~Weeks Pass~
"Gehehahahaha!"
A skinny man cackled maniacally over his cluttered workbench, artificer tools scattered chaotically among components. Sweat dripped from his forehead, his teeth chattered hyperactively. He kept giggling and laughing, his shoulders shaking nonstop, but through all this his hands never twitched in their precise work.
The room was large. Piles of stacked mechanical parts and junk lined the walls, and the room was lit by a single buzzing Chemtech light above his workbench. To his left, an open window allowed fumes to escape.
As if that helped, with his face so dangerously close to the soldering.
In the shadows next to the exit sat a large man. He was tense, eyes tracking the giggling artificer nervously and ready to bolt if something unexpected happened.
Bang-Bang-Bang.
Maniacal laughter filled the room without the artificer turning, while the guard jumped in place. Gritting his teeth and growling agitatedly, he stood and slid the wooden cover from the door to peer outside. After a moment and brief chatter, he unbolted it and cautiously opened the door.
The man who walked in had both eyes replaced with artificial lenses, dressed like a scavenger, and an arm replaced with a grabbing claw. Without a word, he threw a sack from his shoulder onto the already-heaped pile of junk, the contents crashing noisily against it.
"That's the last of this week's trash," the clawed man grumbled, his glinting lenses fixed on the giggling artificer with an expression twisted with disdain.
"Good, good! Geha!" the artificer wheezed through wet coughs, his lungs rattling but his hands remained steady. "I have made three."
The artificer glanced back, grinning.
"You look upset! Those kids giving you trouble?"
"Yeah," the scavenger scowled, shaking his head with frustration. "Fuckin' booted that blue-haired brat this time. She keeps nabbin' our shit!"
The artificer froze, and his maniacal grin disappeared.
Slowly, he placed his artificer tools down and turned to face the man, crooked teeth bared in a scowl of anger and nervousness. His hands went up to the side of his head, nails scratching at his temples in between nervous, hitched giggles.
"No... no, no no... You are stupid! Gehahaha,"
The artificer's voice pitched higher, cut between with more strange giggles.
"Y-you don't mess with them like that. You don't touch them, you idiot! The Hound will come now! The Hound!"
Clink-WzzzT.
A small rock shot through the window, striking the device the artificer was meticulously working on. Everyone froze, their gazes snapping to the device, which began to whir and shake violently.
"FU—"
A large bang cut off the artificer's shriek and a brilliant light filled the room.
Everyone staggered before collapsing, disoriented and unable to get their bearings. Their ears rang mercilessly, the smell of burnt circuitry filled the air, and their vision spun with panic.
Angry thuds broke through the high-pitched ringing in their ears.
"You fucks want to kick my sister? Then we'll kick the fuck out of you!"
Immediately painful cries ensued, and more feet thudded upon entry through the window, followed by more painful shouts and shrieks. After a time, it finally ended.
The artificer was groaning on the ground, clutching his broken nose, and rolling around in place. Blood smeared his face, and his tools were scattered across the ground. The guard slumped against the wall unconscious, blood dripping from his nose.
The scavenger, when the chaos settled, fared far worse. His augmented arm was ripped off and his left leg bent unnaturally at the knee. His face was bloodied, his nose broken, eyes swelling shut, and black-and-blue bruising from other strikes.
Orion stood in the aftermath, having led this little revenge play. He had thrown the rock and let the others have their time to shine. His attention rested on the three remaining devices while the others performed.
"Flashbangs? ChemFlashes?" Orion muttered to himself.
He grabbed the ChemFlashes and examined their exteriors. The design was crude, featuring a priming switch and a button, likely triggering a timer before detonation.
Claggor slung the scavenger's sack over his shoulder and called out, "Let's bounce."
Mylo smirked and nodded in agreement, giving the artificer one last kick to the head as Orion stashed the ChemFlashes into his jacket.
"Let's go!"
Orion called back to Vi, glancing at her bloodied shoe tips and knuckles. Her fierce gaze contained unresolved violence, but she huffed loudly and strode back toward the window.
"We should've kicked the shit out of them more! Isha was there, you know!"
"They won't be moving for the next few weeks. This is fine."
Orion patted her back in reassurance but she just shrugged it off, her fury still burning. After she hopped out, Orion looked one last time at the damage with a satisfied smile.
When they returned to the Last Drop, Vi retold their story to Vander while Orion tossed a dismantled ChemFlash to Powder, keeping the remaining two safely tucked in his jacket.
Powder's eyes lit up as the gadget landed in her hands, her fingers eagerly running over it to inspect the crude design. Isha, seated next to her, leaned forward curiously. Their wide, excited eyes rose to Orion, with Powder giggling and giving him a small hug before diving back into it with focused excitement.
"Feeling better?"
Sighing tiredly, Orion flopped himself onto the couch next to them, a faint smile forming as he watched. Occasionally, his gaze would flip to the boys digging through the sack.
"Yeah," Powder shrugged. "I told her it wasn't that bad."
"She's scary when she's mad," Isha whispered.
Orion chuckled.
"Well, it's settled. Don't need to think about it anymore."
And from the other side of the room Mylo mimicked himself jumping through the window.
"I AM VENGEANCE!"
----------------------
~Weeks continue to pass~
Wzzzt-BANG!
A man twice the size of Vander stumbled forward, shouting in pain.
Orion had thrown a Chemflash just past him, the brilliant flash and deafening explosion igniting chaos among the four street thugs. Confused and angry shouts erupted as the one furthest away dropped a sack onto the cold stone floor.
He winced. Vi was in that bag. She had pissed off the wrong group of street thugs, again, and Powder had come running to him, breathless and frantic. Orion told her to stay behind before he rushing here.
-----
Taking a step back in time…
When Orion first arrived at the alley, the thugs were bickering and arguing angrily among themselves. They matched Powder's description perfectly and the sack one held practically confirmed it as it thrashed violently with muffled shouts.
'Usually they hesitate because one realizes it's one of Vander's kids,' Orion sighed, shaking his head.
He grabbed and primed a Chemflash in his jacket, shoving it into his pocket. He didn't want to use it yet, but there was no other way. Powder still hadn't managed to replicate one herself but her sharp little mind was picking apart its workings with Isha learning every step of the way.
Casually he strolled down the street, drawing their attention. The largest of them, a shirtless behemoth covered in tattoos, smirked and turned.
"Get lost, kid," the man rumbled, crossing his arms and planting his feet wide.
Orion tilted his head with a wry smile. "Ah, no. You have my friend in that bag."
A muffled, bewildered "Orion?" came from inside. The thrashing seized.
"Yeah, it's me! Idiot!" Orion shouted back.
Immediately the sack started thrashing again, Vi's muffled shouting frantic and furious.
"Shut up," one of the nearby thugs snapped, smacking the bag hard with the butt of his machete. The thrashing stopped and the sack went silent and limp.
"That's not going to fly," Orion stated dryly, pressing the detonator in his jacket.
He began channeling his offensive magic, stepping back as he tossed the device between the behemoth's legs.
The Chemflash clattered noisily across the stone floor. The behemoth's smug expression disappeared, arms unfolding and eyes tracking it with dread before the explosion.
For Orion, who anticipated the blast and stood farther back, shielded by the massive man's body as it bounced into the air, the effect was dulled. The giant stumbled forward and Orion darted in, driving a right hook into his chin.
The man's body flew sideways, crashing into a pile of scrap. His jaw hung limp, dangling unnaturally as his unconscious body slid to the ground.
Orion didn't wait. Sprinting past, he charged into the recovering gang.
It happened in a blur. Orion's kick sank brutally into one thug's gut, sending him flying several meters across the pavement and his bat clattering into the alley.
Another barely had time to react before Orion's vicious hook slammed into his face. The man's head ricocheted off the wall with a sickening crack before collapsing in a heap, knife skidding into the street filth.
Orion whipped his head around, unintentionally pausing to take in the carnage. That moment cost him.
The last thug, the one who had knocked Vi unconscious, was charging. His squinted eyes burned with wild panic as he swung his machete in blind aggression.
Orion tried to push off, releasing the red-laced mana and trying to embrace the protective blue mana but he was too slow. The blade ripped through his shirt and carved a deep gash across his chest before he could channel the defensive magic.
He cried out and stumbled back, white flashes exploding in his vision. The thug screamed incoherently, swinging again, wild and reckless.
Seizing the moment through his pain against wild and wide swinging, Orion stepped in and used his forearm to stop the thug's swing at the wrist before driving a sharp left punch into the jaw.
Teeth scattered. The thug's grip went slack and his machete clattered to the floor behind Orion.
Gritting his teeth in pain, Orion wasn't done. He grabbed the man's arm before he could fall, placed his other hand under the elbow and channeled his magic.
CRACK!
The bone snapped. The thug was unconscious from shock before his body hit the ground.
Hissing in pain, Orion staggered back clutching his wound. Carefully, he expelled the remnants of the chaotic magic still whirling inside him. His gaze darted in every direction, tense, before finally exhaling in relief.
"You're a handful," he scowled, glaring at the motionless sack before sitting beside it.
His muscles burned, his energy drained. Still, he made one last sweep of the alley before placing a hand over his chest.
Healing magic shimmered, a soft, gentle green. The effect was faster and more efficient, though his skin still looked stretched like curtains pulled shut. The hunger gnawed worse than ever.
"Food..." he muttered, staring glumly at the ground.
"I CAUGHT YOU!"
The excited screech rang out from above. Orion's head snapped up, dumbfounded as he spotted Powder perched on an industrial pipe. She was smiling from ear to ear, giggling maniacally as if she'd just pulled off the heist of the century.
"I CAUGHT YOU!" she shrieked again, scrambling down with wild energy.
"No, you didn't," Orion retorted flatly.
"Yes, I did!" Powder shot back, pointing triumphantly at his chest. "You're the night light! What was that!"
Orion paused, confused.
"Night li—"
Powder smirked knowingly, face plastered with victory.
Sighing, Orion raised a finger to his lips. "Can you keep a secret?"
Powder's eyes widened before darting nervously to Vi and back to him, her hands clamping over her mouth. Orion smiled faintly, motioning her closer, leaning in to whisper with a mischievous look.
"Magic."
"AAAAA! I WA—"
"SHH!" Orion hissed. Their eyes darted toward the sack before Orion whispered, "Can you keep this a secret?
Powder nodded furiously, bouncing in place.
"Let's get Vi back," Orion said, gesturing toward the sack.
"Okay!" Powder giggled, skipping like a rabbit.
Orion opened the sack carefully. Vi was bleeding lightly from her forehead, still unconscious. Beckoning Powder over, he channeled the green glow again and sealed the wound shut.
Powder's awe was clear in her star-struck eyes, but Orion's voice cut through mood.
"A secret, remember?"
"Not even Isha?" she pouted.
"Nope. Just you," Orion said firmly. "Vi's a loudmouth when she gets going and Isha's still too young. You know what happens if more people find out about me, right?"
Powder's excitement faded into a frown, her shoulders slumping. "…Oh."
Ruffling her hair, Orion smirked. "Come on, let's go."
Powder's smile returned as Orion slung the sack over his shoulder.
"At least it's not an angry sack anymore," she giggled, skipping beside him as they made their way back to the Last Drop.