The Darkest Knight
Part I: The reforming of Overwatch
Chapter 7: Rio again
Warm.
That's what I felt as the golden caress of warm water washed over me.
It was soft, like the plush feeling of a thick cotton blanket, and it was warm like a breath of fire over my skin, fire that was calm and controlled and soothing. Like a spark of life.
But it was only a shower.
A shower that still stunk of sweat thanks to my battle. Sure it hadn't been long but in the rain, in my armor, and fighting, caused me to sweat a lot.
Honestly though it as more of an excuse for me just to get away from everything. I just needed some quiet which is why I even told Dig to leave. Of course he couldn't leave me entirely, but he had materialized somewhere else on the ship which was close
/enough.
I leaned against the metal wall, letting my muscles relax. They were tense, the feeling of adrenaline and of death being so close made it hard to not be. Sure I could revive, but I hate dying. It was a cold, empty experience, and every time you came back…you
lost just a little bit of yourself…
I shook my head.
Kathy had pointed it out to me a few years back, when we were both still young Guardians. Well, I was a newbie and she was just old enough to be a veteran.
It had been a dark day and I had just come back from a scouting mission. I was up in spirits, laughing about had I had single handedly taken down an entire scouting party of Fallen. I had had too much to drink, and I said something about how I had comeback
to life then rammed my knife through the Captain, laughing how I was un-killable and not even the darkness could keep me down.
Kathy had decided then that I was too drunk and needed to sleep. She walked me to my room in the Tower, but it my stupor I had mouthed off, saying how she worried too much and since I could never premaritally die I was immortal and she had no reason toworry!
She slapped me. Then she told how I was wrong. She told me of her brother, of a man who died in the darkness, who had been brought back to life by her Ghost at the same time she and her sister, Valerie, had been and in the same place. They weren't reallysiblings,
at least we didn't know if they were, but they were close enough.
She told me how he didn't come back and thinking I was immortal was stupid and naive.
It sobered me up a little, but not enough. So she told me how she had died.
She told me how after she was brought back, on the mission her brother had died, that she couldn't even remember her brothers name. She had been mortally wounded next to him, but Valerie had managed to drag her out and she died where her ghost could reviveher.
But when she woke she didn't remember his name. Valerie had to remind her.
She told me of the whispers among Guardians, of how with every death we lost a memory of our new life. We lost feelings of hope and pride. We lost a little bit of ourselves every time we died.
I was immortal, but I didn't want to lose myself.
I couldn't forget them. I couldn't forget her.
I'd never forgive myself if I did.
With a sigh I reached for the handle in front of me and turned it till the water completely stopped. For a few moments only the hum of the engines surrounded me, a chorus of dripping water droplets accompanying it as I stood still.
Finally, content with my moment of serenity, I walked out of the shower and dried myself off. One done I changed myself back into my relaxing clothes, my jeans and shirt of course, and with a quick tussle of my hair to try and rid some of the excess water,I
walked out of the restroom.
The moment the door slid open I knew I was in screwed, since D'Va was standing there, her arms crossed, lips pursed, and eyes narrowed at me suspiciously.
This was gonna be fun…
"You ok?" I asked, stopping in my steps and tussling my hair once more as if nothing was wrong before glancing around. Dig was nowhere to be seen but the familiar warmth that suddenly filled my head told me he was once more fused with me.
"I talked to Dig."
Well that was helpful.
"What did you do you shit?" I growled in my head.
"Nothing! I swear!"
I blinked and waited for her to elaborate, but she didn't. So I replied, "about what?"
"I asked him about what happened and he told me who you fought." Her tone was harsh, but it wasn't comforting either. It was like in between, like she was trying to figure out a secret. Whatever that secret was I had no idea. Obviously it wasn't aboutmy
abilities, or at least it didn't seem like it was.
I raised an eyebrow. "You mean smurfette and the cheerleaders?"
"No not the blue woman." Hana shook her head. "The others. Overwatch."
For a moment I paused and looked to the ceiling. Where had I heard that name? I rummaged through my memories of my time here, turing to see where that name came from.
Then it hit me. Dig had talked about them when we researched this world! He said they were… uh… heroes or something of the sort? Damn. Guess I know how much attention I was paying to Dig.
"Uh well, I guess?" I replied unevenly, not really sure what to say even though I kind of, barley, knew who she was talking about.
She narrowed her gaze even more. "How do you not know who they are?"
"I don't read the news a lot." I shrugged, and gave her a playful smile. She just glared.
My smile broke when she said, "They stopped the war. They brought down the Omnic armies and saved the world. They were disbanded? They had dozens of hours of news coverage! It's impossible to have not heard of them!"
Slowly my heart started to accelerate. If they were that big, then she had a point, plus she was smart so trying to lie and say I lived in some sort of outcast town in the middle of bum fuck nowhere wasn't going to work.
However, I could still slip by. There was one way I could talk my way out of this.
"All I knew at the time was the war." I replied, looking away from her eyes and at the wall, my own face growing hard as the memories came back. "I had a friend named Kathy. She… we were close, and we survived together. We moved from place to place anddid
what we could to stay alive, we didn't have time to sit and watch TV or read a newspaper."
Nothing I said was a total lie, I was simply giving her vague truths. I continued, "one day we were caught off guard. A big Omnic came at us and…"
I shook my head. Now I was lying, but hey what can you do?
"I wasn't fast enough. I wasn't strong enough."
Fire clouded my vision, green and potent, and the stench of death filled my nose.
I saw his sword, felt his power.
"She died, but I'm still here." I sighed and closed my eyes.
Hana didn't respond and I took the silence to take a deep breath. I filled my nose with warm air, letting the oxygen fill my lungs and rejuvenate my cells.
I… I felt heavy. I normally did after talking about… it. The deep breaths normally do wonders to lighten my heart, but right now I could only think of the fire. Of him.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hana open her mouth to reply, but I beat her to the punch. I had to keep up the charade. "So I don't really know who Overwatch is. I've heard of them, but I haven't spent my time looking into them. I was trying to keep
/someone alive… and I failed."
Instantly she looked away and I saw her face twist from suspicion to guilt. Well shit.
Now I feel bad. But I had to keep going. She would suspect something otherwise.
"So here I am now, pimped out in badass armor, and hunting down the true assassin of someone who did nothing wrong, because I won't fail again. I won't let you die because I failed."
She didn't move.
"I won't let a friend die… Not again…"
She rubbed her arm and I saw her lips purse once more.
I shook my head and started to walk past her when an arm shot out an grabbed mine. I blinked once as if to confirm what my eyes were really seeing. Hana had actually reached out to stop me.
Hey maybe she stopped hating me!
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to accuse you of anything… I was just confused." She apologized, though I could hear how hard it was for her to speak. She was proud and saying sorry obviously didn't come naturally to her, but she did it.
I gave her a soft, warm smile. "Its fine. You didn't know."
She sigh and let go of me, shaking her head as she stood up next to me. "It just doesn't make sense. Overwatch, they're heroes! Tracer, Winston, Reinhardt! They're the good guys! Why would they attack you…"
"Because I think someone set us up."
Her eyes turned to me and she raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Dig," I said and my friend appeared in his usual showy fashion, "we found that black box right?"
She nodded.
"Ok so, I'm willing to bet that hotel room belonged to our random assassin, now he had no official business here seeing as he's a small time school teacher from the Untied States, but aside from that this black box was hidden inside the TV, and someoneput
it in there. Now," I gestured to Dig and the black box appeared in my hand before I turned around and started pacing.
"That woman, this blue skinned sniper I met in Rio, broke into the room while I was inspecting this thing. That fact that she didn't instantly fire and didn't just snipe me from outside suggested that I wasn't supposed to be there, so the only thing that
/she wanted was this." I shook the box.
Hana rubbed her chin and slowly sat back down. "But why?"
"No idea. Dig still has to crack it, but besides that when I ran to the roof she attacked me, I beat her, but then those Overwatch guys cornered me and asked me to surrender because they thought I kidnapped you and killed your friend. I started to explainour
situation then sniper shots from all around rained down on us. For that coordinated of an attack, one that lead to the sniper chicks escape, it had to have been a set up. My guess is she was out in the open to draw either me or these Overwatchguys
out and end us with one strike after collecting the box. Then there's the fact she's working with Vape God who's already tried to kill us both."
"So…" Hana started, her eyes focusing on the ground so intensely that she probably could've melt a hole through the metal, "that man, with the skull mask from the roof, he's working with this sniper?"
I nodded, but continued pacing. What was their plan? Kill Hana and these Overwatch guys? Kill me? I could get killing me, I was a nobody here, but Hana and these Overmatch guy are a big deal. Killing them would just draw attention.
So why?
"Ok," She drawled, "but… no… Ok so those snipers attacked you?"
"Yeah and got me and Overwatch shooting at each other." I growled realizing now that I had played right into their hands. Of course whatever their actual play was I had no idea, but I knew that I had at least given them a royal flush with turning Overwatchagainst
me.
"A distraction most likely." She stated.
"Probably, but for what?" I replied. "What could they gain form us fighting each other? Sure we'd be divided, but I doubt these Overwatch guys would have much trouble refocusing their efforts if sniper chick and vape became a bigger threat than a fakekidnapper."
I stopped and rubbed my head.
"I bet that whatever it is they're doing is on that box." Hana said pointing at the device in my hand.
I tossed it from hand to hand. "Which is probably why its security is stupid advanced. Dig, won't have it broken for a while and thats saying something."
"So what do we do now?" She asked.
I blinked once. I hadn't really thought about that.
"I don't know, but those Overwatch guys are really gonna want me now. They'll be on the look out, along with whoever tried to kill you, and then there's the police…" I sighed. "I swear everyone's trying to kill me now."
She chuckled darkly. "Overwatch wouldn't hurt you."
I raised an eyebrow before laughing, "yeah the day Dig doesn't become a shit head."
"You're just exaggerating." Hana replied, and entertained smile on her face.
I shook my head. "Exaggerating what? The fact terminator tried to cut me in half and tried to kidnap you?"
She blinked her smile slowly fading. "He was probably just trying to save me. Like you said they thought you kidnapped me.
"Well yeah but doesn't take away the fact that guy would've taken off my head if I'd given him the chance. I'm also pretty sure thor down there was willing to squish me like a bug with the giant ass hammer of his." I retorted.
"His names Reinhardt, and I don't think he would've killed you."
"Hana, he would've killed me. I pretty sure all of them would've given the chance." I frowned and eyed her cautiously. She was being really defensive of these guys.
"Then we should try talking to them." Hana argued. "I'm sure they'll understand!"
I shook my head again. "Tried that remember? Not to mention negotiations were already sour the first time. Now that I supposedly kidnapped you and tried to kill them? Not a chance in hell they'll let me talk. They'd probably cuff me and send me to prison
beforebelieving a word I said. Hell I bet if I put up a fight they'd off me in a heartbeat."
"You really think they'd kill you?" She scoffed crossing her arms and leaning back against the couch.
"How do you think they ended the Omnic crisis?" I asked my voice growing dark. "You don't end a war by just showing up at each others houses and throwing rose pedals everywhere. You get it by killing and by someone giving up."
Her eyes met mine. "They're heroes. Here's don't kill."
"Everyone kills." I shot back.
She glared at me, but something else was with it… something like anger, like genius hurt. "Hero's protect and save people. They don't let others die, and Overwatch is the best of the best! No way they'd stoop as low as killing someone without hearing
everything they'd have to say!"
At that moment I realized how screwed up this poor girls world had become. Sure I wasn't much older, but I had no memories of a life before, no memories of peace and happiness. I only had memories of war, of death and fire.
Of bullets flying by me, and screams filling my ears.
I had been breed in war, in death. I had seen the worst of the worst, done and seen things that would haunt even the most staunch and powerful guardians. Kathy had seen those things as well, and she had been a Guardian longer than me by three years. She
hadbeen in nothing but war even longer than me.
But Hana… She was young, innocent at heart. She'd never really seen the slaughter of war, or the horrors its darkest moments provided. She'd fought a few omnics here and there, or the giant one that was straight out of a monster movie, but she'd neverbeen
in the grit of it.
In trenches and tunnels fighting with everything you had just so you could take one more step.
Yet now, after her best friend died before her eyes, she was seeing that a group she had held on the highest pedestal, a group she had seen as heroes, was just as dark as those they stopped.
She was vocally rejecting it, but in her eyes I could see the truth of acceptance. It would suck, but she had to grow up.
The world wasn't a video game. Hero's don't have the luxury of not ever killing.
My voice turned soft as I spoke, "Hana, as of now they see me as threat, as someone who kidnapped a nineteen year old girl and tried to kill them in cold blood. They're going to come after me."
"Then what do we do?" She asked, her shoulders slumping. "If the good guys won't help us, and the bad guys want us dead…"
I didn't know what to say. My plan was kind of on hold for now, with the encrypted black box and all, and well I had no idea what else to do unless you counted the idea going after Vape and Terminator for some good old pay back a plan.
I mean what was I gonna do! Hana here was counting on me to find her killer and…. and… I glanced at her once before looking at the wall.
God I'm an ass. This is her life yet I'm acting like I'm in charge of it! She doesn't know what to do sure, but she's not asking for someone to boss her around. Besides, all of my plans have kind of sucked.
But she still needed someone to look out for her. She was good at fighting, but she was still naive enough that this line of work, this covert and shady shit we were in would get her killed. Plus I was her best shot of staying alive against these assassin's.
Besides I couldn't just leave her on her own now. She was a friend. The only one I had here aside from Bastion and Dig. I wasn't going to let some asshole just kill her. Not without a fight.
So, with great reluctance, I shrugged and gave her a small smile. "I'll do what you do."
She blinked and gawked at me, though her gawk was only a small shift in her posture and raised eyebrows rather than a full blow jaw dropping scene. "What?"
"Hana, it's your life on the line, it's your friend that died. If you want to go to Overwatch and talk it out fine. But you decide what we do. My line of evidence is kind of dead in the water till Dig cracks that damn box." I stated, though I was reluctant
asI said it.
Honestly I don't know if I'd stick around if she wanted to go to Overwatch, cause you know, they'd probably lock me up, but I had to let her decide in the end. It was her life after all.
"What options do I have?" She started her voice growing louder by the word. "I can't go to the police cause I doubt they'd believe me without proof and they'd just end up chasing you, and apparently Overwatch can't be trusted either, and…. ugh…"
She scratched her head and frowned. "Someone's trying to kill us at every turn… The skull guy, that metal man with green eyes… Why does everyone want to kill us!"
"No idea…" I muttered, pursing my lips. It was frustrating not knowing why someone wanted you dead. "Maybe… I don't know. We bribe some people for information?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yes and you'll be our one man army."
"I wish. Even I'm not good enough to protect you forever."
She frowned and looked away from me. My eyes traveled to the floor. It was true. But… I'm a Guardian yes, but I'm one man.
Even I can't protect her forever, even if she fought with me to the last breath. There's too many variables, too many scenarios. The ship only has a limited fuel supply so I can't lock her up here forever, and besides she probably rather die than be confined
/to this place for the rest of her life.
"We could go to Overwatch…" she managed, looking up at me with soft eyes.
I shook my head and hardened my own resolve. "We can't."
"Why?"
"Hana they'll arrest me, or kill me, and God knows what they'll do to you. They may lock you up because you're trying to side with your kidnapper and they'll deem you insane or some shit!"
"We have nothing else Nate!" She threw her hands up. "So what do we do huh! Please tell me in your oh so glorious wisdom!"
Her voice was harsh and for a moment I regretted saying it was up to her.
With a deep breath I replied, "Hana I don't now what to do. I can help you brainstorm, but ultimately it's up to you what we do, I just don't think going to Overwatch is a good idea."
She glared at me but relaxed against the couch. "Then what do you think we should do?"
I blew out a gust of air and rubber my neck. "I'm not sure…"
Her glare started to harden but I raised my hand to stop her from saying anything.
"Ok," I started, "from a purely rational, and logical standpoint, Overwatch would be a pretty clear cut plan of action but we honestly have no idea if they'd even listen. Aside from you being alive theres no other proof of anything we know, and I did
endup fighting them so who knows how they'll feel about us approaching them. Then theres also the option of the box."
I motioned around me in a circle. "See we could follow wherever the back box takes us, but we have no idea how long it'll take Dig to break it. It could be weeks. Months even… And that sounds like way too long for us to just sit on our asses and twiddle
ourthumbs. We could also back track to any of their previous operations and see what we can find, maybe a new lead will pop up or something…"
She nodded slowly, then looked me in the eye. I could see the gears turning in her head.
I wonder what she was thinking.
Hana stared at the man before her.
As of moments ago his fate was in her hands. This man, who she barely knew, who had saved her life several times and had gone above and beyond the line of duty to find out who was trying to kill her. And she didn't even ask of this help, he just…. did
it.
Yet he was at odds with those she knew were good. With a group she knew was filed with heroes. She didn't believe the controversy surrounding Overwatch. They ended the war, they saved the world! They stopped Doomfist!
But now the two were at odds.
She didn't know what to do, but Nate made points. With Overwatch, it was a gamble. They could believe them and help, or lock Nate up and put her in some hospital for injuries of for a psych eval. The black box would take forever, and she was willing tobet
by the time Dig got it open it would be too late and the bad guys would have already disappeared.
Then there was the other option of back tracking. It was an unknown variable. What would they find? What else was there to find if she was honest…
Nate spoke like he had met them before but he hadn't really mentioned it to her. Maybe it was irrelevant… Maybe it was just a smokescreen because Nate was lying and wanted her dead and was just using her.
Her teeth clenched.
Gah! What was she supposed to do!
Was she supposed to trust the man who was protecting her without reason? Who saved her without hesitation? Or trust the heroes that were willing to kill and that she had never met?
What was the smart thing?
What was the right thing?
I waited and gulped as Hana opened her mouth.
Please don't say Overwatch…
"We could back track."
I smiled and nodded. "All right. Where do you wanna go?"
She shrugged. "I don't know, where have they been? Skull mask and the sniper."
"Rio." I replied. "There was a heist there and…" I blinked a few times as my mouth hung open, and the lightbulbs started going off. "There was a heist and the sniper and Vape were there. they fought me, and… what if they were another distraction like
they were here?"
Both our eyes went wide.
"Then they could've been apart of the heist… What could they have stolen?"
"Im willing to bet anything they were apart of it. They wouldn't have stepped in to distract me if they weren't. Dig," My Ghost floated closer to us, having floated away to give us space. "What did the heist consist of? What did those men take?"
He twirled once. "Well, from what I'm reading, it was your attack that made the headline, but! They did report that a local record company called Janerio Records, was robbed that night."
"A record company?" I asked, utterly confused. "I doubt Vape would want old vinyl CD's."
"Maybe not…" Dig said, "but I've set several programs in motion to go through our American school teacher assassin mans profile's, credit cards, and all that jazz. And guess what I found in some of his banking accounts."
Hana narrowed her gaze. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Lets just say he got a lot of money, and two chances to guess from where." Dig replied.
I chuckled darkly. "Janerio Records."
"Bingo. It was hidden well, but no well enough."
"So they were paying off our assassin teacher, and got robbed the night of the heist." I stated. "But that doesn't make sense… They pay off someone to kill Hana then they're own people steal what from them? Records?"
"Or super advanced sonic weaponry…"
Both me and Dig turned to the gamer girl.
"What do you mean?" I asked, eyeing her carefully.
"Hypothetically, what do we do if we know of a person with super advanced sonic technology, and a robin hood complex, that happens to work for said record company?" Hana replied softly.
"You know such a person?"
She grinned softly. "I love his music."
"Ok so explain to me one more time how you know this, Lucio guy?" I asked, careful to avoid the well polished employees of Janerio Records.
Hana walked in front of me, headed straight for the front desk with a confident smile plastered her face. "I met him at one of his concerts. He performed in Japan for a local fundraiser and I went and ended up with VIP tickets. He's apparently a fan ofmy
gaming so we got each other's autographs and hang out whenever he's near Korea, but he's got this new record deal here so he doesn't come around as often."
I nodded, still not entirely sure of her plan to bring in a complete unknown into our whole mess. But she seemed to trust him, so whatever.
"And he's this friend of yours that uses sonic technology to fight the good fight right?"
"Right."
"And you assume that our heist could've been for his tech?"
"Probably. What else would they steal?
I couldn't help but nod in agreement. She had explained how Lucio had stolen some sonic related technology and used it to upheave a corporation that had been exploitingthe city of Rio. He definitely sounded like a Robin Hood type dude.
I just hoped her view of him wasn't skewed enough to trust him with everything. He seemed good, but people had betrayed their friends for the smallest of things.
Of course who was I to talk about trust when I was lying to her still about… well almost everything.
At least she knew now that she was staying on a ship, hence our quick arrival in Rio. That was fun explaining, but fortunately she bought the whole I built it with the help of a dead friend named Kathy, also a lie, so I didn't have to go into detail because
shefelt bad brining up Kathy again.
Kinda shitty I know, but hey what can ya do?
By the time my thoughts had run their course we were already at the front desk, where a woman sat going through a computer.
Nobody bothered us which was probably because we were both dressed like normal people. Hana wore short jean shorts,and had a tang top with a light jacket and a baseball cap over her head, tilted down to cover her face while
her hair was up in a ponytail, with said tail stuck through the back of the cap. I was dressed in jeans, a dark blue T-shirt, and also had a cap though mine wasn't tilted low since no one aside from Hana had seen my face.
"Como posso ajudá-lo?" The lady, a dark skinned beauty, asked with a pleasant smile.
"Uh…" Hana started, an awkward smile on her face as she rubbed her head. "I don't speak… Brazilian?"
The woman let out a hearty laugh. "American I presume?"
Hana shook her head. "Korean."
"And with such proper english?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "That is something you don't see everyday."
Hana narrowed her eyes and gave a challenging grin. "Well I'm not your everyday girl."
The woman once more laughed heartily. "I can see. Now, how may I help you?"
"We're here to see Lucio."
The woman raised an eyebrow and looked us both up and down. "I don't believe Mr. Dos Santos had any appointments today, since he's not even here."
Hana's grin dropped and she sighed. "Do you know where he is?"
The woman shook her head. "No and even if I did I can't give out personal information like that without consent."
Hana frowned. "Well thanks anyway."
"Anytime, now if you would." She waved us away and the moment we moved a man took our place, asking about his meeting at two. A hand on my arm pulled me away from the scene and I quietly followed Hana out of the lobby and into the streets beyond.
I side stepped a couple laughing, obviously drunk despite the time, and frowned as a man rudely bumped into Hana before sauntering away like it was her fault.
However the nineteen year old ignored all of it and only started down the sidewalk with a determined look on her face.
I started after her, pulling her back so she would slow down before asking, "hey, you ok?"
"Fine." she stated, shrugging me off.
"Uh," I mumbled quickly stepping in front of her before stopping her with a hand on her shoulder. she glared up at me but I ignored her glare and added, "you don't seem ok?"
"I'm fine." She smiled. "I'm just trying to figure out where he could be."
"Like old hang outs and the like?" I asked, letting her step by me as we then continued down the street.
Downtown Rio, well the fancier part of it, was pretty cool. We passed massive skyscrapers, and the greenery with abundant parks was a beautiful show for all to see.
Shops adorned with colorful signs, stainless windows, and golden and silver trinkets that appealed to the wealthy and earned the jealousy of the poor lined the streets. Hundreds of people walked about their business as usual in big cities, and cars zoomed
byas the day to day life of Rio went on without a hitch in its flawless run. Omnic's mingled in with the people, mostly accepted amongst the locals it seemed, thought a few glances were shared between the two species that hinted at lingering
resentments fromthe war so long ago.
How many had lost family to the omnics? How many omnics had died in persecution since?
Hopefully it wasn't as bad as our war… Well obviously it wasn't. Humanity was still thriving.
We were obliterated and on the brink of extinction…
"Earth to Nate?"
I blinked and realized I had zoned out, the warm brown of Hana's eyes meeting my own eyes. I shook my head. "Sorry I kind of zoned out there."
"Obviously."
"Shut up," I huffed, pushing past her. "You were saying?"
"I was saying," she started as she caught up to me, "Lucio has a girlfriend last I checked, only thing is I have no idea where she lives. We could probably ask her to find him, but yeah…"
I nodded. "Well fortunately for us, we have a super advanced hacker friend who can probably find out."
"Great." She said, though I couldn't tell is she was amused or annoyed? Honestly its so hard to tell what her deal is half the time. Like she's either pissed or annoyed, or ready to laugh, or-
"Well shouldn't we get back?" She said, once more knocking me from my thoughts.
"Or we could just message Dig to meet us here." I replied, looking around us to make sure no one was eavesdropping. To be honest it was a long shot since there were so many people around.
She went wide eyed. "How? You have a phone?"
"More like a com in my ear. Near microscopic, plus he can teleport." I added, ushering her across the busy street, which we took in a rush power walk before the traffic started moving again.
"Okay." she said with a shake of her head.
"Well we need somewhere more private. I don't think a teleporting ball of light is gonna go unnoticed by this many people." I replied.
I saw her nod and she gestured to a store to my right.
"Hungry?" She asked.
I turned and looked at the store. Some place called Mc Donald's. Never heard of it. I shrugged. "Why not?"
Together we went in, and though I had initially anticipated people staring at us, no one was even looking in our direction when we entered. We were just like everyone else, two civilians entering to enjoy a meal. It was nice not having people staring
atyou.
Or shooting at you.
"So," I started as Hana lead me to the line in front of the cashier, "they serve burgers?"
"Basically. They're pretty popular just about everywhere. One of the few chains to survive from before the war." Hana informed.
"Interesting." I said though I didn't really care. I was busy trying to figure out what I wanted. The smell was intoxicating.
It took a few minutes and by the time we were at the cashiers I made my decision. A plain burger with fries. I informed Hana of my decision and headed off to the restroom for some pace and quiet. Well so I could talk to Dig actually.
A few moments later I found myself standing in a stall, door shut behind me, and with a flash Dig appeared. He spun around and instantly I saw his shell sag. "Really? A dingy restroom?"
"Hey I needed someplace private." I replied. "Anyway have you located Lucio yet?"
"Well, I haven't found him, but I did manage to find his girlfriend like D'Va suggested. His girlfriends some hot shot movie star down here in Brazil. Super famous and very fine if I might add."
I rolled my eyes. "And where does she live?"
"Oh easy. Here in downtown. The penthouse of the building called the Verdant. Its some fancy apartment complex, costs like six thousand per month just to rent the place, and this girl owns the penthouse." Dig replied.
"Awesome thanks." I grinned and with flash Dig once more disappeared. I pushed the door open and the moment I stepped out some teenager was at the sink, staring at me with wide eyes through the mirror.
It took me a second to realize that he must've heard me talking to Dig…in a stall… by myself… I raised a finger as if to correct him, but his bewildered look killed my response and I just lowered my head and walked outside.
Hana was seated close to the back, behind a decorated wall that shielded us from outside. For I moment I wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that behind the wall no one could shoot her from outside.
She had our food, and gave me a small smile, "what'd our friend say?" Suddenly her eyes tracked behind me and she raised an eyebrow.
I glanced back and saw the kid from the restroom walking by, still staring at me like I was nuts. A single glare was enough to get him to skirt away.
I sat down and grabbed my burger and fries. The grease smelled awesome. "Well, Dig found your dudes girlfriend. Apparently she's some hot movie star."
"Did he find out where she lives?"
"Yeah nearby in a penthouse."
She took a chunk out of her own burger, a small blob of mustard marking its territory on the corner of her lip. She nodded and wiped her face. "Good, we can go there after we eat."
"I'm totally fine with that." I took three fries at a time and smiled as the salt and grease mixed with my mouth. Damn that was good. Hell when was the last time I ate? I know I don't have to eat to live, being a Guardian and all, but it keeps me strong.
Maybe I should eat more often?
After about twenty minutes of small talk, where I found out that Hana apparently likes pop music more than rock which is unacceptable, we left the small restaurant and returned to the streets.
The after taste of the burger was good, and my stomach was more than happy as I took the directions Dig fed to my head, which I told Hana he had previously supplied so as to avoid the revelation that Dig was actually a part of me.
We walked though the streets, around trees and dozens of civilians, barley avoided being hit what I swore looked like a damn burrito truck, Hana threw the driver a couple of choice words which was hilarious, and finally we walked up to the giant white,
/steel, and glass apartment complex that looked at least twenty stories tall.
I whistled and crossed my arms as my eyes followed the windows up. "Damn tall for an apartment building don't you think?"
"It's not all an apartment building. The lower levels seem to be offices for some company." Hana replied from behind me. I turned and saw her looking at the building guide.
"Find her floor?" I asked.
"No… It only lists the companies office and floors, nothing about the apartments or penthouses up top."
"Eh, I already know the number, lets go." I pushed open one of the glass doors and let Hana in before me.
She turned and glance up at me as we started through the lobby, a grand place with fluorescent lights and marble floors. "Wait so if you knew why'd you let me look?"
I shrugged. "I got bored."
"So you choose to let me read things for no reason?" She asked.
I once again shrugged, subtly scanning our surroundings just in case any was following us. "More or less."
She shook her head, a grin on her face. "You have a strange sense of humor."
"I'd like to think of it as ahead of its time." I replied as we made it to the elevator, where the machine opened up for us courtesy of its current occupants exiting on the ground floor.
We slipped into the elevator once it was empty, three others from the lobby joining us, and Hana moved to the floor buttons on the side. "What floor?"
"Eighteen." I replied, leaning back against the wall as the other three told Hana what floor for their own destinations. It took her a few moments to understand what they were saying, you know language barrier and all, but once she got it the elevatorstarted
moving with a ding and we patiently waited.
Since we had to make three other stops, it took about five minutes to reach the eighteenth floor, but once we did we walked out of the elevator and headed straight for the only set of doors down the hall.
They were large white wooden doors, and we saw the handle and lock plus a small keypad. Obviously this girl prioritized her security.
"Do we just knock?" I asked as we stopped in front of the keypad.
"Duh." Hana replied, knocking on the door without missing a beat.
"Rude." I scoffed. She ignored me.
We waited in silence, but after about, I'd say thirty seconds, the lock inside clicked and the door swung open.
I gulped as the woman before us leaned against the door frame, eyeing both of us like we were pieces of meat with a sly grin on her face. She had dark long hair, thick with curls and ran down to the small of her back. A dark green dress clung to her form,hugging
her curves and showing off enough back and chest to make anyone blush. Her eyes were amber and her smile was infectious.
"Bem, o que temos aqui?"
"Uh," I stammered doing everything I could to keep my eyes on her face, "well, I know you said something about being here? But we speak english…"
"You know Spanish?" D'Va asked, glancing up at me.
"I don not speak Spanish little girl," The woman suddenly spoke, her words as sweet as honey. "Our language is Portuguese."
I blinked, "aren't they like the same thing?"
She grinned, a slick smile on her face. "What do you want children?"
"I'm not a child," Hana started, "but I'm here to see Lucio."
The woman's eyes lit up with recognition. "Lucio!" She called out, turning heard slightly into the penthouse. She turned back to us and smiled. "He'll be right out. May I ask how you know him?"
"Old friend." Hana smiled.
Amber eyes narrowed at brown. "Uh huh."
Fortunately another voice entered the fray, "Hana Song?! 'You're alive!"
The voice was cheerful and full of inflection, and belonged to darker man about my height with dreads. His arms were raised in greeting and he was dressed in basketball shorts with a muscle shirt.
"Lucio!" The asian called back, and she jumped up to the man, enveloping him in hug that he returned with just as much enthusiasm.
"She's a hugger?" I blinked and tilted my head. Hana always seemed… too… closed off to be a hugger.
Dig replied, "guess so. Shows how much she hates you."
I ignored him since Lucio's next comment caught my attention as he pulled away from Hana. "I thought you got kidnapped!"
"No," she chuckled grimly, "but it's a long story."
"Very long." I muttered, but my comment was heard and Lucio looked at me.
"What's your name man?" He asked, a smile on his face as her offered up a hand to me.
I took his hand. "Nate, nice to meet you."
"You as well man." Lucio grinned, he turned back to Hana. "Ok so, what exactly happened? You've been missing for almost two weeks!"
She sighed.
"Can we come in? I'd rather get comfortable before starting."
Once our story was finished, about half an hour later, Lucio's friendly cheer towards me had changed to one of suspicion. He wasn't openly hostile, or even disrespectful in any way, but I would catch him keeping his gaze on me, and I could see him tenseevery
time I moved.
We kept the details to a minimum, leaving out the facts like Dig could teleport or that Dig even existed, and other details like about the fact I had a ship, etc… you know the basic Guardian stuff.
Still, Lucio and his girlfriend had yet to call the police on me, seeing as I was still a wanted criminal in Rio for my earlier fiasco with Smurfette and Vape God. So that was good news.
"So," Lucio started, leaning forward on the plush couch that, along with another couch, a love sheet, a giant ass TV, a sick stereo system a-, "to sum everything up, he didn't kidnap you and has actually been helping you try find your real would be killer,who
you both believe are aligned with a man in a skull mask and are now enemies of Overwatch?"
He took a deep breath and furrowed his brow when he looked at Hana. His gaze never turned to me.
I glanced at Hana and saw her looking down. She gave a small nod then said, "yeah, basically."
"Why shouldn't ve call the police on mister Nate?" Lucio's girlfriend, who's name was Júlia, stated with an awful unfriendly glare towards me.
"Because he's protected me." Hana replied. "He's had more than enough chances to kill me, but he's saved my life twice instead."
"One of which was because he stabbed you." Lucio added, his frown pointed at me.
I rolled my eyes. "It was an accident."
"How so?" The man asked, crossing his arms as he leaned back.
"Enough." Hana replied. I shot her a raised eyebrow, but she only looked at Lucio. "He's a friend ok? If you can't trust him, then trust me."
The couple gave me a frown, staring at me like I was something distrust-worthy.
Lucio shook his head. "All right, fine. Question though why did you come here? I mean, why us? Why not go to… anyone else?"
Hana sighed. "We looked at our choices and…" She looked at me.
I then continued, "we figured tracking our attackers past actions was our best shot at tracking down whoever orders them around."
He raised an eyebrow. "So you came here why?"
"You know about the fight I had in the streets? That one that made me like number three most wanted in Rio?" I replied.
"Yeah I remember." Lucio replied, "your shoot out was on the news for days, and almost leveled an apartment building."
"Anyway," I stated, giving him an annoyed glare, "the shoot out only leveled the building because skull mask and the sniper bitch tried to kill me. I had to fight them both off. So, since they were here, yet there was still a heist even after I tried
/to stop said heist we thought about why they were here. Obviously not just to kill me as I was an unknown at the time, but they only intervened when I tried to stop that heist, which meant that they were trying to cover something up. After we lookedinto
it we found out that a record company was robbed, but of what the reports didn't say so Hana here." I motioned to the girl next to me, "told me about her famous friend here in Rio. A robin hood sort who fought for his people and kicked out thelecherous
corporations trying to ruin your neighborhood, and uses advanced sonic weaponry to defend his home."
"Me." Lucio finished.
I nodded.
Hana then continued for me, "so we came to ask… do you know of anything that was stolen?"
The room grew silent and Lucios gaze turned only to me. His eyes were calculating, wondering I guess whether or not I could really be trusted.
I can't say I blame him. The story we sold was far fetched, hard to believe even for the most trustworthy of people. I just hoped Hana's friendship in Lucio would win out.
His girlfriend however seemed less inclined to be forgiving with me. The sweet words of honey and milk, the devouring and sensual eyes she once had were now replaced with disdain and mistrust. She only stared at me, martini in hand as her boyfriend thought
/about what to say.
Im surprised she hadn't kicked us out yet. She must really trust Lucio's judgment to be dealing with us still.
"Look," I started, "if you don't trust me fine. Just tell us what you know. The longer we wait to find her would be killers the longer they get to plot other ways to kill her. I've stopped them twice but I don't how much longer I can thwart them."
It was an honest statement.
Hana's glance to me even affirmed my own suspicions. She had been thinking the same thing too.
I was good yeah, but twice they had almost gotten past me. It wouldn't be long till they struck again, and if I was a betting man, then my money would be placed on an all out assault. One that even I would have trouble stopping.
We needed to figure this out or-
"All right." Lucio sighed, interrupting my thoughts. "I used to store some of my equipment at the warehouses near the docks. It was stolen about the time of the heist. They didn't inform me immediately, thought I wouldn't care about the outdated stuff
/but…"
He sighed again and shook his head. "What would they use my old stuff for anyway?"
I leaned back against the couch staring up at the ceiling as I did so. "No idea… but thats why we need your help."
He raised an eyebrow.
"We need to see what they stole, figure out what they could possibly use it for, and see whether or not they have any video of who took it. You're the one who knows the tech the best." I stated, hoping he would catch on.
"You need someone to get you into the warehouse." He replied, nodding slowly. "Someone who can show you what they took and what it can do."
"Yup." Hana added.
He sighed again. "All right the warehouse is down at the docks. I can take one of you down there with me to gather up my old things. Two of you would draw attention."
Immediately I knew what he was saying. He didn't trust me enough to take me down there, but he would take Hana. He trusted her enough. Whatever, so long as we figured out what they took, and who took it.
Hopefully it could lead us somewhere, but there were definitely more people I could ask. More sources. If a heist happened in Rio, then who else to ask than the dirt bags that controlled the underground criminal empires?
"So when?" I asked, careful to keep my voice controlled and my face unreadable despite my newest plans.
"We'll go tonight, but I can only take Hana. Like I said, too many peo-"
"Draws attention, yeah yeah." I waved off his words. "It doesn't matter. I have a few thing I need to do tonight anyway."
Hana looked at me with wide eyes. "you do?"
I grinned back at her. "I still have friends you know! Im gonna check my own sources and see what I can find out."
She raised an eyebrow. "And who're these sources?"
"Would you be mad if I said the gangs of Rio?"
"So the guys obviously well armed, but my question is, why did Hana Song protect him?" Mercy asked, her brow furrowed in confusion. Usually the kidnapped person would flee the first chance given form their kidnapper.
She and the other members of the recalled Overwatch sat around a large rectangular table, plates set before them with various meals. Lena was directly to her right, Winston and Reinhardt across from them, Tobjron to her left, and Genji to the left of
/him.
The mess hall was large enough for about forty people, but it was only them for now, and hardly any light were on since there were so few of them still.
"My guess is he might've been telling the truth…" Lena replied, a small, sad smile on her face. "Why else would he have said he didn't kidnap her and then she defends him?"
"It's possible for a victim to fall in love with their kidnapper. It's called Stockholm syndrome. It can get sever enough for the victim that they actually defend they're captor." Winston informed.
Reinhardt sighed. "I douvt it. He vas skilled, but did not seem to harbor any ill."
"He shot at us though." Mercy replied, though it was weak and unsure.
She honestly had no idea who to feel about this new vigilante. His words had seemed genuine but they he shot at them just after they were ambushed by what they all guessed were Talon agents.
"Then there's the fact Song was capable of shooting when her injuries should've kept her in the hospital for a month. We saw the blade enter right under her heart, and the bullets that hit her. How is she still standing?" Lena replied, mindlessly picking
/at her mashed potatoes.
"If I helped her its possible, but none of my technology is public. Its to dangerous if reversed engineered." Mercy stated. She was unsure how to feel.
She felt as if something bigger was at play.
Winston sighed heavily. "We don't know anything. At least not enough to take it to the authorities."
"Love, the authorities probably want to arrest us too." Lena laughed. "Besides, we need to find this vigilante ourselves. There's no way the police can handle him. He stood up to five of us, and he didn't seem to want to harm us."
"Ve don't even know know if he'shuman." Trobjorn stated.
"And he's dangerous no matter what we think." Winston frowned.
Reinhardt clasped his hands together. "Then vhat are we to do?"
The group was quiet.
No one had any ideas that aligned with one another. They could arrest and take down the Vigilante, or bring him in and talk.
Then a soft voice broke the silence.
"What we do," Genji started, "is what we have always done. Do what is right. We find him, and bring him in without harm, and figure out his dealing with Mrs. Song."
"Sending all of us would be overkill. I don't think he's fond os us trying to forcibly bring him in." Mercy replied.
"Then we send one. One he's familiar with."
All eyes turned to Lena.
She went wide eyed.
"I've only met him twice!"
A/N So heres the next chapter. It was supposed to be close to 20,000 words to make up for the fact I haven't updated recently, thanks to being sick, summer school, etc…, but I decided instead to split the chapter in two that way I can update next week on time. So sorry about the wait.
Not much action here, more of just Plot building and character building. Lucio's now here!
Reviews:
Guest: Um we have no idea what Guardians care about, however seeing as guardians still carry personalities, frustrations, and wants, as shown by the Taken King cut scenes, one can assume they still have human desires, sex and relationships included. Not to mention theres no proof that they don't mind dying. If they didn't why do players, and Cayde avoid dying as much as they can?
Lord Revan Flame: Shadowshot will come into play soon, but Soldier… He'll be here before the Arc ends.
SlightlyOff7: Thanks! :D
Guest: Where Nate fights with intent to kill… Hmm. Well you'll get that soon. ;)
Guest: Actually the Taken King hasn't happened yet, or at the least didn't happen when Nate was apart of it. He has Raze Lighter, but for in this interpretation there are only three exotic swords in all of existence. How he acquired it will be explained later.
Bluesword777: He's capable of using all three subclasses.
Blue writer 22: that would be hilarious! Dig's enough of a prick to do it, but he hasn't had a chance yet. Don't worry though I'm sure the ghost has something in mind.
Highlord: Gotta agree with you on most points except that Mercy genuinely kept him on his toes with her attack speed. Of course Nate, wasn't straight up turing to kill her, but he was still hard pressed to keep her at bay. Haha I think Nate and Ana would get along even less in a romantic fashion than him and Tracer.
Joking4ever: Will Nate work with Overwatch? Can't say cause it'll ruin the story. Romances won't happen till later. There needs to be proper build up, also the mysterious person is not from destiny.
Lord Razer: We'll find out soon why Talon wants Hana alive now.
Courier47: Thanks dude! :D
Stay tuned for the next chapter within the coming week. It'll be a lot more action packed, and we'll get to see snippets of what Talonr really has planned. Also… well a pissed off Nate will appear if you know what I mean.
Thanks for reading as always! Please Review! God Bless you all!
P.S. Good luck to anyone starting school!
- Metal4k