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

Siren, Kitchen

A cloying, sugary sweetness lingered in the kitchen air as Duke held his nose and carefully pulled a tray of cake from the oven, setting it on the table.

It had been thirty minutes since Neeko's cake was stolen.

While Duke couldn't be sure just how much appetite that little fish, Fizz, really had, if he even devoured Neeko's sugar bomb of a cake, then surely his stomach was bottomless.

After all, Neeko's cake wasn't just sweet, it was sugar with a hint of cake.

Most people add sugar to cake. Neeko added cake to frosting.

Just looking at it was enough to make Duke lose his appetite. But hey, Neeko liked it, and that was what mattered.

Now, not only did he want to avenge her stolen cake, but maybe, just maybe, he could coax this little fish into working for him.

So Duke let Neeko bake another one.

The same recipe. Frosting, with a sprinkle of cake.

As Neeko drooled over her creation, biting her finger in anticipation, Duke grabbed her by the tail and dragged her out of the kitchen.

"Neeko's cakeeee! It's not done yet!"

"I'll make you ten more later," Duke said firmly.

"Really?!"

"Really."

After pulling her out, Duke left a surveillance drone behind in the kitchen, then led Neeko back to Sarah's captain's cabin.

Sarah, who was supposed to be preparing for the evening banquet, had handed everything off to Raven. The moment she heard Duke was planning to catch one of Bilgewater's Four Terror Legends, Fizz, the Tidal Trickster, she couldn't resist getting involved and holed up in the ship's cabin with him.

Duke placed EDITH on the table and activated its projection mode.

In the hologram, the cake sat peacefully on the kitchen table. Nothing seemed out of place.

"Let's keep watch."

As he said that, Duke stepped out of the cabin.

Sarah, cradling Neeko in her arms and watching the projection nervously, asked, "Where are you going?"

"To ask Jayce for a communicator. I need to make a call."

"What if something happens while you're gone?"

"You've got armor and weapons, don't you? You'll be fine."

"But we're talking about a legend! Fizz is one of Bilgewater's terror stories!"

Sarah's nervous eyes betrayed her fear. She had no problem going head-to-head with pirates and vicious criminals. That kind of battle even excited her.

But Fizz?

That was different.

"Don't worry. I'm still on the ship. If something goes wrong, just yell."

With that, Duke closed the door, leaving Neeko and Sarah behind. Neeko stared intently at the projected image from EDITH, her little fists clenched in determination.

She was going to catch the cake thief!

Duke soon found Jayce in his private cabin. Graves was with him, assigned as his personal bodyguard.

When Duke entered, Jayce was closely inspecting Destiny, Graves' shotgun. The sight made Duke roll his eyes.

"Stop messing with that. I installed a security lock. If you touch the wrong part, it'll blow up in your hands."

"What?!"

Graves snatched his weapon back, inspecting it with the tender care of a parent. Jayce scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly.

"I was just curious!"

"I know. But I lock all my creations for a reason, to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands."

Lifting the communicator from the table, Duke said, "Anyway, prep for your next experiment. If you're bored, maybe forge yourself a hammer for self-defense."

Then he turned to Graves. "Keep an eye on him. Don't let him blow himself up."

Graves grunted, lighting a cigar. "You brat. If Duke hadn't shown up in time, my gun would've been toast!"

"I just wanted to..."

Jayce tried to explain, but whatever he said now sounded weak. He sighed and waved his hand, defeated. "Forget it. Think what you want."

Duke found an empty cabin, lit a square-headed cigar, and activated the communicator.

Last time, he'd gotten lucky, Viktor had been nearby, and the connection went through instantly.

But this time, it was taking longer.

Just as he was about to give up, the screen lit up.

"Viktor, is this the right channel?"

"Professor, we're connected. You should be able to see Jayce or Duke in Bilgewater right now."

"Oh, dear! Why don't I see anything?"

"Cough, Professor, you need to stand on the chair."

"Oh! Right, I forgot!"

When Heimerdinger's oversized head popped into view, Duke stubbed out his cigar and smiled.

"Long time no see, Professor. You're looking well."

"I just returned from Bandle City. I only heard about the Hexgates and communicators after I got back," Heimerdinger said, peering at Duke through the screen. "I must say, you're the most talented individual I've seen in hundreds of years."

"You flatter me, Professor."

"Did you call for something urgent?"

"Yeah. I need a word with you, and also with Dakora from Blue Rose Manor."

"Then Viktor can go fetch her. Let's talk in the meantime."

Heimerdinger glanced at Viktor, who nodded and left the lab to find Dakora.

"I really ought to build myself a personal comms unit," Duke sighed. "It's a pain reaching anyone like this."

"With your brilliance, mass-producing compact communicators is only a matter of time."

Heimerdinger was generous with his praise. Though he'd been upset at first that no one had consulted him about Hexgates and communicators, a later conversation with Viktor revealed that both inventions had ties to Duke.

That alone raised Duke even higher in the old Yordle's esteem.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. What did you want to discuss?"

"I've encountered a Yordle here in Bilgewater and wanted to ask about him."

"Ah, one of our curious youngsters off adventuring through Runeterra, I imagine."

Heimerdinger didn't seem too surprised. Yordles were long-lived, energetic, and famously curious. Many traveled through hidden paths from Bandle City to explore the world.

"This one's amphibious. And the language he speaks doesn't match modern Yordle dialects."

Duke had Neeko, sure. Her ability to absorb essences let her communicate with anything. But relying on her as a full-time translator?

Even he found that annoying.

He wanted to negotiate with Fizz. Make deals. Cooperate.

But the language barrier was a huge obstacle.

He wasn't about to waste time building a translator from scratch, not with Night of Soul Devourers fast approaching.

"An amphibious Yordle... rare, but not unheard of. To communicate with him, I'll need to consult some old texts. Or better yet, meet him in person."

"Professor, would you be interested in visiting Bilgewater? Experience its culture and geography firsthand?"

"Hmm... Bilgewater, eh?"

Heimerdinger stroked his beard in thought.

At that moment, someone knocked on the lab door. Clearly, Viktor had fetched Dakora already.

"Impressive speed."

Duke smiled, watching as Heimerdinger stepped aside to make room.

"I'll need some time to consider your invitation."

"Once you decide, please let me know."

As Dakora approached, Heimerdinger gave Duke a polite nod.

"Then I'll leave you two to it."

"See you soon, Professor Heimerdinger."

"I'll get back to you once I've made up my mind."

Heimerdinger departed with his Poro companion, Viktor trailing behind, giving the pair their privacy.

"You finally remembered to contact me?" Dakora said with a mock pout. "I thought you'd forgotten all about me."

From the tone in her voice, she hadn't had the best few days.

Duke shrugged. "Things are fine on my end. This morning, I sank Gangplank and his entire ship."

"What? You've only been in Bilgewater for what, three days?!"

"Yeah. A lot's happened."

"By the way... did you plant someone in the academy?"

"I did," Dakora admitted. "I wanted to know when you'd reach out."

"Well, I've got a proposition. I plan to expand southward, into the forests and mineral-rich lands of Ixtal."

"Ixtal?!"

Duke's brow twitched.

If memory served, Ixtal was home to a secretive kingdom called Ixaocan, and the haughty, pint-sized Empress of Elements, Qiyana.

Not to mention... the Stone Golem and Briar were both rumored to be there.

If they accidentally mined into Briar's territory, their miners might end up as blood-drained husks.

"So? What do you think?"

"I think it's a terrible idea."

Duke shook his head slowly.

What if they woke Malphite during excavation?

Yeah... that'd be a whole new kind of disaster.

End of chapter...

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