Chapter 1
"What even is this music?"
A bespectacled woman laughed out loud as she spun around in her chair to get a better look at her new visitor. Agile fingers paused on the keys of the KINGDOM brand laptop on her thighs as she grinned at the older agent before her.
"Aw, Viper, not a fan of folk electronica?"
The chemist narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms as she stared at the engineer before glancing back at the still-snickering mechanic, who had now grabbed her phone and was lowering the volume on the lab speakers. Behind her, another young agent fiddled with the straps of her suit, an amused smile on her lips, static energy dancing along her fingertips. A few large wires snaked out from her seat towards a small, doorway-like frame, a portal.
"Hmph. I came to check on your progress. Sage also wanted me to remind you that breaks for food and rest are not optional," she made a point to look the engineer in the eyes. "They're mandatory after that last incident, Killjoy."
Raze let out another laugh as the engineer grimaced. The Brazilian mechanic sent a teasing grin to her girlfriend as she huffed in return.
"Ach. So she was actually serious."
"She was. And she has Brimstone's backing to enforce it. Frankly, I don't want to deal with another incident because an agent was irresponsible with their health. So, I'm siding with her."
Killjoy's lip curled up in annoyance as she turned to place her laptop on the nearest desk, gesturing to the data running on the screen.
"Progress is slow but steady. However, earlier today, we did reach a breakthrough with Neon's charging." Her expression brightened as she recalled their earlier experimentation to Viper, her hands moving as she detailed the procedure and results.
Raze watched with fond amusement as the young engineer spoke, Viper moved in close to get a better look at Killjoy's computer screens and tablet with all the information of their work. She was always supportive of Killjoy's projects, and while she would always back her partner's ideas or goals, she also knew how stubborn the engineer was about resting. While she normally would allow most of her other whims, Raze would agree more often than not that her girlfriend needed to slow down and take a breather. As such, she turned to look at their other coworker working in the lab with them and smirked.
"Guess we gotta make sure we get dinner after these next tests."
Neon snorted in response.
"Dinner and maybe we call it a night? Have you seen how many cups of coffee she's gone through? I counted the one this morning, one after lunch, and then I think she poured an extra in her thermos."
"Mana, she had more than one this morning. I counted a cup when she woke up, then another right before breakfast. You saw the post breakfast cup."
"Wha– ay naku, is she trying to out do Fade's coffee record or something?"
"Depends. What was the final count?"
Both women snapped their heads to the engineer who was looking at them with a bored expression and a raised brow. She sat back in her chair, watching them before shaking her head at their antics. Her tablet was in Viper's hands as the older woman sat on the edge of the desk, scrolling through the information that was on the screen. The chemist hummed slightly as she tapped and swiped through some of the tabs that Killjoy had running.
"It was twelve cups in the span of twelve hours before Sage gave her a hard cut off."
Three pairs of eyes looked back at her in surprise. Viper only shrugged but didn't glance up from the screen in her hands to look at their inquisitive expressions.
"I was asked to help give her something for the caffeine overdose. It wasn't pretty."
She placed the tablet down and scrutinized the engineer next to her.
"So I would advise you not tread down a similar path."
At those words, Killjoy slowly nudged her thermos further away from her.
"O—kay."
Clearing her throat, Killjoy motioned to the portal frame close to Neon and Raze.
"As I was saying; the tests we did today proved to be enlightening. The lower outputs are succeeding in allowing the portal to activate, though it's too soon and too– err… unpredictable to safely transport a person through to the coordinates."
She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she gestured with her other hand.
"However, with the adjustments Raze and I made to the generator, we should be able to test the same low charge for an extended period and achieve a lengthier pathway activation."
Viper's brow raised, impressed at the amount of progress achieved in just a few days. Ever since their first few attempts at building a working portal to bring the fight to Omega Earth, the engineer had been dead set on not only completing the project, but improving it to be more convenient to use for missions. While the Protocol was focused on touching ground in Pearl or Lotus, Killjoy was looking into various upgrades. Among them, smaller portal projects, a simplified pathway algorithm, and recently, charging methods outside of constantly relying on the Protocol's living battery, Neon.
The last improvement caused a bit of an internal dilemma within the young, Filipino agent. While Neon was initially agreeable to the idea of having to provide her services less to powering the portal, she was burdened with some feelings of uselessness. Her original purpose for joining the Valorant Protocol was to provide extra electrical support after all. However, these feelings were quickly assuaged by both Killjoy herself and Fade who argued that she was more than just her bioelectricity and that her abilities in missions were a massive advantage to the organization. Not to mention, Neon had made her place in the Protocol, sparks, snark, and all.
Now, with her head back in the game, the speedy duelist was well on her way to earning more free time outside of taking missions. With Killjoy's work, Raze's assistance (Chamber's generous donations) and her power, the group was much closer to their current goal. Perhaps in the next couple of days, they would have the portal fully functioning with an alternate battery.
"I have to admit. That's more than I expected coming in."
Viper's tone brought the attention back to her.
"When will you be expecting to execute the next test?"
A brief glance passed between the three women before Killjoy quickly tapped out something on her keyboard.
"We were preparing another three tests in the next hour. Raze has been quick with equipment adjustments and since Neon is outputting less and less volts, her recovery time allows us more executions."
"I am getting hungry though."
A snort from the engineer.
"And that's why it's only an hour."
Neon grinned towards Raze who reciprocated the expression before checking the wiring on the frame for the generator. With a pleased hum, she turned towards the engineer and chemist at the front of the room with a thumbs up.
"All set bebe."
Perking up in her seat at the confirmation, Killjoy tapped out a few extra bits of code into her laptop before nodding to the chemist next to her.
"Looks like we can start now. Raze, please get clear– yes, yes, behind the yellow line."
Killjoy shook her head in amusement as the mechanic scurried away at Neon's firm glare. The Filippina firmly pointed at the mark that the engineer had frequently disregarded and for which she had endlessly harassed the engineer. She never let anyone get away with ignoring lab safety in the Protocol when she was around.
"Alright Neon, if you would. Let's start at 80% like last timeーyes, good! Hold it there…"
For the next half hour, the trio progressed through two tests as Viper observed. Killjoy had Neon continuously lower her "battery charge" by small increments until the portal fizzled out from lack of power. Between each test, while the engineer applied new codes and discussed results with the poison chemist, Raze would check the wiring and Neon would rest and work on settling her radiance. It was a routine process from their previous attempts.
Upon completing their preparations after the second test, Killjoy had the team settle in for the third test.
"Okay, everything is set once more and the updated algorithm is in place. Neon, please start at 5% less than last– ah-ha. Good."
The Filippina glowed faintly in her seat, small sparks dancing across her body as she channeled her radiance into the machine. Her focus was pushed into making sure she didn't shove too much of her power into the battery, instead allowing it to trickle slowly into it. It wasn't harder than her usual concentrated efforts when she would power the full portal but she still treated it quite seriously as she always preferred to err on the side of caution with her ability.
"Wunderbar! If you can hold it there for longer than our last max–"
A popping sound rang through the room, Neon's eyes flashed open in alarm as she felt the minor drain increase abruptly. Before she could react, the portal stuttered, flashed, and fizzled out. A flurry of German curses filled the room as Killjoy stood, nearly slammed her laptop onto her desk, and rushed before the smoking portal. The Filippina stood up as well, immediately reigning in her radiance, her own curses on the tip of her tongue as Raze rushed past to grab her incensed girlfriend. The mechanic immediately pulled the engineer away from the portal frame as wires sparked erratically along the metal.
"Oi, oi, oi, gatinha, let's not touch that barehanded ok?"
"But at this rate the wires–"
"–Yea, lemme take care of that! I'm the one wearing gloves. Check your codes just in case and grab your gloves to help me."
"Gloves– Ach, right…"
Keeping her hands on her girlfriend's waist, Raze moved her back slowly as they spoke. Once she was sure Killjoy wouldn't make another attempt at rushing to check the frame, she let her go. The German immediately spun back around to rush back to her desk, leaving her partner to let out a relieved sigh at her actions. The mechanic briefly locked eyes with Viper who had watched the short exchange with a raised brow and merely shrugged at her expression before turning back to her fellow duelist.
Neon had stood up since the moment Killjoy crossed the yellow tape and had just finished removing the clips that allowed her to send power to the portal from her suit. It was something she quickly learned to do in case of any emergency shut downs to avoid short-circuiting the equipment… even when it already short-circuited.
"Better to be safe than sorry!"
Ironic how it was Killjoy herself who had uttered the phrase and yet spent more time breaking safety protocols than anyone else.
Looking back at Raze, the mechanic met her eyes and gestured with her head to the frame.
"Mind giving me a quick hand?"
The Filippina snorted.
"Sure, I gotchu."
Having worked with the inventing-duo for so long, Neon was now familiar with minor wiring tasks. With her radiance being what it was, the runner could brush off any shocks caused by frayed or faulty wiring and even pinpoint any problem spots faster. It was a lucky bonus for the inventing pair that they ended up enlisting her help whenever she was around.
Walking up to the portal frame, Neon watched as Raze pulled out a pocket flashlight and flat head screwdriver from her side pockets. Her brows raised as the mechanic moved towards one of the panels that held the wires but paused as they sparked again when she approached. Both women glanced at each other in a moment of understanding before Raze dropped the screwdriver in the runner's open palm. Neon stepped forward and started removing the screws and prying the panel open by jabbing the tip in the grooves. Her brows furrowed as a couple of small sparks shot up along the tool and to her fingers before the panel popped off, exposing braids of colorful wires.
Raze clicked on the flashlight and shined its light over the open panel, frowning as she looked over the tangle of wires. She motioned with her chin at the Filippina, who reached into the panel and began tugging the mess out of the frame. Sparks continued jumping out at her as Neon managed to get a bundle of the chords out of the frame. She winced as a particularly strong shock engulfed her hands.
"You good, mana?"
Neon nodded as she stretched and curled her fingers a few times.
"Yea. It doesn't actually hurt but it feels weird and makes my own radiance tingle."
The mechanic's brows raised in interest but before she could inquire further, she was called over to where the chemist and engineer were working. She hurried over to them as Neon watched the trio huddle over the screens before turning back to the wires.
‘They're still sparking… How?'
The Filippina shrugged to herself before leaning in to look over the wire, eyes narrowing as she kept hearing a soft hum from them. She tilted her head, trying to follow some of the paths of the colorful chords to see if she could spot any issues. After a few seconds of scrutinizing them, Neon spotted a few holes in their rubber outer layer exposing the metal wiring under it. Carefully, she pulled at the single chords from the bundle and focused in on the open areas. Taking note of the amplified humming from the currents that still passed through, she investigated further, tugging more chords from the panel in the frame.
"Nakita din kita…"
A small knot of frayed metal caught her eye as it appeared. Without much thought, Neon reached out and grasped it, gritting her teeth when a surge of electricity rushed through her hands and up her arms. She felt the abrupt tug on her radiance and concentrated on keeping it calm as the current continued its barrage. Alarm bells went off in her mind as she realized it wasn't just a wayward spark as before but a constant stream that she was now connected to.
She barely heard Killjoy's shout as her mind made a grave realization.
‘It's still turned on?!'
A light flashed within the portal frame as a sudden blast of sound like stretching the rubber of a helium-filled balloon screeched through the lab. Neon felt a full body tug as the portal opened, her instinct to run triggering her overdrive ability, making her brown eyes glow blue and her hair light up. Unfortunately, her reaction would not ensure her safety.
Her hand was still tangled in the wires that encompassed the portal battery, further powering it and essentially throwing open the door to the otherside. It tugged with the strength of an enormous vacuum at full power
Neon only had a moment to look up and make eye contact with her teammates before she was gone.
The portal had shut itself off a second or two later when its wiring had been ripped out–thanks in part to Neon's desperate grip on it. Killjoy stared in horrified awe as she traced the remaining wires to their perfectly sliced ends at the portal entrance.
"H-Holy shit…"
Raze's gasping breath against her ear brought her mind back to her current situation–her body sprawled on its front and pinned to the cold floor by the mechanic's. Killjoy had met Neon's wide-eyed, panic and fear–stricken gaze and reacted by bursting out of her chair and rushing towards the portal. She had been too late, but fearing the worst, her girlfriend had reacted and tackled her down considering the portal had still been active at that moment. Now she could only stare at where their friend had disappeared with growing horror and guilt.
"...She's gone. She's gone and–"
The engineer's breath caught as the shock of the moment set in. Her breath came in heavy, quick gasps and she felt her heart thunder in her chest. The warmth from the body above her felt like a furnace as her hands clawed at the metallic tiles below her and the blood rushed in her ears with her gasping inhale.
"KJ?? Oi!"
"Shit she's hyperventilating– Get off her!"
"Oh shit– bebe, c'mon breath!"
Killjoy barely registered as two pairs of hands turned her over and propped her up against the side of her desk. She wheezed as gentle hands helped tilt her head back, carding her hair and adjusting her beanie, but not removing it. A familiar, raspy voice spoke softly to her, coaxing her into regulating her breathing until she could concentrate and adjust it. Slowly, she relaxed as Raze came into her vision, grasping her shoulders gently and smiling reassuringly.
"Good job, Klara. There you go."
She snorted.
"Don't use that name here. We're professionals."
Raze's grin was a mix of relief and teasing.
"Ha! You right!"
With a shake of her head, Killjoy took the offered hand once the mechanic stood. With a small grunt of effort, the engineer got back to her feet, nodding to Viper who had been readying to intervene had Raze's efforts not been enough. Her expression turned grim as she looked back at her screens, the data having frozen the second the portal shut off. She clenched her hands as Neon's fearful expression flashed through her mind.
She had only been able to look on as the Filippina was abruptly ripped from the lab and–
Viper laid a heavy hand on her shoulder.
"Hey. Focus."
She shot a glare at the chemist who only met it with her own.
"We need to start planning our next step. Not get stuck on what just happened."
She motioned to the screens with her head.
"There has to be something we can use in the data. What can we hypothesize about this situation?"
Killjoy took another moment to breathe before refocusing on the screens, her mind back on her task.
"Best case scenario, the portal worked just enough to transport Neon to Omega. She'd be in Pearl and headed to a safe area until we get a team to retrieve her."
She sat down in her chair once more and grabbed her laptop, fingers flying over the keys as she tabbed through windows of data.
"Worst case scenario, she was–" Killjoy's fingers suddenly stopped as she pulled up a screen of coordinates with some flashing a positive green amongst reds and yellows. Her eyes widened as they scanned the numbers and words on the screen. "– NOT torn apart into subatomic components!!"
Raze's brows shot up as she tried to look over the engineer's shoulder.
"Uh, come again?"
Snatching the tablet off her desk, Killjoy let out an incredulous laugh as she transferred the data to it. She spun in her chair, nearly taking out Raze who hopped back in surprise and turned the device so the mechanic and chemist could see the screen.
"It connected successfully! Look," she pointed at the highlighted coordinates and a timer next to them. "These are the accessed coordinates that the portal had been able to connect to in the time it was activated. This green one is from our second test." Killjoy swiped her finger to another tab. "Und this yellow one is from our third test."
Raze nodded.
"I remember– Red means it didn't connect at all. Green means it did and yellow means…?"
"There was a change in connection that prevented a complete success."
"Right. So that's why the third test didn't work."
Viper scanned the data and frowned.
"The coordinates don't match."
Killjoy cleared her throat and nodded.
"Yes, well I was resetting the code for the third test and I suppose something didn't fully transfer.… It has happened before."
The chemist glanced at the engineer before her.
"You made a mistake."
"– Not exactly. You know how sometimes a website doesn't fully propagate due to the amount of information and memory being loaded in? That's likely what happened. The coordinates didn't fully load into the system and so it filled in the rest of the numbers."
"So the new coordinates were applied."
"Yes! And that's what caused the ‘crash' for the test. We hadn't adjusted power for this new location and so the system tried to compensate. Like when a phone goes into low battery mode and prevents the use of some applications. The portal ‘closed' but the system was still running."
As Viper and Raze shared a glance, Killjoy pulled up the final data window with green-flashing coordinates.
"And then Neon's radiance overcharged it by accident."
Viper's brows furrowed as she absorbed the information.
"The portal connected to the new coordinates and she was pulled through successfully."
"Correct! She's on the other side."
There was a pause as the trio fully registered everything before Raze looked back at the portal frame.
"So she's on Omega Earth somewhere instead of Pearl?"
Killjoy winced as she looked at the coordinates, an unsettling feeling twisting her stomach.
"No, she's in Pearl but… somewhere else–"
The trio startled at the sound of the lab doors suddenly hissing open and a familiar bounty hunter stepped through the threshold. She held up two pairs of cardboard cup holders carrying three different coffee-based drinks in appropriate to-go cups, a fourth being held up to the carrier's lips as she sipped. Mismatched eyes glanced between the morphing expressions of dread on Raze and Killjoy's faces and the resigned one on Viper's. Those same eyes scanned the room, landing on the damaged portal before returning back to the trio.
Fade lowered her drink.
"Where's Neon?"