Chapter 97: Like Two Bugs

"You know..."

Orion muttered, glancing sideways at Powder, who was panting heavily with his arm slung over her shoulder.

"I could walk. I'm not crippled."

"Why didn't you say so sooner?!" she wailed, shoving his arm off as he chuckled.

"You were so set on it! I thought you wanted a workout or something... especially after Isha kicked your butt."

"Isha didn't- Workout? In the Undercity?" Powder wheezed. "Really funny."

"I don't know. Vi looks like she does plenty."

"That's 'cause she's a gorilla."

"Pfft."

The wet stone of the smoggy bridge glistened beneath their boots, each step splotching through shallow puddles. It had been a relatively easy crossing- with Powder's face known, there were few questions. Orion, however, had to cover his own. Silco wouldn't approve, and Vander would have concerns of his own.

As soon as they made it across, Orion tore the temporary mask from his face, just in case anyone had been watching.

And Isha? Isha had stayed behind forcibly. Her tears when he told her she couldn't come still pricked at his conscience. He hated how she cried, how it reminded him that her fate… was the kind that would probably happen if she stayed near him.

'Honestly, it would've been simpler if Powder hadn't insisted on coming along too.'

"I don't care."

"What?" Orion asked, confused.

"I can see what you're thinking. And I don't care."

"...Okay...?"

'Can she read minds?'

Powder glanced at him and smirked as they continued along. Through the smog ahead, two shadows came into view.

'How dramatic,' Orion thought wryly, recognizing Viktor—and then his eyes widened slightly at the second figure: Jayce. The taller man stood with crossed arms, his glare bouncing sharply between Orion and Powder.

"Someone doesn't look happy to see us," Powder whispered sarcastically, covering her mouth from their view.

"Surprise, surprise," he muttered back.

Viktor, frowning as his gaze settled on Powder, was the first to speak.

"You brought a friend?"

"Ye—"

"We're more than friends!" Powder gleefully interrupted, throwing herself into an exaggerated hug around Orion. "Like two bugs that can't be separated!"

"Eh? Urgh." A soft pinch on his back forced a small, strained smile to twitch across his face.

"Yep! Like two bugs!"

Jayce blinked, clearly taken aback, his mouth slightly open as if trying to decide whether to be appalled or just confused. Viktor, however, just sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Bugs," Jayce repeated, deadpan. "Right. And you're…?"

"Powder," she said brightly, offering her hand as if they weren't in the middle of business. "Just a sweet girl helping out a totally non-dangerous, very rehabilitated mage."

Jayce didn't take her hand. Powder just grinned wider and shoved her hands in her jacket pockets.

Orion, still trying to roll his shoulder out of the surprise squeeze, cleared his throat."She insisted."

Viktor stepped forward, voice low but firm. "Is she necessary?"

"She's here now," Orion replied.

"You have no idea who's watching, Orion. Piltover's crawling with eyes right now," Jayce said. "This whole thing is reckless."

"And yet," Viktor cut in, giving Jayce a side glance, "here you are, standing with me, about to sneak said dangerous mage into one of the most secure labs in the city."

Jayce didn't answer right away. He looked at Orion, then at Powder, and finally back at Viktor with a frustrated exhale.

"This is crazy," he muttered.

"It always is," Viktor replied. "Progress is never smooth."

They walked together in silence for a few paces until Powder chirped from behind them, "So, where's the secret tunnel? Do I get a passcode? Or do I have to fight some big-bad enforcer?"

Jayce groaned. "She's really coming with us?"

"She's not leaving," Orion said firmly, but thought, 'She could straighten up a bit. She isn't going to, though, so no point thinking that.'

Powder swung an arm between them both, humming as if she were out for a stroll."I'm great at sneaking! Ask Vi. Oh wait, don't- she'd snitch."

"By the Gods..." Jayce murmured under his breath.

The wind rolled thick with smog over the old iron bridge, the stone beneath their boots slick with moisture and soot. High above the toixic river, shadows stretched long in the amber haze of the setting sun.

At the far end of the bridge, Enforcers stood guard. Four of them, rifles slung over their shoulders, googled eyes sweeping the checkpoint. They hadn't spotted them yet in the far distance but it was only a matter of time.

"Keep to the left," Viktor whispered, leading them toward a rusted maintenance pipe that ran along the edge of the bridge, partially hidden behind old scaffolding and broken signage. "There's a gap behind the second support beam. If we time it right, between the rotations, we can slip through."

Powder peered over the ledge with curiosity and a bit too much enthusiasm. "Neat. Haven't had a good bridge-sneak in a while."

"Quiet," Orion muttered, pulling her back by the collar.

They crept forward. Viktor motioned sharply, and the group dropped into a crouch as one of the guards turned their way. A few heartbeats passed, tense and drawn-out, before the Enforcer turned away, bored and unaware.

"One at a time," Viktor said.

Powder went first, darting across the narrow part of the maintenance pipe with surprising grace, slipping into the shadows close to the pylon. Orion followed, silent and measured. The last part was the worst, crossing through the exposed middle, where nothing but a bit of mist and failing light could cover them.

Viktor gestured to Jayce. "Go."

Jayce hesitated, then moved. But his coat snagged on a jagged piece of metal and ripped with an audible 'skrrrrch.'

"Shit," he cursed.

"Who's there?" an alarmed voice called out.

Orion reacted instantly. He raised his hand not to attack, but to shroud them. A faint shimmer of warped air passed over the group, distorting the light, just enough to blend with the smoke and shadows.

Two Enforcers jogged over, rifles half-raised. One peered down the side of the bridge, squinting into the gloom.

"Probably rats again," the other muttered.

They moved on after a few moments.

The second the coast was clear, Viktor pulled Jayce the rest of the way across and gestured for silence. They regrouped behind the pylon, pressed together beneath the arch of old support beams.

"That," Powder whispered with a grin, "was awesome."

Jayce scowled. "That was insane."

"You're still alive," Viktor replied dryly, adjusting his collar.

Orion sighed. "Let's keep moving. We're not safe yet. I thought we were going to walk straight through the checkpoint?"

"And I thought you would be coming alone," Viktor shrugged. "Besides, fewer questions this way."

As they emerged from the bridge's far side and into the narrow alleys of the upper city, the weight of their goal settled back in. Footsteps quickened. Giddy giggles and comments faded.

The city's heart waited ahead, unaware of the mage that had slipped inside.