Stage 36: The Hog's Den!

The detention room was inside a large shed next to the gym which reeked as Tracer entered it. Inside there were shelves full of cleaning materials, sports equipment, and piles of metal. In the center of the shed stood Roadhog who was just as big as Tracer remembered while Junkrat was leaning up against a punching bag with his arms folded.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Tracer," Junkrat said approaching her slowly. "Fancy seeing you in detention. Guess McCree saw through that light trick of yours."

"Light trick?" Tracer folded her arms over the Chronal Accelerator. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"That chest-thing you wear," Junkrat responded, standing right in front of her. "It lights up for a second, then you're in a different position than before. How d'you do that?"

"You've asked me this question before, Junkrat," Tracer said, tightening her shoulders. "And I'm not telling."

"You won't get rid of me that easily," Junkrat said, putting his thumb and pointer-finger under Tracer's chin. "We've got a whole hour to ourselves, luv, and I plan to make the most of it."

"That's enough," Roadhog said, squeezing Junkrat's shoulder with one hand.

"Back off, Hog!" Junkrat flinched as he backed away from Tracer. "I was only having a bit of fun. We seldom get anyone else in detention."

"There is a reason for that," Roadhog said, glaring at Junkrat and then Tracer. "You're both here to be punished for being late, not to socialize with each other!"

"Good, I wasn't planning on it anyway," Tracer said gazing around the room. "So what are we supposed to do to pass the time?"

In response, Roadhog picked up a couple of backpack-looking items with vacuum cleaner tubes attached to them and plastic buckets which he gave to Tracer and Junkrat. "You will both be going around the school grounds picking up trash for two hours. Recyclable materials go in the green trash cans, metal pieces go in the buckets, and everything else goes in the vacuum cleaners."

"Even food?" Tracer asked.

Roadhog nodded briefly before shoving Tracer and Junkrat out of the shed. "Now get out and don't come back till you're done!"

Before Tracer could ask Roadhog further questions, he slammed the shed doors in her face.

"Don't take it personally," Junkrat said as he walked from the shed. "Roadhog's not very patient, and never has been."

"How would you know?" Tracer said Blinking forward till she was next to Junkrat.

He looked at the Chronal Accelerator once more and then said, "I'll tell ya if you let me in on that chest-thing."

"No way!" Tracer said firmly.

"Fine! Have it your way!" Junkrat grumbled as he started picking up some plastic cups that had been tucked into the side of the gym.

Instead of answering, Tracer left Junkrat to find more trash which happened to be lying around a floating trash-can. Irritably, Tracer used the vacuum cleaner to suck up all the paper plates and napkins before Blinking down the sidewalk.

###

Thanks to the Chronal Accelerator being fully charged again, Tracer was able to pick up a lot of trash by the time detention was over. She also managed to fill the bucket with several metal pieces, which seemed to please Roadhog. Junkrat appeared to be deep in thought, which caused Tracer to be nervous. As the two left the shed, neither of them spoke while the sun was setting west behind a gazelle-shaped building.

"Um, Junkrat," Tracer said, causing him to glare at her.

"What now?" Junkrat asked sharply.

"A while back, you said something about 'serving time' in reference to attending this school. What did you mean by that?"

Junkrat hesitated to answer.

"Never mind. I was only asking," Tracer said and walked past him.

###

On her way back to the girl's dorm after supper, Tracer thought she heard footsteps. Thinking it was Junkrat, Tracer Blinked ahead twice and hid behind the cheetah statue. To her surprise, it was actually Widowmaker.

What's she doing out so late? Tracer wondered.

"Tracer," Widowmaker said, standing before the dorm entrance. "Are you coming inside or not?"

Reluctantly, Tracer left the cheetah statue and stood next to Widowmaker. "I see you took the time to memorize my name."

"It wasn't that hard," Widowmaker said snidely as she opened the doors. "Are you planning to participate in the Hero Bash tournament?"

"Of course," Tracer replied excitedly. "It sounds like fun."

Widowmaker scuffed. "I would watch my back if I were you."

"Why?"

Instead of answering, Widowmaker smirked and walked away.

Confused, Tracer went up to her dorm, showered, and went into her room to do homework.

###

"Hey, Winston, should I join the Hero Bash tournament?" Tracer asked after Hanzo left to do archery practice.

"I don't see why not," Winston said, though his eyes were glued to the computer screen in front of him.

"Is something bothering you?"

Winston snorted through his nostrils. "Last night, someone tried to hack into the school files."

Tracer's eyes widened. "Was the hacker caught?"

"No, but fortunately nothing was stolen."

"Do you know what they were after?"

"Athena claims it was the student profiles which detail everything from abilities to real names."

"That's awful!"

"Indeed, but what worries me more is that this isn't the first attempted hacking."

"How many have there been?"

"About three counting this latest attempt."

"I wonder who's doing it."

"Athena's trying her best to look for the perpetrator, but because the hackings were cut short by her interference there isn't much data for her to go on."

"I'm sure she'll find the hacker eventually. After all, she's your creation."

"Yeah, but even Athena has her limits."

"What have you got so far?"

"A series of numbers that Athena has translated to 'Araignée du matin.'"

"Which means?"

"Apparently, it's 'Morning spider' in French."

"Odd," Tracer observed. "Could it be the hacker's signature?"

"It is, but unless the hacker tries again we have no way to figure out his or her identity."

"Aw, bummer."

"If only we could had a computer genius who's familiar with hackers and is able to trace their signatures to their source."

Tracer thought for a moment. "I think I know someone who could help."

To be continued…