"Well?" She sat up from the table. Gazing down at her new mechanical legs, a small smirk played on her face. The reinforced tubes that allowed her legs to function looked marvelous. Sleek yet capable, just as she asked. "Am I as good as you claim?" Her head swiveled to meet their faces.

Torbjörn hesitantly shot a look over to his partner-in-crime, Mei. "Well," he scratched his head. There was no way to put it lightly.

"Well?" Her brows fell flat along her blue orbs.

"Technically speaking," Mei piped up, "yes. However, we're wor-" Her words fell to deaf ears as the cyborg on the table jumped off and started to test out her new system. "Ang-" she paused, knowing full-well that the blonde cyborg wasn't listening. "Angela..." she muttered a bit louder. "ANGELA!"

The woman snapped her head around 180-degrees. "Hmmm?" It was truly a frightening sight, one that made Torb turn a bit green.

"This is serious!" she huffed as her cheeks expanded. "We did this because you left us no other choice. You lack proper training. You lack th-"

"Blah, blah, blah," Angela quipped. "I don't need all that. I'm connected to the AI in my mind. Together, we can do anything. Right?"

There was stark silence.

"Oh," she blushed, "I suppose that AI is actually me. Isn't it? You've downloaded everything directly into my brain."

Mei and Torb exchanged yet another glance.

"Guys," she hobbled forward to wrap her arms around their necks, "stop worrying. I can do this." Brushing past them, she turned curtly to face them both. "I know I'm no soldier, but that's what makes me ideal for this. I know the pains of loss. I know the horrors of war. I can now stop them. I can put an end to this madness. You gave me undeniable power. The ability to see things before they even happen," she tapped her new mechanical eyeball to confirm her statement. "I'm better. New and improved. I'm capable. I can..." she smirked. "I can and will do this! This world needs a hero - a true hero. And I'm the one who's going to rise to the top and put an end to the destruction."

She continued to rattle on for god knows how long. It was long enough that Mei and Torb went about upgrading her suit and getting her dressed for combat.

"And, when the time comes, I can return to my old job." She slammed her fist into her other hand. "Being a world-class doctor!"

"You talk too much," Torb quipped.

"Eh?" Angela blinked and made a mental note of the time. She'd been yammering on for over an hour now. "Oh..." she blushed before turning to inspect the wings that were now fixed to her back. "Uh?" She blinked. "What are these for?"

"You want to be the best," Mei asked. "Then you need to be able to fly. These wings will allow you to glide and these thrusters will give you lift." She smirked. "We thought of everything. If your wings take damage, they'll fall from your body and you can make a new pair." She knocked on Angela's brain. "We recorded everything for you up here. You'll instantly know how to fix yourself, should you not be able to get to us."

Grin spreading across her face, Angela jumped for joy. "Yes," she hummed to herself, "this is excellent. I won't let you down! You'll see," she stepped forward, ready to give another lengthy speech. "I'll be the hero the world ne-" the sound of snoring stopped her. "Oops, sorry. Was I about to go into a long-winded dialogue again?"

"Yes," they commented in unison.

Meanwhile, in Zone Z a tremor caused a bunch of shelves to start dropping their contents. Truthfully, he couldn't care less about the quake. So long as his Can-o-Crap was intact, the rest was ignore-worthy.

Rounding the corner, he began his snail-like crawl down the row. "Somewhere around here," he mused while letting his dulled blue eyes read over the plethora of more-glamorous meal options.

"Hey old man," a kid from behind him spoke up.

At first, he ignored it. But as the title was used repeatedly, he decided to look around to see who the lad was speaking with. When he noticed the aisle was clear, he turned to face the kid. "You talkin' to me?"

"Jeez, took you long enough!" the kid huffed.

His brows furrowed. "Kid, I'm 25."

"You mean 76," he retorted. "Anyway, you need to evacuate the store. The whole buildings coming down. We can't have an old geezer like you die. It's bad for business."

"Old geezer?!" Jack snorted. So what if his once blonde hair had fallen a snowy silver-white color. And so what if his eyes lost their youthful shine! And so what if his face was now riddled with scars and starting to signs of aging. So what if he was slow and grouchy! So what if his eyes and hearing were falling him! He was only 25! He wasn't old enough to warrant such elderly titles!

"Dude," the kid growled, "move it or lose it! I'm not going to hold your hand if you're not going to come with me."

"I ain't coming with you," Jack huffed. "I'm getting dinner. Now why don't you go help an actual elder." He waved the boy off, who mentioned something about it 'being your funeral.'

"Arrogant punk," he hissed. Grumbling to himself, he added, "And I'm only 25. What gives!"

As the floor shook again, he caught the Can-o-Crap out of the corner of his eyes. Slowly, he walked his way toward the precious item. Looked like it was the last one on the shelf too! Boy was he ever lucky!

Hand outstretching slowly, he felt the smooth metal curves of the most protein-packed and nutritious meal found in this whole goddamn town. The can lacked class, but it was seriously the best thing he'd ever eaten. And he grew up on a farm so he was well aware of what good food was supposed to taste like.

Fingering the edge, he went to scoop it off the shelf. Only, just as he was able to fully collect it, a rumble shook the building.

Slowly, as if being played in slow-mo, he watched as the can slipped past his fingers and fall toward the floor. Lunging forward, also in slow motion, he tried to catch it. But in the end, he was too late.

The contents of the can splashed in a horrific brown mess across the floor.

Eyes wide and mortified look on his face, he felt every inch of his composure snap. Dropping to his knees, he assumed the fetal position. Rocking slowly, he quivered over his spilled meal. Tonight, he was starve. Tonight, there would be no beans.

And then another rumble came. As did a maniacal cackle. A villain did this. A monster was attacking his city. A monster destroyed the last Can-o-Crap. One vein at a time, he felt his blood boil.

"WHO DARE ATTACK THE CITY ON MY DAY OFF!" he spat.

Spinning around, he reached for his backpack. Pulling off his lackluster shirt, he donned his suit-a skin-tight black jumpsuit that sat loosely on his lips and thighs. The suit was capable of withstanding everything. The suit he spent three years making. The suit-wait, he hated long-speeches. Why the hell was he going into internal monologue about a goddamn suit! It was just a, and I quote, goddamn suit.

Reversing his jacket, he tossed it back over his shoulders. Reaching into his bag, he slapped the visor over his eyes. And then he grabbed his gloves. His pride and joy.

Curling his hands into a fist, he smirked. Boy did it feel good to play the role of the hero.

Spinning around, he posed before his shopping cart, looking valiant as ever! "Guess it's time to be a hero," he beamed while standing there with his hands on a hips. If only he had an audience! Instead, he had a can of spilled beans to perform for.

Flicking the dust off his leather jacket, he dashed the exit. Seconds later, he was in the street, looking at desolate buildings. "Oh," he said with a hint of awe. "That's impressive." Perhaps today's monster was a worthy opponent.

"And that's going to be my introduction to the world," she finished. It was another hour-long speech about how she was going to take down her first monster. "I'll be dubbed a hero! I can hear them cheering my name! Angela! Angel... eh. No." She shook her head. "Angela just won't do."

Mei had fallen asleep and Torb was on the brink of joining her. "You'll bore your enemies to death if you continue these long, pointless speeches. May you have mercy on their poor souls."

"Mercy...!" She snapped to face him. "That's it! Henceforth, I shall be Mercy, the cyborg angel, hero of the world!"

Picking at his ear wax, Torb shrugged. "Sounds great." Honestly, he couldn't care less. He was ready for her to leave. Hell, he'd have wished she had left hours ago!

Just as she was about to go into another long discussion about absolutely nothing, a siren went off. Red lights flooded the room and Mei promptly woke. "Angela, that's your cue!" She raced to the nearby screen. "Zone Z has a colossal attacking! Go!"

Mercy let out a yawn. "Who's this Angela you speak of. She sounds boring."

Torb rolled his eyes. "Mercy!" he turned it back to Mei.

"Mercy," she repeated, "that's your cue! Zone Z has a colossal attacking! Go! Show the world jus-"

Before she could even finish, Mercy blasted her way out the front door with one powerful kick. Well, actually, it was more like a wall that she now turned into a gaping hole that would eventually become a door. Her strength was peerless, or so they believed.

"I give her 3 hours," Mei bet.

"3 hours? That's too generous. I give her 30 minutes."

With uncanny speed, she arrived at the scene of the crime. Sure enough, there before her, stood a colossal monster with fangs the size of minivans. It's large green body easy to spot against the gray city. It's yellow orbs swallowed every inch of life whole. It was a true terror! A real villain! A villain that needed... vanquishing!

"Hey," she shouted up at the monster, "stop this at once! Or... or else!" She puffed out her chest and looked firmly up at the beast.

Aww yeah, hero time! She felt her confidence growing. She could do this. She was smart. She was capable. She was in control!

The monster rolled an eye down to look at her before snorting. "Get lost. You're no hero," it quipped.

Snarl taking hold, she went to roll up her sleeves only to remember that she didn't have sleeves! She was a cyborg now! There was no need to wear sleeves! She only had her chest plate of arm and long, flowing skirt to hide her lady-parts that were now 95% metal. Oh and we can't forget her kickass boots. She was definitely dressed to kick ass and look sexy while doing so!

"I told you to stop," she said behind grit teeth. Her eyes scanned over every inch of the monster. They absorbed its data and immediately compiled a series of attacks that were deemed heroic and effective.

"Ha," the creature continued to consume the hearse it was snacking on. "Why don't you make me?"

"Very well." Closing her eyes, she listened to her body's tune. The way it hummed. The way it pulsed. The way it vibrated with electrical currents.

With a slow exhale, her eyes finally shot open. What were once lovely blue orbs surrounded by a sea of white where now a glowing golden center with a field of black from edge to edge. "INCINERATE!" she belted out while raising her arms to face the monsters.

Before it could even cock a brow, a ceaseless stream of intense firm erupted from her palms. The heat metaled all that stood in her way, from the trees to the crumbling infrastructure. Nothing could withstand those lava-like temperatures, not even the hearse! Or the birds for that matter. Did someone day BBQ?!

In awe at her new powers, she slowly closed her hand until the beam of fire stopped. Looking at her hands, she smirked. "So cool," she mused, completely forgetting about the target at hand. But hey, it should be dead? Right?

WUUMMMMP!

The sound of wind rushing past her ears was all she could register. That was until her body collided with a skyscraper.

Moaning, she rasped. Every part of her metallic body ached. She didn't even know it possible! But god did it hurt to get thrown through a building and into another one.

Holding her gut, she was able to open her eyes just in time to see a hand curl around her. Jerking her from her resting spot, she was met with the whistling of wind again. God this thing is fast!

Hand coming to a slamming halt before its face, the creature stared down at the small blonde cyborg. "I will admit, that hurt. But you're mine now."

Opening its large gator-like mouth, Mercy started to squirm and panic. Her one eye sensor was cracked and her arms were malfunctioning! At this rate, she really would be gator food!

"I'VE GOT YOU IN MY SIGHTS!" a voice taunted.

Using her only good eye, she caught the sight of a small man running at an average speed at the gator. He didn't look spectacular. In fact, he looked rather old. Grizzled hair, poor posture, tacky red, white, and blue suit with a huge ass 76 on the back. Yeah, there was no way this guy was going to-

"NORMAL HELIX PUNCH!"

Everything went black before it went white. She saw reality tear and the monster literally split in half. Her heart stopped and her core froze.

This. This was true power.

While in free fall, she ran over everything she saw. How she couldn't defeat the monster with her peerless fire power (what was the point of the upgrade only to lose this soon into the game?). How she was easily man-handled by this colossal gator. How she was about to be swallowed whole. To how this random old dude showed up and literally, in one punch, defeated this monster. And now she was falling, with broken wings and no strength to try, to the ground. She'd shatter in an instant and would forever be lost to the world. Yet another useless hero.

"I've got you," that same voice called out. He leaped up to snag her from the air before gingerly setting her on the ground. "You need to be more careful," he quipped while rubbing his aching back. "And I need to do more stretching," he muttered to himself. Scratching his rump, he lazily looked over at the monster. "I was hoping for more of a challenge." He sighed. "Is there no one that can withstand more than one punch?"

Stomach growling, he dropped to his knees. "Can-o-Crap, I'm sorry I couldn't save you," he cooed while tears filled his eyes.

Aside from being a complete weirdo, the old man had impressive power. She knew exactly what she would have to do. Eyes large and shimmering, she crawled to him. "Excuse me," she tapped his shoulder.

"Hmm?" Jack looked down at her.

"Will you," she bite her lip, "will you be my master?"

Blinking, he walked over to the nearby vending machine. Putting in some change, he wanted for a can to roll out. Walking back to her, he clicked it open. Taking a spit, he then spit it right in her face.

"FFFF! Be your master?" He eyed her. She was attractive... for being a cyborg. But master? Oi, what kind of kinky stuff was this cyborg into?

"Yes," her lower lip quivered as she pushed her chest out more. "Please, please teach me. I want to be as strong as you. I want to be a hero. I want to... save lives."

"OOOOOOOH," a large bead of sweat rolled down his cheek. "That kind of master." He laughed nervously to himself before muttering something incoherent.

Her head tipped to the side. "What other kind of master is there?" She asked.

Frantically waving his hands before her, he tried to get her to drop the subject. "Nothing, nothing. It's just," his eyes looked around the debris-filled area. "Uh, here... in, uh, Zone Z, we call 'masters'..." he spied a sign. "We call them sensei." He nodded firmly, attempting to make his statement seem real.

"Oh," she blushed. "Then will you please be my sensei, Master?"

He was forced to turn around to hold his nose to stop the bleeding. Dear lord, why does she keep saying it in the most seductive tone known to man! I can't do this. I can't do th-!

Her hands fell softly across his cheek. "Please, please teach me. I want to help. I want to be as strong as you so I can save the weak, the innocent."

Even though he knew they weren't real eyes, he couldn't help but get lost in them. Besides, he knew that deep down, she wasn't all cyborg. It's just... on the outside she was. Right? Yeah, that had to be it.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat. "You want to be a hero? You want to be strong?" She nodded feverishly. "Then meet me at Lake Waterwater. There..." His head flopped to the side. "Uh, what were we doing again?" He blinked. He was having these memory issues a lot lately.

"You're going to train me to be strong!" she beamed.

"Oh right. Meet me at Lake Waterwater and we'll begin your training." He stepped away and grabbed his backpack. "Until then... bye!"

"Um, wait!" She reached out to him, stroking his chest lightly. "What's your name?"

"Uh," he took a step away so she couldn't feel his thundering heartbeat. "I'm Jack. Jack Morrison."

"I'm Mercy."

"Mercy...?" he leaned in, looking for a last name.

"Just Mercy. I'm a cyborg. I have no last name."

EVEN MORE REASON NOT TO WORK WITH HER, JACK! You can't fall in love with a cyborg! It would be weird! And you're already weird!

"You must have had a name before you became this," he gestured to all of her.

She looked away. "I..." Her gaze met his. "Doctor Angela Ziegler."

"Eh?!" his head flopped to the side. "The world-famous doctor that brings people back from the brink of death?! Why are you...?!"

"I couldn't do it anymore. I hate seeing dead people. I hate having to work miracles to bring them back. I hate war! I hate loss! I hate suffering! So, I decided to become a cyborg. I've been trying for 5 years now. I finally went ahead with the neural implants. I am now one with my AI system. I can hack anything and see everything. Each year, I'd upgrade myself further to ensure my body could handle the stress and strain. I started with my legs and worked my way up. Thankfully, over the years, things have improved and my scientists have been able to upgrade more of me. I just had my legs redone too. Stronger than ever! Faster than before! I had to make sure I-"

"20 words or less," he interrupted.

"Uh?" she cocked a brow.

"I don't want a three part novel of your life. So sum it up. 20 words or less."

"I hated watching people die so I became a cyborg. But clearly I'm too weak. I want to train under you to become strong."

Jack growled. "That was 24 words."

"Less than 20 is impossible," she confessed.

"You lack discipline," he corrected.

"So then you'll teach me?" her hopeful eyes made it impossible to say no.

"Fine," he huffed. "Tomorrow at 3 at Lake Waterwater. Be there or be square."

"I'm not sure I could be a square," Mercy commented.

"It's a figure of speech. For being a doctor, you're not very bright."

"I believe my intellect was damaged during this battle."

"Then get it fixed."

Silence fell between them. Then his stomach growled.

"WELL," he took a sure step away from her. "I should be going. Bye!"

"I'll see you tomorrow, Master Sensei!"

Flopping over, he crawled his way around the corner. This angel cyborg is going to be the death of me!