For the rest of the day, I dedicated it to studying the journals. First, I had to do it away from the Last Drop, as I got the feeling that I was going to get distracted by well-meaning people. My family loves me and will do anything to stop me from obsessing over working. Maybe it's out of fear of what I might become. Or perhaps it's genuine concern over my health, as I do tend to go over the edge when it comes to studying. As it turns out, I am a natural at learning when it counts.
"Back here again?" a familiar voice soothes my racing mind.
Powder walks towards me, kicking up dust with every step.
"It's our spot, right?" I asked as I placed a book note in the journal.
She has something strung over her shoulder, I hope it isn't what I think it is. Powder stopped a few paces from me and threw down a pair of boxing gloves. I looked down at them, not believing what she wanted to prove.
"You keep doing that," she stated as she began pushing her hands into the glove.
"I couldn't bring anyone." I began as I placed the journal aside and grabbed the gloves, which I probably shouldn't have.
"You could have brought me," she pointed out as she started with her other hand.
"You were busy with that thing on the workbench," I explained.
"I would have made time," she claimed as she finished lacing the gloves.
"You looked so focused, I didn't want to ruin that for you." I disclosed as I kept my hands cupped in front of me.
"What does that have to do with you leaving without someone looking after you?" She asked as she stepped towards me.
"I like it when you're focused on your projects." I admitted as I circled around her towards her left.
"What?" She asked with a raised eyebrow as she inched towards me.
"Your face makes a cute scrunched expression when you're making a mistake." I explained as I tried to mimic that face.
She paused in her tracks as she maintained her expression of disbelief.
"Like you're holding in a fart." I continued.
Powder suddenly decided to lose her sense of humor and advanced forward to hurt me. I ran backwards, evading her swings, easier than I did with Vi.
"You know." I began while slipping Powder's undisciplined punches. "You should actually learn how to use those things called fists." I slip under Powder's wild right haymaker. "Before actually using them."
It didn't take long before she began to tire out. On her last swing at the air, she groaned in frustration and plopped to the ground.
"I'm not going to stop, you know," she promised.
"Until I learn my lesson, right?" I remembered.
"Right," she nodded.
"Great, at least you get some exercise, because I think I will never learn that lesson." I decided.
"That's how it's going to be," she said with determination as she stood to her feet and advanced again.
This time, I stood still with my feet planted. She begins to throw semi-decent punches this time. I think she truly wants to hurt me. How sad. I should take this seriously, however, seeing her face flushed red with frustration is just too adorable. When she overextended her punch, I caught her and lowered her to the ground.
"Why...aren't...you...fighting...back?" She asked as she breathed deeply.
"You're done punching, and I have to show you something." I said as I walked over to the journal and brought it back to her. Upon sitting down, Powder tries to lift her hands, but I can tell that it must be extremely painful to do so.
"Take a look at this." I begin turning the pages. When I got to the page I wanted her to see, I pushed her glove down and showed her.
Powder's exhausted eyes glaze over the pages. Her lazy eyes begin to focus closely the more she puts the pieces together.
"And there it is." I muttered.
"Huh?" Powder asked as she slipped her hands from the gloves.
"That face." I pointed out.
She then gave me a warning glare.
"Okay, I'll stop. For now." I gave in.
She rolled her eyes and took the journal. Walking over to the edge of the hill, I retrieved the other journal and sat next to Powder.
"What do they want to build?" she asked as she flipped from page to page.
"From what it looks like, a bridge to another world." I surmised.
The notion hangs in the air as we study together. After a few minutes of page-turning, Powder spoke up.
"This is going to take a lot of power. Like a pop behind a bullet, but continuous and sustainable." Powder guesses.
"Exactly. But there's only one way to get that kind of power." I said hungrily.
Powder closed the journal. "You are staying here, right?"
I look at her. "Yes."
"As long as you're here," she grabs my hand. "Just don't lose yourself."
"You're going to have to keep telling me that." I set the journal aside. "I sometimes go a bit over the edge."
"Oh, really? You've noticed?" she observed.
"And you'll be right there with me." I assumed.
"You finally get it," she said as she laid her head on my shoulder.
"That world won't be ours as long as we work together." I decided.
We studied into the night until we had to return to the Drop. However, I couldn't help myself. When everyone went to sleep, I snuck my tools upstairs and began to work on my private project. The act of doing things in secret has to be put in check. There need to be self-imposed limits on what I can do and how far I can go to secure not only my family's safety but the entire city of Zaun. It all starts in this booth. Drawing a rough idea of what I wanted, I began work on constructing the skeleton of my design. A chamber that stores energy. If my math is correct, this design can store any source of energy. It's positive thinking, but rarely does this world assist with wishful thinking. There are winners and losers in this cruel game called life. The only option to win is to cheat. My life is a testament to the power of cheating. Wouldn't have made it this far without doing so. Now that the stakes are higher, it will take a greater degree of cheating to win. But there is always a scorekeeper and a judge, I'll have to identify them later. As for now, the outline of my design is finished. All I need to do now is to find the material for them. The material on hand won't be enough. The circuit boards I've recovered can be of help, for now at any rate.
I wipe my eyes. "I need to sleep."
As much as I would like to work 24/7, I'm only human. Human, I wonder if I can do something about that. Returning my tools to the side of my bed. I crash as soon as my head hits the pillow. I could feel someone watching me as I opened my eyes.
"What's this?" Ekko's voice chirps in my ear.
Turning my head over, I see Ekko and Powder leaning against my bed.
"Not naming it until it works." I answered with a groggy voice.
"So, I get to name it?" Ekko asked wistfully.
"Help build it then, sure." I stipulated.
"YES!" Ekko cheered as he returned to the journal.
"I'm guessing that everyone else abandoned us to have fun on their own." I wondered as I threw my arm over my eyes.
"Yep." Powder confirms as her fingers run over the pages.
"Well then, it's up to us to bring Zaun into a new age of splendor." I proclaimed.
"Us?" Ekko asked as he looked at me.
"Yes. I volunteered for you to help us." I furthered my authority.
"Too bad, I helped before you asked." Ekko clarified.
"Well that's goo...wait, what?" I sat up.
Ekko then showed me the blueprints that he graciously revised for me without my permission. Thankfully, I considered looking it over first before firing him. I then begin to see my errors. The materials previously listed are beyond what is necessary to contain simple energies. In other words, we don't have to hustle as hard to get them. We can go dumpster diving for them.
"Ekko." I hugged his head. "Thank you. You gave us a reason to go dumpster diving."
"Really? Now?" he asked, bewildered.
Letting go of his head. "Yes, now."
"Um, aren't you forgetting something?" Powder asked as I shot up and jumped over them to land on my feet.
"Oh yeah." I walked over to the couch. "Not now."
I pulled out Powder's pistol.
"Pretty." I complimented as I looked it over and made my way to the workbench.
"Where did you get that?" Ekko asked Powder as they met me at the workbench.
"I pieced it together myself," she claimed.
"Riiight." Ekko said skeptically.
"Don't doubt my genius." Powder brushed a braid out of her face dramatically as I placed the pistol on the bench.
"I doubt you kept it hidden for this long." Ekko said as I reached under the bench to pull out parts of the informant's pistol.
"Well, Vi kind of knew it was there." Powder confessed as she opened the drawer to pull out a blueprint of her modified pistol.
"I guess she wasn't too happy about that." Ekko speculated as he put his gloves on.
"She was more upset that I hid it from her than anything." Powder disclosed as she brought up the tool from under the bench.
Hiding things from people and family can be a double-edged sword. They can protect only until they are revealed. And once secrets are unraveled, they can either bring excitement, like a firework, or they can bring destruction, like a bomb.
"I love this heart-to-heart and all, but umm..." I began.
"Yeees boooss," they both said in unison.
We began tinkering. It was a moment of pure bliss, working together. Eventually, I told Ekko of the world I saw. I was careful not to use the word future, until Powder revealed it to him. That was to keep him safe. Now, I bet he's even more on edge than before. Overall, he took the news well. Granted, it was mostly because he didn't hear about his fate in that future. The only part that worried him was what future me did to Jinx.
"That future won't happen." I said as my hands rested on the workbench. "I won't allow it."
They are silently watching me, gauging my reaction. I placed my hand on the unproven modified pistol. Picking it up, I appraise the weapon, mentally taking notes of possible adjustments.
"Powder. How many bullets have you made?" I asked as I turned the pistol over in my hands.
"20," she reported.
"20 perfect bullets..." I handed over the pistol to Ekko for a second opinion and looked over the bullets that Powder made.
"With a barrel like that, it will work." Powder said with confidence.
"Gotta fit into the chamber first." I reminded her as I brought a bullet closer to my eye.
"I know." Powder crossed her arms.
I nod. "Okay."
"It's good." Ekko handed the pistol back to me, and I handed it to Powder.
"Now we can test it," she said as she looked down the sights.
"Now, we can either tell Vander where we're going or tell him why we're going." I acknowledged.
"Oh." Powder's excitement tanked.
"Yeah, almost walked into that one without an answer." Ekko considered.
"Now that we know, we can just walk casually, as if we aren't up to anything." I suggested.
Both of them glared at me.
"What?" I threw my hands up. "Are you saying I look suspicious without saying it?"
"You draw a lot of heat, Owen." Powder stated.
"You're basically a celebrity, in Zaun at any rate." Ekko added.
"I want to vomit." I turned away from the bench and rested my hands on my knees. "The element of surprise is a stranger to me now."
"You'll have to adapt, Boss." Powder spat with sarcasm as she pushed me along up the steps.
It wasn't difficult getting past Vander's inspection. All we had to do was act normal. I don't know what they were worried about, I can wear it normally, like a hat. I've never worn one, but I've seen people do it, it doesn't look that difficult. Finally, we made it to the junkyard. It has our names all over it. The junk and scrap are everywhere. The only evidence of anyone trying to clean up is the path paved to make walking around here possible.
"Well, at least we have a better chance of looking for useful stuff now." Looking at the bright side of a once perfectly organized pile of junk, reduced to a field of collapsed junk.
"Just try not to get trapped in there." Ekko warned us as we separated to find material for our project.
During my scavenging for materials, I've noticed just how much effort they are putting into this. They really believe in my dream, or I guess our dream at this point. That gives me an even bigger challenge. I have to tell the rest of them about the nightmare, that future. They are officially going to think that I'm insane. At this point, I'm pretty sure they think that already. They've done so much for me. The least I can do for them, for putting up with me, is to give them peace of mind. All I need to tell them is that we've drawn up a plan to reshape Zaun into a utopia that will shame Piltover. There's no way they'll turn down that pitch.
"Alright, I'm all set." I gathered my things, double-checked my bag to make sure nothing was puncturing the sack, and then jumped from a hard-to-squeeze-through wall of trash. I dropped the bag on the ground first before rolling. Probably should have thrown the bag first. It would have made landing a lot easier on myself. When I made it to the entrance, I blew a loud whistle. Not too long after, they arrived.
"Didn't know you could do that." Powder said as she tied a strap around her torso.
"What? Can't whistle?" I asked as I shifted the weight of the bag on my back.
"Not like that," she disclosed.
"Hey, check it out." Ekko alerted us and pointed towards a group of boys around our age approaching us. He rested a metal pipe as tall as he is on his neck to appear intimidating.
"Nice find?" one of them asked as they stood a few yards from us.
"Nice enough to bleed for, feeling generous?" I respond with dryness in my voice as I tap my leg.
Powder stood next to me and made sure the pistol tucked in her buckle couldn't be ignored. Surprisingly, the arrogant kid kept at it.
"Oh, oh, oh...don't tell me...you're that guy?" He said as he looked at the three kids to his left and then the two towards his right. None of them held a fraction of the confidence that their leader has. That's why they'll lose.
"The guy that will make you his bitch." I countered. That took the smile off his face.
Powder brushed her right arm against mine. Ekko lifted the pipe from his neck and stabbed it into the earth as if it were a staff. I can close the distance, they just have to back me up. Before the arrogant kid took his first step, I launched my back leg forward, slamming him in the chest. Ekko launched forward with his pipe, swinging downward at the kids to the leader's right. Powder pulled her pistol out and aimed at the kids to the leader's left. As I fell on the leader, I rained down punches on his face. The sound of children screaming out in pain brings me back to those brutal days. Violence and survival are what shaped me, there's no way that I can avoid what they made me into. The sounds of metal hitting a vulnerable body, along with whining, gave me the confidence I needed to know that Ekko isn't a wimp. Two pops echo throughout the yard. Soon after, crying follows, but faded, along with the hasted footsteps that carried them. My fists are getting sore, and this guy simply won't stop smiling. His face is bruised beyond recognition. Then, in a move that surprised me to my core, he bucked me off with energy that shouldn't have been his. The last three of his followers abandoned him, limping down the dirt road.
"I don't need those punks to mess you up," he spoke as he bled from his nose and lacerated bruises.
Ekko looks hesitant to swing his pipe, however, I can assume that Powder already has a target in sight.
"How about you follow your boys down the road? The blood will show you the way." I suggested as I held my nearly numb palms loosely by my head.
He smiled. "Not on your life."
He charged forward as if he wasn't beaten to near death and tackled me. Whoever this kid is, he doesn't feel pain like we do. He took me to the ground and began hammering his fists against my guard. Ekko used his pipe to strike at the kid's back and head repeatedly. Powder couldn't confidently find a clear shot due to the kid's frantic assaults and my persistent attempts to throw him off. Shielding myself from his strikes was the first mistake I made. I should have grabbed one of his arms and bucked him off. However, he's throwing most of his weight behind his fists, and my arms are close to cracking. Risks must be taken. I lift my head just enough to expose my neck, and he went for it. Both of his hands tightened around my throat. Grabbing his arms and securing them as best I could, I looked over to Ekko and hoped that he caught on. Thankfully, he did. He reared back and threw all of his weight behind the swing to the back of the kid's head. A soft crack froze the kid, giving Powder enough time to aim at his head and pull the trigger. The rubber bullet punched a dent in his skull, snapping his head to the right, rattling his brain. I drove my elbow into the joints above his forearm and rolled to the left, throwing him off of me.
"I want whatever he's eating." I joked, but Ekko and Powder aren't in the mood.
They reached down, and I grabbed their hands. Together they pulled me up. We just stood there, breathing heavily. For the most part, it wasn't due to the physical effort it took to fight them off. It's most definitely the result of dealing with this freak of nature.
"Well, that wasn't normal." I tried again, but looking at them, they're both petrified.
Deciding to give up the funny guy act, I knelt beside the kid to inspect him. Turning him over to see his face, his eyes are bloodshot and sticking out slightly. Ekko turned his face, and Powder hugged him, burying his face in her shoulder. His veins are unusually...dark. They were more pronounced in the whites of his eyes. It terrified me to do this, but I parted his teeth by pinching his cheeks. Inside of his mouth are the dark veins. What is in his blood? Next, I placed my hand on his neck. Unbelievable, a faint pulse. Magic is one powerhouse of a drug. Standing up, I returned to them.
"What did you find?" Powder asked as she released Ekko.
"Most likely, he's a chemically enhanced freak. At worst, he's a genetically mutated freak." I surmised as I stood between them and this thing.
"Damn!" The kid kipped up to his feet, then snapped his neck. "That was a rush!"
We braced ourselves for another fight. Powder reloaded her revolver in a snap. Ekko rotated his shoulders and performed a practice swing with his pipe. I pulled out my knives in preparation to throw.
"Wait a minute!" He held up a hand and used his other hand to force his eyes into place by poking them with two fingers. "There."
Powder unloads five shots, two for his knees, his shoulders, the solar plexus, and his forehead. He reacted as if he was in pain, but as soon as he was done with his performance, he laughed.
"Alright, alright. Fine. You win." He waves his hands as if to surrender, but I know better.
"The next bullets are real." Powder warned as she's already done loading her second round.
"We were being nice before, as a courtesy." I commented.
A wide smile spread across his face. "You ARE vicious."
"You've seen nothing yet." I promised.
He nods his head with a hunger in his eyes. "I believe you."
With that, he walked in the opposite direction from the city. We didn't start moving until he disappeared over a hill.
"Don't run." I said as we started walking back to the city.
"We shouldn't return to the bar right away." Powder was suggested.
"Whoever he is, he knows that we hang out in the bar. He knows us." Ekko realized.
"He has information on what people know about us. But that's enough, apparently. It doesn't matter, they won't strike the Drop without Vander and Silco knowing about it." I explained.
When we walked further within Zaun, we ducked in an alleyway.
"Are any of you hurt?" I asked.
Powder and Ekko inspected themselves.
"Nope." Powder reported, though she tried to hide her shaking hand.
"Besides my shoulders and back from beating that guy up? No." Ekko said as he stretched his muscles.
"What about you?" Powder asked.
Looking down at my forearms, knots and bruises were beginning to form more prominently by the second. As for my hands, they began to sting like crazy the moment I acknowledged them. They are in the same condition, bruised but not broken. Might as well have been, given the number of sharp spikes in pain I'm getting. Their eyes widen at the sight of them.
"Huh, barely noticed." I look up at them. "I'm guessing that's a bad thing."
The two looked at each other.
"We're going back to the bar." Powder insisted.
"Yeah, but—"
"If they attack us, then fine, they'll have to deal with the rest of us." Ekko said with confidence.
We walked out of the alley with me sandwiched in the middle. They are hypervigilant for any reaction to us now. They scanned every face and action of the passersby. It feels good that they're willing to do this, as I would do the same for them. When we made it to the Last Drop, we found it empty, except for my family plus Silco. They took one look at us and saw that we all have stories to share. Vi, Mylo, and Claggor appear to have gotten into a scrap themselves. They sported bruises, a few black eyes, and small cuts, respectively. It didn't look like it, but Vander and Silco appear to have gotten into a scrap as well.
"We're being attacked, it feels coordinated." Silco began.
"Sevika has her hands full with the circus that is our lovely counsel. She'll do what she can, but we are on our own." Vander decided as he leaned against the counter with his hands.
"If this is their idea of a coordinated attack, they suck." Vi spat.
I walk towards the counter and drop my bag down.
"I fought a boy that wouldn't stay down." I disclosed as I jumped on the stool.
"Is that the story you're sticking with?" Vander walked over to me with a glass of alcohol and a rag. Silco seems to be listening in.
I placed my arms on the counter. Vander's face grew serious.
"Thought I went too far with this one. Hit him so much, his face looked like a flower when I thought I was done with him." I explained as Vander soaked the rag in one spot and applied it to my bruises and cuts. Someone heavy walked in.
"Benzo." Ekko! he muttered as he ran to him.
"Then he got up, as if getting beaten to near death was something to laugh at." I continued, looking at Vander, but honestly, I was looking past him. Silco became interested in my story as he took a seat next to me.
"Even a blow to the back of the head with a lead pipe wasn't enough." I heard whispers of Powder telling the full story to the rest. I'm pretty sure Vander caught a few of Powder's words as well.
"I'm sure live rounds would be the only way to put him down." I admitted. Sure, I'm going to get an earful of it later.
"Lift your head up." Vander demanded.
I did as he said and felt a burning sensation. Bet that freak left the kind of marks that would make a rope jealous.
"Hmm, at least you aren't bleeding. What is Powder doing with a pistol?" Vander questioned.
"We pieced it together from scratch." It isn't a lie, but Vander's glare scares the shit out of me. "An informant found us while Powder and I were out. We dealt with her and took the pistol. We then broke it apart and built it better from scratch."
Revealing my secrets causes me physical pain. This is insanity, feelings shouldn't have this much of an effect on me. This is perhaps worse than getting smashed by a juiced-up mutant.
"Good, it's getting dangerous. But Owen, you need to trust me. I understand how it is. Survival isn't fair." Vander pointed out.
I nod my head. "If I have to cheat to win, I'll do it."
"Hm, cheating to win." Silco shifts on his stool. "I know who might be responsible for that individual you fought."
All attention fell on Silco.
"Start talking." Vander demanded.
"He was my personal chemist. Singe experiments on his pet Rio to make a drug from its regenerative ability. It would have been my new product to further my empire." Silco explains.
Vander stood up. "You will take me to him now."
Silco nods in approval and stands to his feet.
"Need help?" I asked.
"You're in no position to help. Guard the bar until I return." Vander commanded.
I looked over at Silco as he walked towards the door.
"I'll be fine." Vander pats my arm as he follows Silco out the door.
I fell to the floor.
"Aw, I might as well go along." Benzo said as he grabbed Ekko's pipe and hugged him before leaving after them.
Silence hung in the air before yours truly broke it.
I snapped my fingers, "Damn, I forgot to bring home a souvenir."
They all turned to me.
"Ekko, you should have knocked the creepy guy's tooth out. It would have been the only way to prove the story true." I criticized.
"You mean that you almost got whooped?" Ekko said with a toothy grin.
"Almost is the key word here, thanks for including that." I said as I grabbed my bag.
"Let's get downstairs, I don't feel like being a hero anymore." Vi said as she led the charge downstairs.
When we reached the bottom, most of us crashed on the nearest piece of furniture we could find.
"That was stupid, where did they all come from?" Mylo complained.
"From the sky, Mylo, from the sky." Claggor replied as he lay spread out on the floor.
"Vi, where are your bandages?" I asked as I dragged my feet over to her lying in the ring, because of course she would be there.
"Check in our bedroom," she replied.
"You have a bedroom?" I asked while looking everywhere in the room, wondering where it is.
"Yeah, it's right over there." She pointed towards an opening in the wall where a door should be.
"How have I not noticed that before?" I asked out loud as I walked inside.
"Sounds like a you problem." Mylo yelled.
The room wasn't at all spacious. There are bunk beds pressed against the wall. I began checking them all for the bandages. Upon inspecting them, I started to identify all their possible beds. Claggor has an imprint of his entire body in the bed, it almost touched the concrete below. I'm going to think about fixing that. Mylo must have the top bunk. And here is Vi's bed, with the gloves that she probably doesn't clean often. I grabbed the bandages and began wrapping my hands. I don't want to be anywhere near Powder's bed. Somehow she managed to find a combustion source and didn't bother to tell me.
"Ah, you found it." Vi nearly made me jump out of my skin.
"Yeah, does it look good?" I showed her my wrapped hands.
She looked at them and turned them around.
"It's alright." She crossed her arms with a smirk.
"Tough." I said as I rubbed my hands. "I bet it's nice and cozy in here."
"You don't want a spot in here. The smell is something that naturally knocks you out," she said as she sat on her bed.
"I've got something to tell you." I began as I sat next to her.
"Uh oh. Usually, you would just say it," she pointed out.
"Yeah, because it's pretty heavy." I braced myself for another possible fight.
"Okay, you're setting my nerves on fire, just tell me," she said as she rubbed her hands.
I began telling her everything about my dream. Eventually, Mylo and Claggor wandered in and lay in their beds. They hardly paid attention to me until they put 2 and 2 together: a future where they die horribly. Understandably, that's what sparks their sudden interest. Afterwards, Powder and Ekko strolled in and sat on the floor. That's when I began telling them all about my plan to avoid that future.
"A utopia, that's better than Piltover?" Mylo sounds to be in love with the idea. "How will that even work?"
"By working our asses off, plus Piltover is going to foot the bill." I suggested as I began to think on how to get in touch with Sevika.
"We already have one of ours in the council, she'll help us, right?" Ekko pitched in.
"That's if the others can profit from it." Vi grumbled.
"That's where you and Mylo come in." I pitched.
"Huh?" They all said, except Claggor, he's sleeping.
"You two have...amazing personalities. People can be drawn to you if you put up the act." I proposed.
Vi looked at me with not much of a death glare. "Go on."
"Let me teach you a thing or two about machines and how they work, for now. We'll see how things turn out." I offered.
Vi's face scrunched up in skepticism. "What do you know about machines?"
"All you need is curiosity, and you have that curiosity, like a cat." I explained.
"A cat?" She leaned towards me.
"It was a compliment." I pressed as I held my hands up.
She leans away. "It better have been. Fine, I'll learn. But only for Zaun." She then rubbed her face. "Now I have two teachers in my ear."
"And you'd be better off actually learning something." I added, which I shouldn't have.
Ekko and Powder covered their mouths to keep their laughter in.
Vi slowly turned her head towards me with a crazed smile on her face. "Seriously?"
"You know," I made the first move to save my life.
Vi must be off her game, because she isn't nearly as fast as she should be. Regardless, she decided to chase me around the ring to hurt me for no reason.
"This is not the way to treat your new teacher. I'm quite disappointed in you." I confessed from the heart.
"I'm going to teach you to respect your big sister." She growls as she crawls into the ring like a cat and tracks my movements from within the ring. In an astonishing move of agility, she managed to slip out of the ring and drop-kick me to the floor. I shouldn't have taught her the art of grappling. As she used it to torture me.
"What do you have to say now? Smartass?" she asked.
"You're getting pretty heavy."
She laughed. "Oh, you're going to get it now!"
As she tries to exert her authority over me, I can't help but wonder how much metal her arms could handle.