Zenyatta had been pretty quick to find her, interrupting her breakfast. After apologizing for having used Athena to track her down, he explained that he may have come up with something that could help her if she could only fit him into her schedule. Knowing that the sooner her powers seemed under control, the sooner Jack would put her back on the mission roster, she promised him that she could find time that day. And here she was, sitting with him inside a spare room that he and Genji had renovated into a meditation room. She was anxious, tapping her fingers in no real rhythm. Zenyatta lit an incense before turning to Allegra.

"I believe that trying new things for control is not going to benefit you." Allegra scowled, unsure what they were going to get done if he didn't want to try new techniques.

"You need to think about your past." Allegra growled low, unwilling to even consider it.

"Not with Talon. But before." Zenyatta quickly inputted, hoping to keep her anger low.

"You were young when you were taken, but were you too young for your family to keep from teaching you?"

"My family?" Allegra's voice was quiet as she tried to remember back to her family. Her father was proud of her, the little scrapper that she was back then, and was ready to teach her all about their past. Her mother had been upset, arguing that she was still too young.

"Before many supernaturals gain their abilities, their loved ones teach them measures of control." Zenyatta tried explaining.

"I know." Allegra shook head to clear it.

"I…" She leveled Zenyatta with a careful stare, unsure of whether she was comfortable with talking to him. Could she trust him? Sensing her hesitation, he gestured to the room around them.

"It is sound proof. Anything you share here will remain confidential." Angela had made it clear that Zenyatta could help, so maybe he could be trustworthy as well.

"You won't tell anyone?" She asked him to be sure.

"You have my word." The word of a monk was certainly something. She sighed, before taking a deep breath.

"I take after my father, it's his family that passed the supernatural genes to me. I grew up being told stories about our kind. When I started showing signs of my abilities my father and my uncles wanted to teach me, but my mother was human, and was worried that I was too young. I was never really taught how to control my fire, because it was never an issue. My family kept me grounded, and the stories of my people kept me… they kept me safe, I guess."

"Those stories comforted you?" Zenyatta asked.

"Yeah. Being a species that is so misunderstood, the legends make you out to be monsters. But knowing the truth, it makes it easier. No matter what everyone else believed, you knew what you truly were. The purpose of your powers." Allegra grimaced, and hugged herself tightly.

"Until someone gets their hands on you and makes you the monster that everyone feared you to be." She rubbed her throat subconsciously.

"And why can't those stories bring you comfort now?"

"I haven't thought of them in a long time."

"You know, stereotypes may exist, but they are not always true, and they do not define who you are." He held a single finger up.

"I am a monk; yet I understand that violence can not always be avoided. Genji may be a dragon, and he may like shiny things, but I have not known him to kidnap any princesses. And you…" He gestured to her.

"I might not know what you are, but I know you are not a monster. Monsters do not regret, and monsters do not work towards redemption." Allegra felt tears prickling behind her eyes and her throat go tight. What he said, his acceptance, all of the agents at Overwatch acceptance. Did she really deserve it? She had told herself that she joined Overwatch to get revenge on Talon, that it wasn't about redemption or gaining forgiveness for all the bad things she had done. But there was regret; she regretted everything Talon had made her do.

"I'm not selfless, and I don't want redemption." She denied aloud.

"I don't deserve forgiveness. I'm here to stop Talon, but only because of what they did to me." Zenyatta considered her confession with a hum.

"Will you share a story, one of the ones your father would tell you?" He asked. Allegra tried to remember. It had been so long, and she hadn't thought of those stories in what seemed to be forever. They were just another part of her childhood that she she had locked away. It took a while, but Zenyatta remained silent and patient.

"Beings involved with death are always made out to be evil, because people fear death." She started slowly and quietly.

"But there fear is understandable, because death can be a scary thing. And it is the job of…" She stalled.

"It's their job to protect the souls on their journey to the other realm. The good souls pass easily, peacefully through. It's the others that you have to watch out for. Because there is evil in the world." Allegra was calm, the scent of the incense soothing her as she retold the story her father had told many times.

"A truly evil soul will try to trick and corrupt others, trying anything to escape the fate that they know is waiting. There was a spirit that escaped, and possessed the body of an innocent girl. There was nothing that the mortals could do, they were all fooled by the innocent face. The spirit feared what was hunting it, and told stories of my kind to try and make the mortals fear them, drive them out if they were seen nearby. So now the evil soul was protected, and it's darkness was starting to eat away at the pure soul of the girl. So we… they… were granted the powers of flame. A special flame that could burn away evil. Being able to command the flames, to use them to punish the evil souls. Using those flames to burn the damned soul away from the innocent. The girl was left safe, but the image of the girl being hunted, being burned had cemented the fear into the minds of the mortals and we were forever shunned and feared." Allegra sighed, hugging herself.

"Mindless monsters who can wield the power of fire, to consume anything they wish, it was those false stories that made Talon believe they had found the perfect weapon. Thousand of years of lies led to the slaughter of my family." She found herself growing angry.

"The ignorance of mortals and their false stories have ruined so many lives."

"It is not fair." Zenyatta agreed.

"Fear and ignorance are no one's friend, but will unfortunately always be found within humanity."

"Then how do you do it? How do any of the humans here handle it?" She asked him.

"We have accepted that there are things that are more powerful than ourselves. And we wish to protect the weak from the more powerful sources that have less than honorable intentions."

"How noble of you." She snapped sarcastically.

"It is not noble. We are all as selfish as you claim to be. Everyone here has been faced with the supernatural, many even hurt by it. But we do not let it cloud our opinion. One bad apple does not mean the whole tree is rotten." Allegra wasn't sure how to respond. She knew so little about the fellow agents, to think that maybe their backstories were not as bright as she had assumed made her pause.

"They have made peace with their pasts?"Allegra asked.

"We have. It only further strengthens our resolve to protect others from similar incidents."

Allegra shook her head, confusion clouding her mind.

"Patience." Zenyatta tried to calm her.

"We are not here today for you to dismiss your past; that takes time and must be done one your own. We are here for control of your powers. Which your past can help with."

"Control first." Allegra agreed, glad that she wasn't going to feel rushed. With as much fucked up past as she had, she thought it would be a while until she was over it.

"Pieces of your father's story can help you. Focusing on them while in times of extreme stress or anger; anything which weakens your control, can help you remind yourself."

"A mantra?" Allegra asked with a raised brow. Zenyatta cocked his head thinking of it, then smiled.

"I guess it is, yes."

"What parts?" She wondered.

"There were moments in the story that I believe will keep you grounded. They will remind you of your purpose, that you are more than just your anger." Allegra nodded, understanding the concept, even if it seemed a little ridiculous.

"You were granted the power of flames, a control in order to fulfil your purpose. The power to protect the innocent, and the power to punish the evil. How did the story put it? The damned souls?" Zenyatta gave it more though before getting up and grabbing a slip of paper and a pen. He spoke aloud as he wrote.

"I control my fire. Flames are mine to command. My powers will punish the wicked. Burning the souls of the damned." He handed it over to her.

"I may seem a little dramatic, but I believe it will work. Whenever you feel control slipping, or even if you wish to practice meditation when on your own, repeat this to yourself. If anything it will remind you of your family and the control they wished to teach you." Allegra looked over the paper, silently going over it in her head. It did have a flare of drama to it, but it did make her chest feel lighter.

"Thank you." Allegra looked the monk in the eye. She not only appreciated his help, but also the fact that he was willing to offer it without trying to pry for other information.