//Earlier leading up to this//
Marcus stormed into the Last Drop, flanked by two Enforcers. The bar fell silent, its usual happy clamor replaced with tense hostility. As they walked through, glares followed them, grips tightening on mugs, weapons, and chairs.
"What can I get you?" Vander greeted them as if they were ordinary customers.
Marcus removed his mask with a hiss, smirking confidently. "Four sump rats will do." He gestured to the Enforcer beside him. "Search the place."
Vander frowned, following the Enforcer briefly while the other turned to stand guard behind Marcus. Shrugging, he sounded casual.
"While you're wasting your time, how about a proper drink?"
"I'll take the strongest shit you've got," Marcus replied, as if it were a challenge.
Smirking, Vander reached below to grab a bottle of his strongest liquor. As he did, he pressed an emergency button, his silent signal for the kids to hide.
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The alarm monkey crashed to the floor from the shelf, and the kids scrambled for the beams above. With Isha being light and much smaller than even Powder, Claggor grabbed her and, with a single arm, pulled himself up.
Powder, however, struggled. The aftermath from two days ago had left her traumatized; the glimmer of hope that Orion would return was barely keeping her together.
She hadn't been eating well, and her arms trembled as she tried to pull herself up.
The ominous footsteps loomed closer, each one resonating like a drum.
Realizing she couldn't make it, Powder made a frantic decision. She dove under the bed, curling into herself, her breath shaky as the monkey's alarm faded into eerie silence.
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Sliding the drink across the bar, Vander smirks as Marcus winces after just one sniff. "Mm. You be careful with that." Vander teased.
Looking up, Marcus met his gaze with a smirk. "Nearly forgot. I ran into an old friend of yours. He had some interesting stories." Reaching out, he snatched Vander's pipe from the counter, prompting Vander to slam his fist against the table at the disrespect.
"You weren't always the peacekeeper-" Marcus sneered as Vander shook his head at the riled-up bar-folk, dropping it into the liquor. The drink catches fire. The Enforcer behind Marcus snarls, whipping out his baton as the others in the bar stood up.
"Let her go!" Vi's unmistakable voice rings out from the back, full of desperation. "Vander!"
Everyone froze. Silence gripped the bar, broken only by the faint screaming of kids and the low hum of bar music.
Marcus's eyes widened as he stood up abruptly, sensing the mounting hostility. Vander was faster though.
Gripping Marcus by the hair, Vander slammed his face into the drink, blood and liquor smearing across the table and burning Marcus's skin. Without pause, Vander followed up with a vicious hook, sending Marcus sprawling to the floor.
The Undercity patrons erupted with shouts, their rage ignited as they charged the remaining Enforcer. His fate would be anything but merciful. A chair flung across the room and impacted him before the onslaught began.
"Leave them alive!" Vander bellowed, pointing at Marcus's struggling figure too before he unclipped his hanging gauntlets and rushed to the back.
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"AAA!" Powder screamed in pain as the Enforcer growled menacingly, ripping her out from under the bed by her hair.
"Let her go!" Vi shouted before she launched herself from the beams above. Her kick landed against the Enforcer's shoulder, forcing him to let go as he stumbled.
"Vander!" Vi cried out desperately, pulling Powder away.
Powder sobbed loudly in Vi's arms as the Enforcer recovered with a snarl, pointing his flashlight at them while picking up his baton.
Claggor and Mylo both sprang into action with their own battle cries. The Enforcer, now more aware, stepped back to avoid their landing jump-kicks.
After they landed, the sounds of fighting erupted from above, snapping the Enforcer's head to attention. Visibly, one could see his grip on the baton tightening, a dangerous glint appearing behind the goggles.
Claggor followed up by attempting to tackle the Enforcer at the waist. Without mercy or hesitation, the Enforcer slammed his baton against Claggor's head. Blood sprayed as Claggor let out a pained grunt before collapsing to the floor, unconscious.
Eyes wide with shock and then rage, Mylo hesitated for a split second. It was enough time for the Enforcer to grab him by the neck and slam him against the bunk bed.
Once, twice, and a third time in quick succession, until Mylo lost consciousness.
Vi let go of Powder when the Enforcer grabbed Mylo, crying out, "No!" But the Enforcer's actions were so brutal and swift, tossing Mylo's limp body across the table, its contents noisily clattering out, that she had to face him head-on alone.
Vi's eyes burned with rage as she charged the Enforcer, fists raised.
The Enforcer raised his baton as if he was going to swing, prompting Vi to hunch in preparation to dodge, her eyes on the weapon. Seeing Vi fall for it, the Enforcer sent a strong kick into her naval.
Spittle flew out as Vi collapsed with painful wheezing, tears blurring her vision.
Powder curled up against the wall, sobbing as the Enforcer approached her. Clutching her head, she whimpered through her tears, "Vi... Mylo... Claggor... Isha?"
Above the doorway, Isha swung and balanced her way over the piping. Powder watched with a happy little sniff before closing her eyes.
The Enforcer loomed over Powder, reaching for her, when the door burst open with a deafening slam.
Vander snarled as he charged through, his iron gauntlet slamming into the Enforcer's face. The impact shattered the Enforcer's mask, sending shards of glass flying. A gurgled cry escaped the Enforcer as the jagged shards blinded and tore into his face.
Powder shut her eyes tightly, clasping her hands over her ears, trying desperately to block out the gruesome sounds of what followed. Wet, brutal noises of flesh and bone breaking.
When she finally opened her eyes, Vander was standing over her. His eyes, full of grief and realization, met hers, knowing what she was about to see.
A bloodied corpse next to her, Mylo and Claggor unconscious and bleeding, and Vi sobbing as she clutched her stomach in pain on the floor.
Vander trembled, feeling completely helpless in this situation. His voice dropped to a hushed whisper, heavy with guilt, as the gauntlets slid off.
"I'm sorry Powder..."
He turned away, Vander's heart breaking as he moved to attend the others when a violent explosion shook the tavern.
Immediately his eyes rose, spotting Isha in the process and gently grabbing her and putting her down.
"Stay here!"
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Outside Vander and the others rushed out, their eyes with shock and confusion as the side of one of the towering buildings exploded.
Screams echoed in the streets as rubble fell across the walkways and streets below and people scrambled to cover.
A second, a third explosion.
"Back inside! Get to cover!" Vander bellowed as people scrambled backwards when rubble started landing before them. The roof of the Last Drop wasn't the best with glass over arched iron beams, but it was better than nothing against larger debris.
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Explosions rocked both the Undercity and Piltover as Silco stood on the docks with a handful of thugs.
He looked elated each time the city across the river erupted in flames, but his expression tightened with concern whenever an explosion landed behind him.
"We cannot let this opportunity slip through our fingers," Silco snarled, turning back to his men. "Where are the brats? Bring them here!"
Deckard, a bruised blond-haired boy, stumbled out moments later with three other kids from his gang. His body shook with withdrawal, coughing up purple bile as he tried to catch his breath.
"W-what's happening?" Deckard asked fearfully, flinching at every blast in the distance. His wide eyes darted nervously across the skyline. "Why are we standing out in the open?"
Sevika opened her palm, revealing several vials of shimmering violet liquid. Silco snatched them away, twirling them in his hand.
Deckard's eyes widened, his trembling body stumbling forward, hand outstretched with desperation.
"Shimmer," Silco said smoothly, raising a vial so the light caught its unnatural glow. His voice dripped with reverence, as though he were unveiling holy water to the faithful.
"With this, you won't be prey anymore. Not beaten dogs, not gutter trash. With this, you will rise above the weak and the worthless."
One of the kids shuffled nervously, shaking his head. "B-but… it hurts. Look at Deckard!"
"It hurts because it tears the weakness out of you," Silco sympathetically replied, stepping closer, his eyes burning with conviction.
"Pain is the price of strength. Every hero bleeds before they are remembered."
The boys exchanged hesitant glances. Deckard's gaze lingered on the vial, his lips quivering as though he already tasted it.
"Do you want Piltover to look down on you forever?" Silco pressed, his voice turning into a growl before smoothing into a calm whisper.
"Or will you show them today that Zaun is more than their runoff? You are better than them."
Deckard swallowed hard. His fear conflicted with desperation until he reached out with trembling hands, clutching the vial to his chest.
One of the other kids whimpered, "Deckard… don't…"
But the blond boy's eyes were already glassy with need. "I… I want to be strong."
Silco smirked, victorious, and pressed the remaining vials into the other kids' hands.
"Drink," he commanded, his voice silk and steel entwined. "Drink, and become the monsters Piltover fears."
Slow and hesitant, one by one, they obeyed.
"AAAAGH!"