"So, we have no idea who killed it?" Doomfist asked, looking at the report.
"He's not. An IT." Mad Dawg hissed through clenched teeth. "His NAME was TANK."
"We don't know who did this." Lachlan frowned, clearly unhappy with the information gathered. "All we know is Mad Dawg went in there, and then the whole place exploded. The kid didn't have any explosives on him, and a few people were seen leaving before he got there. If I had to guess, it was Misfit Pride."
"We also saw Overwatch there, near where it-" Hakim began, but bit his tongue and started over, not seeing the death threat Dawg was glaring at him. "Near where HE, died. But Overwatch wouldn't do this, that kind of bombing seems more like something we'd do."
"And there were no orders given to do so." Reaper concluded. He didn't care one way or another about an Omnic, but he knew this Omnic had been close to Mad Dawg, and figured it'd be better to air on the side of sympathetic than indifferent. Even if he didn't feel that way for real.
"Still, whoever did this clearly wanted to send a message to Omega in particular." Doomfist mused. "Those bombs would've gone off, whether or not he was there."
"It seems like good luck on their end that he was present along with it." Rorschach shrugged. He never cared for Omnics, and he didn't care about Omega, or whatever this thing was pretending to be.
"Screw all of you!" Mad Dawg snapped. Waving dismissively to the other senior members of Talon. Most seemed offended or angered, but a few seemed confused and concerned, most notably Hakim. "He wasn't just a robot! He had a name!"
"He was an Omnic-" Akande began.
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU THINK, YOU BLACK BASTARD!" Mad Dawg suddenly snapped whirling around and jabbing a finger at Akande. His anger was beyond what anyone expected, his language uncharacteristically cruel, and his statement dead serious. "So, what if he was an Omnic!? Are you still so hung up that you can't jack off anymore that you continue to see them all as soulless machines?! If you weren't a steroid-addicted skinhead, you'd probably have been overthrown by one by now!"
The entire room was silent, as if even the particles of dust in the air were waiting to see how Doomfist, the leader of TALON, would react to such an insult, such an accusation. In the past, Doomfist had killed far more for far less, so everyone expected a bloody brawl to ensue, one which could very easily change the leadership in Talon…
"Y'know what? Fuck you!" Mad Dawg snapped, flipping Akande off and storming out of the room. The Council sat in utter disbelief at what had happened, and what was even more confusing, was that Doomfist didn't seem too angry. Sure, he was mad at being disrespected, but there was clearly something else he saw, that no one else did.
"Yer tellin' me, THAT, is Shark Bait?" Mauga finally spoke after about a full minute of silence.
"Yup." Sombra blinked, popping the 'P' at the end of the statement. "I've never seen the niño this enfadado before…" She muttered, concern clear on her face and in her tone. "I should go talk-"
"No." Moira spoke up, rising from her seat. "Omega is technically my creation, I'll deal with this."
"…hey, Moira? You may wanna consider that he ain't just some weapon." Sombra frowned, not liking being told what to do. "He's got emotions, and I think you still see him as-"
"Whatever I see Omega as is none of your concern. Your opinions are noted, but disregarded as they are not helpful in this particular situation." Moira said sternly, and left the room. It took her a minute, but she found Omega walking down a hall, muttering to himself.
"Omega!" She called.
"-skinheraliveandmakeherbegfordeathwhileIfeedherentrailstoherfamilyandmakeherwatch-"
"OMEGA! I am speaking to you!"
"-drownanyoneshecaresforinbloodand-"
"Mad Dawg." Moira said sternly, her tone finally getting through and causing Mad Dawg to stop. But when he turned around, she wasn't expecting the pained, almost tearful look on his face. "I created you to be strong, yet you're showing such weakness-"
"You made me to be strong?!"
"Yes."
"Well, congratulations! You failed! How strong can I be if I can't save my own best friend!?" Mad Dawg snapped, tears now beginning to roll down his face. Moira didn't say anything, she was curious what was causing him to think such things.
"Talon is an organization built on strength. The follies and weaknesses of companionship are a dangerous trap to fall into, and-" She began.
"-and that's really great and all, but if you haven't noticed, Tank wasn't TALON!" Mad Dawg countered. "And before you try and give me some crap about how 'Talon is my family', Tank WAS my family, too! He was there for me when I needed it! He was there when I needed a home, when I needed someone to talk too! Where were you my whole life, huh!?"
Moira blinked listening to his words. This was not what she had envisioned him to be like, she had honestly expected him to not have any connections he wouldn't give more than a passing glance to at the thought of them dying, but Akiko, and this 'Tank' seemed to be the acceptations to the rule. Akiko at least made sense, considering all she had done for him, but Tank? He was just an Omnic, nothing more than Dawg's fri-
"I…I couldn't…" Mad Dawg stammered to get out, but then leaned forward, burying his face into Moira's chest, and finally broke down crying. The scientist blinked, unsure of what to say or do. "I…I wasn't strong enough… he-he-he was my best friend… and I let him die… I wasn't strong enough… I wasn't strong…"
Externally, Moira showed no emotion. Internally, she smirked slightly. Moira's eyes widened in both surprise and realization, seeing Mad Dawg crying was the most surreal thing to her, partially because she didn't think he would… for anything, really. But also, because she hadn't made him to be capable of doing so. Yet, time and again, he did surprise her with what he learned, how he adapted, so really, she shouldn't be surprised. Yes, it all seemed to be making sense now… Like it or not, intentionally or not, Tank had been the first real 'connection' Mad Dawg had made who wasn't part of a world his brain was wired to function within. It was a thread of humanity, or normalcy, and now… it was gone. Omega had never experienced anything like this before, and he clearly didn't know how to handle it. Moira considered all this before making her next move. Loathed as she was to admit the girl could be right, Sombra had made a decent point. Moira needed to stop seeing 'Omega', and she needed to see 'Mad Dawg'.
"Ome- Mad Dawg, please, come here." Moira said, much softer now, and wasn't surprised when Dawg remained where he was. With a sigh that wasn't frustration, but sat understanding, Moira stepped forward and slowly, she wrapped her arms around him, trying her best (well, sort of trying) to be a comforting presence to him. She had no idea how he was going to react to this kind of physical contact from her, but again, she wasn't thinking in terms of 'plans' per say right now. She noticed that Mad Dawg didn't seem to be pulling away, if anything he was surprised, but didn't want to pull away. Slowly, she wrapped her jacket around him and led him down the hallway. Dawg half expected they were going to his room, or the lab, or the exit where she'd throw him out, but to his surprise, they entered… her room?
"Sit, dear." She nodded to her bed, and Mad Dawg – awkwardly – did as he was instructed. Moira seemed to consider something, before sighing. "I'm not going to stand here and tell you I know what the pain you're feeling is like. I… well, I haven't experienced loss of friends the way you currently are. I've felt regret and sadness over departures and failures, but what you've experienced? It is emotion in its primal form."
"Mm."
"It should also come as no surprise that this wasn't supposed to happen." Moira added, and Dawg simply cocked a brow at her remark. "You… your… emotions… so to say. You weren't supposed to become this, well, advanced. But I believe you experiences in the wild, living on your own, and so forth, have taught you things that couldn't be programmed. One of those being the connections of a true friend, and the pain of losing said friend."
Mad Dawg didn't say anything, he just looked at Moira with a blank expression. Moira wasn't sure if her words were helping, so she tried something else.
"What is it you want?" She asked. "From all of this? From Talon, from your life?" She asked the question knowing that a certain answer would mean things would be much easier to work with.
"I wanna be strong." Mad Dawg growled, wiping tears from his eyes. "I wanna make people understand that Talon ain't the kinda group you can screw with, and then walk away! Those Trinity idiots thought they could, and I played tug-o'-war with their leaders SPINE! They were NOTHING! They never did anything that was even of the slightest consequence to me! Or more importantly, to Talon!"
"Yes… yes! The neural responsive modifications are still working!" Moira thought gleefully, remembering some of the earliest things she had done to the young Omega to make him more… 'compliant.'
"And yet when push came to shove, I couldn't save someone who mattered to me!" Mad Dawg snarled, pulling away from Moira and turning his back to her, as if he was ashamed to look at her.
"I want to help you, Omega." Moira remarked, picking up a folder and sitting down next to him. "While it's true you were a success in terms of being a living entity, and a weapon, there were many plans Jackson and I had for you, plans which could not be achieved or even considered until you were much older."
"Okay?"
"Like I said, I want to help you." Moira said, with a mixture of a kind, but also blood-thirsty, twisted smile on her face. "I want to help you get stronger. To be strong enough to protect everyone you care for. I want to help you get revenge. If that is what you want."
"I don't want revenge." Mad Dawg growled. "I want blood."
Sorry for the long hiatus, and sorry for the short chapter. I was debating if I wanted to continue this story or not. Overwatch isn't that exciting to me anymore, so I think the story will be on hiatus for the time being. I have ideas, but not the motivation. Sorry about this.