Her eyes sprang open in an instant as she awoke, seeing only a blue illumination. She gasped as she realized she was lying face down on thick sheet of ice. The woman hastily pushed up her body before letting out a cry of agony. She gaped down at red hair and bits of skin that were now stuck to the ice. Katarina, now on her knees and holding her face, began to whimper. She rocked back and forth until the pain subsided. Her face went numb. After regaining her strength, the woman carefully began to stand, investigating the small sub-zero chamber she was trapped in. It couldn't be more than twenty feet wide in both directions, and six or seven feet high. She appeared to be in a metal sphere, glazed in thick layers of ice and snow. Only small sections of steel were visible behind the elements. She reached for her two blades, not finding them in her hilt. She reached for her boots in search of a dagger. Nothing. She then noticed her apparel. She was garbed in a black, skintight bodysuit. The suit was accompanied by dark leather gauntlets, a cape, hood, and a large decorative medallion. It was thick and consisted of several bejeweled disks melded together. The entire ensemble was quite elegant. Katarina cringed at the thought of someone else undressing her. She took in a deep breath, never had she felt so weak. As she exhaled she noticed the cloud from her breath. Katarina shuddered and tugged the hood over her head. It was lined with thick fur. Rabbit perhaps, she thought. Her captors evidently wanted her to survive. The scarlet haired woman plopped on the ground, and buried her face in her hands.
"Why in the void am I here?" she moaned.
Councilman Aurelio held his head in his hand, the vein in his forehead visible from strain. "We have to do something" he pleaded. The Ionian warriors seated at the table encircling him stared blankly back at him.
"We owe that woman nothing!" Akali spat. Shen sat up and put a hand on her shoulder, keeping his gaze on Aurelio.
He spoke calmly. "We will not risk our lives for someone who'd not do the same for us. Not enough time has passed for our history to be forgotten, not enough could." Kennen nodded in agreement. The Councilman stood up and hunched over the table.
"Regardless of your personal feelings, we have a responsibility here!" he shouted. "This woman may be Noxian, but she is a member of the League all the same. Now, we finally have a mark on her location, and must act with haste."
"Why can't you just send her own people?" Akali asked, brow still furrowed.
"General Swain has…refused to aid his companion. All Noxian members of the League are under strict orders to ignore the situation."
"This is clearly a trap, a ruse…" she yelled back "…how could you be so blind, so fool-"
"Enough!" the tired, old man shouted in a stern voice. "Any one of you possess the ability to perform this assignment. I can't force you, but I'm running out of options. Next I'll have to turn to members of Piltover's Police force-"
"Then we're leaving." Akali stated, standing abruptly. "Such an insulting request" she muttered as she walked out of the chamber. Her allies followed closely. Aurelio, embarrassed, fiddled with his robe and cleared his throat before turning to his associate seated next to him.
"Keyti, Please assemble…Piltover's Finest". He spoke with no reassurance in his voice whatsoever.
"HEEEEY!" Katarina's voice cracked as she shouted up through a vent she'd discovered under some snow. "Let me out you fucks!"
No answer. She began to tear up as she slid against the wall to the floor in defeat. It had been days…or only hours? She couldn't tell. She had never felt so helpless. She drew circles in the snow, thinking about her rage. It was often her source of power. Here, it did her no good. She was torn from her thoughts by a mechanical coughing, then wheezing sounds coming from the recently found vent. A neon purple mist began to bleed slowly into the room. "Shit, shit, shit" Kat said under her breath. She could barely move she was so cold, but managed to crawl away from the vent. She pulled her hood sideways over her mouth and nose. The red head got as low as she could in the opposite corner of the little room. Katarina watched helplessly as the mist filled the room. She couldn't hold her breath any longer. After only one breath she began to feel lightheaded, and the torturous room began to fade. Before she succumbed to the poison, Kat could barely make out the sinister voice of a woman.
"There, there, little Noxian. You won't remember a thing."
Aurelio splashed cold water on his face. He stared at the man looking back in the mirror. The water dripped through deep wrinkles in his face. "What a terrible task I've been given" he thought. "What individual from any other faction or nation would want to help her? On the field or in the halls of the Institute of War, Katarina showed little humanity. But Piltover…they believe in protecting others right? Even ruthless assassins?" He stretched his beard straight, and left the washroom. He strode down the hallway and reentered the lavish debate hall. He found Caitlyn, Jayce, and Vi waiting impatiently. Cait and Vi were bickering while Jayce was toying with some manor of hextech, shaking his head at their nonsense.
"Come on Cait, just gimme' another week. Besides, you know my paperwork doesn't turn out the best in a hurry, don't rush me!" Caitlyn rolled her eyes,
"Oh please, Vi" she started in a nagging voice, "we both know you're perfectly capable of getting it done, you just know if you wait more than a week, I'll end up doing it for you!"
"So we have an understanding then" Vi said as she smirked and nudged Cait with her elbow. Caitlyn scoffed and crossed her arms. She quickly shifted and sat up as she noticed Aurelio had entered the room. Jayce looked over at Cait, then noticed the man as well and put down his device. Vi remained slouched at the oval shaped table. The old Demacian sat and began to address the group.
"Piltover's Finest. Thank you for your presence. I know it was short notice, but this is a serious matter." He cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows, mostly addressing Caitlyn. "I'm sure you're aware that a fellow member of the institute has gone missing? After rigorous reconnaissance and thorough investigation, we have finally honed in on her location. The identity of the captors and their motives are unclear, but that's currently not important, all the council cares about is freeing our frie-"
"Please, councilman. You cannot be serious" Cait piped in. "Katarina? The Noxian assassin. What in the void would make us want to help her? Dreadful woman." Aurelio took a deep breath, attempting to prevent bursting out in a great rage again.
"Look, I didn't ask for this assignment. But I agree wholeheartedly that we can't just let this woman die! I have no one else to turn to. Those who dwell in the Shadow Isles and the Void are capable but uncontrollable, the Yordels are unqualified, Noxus is noncompliant, and members of the Freljord, the Demacians, and the Ionians have the right to deny this task. I need you to do this. This could even potentially better your relationship with Noxus." The old man was almost out of breath.
"Ha", Vi chuckled, "we don't really want the others to think we're doing favors for Noxus". Jayce, clearly losing patience, put his head down and spoke up.
"Just tell us what it is you want done".
"All we need an individual to quickly and quietly infiltrate the enemy facility, and retrieve the Noxian. Regardless of her…condition".
"You mean you don't even know if she's alive?" Jayce responded.
"Well…no, we don't. But we would still want to retrieve the body. After consideration, my associates and I have decided that Officer Vi is the most qualified for this scenario.
"Her?" Jayce and Cait questioned simultaneously. Vi was unfocused, studying her rarely gauntlet-less hands. She quickly shook her head and peered up.
"Wait, me?"
"Yes, Vi, you" Aurelio replied with a sigh. "You're strong and fast enough to get in the facility, and carry Katarina out. Caitlyn, normally I'd pass this responsibility on to you, but I'm afraid you're physically inept to carry her out, and Jayce, old boy," he said playfully, "you're not as spry as you used to be". Cait and Jayce were not amused.
"Why can't the three of us just get this awful task done together?" Cait asked. "Well," the tired man frowned, "our research shows that the heat seeking devices her captors are using won't activate if there is a single person. The facility is likely heavily guarded, and we can't risk alerting everyone on the premises. The technology wasn't designed for the extreme conditions.
"Extreme conditions?" Vi repeated with an aggravated tone.
"Yes, it's located in the northern most region of the Freljord."
"Great, now I get to risk my life and freeze my ass off for this bitch" Vi mumbled under her breath. "Don't worry" the councilman said with a smile, feeling that he'd finally made some progress, "you two can assist in other ways. Jayce, I'll have you make some modifications to Vi's gauntlets for the conditions, and Caitlyn, expect blueprints and maps at your door within the hour, you can help Vi from a distance via radio." Caitlyn opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word, Aurelio rose from his seat, his extravagant robes making a whirling sound. "Wonderful, thank you for your cooperation, you depart tomorrow morning." The now cheery man practically ran out of the room, leaving the three enforcers of justice sitting stupidly in the enormous hall.
"Guess I don't have to worry about that paperwork anymore, huh Cait?"