Chapter 65: Chapter 48: A Spark Rekindled
An Enforcer rushed forward, presenting a copied scripture of the transfer papers.
"This symbol..." Vander's eyes went wide after Greyson handed him the papers. A circled 'V'- his old symbol of leadership, one he hadn't seen in years.
Greyson's brows furrow, watching him closely. "Your old symbol of leadership?"
"Aye. The last time we crossed this bridge, this was our symbol..." Vander growled. His grip tightened, crumpling the papers as he read it.
His eyes snapped back to Greyson with a dangerous glint. "Give me time to look into this. I might have the people responsible ready for you to lock up."
Greyson nodded, her gaze flickering between him and the paper. "Marcus-"
"We're keeping him until this is resolved," Vander interrupted firmly, turning away. "He'll live." The finality in his tone left no room for argument.
After Vander turned, Greyson did the same, sighing under her breath. There was nothing more to say. All Greyson could do, outside of calming and stalling the Council, and reinforcing their defenses, was hope that Vander could uncover the truth behind this situation or pacify his people.
When Vander arrived at the morgue inside the Riverside Cemetery of Promenade, with Benzo and a few loyal patrons from the Last Drop, they moved with intense purpose.
"The hound-? Wait, wait!" the morgue's assistant stammered, his voice cracking as Benzo lifted him by the scruff of his collar.
Wordlessly, Vander unfurled the documents, shoving them so close to the man's face that his breath fogged the page. The assistant's eyes darted between Vander's stern gaze and the crumpled papers, his expression shifting from confusion to dawning fear.
"Ah- this symbol- Silco!"
When the assistant sputtered out Silco's name, Vander snarled. "Where is he?"
"The other side of the bridge, further north! The abandoned seafood factory- he's expecting you!" The assistant's words tumbled out in a panic as Benzo's grip tightened.
Vander's gaze sharpened, letting the man choke and struggle a moment longer before nodding to Benzo. "Let's go."
Benzo's eyes narrowed, voice cold. "About time. I've wanted to snap that rat's neck for a while." He drops the assistant to the ground who is left sputtering and holding his neck with relief.
As the group turned back toward the bridge, a small figure hidden between the shadows of the tombstones scurried off unnoticed.
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//The Last Drop - Late into the night//
"I call dibs on the bat!" Claggor declared, smirking at Mylo's outrage.
"No no no no, I found it!" Mylo shot back, crossing his arms.
"But I called it."
"I found it!"
"Respect the dibs!"
Claggor and Mylo continued bickering over the array of gimmicks laid out. Despite their bandaged and stitched up wounds from the previous fight, both were eager for payback.
So was Vi. She sat leaned forward, resting her forearms resting on her legs, brows furrowed intense thought. Shame weighed heavily on her. She felt like she had failed to protect everyone. That wasn't going to happen again.
Her fingers traced the brass knuckles Orion had given her for her birthday. Her eyes closed briefly, bitter with regret, before she stood up, her expression hardening with renewed determination.
Powder peered over at Vi from their bed. She was busy fiddling with her explosives and gadgets. This time, she felt certain that her creations would work- they just had to work!
Clink-clink-clink
Soft, high pitched noises drew Powder's attention to her brown pouch. Three glowing, unstabilized Hextech crystals shimmered within.
Before the violence inside the Last Drop, Vi and Powder had sat on the rooftop together. Powder had shown her the crystals then, but neither connected them to the massive explosion. Vi told her to keep it a secret from Vander; a secret between them just like Orion.
This led to multiple chases and a confrontation inside the Last Drop where Vander was publicly accused of being weak in front of the kids, causing many patrons to storm out in disgust.
This was before the fight with Enforcers began.
"Vi, are we going or what?" Mylo called, bitterly giving up on the bat and settling on his lockpicking kit.
Claggor was also looking at Vi while resting the bat against his shoulder. He smirked one last time at Mylo, who scowled, before they both looked to Vi again, waiting for her response.
Claggor's demeanor had shifted too. "Before I would've said we shouldn't go against Vander... but I want some payback!" Claggor tapped his bandaged head. "I don't want to sit around and do nothing."
"I guess the Enforcers finally did something right for once," Mylo grumbled, rubbing his own bandaged head, still sore from the repeated slamming.
Suddenly, the door burst open. All eyes snap to the entry.
Ekko ran in, panting, eyes lit up with excitement! Spotting Claggor first, he waved. "Hey Claggor!"
Claggor chuckled softly, "Hey, little-man! What are you doing here?"
"I was following the crowd when Vander, Benzo, and some others from the bar left the bridge!" Ekko bounced on his heels with excitement. "They left the bridge for Riverside Cemetery!"
The group exchanged confused glances. Ekko paused, clearly waiting for a bigger reaction.
"And...?" Claggor asked, raising a brow.
"Oh! Yeah!" Ekko blinked before speaking faster, eyes wide as he was continually unable to contain his excitement. "I was close enough 'cause it was dark and quiet, so I was all stealthy and sneaky-" He exaggerated some tip-toeing motions. "Anyway! They're looking for someone!"
"Who?" Vi asked, frowning. "Who's so important that they'd leave the bridge?"
"I don't know," Ekko responded quickly. "But they were pissed. Benzo sounded ready to kill someone! I heard the guy they were strangling mention an abandoned seafood factory... the one on the north side of the bridge!"
Vi exchanged tense glances with Claggor and Mylo.
"Why would they go all the way out there?" Mylo muttered, gripping his lockpick tighter.
Claggor shook his head, his expression grim. "I don't know. But if Benzo's that mad, then something bad is happening."
"You're right. If Vander's going that far, it's serious. We should be there!" Vi exclaimed, nodding. Her grip on the brass knuckles tightened. "I'm not sitting this out. Vander said we should stick together- so we will. No matter what."
Powder spoke up from the bed, uncertainty in her voice as it drew everyone's attention. "But Vi... What if we make things worse?"
She traced her creations with her fingertips as her emotions leaked out. "What if... someone gets hurt? Like before?"
Powder didn't need to say more- everyone knew who she meant, as well as their own injuries.
Vi knelt down in front of Powder, gently resting her hands on her shoulders. "We aren't running in blind this time, Powder. If Vander and Benzo are walking into danger, then we need to have their backs. Right?" Powder hesitated before nodding.
A cheer from Ekko echoed through the room as he jumped in place, "I'm coming too, right?!"
"As long as you stick close to Powder," Vi nodded. "If it gets too dangerous, you two run." After speaking, Vi walked over to the gimmicks, retrieving a smoke flare, and handed it to Powder. "Use this, and we'll find you. I promise."
Claggor chuckled with his excitement starting to bubble too, hitting the bat against his open palm a few times. "Let's do this!"
"Yeah," Mylo cheered, raising his lockpick in the air with a grin.
Vi smiled at the group, their infectious energy spreading as confidence reignited in the room. For the first time in a while, they felt like a team again- ready to face whatever came next!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone