Captain Wynne marched forward, resolutely, not inclined at all to show the failing control over her own body by making up for it with sheer force of will. Even that would fail, much faster than nanites would, Leigh knew, which was why she was rapping her knuckles against Angela's doorway in the middle of the night. It took three sets of knocks and two full minutes before a sleepy Angela finally opened the door, blinking blearily at her psych patient and most recent saved life.

"What time is it, Leigh? It's too early- late?- for this. What do you want?"

"Something's wrong with the nanites, Doctor."

"What sort of wrong?"
"Complete failure."

An hour later found Angela bent over Wynne's neck, holding a multitool over the titanium discs, which were hooked up to a new source of nanites. The current ones were in the process of being flushed out and replaced with ones that hadn't been in the field, as Angela inspected the nanites that the captain had been running on in the past four days. Wynne was lying on her stomach, head turned to the left- towards 'Mercy'- on the operating table that she had been saved on some time prior. Angela had to help her walk all the way to the lab- knocking on her door had taken a surprising amount out of her control, and she hadn't the coordination left to walk any farther. It was just as well, considering Leigh didn't share a room with anyone.

"It appears the nanites were damaged in the meltdown. You didn't feel any heat in your neck, did you? Hmm. It's possible that the nanites had failed to fully function in your discs as a nerve, and only as a conduit. I think that the nanites themselves- which aren't as well protected as you, and are exposed to more of the elements- were damaged from the cold, then the heat, then the cold again. Captain Wynne, I'm afraid you're going to have to avoid any extreme stresses or environments- doing anything that might directly affect your neck could disrupt your nervous system."

Wynne said nothing; she had the pride that came with being an elite soldier, a warrior, and having to lie down and be told that she had to be careful? She wouldn't be able to go into the field. She'd be docked- again.

But instead, Angela gave her different news.

"It's too early, Leigh, I need my sleep. I'll get together with Torbjorn and see if there's something I can make for you, but if we make anything about you more… concrete, secure, it'll require more augments. At this rate, I need to focus more research on spinal replacements. If I come up with something, you'll be the first to know. You should be set, Captain. Your previous nanites have been flushed out and replaced with new ones. Come back in a few days and I'll brief you on anything new. Now go back to bed and sleep- I know you wake up far too early and go to bed far too late. Doctor's orders."

Captain pushed herself up from the table, and slid off it. Back to Angela, she peered over her shoulder, and replied, "Thank you, doctor. For everything and anything else." Hopping off the bed and to her feet, she came around the bed and laid a hand on the tired angel's shoulder, giving her that now-you-pay-attention.

"Overwatch wouldn't be the same without you. You remind us soldiers that we're still human."

Caught off guard and surprised at Leigh's thanks and her little speech, Angela gave the woman a timid smile. You hear a great deal about someone both from them and from others; the Wynne she knew would have considered both of those tidbits 'unnecessary.'

"Good to know, Captain. Now go to bed."

[][][][]

As per Angela's sugestion, Leigh strode right back into the laboratory only an hour before sunset, five days later. Both Angela and Winston were in the room this time; Winston using a plasma torch to weld something in his hardware corner- next to one of his armored jump-jet assault suits. Angela was busy poring over a holotable, examining anatomical scans of a human back, including the entire spine. Next to her, one of the portable tablets was speaking with Athena's voice, the feminine AI giving her results of various simulations.

Giving Winston a friendly nod on her way to Angela's side, Leigh allowed herself, just for a moment, to stop being Captain, and just herself. She needed a break; the last couple days had been tough.

A Talon terrorist attack that they failed to arrive before they had left, and Torbjorn scaring the daylights out of her by leaving a Bastion unit he found in her room. Apparently the Swede had found and brought back a corrupted Bastion unit that found most of its interest consumed with wildlife and nature- such as the bird that had fluttered in her face when she opened the door. She had punched the dwarf, and called him as such. He called her a haughty elf, and yelled at her about not being a dwarf. After laughing his stubby little legs off at his prank. Little gnomes are the worst.

She grabbed the edge of a chair sitting around one of the tables and dragged it to the chairless holotable, swinging it around with a flick of the wrist and a little bit of her own momentum, sliding into it as easily and naturally as water. Ignoring the holotable- besides to place her elbows against it and lean, she didn't have any degree in science to understand its technobabble- Wynne turned her violet eyes on Angela. Black t-shirt, white labcoat, and sweats adorned the doctor, versus Wynne's own tank top, and cargo pants.

"What's up, doc?"

"Ah, Captain- ah, Leigh? How should I refer to you, Captain? I never really knew."

"If I'm training, just myself or someone else, or on the field, it's Captain. Here; call me Leigh or Lylla. Same with you Winston, if you want to know."

"Noted, Leigh," replied Winston, who had admittedly perked his hearing up to listen to the conversation, and was so easily identified for it. He was more than a bit embarrassed, even though it was his own lab, and his underlings.

"Alright, Lylla. Since you're here, I'll get you updated…"

Angela took a breath, glancing sidelong at Athena's tablet, which had silenced itself at Wynne's approach, and began.

"The human spine is obviously a major part of the human biology. Breaking it used to be irrepairable, and replacing it was impossible. What I did with you was entirely experimental; you're a walking prototype at this point, one that's done remarkably well. And, I don't think you've noticed, but the nanites that are now permanently in your system- similar to myself- have actually been keeping you from aging as much.

"The nanites in your system are much weaker than my own, though, because they come from an external source- mine are practically part of my biology by now- and are limited to a single area. They're also trying to act as a conduit for the nervous system, and just the nervous system in only one place. They help keep the body from rejecting the titanium- which it shouldn't anyways- but they were built to repair flesh, organs, not act as a wire for your nervous system. So as they burn out, they're replaced. But the nanites you had were getting frozen, and then thrown into your nervous system- and then they were heated to high temperatures, leading to failures in the rapid temperature different. Nanites weren't made to be so durable; just to do a job under moderate conditions. In my case, I use my staff to heal people, but it's more of a brute force- using a magnetically controlled stream of nanites to brute-force their way into someone's system and heal them. You can ask Reinhardt, or Jack- they were often hacking up dead nanites that their body was trying to purge for days after a terrible battle.

"I need to make you something more stable to run off of, or you won't be able to… live, really. Best case I've found so far is to… You're not going to like this. I'm going to have to replace your spine, and integrate a new type of nanite designed to take the sort of strain for being a conduit, and to help heal you. The system will have to run independently, because even though you haven't complained, everyone knows how much you hate having to carry a source of nanites. You don't have to say it- we can all see it. Unfortunately, replacing your spine… it took a couple days to repair a couple severed discs. I'm going to have to take detailed scans of your back, and design everything perfectly. It'll take a month or three, given our current resources."

Angela waited, after finishing. Her ramble- nervous as she was for offering it all up to someone who hated augments as she did- hit all the key points, but nonetheless, Wynne- Lylla, she reminded herself- appeared completely impassive and thus undecided.

Lylla sat with her fingers intertwined in front of her, staring at Angela. She was too lost in thought about the possibility of having to repair her back even more to consider that she stare was making Angela uncomfortable in multiple ways. In Lylla's mind, it was both complex and simple. Many people liked thinking with logic-logic- purely based off of facts. Lylla thought in natural logic- she took emotions and feelings and instincts, rolled it up with reason and logic. Pure logic didn't get the job done- taking a bunch of men through a least-time, darkest path might be the most efficient, but various elements of the path might render most of the team unfit for combat. This was part of the reason why she was a leader- she took everything into account.

Lylla hated augments, but now she's augmented. She still had a job to do, and she had to get more augments, more invasive augments, to finish it, and to continue. Otherwise- she'd be giving up, even a little. And giving up is unacceptable. She'd already come to terms that she'd lost that no-augment integrity, anyways. Adapt and survive, right?

She gave Angela a small smile, and finally replied.

"I'll see if I can't source you some more help, or the proper resources. Write down whatever you really need- for anything- and I'll see what I can do. Same with you, Winston."

Winston grunted again, internally cursing himself for continuing to listen in on the conversation, and went back to fiddling with a shield generator. He wanted to streamline the process of producing and calibrating these things, so he could toss them out wherever they were needed, without a worry of picking it up and reusing it. Also, adding them to suits they already had- that's something Russia was definitely ahead of them on. More than that, a shipment of Russian mechs were coming in- those would be extremely useful.

So, Angela let out a little breath of relief, though she felt her face burn a little about Lylla's constant stare. It unsettled her, seeing the normally… aloof, reserved, focused Captain assigning special attention to her. Granted, they had spoken quite a bit before- as her psychologist, even ages ago and shortly after she arrived- but even then, she was still the Captain. Now, she was just Lylla.

It unnerved Angela more than she'd like to admit, even though she was curious to see what else she'd do while she wasn't on-duty. Even as the woman's psychologist, she couldn't ever really get inside her head.

Lylla left her feeling confused, nervous, and anxious, fidgetting at her holotable as the captain left the room.

Some time after Lylla had left, Athena finally spoke up.

"Winston?"

"Yes, Athena?"

"Are you aware that Captain Leigh Wynne has been attempting to open communications with several anonymous sources? Every time she's tried, I have tracked her signals and their communicae, when the contacts go through."

"...I did not, Athena. What've you learned?"

"Captain Wynne has been attempting to source… something. Too much of their conversations have been in code. It is either a large device or some sort of program, by my calculations-"

"Guesses, you mean, Athena?" Winston humorously corrected her.

"...yes. Educated guesses." The exasperation in Athena's voice was apparent.

"Why haven't you asked her about it, then, Athena?"

"...You programmed me to have some emotions that affect me. Anxiety, pleasure, et cetera. In this case, I am exceedingly anxious to speak to her."

"Ah. I'll ask her about it, then." Winston was constantly surprised by Athena- by all means his daughter, something that he created to pass something of him on, even if not biologically or genetically.

That little situation over, Winston turned back to the ablative plating variant on his combat armor, and his own decision of the hour: what was his official rank? And, that being considered, what ranks should others be?

[][][][]

It was the second assembly of Overwatch- the second of the new one, anyways. The first one took place while Captain Wynne was in stasis, after having surgery on her neck. This one featured nearly twice as many people as it did those few months ago, and they had to hold it on the former launchpad- there was no other room in the Watchpoint Gibraltar that could hold everyone. It was at maximum capacity, especially with the new Russian mechs and supplies coming in.

Winston was talking quietly to Commander Amari and Captain Wynne at the top of the ramp leading down to the launchpad; the many soldiers and civilians of Overwatch were mingling down below, after being summoned. Checking his wristcom, Athena's voice emanated from it.

"Winston, it's time."

Nodding to himself more than to anyone else, the two women standing to either side in front of him retreated to flank him. While other members of the old Overwatch had joined, and some other members of other militaries, no one had a rank higher than sergeant, and at the moment, the only really recognized ranks were that of Wynne's Captain, and Amari's Commander. This assembly would change that, Winston knew. He hated speeches, but he supposed he'd have to give one now in order to never have to do it again.

Before he could begin speaking, however, Captain Wynne interjected for him-

"Cadets!"

The conversations- which had already begun petering off- stopped immediately, the civilians darting out of the way as all the trained and training members of Overwatch formed up into rows, special or not. Each at attention, each standing tall.

"At ease, and listen up."

Dutifully, all the soldiers- all of them having been trained by Captain Wynne in the past months- relaxed, taking up the hands-behind-back, feet-spread position. Winston gave a small murmur of approval to Wynne, overwhelmingly reassured and thankful for the friends he had made.

"Ahem. Hello everyone. I am Winston, and I triggered the recall for you all to fight for the world once more. We are still a new organization, despite being made of the remnants of an old one, and my role in it has made me a very important person. Or, uh, gorilla."

Ana took a moment to interject, correcting him with, "A scientist, you mean."

"Ah, yes, thank you, Ana. Now, I know that Overwatch is a military organization, and I have been… neglecting it. I do not have the experience to manage such an organization. So, I have come to a… conclusion. A solution to this, to have a proper chain of command.

"I have never had a specific rank, and I believe it would be wrong to have an officially-recognized rank of the military origin. I am just a scientist, after all. So, I have decided that my rank is that of Overwatch's Overseer.

"Commander Amari, you have always served as a field commander, and a leader of men and women. And so, after much deliberation, I have also decided for you to become an Overseer, to assist me in general management of the Overwatch, and other duties, including your former ones as Commander.

"Captain Wynne, you have long served as a Captain, and fought for the world both as yourself, as by extending yourself through the brave men and women you've trained. After extensive research, I've found that of those Overwatch members you trained, all of them have become shining beacons of humanity, strength, and honor. And so, Overseer Amari and I have decided to promote you to First Commander Wynne. You will operate only under us, as you see fit, both in the field and at home. Your duties are still as they are, with the added addition of authorizing a wider array of orders and promotions.

"Overwatch agents Lance, Morrison, Oxton, Greenmore, dos Santos, Shimada, White, Benedict, Amari, and Wutan are hereby ranked as Field Agents, to come and go from any Overwatch facility, operate in the field, and act in the name of Overwatch, and to call on reinforcements to solve any situation.

"First Commander Wynne, Overseer Amari, and myself will post specific ranks for all members according to Amari's and Wynne's reviews and recommendations. Ranks will operate from Trainee, to Cadet Second Class, Cadet First Class, Agent, Sergeant, Field Agent, and then the various command staff rankings. A detailed list of ranks and all their duties and responsibilities will be posted to the datanet alongside the official listing of rankings.

"And now to the last objective of this gathering. Amari wouldn't stop beating into my head that I should save the best for last, so here it is.
"Overwatch activities are no longer suspended and are punishable by persecution by the UN. Through extensive dealing with the Korean and Russian governments, as well as our destruction of the Russian Omnium, the UN is going to be announcing the removal of the Petras Act in approximately two hours. Athena will be playing it by holograph here."

There had been little scatterings of applause, whistling, and a couple cheers at the various promotions, but at that- and from Lylla's smile- the crowd gave a cheer!

Having been filled in, the Field Agents approached as Winston turned back to Ana and Lylla. Gathering together, Ana gave them their first orders.

"Gather what you need. The UN's unlocking all the other watchpoints, and I want someone at each one to clear it out and make sure it's clear. Myself or Commander Lylla will be on standby to support any of you should you call. You'll find new communicators in your rooms; stay safe out there."

With that, the veterans and the soldiers alike nodded, and jogged off, each of them conferring to each other as they began deciding on who would go to which Watchpoint. There were well over a dozen of them, and some were larger than others. Gibraltar just happened to be the second largest.

Lylla and Ana glanced at each other, knowing full well that Talon might likely have something up its sleeves.

"Ladies, before you go… Talon has been quiet in the past couple weeks. Either something big's about to happen, or they're waiting for us. We need to strike them as soon as possible."

Ana replied, "Don't worry about it overmuch, Winston. I can tell from your face- we will take care of it."

Lylla interjected, "I'm going to need to get that surgery done, then. Ana, you'll have to deal with anything that comes up for the next half week or so. Winston? We should get started immediately."

Winston nodded, and began walking with her back to the lab. Already, Athena was cluing in the busy Doctor as to their plan; she was already preparing a table for her next patient. Not as if she needed to; she had been moved to a new facility. One that had significantly more than one table…

The thought of needing so many made her sick to her stomach, but also filled her heart and mind with duty and dedication. People may be getting hurt soon, and the first of them someone having her doing the hurting to get better, but at least she'll be here to save them. And that's the best thing she could do.