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*AU Powder POV*
Days spent lounging around just tinkering and tuning inventions with Ekko whilst laying on the sofa with him hunched over something or another on the floor in front of the couch was Powder’s favourite pastime.
The bliss of their parallel play provided a cathartic, somewhat lustral experience, where nothing was said between them—only the noise of the twisting screws and gentle sounds of placing some part off to the side; or the hum of their welders, and the soft crackling of a blow torch.
Every so often, one of either of them would ask if they could check over something they’d done. Ekko’s fresh eyes always helped Powder find whatever problem she was having, and vice versa was the case for him, too.
They did this once or twice a week, whenever they weren’t working or otherwise preoccupied with real life. Nothing stopped the time, and they’d do it over anything else had they had a long week of work—which mostly only happened if either Silco, Vander or Benzo were sick and needed people to pick up their slack.
Their week had been quiet this week, and it was the second time they were hauled together tinkering. It afforded them to get a lot done, but that also meant that there was more talking as their latest projects were beginning to need some extra eyes.
Powder was remaking the Z-Drive she and the Ekko from the other universe had made in conjunction with Heimerdinger. He’d taken it with him, of course, but had left all the equations, schematics and knowledge here with her. Of course, it had been pushed to the limit by Heimerdinger so that Ekko could go back to his universe, and he’d not shown any of the workings for that.
Not that Powder cared for universe hopping. The universe she was in was already good enough—it was hers.
Ekko had taken up the energy storage device again. Which, along with the discoveries Ekko and Heimerdinger had made—Powder having shown him it all—had started to come together greater than the initial concept.
At full capacity, it theoretically could hold enough energy to power the entirety of Zaun.
The pressing question had been how to get that energy in the first place.
The simple answer lay in the crystals. Powder had been hesitant to use them, especially considering the power of the shards Ekko had, there was no telling how much destructive capability a full crystal had under the right conditions.
She’d already seen how a crystal was unstable enough to blow an entire Piltover apartment up—Vi included—so what was to say having the energy needed of the undercity interacting with that wouldn’t level the entirety of Zaun should it be used incorrectly.
Still, they had opted to use them. Not without ample experiments in a controlled environment away from the main center of Zaun. Because Powder needed them to rebuild the Z-Drive, albeit having to adjust the device to work with an entire crystal, and the small fragments weren’t available to her. But that thought of the extra power had sparked an idea in Powder’s head—willing dimension hopping. Not random. But willful—intentional.
Now that was something that no adjustments could be accounted for. And, as she turned a single screw too tight, a blast akin to the one that had rocked the foundations of the Last Drop when the other Ekko had gone back to his reality.
In the heat of the moment, Ekko had come over to wrap Powder tightly in a protective hug, and they cradled each other for what felt like an eternity until the quacking floor stilled.
A throat cleared in the silent room. And finally they broke from their embrace to see where it’d come from.
Looking up, Powder spotted them immediately… two extra versions of themselves stood staring at both themselves, and Powder and Ekko—bewilderment evident in their faces.
Now, Powder recognised the alternate version of Ekko immediately. She’d not forgotten his broad shoulders, large biceps, and oddly painted face. But the real surprise was the lean, sickly looking girl by his side. Who, by the hair and tattoos, could only be the alternate version of herself.
Ekko—her Ekko—seemed to catch onto this quickly enough. He turned to Powder, and asked: “Didn’t you say that the other me took over my body whilst here?”
Powder nodded.
The other Ekko cleared his throat. “You’re the same Powder?”
“If you’re asking if I’m the one you built the Z-Drive with, then yes,” said Powder.
“Well that’ll make things easier.”
“Hold on,” said the other her, rounding on her Ekko, “ this is the version of me you were talking about?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Powder, folding her arms.
The other her scoffed. “Just thought that you’d know better than to mess with those crystals, is all…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well by the looks of things, it’s your two’s fault that we’ve been sucked here.”
Ekko coughed. “Don’t you think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, Powder?”
That seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as the other her grew irate immediately. “Who do you think—”
“ Jinx, ” said the other Ekko, grabbing her roughly by the shoulder.
“Why are you calling her that?” Powder demanded.
‘Jinx’ scoffed. “That’s my name.”
“You voluntarily call yourself a Jinx—the petty insult Mylo used to use?” asked Ekko.
“You catch on quick, pretty boy,” said Jinx, putting her hands on her hips.
“Now, Jinx,” the other Ekko started.
“Yeah, like you’re out of the woodworks, savior boy. Half of this is your fault for giving them the idea to build something they’re clearly incapable of understanding.”
“We’re you,” said Ekko. “How do you have any leg to stand on?”
“Clearly I’m the only one out of us four that hasn’t gone crazy.”
The other Ekko looked at her like one would a petulant child. “Jinx.”
Jinx looked him up and down. “When this is all said and done, you’re wearing that crop top—as an apology for making me see dork boy over there.” She pointed at Ekko with her thumb.
The two Ekko’s shared a glance at one another. Both apologetic.
Powder was in disbelief. This wasn’t the version of her she’d imagined the other Ekko describing. But at the same time, she seemed more amicable than he made out she was. Only time would tell to see if that were really the case.
*Jinx POV*
Ekko and Ekko went off to begin the more manual labour side of things, while Jinx and Powder studied the gemstones.
It felt like the best way to divvy them up. Jinx wasn’t quite ready to let Ekko spend time alone with Powder, as, from the brief way he’d spoken about her when they were hashing things out, he’d insinuated there was more going on between them than just helping him get home. That, and Jinx wanted to meet Powder for herself. See what all the fuss was about.
So working with the gemstones it was. And considering Jinx was the most well-versed in Hextech, it should be a breeze for her to figure it all out.
“So… Jinx, it is?”
“Yup,” said Jinx, popping the ‘p’.
“Did you pick that up ‘cause of Mylo?”
“Vi.”
“Vi?”
“Uh-huh… long story, death of Mylo, Claggor and Vander and all that…” said Jinx nonchalantly, waving her hand.
Powder blinked at her uncomprehendingly. “You’re joking… right?”
“Nope. I’m as serious as it gets, sis.”
“Wow… how-er—”
“Monkey bomb.”
“You…”
“ Jinx , remember…” said Jinx, rolling her eyes. “Keep up.”
“And Vi blamed you.”
Jinx nodded. “You guys have it easy—Vi’s death discounting… hell, I thought my Vi was dead for years after all the shit went down…”
“And you and Ekko? He said he gave up on you—me—us, rather.”
“He did, did he?” asked Jinx.
“Isn’t that what happened?”
“He gave up because I cast him aside in favour of Silco.”
Powder frowned.
“What? You gotta know Silco, right?”
“Yeah—it’s just, Silco and Ekko are super close here…”
“Huh,” said Jinx. “No, my Silco wanted Ekko dead. And vice versa.”
“Your worlds fucked.”
“More than you know…”
“But you and Ekko?...”
Jinx tittered and shook her head. “He must’ve used that bloody Z-Drive of his a thousand times to talk me out of…” she stopped. Was it even a thousand times he’d used it—could it have been more? She hadn’t dared ask Ekko how many times… Then, Jinx thought, she probably shouldn’t say that part.
She said too much already, though. Powder caught on. “Another monkey bomb?—for you, this time?”
Jinx nodded.
“Why?”
“I thought… I thought everyone was gone. Silco, Vander, Mylo, Claggor, Benzo—Ekko… a little girl I somehow got lumped with—Isha… all of them. Gone.”
“And Vi?”
“Some Piltie girl stole her heart… Caitlyn Kiramman—a big wig up in Piltie land… All I was doing was Jinxing that, too.”
“Huh.”
“What?”
“The Kiramman girl died in the explosion with Vi.”
Jinx snorted. “Star crossed lovers, eh?”
Powder shook her head. “You said Ekko was gone… he looks pretty here to me.”
“No one had seen him for months. Assumed dead. When I first saw him when I… I thought he was… was a—”
“A hallucination.”
Jinx looked at Powder properly for the first time.
“I get them too, sometimes,” Powder said softly. “Mostly of Vi.”
Jinx hummed.
“Ekko—your Ekko—he set them off badly when he first came.”
“He told me about your argument… I—that’s my fault. Before he came back from here, last time we saw each other we almost killed—I almost killed us.”
“Monkey bomb?”
Jinx nodded.
“So you’re the reason he asked if I killed Vi?”
“Part of it,” said Jinx. “He’s never been one to mince his words, old savior boy.”
“That can be said for both of them…” said Powder, grinning. “Y’know, there was this one time Ekko asked Silco and Vander if they were fucking.”
Jinx paused, and stared—dumbfounded—at Powder. “Silco… and… Vander ?”
“Oh. Yeah—they’re like… well they are, y’know… Ekko was—is—right.”
Jinx swallowed the lump in her throat. That meant both Silco and Vander were alive and well here… “Different from my Silco and Vander… all they tried to do was kill each other.”
“Oh, no. Mine did that, too.”
Jinx shook her head. “Everything here is backwards.”
“Look who's talking. You and Ekko tried to kill each other and now you’re eyeing him like a piece of meat.”
Jinx scoffed and spluttered. “Hardly!”
Powder shrugged. “I am.”
“You!—”
Powder just had a smug grin on her face. Jinx had proved her point.
“Your Ekko’s a pussy.”
Powder laughed. “If you knew what he was like in bed, you’d think otherwise.”
Jinx couldn’t help the faint flush come onto her cheeks.
Powder noticed. “You haven’t… with Ekko yet?”
“We’ve not exactly been on talking terms…”
“I’d have thought the minute you guys made up, you’d have been like rabbits.”
“We haven’t fully… we were still talking things out when all this, y’know... And getting ready for a war with Noxus. Too busy with that to take Ekko for a spin…” Not that she thought he really wanted to anyway. That was another question entirely.
“I’d say I get you, but I haven’t fought someone since Vi died… me, personally, though—I’d have taken Ekko for a spin over preparing for war…”
“Well considering that’s what you’re doing already, I’d say I believe you.”
*AU Ekko POV*
“You think they’re talking ‘bout us?” Ekko asked.
“If they weren’t, I’d be worried.”
“Even if it’s something bad?”
“Jinx has tried to kill me more times than I can count.”
“Oh…”
“So yeah, gossip between them is healthy.”
They lifted up one of the larger parts of the interdimensional machine, and took it over to where it had initially been made. His counterpart had a far easier time of lifting it than he did, but Ekko felt the eyes of Powder and Jinx on them, and relied on strength he didn’t know he had to not embarrass himself.
“What’s your routine?” Ekko asked.
“Half callisthenics, and half beating Silco’s goons with a club.”
“Callisthenics, got it.”
“The second part wasn’t a joke.”
“Considering both Powder and I can be considered Silco’s goons, I’ll stick to the first part.”
Ekko sniffed. “Forgot Silco’s good here...”
“What’s he like where you’re from?”
“Let’s just say he never forgave Vander and leave it at that.”
“Is it seriously that bad?”
“What part of Jinx and I have tried to kill each other gave you the impression I’m lying?”
“You didn’t tell me you tried to kill her too.”
“It was implied.”
“Your reality is rather morbid…”
“Yet you keep asking about it.”
“Well it is fascinating…” said Ekko, “did you find out the point of change when you were here last—I’m sure we could—”
“Vi never died.”
“What?”
“Vi lived through the explosion. That was the difference.”
“Powder told me… I just thought that something else…”
“She showed you the tree, then?”
Ekko nodded. “But I don’t understand how—”
“Batter up, dork,” said Jinx, interrupting their conversation. “We’re looking at your energy storage doohickey whilst those two sort the Z-Drive out.”
Ekko looked at his counterpart, who got up without a word and gave Jinx a strong look saying ‘play nice’. He wandered over to Powder, leaving Ekko with Jinx.
“Don’t look so morose.”
“Hard not to when you just called my life's work a doohickey.” Ekko didn’t take his eyes off of Ekko and Powder as they greeted one another like old friends.
Jinx noticed. “We’re them, numpty.”
“I know,” Ekko said, finally looking at Jinx properly.
“So why are you pining over Powder?”
“They—”
“Kissed—I know. Big whoop.”
Ekko scoffed. “You’re acting all big and tough but I know you’re just as scared as I am.”
“Hardly.”
“I know Powder.”
“I’m not Powder.”
“You might be a bit crazy, and somewhat malnourished, but you’re still her.”
“Malnourished?” Jinx seethed. “Coming from you and your twig arms.”
“Just because I’m not as toned as your Ekko doesn’t mean I’m malnourished. Not like—”
“If you insult me again I’m going to flog you with your doohickey.”
Ekko scoffed. “Like you—”
But in a blink of an eye, with inhuman speed, Jinx had snatched the energy storage device from him and held it over her head—ready to strike down—
“Jinx!” Ekko and Powder yelled from across the room.
Jinx stopped, and grumbled. “He started it.”
“Do you just resort to violence at the smallest slight?”
“Wanna find out?” Jinx asked.
Ekko hated the way he did. But not really. “No, thank you.”
Jinx tsked. “Your loss, little man…” she said, and plopped herself down next to him and began looking over the energy storage device. “What made you want to make this?”
“To help keep the undercity alive without Piltover’s help.”
“Keep the lights on?”
“Yeah.”
“How do you plan to get the energy?”
“Fissure gasses.”
Jinx looked at him, eyes wide with surprise. Then nodded.
“Burn ‘em, and you can power a turbine to charge one of these, and then you can distribute them to those who need…”
“Why not use the fissure gasses to power the grid?”
“Piltover controls all that… theoretically, with enough of these we could take the mains power grid away from Piltover, and give it to the people…” said Ekko. “And once we do that, we could work on removing Piltover’s control of the mains to the point that we control it—”
“And then use the gasses for the grid.”
“Exactly.”
Jinx tutted. “Quite the plan, little man,” she giggled, “colour me impressed.”
“You think you can help with that?”
Jinx nodded. “I think with some help from a certain sack of gemstones, we might be in business.”
*Ekko POV*
“I’m surprised they’ve taken to one another,” said Ekko as he watched Jinx scurry over to the bag of gemstones and present them to the other him.
“They’re us, aren’t they?”
“I guess. Just thought Jinx would take more time to settle.”
“She tried to beat him with his own invention.”
“That’s tame for her.”
Powder shook her head. “When you first told me she was different, I’m not sure what I expected—some kind of introverted scientist or whatever… not a psychotic murderer.”
Ekko shrugged. “I’d already upset you enough—couldn’t in good conscience say the full truth.”
Powder hummed. “I showed my Ekko the tree, by the way.”
Ekko smiled. “I’ll be showing Jinx when we’re back.”
“She hasn’t seen it?”
“Not yet.”
“She said you’ve only just made up—or were still figuring things out.”
“We’ve got you to thank for that…”
“She told me about her… attempts …”
Ekko ground his jaw, but nodded. “I’m numb to it now.”
“I know you’re not.” Powder took Ekko’s hand in hers, and squeezed it tight. “And you’re too proud to admit it… but I know that look in your eye. I know how much pain seeing that must’ve caused…”
Ekko felt tears prick at his eyes, he shook his head and looked down at the half-made Z-Drive. “Let’s just focus on this,” he said. “Quicker it’s done the quicker we’re home.”
“I’m not letting you off the hook that quickly, Ekko.”
Ekko wiped at his eyes haphazardly. “It’s for the best.”
Powder scoffed. “Yeah, right… Besides, your presence here allows for more possibilities…”
Ekko looked down at her hand, which was still stroking the top of his.
“When I saw you as you left this reality, it got me thinking… you’d taken over my Ekko’s body, but for a moment you were both here…”
“So Jinx and I do have you to thank for us being here?” he asked.
“I had thought it’d be us travelling, not you guys…”
“Something you want our help with figuring out?”
“Maybe…”
Ekko shook his head. “I don’t mean to be rude, Powder, but I don’t think hopping dimensions willy-nilly is such a good thing.”
“Why not? You could learn so much, see entirely new possibilities.”
“It’d only ever leave you wanting more…”
“How—”
“Going home after seeing all this… it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
“Why, because our world is better?”
“Because I had you,” said Ekko. “And for the briefest moment I let myself believe that dream could be real… but I knew it was all a lie. I belonged where I belonged, with Jinx… with my friends and my family…”
“And if you lost those friends and family?”
“There’s always something to live for…” said Ekko. “I was fraught to understand why I was taken here of all places. I first thought it was a mockery—to show me what I didn’t have… And I think that is the case, in a way. The Arcane showed me what I didn’t have, but seeing Silco and Vander together, after having tried to kill each other… It helped me understand what I could still have, if only I gave it a chance.”
Powder took in his words for a moment, looking down at her hands absentmindedly, and then whispered: “I miss Vi.”
Ekko realised then there was little he could say or do to convince Powder that it may not be what she hoped this reunion would be. “I… I will help you build this upgraded version of the Z-Drive, Powder… But I need your word that you won’t use it to hijack a Vi from another universe.”
Powder looked at him as if he’d given her the world. And perhaps he had, in some strange way. She, almost involuntarily, went in to kiss him, before thinking better of it, and settled for a hug. But when they broke apart, Ekko couldn’t help but notice that her eyes never left his lips.
*Jinx POV*
Jinx noticed the way this other Ekko’s brow furrowed when working. It was a look of focus, one of utter devotion to his craft. She’d seen it on her Ekko when they were young, and she was coming to appreciate how similar these two utterly different versions of him were. Their physical features were the difference, she noted, idly, watching intently at how his eyes crease—smile lines—she realised, something her Ekko didn’t have, something Jinx herself didn’t have. But where the lines led to were the same. Those brilliant big brown eyes that saw her unlike any other.
Ekko looked up at her, an odd expression in those pretty eyes of his. He smiled, and she got a proper look at those smile lines that fascinated her, so.
Jinx hadn’t realised she was smiling back at him, but she blinked back and tried to look away from his eyes. It was how her gaze found his lips.Full and plump, she wondered what they’d feel like against her own. They were the same lips she’d found herself staring at back when she and Ekko were in their own universe, half way through building a hot air balloon to attack the Noxians with.
Ekko tittered at her.
“What?”
“Powder looks at my lips like that, too.”
Jinx shook her head. How could he think that—they didn’t even have the same eyes. She looked away, down at the energy storage device that was slowly coming together with the additions of the gemstones.
Ekko sighed. He placed the energy storage device down between them and pulled her chin up so she’d look at him. If anyone else had done such a thing, she’d have grabbed the device sitting between them and beaten them bloody with it—earlier, she’d have done it with him too… Jinx dared to look at him again, and the look she’d so often seen plastered on her Ekko’s face was mirrored back at her now. It was so soft, so… so… “Just because your eyes are coloured differently, doesn’t mean they’re not the same,” Ekko spoke softly.
Jinx’s lip trembled and she brought her hand up to touch Ekko’s, and keep it on her face a moment longer.
Ekko’s eyes flicked to it, and she saw his eyes linger on her metal finger for a second longer than he’d probably hoped they would.
Jinx looked back to his lips, and whispered. “I lost it fighting Vi.”
Ekko frowned.
Jinx didn’t like when his lips moved to a frown. It made her frown. “You guys may have lost your Vi… but at this point… though she’s alive and well—I’ve lost my Vi too,” she admitted meekly. Finally, she let her hand drop from Ekko’s. “I needed to leave, to let go of the fight… there’s no world where Vi and I can be together as a happy family…”
But Ekko picked her hand back up, covering it with both of his own. “There’s always a chance for forgiveness, Jinx… if ever anyone showed me that, it was Silco and Vander. You don’t have to let go of your relationship with Vi, not now—not ever.”
Jinx shook her head. “You don’t understand.”
“If you told Powder you willingly gave up your relationship with Vi because you were afraid things might mess up… I think she’d try to beat the sense into you with my doohickey.”
Jinx knew it to be the truth. But it was hardly like she could go amend the fractured relationship she had with Vi…
Ekko got an odd look on his face. “I’m… going to go get something to help finish this off,” he said, “why don’t you go help Powder and Ekko with the Z-Drive.”
Jinx scrutinised him. He was lying—about what they needed to finish the energy storage device, at least. She didn’t say anything, though, and stood to go back over to Powder and Ekko, who she saw, had been intimately talking much the same as she had been with this universe’s Ekko.
*AU Powder POV*
Powder heard the door close, and looked up to see Jinx standing over them. “Where’d Ekko go?” she asked.
“Beats me,” Jinx shrugged. “Said something about getting something for his doohickey.”
That was a lie, Powder thought. By the looks of it, Jinx thought the same.
Jinx sat down next to them. “How’s the progress going on the Z-Drive.”
Powder looked at Ekko. Of course, they would have to tell Jinx what they were doing, and the fact it was Powder’s fault they were here, but she wondered how they would go about it.
“We’re going to make it so we can hop dimensions at will, rather than at random,” said Ekko bluntly.
Jinx hummed, then looked at Powder. “Your idea, I imagine…” she said.
Powder nodded.
“If you’re planning to come see our Vi, I wouldn’t,” said Jinx.
Powder frowned. “What—why not?”
Jinx chanced a glance at Ekko, then looked back at Powder sheepishly. “Last I saw her, I locked her in Stillwater and fled as the most wanted fugitive in Piltover’s history.”
“I still want to see her—”
“You can. Just not our Vi. Unless you want to get into a fist fight with her, that is.”
“She wouldn’t.”
“She would,” Ekko cut in.
“Still—”
“There’s no still about it, sis.”
“Why can’t you two make up?” Powder asked. “I know things have been hard, but if you and Ekko can make amends, why can’t you and Vi?”
“I told you,” said Jinx. “It’s not about making amends… It’s just… everytime Vi and I come together, things go wrong—for both of us. Best if we just…” she trailed off.
Powder sniffed. “If Silco and Vander can make up and sort their shit out, so can you and Vi.”
“Hate to break it to you, but I haven’t seen this Silco and Vander. For all I know it could be a lie,” said Jinx.
“You don’t really believe that, do you?” Powder asked, exasperated. “Tell her, Ekko—tell her how it is.”
“They did make up,” said Ekko. “How or why I didn’t get to know.”
The door opened again, and Ekko came back in. But he wasn’t alone. Behind him, Silco and Vander stepped through the door. Powder smiled, and then realised what this meant. For their part, Silco and Vander didn’t look all too surprised to see double. But they still shared a look, and then turned their questions onto Powder.
It was Silco who spoke through the silence. “Of all the things I thought I’d see the two of you do, this was never one of them,” he said, bemused.
“You can say that again,” Vander agreed. “How on God’s green Earth did you manage this, then?”
“Well… I—” Powder stumbled. “It was Ekko’s fault.”
“Me?” Powder’s Ekko asked. “What did I do?”
“Not you. Him.” Powder pointed at Jinx’s Ekko.
“My fault?” Ekko asked, chagrined. “You’re the one who wanted to hop dimensions.”
“Only because you did it first.”
“On accident.”
“Still. You came here and put all sorts of fantasies in my head. What did you expect?”
Through their bickering, Powder saw as Jinx slowly stood, and walked over to Silco and Vander, eyes wide and frightful. She had hunched shoulders, and her arms were wrapped around her waist. As she closed in on them, she tentatively reached out a hand to Silco, touching him. At the contact, she recoiled, as if burnt by a flame. Only to throw herself at the man with tears in her eyes.
The sight stopped any bickering. And Powder and Ekko shared a glance before standing to go over to them.
Jinx was weeping gently into Silco’s shoulder, muttering: “I’m sorry.” over and over again, anguished.
“What ever could you be sorry for, dear child?” Silco asked, wrapping his arms around Jinx, and looking at Powder in bewilderment.
Powder shook her head.
Jinx broke the embrace and held Silco, looking at him for a moment longer before turning her attention to Vander. Jinx let out a hollow, and shaky breath. “I… we couldn’t save you,” she muttered.
“I was never yours to save, Powder,” Vander said.
Jinx recoiled at the name, and stole her gaze away. She didn’t correct him, which Powder thought to be odd. She understood, though, that there wouldn’t be answers to every little detail, no matter how much she wanted them…
*AU Ekko POV*
Ekko went over to Powder whilst Jinx and her Ekko spoke with Silco and Vander.
“Why’d you bring them here?” Powder asked as Ekko took a seat on the sofa next to her.
“Jinx needs to see that she and Vi can make up.”
“Wish I’d thought of that,” said Powder. “Don’t think anything I said was going through to either of them.”
Ekko hummed his agreement. “I don’t think they’ve actually said sorry to one another yet,” he mused. “Even if they’ve implied it…”
“You’re probably right.”
A brief silence came over them as they watched Jinx talk with Silco whilst Ekko and Vander talked. Ekko briefly wondered if he should’ve brought Benzo with him, too, as he didn’t think Jinx’s Ekko had much of a relationship with either of the men, but he still spoke as if he had some familiarity.
“They’re insufferable together,” Powder said quietly.
“What does that say about us?” Ekko asked, amused.
Powder chuckled. “It’s fine when we do it.”
“Technically, we are doing it.”
“You finally understand what I meant now?”
Ekko nodded. “I think I always knew… but seeing how different Jinx is, and yet all I see when I look into her eyes is you—no matter their different colour—helped cement the idea…” Ekko said, looking at Powder fondly.
Powder tilted her head and smiled.
“You know they glowed when she went to smack me with the energy storage device…” Ekko said offhandedly.
“They did?”
Ekko nodded. “Though, I would say when you’re angry, your eyes glow, too—differently, but they do.”
Powder grinned. “You think they’re as scary as Jinx’s?” she asked, in jest.
“Oh yeah,” said Ekko. “More so, even…”
“Now you’re just flattering me.”
“Isn’t that my job?”
“You’re damn right it is, lover boy.”
Ekko smiled at the name. He always loved when she gave him nicknames; even when Jinx called him a dork, she said it with the same fondness in her voice, despite trying to sound mocking. “I’d say there’s not a world where I can love you more, but I think every version of me loves you like I do…” And that was true, Ekko believed now, seeing Jinx’s Ekko, that no matter the circumstance, he would crawl back to her—his heart in hand, offering her it, whether she’d cradle it or step on it. It would always be hers.
*Jinx POV*
It took a while before Jinx could accept that both Silco and Vander were standing in front of her. And even then, it wasn’t until Ekko had come up next to her, taken her hand in his and whispered only to her: ‘They’re real’, that she believed it.
Jinx was no stranger to ghosts. She saw them all the time. Now more than ever, since Isha had… had… Since Isha had—
“Ekko told us you think you have to stay away from Vi,” Silco said softly.
“It’s what you did,” Jinx said.
“And how did that turn out for this other me?” Silco asked, not unkindly.
Jinx swallowed. “Not… great.”
“Dead,” Silco surmised.
Jinx nodded. And she dare not reveal more—in case he’d hate her for it.
“What would you say if I told you that you need to sit down and talk to Vi properly? No violence, no hostility… just a frank conversation between the two of you, where you apologise for whatever wrongs you’ve committed, and let her apologise for the slights she committed too.”
“I’d say you’re crazy.”
Silco chuckled.
“That’d make two of us, then,” said Vander, chiming in from his conversation with Ekko.
“It’s not that simple.”
“And what did you think it’d be?” Silco asked.
Jinx shook her head in frustration. “You—”
“Those two over there don’t know what you’re going through, I know—you can tell them all you want that they won’t understand… But Vander and I—we do.”
“We tried to murder each other, kiddo,” said Vander. “We’re in the unfortunate position to give you all you need to hear.”
Jinx knew they were right. But it went deeper than that with Vi. They’d made up. Sort of. They’d done the hard part, whether properly or not. But now, Jinx made the decision to step away and let Vi be happy without her, so she couldn’t screw her chances up with Caitlyn. “I already made my peace with Vi,” she said.
Silco frowned. “Then why are you distancing yourself?”
“Because it’s for the best,” Jinx said.
“For who?” Vander asked.
“Vi.”
“Does she think that?” Silco asked.
“It’s for the best. I… All I was doing was messing it all up with her—making her choose. Making her pick things she couldn’t.”
“So you took the choice away entirely?”
“As I said, it’s for the best.”
Silco shook his head. “The best way to be unhappy, maybe,” he said dryly. “You really think both of you will be better off without one another?”
Jinx nodded.
Vander gestured over to Powder and Ekko, who were talking intimately with one another, in a way only lovers could or would. In a way only she and Ekko could. “Tell that to Powder over there, who—it now seems—will stop at nothing to see her sister again. And you, you’re willingly going to throw that away?”
“I… It’s just so hard,” Jinx said slowly.
Silco looked at Ekko, and then back to Jinx. “Was it easy between you and Ekko?” he asked.
“No.”
“And do you regret the hardship it took to begin to mend your relationship?”
“No.”
“There’s your answer.”
“I’m scared,” Jinx admitted quietly.
“Of course you are,” said Silco. “You think we weren’t scared when your mother told us we had to sort Zaun out—together.”
Jinx smiled at the thought of her mother. “I don’t know if we can sort it out.”
“If we can, so can you and Ekko,” said Silco.
“Powder and Ekko will be doing the same as you soon enough,” said Vander. “It’ll be their job to run this place, not ours.”
“What?” Jinx asked, astonished.
“You think we plan to do this forever, kiddo?” Vander asked. “Them two will be taking the reigns in no time, and letting the two of us retire in peace.”
Jinx smiled at the thought. Not many people in Zaun got to retire. Least of all those who ran the place. She just hoped that if she and Ekko did that, that they’d get to retire one day, too…
It was with that departing sentiment that Silco and Vander took their leave.
And once again Jinx was left alone with Ekko to sort through the fog of emotions that clouded her sight. It was through that fog that she finally got the courage to ask Ekko the question she’d not dared asked before. “How many times?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Ekko didn’t answer, but it was all the answer Jinx needed.
He didn’t know.
Somehow that made it worse than any number he could’ve come out with. “I…” Words evaded her. She looked into those pained eyes of his.
Ekko smiled a sad smile, and brought his hand up to caress Jinx’s cheek. A single, lone tear tracked down his cheek.
“I understand why you didn’t let me now,” Jinx mumbled, letting herself fall helplessly into his touch. “But I’ll never understand how you kept the strength to continue.”
Ekko pressed his eyes closed. “The only comfort I had as I turned back the clock was that if you somehow succeeded, if I’d made a mistake—taken too long… that you’d take me too.”
Jinx’s shoulders sagged at the admission. She hated that she understood the sentiment—the same one she’d experienced on the bridge, using the monkey bomb to take them both out. Together. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too.”
Jinx tried to smile, but it came out as more of a twitch of her cheeks. “I hardly deserve an apology.”
“You’re getting it anyway.”
Jinx sighed, and looked down at Ekko’s chest.
Ekko took her chin by a finger, and pulled her face up to look at him. An all too familiar hunger lingered behind his eyes, one she felt pooling in her stomach as their eyes connected. Slowly. Ever so slowly. The gap between them closed. Jinx snaked her arms around his neck, as Ekko’s strong hands found the small of her back, bringing her forward, into a tight, locked embrace. Their noses touched first, gentle and soft. Jinx felt his breath against her skin, hot at fire. She smiled, tilted her head. Ekko followed.
Their lips met.
A whistle came from across the room. Jinx and Ekko broke apart.
“Get a room!” Powder’s Ekko hollered, laughing.
Powder was laughing too. Jinx hadn’t laughed a laugh like that in so long she’d almost forgotten what it looked like… it was… pretty . “Get comfortable with that mouth, it’ll be your best friend soon enough!” she said.
Jinx knew she wasn’t referring to kissing. She shook her head; she wanted to be annoyed, and yet—somehow—the laughing version of her wasn’t just sitting on the other side of the room. She was deep inside Jinx, too, giggling and kicking her feet in much the same way as pretty Powder’s laugh at the thought of what use she’d be getting out of Ekko’s mouth in the near future.
*Ekko POV*
They got back to work on the Z-Drive and improving it. There was a thought that floated through their head of making two upgraded Z-Drives, but voted against it for the moment. Ekko was adamant that they’d not need to be travelling between dimensions anytime soon, and if they did, they had the resources needed back in their universe to recreate it.
But the first thing they did was finish Powder’s Ekko’s energy storage device he’d been so diligently working on for god knows how long. They could’ve tested it, to see if it’d work beyond theory, but there wasn’t enough time: the longer they spent here, the more time that would pass in their home universe, and with Noxus and Piltover at war, it wasn’t best to test how long they could stay.
For a while, they just exchanged stories as they worked. Mostly Ekko and Jinx listened as Powder and her Ekko spoke, as their stories were far nicer than what they had to offer. But, as for their childhoods, they were the same; so they reminisced about old times together, too. Powder told them the story of how they finally took the leap to become more than friends, a heart warming story of Ekko’s oblivious stupidity, and she ended it, looking at her Ekko with the most adoring eyes the world had ever seen.
Eventually, as they began building the Z-Drive again, the topic of Powder and Ekko travelling between dimensions came up again.
“I—” Ekko began, only to be cut off by Jinx.
“If you want to see Vi… our Vi, could you give us one favour first?” Jinx asked quietly.
“Anything,” Powder said.
“Let me mend my relationship with her first, won’t you?”
The two girls exchanged a meaningful look. And Ekko knew there’d be no protesting dimension hopping. At least they’d have time to implement some positive change to Zaun before the other’s came…
As the Z-Drive got built, the conversation died, and they worked in silence as they realised what was happening. It’d be a long while before they got to see one another again, Ekko knew, but the thought of getting to see them again, in his and Jinx’s dimension this time, really helped him continue building…
*Jinx POV*
It must’ve been the early hours of the morning as they stood looking at the finished Z-Drive, adorned with all the upgrades they’d imagined. Jinx knew she’d miss this place. She took one last look around Powder’s hideout, knowing that when they were home it was likely she’d never get to see hers as it was ever again.
Powder came over to Jinx, and wrapped her in a tight hug. Jinx was taken aback, but slowly melted into the embrace.
“It’s been real, sis,” Jinx murmured.
Powder tittered. “Don’t forget some self love and care is a good thing.”
“Yes, mom,” Jinx snarked, but as she said it, a new thought she hadn’t even considered crossed her mind. Isha. “There’s a girl,” she began.
“A girl?” Powder questioned.
“A little one… about yay high—” Jinx gestured to her waist “—I… I lost her, in my universe…” I couldn’t save her, Jinx corrected in her head. Couldn’t protect her. “But here. She might still be here.”
Powder nodded. “What do you want us to do?”
Jinx didn’t fail to notice the way Powder said ‘us’. As if one of them doing it meant the other automatically did. “Find her. Check if she’s alright.”
Powder nodded again.
“Give me a moment,” said Jinx. And she made for Powder and Ekko’s work desk and picked up a pencil and paper, drawing Isha to the best of her ability. It took her a while, as she meticulously drew the little girl she’d been charged to protect. She grabbed paints, and filled in the details using them before finally handing it over to Powder for her to see.
“She’s cute.”
“She’s a pain in the ass,” Jinx said fondly.
Powder smiled. “Wonder who she got that from…” she said wryly.
Jinx shook her head, and they made their way back over to their Ekko’s. Jinx and Powder watched as they shook hands, then stood looking at each other for a moment before Powder’s Ekko pulled Jinx’s Ekko forward and into a hug.
Jinx laughed.
So did Powder. “What would they do without us, eh?”
Jinx shook her head. “Nothing good,” she said, knowing it was a lie. Ekko had done more good for everyone in the past day than she’d done in the past decade… Still, she thought, there was time to be a bit more like Powder. For both their sakes.
The Ekko’s broke apart, and stood looking at each other with mirrored smiles.
Jinx found herself wandering over, and taking Powder’s Ekko to the side. She smiled at him, feeling a faint flush come upon her cheeks.
“Hey,” Ekko said, smiling too.
“Hey,” Jinx replied, feeling awkward. She looked back to see Ekko and Powder hugging, before resting their foreheads together gently. Jinx looked back at Powder’s Ekko, and tilted her head, studying him. There was something that nagged in her head, and she found herself once again staring at his lips.
“You alri—”
But before he could finish, Jinx went onto her toes, and planted a soft, chaste kiss to his lips. It lasted a mere moment, and she found herself off balance as she came down from the brief moment of adrenaline, and had to hold onto Ekko to keep herself upright.
“W—What—” Ekko looked past Jinx and to Powder and Jinx’s Ekko. They were looking at them with amused smiles.
“Thought it was only fitting,” Jinx murmured. “Call it payback.”
Ekko shook his head. “Call it what you want,” he whispered. “I know you didn’t do that to get back at Powder.”
Jinx huffed. He was right. But she’d never admit it. “Dream all you want, dork.”
Powder came back over, Jinx’s Ekko in tow, and they swapped Ekko’s, as if exchanging property.
“We’ll see you soon, then?” Powder asked.
“Give it a month—or a year—we’ll need enough time to sort things out,” said Jinx.
“Will do,” said Powder’s Ekko.
“It’s been fun,” said Ekko.
“A shame it has to end so soon,” Powder said.
“It’s not goodbye, just cya later,” said Jinx, feeling involuntary tears prick at her eyes.
Powder snorted at her. “Don’t you cry, or you’ll set Ekko off too.”
“Which one?” Jinx asked, chuckling.
“Both.”
It got a laugh from them all, but they soon fell back to silence, looking over at the Z-Drive once again. Jinx wondered how Ekko ever managed to leave this place, she’d spent hardly a day here, and there was already that longing of wanting to stay longer, to see the whole undercity.
But Jinx looked at Ekko and knew it was time. His eyes said it all, there was a determination behind them, a fire that she only now understood. He would do everything in his power to make their world even a fraction as good as this world had become.
Jinx took Ekko’s hand and they both went over to stand in the centre of the platform. They stood, facing one another, both hands held together. “Hit it!” Jinx said, grinning up at her Ekko.
And Powder did. The machine began to rumble, and Jinx and Ekko fell into each other, holding one another tightly in a warm embrace. The rumbling grew louder and louder, and they remained together until the rumbling stopped and they were no longer facing their counterparts, but alone in Jinx’s version of the hideaway.
“So…” Jinx began, still holding onto Ekko tightly. “Ready to win a war?”
“With you, Jinx, I’m ready for anything.”