I'm a scientist
Winston sat in his ,command center', his work place inside Overwatch's headquarters. He stared at the monitors in front of him with an expression of such deep contemplation, one wouldn't expect to find it on the face of such a huge gorilla.
«You have been unusually quiet lately, Winston. What happened?»
The mechanical female voice echoed through the room. It belonged to Athena, an ultra-highly developed computer system.
He didn't react.
«Winston?»
This time, the large gorilla jerked out of his thougths. «Oh, I'm sorry. You said something, Athena?»
«I wanted to know if something happened. You were unusually quiet these past days. It's not like you.»
Winston heaved a heavy sigh.
«I'm sorry. I just just… lost in thought. It's about Tracer.»
«Tracer? You're already calling her by her call sign now?»
«That's not funny, Athena», the gorilla said with a low, dangeorus growl.
For a second, the computer actually remained silent. «My… my apologies.»
Another sigh. «Never mind.»
Winston reached for a banana and a jar of peanut butter. Then he opened the jar, peeled the banana, dipped it into the peanut butter and took a bite.
«You're still concerned about her condition, then?», Athena asked.
«… Yes.»
To Winston, his family, his friends, had always been the most important thing. Since his escape from the Horizon Lunar Colony moon station and joining Overwatch, the organisation had become his family. The place he belonged to. The place that had touched his innermost core. And the girl Lena Oxton, codename Tracer, was this family's newest member. Like his daughter or younger sister. So, like hell was he going to let her down.
«We're the ones who got her into this mess», the gorilla growled and gulped down the rest of the banana. «We're lucky to have gotten her back at all. But this condition of hers is abnormal. Who knows what will happen to her if we don't do something.»
«But not even Dr. Ziegler was able to help, and she examined every last inch of Lena.»
At those words, Winston froze. They had sparked an idea in him. A crazy idea, but one that might work. He jumped to his feet.
«Winston?»
«I got it now!», the gorilla called as he dashed out the door. «You're a genius, Athena!»
There were a few seconds of silence in the now empty room. Then:
«Of course I am a genius. I am a computer, after all.»
«Dr. Ziegler!»
Winston barged through the office's door, making the blonde medic jump in her chair behind her desk.
«Um Himmelswilla!», she exclaimed, slipping into Swiss German from shock. «Winston! You almost gave me a heart attack. I thought you knew to knock first. And how often do I need to tell you that I'm Angela, not Dr. Ziegler? Because, how many years do we know each other now?»
«Oh… I'm sorry… I guess, I got a bit carried away.» The gorilla scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Her reprimand had calmed him down.
Angela Ziegler, also known as Mercy, sighed, locked her computer and turned her face to him.
«What can I do for you? Is there an emergency?»
«Yes… no… well, not directly.»
The Swiss medic raised an eyebrow. «What is it now? Yes or no? Because, almost breaking down my office door makes it kinda look like an emergency.»
That reminded Winston why he had come, and determination filled him anew.
«Angela, I need your file on Lena Oxton.»
«Huh?»
The large gorilla put his hands on the desk and locked his eyes with hers.
«I know that you've tried everything, that medicine couldn't help her. But it was technology, not medicine, that got her like that. So what if technology and medicine together held the solution?»
A strange, distant look got into Angela's blue eyes, as she studied him.
«You… are very determined in this, arent' you.»
Winston clenched a fist. «I simply refuse to give up on her. Are you with me, doc? I'm no medic, and I will need your help with this.»
A warm smile lit Mercy's face.
«You are of course right, Winston. We can not leave her alone. What do you say you come back here after lunch? I should be free then.»
Winston felt a relieved grin spread on his face. His heart seemed to loose several tons of weight. He had such a wonderful family. Out of a spontanous impulse, he took Mercy into a brief, tight hug.
«Thank you, Angela. I won't forget this.»
«By the way, Winston…» The blonde Swiss gave him a quizzical look. «What makes you sure you'll succeed when everything else failed? This isn't exactly an easy case.»
The gorilla felt a grin spread across his face.
«It's because I'm a scientist.»
