Wynne dropped down at the table, and glanced around. No one else was in the cafeteria. She checked her new watch, courtesy of Overwatch: 7:33 am. Figures that no one would be up yet; Overwatch was still in its early stages of recall, and it was nothing like the more-or-less military organization that it once was. There were only three cooks, one of them being up this early. The man- she'd say he was about thirty or so- eyed her kindly with something like respect and pride. Wynne didn't mind it, and didn't pay it any attention- just thanked the man for the food, and sat down in the middle of the vast room.
Neither did she pay any attention as a few of the other early risers entered, most of them sitting randomly as they dug into whatever it was for breakfast- eggs, or bacon, or pancakes. So it was a surprise to here a sliding, slightly harsh sound approaching, and then a pair of robotic green legs slid around the round seat next to her, and a Brazillian dropped down next to her. With a tray clattered next to her, she finally got a look at the person whom she met up with, escorted, saved, and then forgot about- Lucio.
The Brazillian studied her as intently as she studied him, before he broke out into a wide smile.
"Leigh Tessa Wynne. A pleasure to meet you! I've tried to see you a dozen times already, but it's only now that you've been outside that ape's lap. About time he started sharing!"
Wynne glanced at the DJ, confused. She hadn't met him before, had she? She knew him out of reputation, of course, because he was the famous DJ who turned vigilante against the Vishkar corporation. She would've interfered a little bit in his favor, had she not been hunted by Reaper all these years.
Ah- this makes sense, now. Reaper finally caught up to her, and Lucio must've been the recruit she was picking up. Amari hadn't mentioned the name of the person she was with, though on reflection, it should've been obvious. She had been in Argentina when the Recall went off, after all- Lucio was one of the few that she'd been able to easily pick up on her way to the Watchpoint.
"Lucio Correia dos Santos? My apologies, I lost my a bit of my memory revolving around the attack; I can't even remember my trip from my previous location. I see you are doing well enough, though I can't help but notice your legs. Did that… happen during the attack?"
Lucio's enthusiasm waned, and nodded solemnly. He glanced down at her own leg, which was still obviously robotic despite the pants and shoes she was wearing.
"Same thing that got both my legs got the edge of yours. If you hadn't pulled me out of the way, I'd be missing a head and chest, not just my legs. For that, I owe you my life, Captain. But you- you had it worse. What's it like living off of nanites?"
Wynne smiled somewhat forlornly, at the return of Lucio's cheeriness, and suppressed a wince. "It is… it takes some getting used to, I will admit. Prior to this, I had prided myself on contributing more to the world by being simply me- simply human. Maybe I'm a little vain, but I've always thought I've done more in my life than Commander Morrison ever did. He went out on missions and commanded elite little task forces. I trained hundreds, who went on to do dozens of great things, each of them. Some of them decided to teach what I taught, and so my legacy lives on. I prided myself on being human, and still having a massive impact on the world. It was hard to come to terms with my new… additions. The bright side is that I feel younger."
Captain Wynne leaned forward, staring down at the toasted, buttered bagel, fried egg, and hashbrowns piled on her plate. She'd taken a bite of the bagel, but little else. After a long moment, she stared at Lucio.
"I'll race you from the launchpad to Winston's lab in two hours. Don't show up late, or I'll assign you cleaning duties."
Lucio's expression instantly switched from a meloncholy thoughtfulness to a wariness and a hint of excitement.
"You think you can beat me in a race, Wynne? You've barely gotten outta your bed."
Captain Wynne gave Lucio a grim smile, one that made him instantly three times more cautious. "Why yes, Lucio, I do. And I think we both need training in our new legs- yours being much more interesting than mine."
[][][]
A small crowd of people showed up to watch the start of Lucio's and Leigh's race, somehow having been leaked out. Leigh Wynne had only meant for it just to be a… race, not a spectacle, but it was too late now. Those aging members of the old Overwatch were discussing among themselves Wynne's odds- and those newer members were crowding around the edge of those groups, trying to gauge the odds of Lucio's speed- which they've seen over the past week, while Wynne's been knocked out- against the former Overwatch Captain, who was 62 years old. A 26 year old versus a 62 year old? Easy odds, right? A few people placed bets on Wynne, who let the gambling slide this time. She saw multiple familiar faces- Reinhardt, Ana, who were standing oddly close to each other, Fareeha, Lena Oxton (talking excitedly and poking everyone), and finally, Winston himself. All of them were dressed in Overwatch casual- an Overwatch jumpsuit, that is, with jackets or hats thrown on as personal decor.
Wynne rolled her eyes. Was a race really worth this sort of crowd? She just about jumped in place as Reinhardt boomed out, laughing explosively, before catching her gaze, roaming across the spectators, and calling out, "Lylla, the odds are against you!"
She snorted at him, drawing several laughs.
Turning to Lucio, who was watching the crowd just as much as she was, she asked under her breath, "Start in three seconds?"
Equally quiet, "You're on, Wynne."
Three seconds later, they bolted from their relaxed poses in front of a crowd to shoot away, drawing cries of surprise and "No fair!" from spectators.
Wynne pushed herself- she knew it was bad to forgo stretching before a race, but it wasn't too far of a distance, and Lucio had a similar disadvantage- though he also had robotic legs. Determined to press on, she quickened her pace, feet pounding against the crowd a little unsteadily until she became accostomed to the different weight and slightly different build of her robotic leg. Finally settling into the rhythym, she was able to force herself even faster.
...Where was Lucio? A quick glance around saw that, as she passed through the hangar's door into the shuttle bay, he was gliding along the leftmost wall, hopping from cargo box to wall, and finally up to the catwalk leading into the belly of the dropship hanging from the ceiling. He was slightly ahead of her…
She shoved herself on, down the slight dip in the center of the hangar and out the other side, charging headlong down the cargo path's dip to go underneath another section of the base. Several soldiers were waiting down here; all of them were cheering her up. The downward plunge gave her a sudden surge of speed, one that she struggled to keep up with and not take a tumble. She used it to charge almost as fast up the slope, and round the next corner. Lucio was wall-sliding almost directly above her- he was laughing almost hysterically at how he was traveling.
No matter; it wouldn't be funny when she beat him. She could hear it now- that sliding chalkish sound of the hardlight boots grinding against the wall as he headed towards the lab's balcony, on the same level as Winston's personal workstation. She rushed up the stairs, taking them three at a time in great leaps of steps. Without a pause, she burst into the lab, startling Angela Ziegler, who was bent over a bundle of white and purple pieces of armor, wiring, and black cloth.
She jerked up, unsteadily, and jerked her head toward the sudden intrusion. The doctor blinked several times, clearing her thoughts, and managed to open her mouth before she started again.
From above, Lucio shouted, "HAH! I WON! WOOoooh, you're already here. Damn. Who was here first, Angela?" Lucio had reached the railing, heaving with deep breathes, and was staring down at the smirking, slightly winded Wynne.
In confusion more befitting a puppy- head tilted to the side, a somewhat blank expression on her face- she pointed uncertainly at Leigh Wynne.
Lucio muttered indistinctly under her breath, and Wynne asked, "Want a rematch?"
There was a long moment of silence before he answered, "In a couple days."
Wynne threw her head back and laughed, heartily. Angela just stared at the both of them in confusion. Wynne turned around and started walking back outside, while Lucio continued leaning against the railing. Not entirely sure what's happening, Angela just stared at Lucio until he waved her gaze away.
"She challenged me to a race. She's been bedridden for two weeks, operated on, had a leg replacement, and she beat me with robotic superlegs the second day she's out." The dejectedness in his voice was so thick you could feel it.
Angela tried to suppress herself but- it was too late. She covered her mouth as she let out a giggle.
[][][]
Wynne made it halfway back to the starting point by the time the crowd- who were talking amiably and following in her footsteps- met her.
Reinhardt Windhelm solemnly took a step forward from the group, and regarded her smirking face cautiously. With a sigh, he pushed a hand into one of his jumpsuit's pockets, pulled out a 20 Euro note, and handed it to Ana. Naturally, she took it and cackled her victory, and turned to the rest of them- "And that teaches you kids never to underestimate us grandmas!"
With a resounding, collective groan from all those who were hoping for Lucio to win, and cheers from anyone who Wynne served with or trained, money was passed back around as the bets finished.
Lucio followed along a minute later, staring dejectedly at Wynne, who had more than a couple congrulations from people. His friends began wandering over, and he gave them a sheepish smile, glad that no one had heard his initial outburst when he thought he'd won.
Then came time for that person to crack a pun- from off to the side, a short figure clomped his way over to the crowd, saying, "It only makes sense that Wynne would win, after all."
The first person to respond was Reinhardt, as per usual- "Torbjorn, my friend! Welcome back to our old stomping grounds! It has been so long since I've seen you, old friend. And the puns, like always!"
As several of the others moved over to the next most interesting thing- Winston came over the Wynne, standing next to her for a moment.
"Satisfied?"
Wynne didn't ask what he was talking about; she knew.
"I am, Winston. We've got a good group. And this leg held up… well enough."
She reached up and pulled a chain out of the neckline of her blue-and-white jumpsuit, revealing a small, quarter-sized pendant the same thickness as a finger. In the center was a small glass pane; blue light shone brightly from it, and there was a sliver at the top that was empty. A small canister of nanites, traveling through the chain that connected to the back of her neck.
"Let's hope everything goes this well. For me, at least- I don't think Lucio's having a good time."
Indeed, Lucio was still moping around, and Wynne punched Winston in the shoulder, friendly enough in theory, though Winston winced slightly.
"You knew Torbjorn was here?" Winston nodded in response. "Been here awhile?" Another nod. "Working on a suit for me with you and Angela?" Winston glanced at her, surprised, and sighed.
"Surprise? We meant to have it finished before you were aware of it, but too late now. You saw Ana working on it?"
Wynne nodded the affirmative, and replied, "It's got purple the same color as my eyes. You're making me a hero."
"You're already a hero, Captain."
"I'm a soldier, Winston, and I'm not a Captain anymore."
"I've already reinstated you. Ana is my second-in-command. I want you to train them- the new recruits- individually. Do this for me, Captain Wynne. I've reviewed your entire file. Anyone you train goes on to do great things, without fail, and they're always some of the best of the best. We're fighting a war, and we're outnumbered and outgunned- even worse than we were when we had the UN's support. Are you with me?"
Wynne nodded in response, and then straightened up, and turning to Winston. Sensing something of importance from the woman, Winston turned fully to her, unaware of watching eyes. Rather seriously, Leigh Wynne saluted Winston- but not with the old salute of Overwatch, the salute that almost every military in the world used. No, this was Winston's operation, and she would salute Winston.
The Wolf raised a fist, and beat it twice against her chest, and gave the Gorilla a fierce smile.
"These newbies won't know what hit them."