OWLT 11
McCree woke up in one of the hospital beds, with Ana busily scurrying around while searching for medical supplies. The room was sterile, with a simple wooden nightstand, a pale green lamp, a few IV drips, a heart rate monitor, and various medical supplies scattered on a nearby desk. The curtains were drawn, making the light seem dimmer than it was.
His shirt was off, Jesse noticed. Slowly, he pulled down the thin sheet. An ugly red scar with blue stitches extended from his abdomen to his side. That would hurt when he was off the pain medication.
His left arm was also cut off right before the elbow, with a new prosthetic latch on the end, which is what was used to cover the hole from a lost limb before a robotic replacement was made. He absently noticed his left arm was nowhere to be seen, probably damaged enough to warrant repair from Torbörn when he got back from the Vishkar mission. That's usually where it ended up going after it was damaged. It was either perfectly fine or near destroyed. There was no in-between.
"Captain Amari?" McCree called in what could only be described as a raspy morning voice. She snapped to attention, finally aware that Jesse was awake.
"Oh! Glad to see you're awake, Jesse. How are you feeling?" Ana asked after finding a bottle of soothing cream.
"Like crap. How 'bout yourself?" the cowboy asked calmly, trying to shake the annoying drowsy rasp in his voice.
"I am fine as well. I apologise for the rough stitching. I'm afraid I am not as gifted in the realm of medical attention as Doctor Ziegler." Ana continued the small talk as she rubbed the cream on McCree's wound to make the rash go away.
"And how's Fareeha?"
"She is fine as well. She will be fully recovered soon."
"And how're you?"
Ana quirked her head, raising a sceptical eyebrow. "Get to the point, McCree. We both know you're not one for small talk."
McCree glared. "What's with leavin' us all like that? Let us think you're dead? Didja ever think about what that did to the commander? Or Reinhardt? Or Reyes, or me, or especially Fareeha? How could you just run away and not tell us you were alive?"
Ana sighed sadly, brushing her finger over her eyepatch gently. "On that mission, where Talon's top ranked assassin shot me, those I was supposed to protect, who had family they needed to keep safe as well, died. I had failed to do my job. I hesitated to shoot that sniper. To shoot Amélie. I deserved death after that."
"Bullcrap," McCree called immediately. "Do you know how many innocent people I've shot up? If someone causing innocent people to die is beyond redemption, then you'd have left me dead in a ditch years ago."
"Maybe that's true, but after all that I lost on that mission, I needed time. I decided I could still do my job without the weight of other's lives looming over my head at all times. It made it easier to protect those closest to me."
"We've been under gag orders before. We know how to keep a secret. You could've just told us!"
"Then you would've tried to follow me. To find me. You would put yourself in harm's way for me, which is what I wanted to avoid."
"That's the dumbest crap I've ever heard. I'm a Blackwatch agent. I risk my neck all the time. What're one or two more times?" McCree rolled his eyes, settling for staring at the pale green curtains as Ana spoke.
Ana shook her head. "It is one or two more times I did not wish for. Now sit still and let me apply the bandages!" she chastised as McCree stirred while she wrapped a roll of wrapping around his torso. When she was done, she let out a tired sigh. "There. Now you should try to move as little as possible for the next few days, and I'm afraid we cannot get your arm repaired until after the Vishkar mission concludes. You will need to go a few days without it. As for Genji, he will be wheelchair bound as well until Doctor Ziegler returns."
"So you're just gonna sweep this under the rug?" McCree pressed, glaring daggers at her.
"I'm sorry, Jesse. But I do not wish to discuss this further."
"Yes ma'am," he replied in a way that communicated, "You know I'm not taking your bullcrap but have it your way." "Thanks for patching me up. What happened the intruder, anyway?"
Ana gave a small smile. "She's in holding cell two-A. We were unable to take the Null Sector tech from her since it is physically grafted into her system. Jack and I planned on interrogating her soon," she readily supplied, relieved at the change of topic.
McCree quirked his head. "What kind of 'interrogation' are we talkin' here?"
"Jack and I discussed it. A Blackwatch interrogation would likely not work, given the girl's demeanour. For now, we will use simple questioning, though she is to have someone guarding her at all times since we cannot deactivate her equipment without killing her."
"If nothing else, just kill her with your patented super mom 'I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed look' you used to get Reinhardt to have a meltdown that one time."
"I have to have some advantage keeping you kids alive."
"What happened to not wanting to have to worry about that?" McCree asked slyly, grinning.
"Oh, go to sleep." McCree felt a prick in his neck, saw Ana holding her dart gun, and passed out.
…
Tracer blinked out of the office before anyone could see her. The hallway was irritatingly barren, with blue carpeted floors and clean, white walls aside from the occasional television or Holovid projectors with the Vishkar logo and things written in a language Tracer didn't understand. Tracer ducked behind a wall in a crossroad as one of the Vishkar employees walked past, barely not spotting her.
After whipping her head around to confirm the corridors were empty, she blinked back to the office and gestured for Mercy to follow. If there were surveillance cameras, they were done for. The doctor trailed Tracer. Her steps were quick and light, with her face still ashen from the horrendous view outside.
Tracer blinked ahead to a large opening, where employees were bustling about like a well-oiled machine. The room was minimalistic, with an elevator next to a stairwell. The room had eight doors, two in each corner with some foreign language dictating where they led. The centre of the room had several desks with holovids and keyboards, most of which hosted someone busily typing away as though a mob wasn't at the door. A few potted plants several feet high offered mild protection from the view of the employees busily going about their days.
Using her arms to cover her harness as best she could, Tracer blinked behind one of the plants as Mercy did the same. They both stood, inches away from each other as Tracer waited for instructions.
"Which way?" she asked in a hushed but stressed voice.
Mercy scanned the rooms through the surprisingly thick leaves of the plant. Her eyes settled on one of the odd signs decisively.
Then Tracer heard someone walking towards them. He was looking at them through the plant. His blue and grey suit perfectly matched the blue and grey beam ray thingy he was holding out.
"Lead! Hurry! We're found!" Tracer shouted-slash-whispered through grit teeth.
"That door!" Angela pointed to one of the doors on the opposite side of the room.
Tracer grabbed onto the doctor and blinked with her in tow to the door as the beam latched onto her arm, burning through the flesh. She hissed as she dashed to the hallway, several other employees now on their tails in their variety of dichromatic uniforms.
When Tracer reached a crossroad, she froze, holding Mercy upright as she stumbled from the blinking. "Which way?" she asked curtly, pulling out one of her pistols to defend from the Vishkar employees coming from all sides.
"Left... then right... you'll reach a stairwell... Take it down two floors then go straight, make two rights, and one more left. It should be the fifth door on the right. The number on the door will look like an upside down question mark with..." she gasped for breath, apparently dizzy. "a line going through it that connects to an upside down J." Mercy looked close to doubling over.
Tracer mulled this over in her head, imprinting it in her memory. Unfortunately, the left passage had two or three people guarding it. One was a man, and two were women. One woman was wearing a similar gold-trimmed white dress to the woman killed the Omnic outside. The two had uniforms that were blue and grey. Tracer absently wondered if outfit types were a symbol of rank.
Tracer leant the near-incoherent doctor against the wall and took to fighting. She pulled out her other pistol and smiled smugly as she felt the doctor's power-boosting nanobots rush over her, giving her new strength. She gave Tracer a thumbs up, still propping herself against the wall.
Blinking faster than any of the people could follow, she dove beside the man and felt the thrum of her guns in her hands as he screamed, the bullets biting into his back, drawing blood. He fell to the ground without a fight, curling in on himself in an attempt to make himself smaller, shivering intensely. He'd survive, though. An employee would find him before he could succumb to such a nonlethal wound.
Tracer cried out as she felt her back burn from the other two beams, right under where she kept a pulse bomb. She activated her blink, spinning behind one of the employees, while the other tried to track her with the beam, causing it to latch onto her peer.
The woman in gold shrieked in agony despite it only being her arm that was being burnt. Her accidental assailant gasped in horror and dropped the gun immediately. Tracer darted back over and grabbed the beam before the woman could pick it back up, letting it latch onto her leg instead. She fell to the ground in a silent heap, simultaneously trying to protect her leg and keep it away from herself. Tracer grinned in success and opted to blink to the final assailant, who was nursing her arm and hit the snooze button known as the back of her head with a powerful punch.
With the current wave of enemies gone, Tracer grabbed the doctor again and continued blinking since more were on their way. She made a left, then a right, not letting up as she blinked faster than she had in a long time. That would do a number on the poor doctor, but she'd survive. She had a stronger constitution than most.
Instead of running down the spiral stairs like a normal person, Tracer jumped off the balcony. The doc's wings activated, sending them into a slow-fall. Tracer carefully lined up where she needed to blink and continued on their merry way.
More pursuers took to chasing them as she blinked by, but they'd never catch up. As employees blocked the halls, Tracer would either incapacitate them quickly or just blink around them. Really, Dr Ziegler was a trooper for making it this far.
Tracer skidded to a sudden stop, firmly grasping the doc's wrist as inertia threatened to make her fly into the walls. This door led to Lúcio's room. A simple, grey door with some number in Hindi that matched what Angela had said. It was barren and grey and seemed to lock via a few simple latches. Perhaps it was to prevent hacking. Maybe the lack of a key was to avoid suspicion? Maybe the building wasn't originally made for Vishkar, so this was their workaround. Heck if Tracer knew or cared. She threw the locks open, and bolted into the room, tugging Angela behind her. She slammed the door shut, and set Angela on the ground, taking a quick survey of the cell. It was sterile and boring, with a metal table with two foldable seats, an empty cup, probably for water, and a paper plate with nothing but crumbs on it. The bed was just a mattress, barren of even covers, and the light was bright and annoying. Lúcio himself was on his feet to greet them, a broad yet concerned smile on his face. He was wearing a green t-shirt and jean shorts, but had just socks, and lacked shoes. His hair was down and messy, but he seemed relatively alright from the front.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in! Overwatch in the flesh? You guys are a sight for sore eyes!"
"Cavalry's here, love..." Tracer gasped as she put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. "Hope you don't mind waiting a while before we break you out of here."
"What? How come? Is she okay?" Lúcio asked, gesturing to Dr Ziegler, who was unconscious on the ground, stirring uncomfortably.
"Our cover was blown fairly quickly. I had to blink with her here. She's got exclusive technology making her constitution stronger than most, but she'll be out for a while. And there's no way you could handle blinking. It's not helpful to the body if you're not like me."
"Whatever gets me out of here. I'll give you your own private concert when this is all done! But what are you going to do? Try to wait here until she's up and ready to go? Because Vishkar will notice my door is unlocked."
"Do you think you'll be okay with needing to wait a few hours? Have they been doing anything to you?"
Lució sat back down on the bed, rotating his shoulders. "Don't worry about that. It's nothing I can't take. I'd rather us wait and succeed at getting out of here."
Tracer hummed. "How long until you think they'll want to see you?"
Lucio thought for a moment. "I'd say a few hours. Why?"
"I have a stupid idea."
"Those are the best kind!"
"We'll lock ourselves in here!" Tracer put her hands on her hips proudly.
Lúcio stumbled for a second, unsure of how to respond. "How do you plan on doing that?"
Tracer took a deep breath, and unclasped her harness, handing it to Lúcio. "See this button?" she pointed to a small switch hidden in the harness. "Press it. Then, ten seconds later, press it again. Then again, another ten seconds later. Then, when you see me again, push it a final time."
Lúcio nodded, unsure of what would happen. Tracer slowly backed up to the door and nodded to him. This was a horrible idea, but it was the best they had. He flipped the switch, and Tracer bit her lip as the world numbed around her. The floor felt less solid beneath her feet, and the room lost its feeling of temperature. Lúcio's eyes widened as she pressed her back to the door, not feeling anything aside from a slight coolness as she fell through it to the main hallway.
A few seconds later, the numbness went away as Lúcio must have pressed the switch from the inside. Once she was sure she was solid, Tracer quickly threw the latch on the door, locking it. Then the numbness returned, and she phased through the door again. Lúcio's eyes softened in relief as he pressed the switch one final time, handing the harness back to Tracer.
Tracer gasped in relief as she relished the feeling of the warm, stuffy air and cold, hard ground beneath her. Quickly throwing her harness back on, she collapsed onto the floor, surprisingly drained from all the running. She turned to Lúcio pleadingly. "Wake me up when something happens, and I'll make sure you're out of here soon."
Lúcio nodded gratefully. "Sure, just rest up."
Tracer fell asleep on the stone floor in seconds.
...
Sombra wasn't budging. That much was evident. She watched the soldier and captain in disinterest as she leant back in her chair nonchalantly, despite her bound arms. Her cell was grey and dismal, far more medieval than typical. The door was locked with a standard key instead of a scanner of some kind, and Athena had no control over the room. They couldn't risk her hacking anything.
"Now, tell us. Why did Talon send you?" Soldier 76 slammed his arm on the table. The girl just tilted her head curiously.
"I'm surprised to see you working here, Jack Morrison. And with Ana Amari, no less. Tell me, what made you want to return?" the girl evaded the question, raising an eyebrow.
Ana growled. "You know full well why. How dare you take my daughter?"
Sombra sighed in mock sadness. "Unfortunately, my 'bosses' love taking the long way to achieving their goals."
"And what would those goals be?" Jack continued, glaring at Sombra through his red visor.
"World domination, ending the world, revenge, who knows?" Pick any cliché from the books and that could be the answer." Her musings showed the two that she had no intention of sharing her knowledge. Commander Morrison huffed, taking a step back and gesturing for Ana to try.
"Why go on a suicide mission like this? Surely you would know better than to reveal yourself without backup." Ana pressed in hopes of finding something useful to work with.
"Technically, I did not reveal myself. Your cybernetic ninja heard me as I ran by," she pursed her lips, feigning disgust. "I'm surprised it took him so long, though."
Ana wrinkled her nose. "So you were trying to be caught?"
Sombra laughed. "Why would I want to be caught?"
The captain grunted, shaking her head in irritation. "I'm done with this nonsense. I am going to go check on Fareeha before my brain melts."
"Careful!" Sombra taunted smugly. "She might be brainwashed!" She laughed as Ana stormed out of the room.
Commander Morrison slammed his fist on the table, putting his fingers on his forehead. "I don't think you understand your position. Or would you like me to get an old Blackwatch member in here to remind you?"
Sombra huffed, dauntless. "Last I checked, the only two Blackwatch members here are Genji Shimada and Jesse McCree. And I doubt they'll be in any sort of condition to 'interrogate' me, what with Angela Ziegler and Torbörn Lindholm away on that Vishkar mission," she prattled, making it obvious she had done her homework. "And you've always liked playing boy scout, so I doubt you'd be the one to fulfil that criteria. Unless you think sweet little Lena Oxton could do it? She may as well have been a Blackwatch member with all those missions she's gone on. But she's too busy dealing with her own problems to help you now, right?"
Jack stiffened. This girl knows more than anyone should.
"Unless you think she doesn't have her own issues to work out. But you know about her condition. Are you so stupid to believe she doesn't still suffer from it?"
Jack shook his head vehemently. "Of course, I know she still has her trials thanks to that accident. As anyone in a similar position would."
Sombra laughed an unnerving laugh that set Jack on edge. "Hurray! The commander has a brain! I'm amazed you haven't put two and two together yet, though!"
"About what?"
"Learn to do the math yourself."
...
Cadet Oxton bounced up and down in her seat happily as the ship took them back to the Swiss headquarters. Her first mission was a success! They had stopped Null Sector! Granted, her leg was hurting like crazy from a few stray Bastion bullets, and that OR14 had landed a few on her arm, but even that wasn't enough to bring her mood down!
"Rookie, calm down! You're going to topple the ship if you keep bouncing like that!" Lieutenant Wilhelm admonished jokingly, grinning widely.
Oxton blushed, forcing herself to sit still. "Sorry, Lieutenant! It's just... wow! I can't believe we succeeded! Well, I mean, or course I knew we could, but wow that was just... I don't know! I'm just glad we could save London!" she prattled eagerly as Reinhardt laughed.
Torbörn grunted. "If you're not bouncing like a bunny, then you're chattering like a parrot, huh?" he commented snidely, though his words lacked venom. He was relieved as well.
"Come now, Torbörn. Let the Cadet have her time in the sun. She performed exceptionally." Mercy grinned kindly, playfully elbowing Lena next to her.
Oxton blushed. "I was just trying to save my home. Plus, it's kind of my job now!"
Reinhardt bellowed a hearty laugh. "She's already got the 'noble hero' role down pat! You'll fit in with us just fine, Rookie! Except for Torbörn! He'll always be a selfish old mule!"
The Dwarvish smith huffed, rolling his eyes. "A selfish old mule that dedicates hours to making bombs for your crazy missions."
Reinhardt's grin melted into a playful smirk. "A bomb that took five minutes just to start up. If it weren't for the Rookie taking out those Eradicators that were on your tail, you'd be done for!"
Tracer blushed, staring down at her lap. Her brand-new uniform had already been shot up, with several bullet holes surrounded with red bloodstains.
Mercy watched Lena, concerned. "Tracer, did you experiences any lapses with your chronal accelerator?"
Tracer shook her head, grinning. "Nope! The fastener might've taken a few shots, but the actual accelerator feels a-okay!"
The doctor nodded, assessing Lena from head to toe. The doctor herself had several wounds, but they already seemed to be healing after Torbörn took the bullets out. Reinhardt and Torbörn themselves had armour protecting them, and appeared to have gotten off easy regarding injuries. Tracer was the only one with any substantial wounds.
"Are you feeling okay, Lena?" Mercy pursed her lips, making a pen-tapping motion with her hand. "Where are your worst injuries?"
Tracer shook her head. "I'm alright! My left leg took some stray Bastion fire, and the OR14 got my right arm before I could blink, but I'll be fine!"
"Looks like we have another case of Jesse McCree!" Reinhardt chuckled to himself. "That boy wouldn't admit his injuries hurt if he was bleeding out where he stood!"
"Would you like me to prepare an escort to take you to the medical wing?"
Cadet Oxton sighed, "No, I can run there! I'm still on an adrenaline rush from everything that just happened! How long was the mission, anyway?"
Torbörn checked the clock on the ship. "Fifteen minutes. I'm impressed it took so long for someone so fast."
"I- I'm sorry. I'll be faster next time!" Lena swore, sitting up straight.
Reinhardt delivered a weak punch to Torbörn, who nearly toppled out of his seat. "That mission went far faster and better than it could have. Besides, a good five of those minutes were thanks to that bomb not wanting to start up. Tracer?"
"Y-yes, Lieutenant?"
"Great job on your first mission!"
Tracer thought she'd never stop smiling.
...
Tracer blinked cheerily to the medical wing, where she was met with congratulations and cheers. A few of the doctors that had worked on her, alongside some standard ones whisked her away to a hospital bed, where they quickly worked on removing any bullets. Tracer barely felt a thing thanks to the powerful painkillers, but she still felt antsy. She had just saved her city! She needed a drink and some time to relax!
A few of the doctors took her harness out of the armour holding, inspecting it for damage as they cleaned it until they ultimately set it back in her casual harness, which was far less protective but a bit more lightweight.
She was released from the hospital bed in three hours, with strict orders to walk as little as possible and to avoid using her arm. The first place she blinked to was Winston's lab, which was nearly identical to the lab back in Gibraltar: messy. The only key difference was the white walls and blue tile floor. He was busy looking over some random gadget Tracer couldn't identify in a million years.
"Winston!" Tracer dove towards him, arms outstretched as she tackled him in one massive hug. They both flew backwards, nearly hitting the wall on the other side of the room. She laughed merrily as Winston gingerly wrapped his arms around her.
"Lena! Oh, I'm so glad you're okay! I heard the mission was a success, but I was still worried! Are you alright? Did you sustain any injuries?"
Tracer started laughing. She probably sounded crazy, but she was allowed to be after everything that happened. "I'm great, Winston! I'm supposed to stay off the leg and be careful with my arm, but I'll be fine!'
Winston chuckled. "That sounds like the Lena I know!"
Tracer sat up, crossing her legs as she tipped from side-to-side. "Where are Genji and McCree? I need to go see them!"
Winston thought for a moment. "I'd check the training field for Genji, and McCree isn't back from his recon before you guys left on the mission."
Tracer nodded. "Thanks, Big Guy! I'll see you later!" Tracer zoomed through the facility, at breakneck speeds until she reached the training facility. She found Genji in the gym, which had fairly standard exercise equipment, except twice as powerful or heavy for the sake of agents like him. He was on the treadmill, likely running a solid sixty kilometres per hour.
"Genji!" Tracer called, similarly to Winston, barreling towards him. He was ready, flipping off the treadmill and grabbing her arm as she sailed right past him, spinning her around to keep her from running into the wall.
"You really need to be more careful with your blinks," he chastised, probably grinning from behind his visor.
"Hey, I just got done saving London, gimme a break!" she whined, trying to hold down a laugh.
"I take it the mission went well?"
"Oh, yeah! It went way better than it could have! First, we had to disable three anti-aircraft guns! The Lieutenant did that while I kept the Null Troopers off him! Then, Torbörns bomb wouldn't start, so we had to take out Bastions, Eradicators, massive bombs, and more troops while he got it working! Once we got it to the power station, we had to fight a bunch of OR14s! I've never been so in the zone in my life! It was like 'pew pew pew! Pulse bomb! Pew pew pew!" Tracer chuckled, collapsing on the bench press, in a giggly heap.
"Seems like a busy first mission. I'm surprised you could handle it," he teased, turning off the treadmill.
"Oh shut up!" Tracer returned, making a "go away" gesture Genji took with a grain of salt.
"Would you like to go get drinks to celebrate?" He offered a hand to help her up, which she accepted, using the sturdy cyborg to pull herself upright.
"Nah, we can't drink without Jesse; he'd be so mad! We'll wait until he's back to celebrate!"
Genji tipped his head. "I haven't heard any news about him, now that I think about it. Hopefully, he returns soon. He's likely just finishing up recon in King's Row."
...
It took three days for McCree to get back. In those three days, Tracer had been offered congratulations after congratulation, but she refused to celebrate without her friend. Genji and her mostly kept to themselves in the training field, waiting for someone to bring news of his arrival. When someone came to them, they knew something was wrong.
"Tracer, Genji. Jesse is back," Mercy had called suddenly before they even noticed her entry. If the doctor was the one telling them, it meant something was wrong. Both of them dropped what they were doing and blinked-slash-dashed to the medical wing ahead of Mercy. After a kind, though slightly afraid, nurse pointed them to his room, they barged in without so much as knocking.
McCree was sleeping under a thin hospital blanket, and everything seemed fine at first. His heart rate was normal, and he was only on a single IV for pain. He stirred, sitting up slowly as he was awoken by the noisy twosome. His blanket fell to his lap, revealing his shirtless upper body.
That's when it was evident he was not alright. He was covered in scrapes, cuts, and bullet wounds that were red and angry, which on its own didn't seem too bad by his standards. The real issue came with his left arm or lack thereof.
Instead of a normal, well and good arm, there was just a stump where his elbow should be. There wasn't even a prosthetic fastener yet. It was just a stump. He wrinkled his nose when he saw them.
"Can't a man get his beauty sleep...?" he moaned without conviction, rubbing his head with his right arm.
Genji sat down in one of the nearby chairs noiselessly. "I don't think anything can be considered 'beauty sleep' when more of your skin is wounds than healthy."
Tracer's hands were to her mouth, covering her horror. "Oh, Jesse... I'm so-"
"Don't be. It's just an arm. I'll be able to get a prosthetic."
Genji chuckled. "Do not be so nonchalant about it. A limb made of skin and bones is far superior to one of nuts and bolts. It is one with which you are born."
McCree rolled his eyes. "Spare me your sentimentality. I use Peacekeeper with my right arm. I'll live. Besides, nothin' will bring my human arm back, so there's no point in makin' a fuss. You've lost more than I have. Once I officially have more robotic parts than you is when I'm allowed to complain."
Genji stared. Tracer blinked over by McCree, mortified. "Oh, Jesse! I can't believe this! I wish I could have helped! Tell me if there's anything I can do for you and I'll do it!"
"Woah there, first off, you've helped plenty by usin' that info I got you before the mission. Second off, I'm just happy your first mission when alright. It's always one of the hardest."
Tracer shook her head. "I don't care about the mission right now!"
Jesse raised an eyebrow. "Really now? Not even enough to bring a few drinks here for us to share? I say we need to celebrate, and I say I need some happy juice."
"Well... maybe I care just a little bit!"
McCree laughed. "Good! Now get some liquor! I'm thirsty, alright?"
"Is it not a bad idea to drink while on medication like you are?" Genji asked, perplexed.
"When has that ever stopped him?" Lena called, laughing as she blinked out of the room.
"Fair point," she heard Genji call from the room.
It was only then that Lena let her smile drop as she shed a tear, mourning for what Jesse refused to regret.
...
Tracer awoke with a start. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Tracer blanched, jumping up as the beeping continued for several seconds. No. No! No no no!
Lucio watched her with wide eyes. "Why'd your harness beep like that?" His voice shook as he spoke, sensing Tracer's fear.
"Oh no... Oh no... It's a low power warning! I only have fifteen percent power left on the primary reserve for my harness! I must've blinked too much!"
He was silent for several seconds. "What happens when that depletes?"
"It goes into backup power, which I can override for full effect, but it only lasts about ten minutes like that!"
"What's wrong with the backup power?"
"Let's just say I'll start having issues. You saw what happens without it!"
"Look, calm down," Lucio chided, easing himself up and setting a hand on her shoulder. We'll be out of here fast if we can leave now. I'll wake the doctor up, and we can bust out of here. How long do you think we have?"
"Assuming I blink as much as I did to get to your room in the first place? I'd say an hour to get back to the ship before we go into backup power."
"Then we'd better hurry."
"Probably." This was not something Lena wanted to deal with alongside the now worse headache. But alas, they were on a time crunch now.
