Lost in Time
She was alone. Nothing more than a ghost now.
Lena didn't know where she was, or how long she'd been here. Time seemed to function differently here, though that could easily be her imagination playing tricks on her. Truth was, Lena didn't know a single thing about this place and she suspected that Winston only knew a little more than her.
The only thing Lena knew was that she was alone, isolated from the rest of the world. Her thoughts turned to Emily, hoping that she was okay. She didn't know what it was but Lena had a feeling, something that told her Emily was safe. Maybe she had some sort of connection with the real world. Maybe it was just her gut feeling.
Either way, there was nothing she could do here. All she could do was wait. Wait in this hell, whatever it was. Wait and hope the person she loved was still alive.
The problem was that she didn't know how much longer she could wait. Every second she spent here was breaking her and she knew she wouldn't last much longer.
Watchpoint Gibraltar
Angela walked through the base as quickly as she could, heading towards the landing pads. Athena had informed her that Widow and Emily had been rescued, along with what had happened to Lena. She hadn't checked in on Winston since getting the news, partly because he'd kicked everybody else out of his lab but mainly because she knew he would be busy. Most of the operational side of the base had been moved to the command centre by now, so it wasn't of major inconvenience for Morrison to move what was left out of the lab.
Winston would get Lena back, Angela was certain of that. Right now, she needed to focus on Emily and Widow. As she reached the landing pad, she was surprised to see Winston there, clearly waiting for the incoming dropship.
Angela slowly walked over to the landing pad, stopping next to the gorilla.
"Everything okay Winston?" She asked, not expecting him to be here. She knew he was worried about Lena, the two were after all very good friends, so she considered he'd be in his lab, busy powering up the chamber needed to rescue Lena.
"Yes, I'm okay. Athena has started the process of powering up the chamber, so I wanted to speak to Emily when she arrived and see how she's holding up." Winston answered, gaining a nod from Angela.
After waiting for a few more minutes, the dropship finally came into view, hovering over them and slowly descending to the landing pad. Shortly after touching down, the dropship doors opened and the passengers disembarked.
Reinhardt and Brigitte were the first ones out, followed closely by the Bastion. Baptiste and McCree were next, McCree tipping his hat at Winston and Angela as they passed. Once the rest were off, Sombra, Widow and Emily disembarked. The three gently walked over to Angela and Winston, Emily stopping in front of the gorilla, who gave her a warm smile.
Upon seeing the gorilla, Emily instinctively stepped forward and hugged him. Winston responded by gently placing his arms around Emily, comforting her as best as he could. He knew how much Emily meant to Lena and how much Lena meant to Emily. So he was determined to bring her back, no matter what.
"We'll get her back Emily. I promise you."
While Winston comforted Emily, Widow and Sombra spoke to Angela.
"Good to see you again Amelie." Angela said, gaining a smile from Widow.
"Thanks Angela. It's... good to be back." Widow replied, pausing to look over to Sombra. Sombra didn't notice her do this, yet Angela caught on very quickly, suspecting there was a deeper meaning behind Widow's words. In any case, it was a matter for another day. Angela had other priorities right now.
"I know you two just got back but I'd like to check you and Emily over, make sure that you're both okay. I heard you took a shot in your leg, so it'll put my mind at rest."
"It's quite alright." Widow reassured, agreeing with Angela. The medic turned to Winston and Emily, who'd stopped hugging the gorilla and was wiping away a few tears. She'd heard Angela speaking to Widow and so nodded in agreement.
"Yeah... probably a good idea."
Angela lead the two women towards the medical bay, Sombra not far behind. As they left, Winston turned to the rest of the team, who were still nearby and walked over.
"Nice work bringing them home."
"Thanks." Reinhardt replied. The victory was bitter sweet though. They'd rescued Emily and Widow, yet Lena was still lost. "You'll be able to bring Lena back, right?"
"Athena's powering up the chamber. It'll take a bit of time to run through the checks but I'll get her back... I just hope she's alright."
Medical bay- 10 minutes later
Angela got to work straight away, checking over Emily first. She was glad to see that physically Emily was okay, with only some minor cuts and bruises. However, it was Emily's mental state that worried her. Angela was very aware that Emily had never been in a gunfight before, let alone had to kill someone. She was shaken up to say the least. In top of that, she was worried about Lena, worried if she'd be alright.
"I think we should have some one to one sessions." Angela began, after she'd managed to get Emily to open up. "Physically you're fine but I'm concerned about how this ordeal has affected you mentally. I know what it's like to go through something like this and due to what you've told me, I think it would be good if you talked it through with someone."
Emily nodded in agreement. "Yeah... I think that'll help... Thank you Ang."
"You're welcome. Now, I can see you're tired, so try to get some rest..."
"What about Lena?" Emily interrupted, worry taking over again. "I... I need to be there when she comes back."
"Don't worry Emily." Angela replied softly. "Winston is going as fast as he can but it'll take some time."
"I can inform doctor Ziegler when we are ready to begin if that would help." Athena added, which helped settle Emily down again.
"...Okay then. Thank you."
Athena fell silent again, likely returning to whatever task she was currently doing. Angela gave Emily a warm smile, before continuing with what she was saying beforehand.
"I can give you something to help you sleep if you'd like?"
"Yeah... I think I'll need it... Can I... can I stay here?"
"Of course you can."
Angela smiled again, before she stood and walked to the back of the medical bay, returning with a single tablet and a glass of water. It wasn't anything too powerful, only enough to send Emily to sleep and she was more than happy to let her stay in the bay. She wasn't exactly short on space and it let her keep an eye on her.
Emily quickly took the tablet, drinking the water as she swallowed it. She then lay herself down on the bed she was sat on and closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep shortly after.
As Emily finally got some needed rest, Angela walked over to Widow and Sombra, who were talking to themselves as they waited for Angela to see them
"How is she?" Widow asked, seeing the redhead now fast asleep.
"She'll be okay. I know better than most what it's like to be captured by Talon and how it can affect someone... Thank you for keeping her safe Amelie."
Widow smiled. "I made a promise to keep her safe. I wasn't prepared to break it... How will Lena be?"
Angela sighed. "Honestly, Lena never really takes this well. The last time she had Emily to help her through it... This time though, I think they'll both need each other."
"What do you mean?"
"Emily's worried about Lena and in turn, Lena will be worried sick about Emily. Once we get Lena back, I think the two of them will help each other through this."
Widow gave a short nod, before returning to the reason she was here. "You wanted to look over my leg."
Angela went to work once again, looking over the area that the sniper bullet had entered. She was pleased to see that the medical treatment Widow had received was quite good. She checked over the rest of Widow's injuries, before she used her healing staff to make sure the wound was healed up.
"How are you feeling?" Angela asked Widow, once she was happy that there weren't any major injuries.
"I'm okay." Widow answered, knowing what Angela was asking. "Once we agreed to start helping Talon, they treated us quite well, considering the circumstances."
Angela nodded, seeing how well Widow was taking the entire situation. In all honesty, it didn't really surprise her that much. Widow had already been subjected to the worst Talon could do.
"Amelie..." Angela began, making sure to keep her voice down, so she didn't disturb Emily. "You seem to be coping well but how were Emily and Lena?"
Widow paused for a moment, looking over to the bed Emily was currently on. "Not good... Lena was not herself, too worried about Emily. I think Emily took things better... but it still affected her."
Angela took a moment to absorb the information. "I'll keep an eye on them. Hopefully, with some sessions with me and the two of them supporting each other, they'll get through this." As she finished, she suspected that something else was bothering Widow. "Is there something else Amelie? It looks like there's something on your mind."
There were indeed some other things that were bothering Widow. The first one was Reaper. Him turning against Talon was a major blow to them and if he had his way, Talon would have two major threats to deal with now. She knew Morrison needed to know.
The second thing was much closer, standing right next to her in fact. She'd had time to think about her feelings towards Sombra but she still wasn't sure what to do. Both Lena and Emily had given her advice and she knew she needed to... no, wanted to talk to her about it.
Yet now wasn't the right time.
"I just need to speak with Morrison." Widow told Angela. "Something important happened inside Talon that he needs to know about."
"Commander Morrison is currently in the base command centre." Athena quietly announced, being careful not to wake up Emily. "I can pass on a message for you if you wish?"
"Non. I need to speak to him about it, urgently."
"Very well Amelie. I will inform him of this."
"You can go see him now." Angela said, after Athena had finished speaking. "There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with you medically and I'm satisfied your okay mentally. If you ever feel the need to talk though, please do come and see me."
"Oui, thank you Angela."
With that, Widow stood herself up and headed for the door, Sombra no more than a few steps behind. It didn't take them long to find their way outside.
"Are you sure there isn't something else bothering you?" Sombra eventually asked, seeing the troubled expression Widow had.
Widow stopped and sighed. She knew lying to Sombra was a bad idea, yet she wasn't ready to talk to her about this just yet. "Oui, there is something on my mind. Now just isn't the time to talk about it... Not while Lena is missing."
"I get it, don't worry." Sombra replied, giving Widow a reassuring smile. "When you're ready, I'll be here."
Talon facility- Unknown location
"So let me get this straight." The person on the other end of the phone began. "One of your best agent's gone rogue and you want us to take him down?"
"Yes." Doomfist said "You've worked with Reaper before, so you know what he is capable of."
"That's the issue. Taking out Reaper isn't exactly the same as blowing up some Omnics or stealing something valuable. You might be sending us some backup but we'd be putting our necks on the line and a lot of explosives would be needed to do the job properly."
Doomfist expected such a move. In the end, it always came down to money.
"How much to you want?"
"Triple our usual payment."
"Done."
"Wait, that easy? I should have asked for more, is four still an option?"
"You take down Reaper and I'm willing to pay you five times your usual fee."
"Five times? No worries mate, he's as good as dead."
There was a laugh, before the phone call ended. Doomfist placed the phone down and took a drink from his coffee.
"I don't believe hiring Junkrat and Roadhog to take down Reyes is a good idea." Moira said, once Doomfist finished up the call. "They are too valuable an asset to risk against him."
"Do not worry Moira. Reyes is remarkable but he is not immortal. Sooner or later, one of our sources will locate him. When they do and with that amount of money on the line, I'm fairly sure Junkrat and Roadhog will go to no length to take him down." Doomfist took another drink, before changing the subject. "How goes your project?"
"Very well actually. I believe we're almost ready to begin testing."
"Excellent. May I suggest you hold off testing for a short while?"
"I can, though whatever for?"
"I think Overwatch should have a demonstration of what we are truly capable of."
Moira smirked. "I believe that can be arranged."
Watchpoint Gibraltar- Command centre
The command centre was finally operational, with a numerous amount of personnel overseeing the day to day functions of the Watchpoint. As well as operating the base, several personnel were busy collecting intel, finding out as much information as they could about current world events.
When Widow and Sombra walked into the command centre, a number of people looked over, most simply glancing for a second before continuing on with what they were doing. A couple though stopped and looked for longer, shocked that Talon's best assassin had indeed changed sides. After a few seconds, everyone went back to their tasks, expecting an earful if Morrison caught them staring any longer.
At the back of the room stood Morrison and Ana, who were both leaning against a holo-table. They were currently looking over the news regarding the Petras Act. There was still no decision, yet the UN were planning to call a vote on the matter soon.
"That's something at least." Morrison said to Ana, before he noticed Widow and Sombra and waved them over.
"Athena said you wanted to speak to me?"
"Oui." Widow answered, pausing for a moment before she continued. "Two things."
Widow reached into her pocket and pulled out a small memory stick, placing it on the table in front of her.
"What's this?" Morrison asked, picking up the memory stick.
"It has intel from Talon on it. That British captain, Jameson, told me to give it to you."
Morrison looked at the memory stick for a moment, before placing it back onto the table. He'd have one of the techs look it over and they'd hopefully find something useful on it.
"Thanks for bringing this to us. What was the second thing?"
"It's about Gabriel Reyes."
"Reaper? What about him?"
"He's gone rogue."
Morrison stopped what he was doing and stood up straight. "What do you mean he's gone rogue?"
Widow took another breath. "The reason me, Lena and Emily were able to escape from Talon was because he betrayed them. Doomfist realised he was doing this and attacked him. On top of that, some of the Talon soldiers sided with Reyes and attacked Doomfist's forces. Simply put, Reyes, along with whatever forces followed him, are currently enemies of Talon."
Morrison took a moment to digest this revelation, leaning against the holo-table once again.
"That explains the reported infighting we got before we rescued you..." Morrison sighed, rubbing his eyes as he thought. "Okay, I'll look into this. Thanks for bringing it to my attention Amelie."
Widow gave Morrison a quick nod, before both her and Sombra left, Widow heading off on her own so she could return her equipment to Torb, before finally getting some sleep. This left Morrison and Ana to think over the information they'd been told.
"So, is this a good thing, or a bad thing?" Ana eventually asked, not quite sure what Morrison was thinking.
"I don't know Ana... I really don't know. What do you think?"
"I think it's a little of both. Reyes not being part of Talon is definitely a major blow to them. However, he's unpredictable, full of anger and has ex-Talon soldiers on his side. Who knows what his next move will be."
"That's what I'm afraid of..." Morrison paused once more before he leaned up from the holo-table. "Can you take over for a bit? I should go and speak to Winston."
Ana gave Morrison a small nod, knowing he wanted to check in with Winston about Lena. He'd seen the report of the rescue mission and knew Lena's accelerator was damaged, so he knew Winston would be preparing to recover her.
Morrison left the command centre and made his way across the base. It didn't take him long to reach his destination, most of the other troops too busy to disturb him. Most only gave him a quick salute before continuing with whatever task they were doing. At this point, it was mostly just moving supplies from one part of the base into another.
When he arrived at Winston's lab, there was no sign of the gorilla. However, there was a large panel on the floor that was open, revealing a staircase that headed down below the lab. This was where the chamber was located, out of sight so no one could mess with it. Slowly, Morrison stepped down the stairs and into the large laboratory, where Winston was currently working.
"Energy levels are at sixty two percent Winston." Athena informed him, as he typed away on a computer. "Also, you have a visitor."
Winston turned around and saw Morrison, before he turned back around and began typing again.
"Morrison."
"Is everything down here alright Winston?"
"Yes, it appears to be. I still need to run the tests before I begin." Winston explained, finishing typing before walking over to a metal table.
On the table sat a replacement coronal accelerator, which Winston proceeded to start tinkering with. He picked up a nearby screwdriver and started to open up the accelerator, checking over the internal parts before closing it back up. He then walked back to the computer and connected a cable to the accelerator, before numerous figures appeared on the computer screen.
After a few moments, Winston disconnected the device and placed it back on the table, plugging a different cable in so that the accelerator could charge. During this, Morrison remain quiet, knowing the importance of what Winston was doing. The process of rescuing Tracer was never quick. The chamber had to be tested to make sure there were no glitches and a new accelerator had to be working. Winston had since created a number of replacements for this very situation. It didn't make it any easier for him though.
"Energy levels at one hundred percent. Power supply is functioning correctly. Beginning system diagnostics."
"Thank you Athena." Winston said, turning back around to face Morrison.
"You sure you don't need any more hands down here? I can get you some help if you need it."
"No, that won't be nessesary. I've made a number of changes to this chamber since it was first built, to the point me and Athena can operate it ourselves. Though I appreciate the offer."
Winston spoke with frustration clear in his voice. He didn't intend to and he certainly wasn't frustrated with Morrison. Instead, he was frustrated with himself. He considered that he should have activated this chamber much earlier, in case this very situation happened.
"Sorry." Winston said after a short pause, knowing he'd let out his frustration on Morrison.
"It's fine, don't worry about it." Morrison replied, nodding a few times before he reluctantly changed topics. "Winston, I hate to ask this now but have background checks been done on our new recruits?"
"Actually, I have been performing checks on all new personnel commander." Athena answered. "I have not discovered anything to be concerned about. Is there anyone in particular that's concerning you?"
"No, I just wanted to be certain. With what Talon seem to be planning, I want to be sure they don't attempt to infiltrate us. Then there's Reyes..."
"What about Reyes?" Winston asked, stopping what he was doing when Morrison mentioned his name.
"Amelie informed me that he betrayed Talon in order to help her, along with Lena and Emily, escape."
"This is... unexpected..."
"Exactly. Some soldiers from Talon sided with him and I don't know what he's planning. We need to stay vigilant... I considered you needed to know but don't worry about that now, focus on getting Lena back. I'll let you get on with your work."
Ex-Talon dropship- Somewhere over Europe
The inside of the dropship was silent, none of the occupants wanting to start a conversation. Upon first inspection, anyone would say this dropship was filled with Talon operatives, on their way to their next mission. However, this was far from correct. Inside this dropship were what remained of the squads of soldiers, who'd sided with Reaper back at the Black Forest base. They'd betrayed Talon and were now loyal only to one person. No one really knew if it was true loyalty or fear that made them follow him.
At the back of this dropship stood Reaper, who was busy looking over a map of the world with the now highest ranking soldier in the dropship. The map had a large amount of writing on it, detailing all of Talon's operations known to Reaper and his forces. He was trying to find out where he should go next. Talon were up to something big and he was determined to find out what it was.
On top of that, Reaper considered he needed a base of operations, somewhere he could take inventory and organise what resources he had.
"So, how many people do we actually have?" Reaper asked, as he crossed out one possibility for a base of operations.
"It's difficult to say right now sir." The newly appointed squad commander replied. "Several bases reported operatives missing and some have made contact, asking for a rendezvous location. However, I can't really give a concrete number, or say if they've decided to side with us."
Reaper remained silent, crossing out another location on the map. This time, it was a Talon operation in Calafornia, USA. It was a plan to blackmail a wealthy individual into giving Talon money, clearly not part of Talon's master plan.
Now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure what Talon's ultimate plan was. He originally joined in order to take down Overwatch and ultimately have revenge on those who were a part of it. However, after he joined, Reaper's priorities changed and his original motives became less and less important.
First there was Widow. He was very surprised when he found Amelie after all that time, though she wasn't the same woman he knew. Despite this, he stayed true to his word and got her out, just not the way he'd planned. Then there was this business with Doomfist and Moira keeping secrets from him. He ended up with Talon as his enemy, though he didn't care.
As he continued to analyse the map, his attention was drawn to the bottom right.
"Australia's looking rather empty." He said aloud. "Talon didn't have anything going on there according to this."
"I thought there was a base there." One of the soldiers said, making Reaper turn to look at him.
"What kind of base?"
"I'm not exactly sure if I'm honest sir, I heard it from a friend of mine who said he was stationed there. He said it was some sort of research base, though he didn't say anything specific."
Reaper turned back to the map, staring at the one county. If this base existed, it was another one of Talon's many secrets he didn't know anything about. That was enough to garner his interest. Fortunately, he knew someone in Australia who owed him a favour.
"Tell the pilot we need to head towards Australia and get the word out to anyone else who's contacted us."
Watchpoint Gibraltar- Three hours later
Widow only managed to sleep a few hours before she found herself waking up. She couldn't really sleep as she had too much on her mind. After laying in bed for a few minutes, Widow decided to go and get some food and then visit Emily and Angela in the medical bay.
She got out of bed and grabbed a quick shower, cleaning off the dirt and grime she'd yet to wash off and then changed into a short sleeved black shirt and a pair of blue jeans. She decided not to bother Sombra at this time, remembering her saying she was going to look into something, so she decided to leave her to it. Just before she left her room, Widow made a mental note to herself to take her combat outfit to Torb, so he could repair the damage and clean it up.
When she arrived in the mess hall, the building was more or less empty, with only a few agents currently present. Reinhardt, Brigitte and a few crusaders were sat at one table, while DVa was sat at another, along with the rest of her MEKA squad. One of them soon noticed her, the girl she'd taken hostage back at the MEKA base.
When the girl looked up and saw her, Widow considered she needed to speak to her and hopefully clear the air between them. As she walked over, the girl didn't take her eyes off Widow and more of the squad focused on her as she approached. This gained the attention of DVa, who turned around to see what the rest of her squad was staring at.
"Oh, hey Amelie." Hana said, as the table fell silent, the tension becoming clear.
"Bonjour..." She replied, facing Yuna before she continued. "I believe I owe you an apology."
Yuna looked at the woman in front of her, seeing that this wasn't the same person she met in Korea. She spoke much softer than she did back then and she could tell there was a hint of regret in her voice. It seemed as if Mercy was telling the truth after all.
"I get it, you needed to get into the quarters and I was just the unfortunate person who you saw first."
"More or less." Widow replied, before holding her hand out. "I am sorry for how I treated you."
Yuna hesitantly took Widow's hand and shook it, the tension on the table reducing as she did. After shaking hands for a few moments, Widow gave Yuna a small smile, before heading towards the kitchen.
"See, I told you she wasn't that bad." Hana said to the rest of the MEKA squad.
"Yeah... She doesn't seem too bad." Yuna added, before the group returned to their earlier conversation.
One quick sandwich later, Widow made her way to the medical bay. When she arrived, she found Angela sitting at her desk talking with Fareeha, who was sitting on the desk. However, Widow quickly noticed that Emily was nowhere to be seen.
"Hello Amelie." Angela said, smiling as Widow approached the desk. "Is everything okay?"
"Oui, thank you." Widow looked around, still not able to see Emily. "Where's Emily?"
"She woke up not too long ago and said she wanted to grab a shower. Don't worry, she's perfectly okay." Angela answered, reassuring Widow. Despite this, Angela could tell something else was on Widow's mind. "Are you sure you're okay Amelie? You look like something is troubling you."
Widow looked away and sighed, thinking over the situation. Angela wasn't exactly wrong, there was something that was bothering her. Widow knew she wanted to speak to Sombra and tell her about her feelings, yet she still had concerns in the back of her head. In the end, Widow admited she needed to speak to someone and Angela seemed like the right person.
"Can I speak to you about something... in private?"
"Of course."
Fareeha considered this was important and decided to leave, giving Angela a quick kiss before heading out, closing the door behind her. After she'd left, Widow took a seat in front of Angela's desk and the doctor leaned forward.
"What's on your mind Amelie?"
Widow took a breath, her eyes wandering down to her hands. "Well... since I've been here, I've developed... feelings for someone."
"I see. Feelings for a certain hacker by any chance?"
Widow looked straight up at Angela. "How did you..?"
"Educated guess and who else could it be? I'm guessing you're feeling conflicted about this?"
"Oui... I spoke to Lena some time ago and she convinced me that I should talk to Sombra about this... Though I can't help but feel guilty."
"Guilty?" It took Angela a moment before she realised what she meant. "Gerard?"
Widow nodded gently. "I know he died a long time ago, yet I can't help but think I'm doing something wrong, or that I'll ruin my friendship with Sombra..."
Widow stopped talking and Angela offered her hands, a gesture Widow accepted. "It's perfectly natural to feel like this. You're right that Gerard died a long time ago but you're not in any way doing anything wrong. He wouldn't want you to stay stuck in the past, feeling guilty. He'd want you to be happy Amelie. However, if you're still grieving..."
"That's the thing... I feel like I've had years to grieve. When my memories returned, all my emotions came flooding back... but before that happened, I think I still grieved, even after Talon brainwashed me... I always visited Gerard's grave every Christmas... I don't even know why I did... it just felt right."
"Talon never questioned it?"
"They didn't know. They gave me a lot of freedom, so why would they?"
Angela thought back to Widow's medical files. "If I had to guess, I think that was one of those cracks in your conditioning. It was only small, so no one noticed but it was enough that it made you want to visit his grave. I suspect this is why you feel like you've already grieved for him. That crack allowed you to grieve without you even knowing about it."
Widow nodded again, understanding what Angela was saying.
"As for you feelings for Sombra, you should talk to her when you feel ready. You two appear to be good friends and she clearly cares about you, so I'm sure she'll understand."
"Oui... Now doesn't feel like the right time but I will... Thank you for listening Angela."
"Happy to help."
Just as the two finished their conversation, Emily walked in, wearing a new pair of clothes that she retrieved from Lena's quarters. Emily had stayed over at the watchpoint with Lena a few times before, one example being when they visited Winston for Christmas, so she fortunately had a few items of clothing already here. After showering and changing out of her dirty clothing, she'd made her way back to the medical bay, with Athena guiding her though the base.
Angela stood up and walked over to Emily. "Hey Emily. Are you feeling any better?"
"A little bit, thanks." Emily replied, as Widow walked over and joined them. "Hey Amelie."
"Bonjour."
"I know I've already said this but thanks... You know, for keeping me safe. I was a bit emotional at the time..."
"You don't have to explain. I made a promise to keep you safe and I kept it."
Emily stepped forward and offered a hug, a gesture Widow gladly accepted. Emily was on good terms with the agents Lena was close friends with, so she hoped to get to know Widow better in the future.
"Excuse me, Doctor Ziegler." Athena announced, as Emily and Widow separated. "We're ready to begin."
"Thank you Athena." She looked towards Emily and gave her a reassuring smile, before turning to Widow. "You're welcome to come as well, if you'd like."
"Won't I be intruding?"
"Not at all. Lena trusted you to look after Emily, that means she trusts you. I'm sure she won't mind you being there."
Winston's lab
Winston was still in the lower level of his lab, doing his final preparations before the chamber was activated. There was a brand new accelerator ready, glowing brightly as it sat on the metal table and the chamber was humming while it remained on standby, waiting for the command to activate it.
Winston sat at the computer, looking over the figures the screen was throwing up. Everything seemed to be in order, yet Winston was always ready for anything when using this chamber. After a few minutes, Winston heard approaching footsteps and turned around, expecting to see Angela and Emily. However, he was slightly surprised when he saw Widow with them.
"Amelie. I wasn't expecting to see you."
"Angela said I could come along. I hope I'm not intruding."
"Not at all. I'm sure Lena will be glad to see you." Winston turned back around and began typing, pausing for a moment when he saw Emily walk up to the glass window on the front of the chamber. Emily briefly turned to face him, nodding twice before turning back to the chamber. Winston understood and activated the device, filling the lab with noise as it powered up.
"Chamber fully online." Athena said, taking command over the machine. "Scanning... Target acquired, locking on... Locked on. Commencing retrieval in three... two... one..."
The lights began to flicker across the entire base, as the chamber ate up large amounts of power. While this made Widow look up to the ceiling, Emily didn't move, looking straight into the chamber. Eventually, the lights in the lab cut out completely and the emergency lighting took their place.
"Is it meant to do this?" Widow asked, as Winston began typing away again.
"This takes an incredible amount of power to do." Winston explained. "But we're fine, don't worry."
Just then, something began appearing in the chamber. Or rather, someone.
"I can see her!" Emily shouted above the noise, pressing her hands agaisnt the glass.
"Stabilising." The chamber hummed louder, before it finally began to power down, the lights returning to normal as it did so. "Retrieval complete, target stable." Athena announced.
Winston patted the top of the computer. "Thank you Athena."
"I will keep the chamber active until you say otherwise. Returning watchpoint Gibraltar to normal power levels."
The door to the chamber unlocked and Emily ran to it, Winston picking up the accelerator and running over to join her. He opened the large door and Emily shot inside, crouching down next to Lena, who was curled up into a ball.
"Lena?"
She didn't respond, instead she remained curled up and began muttering to herself.
"Lena, it's me Emily."
This time Lena responded. "No. No, you're not real. You're just my imagination, playing tricks on me."
Emily knew how disappearing affected Lena, though she'd never seen her like this before. She gently placed her hand on Lena's arm and spoke softly to her again.
"Lena, please look at me."
This time she got a response. Lena gently lifted her head, looking straight at Emily.
"Emily..? Is it really you?"
Emily placed her hand on the side of Lena's face and looked straight into her girlfriends eyes.
"Yes, it's me Lena. It's really me."
Slowly, Lena moved her arm, placing her own hand on the side of Emily's face. She expected Emily to just be a vision and that she'd disappear when she needed someone the most. Thankfully, she was proven wrong.
"Emily... Oh my god, you're okay." Lena's eyes began to water. She was only gone a short time but it felt like an eternity. Seeing Emily safe was like a dream come true.
Emily gave Lena a smile and sat herself down. "Come here you."
Lena wrapped her arms around Emily and tightly hugged her as she began crying. Emily felt a few tears of her own escape, as Lena placed her head on her shoulder.
"It's okay Lena. You're home."
Winston remained at the door of the chamber, not wanting to interrupt, while Angela and Widow remained outside, knowing Emily was the right person to help Lena right now. After a few minutes, Lena leaned back, wiped her eyes and looked up at Winston.
"Hey big guy. Did I ever tell you I hate this place?" She said, half heartedly.
Winston chuckled. "Yeah, I can see why."
Lena and Emily stood up, walking over to the gorilla. Lena quickly wrapped her arms around Winston, resting her head on his chest. After a quick hug, Winston passed Lena her new accelerator, though she decided to leave it off for now, instead carrying it with her.
The three now stepped out of the chamber, Lena keeping one arm wrapped around Emily. When she saw Angela and Widow, a small smile appeared across her face.
"Hey you two." She said, still not her normal cheery self. "I'm guessing you want me to come to the med bay Ang?"
"If that's alright with you?"
Lena nodded. "Yeah... I think that's a good idea."
Angel walked over and offered to take the accelerator for Lena, which she agreed to and then began to lead them towards the medical bay. After a few steps, Lena stopped in front of Widow.
"Hey Amelie. Thanks for looking after my girl."
Widow smiled at Lena. "Well, I think I owe you a few favours."
Lena chuckled before she stepped forward and hugged Widow.
"Would you like me to get you and Emily some food? I think you two need some time together."
"Yeah... Yeah I'd like that... One more thing. Ross... did he..?"
Widow lowered her head. "I'm sorry... There was nothing I could do."
Lena sighed. "I know." She hugged Widow again before she wrapped her arm back around Emily and began the walk to the medical lab. A few moments later, Widow felt a large hand on her right shoulder. She looked to her left and saw Winston standing next to her.
"Thank you Amelie, for being here for her."
"As I said, I owed her. Besides, she's my friend. That's what friends do."
Medical bay- 15 minutes later
After they reached the medical bay, Angela began her checks for Lena and was happy that she had no major injuries. During this time, Widow had appeared with two meals and placed them on Angela's desk, before taking her leave.
Once Angela completed her assessment of Lena, they agreed that she should have some one to one sessions over the next few days and then Angela would decide how best to proceed. However, she still wanted to keep an eye on Lena for at least one night and had asked her to remain in the medical bay. Lena said she would, as long as Emily could stay with her. Angela agreed, seeing no harm in this and hoping that some time together would help them.
The two then ate their meals, which were two bowls of freshly made pasta in a tomato sauce and a few pieces of bread to go with it. Once they'd eaten, Lena and Emily lay back on the bed they were sitting on, Emily wrapping her arm around Lena.
"I'm sorry Em." Lena eventually said. "I'm sorry for everything you've been put through."
"I don't blame you..." Emily began, though she was cut off before she could finish.
"But you never should have been put in this situation... I put you in danger and I've been so selfish..."
"No you haven't Lena." Emily replied, sitting herself up and facing Lena. "I know what your doing. You're hurting and blaming yourself for what happened. None of this was your fault and I don't blame you at all. You've been a hero to some many people. Please, don't shut me out. Let me be the hero you need."
A few tears escaped Lena's eyes again. "I don't deserve you."
"Yeah you do." Emily said, as she lay back down and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. "I love you Lena."
"I love you too Em."
Authors note
Hey everyone.
Sorry that this chapter took a while to get out. I've not had as much chance to write recently. In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and see you all in the next one :)