Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
"Tch, he's finally gone." Jinx spat as she used her thumb to wipe the saliva from her lip. Caitlyn sighed.
"Did you have to antagonize him so much?" Caitlyn asked long-sufferingly. Jinx glared at her.
"I wouldn't have to do this if I hadn't been forced to come to this stupid exhibition knowing he would be there." Jinx hissed, and Caitlyn grimaced before sighing.
"I apologize, it was Vi's plan, she's still holding onto this idea of you two fixing things between the two of you," Caitlyn said, duly chastened.
"Stop interfering in my damn life! It's enough that you forced me to go to another country! Now you want to control my romantic life too?! How hypocritical of you, Piltie. I seem to recall you giving your parents the finger when they tried to get you to marry someone other than my sister." Jinx hissed. Caitlyn's look was extremely hurt.
"You're right… I apologize. I should be more firm with VI about getting involved in your affairs. If you're happy with… Miyamura, then I fully support you." Caitlyn said, completely determined. Jinx blushed slightly and clicked her tongue.
"I don't need, nor want your approval." Jinx said, embarrassedly, Caitlyn sighed and smiled slightly.
"Maybe not, but you still have it," Caitlyn said simply. Jinx simply said nothing. Caitlyn turned to me. "And I apologize for getting you involved in this whole thing. Ekko shouldn't have said anything against you, and Jinx shouldn't have done that," Caitlyn said with an apologetic smile.
"Don't apologize for me," Jinx said, clicking her tongue.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't go out with Jinx if I didn't know what she was like. I wouldn't trade her for anything," I said with a smile. Caitlyn smiled brightly while Jinx blushed slightly.
"I'm going to find Viktor. I need a break." Jinx said as she ran away. Caitlyn laughed lightly, and we started following Jinx. Ruby tugged on my wrist leash.
"Is everything okay?" Ruby asked worriedly in a low voice.
"Yeah, don't worry." I gave her a smile.
"Give the word and we'll escape, classmate Miyamura," Penny assured, standing nearby. I laughed lightly.
"No need, she didn't do anything to upset me." I smiled widely at her. Ruby finally breathed a sigh of relief and bumped me with her shoulder.
"You enjoyed kissing her, pervert." Ruby laughed. I laughed lightly.
"Guilty as charged." I said playfully.
"Would you like to kiss me, too?" Penny asked, tilting her head. Ruby and I almost tripped over each other.
"You can't just say that out of nowhere, Penny!" Ruby exclaimed, still in a whisper.
"I mean, I'm sure I do. But first, ask me out on a date." I said with a chuckle. Penny looked thoughtful. Ruby looked at her worriedly, but we couldn't keep talking because we eventually made our way to the spot where Jinx had been.
"Ah, Jinx, darling! I see you brought company," said someone who could only be Jayce. Immaculate white and gold suit, neatly trimmed hair, square jaw, a bright smile with white teeth.
The only thing I had against his almost perfect appearance was a nearly stupid smile on his face, and it wasn't an insult; it was the only thing that came to mind when I looked at his smile.
Jinx rolled her eyes.
"Calm down, Golden Boy, I came to let you know that I'm going to be taking a break." Jinx said simply. Jayce nodded.
"Ekko?" another man asked as he slowly approached. Jinx just looked away. The approaching man looked more gaunt, but not sick in the least; it just seemed to be his build. Thin with hollow cheeks. But completely healthy with a slightly glowing skin tone. The only thing that stood out was a slight limp that barely seemed to bother him.
Viktor. A completely healthy Viktor. That still didn't tell me if Zaun was really as bad as it was in canon, since the healing quirks would have been more than enough to cure Viktor of any ailment.
"Did you hear?" Jinx asked simply, and Viktor laughed lightly.
"I think everyone in the Pavilion heard," Viktor said amusedly. Jinx just snorted.
"Excellent. Let everyone know I have excellent sex," Jinx said almost triumphantly.
"Jinx!" Jayce squealed, almost horrified, and Jinx rolled her eyes.
"Don't get so flustered, Golden Boy, it's no different than what you do with your wife, well, maybe we'll do something more than missionary." Jinx said mockingly. Jayce blushed slightly, but looked at Jinx indignantly.
"I'll tell you, Jinx, Mel and I are really adventurous in bed. We just don't advertise it everywhere," Jayce said demurely. Jinx gave him a shit- eating grin.
"Yeah? Wildest position you've ever done?" Jinx asked playfully.
"Yeah, no, no thanks. The last thing I want to hear is Jayce talking about sex," Caitlyn interrupted with a grimace of disgust.
"Yeah, well, you didn't seem to complain about hearing about Izumi," Jinx replied.
"Yeah, I complained, you ignored me. I could have lived without seeing that," Caitlyn said dryly.
"Well, it's better than listening to you and my sister summoning deities in the middle of the night," Jinx said dryly. Caitlyn's eyes widened before she blushed deeply.
"Oh goddess!" Caitlyn murmured in embarrassment.
"Yes, exactly." Jinx said dryly, though the corner of her lip was forming a smile. I just smiled. Caitlyn really made it easy.
"Okay, no more sex!" Caitlyn said, equal parts embarrassed and horrified.
"I second that motion," Jayce said suddenly. Jinx rolled her eyes.
"What do you say, Vik? We let the pilties win the motion? " Jinx asked with a mocking smile. Viktor smiled slightly.
"As a fellow Zaunite, it's my civic duty to stand against the pilties," Viktor said, his eyes shining. Jinx looked excited. "But in this case, what I do with Sky stays behind closed doors," Viktor finished, deflating Jinx's excitement.
""Thanks!"" Caitlyn and Jayce sighed. Jinx rolled her eyes.
"Boring." Jinx complained. "Alright, then I'm taking my break." Jinx said simply. Viktor nodded.
"Okay, well, there aren't many people here today. We can handle ourselves. Although we'll need your help tomorrow when it opens to the public. It's a shame Sky got sick just before we came." Viktor sighed with a hint of concern. Jinx grimaced.
"Fine. But today I'm going to have fun. See you! " she said simply.
"Wait!" Jayce interrupted. "I'm sure your friends want a demonstration of our exhibit?" Jayce asked excitedly. Oh, so they finally remembered we were here. Jinx sighed and looked at us with a raised eyebrow.
"I want to see it!" Ruby said excitedly.
"Me too, Dad only has good things to say about Piltover's technology," Penny said with a smile.
"Surprise us, Golden Boy," I said playfully. Jayce's eyes lit up slightly, and he quickly began preparing everything. And that involved simply taking out a small box and carefully opening it. He pulled out a small, shiny blue sphere.
"Dust gems, extremely refined dust." Jayce said as he held up a small blue stone. My eyes widened slightly. Hex gem?!
"Is that dust?" I asked immediately. Jayce laughed lightly, but nodded.
"It is! Obviously, slightly treated, more concentrated, more refined, just… more." Jayce said proudly. "The gem can serve as a power core and empower almost anything," Jayce said as he handed it to Viktor. Viktor took it with a smile before pointing at the invention behind him.
"This is a mechanical arm equipped with a powerful ray of light," Viktor said, putting on a glove with rings and wires. He then placed the gem inside the claw. The claw began to move, and Viktor raised his hand, mimicking the three-fingered claw with his hand.
Viktor carefully pointed at a thick ingot of metal in front of him. With a flick of his hand, a thin laser of light erupted from the claw and began to draw Jinx onto the thick ingot.
" Mmmhhh ! I think I just tricked you Izumi." Ruby moaned as she looked at the lightning. Jinx snorted in amusement.
"Imagine what the artificers could do with such a device," Viktor said, marveling at his own creation.
"It's incredible," I said honestly. Really, this level of technology was almost miraculous.
"What extraordinary technology!" said Penny, clapping lightly.
"It's beyond incredible! It's fantastic, extraordinary. More than that! " Ruby exclaimed, recovering. Viktor and Jayce smiled proudly.
"Unfortunately, that's all we can show you for now. If you want to come back later, there's a schedule for our hands-on demonstration. Cait will be firing a Dust Gem Rifle," Jayce said with a huge smile.
"So that's why you're here?" I asked curiously. Caitlyn just smiled slightly.
"Partly. The other part is that I'm representing Piltover, my mother is part of the Piltover council," Caitlyn said proudly.
"That doesn't mean anything to anyone outside of Piltover," Jinx said dryly, Caitlyn pouted.
"So, your wife should be here too?" I asked curiously. Caitlyn's pout deepened.
"No, she had urgent work she couldn't ignore. One of us had to stay in Piltover to keep everything in order." Caitlyn sighed. Jinx snorted.
"Is that what she told you? What an innocent piltie," Jinx mocked amusedly. Caitlyn frowned.
"What? There was another reason?" Caitlyn asked, confused. Jinx crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sure you'll have to attend that fancy party tonight, right? " Jinx asked amusedly. Caitlyn nodded. "And I guess if Vi were coming, I'd have to attend with you. Or am I wrong? "
"Of course you'd have to come with me, it would look bad if I were on I-Island and showed up to the reception alone." Caitlyn said immediately, and Jinx scoffed.
"And there you have your answer." Jinx smiled broadly. Caitlyn frowned.
"Okay, I don't see it. I know Vi hates these events; dressing up and talking to the other dignitaries isn't her thing. But I don't think she'd... trick me... into not coming." Caitlyn's eyes went wide, and I could practically see her connecting the dots. Her expression twisted into a grimace of fury. "That fucking daughter of a-! " Caitlyn snarled, flailing in the air.
"Ha! Point for Zaun! " Jinx cheered happily as she extended her fist in Viktor's direction. Viktor immediately reciprocated while laughing as well. We just giggled at the whole scene.
"Your sister is so dead." Caitlyn growled as she glared at Jinx, and she simply shrugged with a huge smile on her face.
"This thing is making me suffer; it deserves it," Jinx said mockingly. Caitlyn snorted and crossed her arms while grumbling.
"So, the rifle show!? Are you coming? " Jayce asked with an amused smile as he watched his friend grumble and try to change the subject.
"We have to go back!" Ruby pleaded as she waved anxiously at me.
"Wow, you have to see it, that rifle is a marvel." Jinx said with a sigh. "It was a pleasure to use it," Jinx murmured, almost drooling.
"Use it? You tested the prototype!? " Caitlyn asked, almost shocked, recovering from her anger. Jinx rolled her eyes.
"First, they had me come in with little notice. Second, they left me alone with the rifle, which I was obviously going to use. And third, it's not like it was dangerous. Vikvik and Golden Boy weren't bringing anything dangerous. The notes next to it said the rifle had already been extensively tested. Besides, I only fired it a couple of times." Jinx dismissed.
"So that means you don't need payment?" Viktor asked mockingly. Jinx snorted.
"They've never paid me, they weren't going to now," Jinx said tersely. Caitlyn was pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Just… don't use any more Piltover prototypes." Caitlyn grunted in exhaustion.
"I'm not promising anything," Jinx said with a shrug. "But seriously, good rifle. I have a friend who would kill for a rifle like that. She uses a traditional Hecate II, but there's an ammo issue. She had to switch to an enchanted bow that creates its own arrows, but it lost 10 times its range effectiveness. She's looking into some upgrades," Jinx said simply.
"That... sucks." Caitlyn said sympathetically.
"I know! We could sell a specialized one to your friend! " Jayce said excitedly. Jinx snorted.
"Golden boy, the girl is a middle-class citizen; she can't afford your expensive toys," Jinx said dryly. "Although I know she'd love it, she'd probably sell half her organs for something like that if she had the chance," Jinx said honestly.
"Maybe we could work something out with UA? Maybe some reduced-price contracts? It would be nice to have UA's backing as a seal of approval," Jayce tried again. Jinx rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry, Golden Boy. It's irritating to see you act all good-natured. She'll figure something out," Jinx said simply. "If that was all the demo was, we have to go," Jinx said simply.
"Wait!" Ruby said excitedly and looked at Viktor. "Can that thing on your hand adapt to any weapon?!" Ruby asked excitedly. Viktor looked at the glove that controlled the claw.
"In theory? If you have the right interface, it should be possible." Viktor said simply. Ruby squealed.
"Could you help us with a problem we have?!" Ruby asked excitedly.
"What's the problem?" Viktor asked curiously.
"Do you know Taylor? She won second place at the UA festival. She's the one who controls the insects! " Ruby began quickly.
"I remember it. Vi showed us all that festival. It's not easy to forget a biblical plague," Viktor said dryly.
"Yeah, that one!" Ruby said excitedly. "It's a secret, but it turns out, Taylor can control the dungeon bugs with her quirk!" Ruby said almost whispering. Everyone in Piltover/Zaun and Penny's eyes widened.
"What!?" they exclaimed in unison.
" Shhh!" Ruby mumbled, trying to silence them. "Her Quirk is really strong. Any insect-type monster falls under her control as long as it enters her range. And well, she got some." Ruby began to explain.
"She got monster bugs, and I didn't know?" Jinx asked, almost indignant.
"It's a secret!" Ruby insisted again. "The thing is, they're the size of a large dog! And we wanted to equip it with weapons!" Turrets, flamethrowers, some missiles, the usual! per-"
"Now I'm offended. You were creating weapons for giant insects, and didn't call me." Jinx snorted, thoroughly offended. Ruby blushed.
"I forgot! I got excited while designing the weapons," Ruby apologized. "But there's a problem. They're ants! " Ruby said, as if that said it all.
"They don't have fingers, do they? " Apparently, that said it all, since Viktor understood. Ruby nodded.
"They need all their legs to walk," Ruby confirmed.
"What is the control accuracy of your insects?" Viktor asked again.
"Total." I said this time. "As long as they enter her range, Taylor's control is total. She can control any insect as if it were her own body; she can even make them stop breathing." I said honestly. Viktor's eyebrows raised slightly.
"And she can do that to everyone? I saw her use a massive swarm during her fight. Are you telling me she controlled each one individually in such detail? " Viktor asked incredulously, I smiled and nodded.
"Yes, she's also capable of receiving the senses of her insects, of the hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, within her range. She has no upper limit to the number of insects she can precisely control," I said proudly.
"That's a hell of a lot of multitasking," Jayce said incredulously.
"We know." Ruby and I said in unison with a smile.
"Do you have any pictures of them?" Viktor asked, humming. I smiled slightly.
"Better." I said playfully as I reached over my shadow and grabbed one of the ants by the head. I felt it move painstakingly inside my shadow, but well, since it was practically in there and its feet weren't touching anything, there was little the ant could do but squirm.
Slowly, I brought her out of the shadows.
"What the fuck?" Jinx muttered incredulously. "Since when can you do that with your shadows?" Jinx muttered in surprise. I winked at her.
"I'm a man with many secrets," I said simply. Everyone came closer and looked at the ant closely. There wasn't much to see; it was just a giant ant, the only remarkable thing about it being its two rows of sharp teeth. "I can keep a large number of these ants in my shadows—"
"And your fiancée can control them. Practically an army of insect monsters." Viktor interrupted, knowing where this was going as he pulled out a device and began taking pictures of the thrashing insect. I nodded with a smile.
"Do the... authorities know?" Caitlyn asked tensely as she watched the insect thrash and snarl. Viktor nodded in my direction, and I tucked the ant back into my shadow before anyone could see.
"Party pooper," Jinx said simply.
"They know. Our Principal and teachers are fully aware. There were even several tests to see if they could escape my shadows or if Taylor could lose control. Both answers to those questions were, no. It's completely safe." I assured Caitlyn, which calmed her down a little. "We both have special licenses for monster handling." I didn't even know they existed, but we did.
"Mmm, I see. Yes, I can see why you would want something like my gloves." Viktor murmured. "I think I can help you with that," Viktor said with a smile.
"Really?" Ruby asked excitedly. Viktor smiled and shrugged.
"The gesture and body recognition aren't anything out of this world. It's pretty straightforward. Plus, it's a pleasure to help Jinx's friends," Viktor said with a smile.
" Yay!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly. Jinx blushed slightly and looked away.
"Just stop by when the I-Expo is over, I'll have some plans ready for you. I'm sure Jinx will be able to replicate it easily," Viktor said easily. Jinx wrinkled her nose.
" And I'm joining this project! I can't believe you were creating weapons for giant insects without me, the audacity of you." Jinx muttered angrily. Ruby gave her an apologetic smile.