Multiverse One Shot Collection - Reader Insert

Arcane - What if?

A/N - Sorry for the repost, forgot to include one of the scenes.

You don't know how long you've been here. The ropes bite into your wrists, a constant reminder of your restraint. The bag over your head reeks of sweat and dust, and every shallow breath feels like inhaling the weight of your failure. The air hangs heavy, oppressive, and still.

A sound breaks the silence—footsteps. Too slow, too deliberate. The floor creaks beneath them, each step dragging you further into the tension. Your chair jerks forward violently, the movement wrenching your arms.

You don't speak. You don't even flinch. Rage churns in your chest like a storm waiting to break. Not for them, not for him.

The bag is yanked off your head. Light floods your vision, blinding you for a moment. As your eyes adjust, you see her: Vi. Her face is bruised, her lip split, but her eyes still burn with defiance.

"Are you okay?" Her voice trembles, tight with restrained fear.

You nod stiffly, your gaze scanning the room. Every detail sharpens in your mind. It's familiar in the worst way—fragmented memories clawing their way to the surface, warped by anger and regret.

And then, you feel it. Him.

Silco.

Your eyes snap to him like a magnet drawn to steel. He sits across from you, tied and gagged, but his gaze holds that insufferable calm. The same calm that mocked you as he tore your world apart. Your knuckles whiten as your fists clench against the ropes. If you could, you'd snap his neck right here, right now.

Jinx's voice shatters the silence. "He took everything from us." Her tone is low, trembling with anger, but her eyes dart between you and Silco. "Vander. Mylo. Claggor. He stabbed Vander in the back... and you'd do the same to me."

"You're wrong," Vi interrupts, her voice desperate. "Powder—"

"Don't call me that!" Jinx's shout echoes through the room, her gauntlet slamming onto the table. The sound reverberates, hanging in the charged air. She turns to you, her wild violet eyes narrowing. "And you. You'd kill him the first chance you got. I can see it. I can feel it."

Your jaw tightens. "He deserves worse. You know that."

Her laugh is hollow, sharp. "Of course you'd say that. You've been waiting for this. You've been waiting to take him away from me, just like everyone else."

"Jinx," Vi pleads, her voice cracking. "He's not worth it. You know he's not."

Jinx ignores her, circling the table like a predator sizing up its prey. Her fingers trail over the objects on it—the replicas of Mylo and Claggor, the bunny, Vander's gauntlet. Each touch is deliberate, almost reverent, but her eyes never lose that manic glint.

Then she stops. Her hand hovers over a silver cloche, its polished surface gleaming under the dim light. She lifts it with theatrical slowness, savoring the tension. Steam escapes in tendrils, curling into the air.

"I paid your enforcer a visit," Jinx says, her tone syrupy and mocking. "Made her something special."

Vi's breath hitches. "What did you do?"

Jinx grins, biting her lip as she reveals the contents: a cupcake. Innocuous, absurd, and yet the sight of it sets your teeth on edge. A gemstone rests on top, shimmering ominously.