A/N: Hey, long time no see! Life got in the way, but now I have a little bit of time to start working on this again. I know more lore has come out since the last update, but there's still quite a bit we can just play around with, and that's what I intend to do. Enjoy the chapter and leave a review if you liked it.

"Dammit…we're pinned here by one sniper!"

"…We need a distraction—long enough to turn her attention away from Hanzo so he can shoot." Genji did not move, not yet. He stilled his breathing, listening for footsteps that matched the sniper in question. He pulls out three shuriken, holding them in between his fingers. "Stay down, Lena. Please."

"But…" She looks up at his visor, already knowing the look he gave was hard enough to break stone. Lena stares at the ground with a sigh. Her stubbornness wouldn't do much here. "…Okay."

The woman had no visor active, they had established that. Genji would use her mistake to his advantage. He fiddles with the stars that laid firmly between his fingers before flinging them towards the female sniper. Widowmaker stops aiming as she hears the whizzing of the blades, jumping back to narrowly dodge the shuriken that were embedded where she was previously standing. She sucks her teeth once, and resumes. But what she sees through her scope makes her recoil.

An arrow was coming straight for her head. She dodges that as well by grapple hooking away from the spot entirely, the scattering shrapnel from the bolt cutting her combat suit and leaving small gashes in their wake. As her feet touch solid ground once more, golden optics narrow in annoyance but soon she concedes her defeat here as the smoke subsides and the rest of the group convenes outside. As much as she wants to put a bullet in each of their heads, that would have to wait. She was sloppy enough today.

"Consider this your le répit. Your luck will run out the next...and final time we meet."

And with that, Widowmaker departs by grappling onto a lone Talon aircraft that still had its cargo hold open. Hanzo begins a pace to chase after her, but Genji quickly halts him. They survived being pinned by this woman, and that was by luck alone. There was no need to challenge the boundary lines any longer.

"There's no need to chase, Hanzo."

"But she's getting away!"

"Let her, we're lucky we didn't die back there. Let's take this chance to leave. We did travel all the way here for you, after all. Do not soil Lena's hard work by being a deathseeker."

There was a stare down for a few moments, before Sombra merely sighs and walks past them. She had no time for petty squabbles, they had to leave now. "As much as I enjoy family reunions and rivalries, I'd like to leave here…like now. Fight later if you want."

Another loaded silence before they too conceded. Lena radios for Athena to pick them up at their current position, as traveling while Talon was still moving about was not advised. The aircraft hovers low enough to pick the group up, before taking to the sky and back to their watchpoint.

"That was…somethin' else," Jesse breathes, shifting slightly and resting a hand against his outer thigh. Gabriel notices his shifting and turns to face him. He notices out of the corner of his eye, but pretends not to. "Could've been worse, though."

Of course, he didn't care that McCree was avoiding his gaze. He'll announce it instead. "…How bad is it, McCree?"

The sharp turn of his head and annoyed expression confirmed what he already knew. Gabriel was no fool, and he knows when someone is hiding an injury. He himself was notorious for it, and it drove both Lena and Angela up a wall whenever he did it. "A super soldier you may be, but you're still human" is what they always told him. Now McCree was starting to take more than one page out of his book. He watches him shuffle uncomfortably, uttering a curse under his breath before he settles once again.

"…We'll worry about the injury later."

The mixer stops, rousing the doctor from her impromptu slumber. The serum was ready, fully mixed with the base she had created with what she had managed to take from Gabriel when she had the chance. With this, she could fix him. She could finally do something right for once…if he was coming back with Lena, Genji and McCree.

She removes the tube with a simple button press, the mixture that was almost black when she started now a translucent purple. He didn't need a lot to start, but as his treatments progressed she would need more to give to him. For now, this will do. Grabbing a syringe, Angela pulls the plunger as it drained the test tube until all the liquid was inside. She caps it and places it on a tray with other medical tools were within easy reach. She pauses in movement as someone enters her lab.

"Oh,Seventy-six. What…brings you here?"

The automatic door closes slowly behind the vigilante, his gaze fixated on the doctor and the syringe she capped off. While he seemed intimidating with his current gear, Angela felt no fear or tension form within her. In fact, she didn't really consider him a stranger.

"With the group gone, things are quiet around here…just needed someone to talk to is all."

"Well, I'm always willing to lend an ear to those who need it. If you have something you need to get off your chest, speak."

He makes himself comfortable in the nearest chair, inhaling and exhaling before he did the unthinkable, which caused Angela to be taken aback and just freeze in place. Even though age was evident in his features, they were still as striking as she remembered.

"E-Everyone thinks you're dead…this is incomprehensible!"

"Shhh. I'd like to keep it that way for a while longer."

"…But why? What's so important that you would go through this?"

There's nothing but silence, and Angela notes how reluctant he is on the matter. As much as she wants to sit down and talk, she couldn't really do such a thing with him if he wasn't willing. They are both snatched from their musings as Athena's voice is echoed through the intercoms.

"The dropship has just arrived. There is one injury recorded."

Angela sighs. This was her cue to meet the landing craft. Taking the elevator at the end of the medical wing, it takes little time for her to see the ship slowly descend back into the watchpoint once she arrives. She also takes a deep breath of relief; it appears Lena's mission was a complete success…and then some.

"Thank goodness you guys are mostly unscathed," She says, a soft smile showing. "I was beginning to worry a bit."

"It went about as well as you'd expect," Lena says, guiding McCree's limping form over to Angela. "Is Gabriel's treatment ready?"

"Yes, it's waiting in the lab. I'll join you after I'm finished."

"Sounds good." Without needing to be prompted, the group disperses until they are needed. Gabriel trails behind Lena, remembering the deal he struck with Angela before that whole incident took place just a few days before. The lab's double doors open and they both step inside. "Okay…lay on the table, Gabriel."

"I knew it couldn't be as simple as a normal drip," he says under his breath. Seems as though he still had his doubts…although, he's allowed to voice his concerns like any other patient would during an uncertain procedure. "Fine. Do what you need to."

"…Thank you." Looking over what Angela had laid out, Lena smiles to herself as she realizes everything had been prepped for her use. She would thank her later, once she was sure this was going to work for him. She uncaps the syringe, standing over Gabriel's body and looking down. He turns away, but his eyes are still open.

He's waiting.

Lena lifts his arm and holds it straight, sticking the needle as smoothly as she could into the visible black veins that decorated his whole body. They became more prominent after the injection and she could begin to see a reaction taking place…she expected it to be violent. Reaching back onto the counter was a panel used for the table Gabriel was placed on, and she flips a few switches. Restraints emerge from the edges of the table and strap him down, so he wouldn't end up on the floor. As soon as she restrained him, the roaring started. She knew it was going to be agony for him, and she hates how he must suffer just to be normal again…but the risks were going to be worth the reward. And maybe…

Maybe Gabriel knew it too.

His body rocks violently on the table, visibly straining against the restraints on his limbs. The black mist is prominent now, swirling around his body as his bones and flesh started to break and knit back together in one smooth sequence. Another loud roar is heard, and Gabriel's on the verge of breaking out into a full seizure. It was hard for Lena to watch as his body tried to fight against what it was and what it wants to be—a paradox of the living. She wanted to pull him off that table now, cradle him in her arms and just break down into a bumbling mess. But she knew that's not what he would've wanted.

She had to be strong…because he could not in this very moment.

A few minutes later, and the convulsions do stop. Gabriel's body slumps against the table, his chest heaving as he fights for breath. The worst was over…for now, but he was no means out of the woods. Lena reluctantly removes the restraints before moving closer and attempting to lift him up. With what little strength he could muster, he pushes her away.

"Don't," He manages to say as he remains dangling halfway onto the floor. "Not now…"

"I was going to take you to intensive care, Gabe. Don't be stubborn."

"Not. Now." Gabriel's constant refusal was slowly making Lena a bit agitated. What reason did he have to refuse her aid? She observes him more, noticing that his features were starting to look more human…aside from his crimson eyes. One step at a time…take it in stride. That's all she could do for him. "Don't wanna hurt you."

"You're not gonna—" Lena stifles her words, a hand raising up to her neck to ghost over the slowly fading bruises. He remembers what he did that day, apparently. He's more cautious than she and Angela were. "…I-I can't leave you in this room. Unless you want Angela to do it."

"…Get it over with quickly then." His body was still shaking, the pain almost unbearable as his body attempted to deal with the first dose of treatment. "Before I change my mind."

Lena approaches once more, unintentionally holding her breath as she entered the black mist to grab him once again. Luckily, there was no pain on her end. He didn't even attempt to hold her in place, either. She huffs once, pulling him up to where she could support her own weight and his with ease. She quickly takes him to the Intensive Care Unit, where she removes most of his upper body armor, attaching the EKG monitor to his torso. Lena exhales once she has done this, satisfied that this could be completed without much fuss. She meets his gaze briefly, before Gabriel turns the other way to advert his. He attempts to open his mouth to say something to her, but all that escapes are labored breaths and a groan of agony.

He's tired, he wants to be left alone for now. She grants his wish with a solemn nod and a whispered apology before joining Angela in the infirmary.

"Is his injury serious?" She asks, watching as McCree attempts to wince away from Angela and her medical tools.

"Not really. The bullet just grazed him. Just…treating him for the usual, is all." She places the last bandage across his cheek before withdrawing her equipment back to the counter where she retrieved it from. "All done. How's Gabriel holding up after the treatment?"

"I…have him hooked up to the monitors. He has somewhat of a heartbeat…not much, though. He's out of it for the meantime, so we're headed in the right direction it seems."

"That's good progress in such a short time…I'm happy something's going right."

McCree shuffles slowly off the examination table, working his leg before taking a full step. He makes his way over to Lena, who slowly drifted off into her own thoughts. "Well, never thought he'd hold up his end. Nor did I think it would be this easy."

"…Huh?" McCree's sudden statement shakes her from her stupor.

"Walk with me for a bit."

They both walk onto the deck of the watchpoint, Lena being the first to take a breath before allowing her mind to wander once more. There was so much to do...she unintentionally picked up two extra bodies, one whom she believed dead along with Gabriel. Sombra was still a wildcard…although, she was accompanying Gabriel, but she wasn't sure if she had malicious intentions yet. And Hanzo was another predicament…she managed to get him here and to align with her cause, but where did that leave the bad blood between him and Genji? They desperately needed to reconcile. Inner turmoil would only give Talon a further advantage.

"…There's so much to do, and not enough time to do it. I'm beginning to get worried, Jesse."

"Well, look at it this way—" He pauses, putting a cigar in his mouth and lighting it. He inhales once then exhales the thick smoke. "You got one more ally to help you…that's one less Talon has access to. Do what you can Lena, but don't overdo it. That's what we're here for."

She chuckles, laying her head against his shoulder.

"I know. I know…"