"You got this," the teen muttered to himself as the ember-esk irises of his eyes focused on the window opposite the building he was standing on. The worn rubber of his shoes strained against the slightly weathered tiles of the roof.
Orange coils of electricity formed in his irises as smaller sparks zapped from his fingers and wrists in fast fashion. One spark grew into a lengthy bolt, coiling around his arm like a snake before circling his torso, then splitting into two to caress his legs into making the jump.
In a zap of orange power, the child vanished from eyesight, and an identical flash appeared nanoseconds later from inside the intended target building. The only trace of the boy was the small aftershocks from where he jumped.
[-_-]
"Come on, shoot faster" " the stereo speaker blurted out as a blue-haired teen tinkered with her toys, which mainly consisted of explosives.
"Just a little bit of energy, yeah."
The girl grabbed a wrench and stopped her work to sing along to her new favourite song, ignorant of the orange sparks that began to protrude from the air above her. "I wanna try something fun right now."
"I guess some people call it anarchy," she shouted as a loud Krakoom made her jump up like a cat scared, brandishing her pistol as if it were her claws.
She watched as an orange bolt of lightning made contact with one of the turbine blades where her workshop was located. It stayed there for a few seconds, violently shaking with archaic energy before vanishing instantly. It left a teen boy kneeling on one knee, hand on the ground, in a superhero landing pose.
The same electricity coiled around his body, from his legs to his torso, thinning with each rotation until it was no longer visible. The teen's ember eyes, still pulsing with glowing energy, met her deep blue ones.
A shiver rocked her spine as he stood up, a taller and more imposing figure despite being a teen.
The lights in the workshop flickered off as the only source of light in the area came from the glow-in-the-dark, neon-esk markings that she had littered around the area and from his fiery eyes.
The orange called out to her like a beacon in the dark, an unknown danger that excited her beyond words—something primal, raw, and untapped.
The figure clenched his fist, tiny sparks coiling around it, creating a moment of orange hue to highlight the mad grin on his face, showing perfect pearly white teeth.
"Holy shit! I. DID. IT!" The tone of a joyous explorer broke through the darkness as the lights turned back on as if his tone had summoned the light itself.
She watched as he jumped for joy, punching the air with his fist, which intrigued her enough to holster her weapon and not take her hand off of it. After all, her Father, the younger one, had taught her to always remain vigilant.
The orange power coiled around his legs, speeding over to the girl in the blink of an eye and giving her the most heartfelt, comfortable, and bone-crushing hug she had received in a long time.
The shock of the contact overwrote her instincts to shoot the boy in the stomach, so she just stood there unconsciously, leaning into the warmth of this stranger for what felt like an eternity. Her eyes focused on the tiny sparks of power that strayed from the boy's shoulder as he picked her up and spun around, allowing the tiny droplets from his eyes to briefly touch her tattooed shoulder and then fly off as if they never touched her.
The spinning lasted for a few seconds before the boy put her down and took a step back, wiping the tears of joy from his eyes. His goofy smile infected her mouth, twitching it upwards as he took in a breath of air.
"Phew," the boy said as he looked at the girl, his eyes widening in shock. He realised that he had just run up to her and hug-spun her without warning. "Oh shit! I am SO sorry! I Didn't mean to grab you… I was just so excited, ya know?"
She looked at him, with that small smile as he nervously scratched his head. Her childlike curiosity came into full effect as she surveyed him up and down, still processing what was occurring.
"Soooo?" The boy chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head as he blushed under her intense gaze. His eyes wandered around the area, marvelling at how things were set up, as his eyes fell to where he thought the girl was. He gasped as she was millimetres away from him; even if her head only went to his chest, it seemed like her eyes were next to his.
Stumbling slightly, he fell over a table and half landed on the couch that was paired with it. Groaning out in pain as his ass met the hardwood of the table. The air left his lungs as she straddled his chest, boots pinning his arms down as her pistol jabbed at his cheek.
"Heya!" The girl said with a sweet smile that contradicted the situation that they both were in, her feet kicking up and down on his forearms as the barrel rocked further into the flesh of his cheek and out. "My name's Jinx! And I really, really, REALLY wanna know how you did that!"
Jinx watched as his eyes trailed from the pistol to her eyes, to her body and then back to her eyes. He was confused when he blushed and chuckled at the same time. "Heyyy Jinx, could you… ya know…get that gun out of my face?"
Jinx raised a brow as she considered the boy's request. Her blue eyes focused on his platinum blonde hair, seemingly well-kept and grease-free. She reached out to touch it, playing with the thick strands.
"Pretty please with a cherry on top?" The boy asked politely, a lovely and neat smile on his face as both eyes locked together in an intense staring contest.
Many seconds passed as they continued to stare into each other's eyes, Jinx's curiosity slowly overpowering her desire to cap the teen who seemingly teleported into her domicile. Orange ember was reflected in her deep blue, and her lips still quirked up from their previous interaction. She allowed a cute giggle to slip through as she lightly jabbed his cheek with her gun barrel once more.
"So sparky! Before I blow your mind… Tell me what your name is," She demanded, releasing her jabbing gun barrel from his cheek, tapping her feet on his forearms in anticipation. At the same time, her upper body leant forward slightly as his face hovered directly over his, her blue hair falling down slightly to create the world's worst hair curtain.
The immersion that both teens had in each other overridden their peripheral hearing, the sounds of approaching footsteps going unnoticed by both parties
"Sparky?" the blonde-haired boy asked as he looked at her with confusion; it took him a second to process what she was referencing, something which Jinx could see dawn on his face as he flexed his right hand, creating orange sparks around it. "Oh, you mean these things? Makes sense!"
The boy heard a gasp, which he attributed to Jinx, his eyes so focused on hers that he didn't notice her lips remaining unmoving.
He giggled, too, a deep, sweet tune rumbling through his chest. "Oh right, my name, its L-"
"-in!" An older, raspy voice shouted as the owner banged his hand on the table that the boy was partially pinned down on. The boy himself was slightly tense from surprise as the eye contact between the two was broken, her blue eyes moving alongside her head to meet the owner of the raspy voice.
"What is the meaning of—" the older, scarred man who owned the voice began as he pointed to the slightly compromising position that the two teens were in. A hint of anger in his voice; his actions showed disdain while pointing at the blonde teen. "This!"
Jinx giggled as she kicked her feet up and down his forearms, looking back at her adoptive Father with giddy anticipation. "You should have seen it, Silco! He was like krakk! And then Kraakoom!"
Her tiny, painted, poorly manicured fingers illustrated the boy's movements as if he were a lightning bolt. "And then ZING! Then the lights went out! ZAP! He twirled me around, and then BANG! He fell over!"
She giggled as Silco, the scarred man still pointing at the boy, sighed in confusion, put down his hand and folded it with his other to cross his arms. "So, who exactly are you, boy?"
"You know I was gonna tell the lady my name until you interrupted!" The boy said, attitude seeping through his lips while he pointed at him from his compromising position, quickly ripping his right arm from Jinx's boot to do so. "Rude old man!"
"Apologies, fair lady, I'll put my arm back!" He looked at his arm and now Jinx, who turned her attention back to him. Chuckling as he waved his right arm before stuffing it back under her boot. "There, all better! Ha!"
"Thanks, Sparky!" Jinx giggled back as Silco scowled at the boy. His antics mirrored Jinx's, though they seemed more controlled rather than the sporadic nature of his charge. His teeth ground subtly as his 'evil' eye scanned the boy once more. His head converted the sight into words: tall, blonde, soft, evil eyes, intelligence.
"So… Sparky", Silco said wearily as he mused what he would do or wouldn't do to this teen, who was now slightly sparkling with orange electricity. "How exactly did you get in here? In words that don't come from Jinx's vocabulary."
The boy grinned as his eyes lit up once more, the orange power gathering as a cocky expression formed on his face. A larger bolt struck the area next to Silco's foot while more gathered around the teen's legs. "That's the fun part…"
With a crack of orange power, the teen vanished. The echoes of arcane power spark where the teen once was. Jinx and Silco looked at each other before the blue-haired girl fell slightly onto the table, letting her look at the 'decorations' that her couch had.
"The fuck!?" the distant shout of the boy echoed through the turbine room as both Jinx and Silco looked up to see the boy, still sparking with that orange power, falling from a considerable height directly above them.
The echo of surprise quickly turned into a scream.
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
Both pairs of eyes watched as the orange, blonde, and black blob hit terminal velocity, dropping past them as he fell further and further down the turbine shaft, leaving a trail of orange electricity in his wake.
The two looked at each other with confusion before another crack of lighting could be heard from below. The boy appeared on the floor between the pair, looking pale. His orange eyes scanned the area as his hands grasped the metal floor. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as the pads on his fingers greedily grasped the solid ground.
"Okay," He mumbled as his unsteady legs flexed alongside his arms, bringing the teen to his feet. He dusted off his knees and shoulders, still looking at the ground, confirming it was there. "I should stick to walking for now."
His orange eyes, dulled after the arcane exertion, roamed the turbine area turned workshop, searching for an exit—something he just couldn't find in the three seconds he spent looking around the area. Turning to Jinx, he smiled. "Would you kindly walk me out of here?"
Silco looked to his side to see Jinx pause for a second; everyone in the room could practically hear her contemplate agreeing to do so or just shooting the teen in the middle of the room.
She shrugged. "Sure"
[-_-]
Jinx tilted her head, a mischievous smirk tugging at her lips as she twirled her pistol around her finger. The metallic clinking echoed in the turbine shaft, accompanied by the faint hum of residual electricity lingering in the air. Silco's scarred brow furrowed, his disdainful glare locked onto the blonde teen.
"I'm not sure letting him walk out is the wisest choice," Silco murmured, his voice low and calculating. His 'evil' eye glowed faintly, scanning the boy for any potential threat he might pose.
"Relax, pops," Jinx chimed, giving a dismissive wave. "Sparky here's harmless. Well, it's mostly harmless. Right?" Her piercing blue gaze flicked back to the boy, who chuckled nervously.
"Uh, yeah. Totally harmless. Except for, you know, the accidental property damage and occasional explosions. But who doesn't have those?" He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Explosions?" Silco echoed, his tone sharp.
"Yup, like boom—"
"Don't finish that sentence," Silco interrupted with a groan, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Jinx giggled, clearly amused by the exchange. "See? He's funny. I like him. Come on, Sparky!" She grabbed his wrist and tugged him toward a stairwell, her lithe form practically excitedly bouncing.
Silco called after them, his voice carrying a warning edge. "Jinx, if he so much as tries anything…"
"I'll blow his head off, promise!" she replied over her shoulder with a cheery tone that didn't match the content of her words.
The boy stumbled slightly as Jinx pulled him along, the remnants of his earlier arcane exertion still weighing on his legs. "So, uh… What exactly is this place? Feels very… rustic," he asked, glancing around at the makeshift workshop.
Jinx glanced back, her blue hair swaying. "This? This is my playground! Tinkering, building, exploding—it's where the magic happens. Literally!"
"Right. Magic," he said, his tone uncertain. "It's more… science-y on my end."
"Oh, you're one of those types," she teased, giving him a playful shove as they reached the top of the stairs.
As they stepped into a dimly lit corridor, Jinx spun around to face him, walking backward effortlessly. "So, Sparky, where are you even from? You just, like, zapped in here out of nowhere. You a Piltie or something?"
The boy hesitated, his ember-like eyes flickering slightly. "Not exactly… I, uh, kind of don't know where I am right now. One second, I was testing something back home, and the next… poof. Here I am."
Jinx narrowed her eyes, her curiosity piqued. "Poof, huh? And you don't even know where here is?"
"Nope," he admitted, shaking his head.
"Boy, you're in Zaun," she said, spreading her arms dramatically. "The city of progress, chaos, and really bad air quality!"
"Zaun," he repeated, the name unfamiliar on his tongue. "Doesn't ring a bell. Then again, nothing really does right now."
Jinx stopped in her tracks, studying him closely. "Wait, you're saying you're lost? Like, memory-wiped lost? Or 'I'm just dumb' lost?"
"Hey! I'm not dumb," he protested, crossing his arms. "And it's not memory loss… I just… don't think I'm from around here."
Her grin widened. "Oh, this just got way more interesting."
The faint sound of a creaking pipe echoed down the corridor, drawing their attention. Jinx's eyes darted toward the noise, her hand instinctively hovering near her holstered pistol. The boy tensed, and sparks began to dance faintly around his fingertips.
"Relax, it's just the pipes," Jinx said after a moment, though her grip didn't waver. "Unless it's not. In which case…" She trailed off, her manic grin returning.
"Do things usually sneak around here?" he asked cautiously.
"Only the fun things," she replied cryptically, skipping forward. "Now come on, Sparky. Let's find you an exit—or at least a really good explosion."
The boy followed hesitantly, his glowing eyes scanning the shadows. Despite the chaotic energy surrounding Jinx, he felt oddly drawn to her. Something about her manic enthusiasm and fearless demeanour made her seem… safe in a wildly unpredictable way.
"By the way," Jinx called back, "you never did finish telling me your name."
He smirked, a flicker of confidence returning to his voice. "It's Lynx. But you can keep calling me Sparky if you want."
"Oh, I definitely will, Sparky," Jinx said with a wink. "Now, let's see what kind of trouble we can get into…"
"Wait… WHAT?"