Everyone looked around at each other, stunned.

"Angela, act fast! Oxton's life depends on it!" Reinhardt said.

"Heroes never die!" Angela said, activating her Valkyrie suit.

Up shot Lena Lacroix, who looked around blankly for a moment. Remembering Widowmaker's hands on her throat, she blinked up and, before anyone could stop her, blinked out into the cold night. Determined to pursue Amélie and bring her back. She searched for twenty minutes not finding anything.

She was just about to leave when she heard sobbing coming from a near by alley. The natural do-gooder she was, she went to investigate, thinking someone might need help. Turns out, there was a damsel in distress; Amélie was in an alley, on her knees crying her heart out and mumbling in her grief.

"Lena, I'm so sorry! I don't want your love if it means you have to die. But don't worry my sweet, I'll join you presently. What do you think of that? We can be together again!" she wept to empty air. She drew her fire-arm and was tackled before she could press it to her head.

"Leave me alone! I want to- Lena?" Amélie said finally recognizing her assailant as she stood.

"Cheers, luv!"

"Non, this isn't real! Mon Dieu, c'est impossible! I'm sorry I killed you, but, but-"

"But what, luv?"

"I DON'T NEED THE GHOSTS OF MY CONSCIOUS HOUNDING ME!" Amélie screamed.

Continuing, Amélie had a whole lot more to say. "Conjuring an image to tear me apart for my sin! I swear I never in a million years wanted to kill you! Now I'm talking and screaming at people who aren't even here."

Lena finally realized the implications of the statement she just heard. Amélie thought she was seeing a ghost, and not a real person. That was when Lena slapped Amélie hard.

Amélie fell flat onto the ground.

"Snap out of it! You didn't kill me!"

"Yes I did!" She said, rising to her feet only to sit back down when the stinging slap finally registered in her brain.

"Oi, alright, you did. But I was resurrected by Angela. I'm alive luv, and I don't care that in the blind throes of a panic attack, you killed me, nor do I hold it against you. As far as I'm concerned, I never died. But I'm here now, mon amour." So saying, Lena sank to her knees and hugged Amélie.

"Lena, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. Do you perchance remember what I said as you choked me?"

"No. What did you say?"

"I said 'Do it. Do it knowing that in life and death, I'll always love you, Amélie Lacroix'."

Amélie's eyes brimmed with tears. She blinked them away.

"Lena. I'm going to ask you a serious question, and I want you to answer it seriously."

"Sure thing, luv."

"Just how far would you go to save me?"

"Are you asking me to put a quantifiable limit on the love I have in my heart for you?"

"No, I'm asking you how far you would go."

"As far as it takes, and then double that. Do you have any problems with that?"

"Mm, no. Definitely not. Why not triple though?" Amélie laughed, and Lena soon followed.

"Come on, we gotta get back there." Lena said through her mirth.

"Will they welcome me after what I did to you?"

"I figure that if I act as if it never happened, then they'll put it behind them. And anyway, they should, specifically Angela, as it means you need medical help."

"I don't need help; I've got you! No matter how cliche it might sound, I can say with absolute honesty that you're all I'll ever need.""

Same here luv. We need to stick together, or else we'll be dead before you know it."


Arriving back at the Cathedral, Amélie pulled Lena aside before they entered it.

"They might arrest me when we enter, so this could be my last time to tell you how much I love you." So saying, she kissed Lena.

"I love you, Amélie. If they imprison you, I'll break you out."

They entered the cathedral, and walked down the hidden stairs until they entered the underground level.

Everyone else looked like they still hadn't forgotten what happened, as when Amélie walked in. McCree drew his Peacekeeper, and Genji drew his short sword, dashing at Amélie.

Lena tried to defuse the situation, but was too late.

Genji had already reached Amélie, and held his sword at her throat.

"Stop! Everybody stop!" Lena shouted for all she was worth. So saying, she blinked over behind Genji and grabbed the blade from his hands and sheathed it for him. Blinking in front of McCree, she took his revolver out of his hand and holstered it. Blinking back in front of Genji, she snatched Amélie away and recalled back to the doors.

"She's alright everybody." She said quietly.

"Lena, she killed you! I know you love her, but does that mean nothing to you?" Angela stated, dumbstruck.

"No. And anyways, how do you know that? I was speaking in French! You don't...? You speak the language, don't you." Lena stated more than asked.

Angela nodded.

"Perhaps it's time for me to reveal what I know." Lena said.

"But first, I want you all to stop calling me Lena Oxton. Instead, call me Lena-"

"Lacroix." Amélie finished, smiling.

"Correct, luv."

The room turned deathly silent.

"That's right, everybody, we're in love, and consider ourselves joined. Angela heard the conversation I had with Amélie in the midst of her panic attack, and can tell you all about it later."

Sorry, Ange! she mouthed, looking in the direction of a now VERY irate Angela Ziegler.

"As for everything else, I started helping Amélie remember herself about a week and half ago. One thing lead to another, and we found out the extent of the damage Talon left behind in order to create the perfect weapon. We had to get to this very base to get Amélie hooked up to the only machine that could heal her broken mind. Or, that's how Sombra made it sound. That's basically everything."

"Well, let me be the first to formally welcome you to this base. And after a few initiation protocols we can perform later, we will all welcome you as an official member of Overwatch, Amélie." Winston said enthusiastically.

"Merci, Winston." Amélie said.

"I just got one question for y'all lovebirds." McCree stated.

"What is it, McCree?" Lena inquired

"Why don't you two get married here if you already 'consider yourselves joined'?"

"When Talon is dead, we will live our lives as we see fit, and you can believe me when I say it will be my first priority." Amélie said with a smile on her face.

"But do you have any intelligence we could use to crush zose Talon villains once und for all?" Reinhardt inquired.

"Yes, I do. And with your help, I wish to strike back at them and destroy them for what they have done to me. And because they stand in the way of me and Lena getting married, I intend to destroy them sooner rather than later."

"Well, tell us the locations of the base, and we can start hitting them. But first we should rally the newer recruits, who are probably just having breakfast." Winston said.

"Wait, Athena owes me a bottle of Aberlour, so why don't we toast Amélie's initiation?"

"That sounds right lovely; I could use a drop o' cold whiskey 'bout now!" McCree drawled lazily.

"Alright. Go get it, and in the mean time I'll ask the young recruits to gather in the conference room." Winston said.

"Athena, luv? Where's that bottle of Scotch that you owe me?"

"I placed it in the common area refridgeration unit."

"Sweet! I'll go get it luvs!" So saying, Tracer blinked off.

Two minutes later, a loud "Athena!" was heard, and Athena started laughing.

"What was that about, Athena?" Winston inquired.

"I shook the bottle."

McCree started laughing at that, and shrugged.


"Sweet! I'll go get it luvs!" Lena said.

She was excited to toast Amélie's initiation, so she had blinked off to bring back the bottle and some glasses. Arriving at the common area, she realized that she had done the most work to get Amélie back; so she wanted to be the first to toast Amélie's return. Opening the bottle, Lena tried to take a mouthful but the bottle cap smacked her in the lip and she got splashed with Scotch. She recalled.

"Athena!" she shouted.

Up came Alexsandra Zaryanova.

"What happen?" she said in English as bad as her monstrous Russian accent.

"So, I've been helping Widowmaker remember for the past week, and now Amélie has resurfaced; breaking the reconditioning, and then Athena dropped by my home where we had been staying and we discussed the fact that Jack has something possibly very bad planned for Amélie, and than we both said that we'd protect her, so I said jinx and asked for a bottle of Scotch then she said sure and now I found out she shook the bottle and now we don't have any Scotch to toast Widowmaker's defection from Talon!" Lena blurted.

"Widowmaker is here?" Zarya said. Someone tried to assassinate Katya Volskaya. Zarya didn't know all the specifics, but she heard that Volskaya was inspecting a new mech when a sniper round whizzed by, cutting off part of her right earring. The only sniper in the world who could make a shot like that was the sniper Widowmaker, who was legitimately owned by Talon. If she was here, she wouldn't be alive much longer, Zarya determined.

Marching off, Zarya had an idea where she would be. That was when she remembered that she didn't have her plasma cannon with her; it was in the sleeping area by her bunk! She wouldn't need it to kill the Widowmaker, she determined. Especially if she was going soft as Lena implied. If that was the case, then her combat instincts wouldn't be her standard reflex; she wouldn't assume hostile intent until it was too late. If Zarya could get close enough without breaking her poker face, she could snap Widowmaker's frail neck before any one could do anything to stop her.

"Where you goin, Z?" Lena called after her. Zarya ignored her.

"Z?" At this point, it was a formality, Lena knew that Zarya must mean Amélie hostile intent, so she followed quietly, trailing a good distance behind Zarya. When she entered the room, Lena blinked to the room and shouted.

"Amélie, she wants to kill you for Volskaya; don't let her get close!"

At that, Zarya charged toward Amélie, whatever pretense she might have used to get close wouldn't work anymore.

Amélie, quick as lightning drew her Widow's Kiss (which she still kept on her back in case of emergencies; like this one.) and shot Zarya straight in the forehead. The corpse toppled to the floor, blood spurting both ways.

"Amélie!" Winston shouted. Walking over, he intended to imprison her. He didn't really want to; it was more for the formality of the thing. But until he could find out why she killed Zarya instead of say, knocking her unconscious, he felt he had to lock her up temporarily so no one else from Overwatch met the same fate. Bad idea; Widowmaker received the high of the kill that she hadn't had in a long time. Backflipping nimbly, she shot a Venom Mine at Winston, releasing a thick cloud of purple gas that hindered sight and movement. Using that for cover, she fled. Lena charged after her; blinking through the toxin and following her outside where she tackled her moments later.

"Amélie, it's me, Lena! Snap out of it! You're not Widowmaker; you feel, you live, you love!"

"...L-Lena?"

"That's right luv, it's me. You have to run, now! Go to my flat and inform Sombra about what happened, she'll be there fast as fast. The comm-link in your left ear has the frequency pre-programmed. But first, punch me as hard as you can!"

"Why?!"

"You have to! Right now, Winston and everyone else who was in that room is coughing uncontrollably, and the only way I can find out their intentions is to make play you're on the run. If I come back unscathed after chasing you, they'll be suspicious! Punch me in the face like your life depends on it, luv!" Lena babbled.

"No hard feelings?"

"Course not luv; it's necessary."

"Sorry, cherie!" Amélie whispered before hauling back and punching Lena in the jaw. Additionally, she swept Lena's legs out from under her, knocking her flat on her back.

Lena saw stars before her eyes momentarily before she felt Amélie sweep her legs out from under her. Her vision cleared just long enough to see her lover Amélie grapple up to the rooftops; vanishing from sight.


Meanwhile, at the Cathedral, Winston had recovered, and was calling Jack.

"You got something to say?" A low voice demanded on the other end.

"Jack, we need you to come back; Widowmaker resurfaced."

"I fucking told you so! Who's dead?" Jack inquired.

"Zarya."

"Why her?"

"What?" Winston asked, not understanding Jack's train of thought.

"Why would Widowmaker kill Zarya? What's the endgame?"

"Just as Zarya entered the room, I heard Lena shout something to Amélie. I could only make out the words-And I'm quoting here-'Volskaya...don't let her get close!' Does that help in any way?"

"That would explain it; I had heard rumors while I was in Dorado that the Russian leader Katya Volskaya had nearly been assassinated by a sniper of remarkable calibre. That must have been Widowmaker."

"How did you hear that? That's not the sort of news that gets around that fast."

"It does on the black market."

"How do you search the black market for information, exactly? How did you get in?"

"I beat it out of some Los Muertos thug who was in the information business."

"The hacker?"

"Sombra, she's called, and no. Some punk the world won't miss."

"I figured as much. Anyway, we need you to come back."

"I'll be there in thirty minutes."

Angela laid a hand on Winston's arm just as he hung up.

"We need to go out and look for her! We can't let Widowmaker run unchecked on the streets of London!"

"I'm aware of that fact. Where's Lena?"

Angela looked around and gasped.

"Oh no! She must have went out to pursue Widowmaker! We have to go NOW!" Angela shouted and darted out the door. She had never ran faster in her entire life than she had now. Winston followed, taking huge leaps. Exiting the Cathedral, they found Lena laying still on the floor twenty-feet away. Angela activated the Valkyrie suit and flew to Lena. Landing on her feet, she crouched down. Shaking Lena, there was no response for a minute or two. All of a sudden-when Angela was worrying the most-Lena jolted up and started trying to get away.

"Lena, it's me!" Angela shouted.

Lena knew that voice.

"Ange? I need medical attention; Widowmaker broke my jaw. Or at least I think she did. I'm going to kill that bitch! I tried to help her, and this is how she repays me?" Even though she said it, Lena secretly had no intentions to do so. But evidently Angela believed her, because she looked at Lena in concern.

"What happened to her being your wife?"

Lena did a double-take as she remembered that Angela had heard the conversation in French. "Widowmaker's not my wife; Amélie is."

"Well, do what you will, but first you need to come back with me so I can treat your injuries."

"Okay, mom!" Lena teased.

Angela sighed; that was positively the single most annoying joke she could think of. But as long as Lena was alive to make it, Angela didn't mind as much. Overwatch was like family, and Angela didn't want to lose anyone else to Widowmaker. Or to anyone else for that matter.


Returning to the Overwatch base under the Cathedral, Angela treated Lena's broken jaw. When that was done, Lena walked out to the front to get some air and was in time to see Jack arrive.

"Fuck you Morrison! Talon bitch? Seriously?" Lena said, irritated.

"Guess what, kid? She killed someone. Since you heard me say that to Torbjörn, you must have heard me express that concern. And I was right."

"Zarya tried to kill her! It was self-defense!"

"I heard all about it from Winston. Anyway, what happened between you two? I figured you'd be together, like in the pictures."

"I ran after her. She broke my jaw and ran away."

"Hate to tell you this kid, but whatever shit Talon did to make Widowmaker isn't easily reversed."

"Easy for you to say, and easier still for me to refute! I helped Amélie remember!"

"Believe whatever you want to believe. I have to stick to the facts. Anyway, there's gonna be a meeting in a minute or two; you coming?"

"Considering Widowmaker doesn't want to be around me anymore, obviously."

"Then let's go. I hear Genji asked his 'Teacher' to come over here all the way from Nepal."

"Zenyatta?!" Lena said excitedly. Ever since Tekartha Mondatta's assassination, she had always wanted to see Zenyatta and apologize for failing to protect Mondatta. She blinked ahead of Jack into the meeting area and saw Genji talking to an Omnic who was able to levitate somehow. She assumed that the Omnic was Zenyatta. They both turned and saw her.

"Hiya!" Lena said.

"Peace be upon you." Zenyatta replied.

"You must be Tracer. I understand you were there when Mondatta passed into the Iris," He continued.

"Yes sir, I was. I'm so sorry. I tried so hard to stop the Widowmaker."

"Fret not, child. It was his destiny. He was going to pass into the blessed repose of the Iris eventually. You did all that was in your power to do. Worry your soul about the Widowmaker instead. She is a creature who has lost its path. No one is beyond help, and the future is not pre-ordained."

With that, Zenyatta turned; the meeting beginning.

"May I talk to you on the subject of Widowmaker after this meeting?"

"Absolutely." He cheerily intoned.

He doesn't even bear a grudge against her for killing Mondatta! Lena thought.

"Alright everyone, this meeting is in order." The loud voice of Winston intoned.

Everyone snapped to attention. The crew was basically the same as the previous meeting, with the exceptions of Tracer and Zenyatta, who were attending.

"At this point, we have reason to believe that Widowmaker has resurfaced. She killed Alexsandra Zaryanova, who it seems, wanted to kill her as payback for the almost successful assassination attempt on Katya Volskaya that she was a part of. She fled, and is presently roaming the streets. We have to find her and-"

"Excuse me, what are we planning to do to Widowmaker when we catch her?" Lena inquired.

"At this rate, we have no choice but to kill her, since it seems that she is incapable of permanently shaking off her programming. Anyone have any problems with that?"

"That's fine with me." Lena lied.

Zenyatta shot a glance at Lena, and, seeing the discord in her soul, he realised that she was lying. He smiled; glad that there was at least one other person present who believed Widowmaker deserved second chances.

"I believe that she is innocent." Genji stated.

Zenyatta flashed a smile before turning to Winston. He had taught Genji well.

"May I speak, Winston?" The Omnic sage inquired.

"What is it?"

"Though she eased the passing of my brother Mondatta into the warmth of the Iris, I bear her no grudge. I haven't seen her at all; not in person, and no pictures have-"

"We have some pictures that she and I took, if you want to see them, Zen." Lena cheerily stated.

"How wonderful! I should like to look at those for a short span of time, before returning my opinion. The Widowmaker is a lost creature, deserving of a second chance, as decreed by the forgiving Iris, who would turn no seeker away."

Lena handed him the pictures and was startled when Zenyatta lowered himself closer to the floor and entered what seemed like a trance state. All of a sudden the pictures started to levitate in front of him. The orbs that floated around him lit up sporadically and rang like bells.

He laughed and, returning the pictures to Lena, he raised himself to the previous elevation he had maintained.

"I sense a duality in the entity we call Widowmaker. There are two beings waging relentless war for control of her body. One is the cold, unfeeling Widowmaker, and the other is the innocent and charming lady who is in these pictures. We could permanently purge the Widowmaker from the body of Amélie Lacroix, but it would require help from the-"

"Iris? You know the iris is a part of the human eye right?" Jack mocked.

Zenyatta turned and inflicted an Orb of Discord upon Jack.

"You are your own worst enemy, Jack Morrison. If you do not change your hateful ways, you will lose yourself in the cold reaches of the Iris' shadows."

"That's not my name, Gandhi." Jack lied. He was startled as to how Zenyatta seemed to know his name even through the mask.

"No secret is safe from the Iris." Zenyatta replied nonchalantly.

"Putting all that aside, we've got to tread carefully." Winston said.

"We have no reason to believe Widowmaker isn't going back to Talon right now. And she has our location. We have to capture her, and if that won't work, we have to kill her." Jack said.

"All in favor of detaining the Widowmaker?"

Everyone raised a hand.

"Now the question is what will we do with her. All in favor of deadly force, raise your hand."

Jack, Lena, and Reinhardt raised a hand.

"All in favor of the non-lethal option raise your hand."

Zenyatta, McCree, Angela, Genji, Winston and Torbjörn raised a hand.

"The count is three for lethal to six for non-lethal. Non-lethal has it. Meeting adjourned." Winston said.

Lena motioned to Zenyatta, who floated over. They walked to her room, wherein she turned and sat down. Looking at Zenyatta, she had more questions than before.

"How hard would it be to fix Amélie?"

"First she must be found. When she is safely here, I would have to talk to her. Invoking the Iris, I would try to purge the memories of the Widowmaker from her mind."

"That's the thing, she wants her memories; she wants to burn Talon to the ground, but she can't do that if she doesn't remember the atrocities they forced her to perform in their name. Is there any way where you could remove the programming but leave all else intact?"

"It is up to the Iris."

"On that note, I know where she is. Would you mind if we were to go visit her?"

"I should be delighted to help her find her way. I wish to bring Genji with me as well, however."

"Why?"

"Because Omnics are still hated in this place. The kind souls who agree with Omnic rights are forced to hide that sentiment, or live underground. Genji would be a prime example of how Omnic and human can co-exist should anyone seek to bar our way, and also, I wish for protection."

"Alright, that's fine with me."

"Genji my student, would you please step this way?" Zenyatta called.

Genji walked over.

"What is it, master?"

"Lena knows where Amélie is; we are going to visit her and try to help her. I would greatly appreciate it if you were to come with us."

"Very well. When do we leave?"

"The sooner the better." Lena stated tensely. She was worried that the longer they stayed in a huddle, the more time Winston or Jack would have to notice their absence and get suspicious. Who knows? Maybe they'd try to follow them too! Lena did not want them to find out Amélie's location because they tarried too long at the Cathedral.

"Let's go." Genji replied.