Stage 29: Questions and Concerns!
By the time Ana turned down the adjacent hallway, the masked man was gone along with his accomplice and Scourge. She immediately contacted Soldier: 76 and told him to alert the city authorities of Scourge's escape. Soldier: 76 abided by this and agreed to send Mercy over to the hospital once he learned of the casualties. Meanwhile, Tracer had finished examining the two unusually dead bodies and almost ran into Ana as she came from the adjacent hallway.
"What are you doing here?" Ana demanded. "You could've gotten killed!"
"I'm fine, Ana," Tracer said assuringly. "But who was that man and why did he take Scourge?"
"I don't know, and that's what worries me," Ana replied solemnly.
"Tracer!" Zarya exclaimed running toward her. "You took off without me."
"Sorry, Zarya," Tracer apologized. "I got too excited, I guess."
Ana glanced at a nearby clock which struck 6:00 and said, "Soldier: 76 should be here soon. I want you two to tell him everything that happened from your perspective so that we may find Scourge and his kidnapper much sooner."
"Okay," Tracer said with a twinge of guilt.
"Understood," Zarya nodded.
###
"Are you sure the bodies were like this when you showed up?" Soldier: 76 asked Tracer as he knelt down to examine the two withered corpses.
"Positive," Tracer said firmly. "I walked up to this hallway just as the masked man started shooting at Ana who was hiding behind a door niche."
"Did the man see you?"
"I think so, but I avoided his bullets by running to the other side of the hallway and hiding behind a wall."
"Were you injured?"
"No."
Unconvinced, Soldier: 76 pressed a button on the side of his visor and said, "Mercy. I'd like you to examine Tracer's body and some corpses over here when you can."
"I'm fine, Jack, really."
"We can't be too sure," Soldier: 76 replied as he got up. "You said the man turned into black mist when Ana tried to shoot him with a Sleep Dart, correct?"
"Yeah."
"Did the mist disperse or move in your direction?"
"It seemed to linger in one spot before vanishing altogether and reappearing next to the accomplice, who was hit by the Sleep Dart instead, which then transformed into the guy who picked the accomplice up and took off with Scourge."
"And did you try pursuing him?"
"I stayed here and looked at the bodies before Ana came back."
"Was Ana aware that you were following her?"
"No, and if she did I didn't get that when she was cornered by the guy."
"Why did you follow her? Was it curiosity?"
"Kind of," Tracer answered. When Soldier: 76 raised an eyebrow, Tracer sighed. "Yes, I was curious. Is that a crime?"
"It put you in danger, and if the Chronal Accelerator had gotten damaged in the process—
"Hello!" Mercy said, interrupting Soldier: 76.
She was wearing the same outfit from the Payload Competition which included angel-like wings, a white and gold-colored dress, black gloves and matching knee-length boots, and a golden halo above her forehead. In her right hand she carried a white metal staff which was taller than her.
Startled by Mercy's presence, Soldier: 76 said, "Don't scare me like that! I was in the middle of an interrogation!"
"From the sounds of it, you were expressing your concern for Tracer more than trying to get information out of her," Mercy said stepping past Soldier: 76 toward Tracer. "Now on a scale from 1 to 10, how is your pain?"
"One," Tracer said as Mercy looked at her from top to bottom and from every angle.
"There appear to be no external wounds," Mercy concluded and then she pointed her staff in Tracer's direction as three metal plates unfolded. "But I'll patch you up with the Caduceus Staff just in case there are internal ones."
A beam of yellow light shot from Mercy's staff and hit Tracer. She felt very warm in a pleasant sense as her anxiety seemed to melt away instantly.
When the beam died down, Mercy smiled. "Congratulations! You're fully healed!"
"Thanks, Doc," Tracer said.
"Can you work the same miracle on these two?" Soldier: 76 said, indicating the withered corpses that still lay on the floor.
When Mercy looked at them, she suddenly panicked and dropped the Caduceus Staff.
"What's wrong?" Soldier: 76 asked. Then he noticed Mercy shivering and grasped her shoulders. "Speak to me, Angela!"
"I-I'm fine," Mercy said snapping out as she picked up the Caduceus Staff gingerly. "I was just…startled by the bodies, is all."
"You've never been startled by a dead body in all the time I've known you," Soldier: 76 pointed out. "What makes these ones any different?"
"It's been a long night, Jack," Mercy replied and held her hand up. "Heroes Never Die!"
Two beams of light shot up from the corpses, causing their bodies to be no longer shriveled and their normal skin tones were restored as well. When neither of the bodies moved, Mercy knelt down and checked their pulses.
"How are they?" Soldier: 76 asked.
"Still dead," Mercy answered bluntly.
"What?" Soldier: 76 exclaimed.
"While they may seem perfectly healthy, their cells are rapidly degrading," Mercy explained as she used the Caduceus Staff to show a microscopic image of a cell breaking apart. "In a few minutes, they'll be reduced to the same shriveled corpses as before."
"Do you know what's causing this to happen?"
Mercy hesitated before answering. "I'll need to examine the corpses carefully to determine how they died, but I can see that I have my work cut out for me."
"Then get to it!" Soldier: 76 commanded. "We've been too busy dealing with Talon to figure out what this strange affliction is that's been reported in five other places around the world. If it's some kind of new disease, then we might have more than Talon to deal with. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Jack," Mercy nodded, though Tracer noticed she was worried.
Is she still shaken up by the bodies or something else? Tracer wondered as Soldier: 76 escorted her to the hospital foyer where Zarya was waiting.
"Since it's late, I will personally take you two back to the dorms at school," Soldier: 76 said after Tracer and Zarya had reunited.
"There is no need to do that," Ana said, appearing behind Tracer and Zarya. "I will take them back."
Surprised, Soldier: 76 said, "You sure, Ana?"
"Yes," Ana nodded and glanced at Tracer. "We have a lot of things to discuss."
To be continued…
