Mercy was half running, half flying when she entered the corridor that led to the dormitories. She skidded to a halt when she saw Junkrat standing in front of her, a maniacal grin stretching his skinny face, wild hair dancing like flames on the top of his head.
'What have you done?' she asked, almost breathless. Road Hog, panting, approached from behind.
Junkrat pulled the trigger again, and again, and again, and Mercy watched as grenade after grenade after grenade bounced into Cassidy's dorm. And then, with a brief break between each detonation, the grenades exploded. The room shook, flames blossomed, and Mercy took a step back. This was the face of madness.
'He's in there,' Junkrat said, grinning, as if this was an explanation. 'He's in there. I heard it snap, and then I started firing. He's dead. A thousand times dead. And it's me what killed him, for the good of us all. Oh, fuck, yes, this is a damn good feeling.'
Mercy's eyes widened. 'Heard what snap?'
'The bear trap I threw on the ground. Threw a sheet over it so he wouldn't notice it before it was too late.' Junkrat was gleeful. 'And once I heard it snap I bombarded him.'
The grenade launcher ran dry. Junkrat reloaded, no rush, and fired again for good measure. Road Hog had caught up now. The fat man stood behind Mercy, breathing heavily, and was staring at Junkrat. He did not look surprised. The expression on his face was hard to read, but…
Mercy started forward. 'Step aside, Rat. If there's anything left of him I will try to resurrect…'
Junkrat planted his feet in her path. 'No. You. Fucking. Won't.'
Her patience ran out, and when she spoke again it was with the righteous fury of an angel of war. Her wings spread wide so that she looked three times larger, her eyes flashed, and her halo bloomed with a glorious, golden glow. Even her voice seemed magnified, and full of fury.
'Junkrat, you will remove yourself from my path, or I will…'
He seemed cowed, but not completely broken. He took a half step back, but held her terrible gaze. She flicked him aside with one wing, almost effortlessly, and when he ran up to hold her back she swatted him with her staff. The Junker dropped to his one good knee and this time it was Road Hog who lay a heavy hand on his shoulder. Mercy continued into the room unopposed.
There was nothing left of it. The mattress had been torn apart, only a few feathers fluttered through the smoky air. The steel frame of the bed was mangled, though not quite unrecognisable, and the meagre wardrobe was splinters on the ground. Dotting the walls, and the floor, and the roof, like a polka-dot battle field, were dark marks splayed like fireworks. Black stars, signalling the impact points of blossoming grenades. The shadows of an explosion, the shadows of death.
'My God…' Mercy breathed.
Only Cassidy's hat remained, a few pieces of leather held together in a vague shape, and a sheriff's badge that was too hot to pick up with bare hands.
Junkrat and Road Hog entered the room. Junkrat laughed some more. 'And that,' he said, 'is that.'
Mercy almost killed him on the spot. There were too many real enemies in the world to be fighting each other. Junkrat and Cassidy might hate each other, they might have caused death and tragedy for each other in the past, but that was no excuse. The future was dark, churning, waiting for a single misstep to tear them all apart, and they needed to be a team if they were going to see it through.
But in the end she let him live. She could not remember who had given her the name Mercy, but, for the first time in a long time, she felt it fit very well.
Mercy had memorised the directions while she was in the command centre with Soldier 76, so she led the others. Road Hog's heavy footsteps and Junkrat's clanking false leg were of little comfort behind her. In fact some part of her wished to leave them behind. It would be some time before she forgave Junkrat for what he'd done.
But there was nothing else for it. She had to get to the rendezvous point as soon as possible. Soldier 76 and Widowmaker said they had a way out, and Mercy didn't want to miss it. She could not hide in the catacombs with the women and children. She had a duty to the world. So did Reaper. Wherever he was.
'Look, Mercy, it had to be done.' Junkrat had calmed now, the ecstasy of fire and violence sapped from him. 'Cassidy killed everyone I knew 'n' loved. I had to kill him, and there's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise.'
She said nothing. She did not want to convince him. She did not to listen to him or speak to him at all. Still he bargained with her, pleading for forgiveness in not-so-subtle ways. They turned yet another corner in the labyrinthine warren and…
'Stop!'
Mercy stopped immediately. Road Hog and Junkrat did the same. The big man turned to watch their backs as Rat raised his weapon toward the voice.
'Stand down.' She pushed a firm hand on Junkrat's launcher. 'I know that voice.'
It was Widowmaker, her distinctive French accent impossible to misplace. The blue-skinned Special Agent revealed herself by leaning around a pile of crates only a few meters further up the corridor.
'Before you step any further, beware of the venom mines.' Widowmaker pointed them out – blue, beetle-like mines no larger than Mercy's hand, which were tacked to the walls on either side. Mercy would not have noticed them. 'They are proximity mines. If they sense movement, they will detonate.'
'How do we get past?'
'Walk slowly. One at a time. Don't get too close.'
They began. The sounds of gunfire in the distance were picking up, rising in volume. The battle was getting closer. Mercy panicked slightly. She did not want to rush, but she could not afford to dawdle either. Another minute, maybe two, and the Japanese army would be hurrying down this corridor wiping out everything in their path.
'Go, woman!' Junkrat yelled.
She was only halfway when the enemy arrived. Far sooner than she'd expected.
Road Hog, still watching their backs, fired at the first of the enemies to enter his line of sight. The man's head was blown off. That would, Mercy hoped, buy them another moment.
Once she was certain she was behind the line of danger she joined Widowmaker behind the crates. When she turned Junkrat was already halfway across, moving sideways with his arms spread out, taking quick shallow breaths, as if the extra inch of lung expansion might be all that stood between life and death.
He looked absurd, like a tight-rope walker balancing for dear life on a wide-bridge, but Mercy assumed she had looked more or less the same, and did not begrudge his caution.
Finally the Junker was through. Road Hog, with tremendous care, began to follow. He was walking backwards, his broad belly filling up a great deal more of the corridor than anyone else had.
'Is he too wide?' Mercy asked.
Widowmaker was lying flat on the top of the tallest crate, her sniper in the crook of her arm ready to fire.
'Maybe,' she said, and did not bother to expand on that thought.
A step. Another. So ginger, so delicate. Road Hog was somewhere between an elephant and a ballerina. The image almost made Mercy laugh, but the situation was too real. Those venom mines on the walls were unfamiliar, but the name suggested they would deal lethal poison, and frankly Mercy wasn't sure her healing powers could protect against something like that.
A shot rang out – it was Lacroix. The Special Agent had fired over Road Hog's shoulder and wiped out the nearest pursuing enemy. Road Hog, inching towards them, would not have reacted in time to save himself. Mercy wondered if his shot gun would even be effective at that range.
Widowmaker stood. 'Come. From here we can…'
A third enemy rounded the corner behind them. Widowmaker started to raise her gun as Junkrat lobbed a grenade. Mercy looked for her own pistol, but all three of them were too slow. It was Road Hog, yet again, who saved his own skin.
His hook covered the distance in a flash, and latched onto the front of the enemy. They came soaring back toward Road Hog, but were not taken by surprise. A heavy boot kicked against Road Hog and he stumbled backwards as the soldier ripped the hook from the chest plate of his battle armour.
'Look out!' Mercy cried, because she did not know what to do. At the end of the corridor Junkrat's grenade exploded against nothing.
Road Hog stood at his full height now and, though he was unarmoured, and in fact barely wearing anything over his spherical chest, he was just as imposing as his opposition. They each threw a punch, and each took it on the chin, before closing the gap to wrestle with each other.
Widowmaker waited for a clear shot, but there wasn't one. Road Hog was too big. It was impossible to see the enemy behind him as they fought.
And then it was over. Road Hog, in a display of intelligence and tremendous might, threw his foe back into Widowmaker's venom mine and it went off with a bang of green smog. A cough, a dozen splutters, and the man died, choking on the gas.
Road Hog turned to the other three, a light sheen of sweat covering him, though from the stressful walk through the mines or his brief fight she could not tell.
'Right,' he grunted, 'where to now?'
Widowmaker led the way from there, her incredibly slender figure dashing along in front of them. Mercy could not help but notice the sensual sway of Widowmaker's hips, and wondered despite herself if it was a product of her starvation in death, or if the French woman had always kept herself in such good shape. A long, dark ponytail flicked on her back like the tail of an elegant, trotting horse.
'Thank you,' Widowmaker said, without turning.
'For what?'
'For bringing me… back.'
Mercy didn't know what to say to that. It seemed Widowmaker didn't either. The next two corridors were passed in relative silence, save the padding of feet and reloading of Road Hog's shotgun.
'I don't know where I was,' Widowmaker said, haltingly. 'I don't know if I was anywhere. But I wasn't here. I was… dead. I know that much. 76 told me, and I trust him more than I trust anyone else. We've known each other a long time.' She trailed off, as if she had forgotten her point. 'Anyway, thank you.'
'Don't mention it,' Mercy replied. 'Soldier 76 believes you are a good person, and he doesn't seem like the type to lie. We need all the good people we can get.'
'I'm not sure what I am anymore.'
There was something in Widowmaker's voice that Mercy couldn't pick, but she didn't have time to ask about it. They had reached the rendezvous point now, and it looked as though everyone was already there. Reaper stood side by side with Soldier 76, and three more clones flanked them. No sign of Genji, or Tracy. No sign of Cassidy either, but Mercy knew where he was. Or at least where his remains were.
Soldier 76 looked grim as he surveyed them.
'Where is…'
'There's no time.' Mercy held up a hand. Gunfire behind them was pressing ever closer. The Japanese squad would be almost finished flushing out the facility by now.
Soldier 76 nodded and pushed on the door behind him. Brilliant sunlight flared through. It was surprising how bright the light of the sun was after only an hour or so underground. Mercy was grateful for it. She preferred the light of day – yet another difference between herself and Reaper.
She looked over at Reaper, her supposed partner, and though he stood quiet and tall she could not help but notice the deferential respect he was offered by the clones that stood around him. They had seen him in action, she realised, and they were impressed. Reaper did tend to have that effect on people.
'Right, this way then.' Soldier 76 led them through the door. It took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust, but not long. They looked up.
An enormous flying warship had parked itself on this side of the mountain. Loading ramps were extended, and a dozen vehicles were rolling out to prepare for battle, either with mounted turrets or armed passengers. This was the rest of the Japanese force. A pincer manoeuvre. There was nothing they could do now. In a moment they would be spotted, and then…
An arrow arced out of the unbroken blue sky. It passed through the heart of a clone and impaled him to the sandy earth almost before Mercy even noticed the dark streak in the clean brightness of day. She shouted out and the others moved back just as a second arrow slammed into the dirt.
In the far distance, beside the warship and silhouetted against the shining sun, stood a handsome, muscled man wrapped in a toga and pants. He had a long bow in his hands and dark hair batting at his forehead. Across his chest was a strap that held his quiver to his back, and Mercy could just discern his goatee. When he turned to aim and fire again, the light shifted, and she caught a glimpse of the dark tattoo that covered his arm. It was tribal, but also mystic; violent and serene. She wondered what it meant.
She was still wondering when the arrow pierced her, and her vision went black. Someone caught her – Soldier 76, maybe – and pulled her back. The door was closed and locked. They were truly trapped now, deep in the depths of the mountainside facility, with an army of invaders holding both possible exits.
Her last thought was a guess. She suspected she knew who had shot her. Who else could it be, other than Genji's brother?