End of the Road

Roadhog went out the same way he came in: without any fanfare, but hard nonetheless. Six Talon agents go down with him, skulls cracked under his thick fists. It was a lucky shot that finally got him, nicked him in the neck and the infamous outlaw was brought down to the floor.

Junkrat doesn't find out for eighteen hours, not until the carrier with Roadhog's team - Reinhardt, McCree, Ana, and that tin-can monk, priest, whatever it is - returns from the mission. Reinhardt's armor is spattered in blood, too much of it Roadhog's. His body lays on the floor of the carrier, poorly covered with a sheet. Jesse comes awful close to chuckling hysterically at how his fat gut pokes through up against the sheet.

Winston doesn't find out for another sixteen minutes, at which point he hears the explosions and yelling from up in command and comes barrelling down expecting the worst.

"You've killed him, you filthy goddamn tin-can piece of junk!" Winston processes the situation immediately - one dead Junker, a still smoking crater, and Junkrat turning on Zenyatta. The skinny Junker weighs maybe half as much as Zenyatta, but drags him to the ground anyways, swinging wildly. Dull thuds echo around as Junkrat lays into the monk, who simply takes the beating like it doesn't hurt. Being a robot, it almost certainly didn't. It's McCree who grasps Junkrat by the scruff of his neck and hauls him up, still swinging.

"Get a hold of yourself, boy!" Jesse damn near raises a hand to slap the life out of him. Roadhog had been a violent, dangerously psychotic man, and a fairly loud part of Jesse was glad to see him gone, particularly if it meant Junkrat was gone as well. He hadn't much sympathy for the cruel or the unjust, and Roadhog seemed like too much of both.

"Go fu-"

"Enough!" Winston's voice booms, all gorilla and no man. He takes Junkrat from Jesse's grip and sets him down, a firm grip still on his arm.

"Ana, Reinhardt, please meet me in central command for a debriefing. Jesse, please get a medical team. I need to speak with these two." The trio nodded and walked away, looking defeated and frustrated with themselves.

Zenyatta slowly composed himself, settling back into his inexplicable floating pose.

"Are you alright?"

"Quite unharmed, if a little dented."

"I'll leave you more than dented, you c-" Junkrat is cut off as Winston tightens his grip, uncomfortably aware of his strength.

"What happened to him?" Winston asks.

"Roadhog was embroiled in a fight with several other Talon agents some distance away from the rest of the team. I believe he was shot through the neck, and died too rapidly for myself or Miss Amari to assist." Zenyatta lowers his head and lets his shoulders fall from the meditation pose. Winston, a man (of a sorts) of science, had rapidly picked up on Omnic body language shortly after they began integration. Without expressive eyes like humans, they relied instead on body language, more like primates and dogs. A pose such as Zenyatta's could only mean deep respect and sorrow at his own failure.

"Metal freak! I'll blow you back to scrap!" Junkrat struggled and squirmed, eyes screwed up to stop the tears. "I'll blow you to pieces like Roadhog did your Omnium!"

"ENOUGH!" Junkrat finally shuts his mouth for two seconds, and even Zenyatta floats backwards a few steps. Winston surprises even himself with his own fury, the way his voice effortlessly fades into a animal roar. In his worst moments - the Talon raid that had led to the recall, for instance - he sometimes forgot he was almost a man and let nature take charge, with devastating results that shook the gorilla to his core.

"Junkrat, you are confined to your quarters as of now. If I hear so much as a squeak from you for the next day, you'll know exactly how a wild gorilla acts." Winston almost tosses Jamison away, glad to have the upsetting young man finally leaving his presence. Even as Junkrat walks off, he mumbles under his breath about tin-cans. Winston turns to Zenyatta and bows slightly.

"My apologies. I knew he and his… enforcer were how they are, but I never thought it would turn so violent."

"I should be the one apologising. I was trusted with Mako's care, and I have failed both him and Jamison."

"Mako? Oh, right. Well, I'd suggest avoiding Junkrat for some time. It may be difficult, but it's for the best."

"I understand, and yet I fear for Jamison's soul should we stray too far apart."

"I'm sorry?" Winston, despite working with a great many unusual and outright mystical people, seemed a little dumbfounded at the idea of a soul.

"I have sensed a great discord within our Junker friend. A discord that I see far too much of in humans his age."

"I… see. Nonetheless, he will need time to process Roadhog's death. Perhaps a few days, at least."

High heels clanked into the hangar. Mercy on call, with a pair of assistants and Jesse to assist with the heavy weight.

"Of course, just a few days. At least."

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