Marvel: Playing Iron Man, Falling In and Out of Love with Jinx

"Dakora, what are you doing here?"

Duke raised an eyebrow in surprise. Dakora greeted Jayce and Viktor with a polite wave, and both returned her gesture with courteous smiles.

"What? I'm not allowed to visit?"

There was a trace of fatigue behind Dakora's usual grace. Duke, noticing her expression, walked outside with her. "Come on, tell me everything. Judging from your face, this isn't just a social call."

"Excuse us," she said softly.

Unlike Duke's casual manner, every move Dakora made carried the refined elegance of someone raised as a noble successor, and now the head of the Ferros family.

Yet only after inheriting the title did she realize how much of a burden it truly was. She had to guard the family from predators, maintain internal stability, and push forward into new frontiers. After only a few days, it already felt overwhelming.

Camille had not intervened in any family affairs, leaving everything to her under the guise of "training." As if that weren't enough, Duke, her supposedly exclusive informant, had vanished without a trace for nearly a week.

If she hadn't come looking for him, who knew how much longer he'd be gone?

They walked out to the coast beside the workshop. Duke gazed at the restless waves.

"What happened? You look seriously out of sorts."

Duke turned to her. Dakora rolled her eyes. "So if I hadn't come looking, you were planning to ignore all family affairs forever?"

"I was... researching."

He raised his hands innocently, as if the accusation surprised him.

"So research is more important than everything else now?"

Her irritation was palpable. Duke nodded without hesitation.

She pinched her forehead and sighed. "You're impossible."

"Alright, fine. I know you've been through a lot. Seeing your great-aunt kill your grandfather with her own hands... that would rattle anyone."

He looked at her seriously. "Just tell me what happened. I'll take care of it."

Seeing that Pride, their mechanical bodyguard, was standing watch nearby, Duke felt confident.

"A shipment of materials from Ionia was intercepted."

"Noxians?" Duke's brows tightened. The name alone soured his mood, mainly because of that unsettling dream with Mordekaiser silently staring at him.

"No, it was held in Bilgewater."

"Bilgewater?" A bad feeling rose in his chest. "Don't tell me... Gangplank?"

"Bingo. The uncrowned king of Bilgewater. The Dread Pirate. Gangplank."

"Damn it."

Duke rubbed his temples.

In Piltover, the Ferros family was the undisputed powerhouse. They could remove anyone who disrupted the city's flow. Such people were labeled 'broken cogs' and swiftly extracted.

But outside Piltover, their influence waned.

In Bilgewater, Gangplank ruled. He was infamous for posting new bounties just to show off his power. His ship, the Leviathan, once belonging to the pirate king Swain, was feared across the sea.

He was cruel, ruthless, and powerful. His ex-lover, Illaoi, the Sea Priestess of Nagakabouros, had once saved his life.

After Miss Fortune defeated him, Illaoi had him dragged from the ocean's depths and subjected him to a brutal divine trial. He endured it and survived, gaining the right to live on.

It was like Illaoi used her E to rip his soul out and then unleashed an infinite R right in front of his face.

Duke recalled all this, stroking his chin in thought. By this point in time, Miss Fortune should be plotting her revenge.

Young Gangplank had forced her parents to forge him weapons. When they finished, he betrayed them, killed them, shattered the weapons, and tried to steal everything.

But she repaired those weapons and returned to Bilgewater for vengeance.

"Maybe... we can intervene."

"Intervene? In what?" Dakora blinked. "We're talking about our cargo being seized by Gangplank."

"Never mind that. I have a plan."

"There's more," Dakora continued. "That old bastard sent an envoy demanding ransom. If we don't pay, he'll sink the ship along with everyone on it."

"Even if we paid, we'd never see the ship or the ransom again. That man would swallow it all whole."

Duke waved to Pride, who transformed into a bike for him to sit on.

"Gangplank is ruthless. By now, I bet the crew is already dead. And if we pay up, we'll be seen as weak. He'll keep coming back for more."

"But if we let it go, it'll hurt our family's standing," Dakora said, pacing nervously.

"Exactly. He's a hungry wolf. Give him one bite, and he'll never stop."

She stared at Duke. "You have a plan, don't you?"

"Two options," he said, raising a hand.

"Let's hear them."

"First, we negotiate. Sign a contract and pay him a yearly sum for safe passage."

He quickly shook his head. "But like I said, he's too greedy. That won't work."

"So, the second?"

"We replace him."

Dakora raised her hand, mimicking a blade slicing down. Duke waved it off. "No, not that."

"Gangplank has made many enemies, Noxians, the Shadow Order in Ionia, even other pirates. But they're all too far to act quickly."

"So what's your plan?"

"We help someone take revenge on Gangplank and take over Bilgewater."

"Someone... you mean a woman?"

Duke nodded. "I've already chosen her."

"But how do you know about this? It wasn't in your dossier."

"When I awakened my magical talent, in the museum in Bandle City, I heard many secrets."

"Hidden truths."

"Fine!" Dakora said, channeling her great-aunt Camille's signature decisiveness. "I'll assemble a team to head for Bilgewater!"

"No need to rush," Duke said calmly. "I've got a better idea."

"What is it?"

"Jayce, Viktor, and I just finished building a prototype Hexgate capable of long-range teleportation. We were looking for a real-world test site."

Her eyes lit up. "You mean, "

"Exactly. Let's run our test in Bilgewater."

"We'll refine the Hexgate and settle this mess in one move."

Duke clapped her on the shoulder. "You know what to do next."

"And you?"

"I've got prep to do. Bilgewater isn't exactly a friendly place. It's far more dangerous than it seems."

With Pride trailing behind, Duke headed back toward the workshop.

The sea breeze caught Dakora's long hair. She tucked it behind her ear and murmured as she stared out at the seagulls over the ocean

"The wind is rising."

End of chapter...

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