Powder poked her head inside Alastor's room. It was set up a similar way to her and Vi's room. The only difference was that he didn't have a bunkbed. Alastor was laying on his bed, his back to the door. "Al? Can I come in?"
"Yeah," he replied, not moving. Powder slipped in and closed the door behind her. She walked over and sat down on the bed. "Are you okay?" she asked. "No," he admitted. "What's wrong?"
Alastor sat up and turned her, and she instantly knew it was bad. His eyes were red and puffy, and he wasn't smiling. "Mylo went too far."
"What did he do this time?"
"He asked me why I always smiled, and I told him what my mom said. He said that she was bullshitting me."
Powder nodded in understanding. "Powder? Can I tell you something?"
"Sure?"
"Sometimes... sometimes, I have really dark thoughts."
"What kind of dark thoughts?"
"The kind that involves hurting others." Alastor then sighed. "Maybe Mylo is right. Maybe I am a freak."
"You're not a freak. Everyone has those every once in a while."
"Except I have them every day, Powder."
"So? As long you don't act on them, they can't hurt anyone. Besides, if you're a freak, then that would make me a freak, too, and us freaks need to stick together."
Alastor chuckled and replied, "That's a nice thought, but you're not a freak, Powder."
"Then that means you're not a freak either."
Alastor smiled brightly at that, and Powder smiled back. Then they heard a knock on the door. "Alastor? Powder? Are you two in there?"
"Yes, Vi," Alastor called. "Can I come in?" They exchanged glances, and Alastor nodded with a smile. "Yeah, you can," Powder called. Vi then slipped inside, closing the door behind her.
"Powder, can I talk to you alone?" Powder frowned and replied, "Whatever you have to say to me, you can say to Alastor." Vi sighed and nodded as she sat next to them.
"Alastor, Powder, I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you. I just wanted to protect Powder, but I didn't realize I was causing more harm than good. I can see now how close you two are. I hope you can forgive me."
Powder's face softened as she said, "It's okay, Vi."
"Yeah, we understand," Alastor added. Vi smiled. "In that case, let's go." Vi stood up, and Powder asked, "Where are we going?"
"You'll see. Come on, you two." Both kids climbed off the bed and followed her out of the room. She took them to a rooftop, and the view was something. They could see Piltover in the distance, and the Undercity was lit up with green light.
Vi sat down on the ledge and motioned for the kids to join her. "Why are we here?" Powder asked as she sat next to Vi. Alastor next to her as she pointed at a stream.
"You see that stream over there? Claggor was being chased by Enforcers when he tripped and fell in. He got stuck, and the Enforcers thought it was funny, so they left him there. It took us all night to find him and get him home. See that billboard over there?"
She pointed over at the billboard with what looked like a blotchy middle finger.
"Mylo tripped over his paint bucket while trying to paint a giant middle finger. His ass made that splotch." Both Powder and Alastor laughed at that. "Do you two see that stuffed bunny over there?" Vi asked, gesturing to a stuffed bunny tangled up in a high power line.
"When I was a kid, some asshole snatched it from me and threw it up there. Sometimes, I'd come out here at night and stare it, hoping the wind or a bird might knock it down."
She sighed and looked over at the kids. Alastor was giving her a soft smile, and Powder was looking at her expectantly. "We all have bad days," she continued. "But we learn, and family sticks together." Powder smiled as Alastor's widened. Then Powder remembered something.
"Oh!" She pulled out three crystals as Alastor pulled out three more. "These were from the apartment," Powder said. "What are they?" Vi asked. "We don't know. Should we tell Vander?" Alastor asked.
"No!" Vi exclaimed, startling the kids. Vi softened and added, "Let's keep this between us." She then stood up and looked out at the city. "Someday, this city is going to respect us." Powder and Alastor exchanged glances with smiles, silently agreeing with Vi.
......................................................................
The next day, the kids were in the arcade. Vi was training with the machine, Powder was fixing the shooting range as Mylo messed with a ball gun, and Claggor and Alastor were talking. "You know, why do we even bother with this dump? I mean, the damn games barely work," Mylo said.
"What's wrong, Mylo? You afraid that Powder and Alastor are going to beat you again?" Claggor teased. Mylo scoffed. "No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are," Alastor replied in a sing-song voice. "Shut up, creep." Suddenly, Powder jumped up from behind the stall, startling Mylo. Alastor chuckled as Powder connected the cords, starting the range up. Powder hopped over the stall with two ball guns as Alastor walked over. She handed one to him as Vi asked, "You know I wouldn't take you guys out on a job you can't handle, right?"
"We know. Besides, that job was perfect. Maybe, just don't bring Alastor and Powder next time," Mylo replied as he shot at the targets but missed each shot. The kids glared at him as they loaded balls in their guns. They then aimed their guns and effortlessly hit every target. As they did, Mylo swallowed hard. Sometimes, he forgot how talented they were when it came to shooting.
After they were done, Alastor gave Mylo a smug grin as Powder made a face at him. Powder walked over to the arcade game and started messing with the controls. Her eyes drifted to the window and was surprised to see Enforcers talking to (more like threatening) a man. "Hey, guys, you should see this."
Before anyone could respond, the man got thrown through the window, startling everyone. The Enforcers spotted the group and entered through the broken window. Alastor pulled Powder behind him in a protective manner as an Enforcer ordered, "Search them."
"You idiots are wasting your time. We've got nothing on us," Mylo stated, holding his hands up as if to surrender. Powder instinctively placed a hand on her pouch where the crystals were. Vi realized this and acted quickly.
She grabbed on of the punching plates off the machine and threw it at the Enforcer about to search the kids. It hit him in the head, knocking him unconscious. Using the distraction, Claggor turned off the lights, and the group managed to get out of the building with the Enforcers hot on their tail.
They ran into an alley but quickly realized it was a dead-end. Right when they started to panic, Ekko lowered a ladder from his ledge. "Guys, come on! Hurry!" The group wasted no time climbing up the ladder as the Enforcers closed in. An Enforcer tried to climb the ladder after them, but Vi, who was the last one up there, kicked the ladder off the ledge, causing it to fall on top of him.
"Is everyone okay?" Vi asked. Everyone nodded. "Good." She turned to Alastor and Powder and whispered, "We need to hide those crystals."
"Yeah, no shit," Powder replied. They went home with Ekko. When they got there, people were arguing with Vander. "We need to fight back! We need to show those fuckers not to mess with the Lanes!" someone exclaimed. "We've crossed that bridge before, and we all know how that ended," Vander stated calmly.
"You're just trying to protect your kids," a man snapped. Vander glanced at the group and replied, "I'm trying to protect all of us."
"Somehow, I doubt that," Sevika stated. "Are you afraid?"
"Do I look afraid to you?"
"No," she admitted. "You look weak." With that, Sevika left with a few people following her out. Vander sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"Why isn't he doing anything?" Vi asked. "I don't know," Claggor replied. "But we can fight. If we take on Enforcers, imagine what the whole Lanes can do," Powder pointed out. "Yeesh. Even Powder wants to fight," Mylo said as he went downstairs. Claggor followed, and Vi, Powder, and Alastor were about to as well but noticed the strange look on Ekko's face.
"Ekko, what is it?" Alastor asked. "You guys aren't going to like it," Ekko admitted. "Ekko, you can tell us anything," Vi stated. He sighed. "Well... Vander... he has a deal with the Enforcers."
"What?!" Powder and Vi exclaimed in unison. "How do you know?" Alastor questioned. "I overheard him talking to this Enforcer lady at Benzo's shop. The deal is that he keeps the people of the Lanes out of Piltover, and she keeps the Enforcers out of the Lanes."
"And we broke the deal by breaking into that guy's apartment," Alastor realized. Ekko nodded in confirmation. "Shit," Vi muttered. "What do we do?" Powder asked Vi. "I don't know, but we'll handle it together. Let's go down stairs."
Later when everyone was downstairs, Vi, Mylo, and Claggor were chatting while Alastor was telling a story to Ekko and Powder. He was a great story teller and would always have his audience's full attention every time.
Suddenly, their alarm system went off, and everyone's hearts dropped. Vi leapt up and turned off the lights. The group climbed up into the spaces by the ceiling just in time to watch an Enforcer walk in. Enforcer looked around, checking the room out. He even looked under their furniture. Then to everyone's horror, Powder was losing her grip and was going to fall any second.
Their hearts were pounding as the Enforcer continued searching. After what felt like forever, the Enforcer finally left just in time as Powder fell from her spot. Everyone left out a sigh of relief as they climbed down. Alastor helped Powder up, and Vander came in, turning on the lights.
"Is everyone alright?"
"No, we're not. That Enforcer nearly saw Powder! What if he took her?!" Vi exclaimed. "No one is taking anybody."
"How do you know?! They came into our turf, fucking people up! We have to fight back!" Vi slammed her fist into the wall to emphasize her point. "And if you won't, I will."
"I've heard this talk before," Vander said, mostly to himself. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he got an idea. "Vi, come with me."
"Where?"
"You'll see. Come on." Vander led Vi to the bridge and to the memorials of those who died that day. The memorials were still taken care of because to a lot of people, the battle was still fresh in their minds, including Vi.
She closed her eyes as her parents' lifeless faces flashed through her mind. "Why are we here?" she questioned. "I want you to understand why I'm not fighting."
"What I don't understand is how you can work with." Vander was a bit surprised that she knew and was about to say something when Vi continued.
"I grew up knowing I'm less than them - that my place is down there. But I want Powder to have more than that, and I'm willing to fight for it."
"You're angry, and you have every right to be. Believe it or not, I used to be just like you. I was young and angry at the world - angry at Piltover for the way they treated us. That was why I took the fight to them, but if I hadn't, your parents would still be alive."
"Then why work with them?"
"Because I don't, then the same thing will happen again. Besides, I know you want Piltover to pay for what they've done to us, but who are you willing to lose? Mylo? Claggor? Alastor? Powder?"
Vi looked away as the thought of losing them cut her heart. Vander sighed and moved to stand beside her. Vi rested her head against his arm and asked, "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know. I'll figure something out." Vi sighed, unsatisfied with the answer, however it gave her an idea. If the Enforcers were looking for a culprit, then she'll give them one.
When they got back, Vi saw Mylo and Claggor going through some potential weapons while Powder was showing Alastor her new bombs. Vi smiled walked over to the two. Powder lit up as her sister sat beside them. "Vi, look. These are for the Enforcers. These are smoke bombs, and these are full of nails. They're going to work this time, I know it."
"Me, too," she replied, caressing Powder's cheek. Then to her surprise, Vi handed her the very same rabbit she showed the two of them before. "Remember: what makes you different makes strong. Always remember that, okay?" Powder nodded, and Vi added, "Look out for each other."
"We will, but why are you talking like that?" Alastor asked, a concerned expression in his eyes despite the smile. "I'm going to put an end to this whole thing, and... I don't know if I'll be back."
"What? What do you mean?" Powder asked as fear started to rise. "You don't have to worry about that. Just look out for one another. Okay?" Alastor and Powder nodded as Vi stood up. They sadly watched Vi leave for what they thought was the final time.
After a few minutes, Alastor and Powder walked into the empty bar at sat at the bar. Powder rested her head on her arm, sadly petting the bunny's ear. Alastor had a sad smile on his face as he stared at the wall. Vander noticed the kids' sadness and poured them their favorite drinks in their favorite cups. Powder's was a dark purple with animals drawn on it. Alastor's was a blood red with yellow flowers drawn on it.
To his surprise, neither of the kids cheered up. They simply looked at him sadly, then looked at the bunny. Vander picked it up and examined. This looked just like...
Vander's heart dropped as he knew what it meant. Put the bunny back down and rushed out of the bar for what will sadly be the last time.