"Normally, you'd probably be right. But this isn't a normal case. I just got out of your Dredge Prison recently."
"You?" Caitlyn snorted. "You look nothing like the monster I saw."
"Oh, sorry." Xander raised his hand before pulling out the mask. When he slid it on, Caitlyn's eyes widened.
She whipped her rifle up, pointing it at him in the blink of an eye.
"You massacred… so many people. Killing dozens?! You were at the fair too when the explosion happened—chasing that woman!"
"That was me," Powder meekly raised her hand, and Caitlyn's gun alternated between them. It was then Caitlyn also spotted the grenade hanging from her belt, its colors and scribbles matching the ones from previous crime scenes.
"You two—you're in this together!"
Powder's shoulders bobbed up and down. "Well… you're not completely wrong. Yesterday, me and freak here started working together…"
Vi, on the other hand, stepped up to Caitlyn and shoved her rifle down. "Don't point your gun at my sister!" she scowled.
After a moment of silence, Caitlyn broke out into a cold sweat. "I'm in an arcade with a convict, a murderer, and a monster…"
"Gee, thanks," Vi raised her brow. "As if Enforcers aren't criminals in fancy uniforms."
Jinx snorted too, observing Caitlyn's stiff posture. "You think she's lost it? Kinda looks like it."
Removing the mask, Xander looked back at her again. Caitlyn exhaled with relief as the demonic face vanished.
I'm kind of surprised Vi didn't have any strong reaction.
Caitlyn probably wants to arrest all of us now. But for now…
Xander looked back down at Powder. "How many people guard the doctor's lab, Powder?"
"Well, I guess since my sister's calling me that now…" Powder grumbled, kicking some glass shards on the floor.
"Powder?" Vi asked.
"Ugh! Yes! It has people guarding it! Happy?"
"How many?" Xander persisted.
"Maybe like half a dozen guard the outside? Not that many. Nobody really knows and even if they did, nobody's got the guts to enter that creep's lab."
"Not even you, huh?" Caitlyn swallowed, shaking her head as she started pulling herself together again. "What's in there?"
"Who knows. Spooky scary skeletons, monsters- some people say those who go in never leave." Jinx grinned and wiggled her fingers with a little, "Ooooh~" sound.
Vi scoffed, looking back at Xander with disbelief. "You want us, my sister, to risk our necks based on… that?"
"The same person who made sure you all met without killing each other first," Xander replied. "And the same person who's going to get your father back and the same person who needs a word with Jayce about his Hextech."
"What business do you have with Jayce?" Caitlyn asked, eyeing him skeptically.
"Well, his Hextech is causing a few problems because it uses magic," Xander said simply. "I'm not answering your other questions now, especially with how doubtful you all are of me. I am asking you to trust me, like Powder did, to first save Vander. We can go from there."
There was a pause. Everyone in the room distrusted each other to some degree but most of it was directed at Xander. Even his clothing was dark and drab compared to everyone else. Devoid of light, warmth, and color. Not in his hair, his expression, or even his eyes.
"Powder?" Vi finally asked, glancing back toward her sister.
Powder stiffened, surprised. She rubbed her elbows, gaze falling for a moment before slowly rising back up to Xander.
"I think we can give this freak's word another shot."
-------------------
In the dark recesses of the Sump, buried beneath layers of fog and filth, a metal building exhaled smoke from its crooked exhaust vents. The stench of oil and burning chemicals hung heavy in the air.
Outside, a few thugs slouched in their chairs around a makeshift table, the light from a single flickering lantern barely piercing the murk. No one ever came this deep into the Sump, not unless they were desperate or stupid. The narrow alley that led to the building stretched, funneled and claustrophobic, perfect for seeing an enemy coming long before they reached the door.
Still...
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star…"
The guards froze.
A voice hummed the words softly, carrying through the smog like a child's lullaby warped into something dreadful. Footsteps followed. Slow, deliberate, echoing off the metal walls.
The guards peered down the long stretch.
A single figure stood in the haze, motionless. A dark silhouette with eyes burning like dying embers. The glow wasn't bright but even from a distance they could sense the rage and malice radiating from it.
"How I wonder what you are…"
Vi, Caitlyn, and Jinx lingered at the edge of the alley, half-shrouded in shadow. They glanced at each other with uncertain expressions. It was wrong. Too calm, too steady, like the world around him wasn't real in this horrific lullaby.
Then he vanished from sight, rounding the corner out of their view.
"Up above the world so high…"
The humming didn't stop and it was joined by the wet, guttural sounds of violence.
Screams cut through the alley. Not quick deaths either. Choking, gurgling cries that rose and broke in half. Boots scuffed against metal. Something heavy fell, and something sharper followed.
"Like a diamond in the sky…"
Gunfire erupted. The flashes lit up the smog followed by the metallic ping of ricochets. Someone screamed again with a short, bubbling sound that ended too abruptly.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star…"
"Please! Wait! I have a family—don't do this!"
The humming stopped.
The thud of something wet hitting the ground.
"How I wonder…"
The unnatural, steady and calm whisper continued, the words drawn out like the slow tightening of a noose echoed back to their ears.
"…what. you. are."
A final sound of bone crunching split the silence, and the trio looked between each other.
Nothing.
Only the hiss of the vents, the red tinted smoke, and the smell of blood seeping into rust.
"This is who you hooked up with sis?"
"Ew, no. I didn't 'hook up' with him. We're working together."
Caitlyn shivered and shook her head.
"Both- No, all of you are absurd."