A long, agonizing tone resonated in Hana's ears. The wailing phone slipped to the floor while DVa attempted to make sense of the circumstance. Her mind was a flurry of irreconcilable ideas. Only moments ago Hana was lamenting her duty as a protector of Korea, and now she was forced to acknowledge a bounty on her life. She couldn't believe it; no one had cause to kill her. Hana cursed herself for retrieving the phone at all. She was accustomed to a plethora of bizarre mail from fans and foes alike. This situation was no different, or so she reasoned. The call was just a ridiculous prank, someone attempting to rustle her feather, and she only listened because of her shocking nightmare.

There is no need for me to do anything else tonight, Hana reassured herself, I should just get some sleep. She flew to action, adjusting the covers and aligning herself beneath them. She found a cozy position and closed her eyes. No need to worry.

Then Hana heard the loud roaring of a gang of motorcycles without mufflers. Then she heard screaming and gunshots. As sweat wetted her already damp skin, DVa sprung to the window in the wake of the commotion. Her pallid face pressed against the glass, and she forced her eyes downward. Struggling to interpret the fleeting images, Hana could only see a hint of motion on the street. At this point Hana's mind had been completely overtaken by fear. Her breathing hastened; her steps were rushed; every part of Hana's being was flush with adrenaline. Later, Miss Song would only remember the cold, startling fear and her enkindled desire to escape. Finding herself in a t-shirt and shorts, Hana closed the door to her apartment behind her.

A harmonious elevator tone sent Hana sprawling into the nearby alcove. Realizing that she was in great peril, DVa allowed her fear to dissipate and began thinking of an escape plan. Her whole body was shaking with adrenaline, but she couldn't be idle any longer. She pressed against the wall and peered around the corner of the alcove.

The elevator opened, the cool metal of the doors kissing the warm garnishing of wood framing them. Several armed people in ski masks exited. Although their intentions were clearly unscrupulous, the men wore well maintained jackets. Fine brown and black leather sewn with metallic embroidery would have emanated prestige were it not for the repugnantly intense odor of tobacco and motor oil. The man in front held an ornate shotgun matching his vest in gaudy gilding. He gently wrapped his gloved hand over the pump and gave it a tug. The resulting noise sent DVa's heart racing faster than any k-pop superstar ever could muster.

"Stop doing that," one of the thugs said in a smooth but definitively southwestern accent.

The other turned around. "Why should I?" He had a similar accent, yet his voice was slightly gruffer. Again, he pumped the gun and a round ejected from the chamber.

"'Cause yer wastin' my ammo!" the first responded.

"C'mon," said the third, with a voice more robust than the others, "Let the big boy have some fun with 'is shotty. We've got a job; let's get it done."

The first grunted in response. "Fine."

The other spoke. "Which one's the girl in?"

"Should be…" the first looked down the hall, "the fourth on the right."

Hana nearly toppled over as she retreated from the corner. The men had nearly seen her, or so she thought. A moment passed before her breath caught up to her. She inhaled deep. If she could hide herself, she believed she could slip by the hunters undetected. There was an ice machine behind her, so Hana tucked herself behind it, having just enough room to squeeze between it and the wall. The sterile light from the hallway cut halfway across her face as Hana's lone eye observed the corridor. A few seconds passed before the hunters came into view.

A blast of air flushed through the building. The structure shook, and every loose nut or bolt in the complex rattled. The thugs looked at each other. DVa concluded that the men were unaware of the blast's cause. Suddenly, an intense light filled the hallway, leaving no corner in shadow. The hunters groaned in displeasure, shielding their faces. For a moment, Hana felt exposed as if in the light of day, but the light was gradually subdued, and she knew she was covered by darkness once more. As her eyes recuperated from the sensory overload, her ears caught a sound she had not noticed before: the hum of a jet engine. The thugs lowered their arms and turned their combined attention to the window at the hallway's end.

DVa heard glass shattering followed by a hearty thud. The noise from the jet engine also increased as soon as the glass had broken. The men in the hall assumed uneasy stances and gripped their weapons. There was a groaning of metal and then a highly oral voice spoke, "Hullo, gents. I did not expect to see you here so soon." His accent was quite foreign to Hana, Russian perhaps.

Metal clanked and thumped against the floor in rhythm. Every motion this new person made caused the whole floor to heave. The hunters seemed reluctant to speak, but the one at the rear, seeming the most mature, spoke nonetheless, "We were in the neighborhood."

A massive, hulking figured stepped into view. The mass of bulbous metal resembled a boulder more than a man, but Hana could see the man's eyes through a slit in the helm. There was a brief pause in the conversation as the two parties looked each other over. Hana's breath caught in her throat when she realized her imminent doom. Her lone eye was staring directly at the armored man, and he was staring right back. She trembled, feeling a bead of sweat trickle over her brow. Hana prayed that the other thugs would somehow take this hulk down before he revealed her location. She felt like she would collapse from the anxiety, but the man quickly looked back towards the other hunters.

The first hunter spoke, "I don't suppose you're gonna back off on this one?"

"Not a chance," said the metal man, "but I'm sure we can work something out." From what DVa could tell, the man had a stern look even with only his eyes visible.

There was another pause. The tension rose as flesh rubbed against gunmetal. These thugs weren't about to compromise, but they couldn't take down this metal man easily. A brief lull in the engine noise was all the excuse anyone need to act. The brash thug at the front spoke, "Ah, screw it."

BLAM!

A flurry of sparks exploded as the shotgun tore into the mechanized armor. The thug stumbled back from the recoil briefly, but the metal giant took a far more serious hit. The massive metal frame collapsed to the floor with a crash, and for a moment the men couldn't believe it. As smoke rose from the armor, the man in the suit was silent, apparently dead or at least unconscious from the blast. The hunter at the front went to the other side of the man and slapped his helmet a few times. The gleaming metal clinked with each tap. "Hey! You okay in there?" asked the thug. There was no response. "Ha!" the thug laughed, "That was easier than I thought." DVa sighed as her whole being shook with jubilation.

"Alright. Let's get this done," said the other hunter.

"Hold on a sec," said the first.

DVa closed her eyes. All she had to do was run to the stairs when the goons went inside her room. Hana believed she had a real shot at surviving. She smiled as the tension eased away.

The thug pumped his shotgun. "Hello there," he said with a chuckle.

When DVa opened her eyes, she saw the barrel of a shotgun pointed directly into her face, smoke still rising from the tip. That familiar fear and anxiety returned and multiplied tenfold. Hana quaked with horror as the other thugs gathered around her. Tears struggled to escape, and DVa was quickly losing the point of resisting.

The third thug gave a dry laugh. Shaking his head he said, "C'mon. Grab her and let's go."

The first thug grumbled. "We should just end it here." His hand tightened on the barrel, and the mechanics of the gun whispered.

DVa looked up at the thug. She couldn't breathe. This could be the end.

PSTEW!

Hana clamped her eyes shut as a snapping noise rumbled through her ears. Her body rocked with emotion.

PSTEW! PSTEW!

Two more noises echoed in her head, each one as startling as the last.

THOP! PAP! THAP!

Several noises followed, less pronounced than the first three but more robust. DVa opened her eyes slowly and saw the three men sprawled out on the floor. She inhaled haphazardly and began wailing and crying. Her fingers dug into her face while tears covered her body. Hana looked up again, checking to see that her assailants were truly gone. In the hallway, she saw the metal man still lying on the floor but with a silenced rifle in his hands. Hana wept and wailed and gasped.

The metal man clumsily got back to his feet. He briefly looked at the scar on his armor, but the small indentations were nothing serious. The metal man thundered over to DVa's hiding place. She looked at him, tears failing to obscure the blood that reddened her eyes. He sighed, not out of exasperation but of mutual fatigue. Shaking his head, he spoke to Hana, "Sorry, little gurl. Those men are…" The man paused to find the word. "…difficult to deal with."

Hana screamed in her hands. She could barely tell what was happening. Her breathing slowly steadied, but she was completely drained from the whole ordeal. She leaned back as a bit of moisture overflowed from her eyelids. Hana couldn't muster a reasonable response. She didn't want to be taken hostage, but she also felt an immediate gratitude to this man for saving her. DVa had no energy to do anything regardless. She gazed up at the man through a film of tears, saliva, and confusion.

The metal man returned her gaze for a moment, but their interaction was cut short by an abrupt buzz from the man's wrist. A yellow light emanated from a complex panel of systems within the man's suit. He checked his wrist and then returned to DVa. "Unfortunately, we're going to have to cut this short. More are on their way." The metal man turned around and took a few steps before looking back. DVa was huddled into a ball, unmoving and unemotional. "Do you want me to leave you here for more of those men to find you?"

Hana looked up. "No," she responded quietly.

"Then follow me," the metal man said with intensity.

Hana got off of the floor and reluctantly followed the man into the hall. It was quiet now; except for the metal man's suit, only a calming wind could be heard. Stepping over the thugs' dead bodies, DVa received a premonition that she was transitioning into a very dangerous life. Hana followed the man to the broken window, and both of them gazed out into the warming city lights.

The metal man peer over the edge of the building. He looked at Hana. "Grab onto me," he said, extending an arm.

DVa shivered and stepped away. "W-what?" she asked fearfully.

"I'm going to jump out the window. Now grab onto me."

DVa didn't respond; however, the man wasn't giving her a choice. He wrapped his arm around her, lifting her slightly off the ground. As the man stepped into the window, Hana felt dread creeping back through her system. The street could have been a lightyear away, and she still would not be more terrified than at this moment.

"Hold on," said the man.

DVa pressed against the metal suit as close as she could. A pneumatic hiss released from the armor just before the man jumped out. Hana closed her eyes as everything inside her tried to escape through her top. The sensation of plummeting alone was enough to take DVa's breath away, but she knew there was no hope of survival if she hit the ground.

Asphalt splintered as the metal man touched down with Hana safely preserved. As both of them observed their surroundings, they saw numerous motorcycles, but their owners were flung carelessly to the concrete. Clearly a brief firefight had ensued. DVa thought the authorities might have arrived, yet she was quickly disproven.

"Put the lady down," a dry yet robust voice said. DVa thought the accent sounded very similar to the other thugs she had encountered upstairs.

The metal man and Hana, who was still held tightly in his arms, both turned to the voice. A gruff looking man sporting an ornamented cowboy hat and smoking a cigar stood before them wielding an understated revolver. The metal man relaxed a little allowing Hana to touch the ground but still maintaining a steady grip.

The cowboy spoke again, making no movement. "I'm givin' you one chance to hand her over." The man's hat enshrouded almost all of his face.

The metal man's mouth was a little dry. "I killed a few of your old wrangler pals up there," he said motioning to the window high above them, "I'd prefer not to kill any more endangered species today."

The cowboy chuckled. "Weren't my friends, but I'll kill you all the same."

The metal man was visibly uncomfortable, but he showed no sign of easing the conflict. "You know you're only going to get one shot."

The cowboy lifted his head, the gentle street lights glinting in his eyes. "Only need one."

DVa felt the metal fingers of her captor dig into her arm. Whoever was threatening him clearly had the metal man uneasy. While the cowboy and the metal man stared at each other, Hana felt the air around them distance itself as it was replaced by solid, steeling tension. She was sure the metal man was sweating inside his suit, yet the cowboy was completely content.

BLAM!

DVa heard one shot, making her jump a little. She looked around to see who had received the shot, but the metal man next to her was completely unscathed. Hana looked back to the cowboy. The bullet had clearly come from the cowboy's smoking revolver, yet she couldn't see where the bullet had gone. She looked at the cowboy again, who was equally intrigued. Slowly, DVa caught sight of a tiny black splotch floating in mid-air. As she looked closer, Hana realized the splotch was tiny cracks protruding from a bullet hole. She looked to the metal man, who chuckled.

Gradually time and space seemed to give way as color and metal manifested before their eyes. Energy crackled as black steel appeared out of thin air from nothingness. A flying jet craft had been hovering between the two men while maintaining an invisibility field, and it had intercepted the bullet. The metal man shoved DVa forward onto the awaiting on-ramp. The engines flared and Hana recognized the intense humming from earlier. The metal man stepped into his jet also and shouted, "Goodbye, McCree! I'm sure we'll be meeting again soon!" Then the ramp door closed and Hana was enveloped in darkness.

Back on the ground, McCree chuckled to himself as the jet blasted out of sight.

"McCree? Report!" he heard over the coms.

"They got away," McCree responded, "Might be time to let your friend in the military know about this."

There was a thoughtful moan. "Understood. Return to the rendezvous. Athena will be waiting to pick you up."

McCree released a big puff of smoke. "Will do, par'dner."