Marvel: Playing Iron Man, Falling In and Out of Love with Jinx

Old Canning Factory – Front Gate

Vi helped an old man, still barely breathing, to the gate and let out a small sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Powder stared at the bomb that had fizzled earlier, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"Why didn't it go off just now?"

As she tossed it to the ground, the bomb gave a sudden shudder. Powder's eyes widened in alarm, but it wasn't the bomb about to detonate. It was the ground trembling beneath their feet.

"Run! Now!"

Duke, soaked from head to toe, burst out from the underground lab with the unconscious Vander slung over his shoulder. As he ran, he shouted a warning to Vi and the others:

"Silco, that bastard, blew out the lab windows! The river's flooding in! If we don't move, we'll all drown!"

Vi reacted instantly, helping the rest escape. Janna sent a gust of wind to assist them, and Duke, carrying several people like a human stack, charged out of the canning factory. The mutated creatures, still entangled in webs, could only watch helplessly as the roaring floodwaters surged toward them.

"Roar!!"

Their angry howls echoed as the surging water consumed the factory, breaking it apart piece by piece. Duke and the others made it out just in time, barely escaping the collapse.

From higher ground, they looked down at the wild currents flooding the area, and a chill crept across their faces.

"It's finally over," Duke muttered.

Vi let out a long breath. "Yeah... it's over."

Duke stared at the submerged ruins, a strange feeling welling in his chest. Pride? Maybe. Relief? Definitely.

At that moment, he knew Vi and Powder's fates had changed. The tragic future where the two sisters went their separate ways... no longer existed. But in saving them, Jinx and Enforcer Vi, those iconic characters, had effectively been erased. Was that really okay?

He hesitated for a second, then smiled indifferently. "Whatever. I'll just punch out a few champions if I have to."

Two game characters gone, but in exchange, two sisters given a new future. Worth it.

"Don't move! Hands in the air!"

Out of the shadows stepped Marcus, pistol in hand. Strangely, he wasn't wearing his usual breathing mask. His gaze flicked from the ruined factory to Duke and the others, his expression unreadable.

"You again…"

Vi clenched her fists, ready to pounce, but Duke stopped her with a pat on the shoulder. "Easy. Let me handle this."

Grinning, Duke walked toward Marcus, completely ignoring the pistol pointed at him.

"Stop right there!" Marcus growled.

"Shouldn't you be the one staying put?"

Duke pulled a bluebird-shaped amulet and a gleaming hand axe from his inventory. "Officer Marcus… collaborating with Zaunite criminals isn't something the Council will take lightly."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Marcus replied, eyes darting as he quietly took a step back.

Raising both hands, Duke said, "We just saved both cities from disaster. The ones plotting terror are dead, their base drowned, and the four suspects in the Piltover explosion? Swept away by the flood."

Duke took another step forward, Marcus' gun pressing against his chest. In one hand, he held the amulet. In the other, the axe.

"What do you say, Officer Marcus?"

"I…"

Vi and the others silently stood behind Duke. Marcus glanced at the submerged ruins again, then at the group behind Duke, none of them looking friendly.

He swallowed hard.

"You're right," he said, closing his eyes. "The four suspects… were taken by the flood."

"Now that's the smart answer."

Duke put away the axe and placed the amulet into Marcus' hand.

"May the Gray not touch your home. Janna watch over you."

A bluebird fluttered down onto Marcus' shoulder, tilting its head to meet his gaze.

Whatever doubt Marcus had left in his heart vanished in that moment.

"May… the Gray not touch my home," he echoed.

"Janna, protect us all," Duke added with a rare, genuine smile. The final threat had been defused. It was over.

…Or was it?

Duke turned toward the still-churning waters. A shadow crossed his face.

"Silco got away."

"Is it really over…?"

Zaun – Some Filthy Drainage Ditch

Pffft!

Sevika, soaked and gasping, crawled up from the river. She dumped two burdens, Silco and Singed, onto the bank, then collapsed next to them, exhausted. The effort of resisting the current had drained every last drop of shimmer from her body.

She looked human again. And she never wanted to touch that damn serum again.

cough cough

Silco pulled off his mask, coughing. Sevika stared up at the ashen sky and asked quietly:

"What now, boss?"

"We can't stay in Zaun. We've been completely routed. I didn't expect Vander to have a god's chosen helping him."

"Then where do we go?"

"To Noxus."

Silco's eyes gleamed with dangerous light as he turned to Singed.

"We still have our greatest weapon. That's all we need."

"To the land of warmongers?" Sevika sat up in disbelief.

"I know someone there," Silco said. "An executioner. I used to pass intel to him in exchange for funding. He'll shelter us. With the shimmer and Singed's genius, we'll rise again. Then… we strike back."

"I'm in," Singed rasped.

"Whatever," Sevika muttered, lying back down. "I'm with you."

"What's the name of this executioner friend of yours?"

Silco looked toward the rising sun, eyes dark with unspoken meaning.

"Urgot."

Morning – Collin's Workshop, Attic

After a hot shower, Duke returned to his room, a towel draped over his head. Three hours had passed since they escaped Zaun.

Still damp and aching, he barely set foot inside when Collin chewed him out, swearing he wasn't allowed to leave again until he had something ready for the Blue Rose Estate showcase.

But then… Collin hugged him.

"Don't take risks like that again," he whispered.

Janna had already explained the situation before Duke returned, her version, of course, filtered and likely embellished. Duke didn't know the details, but Orianna's sparkling eyes said enough.

Three hours later, clean and fed, Duke collapsed onto his bed.

"Damn, I'm beat."

On the desk beside him lay his old blueprints. Physically drained, but inwardly exhilarated, how could he not be? What could feel better than rewriting someone's tragic fate?

Vi had been his first main. Jinx, his first Pentakill.

He loved them both.

Totally worth it.

"Janna, go check in on Vi and the others. Tell them I'm busy building my entry piece."

Duke waved dismissively.

"I'm not your messenger bird!" Janna, still in bird form, pecked at her feathers grumpily.

"You can drop a miracle on Vander, gain more believers, and reclaim your place as Zaun's protector. Win-win!"

Duke rolled over, grinning. The bluebird gave a dramatic eye-roll, how Janna even managed that in bird form, he'd never know.

"Fine, fine! I'm going!"

With a flap of her wings, she was gone. Duke shut his eyes, letting sleep claim him.

Evening – Back in Action

Duke woke up full of energy. Stretching hard, his joints cracked in satisfying protest. Revived, he took out all the shimmer potions he'd looted and absorbed them into his system's [Wealth Value].

He wasn't sure how the system evaluated item worth, but the shimmer fell far below Hex Crystals.

One shimmer potion: 300 wealth.

Total: 20 potions = 6000 wealth.

"Six thousand, not bad."

He unlocked several modules he knew he'd need, keeping 4000 wealth in reserve, for gacha pulls.

"Ten rolls at 100, two premium rolls at 1000, and a final 1000 kept in the bank. Let's see what I get."

Time for the gacha.

[You have obtained: Torbjörn's Wrench]

[You have obtained: Whiplash's Abandoned Whip]

[You have obtained: The Undertaker's Sidearm]

...

[You have obtained: Wonder Woman's Uniform]

Ten pulls, all junk. Mostly tools and weapons from familiar characters, with a few joke items mixed in.

Rolling his eyes, Duke dropped 2000 wealth for two premium pulls.

Two glowing blue orbs burst out from the gacha pool, vibrating with energy. They cracked open midair,

[You have obtained: Knowledge Transfer – Gun Kata]

"Oho! Jackpot!"

Duke's eyebrows lifted in delight. The second orb cracked, and his grin widened.

[You have obtained: Dionysus Gene (1mg)]

To be continued...