The two days had been filled with more and more research, i hardly left the lab. I knew everyone was practicing harder and harder. Trying to work better as a team, but i couldn't handle it, i isolated myself. Ignoring everyone. Thankfully due to all the training no one really noticed my absence. I worked during the night and slept during the day as best as i could. I completely avoided Jack, i was too ashamed to face him after knocking on his door the other night. Jotting down more notes about my Resurrection abilities, i smiled. I was glad to have it perfected by now. But it still hadn't been used on a human... well not since i repaired and studied more. Don't think about Reyes, it's a nightmare that never happened. I desperately tried to banish the thoughts from my mind. I went outside to stare at the moon, thankfully due to it being late night, no one would be awake, except for probably Jack, but that's not my problem, if he doesn't want to sleep that's not my problem... but i am still concerned for him. Climbing onto the roof was freeing. The silence made me relax, i lit up a cigarette,I just want to accomplish what i need to do, to help people and to make things better. To heal people... i just wish he would let me in. In some way, shape or form. Sighing i lit another and took another drink. I let my legs lightly tap the sides of the building. I liked heights more since we gave my suit the guardian angel form. It felt freeing to fly, and help people. I sound so repetitive. I just want things to improve. I want him to not hate me, or be afraid of me.
I slid my legs back onto the roof, and headed back inside. I carefully crept back to my room, stopping at his door, listening to him pace, when i stopped in front of the door, he stopped pacing. I wanted so much to try again, but there's no point, he would come to me when he is ready. As i walked to my room, i heard him resume pacing. If only he knew how much i actually wanted to help.
I returned to my room, dreading the nightmares that would come... Reyes was the star character in most of always ended with Jack burning alive, and me helpless to do anything...my arms tied behind me and everyone was being massacred. This nightmare replayed almost every single night since being back here.
I woke up, showered and slid into my clothes. Applying a tiny bit of makeup and twisting my hair up. I headed to my office when i heard Lena call out to me "oi! it's about time you showed your face again!".
"I've just, been working night... er at night" i replied, just wanting to get to my lab and figure out exactly what i had my breakthrough on. For some reason my brain was fuzzy.
" well... alright then" she returned to the rest of the small group in the kitchen, she looked slightly hurt, i had been so excited to get back with everyone but now that i had i was ignoring them, typical.
I saw Lucio. shoot, how had i ignored him for the past two days? he needed a medical evaluation.
"hey Lucio" i called.
"yeah?" he asked, sounding unsure.
"i'm going to need to do the medical evaluation today"
"awww man, i had hoped you had forgotten"
"nope" i headed to my office, motioning for him to follow.
I could hear him slowly follow me, he never did anything slowly so this was new.
We reached my office and filled out the medical evaluation. Everything checked out as normal, i figured since i gave him regular checkups when i lived near him.
"everything looks good" i said inputting the last bit of data into his files. Now for that shot... i said reaching for the needle. He bolted out of his chair and skated out the doors.
I recapped the needle and ran after him.
"you gotta help me" he shrieked hiding behind Reinhardt.
"what is all of zis about?!" shouted Reinhardt. I ran into the room.
"he needs his shots" i stated with a sigh.
"don't worry my friend, i will protect you!" shouted Reinhardt again.
"oh please, come on... he needs his shots"
" hang on there partner! no one will get shot around us!" said Jesse with a smile.
" oh no... come on..." i was feeling my nerves twitching. "it's a small needle"
Lucio shrieked louder dramatically, i rushed after him but Jesse grabbed me holding me back.
"Jesse! stop... Let me go!" i pleaded, i just wanted to get this over with.
Lena came running into the room "oy what's all this about"
" Lucio is avoiding getting his shots" i stated again.
"oh Jesse get her!" squealed Lena laughing, she started tickling me, while i squirmed in Jesse's arms, i started screaming, when suddenly loud footsteps rang, and the next thing i knew i was on the ground and Jack had his hands around Jesse's neck, pushing him against the wall.
"easy there! it was all in fun" Said Jesse, looking concerned.
" hey... HEY! LET HIM GO" shouted Lena panicking. my thoughts started racing, as everyone looked on in horror. Shit... he probably thought someone was being attacked, i panicked, trying to think of what to do, while Jesse tried prying Jack's hands off of him.
Lena was smacking his back which only made him angrier. He kept shouting gibberish about gangs, and fighting.
"Soldier" i firmly ordered. His grip slightly loosened. Lucio had skated off to grab Winston, but Ana came running instead.
"Soldier! i need you to let him go" His body stiffened and he half flung Jesse into the other wall.
Torbjorn made a dive for his legs to try and topple him, but he kicked, reaching for his side arm.
"SOLDIER" i yelled, trying to sound as commanding as possible. "those aren't your orders".
Ana readied her shot.
"Ana please don't..." i said, i needed to calm him down not harm him and cause further damage.
He lunged toward her, and she fired, he shook for a minute before toppling to the ground. The group sighed in relief, but my mind was racing.
"can someone help me get him to the medic bay?" i asked, clearly frustrated.
"Jesse could have been hurt, and you are worried about him?!" Lena barked.
" Lena... i'm treating him for something and i may have given him the wrong dose, instead" i lied.
She sighed and went back to Jesse.
" Jesse i'll need to evaluate you as well" i said softly.
" think nothing of it, no harm no problem" he said rubbing his neck.
"and you" i growled at Lucio. He winced, and i walked up to him, whipping out the needled and jabbing him.
"OUCH!" he yelled, rubbing his arm. I shook my head and walked back to Jack, Reinhardt agreed to help me with getting him to the medical bay.
"do you need me to stay watch?" asked Reinhardt.
I sighed "no, i'm fine... he wouldn't hurt me" i said softly.
Reinhardt's face softened looking at me "you don't know him, none of us do but Ana"
"and don't you trust her judgement?" i asked, as his cheeks lightly flushed.
"Well, yell if you need anything" he said leaving.
I pulled a chair up to the bed we laid him in, i monitored his heart rate and debated giving him another dose of a mild sedative, especially when he started twitching in his sleep. I wish she hadn't shot him with the sedative... it was supposed to only be used in the field, not against one of our own... i carefully reached out to touch his hand, lightly holding it and resting my other arm on the bed. There is some war going on in his mind, and i just want to fix it. I could give him anxiety medication, but i know he would never take it, nor would i lie to him about it. The rest of the team will hopefully trust him again, i lied to them. Never giving him anything for his PTSD, but i was trying to help treat him. Lying on the bed is the man i love...loved? love... and i am utterly helpless in this situation, i've dealt with this before. Being on the field during wars always caused mental repercussions, hell i'm currently living with mine, but he's different. He has been through too much. Blinking back tears i rubbed the back of his hand with my thumb. I felt his hand slightly grab mine... could he be waking up?
He whined slightly in his sleep, i could see his heart rate on my holopad, it was elevating, but he was still fully asleep... his whole body shook and i held his hand tighter, softly speaking to him, and humming whenever his twitching would get worse. This really should have worn off by now. I heard footsteps in the distance and i released his hand. Ana waved through the glass, i hadn't pulled the curtain shut which was slightly foolish of me. Motioning for her to come in and she entered.
"Ana... i swear you fired one shot, but did you do two?" i asked eyeing her.
" i modified it to last longer while i was away" she stated simply. Looking from me to him, she spoke again "my dear, when he wakes up come find me, i need to talk to him"
I nodded, i didn't let her know i knew who he was, but i desperately wanted too.
"where have you been, we haven't seen you much in the past few days"
" I've been working, on my research mostly at night" i sounded unsure of myself, despite that being the truth.
"you really need to do something about your sleeping"
"i know, i'm working on it, hence the late nights" i lied, i hated lying to her.
"if it doesn't work i can always help" she said.
"i believe you have been enough help" i didn't mean to sound so harsh but i was annoyed at the entire situation.
" i did what i had to do,he would have preferred it that way, rather than have another innocent person hurt" said Ana calmly.
" i understand, but he won't be able to handle those situations if he isn't awake during them, it will only cause more confusion" annoyance charged my response.
" you can be as mad at me as you like, but you don't understand everything, i'll be back later, once he wakes up" she said while leaving. I got up and closed the curtains, and settled back into my chair, carefully holding his hand again, his heart rate had stabilized in that moment, and it made me feel slightly hopeful, maybe he knows i'm here... he stirred in his sleep, and i almost started drifting off into it as well.
His hand squeezed mine tightly, and he sat straight up, looking around the room, his body tense. I could feel my knuckles popping.
"shhh hey" i softly said. His head turned to me.
"it's okay, you are okay" i comforted.
"it's not okay, what happened, details" he said gruffly, he sounded on edge.
" You are alright..." i started to say.
"cut the banter, what happened"
I winced openly at his response, my eyes going glassy. "you attacked Jesse" i said softly.
"i what?!"
"i was shouting because he was holding me back from giving Lucio a shot, and the next thing we all knew, i was on the ground and you had him up against the wall by the throat, tried calming you down, and it started to work, but then Ana shot you with one of her sleeping shots" i said my voice getting shaky.
He grunted.
"I told them i had been treating you for something and must have miss-dosed you"
"you don't need to cover for me"
"you needed some sort of help, they don't know who you are... "
"and i don't intend on them finding out" his voice was so angry, i couldn't tell if at me or himself.
"i know that, i just said that, because i really don't want them to not trust you, your a good person... you just need some-"
"some what?! some medication, someone to tell me everything will be okay? someone to sugarcoat all the mistakes i made?! what... what do i need?!" his voice was raising.
I wiped my eyes " i just want to help"
"stay. out. of. it" he said coldly.
" i'm sorry, i can't... i can't let someone who is so "
"angela, Stop. I know what you are going to say and i don't need to hear it, i can take care of myself"
" i know you can, i never said you couldn't. i'm just trying to help"
" that's all you ever tried to do, that's all you do, do you ever once think that maybe some people don't want it?, do you ever stop to think about what could happen?"
" you don't mean that"
"Can i go? or do i have to stay in here tonight?"
" i need to go get Ana, she wants to talk to you, so, just stay here and listen. i'll figure out what is the best choice for you tonight" i tried so hard to sound strong.
"Fine" he said.
"i'll go get her" i whispered. i slipped out of the room, and looked around, he couldn't see me through the curtain and i let a few tears fall. I wiped them away and started walking to find Ana. Everyone was still in the main room, talking in hushed whispers. I motioned at Ana and she walked to me.
"he's awake now, you can talk to him, he probably wants to return to his room, tell him it's up to him, or whatever" i said.
" what do you think is the right call?"
"it's up to him, he's a grown man, he can stay in there and i can medicate him again, or he can return to his room" i sighed and headed outside. I tried not to notice everyone staring at me. I climbed to the roof and lit a smoke, finally letting myself break down a little bit. I know he didn't mean those things he said, he was probably feeling ashamed and spoke out of hurt. But it hurt me regardless, but i know how it can be... i had hurt a lot of people recently.
I heard someone climbing the ladder, and smelled cigar smoke.
"figured you could use some company" said Jesse "but i can just as well leave" He held out a flask, and i gladly took a swig. He took out a second one for himself.
"you can stay, i hope Lena isn't too mad at me"
"you know her, she can't stay mad for long"
i laughed at that " Lena? she is the bubbliest person i know, but she can hold a grudge"
He made a fake face of shock, taking a swig and smiling.
"how are you feeling?" i asked genuinely concerned, and drinking some more.
" takes a lot more to hurt this cowboy"
I nodded, looking at the sky. It was already dark out, the day had gone by so fast... my attempts at trying to be more social had backfired in the worst way, but having Jesse by my side made me feel more comforted.
" who exactly is he? " he asked.
"i couldn't tell you if i knew, but i don't" i lied, continuing my trend for the day.
" seems a little rough around the edges, my type" he said taking another drink.
I gulped down some more and lit another, looking at him, he genuinely looked concerned about the situation.
"what were they saying down there?" i asked blowing out a cloud of smoke.
"it was mostly Ana keeping the peace, and that woman will never reveal anything, that's for sure" he had a slight laugh in his voice. I smiled at him and handed him back the flask, i had emptied it.
" you might want to slow down there"
"too late" i sighed, wanting to just enjoy the rest of the evening.
He nodded, and we sat in comfortable silence. He finished off his flask and extended and arm to me, i linked arms and i went down the ladder first, he followed afterwards, and we both went inside. I noticed Ana was still missing, but i needed to check on the situation. The curtains were closed and i just sat outside the room and waited. They must have heard me because Ana peered out the window and motioned me to come in, she stepped out as i stepped in.
"have you made your decision" i said with a slight aggressive tone to my voice, i was slightly tipsy.
" I don't want medication" he flatly said.
"alright then, then you made up your mind" i said slightly shrugging my shoulders. i won't deny i was annoyed at this, but what could i do? forcing him to take medication would only cause him to doubt it working, and it could also cause some weird effects that he wouldn't want... so i was at a loss, all i could offer was listening.
" i did, can i go now?" he asked.
"i'm just going to recheck your vitals, then yeah, you are free to do what you wish" i said, reaching for my stethoscope, i listened to his heart, it was slightly racing. My hand lingered too long on his chest. I audibly sighed and blushed.
"alright, one last question, how do you feel?"
" Fine" he said standing up. I dropped the stethoscope and then knocked into the chair i had sat into earlier. I reached down to pick it up and felt my cheeks grow red.
"angela are you drunk?"
"Nope, had a few shots, but i'm good" i said sighing and looking at the visor that served as his eyes.
" you always drop stuff when"
" i always drop stuff in general and meddle" i said grumpily.
He just nodded.
"well if you need anything you know where to find me, if you don't want medication that's your decision, but you should talk about this stuff"
"I don't need to talk about it"
"that's your call not mine." i said my emotions were showing, i didn't want that to happen, i didn't want to cause him to think i was mad at him, or frustrated... i just wanted to reach out and show that i cared.
We left the room together, he headed to his room and i headed to mine. I quickly filled the tub, drowning out my sobbing, containing it while alone was impossible. I slid into the tub, trying to think about anything other than him, but he was firmly rooted there, like an obsession. I was never this dependent on him, i tried to fend for myself when we were together, mostly because i had too. I didn't want to expose us for what we were. But Reyes found out, unfortunately. It was the long time bickering about me actually that caused him to find out, but i needed to put that out of my head. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't anyone's fault.
I got out of the tub, dried off and heard a soft knock at the door.
"hey love" said Lena softly, she pushed the door open.
i guess Jesse told her about our talk. She climbed into bed, I happily pounced in next to her and she wrapped me in the biggest hug, kissing my cheek and pulling me against her. I won't deny i don't adore these nights, i craved physical contact and her being there was exactly what i needed.
"i'm sorry about everything"
" hush, nothing to be sorry about, you are a doctor love" she said. on that note we fell asleep, and i slept with only mild tossing and turning... and just a few nightmares, but she held onto me the entire night, calming me down and comforting me.
When i woke up she wasn't there, rather unusual for her to be up before me, but that's okay, i had things to do. Getting dressed and grabbing coffee were my first priority. After accomplishing that i headed down to the medic bay and my office. Only to see Torbjorn and Ana waiting for me. Sigh, i know what this is about, it's about her rifle. The one we fought about years ago, i didn't want to have any part in weapon making, but i was basically forced into helping with her rifle, and Torb's turrets.
"Good morning!" said Torbjorn cheerfully. Ana smiled warmly, and i asked "what can i do for you two?"
"we err wanted to upgrade Ana's Rifle, i did all i could, but she wants some more things added to it" said Torbjorn.
I eyed the rifle, still annoyed slightly at Ana from last night, but what could i do, we both knew the man, and we both valued his privacy.
" i drew up some plans for yeh, but Ana can walk you through it if yeh wish"
" That will be fine, come in" i opened the door, cleared a few things off my desk and sat behind it, waiting for the designs to come out. Ana rolled them out on the table and i will admit, they are good plans. She just wanted the healing increased, Torbjorn had made the range longer...but now i needed to boost it.
"wait.. what's this?" i asked pointing at another type of bullet.
"that would be the nano boost, if you can accomplish it. It would basically increase someone's abilities, empowering them to move more productively, i remember you talking of it years ago"
" so, you are asking me, to use my experimental nano boost in your rifle?" i leaned back and slightly laughed. Years ago i was against this, completely. Why would i want to make a killing machine? i audibly sighed.
"Alright... give me some time, i would need a subject to test it on though"
"are you sure?" asked Ana in a slight shock.
"yes, i'm sure... I've seen too many people die due to too slow of responders, if we can get someone in and out, then sure. " i sounded sure of my answer, but i'm not fully for it.
"Alright doc! thanks" said Torbjorn, he headed for the door, and Ana followed.
I reached for my coffee and took a sip. Staring at these same plans i looked at so long ago, i brushed a stray hair out of my eyes and began digging through my files, when another knock was on my door.
"Come in" i shouted, still digging, Winston really made a mess of these, i'm so glad to have them back, but ugh.
The door opened and in walked Jack, i busied myself with finding the correct folder, and finally found it, tossing it onto the desk.
His body posture was anxious, i motioned for him to take a seat.
"what can i do for you?" my voice said, or it sounded like me anyways, i wasn't expecting to see him so soon.
"You said to see you in the morning" he stated.
I arched a brow "... i don't believe i did, but regardless i'm glad you are here. How are you feeling?" i pushed the files over to the side of my desk, and looked up at him.
" Fine" he moved a pen that was laying on the desk about to fall off.
I nodded " any nightmares?"
"i don't have nightmares" he said.
" it's going to be hard to help, if you don't answer me truthfully... "
"I rarely sleep"
" do you need help with that? or? there's medication for that, or i'm sure Ana wouldn't mind shooting you some more" i stated, hoping it wouldn't bother him to mention that, ugh. i'm an idiot.
He slightly laughed and said "No, i don't need help, i just don't need as much anymore"
"that shouldn't be a side effect from the super soldier"
"it isn't"
"alright then, do you feel rested during the day? up to your usual amount of activity... find yourself feeling drowsy? dizzy?" being so formal with him hurt, being near him hurt. I'm stronger than this, he needs help, and i can help... if only he would let me.
" I"m fine" he said. i was getting rather annoyed by this phrase but if that's his answer that's his answer.
"well alright then" i opened the file and shuffled some papers, if he wanted to talk he could. But i had work to do, or at least appear like i still functioning.
He glanced at the papers.
"the nano boost?" he asked.
"yes, Ana and Torbjorn wanted me to work on it for them, so i needed to find my notes first and go from there" i stated, pulling out the basics of it, i had re-written the formula so many times, but i knew the main study was in there and practical. It worked as a sort of epinephrine, only instead of just kick starting the organs, this supercharged them.
He shook his head at me. " Well this is a surprise" he said, i swear i could hear him smiling if that makes any sense. Like a smile in his voice.
"i'm full of surprises, that's me" sarcasm coming from my words.
"what? it is surprising, you argued and argued against this sort of thing... you would get really serious, and start gnawing on your lip in frustration as you..." he trailed off, and got silent. His posture even changed...
"Jack..." i softly said. He shook his head and got up.
"i'll let you get to work" he headed for the door.
" i hate to sound like a broken record, but are you okay?" .
He turned and shrugged.
"Honestly, i can do this work with my eyes closed while watching something else, if you need to-"
"Talk, i'll talk... but not now" he said leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
Great... back to this Nano Boosting. It was going to be simple, since nano technology was my specialty, amping them up wouldn't be the issue, it would be making sure the person being boosted wouldn't suffer any damages afterwards. I sipped my coffee and went back to work. But my mind trailed a little bit, i never told him to come back and check in the next day... maybe that was his way of checking on me after last night? ... Get it together, focus, you can think all these thoughts later. I threw myself back into my work, letting the science and nanotech take over my thoughts. It always helped. Just not focusing on reality, and focusing on the medical field, the lab, experiments and controlled subjects.
Hours had passed and before i knew it, i had the entire formula worked out and in a vial in my hands. A smile crept onto my face and i walked out to find Ana and Torbjorn. Luckily they were easy to locate, sitting right in the main area talking with Winston. I walked over with a great feeling of happiness.
" I did it!" i said happily.
" good timing, we need to test it right away" said Winston, his face was solemn.
"ookay... i didn't know you had someone for a subject already, i was hoping to maybe test it on i don't know... "
"angela, you are by far one of the most skilled doctors, recruited at 17 for a leading hospital... i know you want to test it on something first, but we are going to have to go straight to the people it will be used on, we are running short on time" stated Winston.
" i uh... what's going on?" the joy i had was leaving quickly.
" Talon... apparently the agents of blackwatch have joined up with talon" said Ana bitterly.
I will admit this didn't come as a shock, i had a bad feeling that's what was happening, but i didn't want to face that information just yet. I sighed, sinking into a chair.
"Who's the subject?" i asked once i calmed down a little bit.
"Genji" said Ana, i nodded, a good choice, he would be the easiest to medicate if something went wrong. "i'll call him down, we will head down to the test range"
I nodded "i'll just need to grab the vial and you can insert it into a bullet...or whatever you chose" i said softly. I walked to the lab feeling slightly defeated, grabbing the vial and my notebook and holopad. I would need to take notes. I returned to the group, Genji was waiting.
"you sure you want to try this?" i asked, Torbjorn handed me the dart it would be going into, i carefully put some into it.
"it would be an honor to test out your work for you" said Genji.
"alright then" i gave the dart to Ana. I checked Genji's vitals and recorded the data. Then we headed down to the test range.
He readied himself, as Winston starting up the test bots for attack.
Ana had her rifle aimed at him "does it matter where i shoot on him?
"focus on the abdominal plugs, or the cracks in the armour" i said, eyeing the entire process. My heart was racing, i didn't want him to get hurt.
"Ready Genji?" asked Winston.
Genji gave a thumbs up. The bots started attacking, and i recorded his fighting before the Nano Boost. Then Ana nodded at me and fired. The shot hit perfectly, a slight blue aura was in the air and his body went faster, and more efficient than he already was, slicing and jumping. The second wave of test bots for the nano test, were destroyed in less than a third of the original time. Winston let out wave after wave, his speed not changing.
" Genji are you alright?" i called out. He was barely visible at his speed.
"Doing great" he shouted. Another wave and another wave, then he steadily declined, then called out "okay i think it's worn off".
Winston shut down the practice bots, and Genji rejoined us. I finished writing down some data, and Winston was furiously typing.
"Athena, can you record the hits he had? and send it to my tablet?" i asked.
"Certainly" responded the friendly AI.
Winston got the data at the same time, zero misses, all fatal hits. My eyes widened, and panic set in, i had officially turned someone into a killing machine... this wasn't what i intended, this wasn't what i wanted to do. I could feel anxiety soaring in me, and i had to get out and think alone. Before i could say anything my flight mode kicked in and i was running. Actually running, my cheeks felt wet but i kept running, onto the track and around it multiple times. My mind was racing and i let out a small scream, then collapsed onto the ground.
Lena must have been running at the same time, because i felt her hands on my back.
"love.. love what's wrong?" she said softly.
"i never wanted to do this" i said, gasping for air.
"do.. do what?"
" i made a killing machine, i made a way to make a complete assassin" i said, pulling my knees to my chest.
" shhhhh, you are helping us fight people who are bad... it's alright love" she said rubbing my hair.
"thank you but... i need to just.. i need to" and i just got up and ran again, running back inside and towards my room, not watching where i was going i ran right into Jack, i felt myself falling but his hand grabbed my back, steadying me on my feet.
"thank you" i said softly, and instead changed my pace to walking for my room, i'm acting like a child who didn't get her way. My beliefs were holding me back from being helpful, i just...
" are you okay?" asked jack, his voice breaking my thoughts.
" i'm fine" i replied putting my hand on my door, my body shook.
" are you sure about that?" he asked, walking towards me.
" i'm sure, i'm just..."
" the nano boost" he said
"yeah. i just... "
"it worked and now you are destroying yourself over it?"
Ugh, he was good, he may not seem like the same person since 'coming back to life' , but this felt like him... let's add another thing to the list of things making me breakdown at this exact moment.
"yes" i sighed out. He leaned against the wall and i could tell he was looking directly at me.
" you did your job, as we all knew you could. There's nothing to be upset about"
And there it was, the unemotional version of him. Jack would have told me something about how it was going to help people, how it was for the greater good and that this is what it means to save lives, that the ones destroying them needed to be taken care of, whether medically treated, or taken out... hm... nice mental pep talk.
"yeah, thanks" i muttered, turning the door knob and opening the door.
"don't beat yourself up over it" he said.
Same could be said for him, was what i wanted to say, but i didn't want to hurt him. I shrugged.
"if they look for me just tell them i needed to lie down"
" You will be fine, get back out there, and finish your study"
was he not understanding that i needed to clear my thoughts before dealing with all of this?
But he was also right, time was of the essence, and i needed to finish this, despite how hard it was. This needed to be ready, our group was small now, and Talon having the additional members means we need more power.
"Fine" i said. I turned back towards the test range, and i felt a hand on my shoulder.
"You are doing a good thing" he said gruffly, then i heard him walk off. The touch of his hand on my shoulder was still there mentally. Tears slid down my face and i wiped them away while walking back to the range, when i opened the doors, they all turned and stared at me. Jesse was now there, great, another subject.
" Angela, we need you to make another dart" said Ana. I nodded and did as i had done before, checked over Jesse's vitals, recorded the data, and he headed for the range.
Winston called for the test bots to fight, and he defeated a wave, all the data recorded by Athena, and immediately sent to my pad. Ana asked him if he was ready and he smiled and tipped his hat at us. Ana fired the shot into him and the next wave started. Each shot landed perfectly, and his speed was amplified, he fell into a beautiful rhythm, whooping and hollering around the range. Then after a few waves he slowed down and returned to normal. This was all very good, and consistent.
"This is excellent work" Said Winston, Jesse joined us and sat in a chair.
"How do you feel?" i asked
"just fine" he answered.
"how did you feel during the boost?"
"like shootin' fish in a barrel" he stated, a smile on his face as he took a long drag off his cigar.
I nodded, checking his vitals, nothing was elevated, the same as when he started.
" should we test a few more? or did you want to give it the night to see i any side effects appear?" asked Winston.
"i know we have little time... but i would prefer not to do more than one more today" i said, glad he was respecting the study.
"Send in Lena" said Winston to Athena.
The doors opened and she rushed in.
"I've been waitin' for this! ow' was it Jesse?" she asked excitedly.
" like i was possessed, but i cannot say i disagreed with it entirely" he said with a smile.
I went through all the same motions with her, and we sent her off into the range. I handed a fresh dart to Ana and took a deep breath in. I was worried for her, she was already so fast, and a perfect shot...
The test bots went out, and i stared at the data, trying to focus on numbers instead of potential victims of the weapon i just created. Ana fired the dart into her, and you couldn't see her at all, test bots beeping and dying all over the and more waves of bots, until she resumed to her normal fast pace.
"That will be all Lena" said Winston, She happily bounced out of the room, and let me check her vitals, everything just as before, even with all her excited energy.
"how did it feel?" i asked.
"Amazing! like i was unstoppable!" she must have noticed the slight frown on my face and added " it just felt good yanno?"
" That seems to be a common theme, Athena the stats please?" i said.
All perfect shots, no misses, it was like five Tracers instead of one Lena.
"okay that should be all, i'll be checking in on all of you later, regular monitorings, as always if you notice anything different i must know" i stated, returning to my data.
"Excellent work, wonderfully superb" said Winston excitedly.
"yeh did good" said Torbjorn with a smile, he had work to get back too, making more darts for me, so i could inject them with the NanoBoost. It would be him getting ahead of himself, but it did go so well. The night would be telling if it all worked out for the best.
" i'm going to go and work on this data" i said , slowly backing out of the room while Ana and Winston discussed the next courses of action. I knew a fight would be coming up, otherwise they wouldn't have been so aggressive with me. Truthfully i needed this, i needed to feel useful and to continue creating. My slump was hopefully over. I headed for the outside, going to grab a quick smoke before working on everything. The sky was already growing dark and i could feel a chill in the air. Exhaling and inhaling, and thinking of all i had accomplished, this was for the greater good. I may have taken an oath years ago, but that world had let me down, branded me a criminal and tossed me out. Working under an assumed name in war zones... this is my chance to fix things.
The night sky was comforting me. I mulled over our conversations today. I couldn't deny I was still completely in love with him. The one date I went on after his supposed death was solely to try to convince myself that I could try. But it hadn't worked. And with how it ended with an entire gang chasing me down and jack rescuing me was rather telling. I'm not over him. But he doesn't seem to care about me. I went back inside and settled into my office. Pouring out my notes and data. Genji, Jesse and Lena came when I requested for check ups. Everything was perfect. Not one side effect was happening. I walked out to get some more coffee. It was a miracle I didn't have a machine in my office yet, but I'll let this slide for a bit. I glanced up at the clock. It was past midnight, I shouldn't be drinking this but I'm kinda on a roll.
I passed my room and jacks on the way to my office. His soft pacing could be heard. I hesitated, he did have a rough day yesterday and I could... I walked towards his door and the pacing stopped. I took a deep breath and just waited, frozen again. Was it possible he heard me? Then again I'm the only one here wearing high heeled boots inside. Ugh. Knock or leave. I raised my hand to knock and a voice said " I'm fine doctor".
On that lovely note I turned and walked away back to my office to lose myself in my studies. I had made it through the past years alone. I can handle this.
The next few hours were filled with more analyzing, everything was on track to succeeded. My only worry was if it hit jack. Due to the super soldier formula I had to be slightly careful with interactions. He was already more powerful than he should be, but it was his mental state I worried about. I typed 76 into the machine and began theorizing the effects with the super soldier formula. It would make him a complete weapon. Just like Genji. Sure Jesse and Lena had done wonderfully, but when you have bodies enhanced by the serums each of them had... it's a bit unpredictable, but would yield efficient results. Lena had done fine despite her already super speeds and chrono accelerator. I'm not sure if I could explain that one of our most useful agents couldn't be weaponized like this until he was more stable. It could produce amped up trauma or flashbacks and that could do more harm to our team than good. Especially if we were all out there with him. We would need to discuss this tomorrow. I rubbed my temples. Something more must be going on for them wanting to accelerate everything so much. I finished up a few things and headed to bed, he was still pacing. And I tried to push that from my mind as I went to sleep.
A/N: i just really really wanted to thank everyone for reading, once again i have some chapters written in advance, but if you have any suggestions i'm completely open to them! Also I know I know this is mercy 76. I promise
(mild spoiler for when if you want to know. But it's soon and not like 20 chapters soon. Like. 2 chapters soon. Just remember he's fighting ptsd and i dont want to gloss over it. But I also don't want to take forever to have them be all couple-y But I hope the POV's help show how much they love each other. )