Chapter 4

Like any other city-state in Runeterra, Piltover had its own fair share of famous and prominent residents. Heimerdinger, the Yordle inventor who taught at the city's Academy of Science and Progress, was known throughout Valoran for his pioneering hextech research and advances in the field of techmaturgy. Ezreal, the world-renowned archaeologist, had a home in the Upper Ward and made frequent contributions to Piltover's Museum of Antiquities when he wasn't busy exploring ancient ruins or mapping uncharted territory. Even Caitlyn and Vi, who weren't as well-known as their colleagues outside of their native Piltover, had begun receiving requests from the police departments of other city-states to solve their toughest crimes.

But out of all the shining stars that the City of Progress had to offer, perhaps no one was more beloved by the average citizen than Jayce, the self-proclaimed "Defender of Tomorrow." He was Piltover's golden boy; tall, dark, and handsome, the very epitome of what a hero should be. He was a prodigy that had developed a new hextech engine powered by arcane crystals that was three times more efficient than any other existing energy source. He was a fearless and utterly tenacious man who had not only single-handedly demolished the mad Zaunite scientist Viktor's laboratory, but lived to tell the tale.

In short, he was exactly the type of show-boating, larger-than-life, pretty-boy, gloryhound that Vi hated. She had grown up in the Lower Ward, where every day had been a fight to survive. Everything she knew, she had either taught herself or learned from the school of hard knocks. Fighting crime wasn't golden or glamorous; it was a down-and-dirty business where survival often meant being as ruthless as the criminals you hunted. In her opinion, Jayce was nothing more than a bored aristocrat who spent his money on fancy gadgets and gizmos trying to play the hero. If the going ever got tough, Vi seriously doubted that she could depend upon Jayce to watch her back.

The room had gone oddly quiet, as if no one was sure what would happen next. Caitlyn and Biggs were exchanging nervous glances with each other; Jayce continued to smile politely, looking everywhere except at Vi.

"The police have developed a partnership with Jayce, much like the one we have with you two," Biggs finally spoke, sensing the underlying tension in the room. "He brings a great scientific and analytical mind to our investigative capabilities."

"And some good publicity too, I'll bet," Vi muttered under her breath.

Jayce smiled graciously, acting as if he hadn't heard Vi. "I'm very excited to be working with both of you on this case. Naturally, like any Piltovian, I've heard quite a lot about the famed Sheriff of Piltover and her assistant."

"Wha… assistant!?" Vi sputtered.

"Thank you, Jayce," Caitlyn said quickly, before Vi could muster any sort of indignant response. "I'm sure your talents will be quite useful. If I may… how much experience do you have as an investigator, exactly?"

This should be good, Vi thought, ready to hear him boast about some fictional criminal investigation that he had no doubt solved single-handedly.

"None, I'm afraid," Jayce replied, "which is why Inspector Biggs has assigned me to be an observer under your tutelage. I'm just a scientist… you and Vi are the experts."

"Why are you here, then?" Vi interrupted, rather rudely. "This isn't just some weekend hobby you can do when you're bored. If we don't catch a killer, he might murder someone else. If we arrest the wrong guy, we put an innocent man behind bars. This isn't a game."

"And I never said it was," Jayce said, still pleasantly, but now with a hint of iron in his tone. The steeliness and resolve in his eyes took Vi off guard. "Piltover is my home as much as it is yours. I have a sworn duty to protect our city from threats both external and internal. You two have gone a long way in cleaning up Piltover's streets, but your work is far from over. I can help."

Vi simply frowned at him skeptically. "Fine. Just stay out of the way and let us do the heavy lifting."

"That's what an observer does," Jayce acquiesced graciously.

Caitlyn threw Vi an exasperated look before turning to Jayce. "I'm sorry. Vi doesn't like working with strangers. Hell, she barely even likes working with me."

Jayce only smiled. "A lone wolf. I understand. I'm the same way, usually. Only a little less aggressive about it." He said the last bit with a wink at Vi, as if hoping to disarm her with some of his famous charm. She returned it with a stony look.

"Well, now that the introductions are out of the way," Biggs said, looking relieved that Vi hadn't punched out Jayce, "Caitlyn, Vi. Allow me to show you around the crime scene."

Vi and Caitlyn followed Biggs into the parlor, with Jayce trailing dutifully behind. The room was large and lavishly decorated, a sure indication of Pending's wealth and prestige. The tables and chairs were carved from fine oak, and the soft rug had been woven in far off Shurima. Pending's body lay face-up on the floor, his eyes opened wide even in death.

"You said he was found at eight this morning?" Caitlyn asked, her sharp eyes darting around the room for any potential clues. "I'm assuming he actually died long before then, correct?"

"Our examiner estimates that he died three or four hours prior to his finding," Biggs confirmed. "One of his bodyguards discovered him, but otherwise, Pending lived alone. No wife, no children, not even close relatives. Pretty lonely life."

"Looks like he had been drinking," Vi noted, seeing a half-empty glass sitting on the vanity table. She sniffed. "Whiskey. Poisoned, maybe?"

"Our apothecary will test it after you leave, along with a sample of Pending's blood," Biggs answered. "Since there are no visible injuries, we're working on the hypothesis that he was likely poisoned."

"The way he's laying on the floor…" Caitlyn muttered, staring at the body's positioning. She took a few tentative steps around the scene, as if attempting to recreate Pending's final moments. "Face-up, with his hands by his side; it's not a natural pose. It seems as if he still had control of his body right up until the end, choosing the posture in which he died."

"Or maybe his killer positioned him that way," Vi said, "and dropped that black rose on his chest too."

"The rose." Caitlyn stooped down, gazing at the rose but being careful not to touch it. "Black roses are uncommon, but definitely not rare. You could buy a bouquet of them down at the market."

"You said your boys already tested it?" Vi asked. Biggs nodded.

"No detectable poison on it. Nothing that could have killed Pending; it's just an ordinary rose. We're bringing in an herbalist who can hopefully identify at least where the rose was grown. If it was grown here and sold by a street vendor, we might be able to cross-reference a list of buyers with potential suspects."

"A calling card, then," Caitlyn determined. "But from who?"

"Any known enemies?" Vi asked swiftly. "Anyone who might want Pending dead? Who has he talked with lately?"

"We're working on it," Biggs said. "I'll be sure to send you a copy of our records and interviews as soon as they're complete. We're still interviewing his servants and known associates, but it might take the better part of the day."

"So we've got no leads?" Vi asked, frustrated. The Piltover police were good at their jobs, but with jurisdiction over an entire city, limited manpower, and bureaucratic red tape, the speed of their investigations usually crawled at a much slower pace than what Vi and Caitlyn were accustomed to.

Biggs shook his head, but Jayce coughed softly. "Not exactly. I know of one lead we could follow."

Vi looked at him skeptically. "Oh yeah?"

"Archibald Pending recently started donating large sums of money to the Yordle Academy of Science and Progress," Jayce explained, "more specifically, to a project run by Doctor Heimerdinger himself."

That was interesting, even if Vi didn't want to admit it. Her partner perked up at the news as well.

"What project? How much money? And how recently?" Caitlyn asked. Jayce shrugged his shoulders.

"I couldn't tell you off the top of my head how much money or what the project is about; those are questions for Heimerdinger. I know that Pending only started his donations recently though, within the past month."

"And how do you know about this?" Vi asked suspiciously.

"I'm a scientist, remember? More importantly, I'm an honorary member of the Academy's staff because of my techmaturgical research."

"Of course you are," Vi muttered.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help," Jayce said, holding his hands up in a show of deference. "You two are the investigators; if I'm wrong, just tell me."

"No, you're right," Caitlyn said thoughtfully. "We've got no other leads at this point, and if what you said is true, it seems odd that Pending had only just recently started these donations to the Academy. It might be worth checking out."

Jayce brightened up, apparently satisfied that he had contributed something to the investigation. "Sounds good. Shall we go speak with Doctor Heimerdinger, then?"

Caitlyn nodded. "Vi, take Jayce and go to the Academy to interview Heimerdinger. We need to know exactly how much Pending has been donating and what this little project is about."

Vi didn't exactly relish the prospect of spending an entire afternoon babysitting Jayce by herself. "I suppose you have something better to do than to come with us?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Caitlyn replied. "My father is also a statesman, and an old friend of Pending's. Perhaps he might know something that could shed some light on this case. Either way, this is all we can do until Biggs and his men finish their preliminary investigation."

"Fine," Vi grudgingly agreed, resigning herself to her fate. As much as she and her partner argued with each other, she had to admit that Caitlyn had a pretty good head on her shoulders, and her plans of action were usually sound. With no other leads to follow up on at the moment, they really had no other alternatives.

"We'll meet back at the office tomorrow. Biggs, you'll have the records and interview transcripts by then?"

"They'll be sitting in front of your door first thing in the morning, if not sooner," the Inspector promised. Caitlyn nodded in satisfaction.

"Very well then. Good luck, you two… and please, try not to kill each other." She said the last bit with a hint of a smile, which was rare for Caitlyn. The start of a brand new case had obviously put her in a good mood.

"Don't cross your fingers, cupcake," Vi muttered, turning on her heel and leaving without giving Jayce a second glance. "Come on, hammer-boy, you're with me. It's time to pay the Mad Doc a little visit."

"So, Vi, huh? Interesting name."

"Mhm."

"Am I pronouncing it right? Vye, or Vee?"

"Vye."

"Is that short for something? Like Violet? Or Viola?"

"It's just Vi."

"Oh. My parents wanted to name me Jason. My uncle didn't like it though. 'Jason is too ordinary!' he said. So they compromised and named me Jayce instead."

"Fascinating."

"Isn't it? People usually get a kick out of that story." Jayce paused in his ramblings. "So, what's with that tattoo on your cheek?"

Vi's hand unconsciously brushed her left cheek, where her name had been tattooed in black ink. "You know, I'm starting to get the feeling that you just like to hear yourself talk," she grumbled, as they walked through the busy avenues of the Upper Ward. Despite the massive crowds that clogged the streets, every Piltovian citizen in their path gave her and her hextech gauntlets a wide berth, while Jayce simply followed in her wake.

"Well, you know, I'm just trying to build up some rapport," Jayce explained good-naturedly. "If we're going to be partners on this case, we should know a little bit more about each other, yeah?"

"We are not partners," Vi replied brusquely. "Caitlyn is my partner. You are an observer."

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Do you know what an observer does, hammer-boy?" Vi turned around and placed a giant metal finger on his lips. "He watches, and he does it quietly. So be a good boy and shush."

She made to turn around, but Jayce spoke up again. "I'm getting the distinct feeling that you don't like me very much."

Before Vi could answer, there was a sudden rustle of movement. A small group of citizens had recognized Jayce and were suddenly clustering around him, clamoring for his attention and autographs.

"Jayce! Jayce!" someone shouted.

"It's him! The Defender of Tomorrow!"

"You're my hero!" swooned another.

One of the ladies in the group leaned in and gave Jayce a gigantic kiss on the cheek, leaving behind the imprint of her lips in glossy red lipstick. He only smiled in amusement at the adulation of his fans, as if this was a common everyday occurrence that he had grown used to.

"Thank you all, thank you all," he laughed, autographing slips of paper and shaking hands. He fended off another kiss and waved his hands in the air. "If you'll excuse me… important police business to take care of… oh, well, I suppose one more autograph can't hurt…"

Vi was rudely pushed to the side as the horde of Jayce's fervent admirers swarmed him, none of them giving her a second glance. In irritation, she crossed her arms and simply glared at Jayce, who was laughing and smiling as if he was having the time of his life. Stupid, pretty-boy, gloryhound…

It took nearly ten minutes for Jayce to extricate himself from the huge crowd, which had only grown larger after other passing citizens had joined the group, everyone clamoring for autographs, handshakes, and hugs from Piltover's golden boy. When he finally did emerge from the chaos, his hair and clothes were disheveled and he had a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Sorry about that," he said modestly, his bright smile not even faltering under Vi's harsh glare. "Sometimes I wish I could disguise myself when I walk about the city, you know? Makes things quite inconvenient."

"Yeah, it sure looked like a huge inconvenience to you," Vi muttered sarcastically, even as several remnants from the crowd edged towards Jayce with pens and paper, looking hopeful. She scared them away with a single shake of her massive, gauntleted fist.

"Right. Well, I'm sorry," Jayce said, his grin dampening just a little bit. "We do have a case to work on, and now we're running a little bit late for our appointment with Doctor Heimerdinger."

"Whatever, hammer-boy. Just follow me and wipe that ridiculous lipstick stain off your cheek."

"Ah. Right," Jayce said, almost in embarrassment. He did his best to wipe the lipstick off with the back of his hand, which only resulted in him smudging it more across his cheek. "Do you mind if I stop somewhere to clean up?"

Vi couldn't help but snicker at his appearance: the left side of his face was smudged bright red from the lipstick, making him look oddly like a clown. "Rule number one: crime fighting is a dirty business. Blood, mud, dirt, and apparently, even lipstick. Clean up when the day's done; we don't have time for pit stops."

"Fair enough," Jayce conceded, hurrying to catch up with Vi. "You know, I have some rules myself."

"Great, keep 'em to yourself."

Jayce persisted doggedly. "One of my big rules is safety. Never leave a wired hextech circuit exposed to the elements." He reached out and attempted to fiddle with something on Vi's right-hand gauntlet.

"Hey!" She instantly snatched her hand away, looking at him suspiciously. "What do you think you're doing?"

"If something sharp nicks those wires, the resulting power surge could end up frying you, along with anyone close by." He pointed to the mass of wiring and cables that were snaked around her gauntlet, which connected her massive metal gloves to the small hextech capacitor that she wore on her back. The capacitor provided the extra energy needed to power her gauntlets, and she had jury-rigged the setup herself many years ago.

"Yeah, I know that, hammer-boy," Vi replied gruffly, still keeping her gauntlets away from Jayce's itching hands. "It's not like I purposefully walk around trying to electrocute myself."

"So why don't you fix it?"

"I haven't figured out how," she admitted grudgingly. "The wiring gets superheated whenever I run a charge through it. If I try to stuff the wires into the gauntlets or build a protective canopy over them, they'll heat up too much and roast my hands. Haven't figured out a better way to cool them, so I just leave them exposed to the open air."

Jayce stared at her in confusion. "I don't understand how you haven't gotten yourself killed yet. Surely the wiring's been cut before, at least on accident?"

Vi snorted. "It's only dangerous as long as a charge is running through the wires. I've rigged my capacitor to modulate the current so that it's only active when I want it to be. If you cut the wiring right now, nothing at all would happen."

"Amazing," Jayce replied, his praise causing Vi to feel oddly pleased with herself, even if she didn't let it show. "I've developed some prototype hextech capacitors myself, to power my hammer, but so far they're all bigger than a horse. I have to go to my lab and recharge my hammer every night. How did you manage to build a capacitor small enough to fit on your back?"

"I crammed an alternator into there that stores the energy from my movements into charges. That way, the capacitor can be smaller, since I'm actually providing half of the energy required."

"Ah, of course," Jayce replied, as if they were simply two colleagues discussing techmaturgical theory, "but then I imagine your capacitor is much more limited in power?"

"Well, yeah, but I only need it to power up my fists. Not a whole lot of energy required for that, relatively speaking." Vi nodded at Jayce's hammer, feeling strangely stimulated by their talk of techmaturgy. "How does that thing work?"

"Ah. I'm pretty proud of this, myself," Jayce said, hoisting his hammer off his back and holding it out for Vi to see. Unlike Vi's gauntlets, which had been crudely (but effectively) assembled, Jayce's hammer was a work of art. It had been expertly crafted and polished to near perfection. "A lot of people call it the 'Mercury Hammer,' though I just named it 'Freddie.' Just like your gauntlets, it has an internal charger that provides some extra power when I swing it. But the real kicker is this…"

He fumbled with a button on the shaft of his hammer, and suddenly, the ends of the hammer split wide open, revealing a barrel that looked suspiciously like a gun.

"No way," Vi exclaimed, unable to help herself.

Jayce grinned. "Yup. It takes excess electrical charge and shoots it out like a cannonball. Hurts like one too, I'd reckon."

Even Vi had to admit that Jayce's invention was extremely impressive; until now, she had never even heard of a weapon capable of being both a hammer and a cannon. Jayce's prototype was the first of its kind, and to her discomfort, she found herself strangely jealous of his obvious techmaturgical skill. Even worse, she felt a small amount of grudging respect for the man welling up in the deepest pits of her soul.

"Anyways, we should probably get going," Jayce said, slinging his hammer onto his back. "It's always great to meet a fellow scientist, though. Someday, you'll have to teach me how you made that mini-capacitor. I wouldn't mind being your observer then."

He winked playfully at that last bit. Vi only rolled her eyes, immune to his charm.

"Maybe if you behave, Jayce. Come on. Heimerdinger isn't going to interview himself."

He grinned, seeming oddly pleased with himself. "What? No more calling me hammer-boy?"

"Don't push your luck," she muttered under her breath. Jayce only laughed.

A/N: So firstly, I want to apologize to any Physics or Engineering majors out there who were completely offended by my mangling of how electrical currents work. Obviously, Vi and Jayce are mechanical geniuses, which I am clearly not. At least Vi and Jayce have a hobby that they both share a passion for, which can help them get over their... initial differences.

Anyways, Jayce finally gets a share of the limelight. Canonically, Jayce was a hero in Piltover long before he was inducted into the League, which I've tried to show here through his "rock star" status. Too bad Vi is less than impressed. I think their contrasting personalities can provide a lot of dynamics in terms of future interactions, especially since Vi and Jayce are really two sides of the same coin (both of them are geniuses in techmaturgy/hextech, but Vi comes from a more "hands on approach" whereas Jayce learned through his scholarly research).

Anyways, hope you enjoyed the latest installment of Piltover's Finest! Let me know what you thought. I'm pretty busy next week so Chapter 5 might be a bit delayed.