Chapter Text
"Good evening, I'm Mel Medarda with Good Morning Piltover. Our top story tonight: an unprecedented heat wave continues to sweep across both Piltover and our downtown neighbours in Zaun. Bringing sweltering temperatures and humidity levels that have shattered records across both cities."
The camera cuts away from Mel as her image is replaced by a screen, displaying a three dimensional rendering of Runeterra. The land highlighted in various hues ranging from a bright orange to an angry red. Icons with temperatures flag each major city, blinking urgently with alarming numbers.
"Temperatures in the lower districts of Zaun have reached a staggering 38 degrees celsius, with Piltover not far behind at a flat 35. The extreme heat has caused multiple power disruptions as cooling systems struggle to keep up with demand. Production facilities have reported decreased output due to overheating equipment."
"Let's go now to our field reporter, Jayce Talis, who's ventured down to Progress Bridge. Where I'm told some Zaunite locals are seeking relief in a rather unconventional manner. Jayce, what's the situation down there?"
The screen splits to show a visibly sweating man with slick hair plastered to his forehead, microphone in hand. Behind him, crowds of people splash in murky water whilst mist machines spray the shoreline
"Thanks, Mel. As you can see, I'm absolutely drenched in sweat here at Progress Bridge, where hundreds of locals have flocked to escape this punishing heat. Meteorologists are telling us this could be the hottest summer on record. The chem-tech pollution hovering over Zaun is trapping heat in the lower districts. Making it particularly unbearable for residents there. Understandably disgruntled, the masses have congregated here at the bay. Despite it already being at capacity. I’ve been told enforcers have issued several warnings to the crowdgoers for disorderly conduct."
"Speaking of which..." Jayce continues, gesturing upward, "Some of the local kids from the Lanes have even been seen diving from Progress Bridge itself. It's quite dangerous, but in this heat- oh! Look, over there!"
The camera pans up to the bridge where a teenager with shocking white hair is clambering over the railing, preparing to dive.
"Watch this, Mel!" Jayce speaks excitedly into the microphone as the teen spots the camera pointed up at him and grins. He points directly down in their direction and then leaps elegantly into the air. Executing a perfect dive before disappearing beneath the murky water.
The camera stays fixed on the rippling water for a long moment until the teenager emerges with a splash and flicks his hair back dramatically.
"Wow! Now that's what I call a dive," Jayce exclaims, genuinely impressed. "Let's see if we can catch him for a quick interview!"
The camera follows as Jayce rushes up the beach, microphone extended. Almost tripping over a sunbathing couple who shout angrily after him.
"Watch it, Piltie!" the woman yells, readjusting her sunglasses.
"Sorry, sorry!" Jayce calls back, not breaking stride as he hurries toward the emerging diver. “Excuse me!” The teen emerges, glancing over with a raised eyebrow as Jayce corners him. His eyes dart to the camera appraisingly.
Jayce wipes sweat from his brow with a silk handkerchief as he collects himself.
The camera zooms out slightly to capture both Jayce and the white-haired teen in frame. Water still dripping from his lean frame as he stands with casual confidence.
"That was quite a dive!" Jayce says enthusiastically. "You've clearly done this before. Mind telling our viewers your name?"
The teen eyes the camera for a moment before answering with a shrug. "Ekko."
"Well, Ekko," Jayce continues, leaning in slightly, his reporter instincts taking over. "What do you say to the warnings from enforcers? Some are saying jumping off the bridge is illegal!"
Ekko's expression shifts instantly. His easy demeanour hardening as he narrows his eyes at Jayce.
"Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy?"
Jayce looks momentarily stunned before awkwardly laughing. The camera pans to the left to find a girl with bright blue hair cackling as she rolls around on the sand clutching her stomach.
"Uh, well there you have it, Mel. The youth of Zaun... keeping their spirits high despite the heat. Back to you in the studio."
Cut back to Mel looking slightly confused.
"Thank you... Jayce. Moving on! Coming up after the break: Hextech air conditioning units… are Pilties hoarding them all? Stay with us."
Vi blinked up from the rolling video on her sister's aging laptop to find Powder cackling in their kitchen, just as she had been in the video. Bemused, she glanced at Ekko, who was lounging against the counter with a smug expression.
"Weather boy? I don't get it." Vi frowned, looking between them.
Ekko simply shrugged, a pleased smile playing at his lips as Powder continued to laugh. Her sister now gasping for air as she begged, "Oh my god, play it again!"
Vi stared at her blankly as Ekko ran back the video and replayed his portion of the clip. Drawing out another stream of hysterical giggles from Powder, who was now wiping tears from her eyes.
"It's funny because," Powder explained between breaths. "That guy, he’s a weather reporter, and he asks the Ekko about the weather, and then Ekko says-" She dissolved into laughter again before she could finish.
Vi rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the small smile tugging at her lips. "I think the heat’s getting to your brain," she muttered, but there was affection in her voice.
Powder's laughter eventually tapered off, and she wiped at her eyes before fixing her sister with a scathing look. "You wouldn't get it. You're old."
Vi frowned, crossing her arms defensively. "I'm twenty."
Powder shook her head with exaggerated pity, reaching across the table. "No, not physically. Up here." She extended her finger toward Vi's forehead. Attempting to tap her on the noggin, but Vi swatted her hand away with a scowl.
Ekko, meanwhile, had slid the laptop toward himself and was scrolling through the video's metrics with widening eyes. "It's blown up! Almost a million views now!"
Vi's frown deepened as she leaned over to peek at the screen. "How did so many people find it?"
Ekko muttered without looking up, "Maybe because they use their phones for things other than tracking macros..."
At that, Vi cried out, "Hey! Insulted at my own breakfast table. You should be grateful I even feed you..." She huffed indignantly.
Ekko didn't apologise, but he did slide his plate of bacon and eggs toward the other side of the table protectively.
"It was so fun! You should come with us, at least just for today," Powder urged excitedly as she munched on plain toast. "You deserve at least one day of summer before you spend it wasting away in that rust bucket."
Vi shook her head firmly. "You think I'm going to waste a single day of this heatwave not overcharging those Pilties? The only reason I missed out yesterday was because the heatwave warning came so late."
She then glanced out the window to the ice cream truck parked in the narrow alley beside their building. Benzo had practically forced the keys into her hands three months ago when she'd mentioned wanting to earn some extra cash over summer.
"You're too young to be working yourself to the bone with all these odd jobs!" he'd grumbled, leading her to the back of his shop where the faded pink and white truck had sat collecting dust. "And I'm too old to be riding around in this thing anymore. My knees can't take it Vi. Think of my knees!."
"I don't know the first thing about fixing up a truck..." Vi had protested weakly, even as her eyes had lit up at the possibility.
Benzo had just waved her off. "You're smart. Figure it out. If you can get it running by summer, it's yours."
And she had.
Every spare moment between college and her other jobs, Vi had been at the junkyard. Scrounging for parts and spending hours underneath the ancient vehicle with grease smeared across her face. She'd replaced the cooling system first, essential for an ice cream truck.
Then tackled the broken down engine. Then aging transmission. Then the ancient breaks. It had certainly been a... journey.
By the time yesterday’s heat wave warning had been issued, the thing was in running condition.
Not pretty, certainly not reliable, but drivable. Enough at least to cruise the streets of Piltover where desperate, sweaty Pilties would pay triple for a con. Anything to get a moment's relief from the scorching temperatures.
It was today or never, Vi thought.
She'd spent all of yesterday making some last minute tweaks to the engine before finally finishing the van off with a lick of fresh white paint. Accented with pink stripes. She was particularly proud of the hand-painted details. They'd turned out better than she'd expected, even with her steady hands.
And of course, she had given her new enterprise a name. She'd spent hours carefully cutting a stencil out of cardboard boxes left behind the last drop. Spray painting the letters in the same pastel pink colour. The finishing touch that made it officially hers.
Vi suddenly realised she hadn't shown Ekko or Powder yet. Her head snapped up eagerly from her mug of coffee. "Do you guys want to see the final product? I finished it yesterday."
Powder's eyes lit up instantly. "Finally!" she exclaimed, all thoughts of the beach momentarily forgotten as she shoved the last bite of toast into her mouth.
Ekko nodded, pushing his plate aside. "About time. Been wondering what you've been doing in that alley all week."
"All spring, more like," Powder corrected, already heading for the door.
They quickly finished up breakfast before heading out to the alley where the van was parked. Vi led the way, unable to keep the pride from her face as she gestured toward her creation with a flourish.
Ekko whistled lowly as they took in the van. "Not bad, Vi!"
Vi beamed proudly, hands on her hips as she surveyed her handiwork.
Powder hummed in agreement as she appraised the vehicle. Running her fingers along the freshly painted stripes. "The pink actually looks good."
"You guys haven't even seen the best part," Vi urged, gesturing excitedly. "Go round the side and check out this baby's name!"
Ekko and Powder obliged, walking around to the side of the van. Both of them froze simultaneously.
Vi watched them with a confused smile slowly forming. "What's wrong? You don't like the font?"
They both slowly turned and locked eyes with each other before looking back at the lettering. "Vi..." Powder began slowly. "What the fuck."
Vi came around to stand next to them and squinted at the words, confused. "What? Don't you get it? It's like..." Vi gestured out with her hands, framing the words in a sweeping gesture, "Vi's Cream."
Ekko choked as Powder bit her lip, clearly struggling to keep it together.
"You wrote 'Vi's Cream'..." Ekko managed to say, his voice strained.
Vi frowned. "Well yeah, but when you say it out loud, it's like a play on words. Like V-Ice Cream. You get it?" she hedged, and that's when the dam broke.
Powder couldn't contain herself any longer as she cackled right in Vi's face. Ekko bit his knuckles to hide his growing smile.
Powder gasped as she exclaimed, "Vi's Cream!" She doubled over, barely able to stay upright through her laughter.
Ekko bit down harder on his knuckles, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. "I don't think you're gonna to get the kind of customers you're expecting... Not with a name like that..." he managed through a strained voice.
Powder shrieked this time, collapsing against the side of the van. Tears streaming down her face as she slid to the ground.
Realisation dawned on Vi slowly. A flush creeping up her cheeks as the implications finally clicked. "Oh..." She lifted a hand to scratch awkwardly at the back of her neck. "I see..."
Despite some early... setbacks, Vi still manages to be trundling along into the richer gated areas of Piltover by midday.
The lettering on the side of her van now reads 'Vi's Ice Cream', with the word 'ice' squeezed in between. Crudely sprayed on in narrow tall letters due to the lack of space. A stylistic choice, she would claim if anyone asked.
She had donned her uniform to the jeers of Powder and Ekko, which she turned her nose up at with great maturity. Or at least until she received a particularly rude comment about her hat. Following which two pillows were mysteriously launched directly at their heads.
A bright pink short sleeve shirt tucked into perfectly crisp white trousers, cinched at her waist with a black belt to keep her looking neat. The shirt was a little tight around the biceps but enough to allow her to freely move around the van. A pink and white pinstripe apron flopped over her head and hanging open as she drove. Only to be tied up whenever she made a stop. On her head a customary paper sailor's hat. A traditional headpiece for the Piltover ice-cream vendor. Vi had learned that from her many hours of important business research. Around her neck was the white ascot, loosely tied, that completed the prim and proper look.
Presentation was key!
Vi didn't mind dressing up all nice and neat for the Pilties if it meant she could rob them blind.
And that's exactly what Vi had done. Already working her way through three neighbourhoods, to say she was raking in the cogs would be an understatement. The kids didn't even ask the prices! Blindly throwing cogs her way as they scurried after her van in the blazing heat.
Must be nice, Vi thought as she gladly accepted their trust funds in exchange for her cheaply made dairy products. And the further Vi ventured into the suburbs, the bigger the houses got and the richer her customers got. And by proxy, the richer Vi got.
She had now rolled her way into a neighbourhood that made her jaw drop. These were no longer houses... they were damn mansions! All gates and at least thirty times the size of her and Powder's small apartment. Vi peered around as she drove with barely concealed contempt. No one needed a house this big...
But oh well! Vi smirked as she flicked the switch on her dash, bringing to life the jaunty tune to play from the speakers she'd installed on the roof of the van. Signalling to all nearby that she had treats for them.
Just one customer could cover Powder's inevitable academy fees...
Vi slowed the van to a crawl. The engine rumbling beneath her as she navigated through the pristine streets. The jaunty tune from her speakers bounced off the high walls of the surrounding estates, echoing back at her almost mockingly. She held her breath, waiting to see if anyone would emerge from behind those imposing gates.
The heat inside the van was becoming unbearable. Despite the cooling system she'd painstakingly installed, the midday sun beating down on the metal roof had turned her little business venture into a mobile sauna. Vi tugged at her ascot, which now felt like it was choking her, and wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. The paper sailor hat wasn't helping matters, trapping the heat against her scalp.
"Come on, pilties," she muttered, drumming her fingers against the steering wheel. "Don't you want some overpriced ice cream on this fine, sweltering day?"
She was about to give up and move on to the next street when movement caught her eye. A gate was opening, one of the largest properties on the block. Vi straightened in her seat, adjusting her ascot and smoothing down her apron. This could be it. Her big score.
And that's when she saw her.
A young woman around Vi's age stepped out onto the sidewalk. Even from this distance, Vi could tell she was nothing like the typical pudgy kid she'd been serving all day.
Vi gulped as she took in the woman making her way slowly towards the van.
She was… ethereal.
Bright blue hair that caught the sun just right. Her hand clutched delicately around an antique fan that she waved gracefully at her face. Causing those blue locks to flow behind her just right. Like the fake wind in one of those shampoo adverts.
Vi blinked quickly as she took her in, tall and slim with a determined pace as she lifted a hand waving her down. Vi let the van roll to a stop, forgetting the handbrake in her distraction.
The woman was hot. Obviously. From the heatwave!
She wore a thin white tank top that clung to her… form… Vi swallowed as her eyes roamed further down. And shorts. Loose black flowy shorts that stopped impossibly high up her thighs. Vi whimpered as she clenched her hands around the wheel tightly. How tall was this damn woman? Her legs went on for miles. And why was she treating her ridiculously long rich-person driveway like a catwalk?
The woman was closing in.
Maybe it was the heat finally getting to her but Vi panicked.
Just as the woman exited the gate and was within touching distance of the van, Vi slammed her foot down on the pedal. The van groaned with effort as she pulled away, leaving skid marks in her wake. Accidentally blowing smoke a dark cloud of smoke from the old exhaust all over the startled goddess.
Vi winced at the surprised shout she heard, even as she continued to drive away. It was too late now…
"Hey!" She heard called after her in a beautifully accented voice that had Vi groaning.
Glancing in the side mirror as she departed she found the woman glaring after her and flopping her hands down exasperated.
Vi drove for another block before slowing down and groaning. Dropping her forehead onto the steering wheel.
What was wrong with her?