Chapter Text
Deep down in the dingy, humid caves of Zaun surrounded by a pungent toxic smell, was Singed’s self-proclaimed lair which extended unimaginably underground into every cavity wide enough to fit a gaunt, tall man and various, mismatched laboratory equipment that could be of use as much for alchemy as for normal medical practice. This whole web of tunnels and chambers was only lit up by fluorescent mutated fungi growing haphazardly on the stone walls and questionable fluid concoctions hung around in tubes, emitting an unnatural neon glow, each a different colour, reflecting on one another and merging down on the ground into a hazy purplish dull light.
No one in their right mind approached those caves, the eerie atmosphere being enough to scare away even the thick-skinned Zaunites, yet many of them still came in, hurt and desperate enough that they could be considered as lacking their mental faculties when they took the decision to go inside, and under, to seek the doctor who was always prowling and tinkering there, happy to gain either a corpse or a small commission.
So it was unusual when, in the middle of the day, a child stumbled his way in there following a small yet fully functional paddle steamboat advancing rapidly on the stream of water that cursed through the cave. He didn’t appear scared, just slightly confused and rightfully cautious. Singed looked up from the experiment he was working on, studying the intricate boat paddling away in place as it hit a few taller rocks, and the boy’s wide curious eyes as he slowly approached. The scientist expected the boy to cower away in fear when he stood up and turned to face him, but the boy stood his ground.
“You built this?” the man asked without masking his astonishment.
The boy nodded as he limped closer, aided by a rough stick turned cane.
“You’re not getting along with the other kids now, do you?”
The child, wearing some roughly sized-up, patched clothes clearly intended for colder weather and not the suffocating heat of the current season, nodded again, the honesty of it so clear in his big golden eyes that, for a moment, Singed was taken aback by such an expressive face, all of the boy’s thoughts and emotions so painfully visible there.
“Loneliness is often the byproduct of a gifted mind” he added in a lower voice, words spoken from experience, followed eagerly by another almost rhetorical question.
“Are you interested in science?”
The boy only nodded again, this time with a bit more energy, and Singed feared he was mute. He prompted a different kind of question to test his hypothesis.
“What’s your name, boy?”
He studied Singed in silence for a bit, clearly debating his choices, before answering in a soft voice.
“It’s… Viktor”
The slender man smiled a bit, the reaction a bit strained on his face as if his muscles forgot how to do it from lack of use.
“Well Viktor, we could be loners together, what do you say?”
And the tiny “yes” that followed sealed their fates together for the next couple of years as the outcast scientist bizarrely gave into the boy’s curiosity and huge potential, teaching, mentoring him, sharing his resources and knowledge for nothing really. He didn’t know why he went through with it, or maybe he knew but it was a slip of his heart that his logical brain would not allow twice.
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That is how, despite the odds, Singed ended up with an apprentice. Those bright ambitious eyes and his insatiable thirst for knowledge and progress somehow wormed their way into Singed’s lab and his very being, despite how much he denied it to himself. The boy was just a tool, a rough unpolished diamond simply too valuable to be left untouched in the dirt. And the small price he paid by answering the boy’s constant questions and borrowing him books was insignificant next to the flawless help around the lab that he received in return. Maybe it also felt nice to not be alone all the time, but Singed pushed that thought away. The mutation he created was also getting along surprisingly well with Viktor, as if it could sense his good heart. Which, in Singed’s humble opinion, was the boy’s biggest flaw - that surprisingly sturdy moral compass along with his selfless compassion, tireless ambition and innate kindness to all beings.
It was a bit annoying, considering that Singed had to work on some of his rather unsightly and unethical experiments away from the boy’s eyes so as not to ignite pointless fights and lose his helping hand. But it was only because otherwise, the doctor was quite open around the boy. And after years of mentoring him, he could confidently say he knew more or less what made the boy tick. Yet, in spite of their purely professional relation that implied no discussion or involvement in the other’s private life, unfortunately, the both of them sported a very poor work-life balance which led to unavoidable crashes and thus interventions from one towards the other to ensure their basic human needs were met. And Singed has never expected from his new Zaun life to have to cook for a child that almost collapsed from malnutrition, or to be himself fed by said child when the reverse happened. Nor did he ever expect to set up a divan in his lab just so he could let the boy rest there when needed, or the heat that pooled in his chest when said boy once brought in a rugged patchy blanket which Singed found laid over his shoulders when he fell asleep at his desk.
However, they didn’t acknowledge this codependency or tightening bond or whatever it was, choosing to focus more on science and less on anything else. Truth be told, they could probably part ways tomorrow and none of them would be affected or miss the other’s presence, as all they did was to ensure the other remained functional for long enough to maintain their utility, basically.
That is what Singed liked to believe as well, even when he felt a bit uneasy as he noticed the boy struggling with his health and hiding his pain so well that it never interfered with any task the doctor asked of him. It was a bit unfair and …sad, even by his standards, for such a brilliant child to have to suffer so much for ailments that weren’t his choice, nor fault. Yet the boy was still alive and kicking in that slum of a place… unlike some other children that died even younger under the gentle sunlight of above, that had everything offered to them and no reason to end up in a sealed box under the ground. He knew, rationally, that countless more children died in these unsanitary slums than in Piltover, yet he was so lost in the lies of the top city’s limitless progress and prosperity that he forgot death still existed there too. Not the peaceful and righteous death to crown a life lived to the brim, but unjustified, sly, painful death that proved their insignificance and helplessness in the face of nature.
But he would change that. He was working on it. Reversing death once and for all. Stepping on morals and everything else in the name of science. Defying nature if he must.
Yes, his experiments were unethical, yes he sickly enjoyed the pain of his subjects and patients because it was such a clear indication of their life, any twitch or whimper or agonious writhe or mindless wail was so sweet and unmistakably alive. Which is part of the reason he rarely, if ever, used any sort of anesthetic during his procedures. It was simply not a necessity, but a useless, even hindering medical practice, in his opinion. Working on a corpse was never fun, but imperative for research.
However, when Viktor began to slouch into himself more than usual, when the cane seemed to barely be enough to keep the thin adolescent standing, when he would spend more time working at his desk far away from Singed’s main part of the lab, he knew something was wrong. Something more than than the usual disability the boy had to live with.
As a doctor, of course Singed has been curious about it from the moment they met, but he didn’t want to scare the boy away by poking and prodding at his leg from day 1, so he brushed it off. Viktor answered his questions without much fuss, mentioning that his bad leg was something he had been born with, hesitantly admitting that it sometimes caused him pain but nothing he couldn’t handle, which was honestly scary for a boy his age to say. So Singed never truly intervened on it, because while he could attempt to fix that malformed leg, but that was not going to be an easy process, not even a guaranteed success, but more of a distant possibility with the odds worsening Viktor’s situation hanging a bit too heavy for that whole process to be worth it. Plus, curiously enough, he didn’t see the boy as a test subject, he had enough of those already, but he saw the boy as his pupil and assistant, the only one of that kind, and a true blessing at that.
Despite the doctor’s noninterference in that area, Viktor himself was not indifferent nor helpless about his condition. At one point, he built himself a leg brace in a way that not even orthopedic professionals in Piltover would have managed to top, all from the random scraps he found around and inside the lab. Singed didn’t comment on it but smiled when he first saw the boy use it, stepping a bit more confidently on that leg. Of course, since the beginning he would drop a book or two about podiatry and orthopedic studies related to leg malformations on the boy’s study pile, bringing up the subject casually a few times, making sure Viktor made only informed decisions about his own health, considering he seemed to never bring that topic up around Singed, despite the clear odds.
To keep up appearances, the scientist feigned ignorance for a few days after noticing clear signs that something was wrong with the boy, but those days turned into a few too many of watching Viktor frown almost constantly and hide away whenever he got the chance so he didn’t hesitate when he approached his apprentice, curled up around his bad leg on top of his chair.
“Boy. I can see something is bothering you. What is it?” Singed asked with a sigh, even though the answer was obvious.
Viktor stared at him for a long while, squinting his eyes as if trying to analyse the inner workings of Singed’s mind, then he molded his expression into the picture of ‘unbothered’.
“Nothing.” he answered curtly, his voice rising a bit too high on the last syllable.
Singed was not impressed by the boy’s poor attempts at lying. If anything, the boy couldn’t lie to save his ass, but thankfully he was very good at usually keeping his mouth shut when he knew his words would betray him. He mostly knew how to stay out of trouble, especially considering he was assisting an underground questionable outcast scientist in the deeper levels of Zaun. But when it was just the two of them, the boy sometimes let his guard slip, and while Singed did not condone that behaviour in the slightest, he was in the same boat.
“Viktor, tell me what exactly hurts. And what caused it to flare up like this?” his tone turned professional to mask any worry
It seemed the boy had realised he could no longer hide what was in plain sight and gave in, murmuring a quiet answer, his head lowered.
“It’s my lower back, and leg, and it didn’t flare up, it has been hurting for a while, but gradually getting worse, and now, i can’t really...” he spoke with long pauses, trailing away near the end before his voice died down completely.
Now, Singed, a doctor (despite his record of malpraxis), knew what this could be, and it was himself who decided to not mingle with Viktor’s leg too much, knowing his condition was most likely incurable despite how much he didn’t want to accept anything as incurable any more, but either way, that leg was messing up his body, and while the leg could not itself be treated, the subsequent symptoms could be. And while pain was one of the gifts of life, a proof of one’s resilience and sensitivity… this scrawny and stubborn child has maybe suffered enough as is. Maybe he could allow him just a little relief until he worked on a back brace for him as well… because, even without checking him over, he knew the boy’s vertebrae were taking the damage for his bad leg.
The eyes with which Viktor looked up at him after a moment too long of silence from Singed just melted the scientist’s cold facade like molten gold on snow. He took a moment to recollect himself before turning away silently, straight to where he kept a stash of painkillers that were collecting dust. He had many kinds so he went for the one with the least side effects, one that he knew was safe for children to take, and yet he would still need to dose it carefully considering how thin the kid was.
He was back to Viktor’s desk in a flash, the boy not having moved an inch, following the doctor with his eyes like they were the only part of his body he could move freely without pain.
“I understand. Your uneven gait is causing damage to your back especially, among others, and it seems to have gotten worse. I… I will look it over and, if necessary, we can make a back brace to help alleviate some of the pain and stop further damage for a while…but, I can see you’re having a hard time right now because of it so…” Singed spoke with a calculated tone,hesitantly raising up the jar with pills for Viktor to see.
The boy eyed the pills with interest. “Is that…medicine to cure me?” he inquired confused and maybe a little bit excited
Singed looked at him with equal confusion. “It is just some pain medicine.There is no such thing as … medicine to cure your leg, and you know that, boy” he trailed off, pressing his lips into a tight line.
“Oh! is it those medicines that block pain signals from your body to your brain? I read about that somewhere” the boy quickly corrected himself, excited to see something he studied about as if …
“Boy, is this the first time you see painkillers?” Singed asked frowning.
“I…ugh…never saw you use them before and well, I don’t think they’re that easy to get here in Zaun.” he argued, completely honest.
So Viktor really never saw or used painkillers, huh. Singed should have seen it coming, after all, doctors and proper medicine were hard to find around here, but still.
“Yes, I don’t normally use these. Anyways, you should take one pill now, and come to me before you leave the lab in case the pain comes back.” he prescribed nonchalantly, taking one pill out of the jar and placing it on Viktor’s desk, under his scrutinous gaze.
“Just swallow it with water, okay?” it wasn’t even a question, just an instruction to make sure the boy knew what to do with the pill.
The scientist let out a long breath he didn’t realise he was holding after he turned and walked away. That was done. Now he and the boy could finally work in peace as usual. He didn’t turn back to inspect his pupil, he should feel the effects soon and the pill he gave him was harmless so there was no need to worry about anything else.
Indeed, in the hours that followed, Viktor seemed to have come back to himself a little, walking around the lab to check their various experiments and jotting things down onto his notebook. He even assisted Singed when requested, standing up a bit straighter. He didn’t bother the doctor when leaving, only mumbling a hurried ‘good-bye’ before he was out the cave.
Only to come back first thing in the morning, pale and his knuckles white from tightly gripping the cane for support.
The doctor tried to mask a sigh and the warmth stabbing his chest as he wordlessly gestured for Viktor to come in and sit not in his usual area but on a tiny stool in the doctor’s overfilled lab. Maintaining the silence that was much more comfortable to them than talking in this moment, Singed carefully examined his leg back, checking each vertebra with cold slender fingers, pressing around until the boy couldn’t help but let out a whimper, even as he remained rigid as a statue. Taking down the measurements he needed and all the additional findings from his examination, Singed just handed the boy another pill and turned away, going further into his darkened lab.
Viktor gingerly put his shirt back on and walked over to his corner, downing the pill as soon as he got his hands on the glass of water magically refilled on his desk. Then he carefully weighed his options, knowing the doctor wouldn’t condemn him for resting when needed, so he chose to do just that, heading to the divan and wrapping himself in that jaggy blanket and simply enjoying the bliss that was that painkiller. It felt incredible to feel the pain dissipate from his bones, the tension leaving his body and before he knew it, he fell asleep.
If Singed happened to see him resting there at one point during the day, he definitely didn’t stop to carefully watch the boy’s chest rise and fall with each quiet breath, clearly didn’t look at his relaxed face with soft eyes and obviously didn’t tuck the blanket tighter around him. He did though continue his work a bit more quietly and left the boy some food on his desk when he didn’t wake up during lunch time, but that was already a normal practice in his routine on days like this.
Neither of them spoke about what happened during those days, both seemingly happy with the other’s acceptance of the situation. Right away, the doctor started working on a proper back brace, with Viktor joining in to help and, as soon as it was done, after a few adjustments, the boy was back to functioning properly without the painkillers. Without the sweet relief they brought faster than anything else Viktor had tried. And just like that, his interest shifted from mechanics and just the study of anatomy, to more applied chemistry and the weird shiny concoctions that made no sense yet worked perfectly as Singed bragged when his test subjects reacted in the way he wanted. It was insane how receptive and malleable the body was to these external substances, as only one drop of something could take over and poison or heal a fully functioning grown, living system. It was exciting but overall, plain scary, a power too strong and easy to abuse. A power Singed was getting drunk on as his research advanced, as he hid more of his experiments from Viktor, as people started barging in at unusual hours in the lab asking for something, something kept in small glass vials, something liquid and shiny, something that held power. A power that was … tempting .