Breaking the Shell Ch. 1

With a heavy grunt, Dan struggled to drag the next in a series of heavy crates from the dolly inside of Watchpoint: Gibraltar. Just as he was pulling back with all of his strength, his grip slipped and he found himself tumbling backwards into something large and hairy. Turning back to his boss, he quickly bowed his head, apologizing profusely. "I am so sorry, Sir. I was just trying to move the crates as you instructed, but the dolly's hover function fizzled out so it won't come in here and…" Raising an eyebrow at him, the scientist said nothing, causing his assistant's words to simply fade away before he added one final, "sorry."

"It's fine," the large ape assured him, patting his back a little less than gently. "This cargo is extremely fragile and important, so it's better if I take it from here. Don't worry, I still have work for you, yet."

"Thank you, sir! Can I just say again that it's a real honor to…"

"Winston," he interrupted. "I'm your boss, but that doesn't mean you have to be so formal. And yes, I'm aware, you're honored, ecstatic, eager, or what was the last one you used...oh, enraptured, to work with me. We've been through this, Dan. I'm glad to have the help here."

"Sorry, Winston," he muttered again, watching as the highly-intelligent primate easily carried two crates at a time. Turning from him momentarily, he took a look at his work desk, seeing a small device sitting there. It was one he'd been tinkering on for some time now, especially since Overwatch had been recalled. Well, as much as they could be recalled.

Looking over his shoulder to see the ape lost in his own thoughts, he picked up the soldering iron and began to examine the device carefully. As he began to make minute adjustments, a voice whispered into his ear. "Whatcha doin'?"

He leapt nearly a foot in the air, quickly ensuring that the hot iron that was in his hands didn't land onto the electronic device. "God, Tracer!" He protested. "I hate it when you do that!" Slipping the iron back into its holder, he turned to face the young British pilot. With a zip of light, she vanished and reappeared on the other side of the table, her chin perched in her palm as she rested on her elbow.

"You know Winston doesn't like it when you tinker with his toys," she smirked, the impish like charms simply radiating out of her. Concern flashed across the lab assistant's face, causing her to give an excited giggle.

"Tracer, please. I am begging you. Don't tell Winston…"

"Don't tell Winston what?" he asked, lumbering in to grab another set of crates.

With a playful wink, Tracer turned back to the scientist. "Why, he told me that he'd managed to find the problem with that shield generator of yours. Isn't that right, love?"

Winston's head swiveled in an instant as he gave a huff. Swinging from his tire, he landed with a heavy thud beside his assistant before shooing him away to take a look. "What in the Iris did you do to my device?" He asked, carefully checking the calibrations. Activating it, the thing released a large energy dome around them, causing Tracer's grin to grow even larger.

"I...erm...I adjusted the diaphragm of the energy conflux to .83 instead of .8. I also found a few soldering points that could use some touching up that you didn't…" Again, his words trailed away as the intimidating ape looked down on him. "Sorry, sir."

".03," he murmured, turning away from his assistant to clamber up the rope. "Athena! Care to explain to me how you neglected a 3% difference in dilation?"

"You told me to round the numbers, Winston."

"Yes, but I assumed that you would have known to use two significant digits, as I usually ask for."

"You know what they say about assumptions, Winston."

He let out a frustrated grunt, looking over the railing to look down at the two . "Good work, kid. I knew I kept you around for something."

"Tracer," Dan hissed, "what the hell?! I thought you were going to cover for me."

"Don't know what has you in such a tiff," she answered back, curiously going to inspect the cargo that rested on the back of the carrier. "You know that Winston'd never do anything to hurt you even if you did botch one of his experiments. Not severely, at least. Besides," she grinned, sitting on the dolly and crossing one leg over the other, "we all know you're a whiz with machines, love. Winston may be a genius, but even geniuses need someone to look over their work sometimes."

"Yeah, I suppose so," he replied, slightly embarrassed by her praise. "Oh! I forgot to ask. How was your trip to the museum?"

Tracer's eyes dimmed slightly as she shared a glance with Winston. "Eventful," they both answered simultaneously.

Dan quickly dropped the subject, looking to the remaining crate. "So what's in these crates anyway?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh! Yes, those are items picked up from Watchpoint: Antarctica."

"There was a watchpoint in Antarctica?"

"Oh, yeah. You bet there was!" Tracer leapt from the cart, the excitement now back in her expressions. "They did all sorts of amazing things there, but then, suddenly, all of the researchers there just vanished in the middle of a blizzard. None were ever heard from again." She wiggled her fingers eerily before jerking her thumb back at the boxes. "Well, until we found the cryopods they were stored in and brought them back here to see if they had any good stuff on them."

"We're...grave robbing?"

Winston scowled at Tracer, quickly clambering back down to grab the final two boxes. "She's just messing with you, Dan. You should stop taking everything she says so seriously. We intend to examine them to see if they're still alive. If not, we send their bodies to their next of kin. If so, we catch them up, see what they know about their experiments." Picking up a clipboard in his massive hands, he adjusted his glasses before flipping the page over. "Says they were looking into climate control." Looking up at the dark and murky sky that seemed to loom overhead often, he frowned. "Guess they didn't find much."

"So, does that mean Dr. Ziegler is coming?" his assistant asked, hopefully.

Winston cocked a curious eyebrow at him as Dan's tormenter chimed, "I think he has something of a crush on the good doctor! That or she always brings him candy. I imagine he gets sick of bananas and peanut butter all the time."

"I do not," he protested. "I mean, I do sometimes get tired of the bananas, but I don't have a crush on her. She's just really nice is all. She lets me repair the Valkyrie suit sometimes and it amazes me to just look at it."

"You sure it's the tech and not the shape that interests you, love?" Nodding to Winston, she grinned. "See? Techy candy."

"To answer your question," Winston answered, "no, Mercy will not be joining us today. Though, she did send me this message for you."

Holding out a small screen, he pressed the play button with a massive finger, causing the image of the attractive blonde medic to appear on screen. "Hey there, Winston! I got your call about the Antarctica scientists. I'm sorry to say I won't be able to swing by for a while. I fear I've a major surgery to perform on the President of Zimbabwe, and it's going to be a doozy. However, I leave you in capable hands, none the less. Tell Dan that he needs to open the pods carefully and use the Electrosonic Radium method that I showed him how to do the last time I visited." She made sure to enunciate the instructions very clearly. "With that he'll be able to check their vitals. If they're dead, all he has to do is to melt the ice by gently running water over them until it goes away. Wish him good luck for me!" With a zip, the message closed, leaving Dan completely stunned as the British pilot clapped him on the shoulder.

"She seems to have a lot of faith in you," Tracer pointed out. "See? I keep telling you you should be more confident. You may not be a member of Overwatch, but you're just as much a part of the team!"

Winston nodded in agreement, helping to bring the last two boxes in before setting them upright in an off-room. When he returned, he gestured his assistant towards the room. "Use whatever tools you need, but be careful. Those are still people in there. Treat them with respect."

"Yes sir," Dan quickly answered, giving a small salute before excitedly rushing to his task.

"I wish I could see such motivation when I asked him to do things," Winston grumbled.

"Ah, cheer up," Tracer replied, nudging him with her elbow. "If it helps, you did teach him everything he knows. Next thing you know, he may even start calling you, 'Dad'."

"That's not funny," he huffed, returning to investigate the shield emitter.

Closing the door behind him, Dan shivered. Winston had chilled the room to the point where his breath was fogging up in front of him. "I can't believe that Doctor Ziegler is letting me do this," he commented to the first body. Scanning it with the device just as she'd shown him, he frowned when it came back negative for signs of life.

As he held the hose up, starting from the top down to the base, he just stood there, continuing having his one-sided conversation.

"I mean, I get that I'm smart, you know? Well, I mean...that came out wrong. People tell me I'm smart, I'm not trying to be arrogant or anything. Even still, I like to think that Overwatch likes having me around, even if I wasn't smart."

Looking up into the pale lifeless face of the researcher, just now exposed, he sighed moving to the second and repeating the process to find they were also just a cadaver now.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. This isn't a club house, it's a world organization determined to right wrongs and stop evils. Or so the old stories say. I mean, I was pretty young when they were really big. The golden age is almost twenty years ago now, did you know that? It's so hard to believe! I was only six years old at the time, and I remember that when I was sixteen, I was so upset after they shut down. But I mean, hey! Look at me now, talking to dead people and committing crimes against the world government like a real hero."

As the head of the researcher lulled slightly to the side, Dan scratched his chin in thought.

"Don't give me that look. I know that Tracer is the same age as me, but that doesn't mean that I could be in Overwatch. I mean, she has the ability to manipulate time. That's legitimately a super power. Like seriously, she could do so much more if she wasn't so hyper and took things seriously every now and then. I know what I'd do. I'd find out the lottery numbers then go back in time and win the lottery."

A few more cadavers later, and he was still just muttering away to himself. He only had one more left to go and at this time, he was just rambling to himself.

"I mean, sure. Tracer's cute and all, but inside she's just like a little kid! What does that say about me if I were to ask her out? Exactly! That I have a thing for little kids. See, you get it. Besides, she's exhausting just talking to. I can't imagine having to spend time with her when she's not working."

Finally, he cracked open the last cryopod, causing it to let out a hiss of icy vapors, just as the others had. Boredly, he held up the scanner, running it up and down the large block of frozen ice as it began to flash and beep rapidly. Setting it down, he went for the hose before realizing that thing had indicated vital signs.

"Holy crap…" he murmured, looking towards the block. "You're alive?" Reaching cautiously to the block, he used one gloved hand to wipe away the condensation to reveal that the ice was perfectly translucent. Standing at eye level, he looked inside and found that encased was a beautiful woman. She looked so sad, he noted, before quickly reminding himself that he was in the middle of an emergency. "Athena!" he called, causing the computer to blink on at the console next to him. "Tell Winston," he began, but stopped.

Mercy had entrusted him with this and she was very busy. But...he couldn't exactly just close the crypod again. What if she died before Mercy could get to her? "Dan?" the computerized woman asked. "You had a message for Winston?"

"Yeah. Inform him the woman in the final pod shows signs of life. Then contact Mercy, emergency frequency."

A few minutes later, and the holoscreen shifted to show the image of Mercy in a set of scrubs, her gloves covered in blood. "Dan, this had better be important! I told you that I was in the middle of a very important surgery and…"

"Yes, ma'am. I wouldn't have called unless it was an emergency. I know how important your work is. Regarding the researchers from Antartica, a majority of them were dead, but there is one that is still alive. What would you like me to do?"

The angelic woman seemed surprised by Dan's declaration. It was clear she hadn't expected any chance of survival. "You did well to contact me, Dan. You're really growing up. I'd have half expected you to try to revive her yourself."

He shook his head fervently. "N-no, never," he lied. That was exactly what he'd considered before deciding it was best not to gamble with life the same way that Mercy could.

"Give Athena the following instructions…"

As she began to talk, Dan quickly scribbled the notes down on a notepad to read back to the computer later. Most of it was technical mumbo jumbo that went a little over his head in regards to medical knowledge. From what he did understand though, it sounded like they were just going to put the woman in a bath of water and let her melt slowly over the course of a week.

"Yes, ma'am. Consider the situation handled."

"Actually Dan," a deep voice boomed behind him. "You're being put on a new assignment."

Mercy's screen clicked off when she saw her friend Winston was now overseeing the situation. "New assignment? What do you need me to do, sir?"

Winston's massive hand smacked Dan in the back of the head, just hard enough to make him stumble forward. "Enough with the 'sir'. It's 'Winston'. Anyway, upon your outgoing call to Mercy, Athena managed to pick up a bug from Talon. She quarantined it and put up extra defenses, but there are other potential members of Overwatch that need to be found. We can't risk them knowing where they are."

"So…"

"So we're sending you to South Korea to investigate Hana Song, aka D. Va."

"I've heard that name before," Dan commented. "She's a popular video gamer, right?"

"That's not all she is. She's also the pilot of MEKA, the Mobile Exosuit of the Korean Army. South Korea is one of the few countries that still supports us, and I've spoken with their superior officers about letting us borrow her skills. They assure me that she's up to snuff, but I'd like a second opinion. That's where you come in."

The apprentice eagerly agreed. It wasn't often he was given such an important mission, and this one was one he'd jump on eagerly. "Yes, sir...I mean, Winston. I'll start getting ready. When did you want me to leave?"

"A few hours. Expected resistance, so you'll need to arm yourself. I took the liberty of having one of our finest gunsmiths make you a little something." As the large primate offered the metallic firearm to Dan, his assistant lifted it carefully with clear disgust in his features. "Dan, Winston lectured, "you have to get over your aversion to weapons some day. This is the only way you're ever going to be able to join Overwatch."

"S-sorry, Winston. I don't know why they bother me so much. They just do. I'll use it if I need it though."

With that, the two exchanged salutes, before Dan left to get packed.


A few hours later, in South Korea…


Hana sighed to herself as she stood, fully disguised, in the crowded airport. She hated not having the attention she wanted from the people around her, but the higher ups in the army were very adamant. No unnecessary attention. Still, by holding a sign, she felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb, and not in a good way.

She didn't know who this 'Daniel McQueen' was, and frankly, she didn't really care. Her time was better spent playing games or fightng monsters, not babysitting most likely spoiled brats.

Reaching to her face, she readjusted the dark sunglasses that blocked others from recognizing her, though she'd still elected to keep the pink whisker like pattern on her cheeks. Her dark brown hair was hidden beneath a semi-stylish hat, and she'd been instructed to wear formal civilian attire.

Whatever the South Korean army knew that she did not infuriated her by leaving her in the dark. No matter. She'd handled snobby rich kids before, and through her charm or intimidating presence, she always got her way.

"Excuse me," a voice called to her in very weak Korean. "I think you're here to pick me up."

"Is your name Daniel McQueen?" she retorted. "If not, beat it." When the man just stood there in confusion, she sighed and switched to English, repeating what she'd said.

"Oh, sorry. Yes, that's me. Though, you can just call me Dan. I'm afraid my Korean is pretty weak. This is my first time here."

Hana peered at him over the dark rims of her shades. Well, he wasn't unattractive at least. He had short dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes that'd been all the rage lately. However, the way he carried himself gave off an air of desperation, and that, she decided, could be useful later.

Popping her gum, she lowered the sign, turned on her feet and walked towards the limo that was waiting for them. With how crowded her country had become lately, Hana couldn't help but to peer over her shoulder at her charge every now and then. It'd be just her luck that the idiot got kidnapped before they even reached the car.

When they got there, she reached for the door, but he swiftly opened it before her. She gazed at him in confusion as he just stood there with the door open. "Sorry, force of habit," he explained. "You guys really know how to welcome someone, huh? I can't believe you brought me a limo."

"It's not for you," she huffed. "I always travel like this." Based by the confused look on his face, she could tell that even he hadn't recognized her. Instead of telling him though, she popped another bubble and slipped inside.

When he'd climbed in and shut the door, she gave a sigh of relief. She hated being dressed all formal like. Crossing one leg over the other, she took off her glasses and hat, shaking out her long brown hair.

When he gave an almost inaudible gasp, she couldn't help but to smile. This was her favorite part: when they realized who she was and began to kiss her feet. "Surprised?" she asked. "I'm sorry for being so cold to you earlier. I didn't want to be swarmed when we first met."

"Do we know each other?" he pressed.

Hana nearly groaned and rolled her eyes. What a terrible first line! Next he'd be insisting they went to highschool together. Then something occurred to her. His question wasn't even a pick up line. He genuinely didn't know who she was.

"You really don't recognize me?" she asked. He shook his head. Thinking about it for a moment, she cleared her throat. Holding up a 'V' for victory sign, she flashed a dazzling smile and gave a cute, "GG!"

"Oh! You're her. Umm...dang it, what's the name? I'm terrible with them. Hannah?"

"Hana," she corrected. "Most of my fans know me as D. Va."

"Oh, right. I'll admit, I was expecting someone a bit more...militant."

"I get that a lot," she answered. "I mean, it's not everyday that a government hires an elite gamer to pilot an advanced super weapon. Anyway, I'll forgive you for not knowing my name this time, but if you forget again, you'll be sorry."

The cute, lilting, sing-song she used in her voice made Dan's heart skip a beat. He could scarcely believe how cute she was. "You're in charge of an advanced super weapon? But you're so young!"

"Nineteen to be exact," she boasted. "Anyway, enough about me. Why is it you need my protection anyway? They haven't really briefed me on the person I'm meeting."

"Protection?" Dan asked. "Oh! I see the confusion. Ha, no. I'm not a client. I was sent here to watch you. Not in a creepy way though, more to just survey your talents."

She smirked. "Don't worry. I'm used to guys watching me. I don't mind if you stare."

Her sentence was punctuated with a flirty wink, as Dan tried to remove his foot from his mouth. Before he could speak though, there was a loud boom, causing the windows to shatter before a grenade flew inside.

The cabin filled with a purple mist, causing the two of them to cough. "Damn it!" D. Va cried, slapping a button on her wrist. "You! Out of the car." Her cute tone was gone now as she shoved Dan outside, just as a heavy looking bipedal robot smashed onto the roof of the limo.

The apprentice continued clearing the toxic gas from his lungs, as he fumbled with his briefcase. Managing to draw his pistol he wheeled about looking for the one responsible for the ambush.

Talon was behind this. He just knew it!

Sure enough, operatives began to pour out of the alleyways. Guns raised, they turned to fire at Dan. Just as they did though, a strange red light overtook him from behind. He watched as lasers blasted the bullets out of the air, until they were simply clouds of dust. "Are you all right Daniel?"

Turning to find the source of the light, he looked up into the cockpit of the giant mech to see Hana, hunched over with hands wrapped tightly around a pair of joysticks. Having been rendered speechless, he just nodded his head.

"Go for cover. The defense matrix won't last much longer."

A streak of light tore through the hull of the mech, causing Hana to cry out The sniper's shot had torn through her calf, leaving a nonfatal, but very painful wound. Without hesitation, Dan turned, took aim and fired twice.

"Damn it. She's here," he growled.

Just as another shot narrowly missed his head, Hana's machine burst to life. Jets erupted from its back, carrying it upwards towards where the sniper rested. Widowmaker's eyes went wide as the machine crashed down.

It took all of her training and reflexes to avoid being crushed by its impact, but she misjudged her dive and rolled off the edge of the building. "Hey, get back here!" Hana complained, firing her machine gun after her.

Amelie refused to go out though. Her grappling hook latched onto the building as she swung, landing a fierce kick right into Dan's chest. With a heavy 'oof', he was sent tumbling to the ground. Her boot pinned him down while she placed the barrel against his forehead.

"Bonjour, mon petit chien," she greeted in her native French. "We were disappointed to have missed you back in Gibraltar."

"Shame," Dan grunted sarcastically. "Next time you should be a better shot."

Widowmaker was not amused. "Very well. Au revoir, chien." A beeping from Dan's wrist drew her attention.

Just in time, too. With his electric gauntlets charged, he grasped her toned ankle, sending bright blue arcs across her body. She cried out, allowing him time to roll her, and knock her to the ground. With the charge depleted, he stood up, and drew his gun.

"Stay down!" he ordered.

He heard the sound of multiple guns cocking, and realized that he was surrounded by Talon operatives. Amelie chortled beneath him. "It seems you have forgotten to count."

"Dan, down!" Hana's voice shouted. Suddenly, her weight slammed into him, driving him down behind the car just as Meka crashed in the middle of the ring of people. Her watch began to beep as she twisted the knob. "Self destruct sequence initiated. Let's see them handle this!"

A massive explosion sent the car careening over their heads. The operatives didn't even get a chance to scream. Standing up, the gamer offered her hand to Dan, who used it to shakily get to his feet.

"Holy shit," he murmured. "That was incredible."

"Thanks," she beamed, before her eyes widened. "Daniel, behind you!"

A thick dark arm wrapped around his throat, just as a shotgun pressed up against his temple. "Not bad," Reaper commented before turning to look at the girl. Already, she'd drawn her pistol and had it pointed directly at the skull-shaped mask. "Drop the gun," he instructed. "Unless you want to scrape his brains off of the concrete."

Dan struggled in an attempt to escape his attacker's grasp, but the much stronger man didn't even seem bothered. Irritated and mildly annoyed, yes, but not bothered. With the sound of her heels clicking against the street, Widowmaker emerged, having hidden herself safely from the blast.

Her barrel extended as she drew a bead on D. Va. "You should listen to the nice man, cherie. Drop your weapon."

Please don't do it, Dan thought, but Hana opened her grip, allowing it to fall limply in her hand before she let it clatter to the ground. Slowly, her hands rose in surrender, and Dan knew then it was the end.

No! He wasn't ready to be done yet. Something began to bubble up inside of him. It was like the worst fever he'd ever had, to the point where small wisps of steam rolled off of his skin where his sweat used to be.

"The hell?" was all that Reaper managed to get out before Dan struck him hard in the stomach, causing him to double over.

Fury overtook the apprentice as he wheeled about, striking fierce jabs into his attacker's body. Widowmaker wheeled on him, but Dan had other plans. He ripped her rifle from her grip, before striking her hard with its butt as if it were a bat.

Aiming her own weapon at her, he went to pull the trigger, but the biometric release refused to fire. He snarled, snapping it over his knee and turning back on Reaper who'd barely managed to draw his shotguns when Dan pounced.

Hana watched in a mix of awe and horror as the seemingly timid young man began to claw ferociously at their enemy. He was like a wild animal, hungry for blood. Things escalated when Dan forced Reaper's arms down and grasped his head.

With a swift movement, there was a loud crack. The tell-tale sign of a broken neck. However, instead of falling lifeless, the sinister man vanished in a dark cloud of smoke, leaving Amelie behind.

With a growl, the apprentice lunged at her, hands going for her throat, but she managed to roll out from under him. Just in the nick of time, she leveled her grappling hook, at one of the buildings and skyrocketed away.

Hana watched as Dan rushed at the glass building, trying his hardest to climb it bare handed after her with little success. Rushing to his side, she grabbed his arm, pulling him from the wall.

The fight was over, and they'd somehow survived. Dan turned on her, ready to continue the battle, but the moment his eyes met hers, he froze. The rage left his eyes, and his skin cooled before he sagged limply in her arms.

With little other choice, Hana put her arm under him, helping him to stay upright before talking into her wrist communicator. "This is D. Va. Requesting an ambulance." She paused for a moment, taking in the wide array of corpses from the operatives. "And a coroner. Better make it two."

It wasn't until the ambulance had brought both of them safely to the hospital that she allowed herself time to take a breath. It took nearly no time at all for them to patch up the graze she sustained on her leg, but according to the doctors, Dan was in bad shape.

Sitting beside his bed, she watched as he slept, unable to get their fight out of her mind. Just who was this guy, anyway? Why was he watching her?

Suddenly, the door burst open, and her CO strolled in, dressed in his military blues. The two exchanged salutes. "Song, what the hell happened out there?"

"Ambush," she replied. "Never seen them before in my life. Daniel here seemed to recognize them, more or less. I've only suffered minor injuries, and doctor's think if not for his body armor, he'd have died. They found him to be severely dehydrated, malnourished, and on his very last legs."

The older man swore. "An Overwatch operative comes to our country for the first time in years, and he gets attacked on our watch."

"Overwatch?" D. Va repeated. Her eyes flowed back to the sleeping man she'd only just met. Already, the cogwheels were turning in her head. If he was here to judge her for membership, then she knew exactly what she had to do. A smile formed on her lips. Well...at least he was cute.

"Your mission hasn't changed, Hana. Keep watch over him. Who knows what could happen if these assailants came to the hospital."

"You can count on me," she replied cutely, giving him a salute. He returned it, turning and marching out. The fox-like smile never left her lips. This, she decided, was going to be her ticket out of here and into even more fame and fortune than before.