiles on their faces, before turning it to Jinx. For some reason, they looked like Isha, excited at the possibilities and unpredictabilities Jinx was going to do next.
“It’s such a shame we’re in a curfew though.” Jinx sighed, still feeling playful. She gestured for Isha to join her and they knocked fists as if sharing a secret. “Too bad I can’t blow stuff up.”
“Like that’s ever stopped you,” Ash snorted.
Jinx thought about it. No, nothing can stop her when she sets her mind on something except for dying. Someone always wants to get in her way when that happens.
She looked to Isha before the bad thoughts can take over. “We’ll need spray cans, my tools and a couple bombs to make it really festive!” Jinx swayed her hips side to side as she pondered. “Let’s make it a whole party!”
“What are you planning at Jinx?”
Jinx blinked, realizing they had an audience. “Why, wanna be part of the fun?” She teased.
“Hell yeah we do!” Gert smirked.
Jinx tilted her head at that. Okay, she should’ve expected that. “Heh,” Jinx couldn’t help her lips lifting as she nervously blinked away from their obvious admiration painted on their faces. It was honestly too much. She was feeling all weird and gooey in her chest. She caught Isha’s attention with a small tap against her helmet. “I’ll come back when the time’s right.” She quickly dismissed, faking her nonchalance.
Jinx crawled back out from where they initially came in, cautiously opening the pressure valve to look both ways before she climbed out. She grabbed Isha’s arm and in one effortless movement settled her on her feet next to her.
“Come on kid.” Jinx knelt down and opened her arms. “We’ll move faster if I hold you.” Isha lifted her arm, tucking the vinyl safely between their chests and Jinx settled her against one hip.
It took a lot of detours to get back to her hideout. Jinx had to backtrack alleyways or wait for marching enforcers to pass as she hid in the darkest corner. Her whole body was tense and vibrating with adrenaline by the time she made it safely to the familiar tunnels encased in darkness. There were a few times where Jinx almost thought she had to fight her way through. With Isha sleeping soundly in her arms, it all felt too much of a close call. It almost felt like she was going to jinx it.
It didn’t sit right with her.
The anger simmered as her hold tightened around Isha. She couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was bothering her. Her emotions were all over the place and she just. She just wanted to hold Isha and never let go. She wanted to blow shit up. She wanted. . .
Her thoughts came to a halt at what greeted her. As Jinx rounded her makeshift workstation to take Isha to her usual sleeping spot on their couch. Her gaze landed on-
“Ekko?” She tilted her head. When he didn’t respond, Jinx wondered if he was real or not.
Jinx never hallucinated Ekko for some odd reason. He looked too real here. Still, she had to make sure. She slowly moved her way over to Isha and Jinx’s usual sleeping spot to stand over him. He was. . . actually sleeping. He was on the floor in her spot. His back leaning against the couch, head propped up against the arm rest. His hands cradled each other on his lap. Legs spread out. He took the far corner as if conscious of where she and Isha would sleep when they came back.
She took off Isha’s helmet and placed it beside the small end table stuffed to the brink with their art supplies. She settled the vinyl right next to the helmet, careful not to wake Isha. Then she gently laid Isha on the couch. She pulled a blanket over her and smoothed out the wrinkles. Isha barely stirred, so trusting, so loving. So precious.
Jinx stared at Isha for a while before she passed Ekko a side eye, unamused at his show of vulnerability. He said he’d come back. Okay sure. Fine. Do whatever.
She was planning on giving him hell for it now that she had the advantage and wasn’t completely caught off guard. At that time, she was feeling all soft and open because she thought she was only speaking to Isha with no audience. Then he all of a sudden showed up and broke down walls she didn’t even know she had.
. . .
And he was still sleeping.
She almost wanted to scoff. She wanted to climb on his lap with a knife to show him how exactly she was different from the cute, little, perfect Powder he met in a different alternative universe. She could kill him right now if she wanted to. Just because they had a little heart-to-heart doesn’t erase all that they’ve done to each other in this lifetime. . . all that she’s done to him.
All that she could still do.
Isha’s peaceful, blissful face as she slept was the only thing that stopped her rampant thoughts that made her itch all over with the urge to do something to him. She was vibrating with impulsive energy, feeling aggravated with. . . with everything! The enforcers, the stupid curfew, the fear of almost getting caught, Ekko, Ekko, Ekko.
It took so much strength to step away from Isha and her cozy tent. Theirs. It was their safe space and he was just in it. She softened the lights for Isha and curled her arms around herself after one last glance at the both of them. At Ekko. Then at Isha. No. No. Don’t do something you’ll regret.
Instead of destroying something, Jinx settled on her stool and began to put together a few bombs. She can do this. She can build something instead. She poured her special paint and powder mix before attaching the head of the bomb after inserting the safety pin. The eyes glowed once to show that it was active. Jinx began to paint over her little chomper, not realizing until after that she dedicated it to Ekko.
She smirked. Heh. She highlighted white over chompers head and then drew his hourglass symbol in green. She moved onto the next one and used her usual pink and blue colors. By the end of it, Jinx had constructed fifteen nonlethal bombs to make it really special for Isha. But she needed five more for something extra special.
She’ll work on them later. She made a note for herself on her journal and moved toward the other side of her workstation, following the twinkling lights to her haphazard circus tent that she scrapped from a dumpster after a Piltie’s stupid Progress Day. She lifted the fabric up to reveal her fireworks, which she also pilfered from Topside.
She pulled a box and sorted through the ones she wanted to use and the ones she didn’t before hauling it over to her workstation. All the while, she hummed, setting aside her spray paint cans and mixing paints to create a mixture of purple and green. She set aside her yellow and blue base paint after creating a batch of green and sealed the buckets so that it didn’t go to waste.
She then poured her batch into her spray paint cans shaking them before labeling each one with a marker.
Jinx wiped her hand over her forehead to stop her sweat from dripping to her eye. She probably smeared paint on her face in the process. She felt more. . . relaxed. Doing something always helped get her mind off of her emotions that threatened to blow up in her. She rolled her neck to get rid of the kinks and yawned, surprising herself.
She looked over to Isha and Ekko. Still sleeping. She huffed. She wasn’t about to get kicked out of her sleeping spot. She moved back into her blanket fort and dipped on the couch. Isha stirred as Jinx settled behind her and wrapped her arms around the child. But otherwise, Isha remained sound asleep.
Jinx blinked sleepily. Her gaze lazily traced over Ekko’s side profile highlighted under the soft glow of neon pink and blue. His sharp jawline. His nose. The shape of the corner of his lips. He twitched in his sleep. Jinx tensed. Instead of waking, he sighed. The small bump that protruded from his throat rolled down and up as he settled further in his sleep. His head moving to the side, further away to show the outline of his neck.
Her eyes slowly drooped closed.
Fine. He won for now. He can sleep in her usual spot just this one time.
Notes:
Should've named this fic, Jinx and Her Merry Band of Strays, instead.
Chapter Text
Bomb
Soft giggles made her stir.
She hummed and blinked sleepily, slowly realizing that Isha was no longer in her arms. Her arm and foot dangled from the couch and her other arm cradled her head, numb from the weight.
Leftie was probably here with Isha’s food, entertaining the kid until Jinx woke.
She rolled halfway off the couch, lazily catching herself with her foot and hand before crawling out of her comfy fort. Her muscles ached from sleeping in an odd position on the small couch. Even if she curled in to make herself as small as possible, she often woke on her belly, which was not a comfortable position to wake up to in a space so small. That’s why she preferred the floor. Why was she even sleeping on the couch anyway?
Whatever. “What’s for breakfast, Leftie?” She yawned, pausing halfway when she wiped the tears from her eyes to see soft brown eyes already on her.
She blinked several times at the sight before her.
Isha was on the floor with several constructed nonlethal bombs around her, belly down with the whiteboard before her. She scribbled something down before showing to Ekko. Ekko, who was sitting next to her and nodding in approval, before his eyes swept up to Jinx at the sound of her voice.
He was twirling one of Jinx’s signature bombs in his hand.
She tilted her head. Ekko?
That’s when the floodgates opened as memories from last night bum-rushed her. Her body shutdown along with her expression as she stared at him. Glared? She wasn’t sure yet. Her walls began to push up.
His gaze hardened to something weary, unsure. Whatever mood was between them was tense as he waited for her reaction. She was also waiting for it. Trying to think of why she was mad, if she was still mad? But it all built up and deflated when Isha ran to Jinx and hugged her in greeting.
Jinx broke her gaze from Ekko, eyes softening when Isha rubbed her head against her upper thigh affectionately. Ugh. So freaking cute. Just like that, her walls fell. “Heya little bunny.” She lightly touched one of the bunny ears on her head. It used to belong to her. That was a long time ago now.
Isha dragged her over to where Ekko was and Jinx yawned before unceremoniously plopping down on her belly next to Isha. She propped her head on her hand and lazily looked up to find Ekko staring at her still.
Jinx hummed and rolled her head down to lay it on her other arm. “Ya know,” she drawled out, gazing at the several colorful bombs around Isha and her. She counted five, excluding the Ekko chomper in his hand. Isha must have seen her notes and built them while Jinx was still sleeping. What a great kid.
She’s raising her so well.
Jinx traced a finger along the purple part of her monkey graffiti that she laid on. “Sometimes, I can’t tell if you’re being very brave,” she wondered out loud. “Or very dumb.” She lifted her head to meet his gaze and crossed her arms under her.
He huffed out a chuckle and looked away, leaning back slightly to prop his weight on one hand behind him. “To be honest with you, me neither.”
Her lip curled into a smirk. “So, gonna give me another sappy speech about how I’m worth it and can be so good for you,” her voice raised to a feminine lilt before she deadpanned, “Or is there another reason why you’re really here?” She drawled out slowly, waiting for his reaction.
His gaze snapped to hers in shock. She tilted her head and blinked at him. He sighed, almost in exasperation. “Other than making sure you and Isha are doing alright and seeing what you’re up to.” He raised his shoulder in a half shrug and lifted his hand with the Ekko chomper. “No, no other reason.”
She held his gaze for a moment, trying to catch a lie, but when he didn’t look away, her shoulders drooped. The last remnants of tension that lined her body melted. She didn’t. . . She didn’t think he was lying. Not with those eyes. Not with the way he was looking at her.
She broke whatever bubble Ekko was sucking her into when she turned her gaze to Isha, who was staring back and forth between them curiously. “Hey kid,” she said softly. “You’ve been busy.” She grabbed one of Isha’s bombs.
Isha nodded eagerly and scooted closer, forgetting about her ABCs and reading lessons that Ekko for some odd reason put her up to. Jinx rolled onto her back, leg sliding up as she examined the outside structure of Isha’s chomper. The paint on it looked reminiscent of a bunny.
All the parts looked to be in tact. She played with the safety pin. “Looks good this time. You did just like we practiced right?”
Isha nodded and stood up. As if she couldn’t contain her excitement anymore, she began to hop up and down like a bunny. Arms wiggling up before she threw them high over her head.
Ekko cleared his throat. “You’re not seriously going to-”
Jinx pulled the safety pin.
The bunny chomper began to blink furiously. Isha clapped her hands. Ekko got on his knees immediately and swatted it out of her hand. She felt the sting of the aftermath on the palm of her hand as her arm swept to the side. The bomb rolled across the propellor and let out a puff of pink smoke before tumbling down, down, down, into the depths. The trail of pink fading almost as soon as it exploded out.
She stared to the side for a moment and lifted her arm to look at her reddening palm. Again, not being able to find the strength in her to be angry at him. Yet.
Jinx wasn’t that crazy. She planned to toss it up high to the side of the propellor just in case Isha did succeed in a huge paint explosion. Just enough to the side so the they would get sprayed with paint but not pelted with the bunny chomper parts.
Her reaction felt dull, out of body. She didn’t need to explain herself even if the urge was there. She owed nothing to anyone. Not even him.
Before she could dwell in her thoughts and actually find a reason to be angry, she looked to Isha, who looked disappointed at the lack of explosion. Her amber eyes shinned. Jinx knew what would happen next if she didn’t put a stop to it. “Hey, it’s okay.” Jinx scrambled up to swipe Isha off her feet. “You’re almost there, kid. We’ll work on the last one together.”
Isha gave a small nod, chin wobbling still. Jinx lifted her chin and propped her up further on her hip so that she could tilt her head down to look into Isha’s eyes. When Isha met her gaze, Jinx smiled warmly. Just for her.
She was already walking down the propellor toward her workstation. She plopped Isha down on the stool. “Wanna know a secret?” Jinx mumbled softly as she wiped at Isha’s eye. Isha looked better, nodding at her with a glowing smile. “When I was your age, none of my bombs worked. Not even a poof of smoke like yours. Nothing.”
Isha’s gaze widened so wide in disbelief that Jinx couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her. “Oh yeah, I would tear myself up over it. Every damn time.” She swallowed, trying to push down the vivid memories scratching at the surface of the thin veil around Isha and her.
Jinx pulled out a box full of scrap metal and began to pick out several components before dropping them in front of Isha. Isha kicked her feet in the air as she began to put them together. Jinx then grabbed her funnel along with the bucket full of her special pink paint mixture.
“Then one day.” Jinx absentmindedly looked at her shattered reflection in her broken mirror as she settled the paint on the tabletop. “My bomb worked.” She looked to Isha, who had stopped what she was doing to meet her stare. “It wasn’t. . . a happy day for me.”
Isha frowned not quite understanding.
Jinx slid her bang back to tuck behind her ear and nodded to Isha’s bomb components. “I want your day to be special. I want you to know that you can create something beautiful and when you do, it’ll be a happy day. We’ll celebrate! Tonight, kay?”
Isha giggled and scrunched her nose at her affectionately. Jinx mirrored her before nodding to her bomb. “Now show me what you did before and we’ll see where we can make it better.”
Isha gave a determined nod and went to work. Jinx corrected her a few times, showing her exactly where each component went. “There’s patience when it comes to this.” Isha raised a brow at her. “I know, I know. Patient, me? But when it comes to tinkering like this, you can’t rush it.”
Isha gave a firm nod and continued to work on several more. Once Jinx observed that she was following through with her corrections, she then turned to Ekko. He was there in her peripheral vision, watching her, but making Isha happy would always be her priority. Still, his gaze never left hers.
He was leaning against the guard rail, arms crossed. When her gaze met his, he straightened. They were silent as he tried to work his jaw to say what he wanted to say.
Finally, “You never cease to amaze me.” His lip curled up into a half smile before it faded as she tensed.
She blinked away, brows furrowed as she gazed at his z-machine and the clapping cymbal monkeys. When he told her about the other world, a part of her couldn't help but be relieved that there was a good version of her. In all timelines, universes, at least there was one where she was good. Another part of her couldn't help but wonder if he saw that in her. In Jinx. It had to be for him to let his guard down around her that, in turn, caused her to do the same.
He amazed her too. An odd anomaly that entered her life when it was finally, finally, getting better. It was like the world’s biggest joke being played on her but she went along anyway because-
The Ekko she knew didn’t forgive. Ekko never forgot. She thought she knew him. The Ekko with the hard gaze and turned down lips forming into a hard line. She thought she knew his scowl and pure hate that was so easy to hate back. He confirmed everything her hallucinations would scream to her every day. Because Ekko was alive. He was the last remnants of a past that just couldn’t stay dead. His hatred confirmed everything she knew deep down about herself. She didn't need to hallucinate Ekko because he was the constant reminder of why she was a monster.
And now. . .
Jinx scoffed and crossed her hands behind her. “Ditto.” Her nails dug into the soft flesh of her palm as she regarded him. “Sometimes I wonder if maybe I’m the one that lucked out and got the other Ekko.” She tilted her head. “Or have you always been a good boy?”
He let out a stifled huff of laughter and slid his hand up to brush his fringe of locks up, slightly shaking his head. “Seriously?”
She blinked innocently and gave a half shrug before gesturing around her. “You’re the one who decided to enter the secret lair of Zaun’s most wanted.” She gave a satisfied smirk as she pointed at herself.
“Speaking of Zaun’s most wanted.” He tossed up the Ekko chomper. She vaguely remembers making it in her moment of mania last night.
“What are you up to?” He nodded to her batch of bombs and fireworks.
“Seriously?” She echoed. Jinx stepped closer circling him. She seriously could not figure him out. “Tryna get to know me now?”
“Yeah,” he breathed in as he looked away and gave a half shrug, trying to look nonchalant. “You just have to let me.”
And just like that, whatever game she was trying to weave broke with his. . . his honesty. He still had the same nervous ticks from when they were kids. Going back to being open with her. Genuine. Even when they were kids, she would tease him, pull him into her mischievous adventures and make him swear not to tell Vander. All for her to get a taste of her own medicine when Ekko would get flustered, admit to everything so openly and blame himself whenever Vander would turn to question her next.
Vander and Benzo often joked how much of a man Ekko was even though he was still so little.
This was all so different to what they were just months ago. Yet so familiar to what they used to be.
Her gaze moved to Isha who was working on her last bomb. Her body melted at the deep concentration on her face. Tongue sticking out. Nose scrunched. If the world was playing the biggest joke on her, then she hoped it never ended. She hoped the punchline wasn't her as the Jinx.
Jinx tilted her head to look at him and reached for the bomb in his hand. “Okay, little man.” She gave in.
He breathed in, stunned. He dropped the ekko chomper in her palm, careful not to touch her. She hated how easy it was. How easy he made it be.
Jinx turned back to drop the ekko chomper in her batch. The box was marked, nonlethal, with a frowny face. “You can try. Tonight.”
“Really?” He breathed.
Before Jinx could answer, her shimmer gaze looked up just as Sevica came around the roundabout workstation with a brown lunch sack in hand. Her gaze took in Ekko with a raised brow before she looked to Jinx and Isha.
“Ring a ding ding, lunch time!” Jinx cheered. Isha hopped off her stool and signed, thank you, before offering her palms facing up. “Where’ve you been Leftie? We’re starvin’.”
Sevica gave a slight shake of her head. “It’s hot, kid.” She guided Isha to grab it from the top before looking to Jinx with a deadpan expression. “Cleaning up your messes as usual,” she shot back to Jinx. Isha ran back to the stool and offered the food to Jinx. Like clockwork, Jinx began to take out Isha’s prepared food from Jericho’s as Isha pulled herself back up on the stool.
Sevica glanced up to eye Ekko. Her left arm tensed. Its jaws snapping closed menacingly. Ekko braced himself as he eyed Sevica warily.
Sevica snorted. “Relax. If Jinx hasn’t killed you by now than I can only assume its for a reason.” She gave Jinx a side eye. “Nothing good from it too.” Jinx passed her a sweet smile as she eyed the bombs and fireworks. “What are you up to, Jinx?”
Jinx tucked a napkin along Isha’s collar. “Oh. You’re gonna love this! it all started with me losing to a game of the floor is lava, can you believe it?” Jinx shook her head in disbelief.
Sevica sighed and rubbed at her temple.
Isha snickered when Jinx secretively winked at her.
“And all of a sudden we’re in the Chem Sisters basement dancing our little hearts out.” Jinx rushed out as she watched Isha take her first bite of her favorite Jericho’s slop of fish curry.
Sevica perked her head up at that. “Wait a minute.” She placed her closed jaw fist on the roundabout workstation causing everything to bounce on the table along with Isha’s food. It spilled a little and Isha grunted in disapproval before using her finger to wipe off the spilled curry from the table and sticking it in her mouth.
Jinx watched Isha for a moment before she slowly blinked up at Sevica. Jinx no longer found any of this funny. Sevica hovered too close to her face. Sevica often did this to intimidate Jinx, knowing her obvious fear of physical contact.
Even now, Jinx felt her body line with tension as Sevica continued, “You’re telling me you went outside to party with the Chem Sisters during curfew? Do you even have an inkling of an idea how dangerous that is! You could’ve gotten the kid and yourself killed.”
Jinx said nothing. She grit her teeth as she stared Sevica down. Deep down, however, she knew Sevica was right.
“Hey!” Ekko shouted, catching both of their attention. “Lay off, Sevica.”
Sevica scoffed and looked Ekko up and down. “I don’t know who you think you are butting into our business, Firelight Leader, but this is a matter between us.” She looked to Jinx. “So, after seeing the mess you created in Zaun, are you ready to join the fight?”
Jinx crossed her arms but still didn’t say anything.
Sevica pulled back. “I don’t know how you got people to worship your crazy ass but you pulled off something that not even your fathers could do before you.” Sevica followed Jinx around Isha, who had stopped eating her food to watch them argue.
Jinx rounded the corner of her workstation to pick up her transmitter. She had planned to use it back in the day when she created her song, Get Jinxed. She wanted to hack into the radio system with her transmitter and play it for the whole of Zaun and Piltover but then, like a domino effect, things crashed over and over until she no longer felt like having fun.
“You managed to get the whole of Zaun united,” Sevica continued. “This is what Silco always wanted. Vander. Your mother. Doesn’t that count for something?”
Jinx tossed the transmitter to Sevica, who caught it just as swiftly.
“If they wanted it so bad than they shouldn’t have died!” Jinx shouted back. “So just can it, leftie.”
Sevica blinked. “What’s this?”
“A toy to distract my mutt,” Jinx muttered. Sevica rolled her eyes as she waited for Jinx to continue, “It’s a transmitter thingy. Search for the radio tower in the Undercity and jam this in the receiver. Its super outdated so even a simpleton like you can get it going.” Jinx pointed to the copper receiver. “Red wire goes here-”
Sevica sighed. “Seriously, Jinx. What are you planning?”
Jinx gave a secretive smile before grabbing a green spray paint can. She tossed it to Ekko, who was still hovering beside them, unsure whether or not he had to step into a fight if it broke out between them. That’s just how Sevica and her were. Hot and cold. Oil and water. Jinx had the unfortunate luck to have known Sevica since Silco first took her in. With that came a dynamic that only they truly understood. One thing Jinx knew for sure, however, was that Sevica was loyal. Like a mutt.
“This isn’t me being the big hero you want me to be,” she said sarcastically. “It’s just some fun.” She pointed her finger gun to Isha who pew'ed in return.
“Uh huh,” Sevica sarcastically agreed before tucking the transmitter in her back pocket and pulling her cloak over her arm. “This is more action I’ve seen from you since the last time you decided to kill yourself.”
She looked to Ekko and Isha. “Whatever you two are doing, keep doing it and she’ll be on her way to making Zaun independent in no time.”
Jinx decided to ignore that comment. “Oh, and find a nice spot to enjoy the show tonight!” She clapped her hands together. “Bye, bye, Leftie.”
“You sure do love a spectacle,” Sevica shook her head before she moved away. “Don’t get caught, kids.”
Jinx scoffed. “Right back at ya.” She called back to her retreating figure. She then turned to Ekko and Isha who were staring at each other as if having a secretive conversation. She blinked when Isha threw up her gun fingers to Ekko.
"Pew!" She winked.
Ekko chuckled and lifted a fist that Isha eagerly bumped before going to the workstation to load up on her pink and blue spray paint cans. "I don't know what the hell the plan is," He began as he watched Isha for a moment. His gaze turning soft as he met Jinx's stare. "But I'm all for it." He clipped the green spray can on his belt.
Jinx reached for the pink one and handed it to him too. "I was thinking you could sit back and watch the magic happen, not get your hands dirty with me."
He took the pink spray can with ease. "As long as no one dies." He clipped it on his belt.
She gave a playful shrug. "That's kinda your jurisdiction to take care of."
"Funny," he deadpanned. "Seriously though. Your self preservation is shit. Someone needs to look after you two." He nodded to the nonlethal bombs. "What are you planning with those?"
She hummed, thoughtful for a moment as a whirlwind of emotions fluttered in her chest. "I want your jacket," she blurted.
He raised a brow and looked at her in bewilderment at the change of topic. "For real?" But he was already shredding his green coat and lifting it for her to take.
She grinned as she stepped into his space to push one arm into the sleeve than the other before pulling it around her. It felt so warm. He stepped back at the same moment in shock. She passed him a smirk before moving toward the box of nonlethal bombs. She giggled as she grabbed Ekko chomper and tossed it up. "Wish I made more of these." She caught it before clipping it on the inside of the jacket.
They were going to have so much fun tonight.
Notes:
Dialogue gives me so much life. It's so fun to write. I sort of added this last minute cause it felt unnatural to go straight into the 'action scenes' that'll happen next. Also, Ekko's pov is next <3.
Planning on making edits to this chapter later tonight. My bad!
Chapter Text
Time
Ekko rolled his neck side to side to relieve the soreness in his shoulders from sleeping in an awkward position. The faint pain against his temple from Jinx’s boot was also an additional throb from last night’s events. He counted the days until he could go back to Jinx, but with being gone for so long, came a negligence to the community who had suffered without his decision making. Scar helped make strategic plans and was great in missions. However, he admitted to lacking in providing assistance for simple requests of aid when it came to the Firelight’s community garden, development of more houses for the people who were displaced, an ongoing list of things to build and tinker, and so on. When it came down to the fourth day of being away, he had a gut feeling that he had to go back no matter what.
Give her a couple days, and she’s back to jagged edges hidden under doe eyes and a honeyed tone.
Having a heart-to-heart didn’t erase the past between them. He knew that. Last time they saw each other before he ambushed her in her own hideout was at the bridge, and that wasn’t exactly leaving off on a good note. Still, Ekko was nothing if not persistent. For Jinx, he’d make time to mend their relationship.
Even if it took the same amount of time it took for him to forsake it.
And so, he did. He waited all day for Jinx in her own hideout. Barely constraining himself from going through her personal journals. She had a lot. Some labeled for poems, doodles and weapon ideas. Who knew that even the most chaotic persona he knew also organized their thoughts into journals and labeled them. He did help himself to adding onto her blueprint for her finger prosthetic. A finger was a first for him, but he had helped refugees in the past who lost their limbs to the cruelty of the Undercity. The mechanics inside needed a steady hand, especially for something so small, and it helped take him back to when he used to fix simple things like clocks.
That was a while ago though.
It didn’t hurt him any less when he recalled the past but instead, he looked past it. His last memory of Benzo, smiling and hugging him back, overshadowed everything else.
Ekko didn’t weld the pieces together, however. He wasn’t too sure how she’d take it. He can easily see Jinx getting offended or think that he didn’t see her capable of doing it herself.
He wiped at the side of his head still feeling the faint throb now and then. Waking up to a boot against his face had him immediately bracing against the couch on his knees with a hand on his z-drive. He thought the worst. She had come back. She was attacking him. He was too late-
She had been sleeping. Rolled onto her stomach with her leg stretched out. He had blinked. Once. Twice. Eyes restless as he took in the image before him. He had never seen her so. . . innocent looking. Not since she was Powder. She looked younger. Frown smoothed out and lips slackened. Her long braids crossed over her body with the ends touching the floor. He dared to lift one, feeling the strands between his fingers and wondering again why she kept it so long.
Isha had then grabbed his attention, asking him to help her with her reading lessons. The whiteboard in her hand was enough for him to know that Jinx was probably no help in this department. She had more patience teaching the kid how to tinker and build bombs than the kid’s fundamental education with writing and reading.
Even now, she was instructing the kid on how to properly arm the bombs hanging from the ceiling. The wire trap on the door that would trigger the timer to make the five bombs explode in unison, staining enforcers in pink and blue.
“You have to make sure the tension is properly placed, then you clip it here, so that it doesn’t trigger when we’re in here.” Jinx gave an awkward giggle as she admitted, “I accidentally triggered a few like this myself. It’s a learning curve, but, uh, don’t do this unless I’m here, kay?”
Isha showed the same amount of eagerness as when Ekko showed her how to spell her name in writing. She nodded along, deep in concentration with Jinx right behind her, guiding her throughout the process.
Ekko finished tagging his hourglass symbol next to ‘Jinx was here.’
“Almost done?” He called back.
“Mmhm.” Her voice sounded distorted. He turned to see that she had on the air filter masks from one of the unconscious enforcers tied up in their chairs. They were all tagged up in spray paint with evil grins on their faces, green and pink around their eyes and devil horns along their forehead.
Jinx made an exaggerated inhale through the mask. “We still need to make a last stop to the Chem Sisters.”
He shook his head. “Remind me who the Chem Sisters are again?”
She bent over the radio transmitter that beeped to let them know it was working.
His jacket was three times her size, slipping from her shoulders as she bunched up the sleeves. She tweaked a button from the thousand of buttons along the equipment, almost impulsively. More likely wondering what it does than actually knowing what she was doing. It could be a button to an alarm but she’d still turn it on like a kid who couldn’t help themselves.
The last of the bombs hung above them like how she hangs her string lights along the propellers of her hide out. The jacket no longer had weight in the interior, yet she still had it wrapped around her like the exotic fur coats he’s seen Piltie’s wear for balls during his mission recons. She looked smaller as if the jacket was consuming her.
He realized he was staring and immediately looked away, feeling guilty. Although he couldn’t really pinpoint why.
Static sounded through and she turned off the button. The transmitter she put in was a decoy for today. It was meant to play a song. Although he didn’t know what specifically. The Topsiders would think that’d be the end of it, not knowing that the song would filter through during curfew hours again tomorrow evening from Sevica’s transmitter.
Her head whirled to give him a look, almost delayed in her response. “What?” She snorted. “You don’t know who the Chem Sisters are? You live under a rock or something? They used to play at the Last Drop all the time. Throw grand ol’ parties!”
He deadpanned. “Uh, Firelight Leader here. Going to the Last Drop was like a death wish.”
She blinked and gave a shrug as if to say, not my problem. “That’s what you get playing hero all the time.” She posed hands on her hips as she pretended to march about. Her words sounded silly and distorted through the mask. “Oh look at me, oh so serious. No fun.” She relaxed her arms, took off her mask and gave an exaggerated turn to him to imitate his deadpan. She threw the mask behind her and it hit an enforcer in the face dead on.
Isha giggled as she looked at the two of them, half way through spray painting devil horns on one of the enforcer’s receding hairline. The enforcer’s cheek was blown red and steadily swelling from the punch Ekko gave him. It knocked the enforcer out cold.
It was on the tip of his tongue but he almost wanted to say how much her swagger was reminiscent of her sister. He stopped his playful reply, however, conscious of not knowing how she’d take it or not. He awkwardly reached to rub the back of his neck. Especially since the last thing he recalled was Jinx not taking too kindly to knowing Vi was alive and working with a Piltie. It was at the bridge. A can of worms that Jinx also wanted to avoid talking about.
He didn’t take too kindly to Vi’s decision either to be honest. Not after hearing the curfew announcements and realizing that the decree from a certain Sheriff Kiramman must have been none other than Vi’s cupcake . The same woman who admitted the wrongdoings against the Undercity and yet continues the cycle of violence against his people. Hunting them like animals until she could get her hands on Jinx.
Jinx tilted her head and shuffled a bit closer, searching the expanse of his face when he didn’t say anything. “Hey,” her voice went quiet, slowly bringing him out of his somber thoughts. “Where were you just now?”
His gaze widened. “Um, no, just,” he sighed. “You’re right.” She scrunched her nose, brow furrowing and lips lifting in amusement as he stumbled over his words. She snickered and pointed at him as if he was the punchline of a joke she only knew about.
“It’s okay to let loose, Ekko.” She stretched her arms up and gave a twirl toward Isha, who raised her arms up right as Jinx bent to pick her up. The sight warmed something in his chest. His lips began to lift right as she asked, “When was the last time you even danced?”
He felt his smile fade. The moment passed. His restless eyes looked anywhere but her. “Um, not any time recent.” It wasn’t a lie, but it was definitely not the entire truth. She tilted her head, immediately catching him on it.
She turned to Isha to whisper in her ear as she side eyed Ekko, hand covering her mouth as she did so. “What do you think, Isha?” She said none too secret. “Should we change that?”
Isha gave a firm nod.
He shook his head. He couldn’t help the smile forming on his lips as he gestured for her to follow him. Their work here was done and they were already lingering longer than they should be.
He reached over the table against the wall and opened the window that had Isha’s jagged writing in spray paint that said, ‘’Bye, bye!’
“After you.” He looked back to see that Jinx was already stepping on one of the enforcer’s lap and onto the table.
“Why thank you kind sir,” Jinx said in an overly obnoxious Piltover accent. He couldn’t help but laugh as he followed after her. He made sure to close the window shut so that the faint pink glow illuminating from the ‘eyes’ of the bombs didn’t show through the one-way glass window, reflecting the glow of the spotlights below like mirrors.
He didn’t know how Jinx found this place. From the outside looking in, the place looked completely inconspicuous. She must have scouted the place before, or she always must have known they had a secretive base here tapping into the Undercity’s communications.
The trio had placed bombs throughout alleyways and routes between checkpoints that the enforcers would usually take during curfew. Jinx was meticulous about where she set them. Mostly using Ekko as the muscle to knock out stray enforcers or to act like the coat hanger to hold her bombs, gesturing for him to pass her another one when she was finished setting the one she had.
During their misfit adventure, however, he couldn’t help but find a new admiration for her boldness. She definitely knew what she was doing even though her mannerisms and laid back attitude made it seem like she was just coming up with the plan as they went along.
Jinx was crouched down with Isha still in her arms as she slid down the roof top a little before leaping toward another rooftop below. They were right above a checkpoint that crossed to the upper levels of Zaun, so they moved swiftly across, tagging rooftops with arrows pointing everywhere along with tips to give enforcers the run around.
Here!
No, here!
Haha, just playin’
HERE!
They were laughing by the end, tagging an alleyway that was in the opposite direction of where they were going. He made sure Isha was in his sights, urging her to stay close before going back to focusing on the wall decorated with their art.
Ekko hadn’t felt so laid back since. . . since the dance.
His heart stuttered at the realization. He looked to Jinx, who was fixated on spray painting her portrait reminiscent of the doodles he’s seen in both Jinx’s open journals and Powder’s. The corner of her plum tinted lips curled up into a playful smirk, eyes wide with childish eagerness as she stood on her tiptoes to add, ‘Get Jinxed.’ Her braids swayed with her movements as if they had a mind of its own. When she was finished, her eyes searched for him and like a magnet, he was pulled into her deep magenta gaze almost dull in color compared to the shimmer pink she somehow found the ability to activate. They were so much closer to the powder blue he remembered even in the darkness of the alleyway they stood in.
She didn’t blink. Only searched the expanse of his face as if expecting him to say something. Something. He swallowed, but before he could say what crossed through his mind in that moment, she stepped into his space, blinking up at him with a small smile. He barely computed how much shorter she was than the other Powder, who he didn’t have to bend his head slightly down for.
He felt something in his chest constrict. It almost felt unfair, knowing how unhealthy Jinx looked in comparison to a happier her; a happier her from another timeline. Even without the knowledge, it looked obvious to him although he never saw it, or never cared enough to. The sickly paleness of her skin tone, the dark bags under her eyes, the faint veins that crept from her lids down to her high cheekbones that lacked the usual rosy hue, and the shimmer in her gaze. She looked almost ghostly, fragile, as if she would fade from sight if he looked away for even a second. Still, even in the dull darkness of the alleyway, there was something radiant about her that almost looked as if it belonged from another realm.
He tensed when he realized that she had pulled the green spray paint can from his hand and traded it with her pink one. She took her time, brushing her thumb over his calloused fingertips. Her own hand cradling his larger one as if she was barely registering something about him too. Then she crouched and in smaller font size compared to the tag of herself, she put ‘Tuff Tuff was here.‘ It took a couple shakes to get the last of the paint out.
She giggled as if sharing a secret before unceremoniously dropping the can. It rolled to his feet.
“You. . . remember?” He wondered aloud, rubbing the back of his head. It was. Kind of a secret that only his family knew. A secret because most of his initially found family were long dead. It was a nickname dedicated to his birth name that his ma and pa gave him. It only came about from the original trio made up of Claggor, Mylo and Vi, who affectionately teased Powder and him.
She watched as droplets of paint that gathered at the ends began to drip down to the floor of the alleyway. She stayed in a low squat before hugging her knees. “Vaguely.” They stayed in silence for a moment and Ekko joined her, hands hanging over his knees in a relaxed position before reaching for a braid to lift it off the soiled floor of the alleyway. She turned her head, leaning it against her knees as she watched him. “I know it’s stupid to keep them. They get in the way more than I can count but back then, I felt like,” she paused to try to find the words. Her gaze held his. He stayed quiet as he observed her. “If I cut them, I’d forget. The good even though it’s mixed in with a lot of bad.”
He looked at the part of her braid cradled in his hand. “You haven’t cut it since-”
“No,” she whispered. He traced his fingers over the overlaid parts before caressing the metal casing of a bullet that she pulled her hair through. The vulnerability in her voice almost made him do something he’d regret like hugging her, knowing that the act itself without warning would probably trigger her fight instinct. He knew it did for him when she hugged him so suddenly all those days ago. “Maybe it was an act of rebellion. He wanted me to forget it all but I still wanted to hold on. To what? I didn’t know. Not at the time.”
He swallowed. She must be referring to Silco. His grip tightened slightly on her braid as he fought back the old resentment of the past, finding the courage to meet her gaze that was already staring intently at him. It was almost as if she was waiting for a reaction, waiting for a sign for her to draw back and lock herself away in a place he could never reach. The tension escaped him as he continued to stroke the casing of the bullet in her hair.
“I thought there was no good version of me,” she breathed out, watching his hand movements. “But Isha. . . and then you make me wish for it. Change.” He melted at her vulnerability. It was a sort of bravery that didn’t require guns, bombs, or wicked smiles that put up a front, but he understood all the same. How much scarier it felt to open up and let oneself be seen.
She tightened her grip on her knees. “I know it’s dumb-”
“It’s not dumb,” he felt breathless when her pupils dilated at his interruption, overtaking the deep magenta turned purple in her hues.
Her lashes fluttered a bit and her cheeks lifted as she gave a shy sort of smile. “You didn't even know what I was ‘bout to say.”
“But I know that whatever you’ll say isn’t dumb.”
They stayed like that for a moment, like opposite sides of magnets drawn to each other, as if time itself has stopped. Here. Now. It felt like it was just them and nothing else mattered except for the fragile honesty in the air shared between them.
“Maybe it was this that I was holding on to. Our friendship from when we were kids. All of the memories I have with Tuff Tuff are untainted from them, from all the guilt and pain,” her voice broke and her eyes began to glisten. “From wanting to die because of it.”
It hurt to hear her refer to him as if they weren’t the same. Maybe they weren’t. The Tuff Tuff she knew would have never done what he did at the bridge. The Pow Pow he knew would’ve never killed his firelight friends. Eve. He tried to swallow down the lump in his throat, but his voice cracked as he whispered, “We’re still here, Jinx. Different, maybe, but you are you and I'm, me. The past doesn't make us incapable of friendship, of love, of change. We can make more memories and it doesn’t have to end with tonight. Then, maybe one day you can feel comfortable cutting your hair, cutting out all the bad memories it holds until all there’s left is good.”
She sniffed and then smiled despite a stray tear escaping from the corner of her eyes. “I think I’d like that.”
“Tuff Tuff coming in to save the day for Pow Pow yet again,” Mylo would sigh out every time Ekko would take the blame after a misfit venture gone wrong when it was just him and her.
He didn’t know why the memory came to the forefront of his mind. Maybe it was the way Jinx looked at him like she did when they were kids. Relieved. Maybe it was the way she held herself with her arms around her knees. As if searching for comfort that she couldn’t find anywhere else when blaming eyes searched the room for her after a mission gone wrong. Maybe because in a sense, Mylo was right. For Jinx, for her smile, for her openness, for everything that transpired between them in this moment, he would do anything for her.
He felt a small hand against his bicep. He turned to see Isha who had come around his side to also touch Jinx’s hair in his hand. Her head tilted before she looked to Ekko and then Jinx. Jinx was already wiping at her eye, smearing her dark eyeshadow in the process.
Isha immediately ran into Jinx’s waiting arms and embraced her. Jinx let out a laugh before placing a hand on Isha’s helmet to prevent it from falling before scrunching her nose at her. Isha copied her action and smiled before signing, better?
“Yeah, thanks kid.”
He smiled at the display of affection before he looked up to see where the sun was. He cleared his throat as he stood. Jinx followed his movements. “We should head out soon.” He pulled his hoverboard from the harness on his back. “It’ll be faster on this.”
“Oh!” She was right by his side. “I’ve always wanted to ride one of these things.”
He knelt down and subconsciously put a hand out to protect Isha from getting close as he activated the board.
He turned to see Isha staring at him, not the hoverboard. Her eyes were wide, mesmerized. He couldn’t help but smile at the admiration in her gaze. Kids were always expressive and he was used to seeing this type of awe at the Firelight hideout. But something about Isha’s expression felt more special. She was a tough kid, who didn’t open up easily. Her opening up to him could only mean that whatever he was doing was working.
He smiled, warmly. “Come on, little rebel.” He prompted Isha to crawl on his back and she did, locking her arms around his neck. He heaved her up higher and stood up to already see Jinx on the hoverboard. She was testing the mechanics, braids swishing side to side as she went around in a circle with Isha and him at the center. “Ugh! How do you get it to go forward,” she grumbled. She leaned forward as if distributing her weight evenly across the board would make it do what she wants.
He laughed. “Hold on a minute, don’t leave without us.”
“Mm!” Isha agreed, her chin hitting his shoulder as she nodded. He reached up to prevent her helmet from falling before kicking the side panel to have the board extend for a passenger. His habitual routine almost had Jinx falling on her ass.
He cursed. She yelped, hands flinging back. He leapt forward to catch her, but she adjusted her step on the board, catching herself before she did so. She was like a cat with those reflexes-
“Sorry!” He mumbled when she passed him a side eye although a smile was already forming on her lips.
“Hop on.” She gestured for him to get behind her.
He laughed almost in admiration at her audacity. “Jinx,” he breathed out even though he was already getting behind her. It was only to prove his point further. It took an expert to handle added weight across the board, which was why the steerer was behind the passenger, not in front. “How the heck do you plan to steer this thing for the first time with precious cargo from the front ?”
He’d let her be in the front if they were doing a straight shot but with all the maneuvering they had to do, it’d be pretty hard if she wanted to steer. No way she’d figure it out on the first try. Maybe the second or third but that was beside the point. He adjusted his stance behind her and corrected her harsh movements with fluid ones of his own by leaning opposite of where she was.
She leaned forward. Too forward. “I got this.” It was a bad habit. He’d have to correct it next time they hung out. Maybe he can offer the hoverboard for practice time to broker peace if she gets wary of him again. She tested out the mechanics and he followed her movements, still not touching her since they weren’t going fast. She was kind of getting the hang of it but still, time was ticking. He resisted the urge to grab his old stopwatch ticking in his pocket.
She sighed. He waited patiently. “Steer me then,” she mumbled.
“Sure you don’t want to give it a couple more go’s?” He asked sarcastically. His fingers twitched at his side, hesitation creeping in when he realized that he had to touch her in order to do the steering. Heat was already creeping up the back of his neck. Isha pressed her cheek against his neck as if seeking the warmth.
Ekko definitely heard her. She definitely gave him permission, right? But still-
“Just steer me.” She twisted a bit to grab his hand and place it on her waist. “But now you’re definitely showing me the ropes later.” She moved to grab his other hand to place it on her shoulder. He smirked. It almost felt like they were kids again and he won some unspoken game.
She looked back at him and raised a brow. “Don’t gloat too much. I’ll have you eating dust in no time.” She turned back around, hand grabbing his wrist that was touching the side of her bare midriff and completely halting whatever sarcastic reply he was going to shoot by.
Right.
“Cat got your tongue?” Her head turned as if to look back at him.
His grip tightened as he steered the hoverboard to move straight. She gasped, her own hand tightening on his wrist for balance.
“Dream on,” he bit out.
She laughed in the open air of the empty alleyway. More distracted with flying a hoverboard than looking back to Ekko, who was hoping that the flush on his cheeks and neck weren’t as noticeable as the warmth that Isha kept cuddling into.
Notes:
Has anyone watched, How EKKO Redefines Time by schnee on YT? Go watch, it's such a great analysis.
Thank you for the lovely comments! <3
Also, also, I found this cute tiktok that had a compilation of Ekko, Jinx and Isha art and saw that someone recommended this story for fanfic recs. It felt so validating ahaha. I love how Timebomb fandom is coping by creating art but that art is so, so inspiring for writing cute found family moments in this story. I love it.
Chapter Text
Time
Jinx’s braids whipped against his sides as they soared above rooftops and between alleyways. His thighs and waist stung from the clanking metal entwined in her braids but he didn’t have the heart to tell her. Not when the giggles escaping her shook her entire body. The type of belly laughter he hadn’t heard since they were kids. Even Isha joined in, hooping into the air as Ekko pushed the hoverboard to go slightly faster. Just slightly. He didn’t want to chance them getting hurt just for a bit of fun.
His fingers flexed slightly against her waist when her hand, encircled around his wrist, moved up to grip his forearm, tugging him to the left. “This way, I think.”
“Ya think?” He shouted through the wind with a roll of his eyes although his tone held no bite. Not really. He complied with her directions without much fuss. Even if he had a feeling that she was detouring them through a longer route on purpose.
It wasn’t long until they arrived at their destination deeper in the part of the Undercity that he knew like the back of his hand. As they clambered off the hoverboard, it didn’t escape his notice that they were so close to The Last Drop. Jinx definitely chose a longer route, spinning them in a full circle around the perimeter of the bar before finally choosing the right alleyway. He knew these alleyways like the back of his hand from when they used to run these streets when they were a bunch of ragtag band of misfits.
It made sense that the Chem Sisters stayed close to their place of work, judging from Jinx’s description of them. He held onto Isha’s hand and attached his hoverboard behind him, observing Jinx as she twisted open what looked like an inactive air pressure valve.
Jinx glanced back at Isha before meeting his gaze with a questioning one of her own. He gave a nod. “Go in.” He knelt slightly and gestured for Isha to get closer. “I got her.”
Jinx hopped onto the edge of the tube with ease and watched for a moment as Isha moved into Ekko’s arms so that he could pick her up. He paused as he met her guarded expression but as her eyes reached him she merely blinked, almost innocently, before she gave a smile and slid through. What the heck was that? The top of her head disappeared before he could ask. Whatever. He helped Isha through before he dropped in himself. He sealed the air pressure valve behind him after scoping the alleyway once more for any wandering eyes.
The inside of the basement felt warm. A couch resided against a wall with a small coffee table riddled with stained rings of cups on the surface, several of Jinx’s bombs and leftover takeout. A few candles illuminated the room along with several neon bulbs from string lights strewn around the ceiling like makeshift stars. There was a set of instruments to one corner where he imagined the Chem Sisters playing when they used to throw their parties. A table lined across another wall where machines with buttons sat. Several cords went through a wall into what looked to be a closet turned soundbooth.
He could imagine Jinx partying here in a room full of Chem Punks high on shimmer and drunk on shine. Still, he had never imagined her partaking in the drug itself. The shimmer pink hue in her eyes was something far too recent. His eyes followed her now as she moved to knock on a door that must’ve led upstairs. She gave a tilt of her head before going over toward the table to flick on a couple buttons from the machines. Isha scrambled up on the couch to pick at the leftover food right as the door opened.
He met a pair of vaguely familiar brown eyes. Ekko tried to pinpoint where exactly he remembered her from as she also observed him with a wary gaze. “Hm.” The woman gave a slight nod in greeting that he returned before turning to give Jinx an amused smile. “Look at you adopting more strays.”
Jinx straightened and placed her hands on her hips. “Gert! Time to get the party started.”
Ekko’s gaze widened. Gert! He remembered her from the other timeline. Just then, a pale girl popped her head from behind Gert. She had a blue pixie haircut and wide brown eyes. She smiled at Ekko.
“Hey, I’m Ash. Friend of Jinx?”
He blinked before he looked at Jinx, crossing his arms with a guarded expression. “You could say that.”
Jinx snorted and picked up a braid before flicking it around in a circle as she casually strode to Ekko’s side. “Friends to enemies to lovers,” she paused as she looked at his z-drive before giving a shrug and continuing, ”to enemies again to wary friends and so on.” She listed off on her fingers with a playful head tilt.
He gave her an exasperated look. “Seriously?”
Gert let out a chuckle. “Sounds, uh, complicated.”
Jinx snorted. “You have no idea.”
Ash giggled and grabbed Gert’s hand. “I get it. We’re kind of like that too, huh, babe?”
Gert smiled back.
Oh. Oh. If Gert has an Ash in both timelines then Mylo’s hopeless .
Jinx waved her hands around in a gesture. “Now that we’re over the sappy introductions, can we get onto why I’m really here?”
Gert gestured for them to follow her to the table. “Shoot.”
“I have a few ideas.” Jinx was almost bouncing on the balls of her feet as she unfolded a crumbled paper that she had in her back pocket. At Ekko’s raised brow, she gave a little shrug. “What can I say? Genius hits me at night when I’m feeling extra manic.”
She gave him a cheshire grin before pointing to the soundbooth. “I want to record a few lines before we announce the song.” She looked at Gert and Ash, who were exchanging looks of confusion. Jinx elaborated, “we gave, uh, the topside goons an extra surprise, and kind of, you know, took over their comms.”
“What?” Gert and Ash said in unison.
“Yeah. . .” Jinx tilted her head. “What did you think I meant when I said the Undercity should have a dance party tonight? Wasn’t lying.”
Gert gave an amused side eye. “We thought you meant blowing shit up.”
“That too.” Jinx gave a half shrug as if what Gert said should already be a given. “Anyways, the song we recorded? I want it to play during curfew but can we tease into it? I want to give a little intro for them.”
Gert was already sliding onto the rolling chair in front of her table, turning off a few switches Jinx initially turned on and turning on a few more. Ash strode over to pull a vinyl from its sleeve. “And are you sure they won’t be able to track us?”
“That’s what the transmitters for!” Jinx sang out. “ You’ll just have to plug into their comms. I have the code. We have another set up for tomorrow too. I’ll double check it later since Leftie can’t be trusted to do things right.” She winked at Isha, who was already giggling at Jinx’s words.
“You mean Sevica?” Gert snorted. “You’re the only one who would dare say that to her.”
“We have a recording of the curfew, we could mix that into the beginning of the song,” Ash suggested. “Along with your intro.” She opened the makeshift closet, turned soundbooth and gestured for Jinx to get it.
Jinx glanced back at Isha and him before looking to Gert. “Wait. Put your earmuffs on! I want it to be a surprise.” Her eyes fretted between him and Gert. Gert smirked but didn’t protest as she plugged in her headphones. He’d seen them before when he did recon missions up in Piltover.
Ekko stepped back to sit on the couch with Isha, who was absolutely destroying the remaining leftovers on the table. The Chem Sisters didn’t seem to mind. Ash even dug into a cooler and pulled out a soda pop that fizzled when she popped off the bottle cap. Seeing Isha eat had him digging into his own utility belt to pull out his packed refuel food. It was something standard that all firelights carried with them on day long missions. As he finished his quick refuel bar, he wondered exactly when the last time Jinx ate.
He looked to Isha to ask her directly.
The kid blinked up in confusion before signing back, She rarely eats because she’s superhuman.
Superhuman? He asked.
Isha stood from her seat and pretended to shoot with her finger guns before making exaggerated dodges. She then pointed at her eyes before rolling them up as if what he asked was something obvious. She went back to drinking her soda pop. Her legs kicked up as she wiggled in her seat.
Ekko shook his head, leaned forward with forearms on his knees and crossed his fingers together as he processed what Isha was trying to tell him. It was a no-brainer that Jinx was tough as nails and twice as resilient when you put a gun in her hand. She also moved with incredible speed, dodging attacks as if she had eyes on the back of her skull. But that was before the shimmer-filled gaze. . . With a slight tilt of his head, he looked over Isha’s helmet to keep Jinx within his sights.
She was jumping up and down in the soundbooth, dancing and twirling with the mic in hand while Gert nodded along and asked for more retakes. Her eyes were glowing a vibrant pink, following directions surprisingly well for someone who wouldn’t think twice about giving someone an early ‘the end’ in their chapter of life.
“Hey Isha?” He asked softly.
The kid’s head bopped up as she looked at him with questioning eyes.
“When did you first meet?” He nodded up toward Jinx’s direction.
Isha gave him a side eye before signing, It feels like a long time now! And everything before meeting her doesn’t matter anyways. Don’t know, don’t care. She gave an exaggerated shrug before rubbing her nose.
“Okay.” He gave a shrug and raised a brow. The kid was hanging with Jinx too much with her catching a snarky attitude already. “ How’d you two meet then?”
Isha frowned as if reliving the memory before signing back to him albeit hesitantly, She saved me from henchmen in some alleyway during the gang wars. We were way below. She pointed down in an exaggerated manner before hugging herself. He got it. Way below in the sump levels of Zaun.
The sump level was no place for a kid. No place for anyone really. It was below even the usual impoverished parts of Zaun. Riddled with disease, drugs and violence. Ever since a poisonous gas fissure opened up after a mining accident, so many Zaunites were left displaced. They sought refuge in the upper levels of Zaun, causing a greater rift between Zaun and Piltover due to their response.
Lack of response, really, when Piltover sent no aide after the disaster. Topside benefited from the metals mined and profited from the cheap labor of miners. Yet all they did was turn up their nose and say it’s not their problem. United as one city, the Piltover council would say. Yet time and time again has shown that Piltover has put them in some bullshit social hierarchy that separated poverty and wealth despite how much the wealthy benefited from the opposite’s labor without providing opportunities for growth and stability.
He was sick and tired of it all. A darker part of him couldn’t help but feel some sense of justice at the death of half the Piltover council for their inaction. He had no sympathy. Not when so many died left and right on the streets of the undercity without even so much as a proper burial. Not when generations of families were ripped apart due to the endless greed of Piltover. Families like his, like Isha’s, like Jinx and Vi.
His silence as he contemplated must have affected Isha as well. Her expression darkened by the second as if recalling her time in the sumps. He couldn’t help but reach over to bump her chin softly with one of his knuckles. She scrunched her nose with a smile. “So she just let you hang with her after that?”
It was hard to imagine. Not because he thought Jinx was a cold-hearted monster. Not anymore at least. During that time there was chaos in the streets. Just Chem Punk gangs trying to gain control in the aftermath of Silco’s death and enforcers establishing order in the most militaristic way possible as they sought revenge on Jinx. Only to take it all out on civilians instead. He had been so busy taking in the overwhelming influx of displaced people seeking shelter at the Firelight hideout that he never stopped to think where Jinx was and whether she was okay after the night at the bridge.
Isha gave a determined nod and signed, She didn’t like it at first but she never stopped me. Isha shrugged as if she didn’t really understand. Then I saved her from these mean enforcers and she blew the whole cave up!
Isha threw her hands up and went, ‘pow!’ to imitate the explosion further. She reached for her soda pop but stopped short before giving Ekko a side eye, I’ll never let her be sad like before because we’re family now. Her hands flew through the words before she grabbed her soda pop with a satisfied smile.
Ekko glanced back up to see Gert give the thumbs up to Jinx. She gave a smile before putting the mic away. As she opened the door, her gaze immediately found him. “We have less than an hour to get this show on the road.” She stretched her arms up before looking at Gert and Ash. “You’ll have to find your own tower to watch the show tonight.” Jinx smirked playfully as if to say, ‘ ha, ha, can’t sit with us!’
Gert snorted. “You kidding me?” She leaned back in her seat as Ash encircled her arms around her shoulders, leaning into her from behind the chair. “We’re going to join in on this little party you're throwing. Wouldn’t want to miss out.”
Jinx blinked. “Huh?”
Ash mimicked Jinx’s smirk. “Ever since you told us you were gonna plan something for all of the Undercity, we started holding rallies. A lot of Jinxers joining us tonight.” Ash gave a shrug and a playful wink. “Can’t have a party without people.”
Ash laughed at Jinx’s confused expression. Ekko snickered and with a shake of his head, he stood. Seriously. He seriously could not believe how she didn’t see it herself yet. She probably thought it was one big joke because she detached herself from it. Yet here. Now. The difference was that she was interacting directly with the people that looked up to her. Realizing for the first time how truly inspiring she was even though it wasn’t at all her intention.
Isha watched Ekko closely before she chugged her soda pop and with a satisfied burp, she stood as well. It was uncannily reminiscent of how he stood. He smirked and knocked his knuckle against her helmet before moving toward the entrance they came through.
Ash continued, “I didn’t think your plan was going to be this extreme though! Janna, I’m so pumped. Can’t wait to pelt a stupid enforcer in the face with one of these.” She tossed up one of Jinx’s bombs.
Gert laughed. “Finally! We were almost losing hope. Thanks for everything, Jinx.”
Jinx stepped back as if her whole body flinched, rejecting the kindness and appreciation they were showing her. Her gaze was frantic as they flickered without blinking toward Isha, the bombs, the soundbooth. Everything. Gert’s laugh faded as she watched Jinx closely, almost as if she knew-
He stepped forward, but Isha beat him to it. Jinx’s gaze snapped toward Isha, toward the small hand grasping her own. Jinx took a deep breath. “Right, right,” she whispered before tucking the long strand of blue hair behind her ear. “Uh, yeah.” She snorted before rolling her eyes at Gert and Ash. “That was definitely the plan with this.” Everything in her tone sarcastically screamed that it wasn’t.
Ash and Gert shared a knowing smile.
“Reluctant or not, you’re still a hero,” Ash sing-songed.
“Ugh!” Jinx’s lip curled in disgust.
Ekko stepped in with an exasperated shake of his head at their playful banter. “We should head out now before curfew starts. Come on.” He gestured for Jinx and Isha to follow before grabbing his hoverboard laid against the wall.
Jinx blinked. Her body straightened completely as she knocked her heels together and saluted him. “Yes, sir!” Isha laughed and mimicked Jinx before following after her as Jinx slid over to his side. She crossed her hands behind her back with a tilt of her head at him. He gave her an expectant look before nodding his head toward the air pressure valve that he was holding up. Jinx looked over her shoulder to the Chem Sisters. “Try not to die or whatever.”
“You got it boss.” Jinx gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes mumbling about how old the revolutionary leader shit was as she climbed through. Once she was through, her soft voice called out, “Isha?”
Isha met Ekko’s gaze before following Jinx's voice. Once he saw her disappear through the otherside, Ekko gave a nod toward the Chem Sisters in goodbye. But before he could follow after Isha, Gert called out, “Hey Firelight.”
He paused. He never recalled introducing himself as a Firelight. Then again, his hoverboard was a dead giveaway. He looked back and raised a brow expectantly.
“I can see how much she matters to you.” She gave a nod as if she was giving her blessing. Maybe she was in a way. Gert and Jinx shared a past that he wasn’t a part of. Still, he wasn’t a fan of strangers getting into his business. “Try to keep her alive. For Zaun.”
His jaw clenched, her words rubbing him the wrong way. “I’m doing it for us ,” he said dismissively.
Gert gave a surprised laugh while Ash clapped her hands in approval. He rolled his eyes before climbing through the valve. He stepped through and glanced up through the opening to almost come nose to nose with Jinx. He flinched back at her closeness but she remained the same, staring at him with an unreadable expression.
“What’s up?” He sounded as breathless as he felt.
She blinked and gave a slow smile although it seemed more sadder by the second. She straightened from leaning over the opening. “Nothing.” He climbed through and pulled the air pressure valve closed. Not really wanting the moment to pass.
“That look wasn’t nothing but. . .” He fidgeted, determination leaving him as he watched her shoulders grow tense. “I’ll drop it if you don’t want to talk about it.”
She sighed, relieved. “Okay.” Her eyes flickered about. “We’ll have to find a good spot. Somewhere high.”
He swallowed as he unhooked his hoverboard from his back. “I know of a place not too far from the Last Drop but. . .”
She tilted her head at his hesitation. “But what?”
“I only know of it from you, from the other timeline ,” he quickly added when her brows drew together. “And so it might be familiar to you too? Maybe.”
Her eyes flickered down before she shook her head as if fighting some internal monologue. She hopped onto the hoverboard. “Doubt we’re all that the same anyway.” She wiped at her nose as Ekko picked up Isha before settling behind Jinx. “Ya just got lucky with knowing where my hideout was,” she mumbled as he shifted the hoverboard into gear, gliding through the familiar alleyways until they stopped just behind the Last Drop.
Jinx looked around as she hopped off the board. “Huh.” She raised a brow. “Not exactly an ideal romantic outing I pictured happening between the two of you but to each their own.” Her tone sounded distant. Detached. As if the Powder he met in the other universe and the Jinx he’s with now are different people in her mind.
He rolled his eyes as he moved toward a back door that led toward the tall building behind the bar. He took the steps two at a time before opening the door for her and Isha, leaning against the railing as he did so. “Save the judgement until we actually get to it, yeah?”
Jinx gave him a playful shrug as if to say no promises before stepping inside.
She gave a low whistle as she passed by him, looking around the inside of the dilapidated building stripped bare of everything down to even several wooden boards along the surface. Their shoes echoed within the emptiness. “Wow!” She spread her hands out and gave a twirl. “It’s just getting better and better!”
The sarcasm in her voice wasn’t lost on him. It was almost grating on his nerves. Especially since it felt like something shifted since they left the Chem Sisters spot. She was back to being guarded. Honeyed words digging under his skin to see how he’d react.
He looked around the walls and shelves stripped bare of its contents as a lame distraction from the bite in her tone. “It used to be a record store.” He dragged his finger down a table where the cash register was along with a basket full of odd trinkets like pins and jewelry. “In the other universe.”
She turned at that, interest piqued. He smiled at her big, round eyes before continuing, “Gert? She was a music producer in a band called the Chem Sisters. Their music played a lot here. She worked at the Last Drop too as a server. ”
Powder and him often took a shortcut to get to the main plaza, passing through the back of the Last Drop into the alleyway and through the record store building. The owner didn’t care at all. Always affectionately calling out to Powder and him to say hi to Vander and Benzo for him.
Ekko didn’t realize until now as his eyes traced over the stripped decaying wood. Really. Never had enough time to process all the people that just knew them as a duo more than as individuals. Never really questioned it. Never really got too comfortable as he single mindedly trudged on with the sole purpose of returning back to his home. Now that he was here, however, he couldn’t help but wonder where the supposed record store owner was now. He wondered if the opportunity to open up a record store was even there for him. He heard a droplet of water steadily dripping onto the rotten wood floor. The colorful stained glass long shattered above. Wasteland, she called it. Jinx. Powder. Her.
“Hey,” she softly called. He blinked several times before meeting her gaze. She was hovering close. Hands clasped behind her back. “Where’d you go just now?”
He looked away. “Nowhere. I- Just a weird sense of vertigo.” He stepped aside and around her to lead them to the staircases. “Come on. It’s almost curfew time.”
Jinx gave a huff but followed along. “Come on kid,” she called back to Isha, who was distracted from the frogs hopping away from her to get to the pool of water that must have gathered for years through the rotten wooden floor. Isha steadied her helmet from falling too far back before leading them up the staircases and to the rooftop.
The metal door was almost falling off its hinges as it squeaked open, opening up to the view of Zaun, Piltover and the bridge that separated the two cities. Even in the glow of pollution emanating from Zaun there was something almost hauntingly beautiful about the wasteland they called home.
The rooftop was in complete disrepair. The fence wrapped around the edges as a makeshift safeguard were curled in and rusted. The concrete under their feet cracked and uneven. Everything felt dark, damp and dreary. The only light illuminating from Piltover in the far distance. Yet despite it all, he couldn’t help but take in Jinx’s microexpressions as she hesitantly stepped forward. Big, wide eyes sparkling in wonder.
A delighted gasp from Isha had him looking away. The corner of his lip quirked up as he watched the kid walk closer toward the edge. Her arms expanded widely and from where he stood at the doorway, it was as if she was hugging the entirety of the city. Jinx stepped forward, shoulders swaying with the movement as she ducked under a fallen steel beam that used to be part of the building itself.
He followed right behind her, eyes restless as he waited for her reaction before words tumbled from his own mouth to ease the growing silence between them. “This was different too. There were a lot of plants up here with long vines and flowers that almost covered the whole fence. Warm lighting. And we actually came up here from the Last Drop. Its rooftop. There was a makeshift bridge that connected them and some metal stairs that led to here-”
“She showed you this?” Her voice sounded small. She still wasn’t looking at him. Her back faced him as she took in the city lights before slowly sitting down on the edge of the rooftop beside Isha. Her gaze followed along some pipelines and cables that connected from one building to another.
Ekko paused. “Yeah.” He pressed his hands together. “Is it. . . too much?”
She snorted. “Should ask you that.” She met his gaze and kept it. They gazed at each other, softly, in silence, before her eyes left him briefly to the empty spot beside her. When her gaze strayed back to him, he understood. No words were said as he accepted her invitation to sit next to her. After a moment of silence, she laughed despite no humor being present in her tone. “Looks like we’re both traveling down memory lane.”
Curiosity got the better of him. “So you’ve been here before?”
She nodded and ducked her head. Fingers digging into the edges of the cold concrete. Her gaze flickered about before she softly whispered, “She took me here. Before.” It was almost as if she was afraid to say Vi’s name or even talk about her past. As if she would be punished for it by some unseen force.
He didn’t want to push her. Not on this. Jinx shook her head as her thumbnail picked at the skin of her forefinger. She gave a huff of laughter, almost bitter. “Still have the bunny.”
“Hm?”
She looked up, startled. Her eyes flickered to him and then to Isha, who was already exploring across the rooftop with a spray can in hand. Jinx’s shoulders relaxed before she brought her knees up and scooted away from the edge. “What time is it?” She asked, laying her head on her knees.
He reached into his pocket to pull out his silver stopwatch. The faint ticking became more pronounced. “Quarter till six. Got some time to kill.” Ekko briefly glanced up as he moved to tuck his watch back into his pocket. He paused at the flicker of emotion on her face before she looked away.
Tick tock. Tick tock. The sound almost a cruel reminder of what transgressed between them. He looked back to his stopwatch before tucking it deep into his pant pocket.
“Speaking of killing time,” she drawled out before slowly meeting his gaze again. “Can you. . . can you tell me more about the world you came back from?” Her gaze looked hopeful.
“What do you want to hear?” He strained to get the words out.
She hummed, pretending to think for a second before she smiled. “How did you look like? Over there?”
He couldn’t help but smile. “Very different.”
“Not leaving anything up to the imagination, are ya?” she deadpanned.
A laugh escaped him this time. “I-He had ear piercings. Made of gold.” She scrunched her nose in disbelief. A Soft laugh escaped him. “Yeah. Couldn’t believe it myself. And his hair was tied back.” Her curious gaze traveled up to his locked, white hair, as if trying to conjure up the image in her mind. His hand ran back through his thick fringe, pulled into rough locks, almost self consciously. Only for them to fall over his gaze. “He had longer locks. Kind of want to do the same. Just takes time that I feel like I don’t have.”
She blinked before brushing her fingers over her own braid. The simple movement was captivating. His eyes followed the path of her fingers as she said, “You can always make time for it. Those moments are special.” She caressed a bullet casing braided into her hair for a moment before asking, “What’d ya usually wear?”
Ekko crossed his fingers together on his lap, not being able to continue to hold her gaze as he continued, “Um, had to wear a school uniform every day. Supposedly he went to some prestigious science school in Piltover. Didn't go myself.” He gave a half shrug. “Was too focused on building the stabilizer for the z-drive. Probably gonna spend months having to make up homework cause of me.” His shoulders dropped as he chuckled, almost guiltily. Professor Heimerdinger said that Ekko was his apprentice in that world so his absence from classes was excused. His heart ached at the thought of him. He couldn’t imagine how the other Ekko felt, waking up to find that Heimerdinger was. . . dead. Gone? Gone forever from both their worlds.
“Always meant to do great things, huh, bud?” There was no bite in her tone, yet he looked up regardless to see if she was messing with him. The soft smile she gave him looked genuine. It pushed him to be just as direct. To say even a fraction of what he’s been wanting to say to her without worrying about whether or not it’d wake the dormant, angry beast inside of her.
“Could say the same thing ‘bout you,” he retorted.
She blinked. Her whole body flinching away from him as she looked away. “Stop.” Her voice sounded unlike her as she curled in on herself. “Not funny.”
“Not trying to be.” His posture straightened as he regarded her. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the back and forth between us.” She met his gaze as he continued, “But I never once lied to you.”
“Never?” She echoed with a tilt of her head. Her gaze was wide and thoughtful. It looked innocent, resembling the Powder he knows, but he was familiar with how she played this facade before striking. Her gaze searched for his own. She must have found what she was looking for when her shoulders lost the line of tension that gathered there. A small smirk played on her lips. “Hmph. Then tell me about you and her.”
This time, her switch up was all playfulness, no bombs. Still, the shock coursing in his system felt like she dropped a bomb on him regardless.
She raised a brow as she watched for his reaction.
He breathed out, holding her gaze despite the conflict probably showing on his face. He didn’t want to hide this from her. Looking away, well, it almost felt like a contradiction. Was withholding something intimate like what he experienced truly a lie? Deep down, he wanted her to see him too. Yet the rational part of him argued against it. He didn’t want to scare her away with the complexity of emotions behind his actions.
His silence must have been answer enough for her. Her smile thinned as she looked to the distant city lights of Piltover. “I get it, ya know.” Her gaze saddened, looking thoughtful, as she continued, “It’s hard to say it out loud. It’s like. . . it’s confirming that they’re truly gone. And all these feelings, they have nowhere to go so it just bottles up, up, until you just-” She snapped her fingers. He looked up, startled. She leaned back on her hand; her other hand reached over to trace the scar that marred the lines of her blue smoke tattoo as she sighed, “For what it’s worth, you of all people deserve someone good, Ekko.”
She sounded so sincere. He believed her. He also believed that she truly believed that she didn’t deserve it. Nothing good. His tongue felt heavy, mouth dry as she met his gaze again despite the vulnerability she showed in those few words to him. Their locked stares, the familiarity of it, brought a memory to the forefront of his mind like a caress.
It felt almost inseparable from the one they were creating now, as if still wrapped in a fluffy blanket that separated their world from the rest. Thick as thieves in their own blanket fort that they created in her bunk bed giggling and chatting about everything and nothing all at once. Maybe it was why, even now from strangers turned wary friends, it was so easy to get lost in her gaze. There was no competition like how they made it be in their youth. Instead, they pushed through the awkwardness, to communicate in the openness of their microexpressions, allowing themselves to be read and vice versa. As if making up for lost time.
Which was why, despite how wary and reserved he was about sharing something that was so deeply intimate to him, he revealed, “We danced.”
She blinked up at him, surprised.
“And. . . we kissed.”
Her lips parted but no words came out as she tried to process this. He waited patiently, continuing to watch the flicker of emotions across the expanse of her face before she ducked her head as if to hide. “Oh,” she mumbled.
His cheeks warmed as restless eyes looked anywhere but her now. Still, he tried to swallow past the lump in his throat to say, “These feelings have always been here.” His voice still broke with emotion. “They’ll always be here,” he corrected. “For every version of you.” He wanted to say so much more but opted for the silence growing between them.
Ekko knew it didn’t fix anything, admitting this to her. Her words resonated in him. He thought he lost her. Truly. He thought that she was gone and that night at the bridge, he just. . . snapped. All the bottled up emotions exploded from him until all he saw was red. All the frustration and anger and loss pouring through bloody knuckles. But for him, he realized that she wasn’t truly gone. Just changed. He didn’t know if that made it even worse. It felt like a knife twisting in his gut all over again. A bittersweet taste left in the aftermath of the scars dealt between them.
He tensed when he sensed her shifting beside him, taking a double take when she scooted into his space. Her scarred shoulder pressing against his own in a reassuring way. “For better or worse?” Her voice was teasing, but her eyes shined with emotion.
He breathed a laugh. The weight in his chest lifting. “Yeah,” he breathed it out like a promise.
As if on cue, the curfew announcement began. A speaker close by filtering the noise through and breaking the spell between them.
By decree of Piltover Police Department's Sheriff Kiramman, the Undercity is under curfew from 1800 to 1100 everyday and applies to all minors under 18. This Order prohibits public space and private establishment meetings.
Jinx gasped as her head shot up. She looked around, looking a bit disoriented. “It’s starting already?”
Isha, who had been busy entertaining herself with a spray can and the concrete wall behind them, looked back toward them before dumping her can to the side and running toward Jinx. Jinx was already on her feet, catching and spinning her, both of them laughing in excitement. Ekko couldn’t help but smile at their reaction, their excitement rubbing off on him.
Those in violation of this Order will be searched and seized.
This Order shall be terminated once the terrorist, Jinx. . . Jinx. . . This Or-Order shall be terminated. . . . terrorist. . . Jinx. . . Jinx. . .
The recording of the monotone voice faded into something new. A rock melody. It was faint at first, picking up in volume. Even as the mic feed turned high pitched and all three of them groaned, covering their ears. “Is this what you came up with in the soundbooth earlier?” He couldn’t help but bite out in disbelief.
She rolled her eyes. “No, doofus. Just got too close to the mic is all,” she grumbled.
“Hi!” Her recorded voice came through before he could give a quick comeback. Her recorded giggle range through along with another high pitched mic feed. “Introducing the causer of chaos, reluctant hero,” her playful voice rang through. “Deranged maniac that blew the tippity top off Pilty Palace!”
The rock melody picked up volume, almost drowning out her last words. “That’s right folks! Your big ol’ hero has arrived. Oh. Hold off on your applause until after the song.”
Her giggle transitioned over to the Chem Sisters song, the voice most likely belonging to Ash.
“Oh, you want a villain? Lemme show you how I evil.
Oh you think I’m difficult I’ll show you how all my devil.
Sharp shooter lethal, top of food chain like an eagle. . .”
The music blasted across the undercity and its different levels. He was sure they could hear it all the way across the bridge in Piltover. He wondered if that’s what Jinx was actually doing at the radio tower when she was turning and flicking knobs. Whatever the case, it seemed like the music was much louder than the monotonous curfew recording that they’ve been playing every evening. His eyes scanned the rooftops warily, paranoia seeping in as Jinx and Isha were giggling and dancing behind him. There were no enforcers. Yet anyway. He’d be ready for anything and he already had a planned escape route if they did get found out. Like Jinx, he knew these alleyways like the back of his hand-
He gasped, feeling something cold and sharp grabbing at his arm. He looked back, startled to see Jinx’s hand wrapped around his arm. Her nails were digging slightly into his flesh as she tugged him back toward where Isha was jumping side to side, dancing.
“I hope I timed it well!” Jinx called out over the music. Her smile was bright, brighter than the full moon rising into the sky. He felt oversensitive, warm, focusing too much on the hand that slid down his arm to clutch his hand as she swayed her body, braids following her movement.
“What are you doing?” He blurted.
“What are you doing?” She echoed with a playful smile and roll of her eyes. “I told you already, it’s okay to let loose Ekko!” She nodded over toward Isha encouragingly before taking Isha’s hand too. Before he could react, Isha took Jinx’s cue and grabbed his hand to form an imperfect circle.
Jinx laughed and pulled them to move in a circle as the song continued.
“Dead done deceased like, woooooow,
Paint the town blue, riots all around you!”
For a brief moment, the world stilled. It was just them obscured in the darkness with the sun fully set behind them and the full moon the only light shining above the undercity. Yet even in that stillness, despite the dampness, wood rot and abandoned buildings of their past, he’s never seen so much color before him. He wanted to paint the memory permanently into his mind.
Even as the sky lit up with colorful sparks of purple, pink, blue and green. Clouds of smoke from the bombs were heavy in density, shaped into colorful explosions that faded into the sky as the chorus repeated. Ekko didn’t even realize he was dancing with the two until the song ended abruptly and a pre-recording of Jinx’s giggle, then, “Get jinxed,” sounded through the speakers. The song replayed over but the three of them were breathing out heavily from the overexertion of dancing.
So fun! Isha signed to them before skipping around them, hand grabbing Ekko’s to spin a circle around him. He chuckled and followed her movement before looking over toward the undercity painted over.
Jinx was nodding along to the music, smiling warmly at Isha. “See kid!” Isha ran into Jinx’s waiting arms. “Congratulations on your very first successful mission of telling the Piltie goons to screw off.” Jinx pointed her middle finger to the sky, facing it toward Piltover. Isha copied her movements with a solemn gaze and nod.
Ekko huffed in laughter. “They’ll think twice before messing with you, little rebel.”
Isha gave a satisfied smile and went back to dancing as Ekko crouched low to scan the buildings again. “Wonder when they’ll find the tower.” Once they pulled the plug on the music and found the transmitter he knew that it would get too hot for them to stay. He didn’t want to risk endangering Isha, especially with the Noxus army at Caitlyn’s disposal.
Jinx crouched beside him. “We’ll know when they do.” Not even a moment too soon did the building toward the east blow up in green and pink smoke, triggering another set of fireworks to blow off. The fireworks, as Jinx explained, was a signal of sorts. It’d let them know where exactly the enforcers were in terms of following their trail. Ingenious, really. He slowly stood to his full height.
“That’s our cue,” he called over to Isha, who paused in her dancing. Her wide gaze looked to him before Jinx.
Jinx’s brows scrunched together as she pouted. “Huh, but the fun’s not over.” In one swift movement she was standing to his side, looking slightly up at him with a raised brow.
He didn’t budge at her puppy dog eyes. “Yeah, I got that but it won’t be long until they catch on to the fake trail we left behind,” his tone became more steady, firmer.
With hand on hip, she tilted her hip to the side. “We can take ‘em.” As if from muscle memory, her hand traced over to her gunbelt ghosting over the empty holster. She paused, looking thoughtful for a moment. Isha’s gaze widened before she nodded eagerly behind, excited at the prospect of a fight ahead. It almost made him feel nauseous. He made a mistake like that once, allowing a kid to fight with him. It didn’t end well. Neither for Jinx and him when they were young.
Ekko held Jinx’s gaze before he tilted his head just slightly toward Isha. Jinx paused as if barely realizing the gravity of consequence ahead. “Oh.” Her gaze fell. He could almost see the dark cloud rolling over her expression.
“Hey,” he called, softly. She looked up to meet his gaze. His lip quirked up before he bumped his shoulder against hers. “Come on.”
She smiled, eyes glowing. ”Kay.” She skipped over to get ahead of him before swiftly pulling her- his - coat over her shoulders, engulfing her body completely. “Still a party pooper though,” she called out before tapping Isha’s shoulder to follow after her. Isha turned around slightly to stick her tongue out at Ekko, although playfully.
He watched them disappear through the exit that led down stairs before he dared to look back, smile growing fond, as his gaze traced the edge of the rooftop that held old and new memories. All merging together.
Notes:
This good boy is saying everything except for that simple, "I love you." 🥰 That's probably canon. He painted her, wrote love notes, painted Vi, etc, can't help but think he'd do the most in his world too.
Also, also, would you believe me if I say that the song, Paint the Town Blue, is to blame for my delay in posting? 🥹 It's just so damn good that whenever I play it on repeat for inspo to fill in the gaps of this chapter with dialogue/detail I get distracted and start jamming out. If not, then it's because I worked a lot the past couple of weeks.
Chapter Text
Time
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
It was all he could focus on even as he stared down the barrel of her gun. She never missed. He knew that. There was always a risk of dying when confronting her on a battlefield. She was dangerous. Even more so as she stewed in the depths of her unhinged mind. But this time he wasn’t going to let her get away. This time, he was going to end this. For Eve.
He pressed on his stopwatch, beginning the countdown of their lives. One Last Dance.
She never missed, yet he dodged every single one of her bullets. The wicked smile of hers that he conjured in his mind was replaced with worry mixed with fear as he got closer. He was above her, staring down the barrel of her gun as her arm pointed it high in the air. Her finger was on the trigger. Her eyes were wide as they locked eyes. And in that split second of hesitation, he was on top of her. Her arms pushed up, slapped and scratched at his face.
All he could see was red. That was, until a weak sound escaped her. He paused, veil lifting as a complexity of emotions flitted across the expanse of her face. Her small smile. The furrow of her brow as her gaze turned to acceptance. As if no time passed between them despite the massive void that engulfed everything good that made them— them .
Her head tilted away. From what? He felt slow. Almost reluctant to look away from her. Tick, tick, tick. He realized a second too late as the bomb from her palm rolled off the tips of her fingers and onto the pavement.
His right hand, gripping his pipe turned makeshift weapon, tightened. He whipped it back and knocked the bomb to the side, away from them. Tick-
A color of explosive pink fielded his vision. Nothing but searing pain scorched through his veins as they were blown across the bridge. He felt fragments of shrapnel from the remnants of the bomb embed themselves deeply into his arm. The moment felt like forever until he came to. His lungs felt scorched as he desperately breathed in, coughing phlegm of ash and blood. His insides quivered. His ankle throbbed. Yet it was through sheer adrenaline that he stood and limped back to where he— they were. The pink smoke from the bomb long dissipated. He could see the outline of her figure, unmoving.
Ekko had half a mind to turn away, bitter from the aftermath, from the betrayal on both sides. It was a trap from the start. And Jinx, despite blowing them all up in the process, saved him from a worse fate with the enforcers. The bodies were strewn all around them. Good riddance. But soon the place would be swarming with them. He turned as if to go, even as he glanced back to where she laid so peacefully. Her figure illuminated under the flickering spotlights.
He’s never seen her so still before.
The simple thought that crossed his mind gave him pause. Something metallic filled his mouth. His heart beat turned erratic. Without thinking, he limped forward. His breathing became shakier as he neared her.
“If this is another one of your sick jokes,” he muttered even as he stood over her. He wouldn’t put it past her to get the drop on him like this, to prey on his weakness, playing the innocent Powder that he loves. Loved. Not anymore. Powder was dead. All there was, if anything in that hollow heart of hers, was Jinx now. Still. . .
She wasn’t getting up.
Panic crept in his veins. It spurred him into action. He was at her side, hesitant. Wary. Her eyes were closed. Jaw slack. No tension lined her face. Nothing but ash and blood from stray shrapnel. His hand shook as he tilted her head to check her pulse. He felt nothing. He adjusted, leaning the top half of her body against his chest. He swallowed the panic and tried again.
It was thready— weak . She’s alive. Not for long.
He pulled her up into his arms and grit his teeth as the scorching pain froze him in place. “Come on, come on!” He urged his body to move and heaved her up despite the pain, despite what happened, despite everything . She didn’t get to die like this, not after everything she did. It felt like a sick, easy way out from this nightmare they lived in. He couldn’t accept that.
He couldn’t lose her too.
Her head rolled against his chest before falling back over his bleeding arm. Blue braids dragged across the pavement like a paintbrush. The metal of her makeshift charms of bullet casings and gears clanking as he moved them across the bridge toward Zaun.
The silence between them was loud. It had a haunting finality to it. One he couldn’t accept as reality. He took one step in front of the other. He didn’t know where to go. What to do. The adrenaline that fueled his veins long since depleted. The pain doubled back in full force and his knees buckled from the weight of it. Fuck-
“Fuck!” He shouted, catching himself with his injured arm before he could fall on her. She was crumbled on the floor, lifeless. He pulled his other arm from underneath her knees and swiped her hair to the side. She didn’t move, didn’t even make a sound. This couldn’t be it.
It couldn’t. He couldn’t make it. This couldn’t be it. He had to save her. He had to. If only he had more time-
Ekko startled awake, chest heaving. His arm instinctively reached back to his z-drive even as he tried to blink away the vivid memory, a thick fog clouding his mind. He felt trapped as if he was being crushed and pulled apart in all directions. He couldn’t breathe. Instead of the bridge, the pink smoke and pale skin covered in ash and blood, he saw a canvas before him. Focus. He looked around as his mind tried to grasp what was real or not.
Wooden carved bed in the corner, a forest green quilt gifted to him from Scar’s wife, Eba, his hoverboard leaning against the wall, gears and blueprints strewn across his workstation, dried paint brushes and paint-
His finished canvas. His eyes traced over the painting, breathing in, then out.
It’s okay. He tried to tell himself. She’s alive.
He groaned and dropped his head against the table until he could calm his heart.
It’s all in the past.
But the bitter resentment was hard to shake off. It felt so real like it happened yesterday. There was a soft thumping on his door followed by “Ekko?”
He recognized that voice. He quickly wiped any residual drool from his mouth and gathered his paintbrushes with a clear of his throat. “Come in.”
The door opened not a moment too soon and in walked Zipporah in full firelight gear with her hair pulled back tightly from her face. Her bird mask hung from her hip as she sauntered in. She looked him over with a raised brow and crossed his arms. “Looks like you had a nice nap.” She cocked her head. “Dreaming of good dreams I hope? And not of a certain blue-haired suicidal maniac. ”
The smile growing on his lips from seeing his longtime friend and third in-command flattened into a thin line. “Don’t start.”
She raised her hands up in a mockingly placating manner. “Whatever you say boss.” As she did, however, her eyes strayed over to the painting he had been working on until late noon before he was lulled into sleep.
It was, of course, a painting of a certain blue-haired suicidal maniac although the painting depicted anything but. She looked soft. Shimmering pink eyes wide and round, surrounded by the dark smokey eyeshadow she loved to wear to disguise the dark bags underneath. Lips parted. Blue hair pooled at the bottom with the silhouette of the wasteland they called home behind her. She was illuminated even in the grittiness of the undercity. An iris in a graveyard. He didn’t even have to wonder what she'd be like in an undercity where they didn't have to fight to survive.
He knew.
When Ekko came back to the Firelight base after the firework display, he had the urge to paint what he saw and encapsulate the memories from last night when he observed her on the rooftop that overlooked the sister cities.
He felt his cheeks warm even as he stood and placed his paintbrushes into a bucket of water on the floor in an attempt to seem nonchalant.
“What do you need, Zip?” Ekko called over his shoulder as he continued to close the tubes of paint before organizing them into his shelf. She hated when they called her by her full name.
Zip was reaching for a portrait he laid to the side. One of Isha with her helmet tilted up and a wide, cheesy grin that made her entire face glow alight. “Now, this one stumps me. One of the refugees?”
He stopped what he was doing to give her his full attention. “That’s Isha. She’s a good kid. Jinx’s kid. And what did I say about calling them refugees? They’re Zaunites. Like us. We don’t turn away one of our own.”
Ekko crossed his arms when he saw the spark in her eyes.
“Forgive me,” Zip’s tone sounded anything but remorseful. “You’ve been gone for so long, we kinda forgot what rules apply and what rules don’t.” She said teasingly even as she placed the painting back down to the floor; she propped it against the easel with a certain delicateness that contradicted the harshness of her tone. He was glad for that. She at least still had some modicum of respect despite his absence.
Still, he wasn’t one to tiptoe around someone who was obviously holding resentment.
“You got a problem with me, say it.” He gestured to the space between them.
Her brow twitched, attention snapping back up to him. “I get it. I can’t hold it against you that you got sent back to another universe altogether or whatever. But it’s like your head is somewhere else.” She was shouting now. Her arm stretched out to gesture toward the painting of her. “She killed Eve for fucks sake! Have you forgotten what she did to us?”
“Of course not!” He felt his temple throb. The remnants of his previous panic attack creeping back in. His fingers twitched. “Do you think I don’t know that? Eve was just a kid, but we were one person short. I’m the one who asked for volunteers that day. I chose her. I thought if I just kept her close-” He sighed and looked away. “That’s on me.”
Zip looked away. Her eyes had a sheen to it as she stumbled over her words, “No, Ekko. It’s not your fault.”
She reached for him but he twisted away with a shake of his head. His hands shook from the flood of emotions building in his chest. He didn’t need forgiveness, or the pitying comfort from a friend. He more than anyone understood.
The bitter anger and sadness still filled the space between Jinx and him— left unspoken for fear that it’d break the fragile truce they built with each passing moment. But at least the truce was the first step to moving forward. To Ekko, not moving forward meant death. For him. For Jinx. For the firelights. Stuck in an endless loop of anger, pain and suffering.
He didn’t know if what he was doing was right or wrong for the girl and boy underneath all their brokenness. But last night, he felt happy. Truly happy. It was a feeling that was new to him. He wouldn’t have even known what to compare it to if it wasn’t for Powder. Her . He didn’t want to let that feeling go.
“I’d never ask you to forgive her. I’d never bring her here if even one of you is against it.” He met Zip’s gaze. “But I’m not giving up on her again. Please don’t ask that of me.”
Zip’s gaze widened and they stayed like that for a moment. Her in stunned silence. Him with growing resolve. Slowly her lips curved into a slight grimace. “Oh damn. I didn’t believe Scar when he told me but you’re pretty serious about her, huh?”
He paused, thrown off by the amusement in her voice. “Wait, what?”
“You know I always got your back, even though I question your judgement from time to time,” she said dismissively. “This sanctuary. We did a damn good job of keeping it safe. But that’s just it. We built a hidden sanctuary that can’t be trusted to share with all of Zaun cause we can’t get our heads out of our ass for two seconds to organize against the real enemy and to do that, we gotta put our past differences aside for some real change.” She tilted her head, reminiscent of the bird mask she loved to portray as her alter ego. “I still think she’s fucking psycho and I have my fair share of grudges, but I do admire her sheer audacity. Maybe someone like her is what Zaun needed all along.”
Ekko was frozen in place as he tried to process her words. “Wait, so you’re not mad?” He had to be sure because the whiplash Zip gave him from the moment she walked through the door was going to give him an aneurism at this point. But that was Zip.
She loved to ruffle people’s feathers.
Zip snickered and socked his shoulder before playfully bringing him into a headlock like she used to do when he was younger, scrawnier. He shoved her off with a huff. “Seriously?” He grumbled.
She laughed and he couldn’t help but smile at her even as he shook his head. As they settled into a comfortable silence, she continued, “You. . . should bring her here.”
He glanced up to see if she was joking despite the hope blossoming in his chest. “I’d-I’d have to check with the others.”
“If you sat outside and hung out with us for a second instead of hanging out with Zaun’s princess you’d know that mostly everyone is excited at the prospect of meeting her. It’s exhausting, really. I feel like I’m the only one holding a grudge at this point.”
Ekko couldn’t help it. He sat back down on his chair, collapsed almost, as he rubbed at his forehead.
Zip opened the window beside him before leaning against the wall. “All the refugees,” she coughed at his side eye. “ Displaced Zaunites ,” she corrected. “They practically worship her. They think she’s some kind of hero like Janna.” She scoffed. “Everyone would be more than welcoming if she were to call this place her home.” Her voice was soft this time as she looked at Ekko.
He could just imagine it.
Her snoozing on the rooftop right underneath the sun, or tinkering away in his workshop. She was surprisingly good with Isha. he could imagine the other kids gravitating toward her. She’d probably create smoke bombs to entertain them in the grass field, or create odd inventions just to hear them laugh. At night, she’d be laying in the field, staring at the green hue of fluttering firelights for hours and hours. She’d finally feel safe . Isha would have so much fun playing with the kids her age. She could attend the classes set up in the mornings for their basic education. They even have a teacher who knows sign language. Ekko could encourage it to be part of their curriculum so that everyone can be able to communicate with her. Isha would never feel left out.
After a moment, Ekko looked up to find that Zip was already staring at him, watching for his reaction.
He swallowed. “I’d like that. A lot actually.”
She raised a brow. “So?” She began, waiting for him to elaborate.
He could also imagine Jinx swallowed whole from the pressure of so many eyes on her. He wasn’t stupid. He noticed the shift in her demeanor when the Chem Sisters praised her. It was a foreign concept— people liking her. If she unintentionally hurt someone, the burden of that consequence would be on both of them.
“I don’t think Jinx is ready for this. The responsibility. People relying on you.” He sighed. “It’d overwhelm her.”
“Are you talking about you or her?”
He jumped up, startled. “That’s not it. You know that.” She gave a nod in confirmation but she still stared at him with those knowing eyes. Ekko continued, “She’s reluctant about being the hero everyone wants her to be. What if they’re disappointed when they realize she didn’t do it for Zaun? What if it shows on their faces? I don’t want this place to become a bad memory for her. I don’t want her to be a bad memory for the people here.”
Silence settled between them as Zip chose her next words carefully. “You can’t know that, Ekko, until you give it a chance. Maybe what she needs is people.” He frowned as he glanced up to her. Zip just shrugged. “Come on. I've known you since you were yay high.” Her palm reached down to her waist to emphasize his late bloomer phase. He rolled his eyes. “And by knowing you, I feel like I know what she’s about too. She grew up isolated as Silco’s daughter. Can’t be easy having to please a man like that,” she gave a little shrug. “So maybe it’d be good for her to realize that there’s more to life than gunpowder and bombs.”
“I,” Ekko began before smiling as he stood up to reach for her. They locked arms. She smirked. “Thanks Zip.” It almost felt like he was the last person that’s changed enough to give Jinx a second chance. He leaned against the window sill to peer outside to the group of firelights that were loading up on equipment at the weapons tent.
“You’ve known her since you were a kid, huh?” She began, almost hesitantly.
He was the reason why. For as long as they’ve known each other, Ekko never really talked about his past and they never pried. Scar and Zip had to put two and two together to even realize that the little blue-haired girl he painted on the wall when he first found the firelight base by himself was the same girl who Silco took in. The girl he obsessively tracked for months until he could find a moment alone with her. They never even asked when he eventually came back empty handed with nothing but a bruise on his cheek to show for all his effort.
He swallowed before giving a small nod. He didn’t know how to even explain. The words wanted to get out but they felt stuck in his throat. Zip waited patiently as he tried to work it out in his head on why it was so hard for him to open up about his past here with his found family but so easy to do so with Jinx.
The moment passed as Zip changed the conversation. “About earlier, too, I’m sorry that you had to shoulder the burden all on your own.”
His gaze snapped up.
“Scar and I, well, we didn’t realize how much responsibility you took on until we had to fill in for you when you were gone.” Zip nodded her head down to the firelights below. “All this was cause of you . You’re a hero to us, Ekko.” She gave a little laugh. “I always got your back. Just have to make sure you’re serious about it before I commit to showing a united front on this.”
“You gave me a lot to think about,” Ekko mumbled. With Scar and Zip’s acceptance, he could make a place that Jinx and Isha would feel safe to call home. He could clear out his workshop further up the staircases that wrapped around the tree and make it a room for them to stay in. They would love it. The room was right beneath the rooftop toward the top branches of the tree. They would have the best view of the base on all sides.
He pushed off the window sill and turned to go. “It’s almost time.”
Zip snickered behind him. He raised a brow. “What?”
“Looks like she left her mark on you.” He frowned, twisting from one side to the other to see where she was looking.
He felt heat rise to his cheeks when he saw Jinx's signature monkey symbol spray painted in pink along with an X on the back. When did she even do that?
“Shut up,” he mumbled even as he felt the heat spread up to his ears. He ignored Zip’s laughter even as he moved toward his hoverboard and in one smooth moment it clipped onto its magnetic harness on his back.
He gave her a side eye and she raised her hands in a placating manner, all playfulness, before unhooking her crow mask from her utility belt. He followed her movement and slipped his own mask on.
Every time he put on his owl mask, it felt like it transformed him. An alter ego that he embodied with smooth movements as he took two stairs down at a time to find Scar waiting at the bottom of the staircases. Ekko pulled on the hood of his jacket that Jinx, thankfully , gave back to him last night even if she was reluctant to do so. He didn’t understand why— it was his jacket. But even in his confusion, he promised to hand it back to her the next time he saw her. He could still picture her pout and crossed arms when he moved to leave.
“Ok,” she had allowed. “But where are you going?”
“Gonna join in on the riots that are bound to happen tomorrow.”
Her face dropped like she was betrayed. “What- Why? ”
“Want to make sure no one dies.” His lips settled into a thin line. “Maybe it’ll make a difference if we can push them back.”
She looked hesitant before asking in a low voice. “Are you coming back?”
He looked down to where she hesitantly gripped the back of his jacket. He couldn’t help the affection that pooled in his chest at the sight of it. “Of course.”
He just had to do this first.
Ekko gestured for Scar to follow before leading the front toward the grass field. The few firelights there turned their masked heads to him, alert and at attention. His voice came out distorted as he said, “Jinx provided us an opportunity here. We’re to provide support for the Zaunites planning to riot tonight.” There were whispers, a few nods of agreement amongst each other. Tension lined their shoulders as Ekko continued, “Jinxers made a barricade near the checkpoint after the enforcers retreated. We’re going to hold our position there and hopefully reestablish the blackmarket so that Zaunites can feel safe enough to gather supplies before the enforcers come back.”
There were cheers. Firelights raised their makeshift weapons and fists. Scattered applause from observing bystanders continued until Ekko raised a hand to placate them. Ekko nodded once he could find a moment to speak again, “You know the drill. I want you to split up in your regular teams. You have five minutes to get them up to speed.” He tilted his head to Scar and Zip before looking back to the group of Firelights. “Watch each other's backs out there and wait for the signal.”
With that, Ekko gave one curt nod before swiftly moving off toward one of the tunnels that would lead him to fly overhead the city of iron and glass to scope out the scene.
In one smooth movement, he unhooked his hoverboard to jump on it. He shifted back and glided across the air in a whirlwind, dispersing a couple leaves from the canopy of the tree before flying through one of the air duct tunnels high above the wall. He turned on the night vision in his mask and navigated through the pitch black tunnels with ease until he was soaring through the sky.
The sun was setting to the west, painting the sky with soft, delicate brushstrokes of blushing pink that reminded him of her. The end of the day felt serene. No one could predict the ensuing storm of civil unrest preparing to blow up tonight.
Jinx laid out the groundwork for them, a chance to be able to snap back against the occupiers in a tactical manner. He planned throughout most of the night. Laid out where Jinx placed her smoke bombs and fireworks. The enforcers only blew up the main ones at the radio tower but there was still so much more across the city of iron and glass. The Jinxers held them off into the night before they could conduct their search for Jinx, forcing them to retreat to get reinforcements.
According to Zip after her recon army, the Noxus army remained on the other side of the bridge in Piltover. He could only hope it would be the same for tonight as well.
They went over their drawn map of the city in their own makeshift council room at the Firelight base, pouring hours into tactics. If the enforcers meet the barricade, they’d most likely take the alleyways to get around. That’s where Jinx’s bombs will be triggered and the Zaunites could use the smoke as cover. The firelights would assist from above and subdue their weapons with the crystal shards they often used to incapacitate their enemies.
As twilight settled in, Ekko made his way toward the broken clock tower that had a close vantage point to the top level of Zaun. He could make out the barricade that Jinxers and other civilians created at the checkpoint enforcers established on the main road leading to the never ending stairs and elevators that opened to the undercity part of Zaun, which was the entresol level.
He heard them before he saw them. The clanking of metal and gear as they marched across the main road connecting to the bridge. The spotlights flickered on— stretching spindly silhouettes across the pavement.
The enforcers led the front but there was no sign of the soldiers clothed in red. He was glad for that at least. Ekko had a gnawing feeling that with them involved, blood would be inevitably spilt.He’d make sure to prevent that from happening.
Ekko’s never seen the main road that led to the undercity so abandoned. It was the one place where the sun still shone on Zaun and yet, Zaun couldn’t even have that for the whole day.
The enforcers paused at the barricade of makeshift wooden boards, scrap metal and pipes that were stacked over each other along the barbed wire and fences of their checkpoint entrance. Their rifles were at the ready as they split into two groups to navigate the maze of alleyways.
The next few moments passed with bated breath.
Explosions of blue and pink smoke enshrouded the enforcers in small clouds of mushrooms. There were rallying yells as Jinxers took to the streets. He could hear the clanking and piercing friction of metal against metal.
He took a couple steps back before running forward in a leap of faith— free falling from the dilapidated clock tower. He unhooked his hoverboard and broke his fall in a quick back flip within the same moment. He soared through the sky, lowering down to encircle around an alleyway where Scar’s division was, assisting the Jinxers pushing back against the enforcers. Chaos ensued. The hardened tree sap from the Firelights encased several enforcers against the grimy walls of the alleyway while rioters pried their weapons from their hands, using the nonlethal nets that shot from their commissioned rifles.
Some Firelights were already off their hoverboards to assist trapped Jinxers, disabling the double ended weighted cords entangled around them. Ekko twisted across the alleyway to dodge the netted bolases before clubbing an enforcer with swift precision to clear the way. He needed a better vantage point. Ekko gave a whistle to alert the other Firelights before breaking out of the smoke coverage. Only to come face to face with the barrel of a gun. Fuck! Ekko swiftly spun away to avoid the bullet straying in his direction.
"Hey!" An enforcer yelled. "The rubber rounds are only supposed to be used when they're at a distance of 20 feet-"
"Fuck that!"
Ekko twisted on his hoverboard, bashing the end of it against an enforcer before swerving out of the way to dodge the incoming bullets. He grit his teeth as he threw his weight to the side from another incoming bullet— searing pain exploded across his shoulder. He tumbled off his hoverboard and onto the rooftop. Tiles scraped across his back as he rolled to a stop before twisting to get on his knees. His hand subconsciously shot up to lightly touch at his arm, coming away with blood coating his fingertips.
He looked up, eyes narrowing, as three enforcers advanced on him.
"Get the net!" One of them yelled.
Ekko took a deep breath as he ran through several scenarios— finding a small opening for a quick escape into the smoke. His hoverboard was teetering on the edge of the rooftop. Those rubber bullets were still lethal close range but if he made it in time the hoverboard could be used as cover for any ensuing bullets. It was cutting it close but he’d have to take the chance to make it out alive. Before he could spring into the smoke for cover, he heard a familiar ticking sound.
Ekko glanced just in time to see Jinx’s signature chompers fly above him to grip onto the masks of the enforcers like rabid dogs. Beady, glowing eyes blinked rapidly as the enforcers screamed and ripped off their masks in sheer desperation. Boom! Clouds of smoke enveloped the entire rooftop. He could hear their coughs in the smoke, masks tossed and rolled off the edge.
He looked behind him to the taller building above, vaguely making out her figure enveloped in the glittering pink of paint that hung like a thick cloud.
“Jinx?” He called incredulously to the cloaked figure.
Notes:
Probably going to add more edits later. . .
Thanks for the lovely comments <3
Anyway, same time next week?
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