Work Text:
1.
She first noticed it in her tears. Then she noticed it in her eyes after she found a window to look at herself in.
Gone was that baby blue hue that her irises once had. All they had now was that pink she could never mistake with any other pink. In the supply she’d guard, in the needle she’d prick into Silco’s eye, now shimmering in both of hers. In her eyes, in her tears, in her veins, in her mouth like a never-ending aftertaste.
She ran out so fast as soon as she felt her legs again. Where she ran through, what she leapt over, how she got to where she was, who knew? She was there, in some alley, and that was that. But this… This wasn’t where her story should’ve gone. This wasn’t supposed to happen at all. Then, in a snap, she recalled this faint clang that echoed in her ears; then it clanged again and again, as if someone was tapping a call bell in her head. You’re getting there, they said without saying it. You’ve almost got it. The first thing you can think of, just say it. Then, they stopped.
She didn’t see it happen. Her eyes had closed as soon as she had turned away and let the grenade leave her hand to do its thing—to give her the absolute silence she’d been wishing for since that dark and stormy night; but then, she was up again like she’d just woken up from a nightmare. She’d heard him gasp, had felt him push off of her, and then that clang.
The answer lied on the tip of her tongue. Before she even considered letting the words go, other questions arose and all she could do under all that noise was let out the deepest shriek in her core. She held her head in her hands and her eyes—wide open—flicked left and right and up and down and every other direction between those. Her breath heaved in and out through her gritted teeth, and drool hung from her lip until it fell and touched the ground.
She looked and did her best to keep her eyes on her drop of saliva. Transparent, but of course, pink. All throughout her being, just as it had gone all throughout the undercity. Down to her saliva, down to the smallest cracks in the fissures. Unpreventable, relentless, and—at its worst—everlasting.
No more half-measures, no more second thoughts, no more of any of that from him. She would make him choose, and she had just the solution—right on the tip of her tongue.
2.
Ekko grunted as his leg stinged him back to his senses. “Son of a bitch…”
He’d spent the whole night and nearly half the day under that same bridge. Asleep? Not a chance; at least, not for longer than an hour and two. Not after everything he had gone through up there, and certainly not with the pain that spread through his left leg. One measly shift and there it went, soaring up again. He’d been keeping all but his right leg—his good leg—curled in, with his arms hugging his left one close to his body. But God, did it keep on hurting like a bitch. Even so, his mind couldn’t help but to wander back to last night just like it’d been a moment ago.
He had to leave. He had tried to take her with him, he had really tried; but it all went awry when he had heard people coming his way, and then picked out 3 forms through the mist and dust. There hadn’t been much else to see beyond that, but he could tell who it was. Who else could it have been looking for Jinx?
She’d been lying peacefully in his arms. He wouldn’t have made it anywhere good to patch her up, not in the state he was in. What other choice did he have? If he had stayed, he would’ve died; if he had taken her, she would’ve died.
He’d brushed her side-swept bangs from her face, allowing him to look at her for what could’ve been the last time, and he’d said, “I’m sorry.” He was, he really was; but he had to leave her. He had barely avoided Silco and his men and as soon as he was far enough, he had used what little adrenaline he had to get out of sight, and his best option had been to huddle up below the bridge’s supports.
Ekko opened his eyes and unclenched his fists, then took his board into his hands. He had failed again; just like he had failed when he found Powder in Silco’s office. Could he not have done something, anything else, as long as it meant that he didn't have to leave her again with Silco? Maybe she would’ve made it with him. Even if it meant that he would’ve collapsed by the end, she’d at least be somewhere safer, and she would’ve seen the extent of his care.
He tossed the board away with a grunt; then he sighed. There was no way he’d get it back to working condition. Not just that, but if he waited any longer, he was bound to be spotted and attacked. “I need to get home,” he said to himself. He’d at least try to.
He scooted out from under the thick metal sheet that hid him and pushed his upper back against the wall of the supports. After propping up his board against the wall, he braced himself. He brought his right leg in towards his body and started to slide up, using the wall as support while he groaned and hissed as every bit of movement stung his left, which just dragged across the floor. After all the struggle, he took the moment to gather his strength. “Hard part’s over,” he said and looked over to the riverfront which led in towards the undercity. “Now for the harder part.”
After placing his board on his back, he began to walk and didn't stop until his body absolutely needed respite. He limped forward for less than a minute, then stopped, then limped, and continued the routine for as long as he could. It didn’t take long before he was back in the grimy and neglected alleys of the undercity that were familiar to him. He did his best to avoid any unfriendly faces and paid little attention to any strangers in need, no matter how much it hurt to see how famished and helpless they looked. I need to help myself more, he told himself.
He could never forget his life in the Lanes, no matter how better things would become in his new home. All that time spent working in Benzo’s shop, hanging with Violet, her friends—her sister. Any time he’d found something odd while working, the first thing he’d do on his way out was head for The Last Drop; elation would burn within him as he walked in, greeted Vander, greeted the gang who hung out downstairs, and then finally presenting his newest trinket to Powder, who’d proceed to inspect it by turning it this way and that and ooh’d while she was at it. All of it had made it so much easier to stomach the uglier side of the Lanes back then.
Now, all he had to get him through it was his tolerance to every sickly sight he took in. Things had worsened, but from this close, it was as if nothing had changed. But even though observing the undercity was no issue, it infuriated him that that was the best he could see now; that nothing had changed.
Ekko found one of the many secluded spots of the Lanes after some time, which gave him the perfect opportunity to stop and remove all the weight off of his bad leg. This wouldn’t usually be ideal if he wanted to avoid being ambushed, but it wasn’t as if he’d be safer if there were more eyes anyways. That’s just how it went. No matter though. All he cared about was that he was alone. You’re almost there, he told himself. It wouldn’t take longer than 5 minutes for him to reach one of the many routes that were connected to the home of the Firelights. He’d find Scar, take one of the crutches they had made for the crippled, and finally treat his leg. He pulled his board off from his back and placed it up against a wall before sitting back and closing his eyes. Almost there.
“Well, don’t you just look peachy.”
Ekko’s eyes snapped back open and he searched around for her. His heartbeat was growing loud in his ears as if an earth tremor began, but he fought to focus on finding her. That wasn’t the voice he wanted to hear, in that tone. It was that tone, that playful manner she maintained as she toyed with him that made him lose his temper. And then that laugh. “You sure took that bullet like a champ, Little Man,” Jinx said. “Now that I’m thinking about it, you’ve really grown out of that name, haven’t you? Wearing that silly mask and puffy jacket. All this time, you’ve been hiding just how big you’ve grown! Even then, on the inside—we both know what you still are.”
“Where are you?” Ekko called out.
“I really, really hoped you’d see all my little firelights. I spent so much time making those; and instead, that piltie prick shot you down. But, oh well. It’s a good thing he’s gone now. You really should’ve seen it, Ekko. It was like…watching fireworks go off,” she said, acting astonished before she giggled. “They wouldn’t have killed you. I know so. After all, you’re the real deal, and a real firelight would recognize imitators, am I right or am I right?”
He kept quiet. He gave up on looking for her and instead focused on looking for something to defend himself with. “But now look at you. Little firelight got his wings plucked off,” she taunted. “Gives me the perfect time to finally ask you.”
Ekko turned his head up, still having no one to look at. “Ask me what?”
“That is a wonderful question, Ekko,” she said proudly. “How about I give you a hint? I know you’ve been caught at a crossroads, from the day you found me in Silco’s office to last night. You’re so stuck, you haven’t said my name even once this whole time.”
“What the hell are you on about—”
“C’mon, put it together, Boy Savior! We both know what’s racking that brain of yours, so make your choice. Which one do you wanna call me?”
He faced the ground. It was starting to feel like she had eyes from everywhere up above, looking right through his own eyes and into his skull. There was only one choice he really had, the one that fit the maniac nature he was forced to confront. He took a deep breath in, then out. When the ‘J’ wouldn’t come out, he did it again. “Jinx. You’re… You’re Jinx.”
“Hm,” was the first thing he heard. “Let’s check the lie detector. It says…” Jinx went silent. “BZZZZTTT. Looks like someone’s lying!”
He tried to ask, “What?” but half the word would barely come out before he tried again, “That’s who you are now, isn’t it?! Powder’s gone, for good! You know it, I know it, so what else do you expect me to say—?!”
“Well, how about you try the truth, Ekko?!” she yelled, then settled into a silence. Ekko went quiet too, allowing the two to come down from their anger with each other. “You remembered our game. You knew I’d remember too. Just like old times, I was having so much fun trying to beat you, but then you…”
He wasn’t all too sure, but it started to sound like she was about to tear up. Her tone wavered into somber, like she’d just been lied to. “I thought you hated me—I thought you’d tear me to pieces, let me sleep the big sleep. All this time spent playing king of the hill and the moment you have me in your grip, you… I saw that look in your eyes, and I knew exactly what you saw. What you thought you saw.”
“That’s what this is about, that I miss my friend?!” he asked, facing the sky again. “I thought I got rid of her too; since the day you refused my help and hit me away, that’s all I told myself, that Powder was gone! But…”
“But all you’ve been doing was lying to yourself,” she said with a sting. “I could tell you all day that I am not the girl you once adored. I’m not your ‘kind and gentle’ Powder, and I don’t have that same love you knew before. But at the end of the day, you’re still denying it—still holding onto that silly little crush.”
“I had a crush,” Ekko corrected, “Until you started talking to the gun.”
She cackled. “You’re really jealous of a gun? Stop kidding yourself, just for once, Ekko. You still have it. It’s not just that you still have it, but you gave up when the competition wasn’t all that fierce! And that’s what I’m here for—”
All he saw at first was a blur with 2 distinctly pink lines coming at him before he shut his eyes and cried out in pain as his back hit a wall. “To make you choose, for good,” Jinx said.
She was strong, unnaturally strong to the point that Ekko tried to squirm, but he felt her weight pinning him down and her hand gripping his neck. His eyes were still kept shut, but when he opened them, he could see that he was on his ass, she was straddling him, and… “Wh… Your eyes…”
Jinx giggled. “Oh, these? It’s nothing; just the doctor’s orders, y’know? Of course, this wouldn’t have happened if you’d just let me do what was right, but nooo… Boy Savior had to do what he does best, so here I am! Alive and kicking again—but it wouldn’t be right if I was the only one who got a second shot.”
“Let—” Ekko gasped for air. “Let me go—”
“I’ve had enough of you tip-toeing that line between wanting Powder back and accepting who I really am. You still think that she’s somewhere, in here,” she said as she tapped the muzzle of her gun to her temple. “And since you wanna keep believing, I decided, why not give you another chance to…redeem yourself? You really wanna save her?”
While Ekko’s vision began to haze, he barely made out the movement of her lips and the moment she licked them. “Well, we’re gonna make it happen. Right. Now. It might’ve only taken looking me in the eyes for you to stop and knock away my grenade, but no. You deserve a real shot, with some real encouragement; and that’s exactly what I plan to do—to encourage you.”
Everything nearly went blank by the end of the first kiss. As soon as her hold on his neck let up in favor of a hold on his face, he took in air as fast as he could before the next kiss. Her nails left indents in his cheeks while her tongue slid and slithered, and then the taste. She was trying to force her saliva down his throat.
Ekko latched his hands around her wrist, fighting to pull her hand off of his face and stop her. He even tried to bite her lips, but all that did was make her strangle him again and laugh, saying something about “not minding it rough.” She was like this fast-acting aerosol, rendering him weak, immobile, and fuzzy from within, almost like The Grey. And though this felt “better” than some foul, green smoke, he kept trying to fight. It didn’t matter though. He was losing focus by the second again.
The last thing he could catch was a laugh and faint words. “Not bad, Little Man. Aw, I know, I know… I’m so sorry about the leg, I know I could’ve been more careful. But hey, what matters is that we get to start again! A new square one. Besides, don’t worry too much about the leg; I’m sure I gave you enough to…”
3.
Heimerdinger planned to offer his help to the people of the undercity, but no such luck. Every which way treated him as an intruder, unwelcome and unwanted. He learned quickly that if he minded his own business, he was likely to avoid a situation he didn’t wish to be pulled into. The sight of dilapidated structures, alley fights, and disheveled locals were all starting to discourage him, but he was deep in the fissures already.
Maybe he had been looking at it the wrong way. Life in the undercity was far more dreadful than he expected, and all he had done when he was part of the more privileged was to say things took time. These people didn’t have time. They didn’t have much of anything, so how could he expect them to have much hospitality when they were trying to survive first and foremost?
Heimerdinger then heard faint sparks and buzzing to his right. From far ahead, down an open path, he could see flashes of green against the walls. “Hello?” he called out.
Nothing responded back. He went down to see where the peculiar noises came from. Like every other walkway he’d seen, debris was scattered. Furniture, cabinets, equipment, chunks of concrete, cracked wooden planks, all of it he walked around. Once he arrived at the source of the noise, he quickly found it to be a hoverboard. A very damaged hoverboard, but a hoverboard nevertheless. He took it into his hands, examining it in wonder. “Extraordinary work,” he said. “Quite the machine, but—”
A grunt from behind spooked Heimerdinger out of his amazement. He swiftly turned around and found a young man, perhaps in his late teens, injured and delirious. “Oh goodness!” Heimerdinger ran up to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking him to consciousness. “Are you alright, lad?”
The boy became a bit more lucid, thank God, then turned to look at him and blinked rapidly. “Uh… I’m sorry, I must be seeing things. Are you…Councilor Heimerdinger?”
“Uh—” Heimerdinger then chuckled. “I’m afraid it’s just Heimerdinger now, my boy. Again, I must ask, are you alright? Your leg looks to be severely injured.”
“Huh?..” Ekko looked down at his injury. “Oh, right… It’s fine, it doesn’t…hurt as much as it used to,” he said, then tapped at his lips; they were slicked. And as Heimerdinger looked longer, he picked out other subtle details, like the curved marks on his face and neck. The kind that could’ve been made by someone’s nails.
Ekko wiped his mouth and took deep breaths. “What are you doing down here in the Lanes anyways, Professor?”
Heimerdinger sighed. “Well, I had hoped to offer my assistance to the people of the undercity, but it seems that I am…unwelcome. By all but a few,” he said, giving a smile which Ekko returned. “Regrettably, I imagine that it will take me some time to aid your injury.”
Ekko shook his head. “Don’t sweat it, Professor. I need to get moving again anyways; it isn’t safe for me here.”
“Now, I don’t mean to sound overly concerned, lad, but I’d advise that you stay seated. You can’t be expected to—” but Ekko was already bringing himself back up onto his feet. It didn’t seem to hurt as much as he’d expected.
“I know a place, somewhere safe. If we can make it to one of the tunnels, I’ll be just fine. I’m sure they won’t mind if you joined us; that is, if you’d like to,” he offered.
Heimerdinger was briefly stunned. “Well…if it allows me to contribute, then I’d be honored to.”
“Perfect,” he said and offered a handshake, which Heimerdinger happily accepted. “Name’s Ekko.”
“A pleasure to meet you, lad.”
“I’m…sorry to ask, but by any chance, would you mind taking my board? As much as I’d want to, I’m…very exhausted.”
“Oh, of course,” Heimerdinger said, returning to take Ekko’s board. “You put this together yourself?”
“You bet. Took a lot of prototypes blowing up and some elbow grease, but yeah; that’s my ride.”
“I’m very curious to see this place you speak of, especially if it’s home to other bright young minds such as yourself.”
Ekko laughed. “You’ll be impressed, I can promise you that.”
Heimerdinger let Ekko lead the way, the two walking in a comfortable silence. He looked up at him as they walked. They had known each other for less than 5 minutes, sure, but he could tell. This was someone who was motivated by the future. It somewhat reminded him of his last two students; bright, driven, and had a dislike for wasting time. He’d be an excellent pupil, and in return, Heimerdinger would be able to share all of his knowledge in support of something truly crucial.
Although he still had questions regarding what had happened to Ekko back there, he chose to keep it to himself until a more appropriate time presented itself. The last thing he wished to do was to spring a big question on him that he didn’t deliberately answer on his own. All he knew was that Ekko seemed just about as confused as he was.
The rest would have to be shared of Ekko’s own volition.