Display of Dominance

Jayce still had a hard time believing it.

He had spoken to Ezreal shortly after Vi had stormed off to the hospital when they had first gotten back to Piltover, curious to discover why she had left and most of all her reason for bringing back the Pridestalker.

The acting sheriff was expecting something outlandish of course, but the truth of it was even more shocking then he had anticipated.

"To outright lie to the hunter's face like that," Jayce thought aloud, "bold, and stupid."

Now on top of everything Jayce had to deal with Jinx related, he also had to deal with Rengar. Vi had promised the cat that no one from the city-state would interfere with his hunt, most likely to protect everyone from the wrath of the Institute of War should one of their champions be slain outside of the Fields of Justice, but the Defender of Tomorrow had his own plans.

The defender would arrest Rengar should they cross paths, he didn't care on what charges he just had to get the hunter out of his way. Jayce could only imagine how the other nations would look upon Piltover should they be forced to rely on an assassin from outside the city to take care of their problems for them.

Especially Zaun, their rival city-state.

"I can already hear Viktor's mocking laugh," Jayce lamented out loud once again.

Luckily he had recently garnered a lead on Jinx's whereabouts.

The Defender was currently leading a small group of enforcer bots outside of the city in the dark of night. His contacts had informed him that the Loose Cannon was holed up somewhere in an old Carnival just out of town. It had been shut down soon after the bombings started, being such an easy target and all, which did make it the perfect place for a psycho to hide out.

The small force led by Jayce entered the Carnival shortly there after, but they weren't the first.

*Meanwhile, further in*

"What is he doing here?" he muttered in a low growl.

Rengar had already tracked his prey to this location and was currently perched on top of one of the structures, hoping to get a better view of this scrap heap of a carnival. The hunter was playing safe this time around however, this trail was simply too easy to follow, so he had remained cloaked in invisibility since before he had arrived, hoping to catch the Loose Cannon by surprise.

Yet here was Jayce and his entourage, intruding on his hunt and breaking the promise the Enforcer had made with him.

Jinx could wait just a little bit longer.

*Down Below*

"Alright guys," Jayce said, addressing his bots, "scan for Jinx, she has to be here somewhere."

However before they could make much progress a large invisible form crashed down to the ground just before them. The figure uncloaked to reveal a crouched lion humanoid, the Pridestalker, just before them.

"You intrude on my hunt, human!" Rengar growled.

"Human? Is that supposed to be an insult?" Jayce questioned, mockingly, "you do know we humans take pride in our race, yeah?" The defender was only attempting to make the lion angry, should he provoke an attack then arresting the cat would be rather simple. "Should I call you Kitten, to keep things in context then?" he finished with a smirk.

The Pridestalker let out a low, threatening growl, but made no move to attack him.

"Smarter then you look," Jayce said with an exhale, disappointed things wouldn't be so easy, "however I am the acting sheriff so I guess I don't need a good excuse anyways."

"What do you mean?"

"To arrest you of course!" The Defender said with another smirk, but to his surprise in response Rengar only smirked in kind.

Irked by the cat's confidence in such a situation he decided to end their little verbal battle and just get to it, "have it your way kitten, arrest him!"

With a flick of his rest as he spoke the command the bots charged forward without hesitation.

*Elsewhere*

"How exciting!"

This was easier then Jinx had hoped for. The blue haired girl sitting atop the ferris wheel was ecstatic to see her plan in action, to lure both Rengar and Jayce into fighting one another, all while she could watch.

Jinx had been worried at first, the trail she left was apparently too obvious, for the Pridestalker had entered in stealth and remained as such for quite some time, unable to pinpoint his exact location she had hid away hoping Jayce would stumble in.

And sure enough soon after the acting sheriff came bumbling into her trap!

"Now let the games begin!"

*Down Below*

The first wave of bots charged headlong into the hunter, unafraid and utterly obedient.

The leading bot met a quick end, cleaved in two at the waist as Rengar struck with a retreating swing, leaping back to gain some distance and a better vantage of all the robots. The next two, unphased, charged on.

"Easy prey," the Pridestalker muttered as he parried and countered their attacks, but maybe it was too easy?

With that thought he glanced over in Jayce's direction to see him with his Mercury Hammer lowered in Cannon form pointed his way. Not only that, two more bots stood next to him with their own rifles likewise aimed Rengar's way.

Time to move!

The hunter deflected a swing from one of the bots using his left wrist hooks then followed it up with a strong downward slash of his reverse blade, ripping the machines head and upper torso apart, then immediately leaped away as a large energy blast flew by him.

Jayce's shock blast connected with an old ride entrance gate a few yards away and exploded, blowing the entire thing apart. The explosion was quickly followed by rifle fire, and the hunter had to retreat to find some cover.

"Follow him!" Rengar heard the Defender shout, what a fool this acting sheriff was.

*Later*

Jayce was frustrated beyond belief.

He had sent his last remaining melee bot and his two riflemen after Rengar, with their scanning capabilities finding him would be an easy task, then Jayce had planned to follow the sound of gunfire or melee combat straight to the elusive cat.

But he heard nothing.

Not even the sound of crashing metal or breaking robots echoed through the empty carnival, it simply didn't make any sense.

Cautiously rounding a corner Jayce's eyes widened in disbelief as he found all three of his bots, parts scattered across the ground.

"How did none of this make any noise?" Jayce pondered.

"They don't call me the Pridestalker for nothing," came as a response from just behind him.

Instinctively he switched his Mercury Hammer's stance from Cannon back to Hammer, which released a small electrical burst, slightly stunning the hunter for just a moment. Jayce spun as he did, spotting Rengar's blade bearing down on him, and he swung his hammer across with all his might.

The weapons collided, and the Defender released another electrical pulse from his hammer, this time creating a small field around him. The stinging field forced the hunter to retreat out of range, just what Jayce needed.

Once again the hammer became a cannon and the acting sheriff fired away.

Round after round of shock blasts flew at the Pridestalker, but the agile cat was managing to dodge them all, so far. The balls of condensed electricity were colliding with anything and everything around both combatants, explosions going off all around them as the carnival rides burst into flames and fell apart.

"Feel the thunder!" Jayce shouted, this one was in the bag.

*Up Above*

Jinx couldn't believe her eyes, what a show!

This was better then anything she had hoped for, the explosions lighting up the night sky were beauteous.

She couldn't make up her mind on who she wanted to win, the reckless and ever confident Defender creating this magnificent show with his cannon, or the bloodthirsty Pridestalker so gracefully jumping and leaping around through the bright lights of the fires and explosions?

The Loose Cannon could hardly contain her excitement.

*Down Below*

His frustrations only mounted further as the fight went on, why couldn't he hit this stupid cat!?

Rengar was obviously trying to cut a quick line back towards Jayce in order to get back in striking distance, but the Defender was firing so rapidly that it was a near impossible task. However at the same time this hunter was proving a very difficult target to hit.

The shock blasts weren't the fastest of projectiles afterall, but to continuously dodge every one of them for so long was ridiculous!

"Stop bouncing around and let me melt your face already!" Jayce shouted in frustration. He couldn't keep this up forever, his Mercury Hammer may have had a strong power source, but it wasn't infinite.

While searching for a solution Jayce surprised himself when one of his shock blasts connected with the hunters left shoulder, sending him hurtling through the air and straight into another structure just beyond them.

Jayce took off in pursuit, only to come to a stop as he noted what the structure was.

"Unbelievable," he said, "a mirror funhouse!? How clichéd," then stepped in without hesitation.

It was dark, very dark, for there was no power in the abandoned carnival, only the light of the moon shinning through cracks and off all the mirrors were lighting his way.

Jayce wasn't worried though, that blast he hit Rengar with should have knocked him clean out, and even if not the cat had crashed through the outer walls of this mirror house and no doubt through many mirrors as well, there was no way he was still up.

"I should have added some sort of flashlight to this thing," Jayce thought aloud about his Mercury Hammer, "would really come in handy right now."

He froze then, hairs on the back of his neck standing on end, upon hearing that familiar low growl of the Pridestalker. Jayce had not expected the hunter to be up, and he was in very tight quarters with his large hammer, this was not good.

The Defender could see images of the cat flirting all around his peripheral vision, a tail here, a claw there, all the work of the mirrors no doubt.

He spun to his left then when he heard a quick shuffling noise, just in time to deflect a strong attack from the cat with the hilt of his hammer, but the tight corners prevented him from counterattacking, and the hunter retreated back to the shadows.

Had Rengar planned this? Allowed himself to be hit at just the right angle to be sent into a more favorable battlefield?

"Absurd," Jayce reminded himself, there was no way this kitten would outsmart him so easily, but nonetheless he had to think of something, had to get out of there.

Another shuffle and a quick spin brought his hammer's hilt up to deflect another clawed attack from the side but this time the claws stung his hand as they bounced off the metal hilt. Jayce couldn't keep this up much longer he realized, he had to act now.

He had a thought then, his hammer may not have functioned as a flash light, but it did make short bursts of light.

Jayce then felt a sharp sting in his left thigh as a pair of hook claws dug into his flesh.

Seeing no other chance he switched his hammer back to cannon form and released another electrical field pulse. The electricity surged through the mirror funhouse, immediately shattering every single mirror in the establishment, and briefly revealing all of Jayce's surroundings, including a blinded and surprised Pridestalker with his claws stuck in the sheriff's thigh.

Jayce grabbed a hold of the hunter's left arm and pulled the claws out and followed up with a strong kick with his other leg into the chest of his opponent. Rengar lurched backwards a few steps and was met by a powerful roundhouse swing of the Mercury Hammer, launching him once again through the walls of the mirror house, only in the other direction this time.

The Pridestalker lay very still on the ground a few paces away as Jayce stepped to the opening in the wall. The Defender was relieved he didn't have to resort to his new secret weapon, it was a one time use ability afterall and he needed it for Jinx.

"Would have been a waste on a weakling like you anyway," Jayce mocked the motionless Pridestalker. He then leaped into the air, intending to make sure the job was complete with a powerful overhead swing of his Mercury Hammer, "no such thing as overkill!" He shouted as he descended.

"I agree!"

Jayce hadn't even realized Rengar had shouted that last response at him until he felt a sharp sting in his gut and lost his grip on the precious Mercury Hammer before his feet even hit the ground.

"Comfort breeds weakness, human" Rengar said, now standing before the puzzled Defender, his claws buried in Jayce's gut, and holding him upright so he could speak to him, "when you grow comfortable assuming you've won a fight you show a weakness only fools have." And with those last words the hunter tilted his claws downward and the still confused Jayce slide backwards off of them onto the cold ground.

The Pridestalker then ate his own words as a mass of explosions went off all around the carnival, sending both combatants sailing in opposite directions.

*Up Above*

Jinx had seen enough, she got her show and what a splendid one it was indeed!

However she would not allow one of her pawns be removed without her consent, if anyone were to be eliminated she would be the one to do so, this was her game afterall.

Those thoughts in mind she hit the switch, and the carnival seemed to come back to life for a brief moment, light coming back to the dark park, but only until the place seemed to rise to the skies and break apart in bright and hungry flames.

She watched Rengar fly into an explosion that ripped apart the bridge in the middle of the park, and she lost his figure in the debris. Jayce on the other hand landed with a hard thud closer to the entrance of the park near the clearing he had made earlier with his rapid firing of shock blasts.

"Lucky him!" Jinx giggled, "for the moment at least!"

She made her way over to the severely injured sheriff, who lay very still on the ground just as Rengar had a few moments earlier. Jinx figured she might as well take a lesson out of this and heeded the cats words, approaching Jayce with her weapon raised just in case.

"So," Jayce grumbled, "it was a trap afterall."

"Yup! Pretty neat, huh?"

"That is one way to put it," he responded with a cough, "either way though, I admit I was not expecting many of the events of this night."

Jinx felt quite proud of herself then, she had fooled both her pursuers, would eliminate them both, and in doing so hopefully draw her main pawn back out into the fray, Vi. The Enforcer had been spun into a depressive state when she had learned about Caitlyn's fate while she was away, the exact opposite reaction Jinx had been aiming for, so this was her way of trying to reverse it, maybe if she killed Jayce Vi would start playing her game again, but this time with renewed vigor!

The Loose Cannon had been so lost in her thoughts though she hadn't noticed Jayce grab his Mercury Hammer, which had landed nearby. He then used it to pull himself up to one knee, and so on until he was again standing. Jinx found it amusing to watch him struggle in such a manner, so she let him fully stand.

"Don't worry Jaycie, you gotta' die sometime anyway!" She said as she raised her gun his way once again.

In response Jayce only smirked and said, "I agree, but that time is not now!"

He swung his hammer up then, already in cannon form, and another electrical pulse emitted. Jinx went to pull her trigger before he could do anything, but she couldn't move her hand, she couldn't move anything!

Utterly confused she stared at Jayce's Mercury Hammer, only to be rewarded with more confusion, as it almost seemed to die in his arms. All the weapons lights and mechanisms simply went out and stopped moving, it even let out a low hissing sound as the last remnants of its power ran out.

"How you like my new invention you psycho bitch?" Jayce began, "I release all the power from my hammer at once and direct it at one target, the electrical charge freezes that targets muscles and nervous systems entirely," he finished with another one of his ever-confident smirks.

Jinx tried to fight it, tried to move a single part of her body, to pull the trigger at least! But nothing, just as he said, she was completely frozen in place.

"Don't even try to say anything, it's no use, I finally got you!" The acting sheriff then began limping her way, still clutching his bleeding gut. "Oh, but don't worry, I'm not going to arrest you, what's the point? You'll simply find some way to escape, or one of those assholes from Zaun will come break you out, hard to say which, but nonetheless I won't bother.

I'm just going to kill you."

She wanted to shout at him, scold him, bargain with him, do something! How could one of the good guys just kill her like that? Jinx had always assumed they'd all want to just kill her eventually, but her game wasn't over yet, she still had so much left to do!

It wasn't fair!

Wearing a somber look on his face, Jayce raised his dead hammer high above his head. It may not have worked, but a large metal weapon would still be enough to cave her skull in.

Jinx closed her eyes, unwilling to accept this fate, unwilling to just give in, she had to move!

However nothing happened, she just stood there frozen, with her eyes closed. Daring to crack one open she saw Jayce fiddling with something tied around his neck, something she'd seen before, something she'd also tried to free herself from.

A white form flew over her then and crashed into the chocking and injured Jayce.

The Defender had dropped his weapon to try and get the bolas off from around his neck, so when the now unarmed Rengar collided with him all they had to fight with were there fists.

The fight was short lived, the hunter easily overpowering the sheriff with his dominant strength and natural claws. After a few traded blows, one final uppercut to Jayce's large jaw lay him flat out on his back, unmoving.

Jinx could see he was still alive, his chest rising and lowering with each breath, but why had the Pridestalker not just killed him if the cat was willing to kill her?

Upon asking that internal question she realized she wasn't in the clear yet and her eyes darted back up to see the cat's bloody face right before hers. He sniffed her, and stared for a bit, analyzing her, then drove a strong fist straight into her face.

Jinx wasn't worrying about anything anymore.

*Later*

Sensations, feelings, movement.

Cracking her eyes open, Jinx took in her surroundings, and sat up, confused. She was back in her make shift room in the clock tower.

"I'm still alive?"

She sat still for a moment, running through all the events she could remember, trying to find a clue as to how she could be alive. Jinx remembered watching Rengar and Jayce fight, when she blew them both up, Jayce trapping her, and then Rengar saving her.

And sparing her? It just didn't add up.

The blue haired girl then noticed a newspaper on the table in the middle of the room.

"Do I read newspapers?" She asked aloud, curious as to whether she forgot this little tidbit of information of herself when the cat knocked her lights out. Pushing the thought aside however Jinx got up and grabbed the paper.

The headline story was how Jayce got into a fight with the Pridestalker in the old Carnival outside of town.

And survived.

He was currently hospitalized but had recovered consciousness and was already trying to get back to work, much to the dismay of his doctors. Finally, due to there being no loss of life the Institute of War would be taking no actions.

So she finally understood why Rengar hadn't killed them, or at least Jayce, but why would he even be in Piltover hunting her in the first place if not to kill her? None of this made sense anymore, and there was only one way to get the answers she needed.

Ask the source of her confusion, she had to speak with the beast hunting her down, Jinx had questions for Rengar.