"Morning Jayce, morning Mel," powder skipped onto the balcony with a twirl of her dress and her long hair. Mel let her borrow a short strapless white dress with some black tights and black boots. She sat at Mel's feet to have the older woman braid her hair back.

"Morning darling, you seem to be doing well," Mel pressed a soft kiss on the top of powders head.

"Here kiddo," Jayce handed her a cup of tea as Mel started to braid her blue hair into one.

"Thank you, I'm going to go find Viktor after breakfast for progress day," powder sipped her drink but reached on the table to grab two cubs of sugar.

"Good, I'll find you both once I meet with professor, we have a busy day so I need you on your best behavior pow," Jayce grinned at her deviously and she swirled the tea with her finger.

"I'm on my best behavior, I'll be on time," powder rolled her eyes.

"I mean it," Jayce warned once more as powder was given her hair back in a single braid down her back. Mel set a gold hair comb as an accessory at the beginning of the braid to add some sparkle. Mel hummed in approval of powders outfit when the young girl spun to show off.

"You better be too, cause you're late for the professor, golden boy," powder ruffled Jayce's hair as she walked out of the balcony with a swing in her step.

"Late?!" He stood up in a hurry.

—

"Vikky~" powder skipped into the room that she found Viktor in at the university when she didn't find him in their lab.

"Happy progress day v," she spun next to him as Viktor had a worried look on his face but shook it off to smile at his assistant.

"Ah good morning powder, you are in quite a good mood for this early," Viktor held onto his cane as a rest while she went to open the window.

"It's a festive day, and I don't have to deal with being the face of the city like Jay," powder leaned out the window as she looked across the city where tents were set up for the festival. Viktor raised a brow at her hyperness.

"Will you be joining us for the speech later?" Viktor asked with a small grunt when she stood.

"Speech?" She looked over her shoulder.

"Little bird told me hextech will be giving the speech this year," he grinned smugly and she tilted her head to the side.

"But you and Jayce are hextech- your giving the speech?!" She gasped excited.

"I'll be sitting this one out but I know Jayce will give a pleasant speech," he nodded softly and powder hugged him proudly.

"You guys made it, you're really changing this place for the better," powder smiled brightly at her closest friend.

"Thank you powder... are you sure you're alright? You seem like you're trying to distract yourself?" Viktor saw right through her chattiness. She pursed her lips but nodded with a smile.

"I'm fine, just a little overwhelmed with the day, but we gotta move forward right?" She didn't want to worry him. She didn't want him knowing she was almost kidnapped for whatever reason, not today and hopefully Jayce wouldn't tell him either yet.

"Right, we alright must move forward," Viktor agreed letting it go. But something still felt off but she didn't want to talk about it so he'd let her come to him when she was ready.

"So when is this speech?" Powder asked.

"I'm so glad you asked," Jayce walked in on his little team. "Just a few hours but we have some work to do,"

"Sir yes sir," powder puffed up her chest and saluted to him as a joke.

"Come on you two we don't have all day," Viktor shook his head smiling as they went to their invention close to the window.

They got to work as powder and Viktor sat on the ground with large cable plugs as Jayce screwed in the final touches.

"Do you think he will approve?" Viktor asked as they worked for a while on their project.

"Why wouldn't he?" Powder asked standing up and lifting the plug up to where it needed to connect.

"Heimerdinger believes science should be used to improve lives as much as we do, we just need to show him it's safe," Jayce wasn't worried while he had his back to them when he worked.

"And what about the council?" Viktor questioned still.

Jayce sat with his feet on the desk while he tinkered with the hex crystal.

"We stabilize the crystals like they asked," Jayce told him not thinking much more of it. "Built the hex gates like they asked, it's our turn to decide the fate of the hexgate,"

Powder raised a brow at her brother figure and looked at Viktor with a shrug. Viktor pursed his lips shrugging back at her. They heard heimerdingers little creature pet and saw the professor follow in.

"Professor I'm so glad you could make it," Jayce looked behind him as he moved to get out of the desk chair.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world my boy, so what do we have on the docket?" The professor asked curiously as powder and Viktor stood behind him.

Powder hooked her arm with Viktor as Jayce took the lead to tell the professor what they had in stored for the future, Viktor nudged her telling her to not worry about their power. She pursed her lips keeping a straight face.

"Hextech was suppose to bring magic into the life of the common man, and now it finally can, a hextech gemstone," Jayce showed the professor the smooth small orbs that glowed in their case. Powder held her breath seeing them again remembering how powerful these small magic gems could be. She knew the professor would be aware too.

Jayce walked to the center and placed the gem in a placeholder and held his hand out, Viktor came over to hand him a flat hammer. Powder took a step back as Jayce raised the hammer. Heimerdinger yelled for him to stop when he slammed the hammer against the smooth gemstone.

There was a loud sound but there was no explosion that destroyed them, little blue sparkles fluttered but they were perfectly fine.

"We found the means to fortify the crystals," Viktor explained as the professor was in shock at they found a way.

"This is a version of the crystals that's stable and totally safe," powder crossed her arms confidently as Jayce went to get the rest of the presentation, rolling a table out while heimerdinger waited to see what they were capable of.

"We present to you the next chapter of hextech," Viktor motioned ahead.

"We now can design portable devices, and the gemstone and virtual power anything," Jayce put his hand in a giant gloved that made sounds to move the joints and inside, but Jayce lifted it with ease and showed it off to the professor. Dropping the gemstone in its place on the glove, it powered up and got even easier to move.

He walked over and picked up a medium boulder with a little clumsiness but was able to crush it in seconds.

"The atlas gauntlets, the mining colonies in the fissures can work faster without fatigue," powder stood next to the professor as she talked him through the devices.

"And we have the hex claw, a mechanical arm that is equipped with a powerful ray of light, as dorky as they make them seem, it can create advance possibilities for artificers," she motioned to Viktor as he showed off the Ray machine.

"I want hextech to be a tool for us to build a new world, and with this it is possible," Jayce set the gauntlet down and stood with Viktor.

"So that is our presentation," the zaunie man concluded with an awkward grin.

"Quite amazing gentlemen and lady, you should be very proud," heimerdinger praised them as he got closer to see the devices.

"Obviously there's a few kinks to iron out and screws to be tightened, but given a decade of careful research and it will be ready," he nodded in approval but their faces all dropped. Powder looked taken back as she looked at the men confused. Another decade of research?

"A decade?" Viktor questioned. Powder held her breath as she could feel her worries pick up. No no no no viktor will be fine but they didn't have a decade to see.

"Oh don't worry my boy, it zips past you in the blink of an eye," heimerdinger waved it off.

"With respect professor, we can be improving lives with hextech now," Viktor argued eagerly.

"A breakthrough like this takes time viktor, putting that kind of power into everyone's hands is dangerous, " the professor turned his back to them.

"Keep at it and I'm sure you will discover a way to safeguard hextech against misuse," he told them while walking past them. Viktor jaw was on the floor as he was desperate to have the approval to use it now.

Powder was about to stop the professor but Jayce put his hand out to stop her.

She looked back at Viktor with a worried look. He looked sad and disappointed, but they all stayed quiet for the elder to leave them. They couldn't fight any more if they wanted to continue. And that hurt more.

"Well he didn't say we should stop," Jayce tried to shine light on it.

"Let's just go," powder moved past his hand as she was just as disappointed.

-

As the day went on and jayde had to go on to fundraisers and little gathering, leaving powder and viktor back, he was the face of piltover future.

Powder stayed back in the lab to work her mind off the worries. Viktor left her there while he helped Jayce with some things but it wouldn't be long.

She inhaled a shaky breath and rubbed her eyes with frustration.

"A decade? A decade, that fuzzy muppet should know we don't have a that time, a decade is a joke," powder mumbled to herself but the voices got louder.

"I have stupid rules I can't just abandon!" She snarled hitting the side of her head.

"Powder be early powder stay late, powder don't go making your own gadgets because they won't be approved by the professor, it's bullshit," powder covered her head and pressed her forehead against the cool metal desk.

"If we didn't have certain people who think being cautious will solve the risks we have to take a lot of bigger problems would be improving," she got louder as she got angrier of being told no in the most condescending way.

"Because Viktor isn't getting better because we're being cautious!" She screamed spinning around to nothing.

"Because of risks we have taken leaps and those leaps have been proven to be a success," her face twitched.

"Oh I can show them, I'm not weak, I'm not dumb, just because I was ambushed doesn't make me weak, I'm not I'm not I am not!" She yelled throwing a book at the wall but she gasped in horror when Viktor was standing at the door. Wide eyes watching her.

"I-hey v," powder put her hands behind her back with a fake smile.

"You didn't take her medication," he said without hesitation. Powder opened her mouth to defend herself but she realized she didn't, she forgot, it was at home and she wasn't home today.

"I-I forgot, I didn't even realize," she covered her mouth taking a step back.

"Powder... you were ambushed?" Viktor asked slowly.

"Ah, no, well yea but no I was fine and no one was hurt but some shit happened when I was sleeping, Jayce and I stayed at Mel's last night to stay safe, so I guess I forgot my meds," she pulled her braid over her shoulder and played with the ends, like a child caught in a lie.

"You should've told me," Viktor rushed to her.

"I know I know I would've but with today I couldn't, and I've been fine but when heimerdinger told us another decade it started happening, but I just needed to get my anger out and now I'm cool, I'm chill, breezy," she smiled trying to convince him but he was smarter than her. He knew she wasn't okay.

They were quiet but powders mind was anything but. So she kept a calm face not letting him know that it all was coming back.

"I have it handled," she reassured him.

"We talked to the police and made sure everything is okay, we got it handled last night," another lie.

"You'll tell me if anything else happens right?" Viktor touched her shoulder.

"Of course," why can't she stop lying.

"I'm okay," she hummed.