Chapter Text
Even after "The Last Drop" was closed, the scent of alcohol still clung to the bar counter as she laid on it. Swinging her feet as she sat on the stool. The incessant clicking noise of her pen was a display of her mind's distress
"What's on your mind Pow-Pow?" said Vander. His booming voice drawing in Powder's attention. Powder looked up Vander. He finished cleaning the glass in his hand and set it down, flinging the cloth he used over his shoulder as he leaned forward on the counter to face her
"It's just..." she sighed as she sat up straight. "....thinking about the letter from the Academy. Can't make up my mind"
Vander scoffed. He placed his hand infront of Powder. She could see her sister's name tattooed on the back of his palm. "Look at me kid" Vander used his finger to bring up Powder's chin up to face him.
"Remember what I told you about pouring your own glass every now and then?" Vander asked, to which Powder nods
Vander sighed, he lowered his gaze, a pang of regret crossing his face. "That was something I regret not telling your sister..." He looks at Powder again "Don't hold yourself back for us kid. This is your chance... take it"
Powder nods. She gets up, places a tiny peck on Vander's forehead and goes to sleep. On the way she passes a framed art. It's hers. She drew up her, her two fathers and most importantly... a tiny version of her sister watching over them. She smiled and gently traced her finger over the artwork.
Her mind wandered to the letter she received from Piltover Academy:
Piltover Academy
Letter of Invitation to Fellowship
From:
Councilor Cassandra Kiramman
Dean of Academy
Academy District, Piltover
To:
Miss Powder Lanes
The Last Drop
Lanes, Undercity
Subject: A position as Assistant to the Dean
Respected Miss Powder,
I am the Dean of Piltover Academy. The Late Professor Heimerdinger spoke highly of your skills and Intellect. I presume you have heard the news regarding the passing Dr Viktor.
The Academy requires someone to fill his vacancy at the Fellowship. You are chosen as one of the prospects on account of Heimerdinger's words about you.
You will be filling the role of a mentor and professor to other aspiring young students as part of Viktor's programme for Zaunite students at the Academy. If interested, kindly respond soon.
Yours Faithfully,
Cassandra Kiramman
Powder walked the hallways of the Academy. She followed closely behind Dr Sky Young. The Head of Research and Development and acting Replacement for Viktor.
"This way Miss Powder" Sky said as she opened a large door into a well put together lab. The ambience of the pristine space matched well with Sky. Her white labcoat and curly hair bun catching the light of the lab in perfect ways to make her seem part of the lab itself. Much to contrast with Powder herself dressed in her Blue denim outfit.
"Wow... this place is... cool" Powder said as she took in the sights. Powder ran her hands over the cool steel of the lab tables, eyes darting between the glass cases filled with half-finished inventions and the flickering blueprints projected on the walls. The scent of oil and ink filled her lungs. It was different from the grime of Zaun.
She wasn’t sure if she liked it.
Sky chuckled beside her. “You look like a kid in a candy store.”
Powder smirked. “More like a thief trying to rob the place." Powder internally cursed herself for reminding herself of the last time she was in Piltover for a robbery
Sky led her through the lab, where rows of old research notes and schematics were archived. The bound journals bore Viktor’s precise handwriting, their pages filled with ideas too advanced or too dangerous for their time.
“Viktor wanted knowledge to be shared,” Sky said as she traced her finger tips longingly over one of the journals. “Not hoarded.” She handed it to Powder.
“Now it’s open source. If anyone’s smart enough to pick it up, they can continue his work.”
Powder flipped through the pages, her eyes catching sketches of limb prosthetics, adaptive machines, memory storage devices, processors
Powder studied the sketches, her mind already sparking with possibilities. But before she could dwell, Sky nudged her forward. “Come on, there’s more I'm supposed to show you.”
The classroom was alive with motion, children hunched over workbenches, their hands covered in soot and ink. A handful of girls were trying to get a car engine to run while some others in a group were trying to build a hover craft. The children were all so lively and enthusiastic to learn and improve their lives and that of others. Powder started to miss a childhood she didn't get to have. But then she saw it-
One boy sketched wildly, as another beside him helping his studies but still guiding his hand with patience and love.
Powder stopped cold.
The sight tugged at something buried deep—memories of sitting in dark corners with Vi, drawing up ridiculous gadgets, mostly bombs shaped like monkeys, dreaming of a future neither of them thought they’d get.
Her fingers curled into fists at her sides
Sky, noticing her hesitation, touched her shoulder gently. “What's wrong?”
Powder forced a grin. “Nothing, just.. memories of some troublemakers I used to know.”
Evening settled over Piltover when Powder and Sky arrived at the Dean's office. The room was richly adorned and decorated, a sharp contrast to the mechanical sterility of the labs. At the far end, a figure stood in a doctor’s coat, sleeves rolled up, speaking in hushed tones to an older woman who was sitting at the office chair. The mahogany desk littered with all sorts of fancy things
The doctor was tall, super tall, close to six feet or more, her long straight dark blue hair hung over her back as she examined the eye of the older woman. Her presence felt both out of place and perfectly natural, the poised elegance of a Kiramman softened by the warmth in her voice as she spoke to her mother, Cassandra.
As Powder and Sky stepped in, The Kirammen glanced up. A flicker of surprise crossed their face before they offered a warm smile.
“Powder,” Cassandra greeted, setting down a clipboard. “Did Sky manage to keep your interests in our establishment up?”
Powder smirked. “Not too shabby.”
Sky groaned at Powder's remark to the matriarch.
Caitlyn chuckled, then turned back to her mother. “I’ll be heading to visit Jayce soon.”
Cassandra nodded, her gaze affectionate. “Give him my regards.”
As Caitlyn exited the room, she threw Powder a casual salute. “Try not to give Sky too much grief, yeah?” Powder watched her go, something light stirring in her chest.
She knew Caitlyn from before. She was there, advocating for them when Piltover confiscated Violet's body. She was there, when the councilors visited the Undercity. And then she vanished. Poof! As if she didn't even exist. This was the first time she has seen Caitlyn in years.
"So... any good ideas brewing in that mind of yours?" Cassandra asked.
"Um.. a couple of them sure" Powder replied honestly
"Good. We can't appoint a random person with no experience to this position. You will have to earn your way up here" Cassandra said as rested her chin on her knuckles.
Powder let's out a dismissive snark, "Uh-huh? How does one do that?"
"The same way Viktor and Miss Young did it. Blow the council off their feet. Do the impossible. Make something so inconceivable... no one can kick you out" Cassandra said.
Powder's lips curled into a smile "I thought you'd never ask"
That night, back in her lair, Powder slumped into her spot beside her sister's shrine letting exhaustion settle in. Her eyes wandered over her sister's image, the scent of the incense sticks reaching her nostrils. She sighed, leaning forward to rest her arms on the table.
“So,” she murmured to the air, “what do you think, Vi?”
After what seemed like an enternity of silence waiting for her sister's reply, she smirked, shifting her voice lower in a rough, teasing tone. “Well, Pow-Pow, sounds like a real job. You sure you can handle it?”
She scoffed. “Like you’d ever doubt me.”
Her fingers traced the edge of the frame.
“…You’d want me to do this, wouldn’t you?”
She lowered her voice again. "Hey Pow... remember what I told you? You can do anything you set your mind to"
She hugged her knees, her expression turning sombre, "Thanks sis..."
The next day, Powder returned to the archives, flipping through Viktor’s old designs and ideas. She wanted to impress Cassandra. And she wanted something big for it. She scanned the room with Sky's help.
Her eyes landed on something tucked away in a corner. A spherical construct, barely the size of a basket ball, its core labeled Blitzkrank—Protector Prototype
She frowned. “What’s this?”
Sky peered over her shoulder. “Oh, that was one of Viktor's unfinished projects. A helper bot for miners and rescue missions. He wanted to build something that could protect those who couldn’t protect themselves."
Blitzkrank–A protector.
"Why didn't he finish it?" Powder asked, Examining the automaton
"Too far behind on technology" Sky said, "Blitz needed a lot of power to operate. It wasn't just any random automaton. It could think, learn and adapt much like a human. In real time. In theory ofcourse"
Powder's head flew open at the description. "Wait? You mean it could..?"
Sky nodded. "Yes. It could listen, speak, understand and adapt. Viktor even built a memory component specifically for this" Sky pressed a button on the bot and it released a small disk. It resembled a record player.
Powder examined the circular device. "How does it work?"
Sky continued, matching Powder's curiosity with her enthusiasm. "Similar to a record player. The disk has minute groves made of silicon semiconductors and quartz crystals"
Sky pulled up the manual and the blue print of the disk, pointing to it's components and design
"They store information, similar to how we store memories. When an electrical current is applied, the information is converted to pulses of electricity that can be read by the processor"
Powder read the descriptions and sketches in awe. "Why didn't he complete it?" She asked with genuine concern.
Sky looked down. "It was impossible. For the processor to process all the information that could be stored in this, it needed an ungodly amount of energy, and a lot of time and patience"
Sky's voice took a lower and somber tone. "None of which Viktor could afford" She said, wiping back a tear and moving away from Powder
Powder looked at the little robot as Sky walked away. "Hmmm.... Impossible you say?"
She carried a large box of Viktor's stuff back to her lair that night, setting it carefully beside Vi’s shrine. As good as the lab was it wasn't giving her any room for creativity. She needed something big and she needed it fast. She skimmed through them finding nothing. Eventually hanging her head falling flat on the floor in defeat.
She eventually looked up to her sister for guidance, where she found it. The tiny bot, rusted and forgotten, sat beside her sister’s face.
But then she remembered something else on the shrine. The draw of the table. Inside.... three blue crystals.... sources of near limitless energy....
A slow grin spread across her lips.
For the first time in years, she had a real idea. And it was going to change everything.