The Darkest Knight
The Reforming of Overwatch
Chapter 9: Hana, Tracer, and a little bit of blood.
Forty minutes before Nate escapes the police station…
Lena stared with pursed lips and downcast eyes as the fire consumed the warehouse, its walls and roof cracking and collapsing foot by foot every few minutes. She had arrived too late. She had heard the gun fire and came to intervene when suddenly her quarry was thrown out the front by a massive explosion that shook the entree docking complex.
What had happened in there she could only guess. But her target had been taken by the police, which in itself, confused her.
That man had held his own against four Overwatch agents, a nearly impossible task. Yet, he had allowed the police to take him in. Granted he had been surrounded and would've had to fight at least a dozen of them to escape…. he hadn't. He just… gave up.
So now Lena was confused. Why would he do that?
He could've beaten them, gotten away with time to spare. But he didn't.
But that had been just less than a half hour ago and she was still here. Why?
Because she wasn't sure what to think. She could follow, apprehend the man, but be forced to fight past the authorities in her quest to do so. Of course that wouldn't bode well because Overwatch wasn't supposed to be active, and her presence, whether as a vigilante or an agent, would certainly cause problems.
She knew the police couldn't hold him, but considering he surrendered without a fight, she figured some sense of honor would keep him in place for the time being. Besides, she could just follow after him if he did escape.
The man definitely knew how to leave a trail.
Plus she needed to find out what happened here. So she sat and watched.
Bright, flashing lights of Police cars and firetrucks glowed in the night, a beautiful symphony of colors with the orange flames eating away at the warehouse.
She huffed out a breath and shook her head. It would be a miracle if anyone survived the explosion.
What really got her though was that she knew, Hana Song had been with him. She hacked the security cameras when she arrived and the front one showed Hana with another man, but not her target.
And now Hana Song was no where to be found.
What if her target had killed Song? Had ignited the warehouse and left Ms. Song inside?
The man had claimed to be a friend of Hana's, and her defense of him in Korea was proof of that.
But she was no where to found, and he was taken by the police…
What had happened!
Suddenly more lights filled the air and she shot a look back towards the front of the docks. More firetrucks and police cars were coming, and from the fact the first vehicles were busy fighting the flames at the front, she could only guess the newcomers would head to the sides and back.
Tracer stood and blinked to the side, gliding over the crates around the warehouse all the way to the back where she had stored the bike she had 'acquired' on her arrival in Rio. She couldn't let the authorities find the bike and start asking more questions.
Overwatch still had to keep its head down, so the last thing they needed was the police sticking their noses into her business.
The bike itself was old, dusty, and had the raw power of a charging rhinoceros. She got to her bike and-
"Ughhh…" A voice groaned.
She blinked and spun in a circle, drawing her weapons faster than she could even blink. Who had groaned?
Her gaze scoured over the crates and metal containers surrounding the back, till she saw the culprit- a person crashed into the side of what used to be a pyramid of crates. The crates where cracked, bent in, and splintered, but from the looks of it had acted like a cushioning for however the poor soul was.
Granted a hard, wooden cushion, but that was better than hitting the ground.
She blinked over, trails of blue stringing after her as she reappeared next to the person, standing atop the few crates in the pyramid that were still intact.
The man, she could now tell from his stature, was darker skinned with dreads. Strangely he looked sort of familiar… He wore a vest and backpack, but his bare arms looked burned from the… fire!
The man had been inside the warehouse when it blew up! Or at least really really close! Meaning he must've seen what happened with her quarry!
She opened her mouth to ask, but she stopped when the man's eyes shot open.
"Ah! Hot!" He roared, jumping to his feet with enough speed and surprise that Tracer blinked down and away out of pure instinct. The man gasped for air and looked around him, lifting up his hand as if he was holding a weapon- which he wasn't.
She raised an eyebrow and aimed her own weapons before asking, "are you all right?"
The man jumped and turned to her, looking down from his vantage point atop the pile of crates. At first he seemed utterly surprised and was prepared to shout something when his face contorted in recognition.
"Tracer? Like, Overwatch Tracer?" He asked, his eyes going wide as her identity obviously dawned on him. Apparently he wasn't too injured, which was a surprise to her considering he looked way too close to the explosion to have survived without major third degree burns.
"Ello." She waved with a cheeky smile.
"What're you doing here!" He asked, but her reply was cut of by the crackling and sputtering of flames from the warehouse. "Oh damn!"
She shot a look at the warehouse and listened for the sirens. They were getting closer.
"Do you know what happened here?" She asked. Time constraints weren't going to allow for sweet talking this guy.
"Yeah I do." The man shook his head. "Wait, why are you here?" His gaze narrowed at her.
She rolled her eyes. "Long story short love, I was following the man with the cape, tracked him here and then the place blew up. I found you unconscious lying in a pile of crates." She gestured to the crates below him.
He looked down and nodded. "What happened to Nate?"
"Nate?" She scrunched her eyebrows together.
"That's the cape dudes name."
"Oh, lovely. Well, the police got a hold of him."
The man laughed darkly. "As if they could hold him."
"How well do you know him?" She asked, narrowing her eyes and keeping her weapons aimed at the man. He didn't seem to mind.
"Sort of. Long story."
The sirens were too close now and she could see their light mixing with the colors of the containers and fire surrounding them.
"How about we discuss it somewhere else? I don't think the cops are going to appreciate the fact you and Nate blew up a warehouse." She threw a thumb at the flames, lowering her weapons at the same time.
The man grimaced and froze for a moment, considering his options obviously, before he nodded. "All right. I'm game."
"Then hop on!" She jumped on her bike and the man climbed on behind her, though she noticed his movements were slow, likely because of whatever burns he received.
She hit the throttle and dust kicked up from her bike, spitting into the air as the engine roared and pulled them away from the warehouse.
"So whats the story?" She asked as they sped away, the air whipping by them and fluttering her hair.
It took a moment but the man replied, "I came with my friend Hana to the warehouse, we were looking at my stuff! She thought it had something to do with her would be killers!" He was forced to yell because of the thundering air around them.
She hit the brakes and drifted around a sharp corner and shot forward one more towards the city of Rio.
So Hana Song had been here.
"Names Lucio by the way!" The man stated.
"Charming!" She said back. She felt the tingle of familiarity but couldn't place the name. Not now anyway. She cleared her throat then continued, "so what did Nate have to do with all this?"
"He's looking out for Hana so he's hunting down her attackers I think!" Lucio yelled as she took another hard turn, his hands gripping her sides harder as momentum tired to throw him off. "They're friends and I didn't trust the dude at first but the way he acted when she was took!"
She could feel the man shake his head then continue, "trust me when I say he's on her side!"
She frowned but didn't respond, instead increasing their speed as they hit the straight that led right to the entrance of the docks. Two cop cars, lights still flashing, were parked on either side of the front gate, three officers standing around and talking.
Her hand twisted the throttle and with a kick, the bike lurched forward. She lowered her body to decrease the air resistance and Lucio leaned with her.
It was too late by the time the cops turned to them, and they raced by as shocked faces grasped the men and they scrambled to their cars as if to give chase. By the time the sirens kicked on Lena had already pulled far enough into the nearby suburbs that it would be a pointless chase.
She rounded a corner, the bike hopping twice from the misaligned road, and slowed to a stop in front of what looked like a two story apartment complex. The few people out stared at her like she was a strange occurrence but when she got off they scattered away.
She blinked to the edge of the street, looking back to where they had come from to ensure they hadn't been followed. To her relief they weren't, though of course that had been the plan all along.
In a flash she blinked back to Lucio. She crossed her arms. "So explain what was the long story?"
Lucio sighed as leaned against the bike, having already disembarked. "They came to me asking about what I knew about the heist that happened here a few weeks ago."
She remembered that. After all it was the first time she met this Nate.
"And?" She prodded when he didn't continue.
He grimaced as he stood straight. "I helped. Hana's a friend after all, and I don't turn my back on my friends. I gave the guy a shot, but when me and Hana came to the docks we were ambushed and these guys just took her. Nate got here too late and…" his voice drifted off.
"You okay love?" Lena asked, her concern growing. She had assumed he was okay since there were no visible injuries aside form the slight burns on his arms. She hoped he didn't have internal bleeding.
The man shook his head. "Fine. But there was this… dude. Thing I guess, that started to taunt us by saying something about Hana. Nate went after him, and I tried to follow, then everything… well. You know, went boom."
"Speaking of which how did you survive that blast if you two were inside?"
"No idea how he made it, but I used a sonic barrier." The man threw a thumb over his shoulder at his backpack. "Fried my backpack, but it obviously kept me alive. Must've been a hell of a bomb to throw me out like that though and burn my arms."
She nodded. "Do you know who took Ms. Song?"
He frowned and shook his head in the negative. "I wish."
"Does Nate?"
"Heck if I know, but I'm betting he's already trying to find her. Probably went to the police to find more info." The man replied though grit teeth as he shifted his stance to favor his right side.
She frowned. "All right, I'm getting you to a hospital then getting this Nate. I need to talk to him."
"Hell nah!"
She blinked her eyes in slight surprise. That wasn't the response she had expected.
"I'm fine! If you're going after Hana I'm going with, you ain't gonna stop me." The man declared.
"You're injured! We don't-"
"I'm going."
She frowned. "I don't mean to be rude, but you're not going to be of much help. You're hurt."
He narrowed his gaze at her.
"I may not be able to fight right now, but who else do you thinks gonna keep Nate from blowing your head off?"
She frowned. "I'm guessing that would be you?"
He nodded. "He's not a real fan of Overwatch you know."
Tracer nodded. She remembered Korea.
"I'm well aware…"
Present
You ever feel, like…. just pissed off at everything? Like when you're walking around and you hate that car for being parked too close to your ride, that door for not holding open long enough, or like when someone random person just looks at you the wrong way and you wanna beat the shit out of them?
Well thats about how I felt.
So when I tell you cheerleader was really grinding my nerves, then you should believe me.
Well, maybe it wasn't her. Maybe it was the fact, Lucio had died because I had left him inside the warehouse while I blindly chased down some phantom. Maybe it was because I was alone on this planet and had no idea what the fuck was up with half the people here.
Or maybe it was the fact my only friend here was kidnapped and likely being tortured!
Ah!
Of course though, I was here now, outside the police station, where courtesy of Cheerleader I was able to escape without hurting anyone inside.
So I was trying to keep my attitude in check.
We walked out of the police station, me following her and… several officers were outside, though the fact they were against the cars and walls with closed eyes and a specks of blood all around hinted that something different happened out here.
"What happened to them?" I asked, narrowing my gaze at her. I wondered if she had just done this all to set a trap for me. Play on my dedication of trying to find Hana, then get me in a kill box and ambush me.
I started to scan all of our surroundings, which included the streets beyond with cars still passing when she replied, "well the gas was only for inside. Had to deal with these poor blokes the hard way."
Poor suckers didn't stand a chance. And she had managed to do it in like… a few minutes? Impressive…
"What kind of gas?" I asked, glancing back at the station to ensure no one was following us. Part of me did wanted to know, but now I was just trying to keep polite conversation as Dig brought down my ship from orbit. She'd probably freak when she saw it but as of right now, we really didn't have the time to deal with the details. We just needed something fast to get to Hana.
She raised an eyebrow at me and I clarified, "the station I mean. How'd you knock them all out using just gas?"
"I used an Aerosol knock out gas. Fast acting. A friend of mine designed it for me as last resort crowd control technique. All I have to do is inoculate before hand." She replied, looking back at me as she suddenly took a right and walked to the side of the building.
I narrowed my gaze. "What're you doing?"
"You don't think I did this all by myself do you?" She smiled and disappeared in blink.
I snapped my weapon up in response and twirled around, expecting for her friends from before to show a few moments later, before I even could consider lowering my gun, she reappeared, letting someone out of her arms.
"This bloke put the gas in the vents. Took hardly anytime for it to reach the poor sods inside."
"What the hell is…" I blinked twice as I saw who it was she let out of her arms.
I lowered my gun. "Lucio?"
"Hey man." The man grunted through a grimace, obviously favoring one side.
"I thought you died!" I threw my arms up. "How'd you survive man!" I asked stepping forward, the smile obviously leaking into my voice.
Sure I didn't know him well, but I was sure as hell glad he was alive. At least someone survived from the warehouse that wasn't me.
"Same way I kept you from getting blown in half." He chuckled though another grimace caused me to frown behind my mask.
"You okay?" I asked looking him up and down. He didn't look too injured aside from a few burns.
My voice switched to my internal speakers, "Dig, can you scan him?"
"Give me a sec. Still bringing down the ship you know."
I looked at Cheerleader. "Did you find him?"
"Yup. Bloke was unconscious, but he woke up and was rather adamant about helping find Ms. Song. Of course that meant we both needed to find you."
"Him I get." I stated, though my voice held no emotion. "But I'd still not rather deal with all this Overwatch business." I motioned to her, but turned away and looked to the sky.
It was small, but the orange light was starting to get brighter and I grinned.
"You don't trust Overwatch?" Lucio asked from somewhere behind me.
"They tried to kill me."
"After you opened fire on us!" Cheerleader retorted.
I shot a glare back at her. "Please. I was trying to help! You guys just started attacking me! Dicks."
"You stabbed Ms. Song, what were we supposed to do? Expect you to be nice and just listen? I tried that love remember." Her voice was hitched with sass, and I growled.
I gripped my weapon tighter. "Tried? More like demanded I turn myself in. You assholes didn't even let me talk!"
"We did and you shot at us!"
"I was taking out another assassin! Obviously I don't want anyone dead, at least none of you or Hana, hence why you all are still alive!" I snapped.
"Please." She retorted.
"Oh trust me lady, you're lucky I don't consider you an enemy." I stated, narrowing my gaze.
She shook her head. "Or else what love? You going to start killing us one by one? Like Mrs. Song?"
"I never wanted to kill her."
"And how do I know if you had nothing to do with Ms. Song's sudden disappearance?"
"You really think I did this?" I pointed to myself in utter disbelief. This bitch was thick.
She shrugged. "You haven't shown us otherwise!"
"Ha! Really? The one who's been risking life and limb for her for weeks hasn't shown you otherwise! That's great. Real solid. And what exactly have you all having been doing for her besides sitting down playing cards with your thumbs up your asses!" I yelled pointing at her.
This was soooooooo not the the time for this.
The roar of my ship was getting louder and I saw Lucio's eyes widen at my actions, but Cheerleader on the other hand took a step towards me despite my height over her and, I would say, more intimidating presence.
"You need to watch it love. I've been trying to help you, but because you throw a hissy fit every time someone comes near you it's been damn near impossible!"
"Then don't try to help! I don't need it!"
"Well obviously Ms. Song does!"
I snapped my weapon up. "I was doing fine till you shit heads intervened in Korea! It's probably your fault they found us in the first place!"
"Our fault?!" Cheerleader snapped, her soft features sharpening as she growled and aimed her own weapons at me. "You're the own who tried to kill Ms. Song in the first place!"
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Lucio suddenly stepped in-between us, his hands out as if to stop both of us. "Let's just take a breather and- what the hell!" His eyes went wide and we both followed his gaze.
I wasn't surprised to see my ship slowing to a halt in front of us, but obviously they were.
"What in the bloody hell is that?" Cheerleader grumbled, though her voice had less infection than Lucios.
"My ride." I replied as the ship made a one eighty and the ramp lowered before us, hovering just a few inches off the street. "I'm going for Hana. She's in a facility north of here. Come if you want."
Personally I didn't want cheerleader to come, but the logical side of my mind won out. More of us would mean better chance of saving Hana, and aside from Terminator, I was pretty sure she was the only one who could go toe to toe with me, and if she could do that, then she would be of more help with me than here in Rio.
"How do you know where she is?" Once more two submachine guns were raised at me.
I rolled my eyes but a shrill, "weee!" filled my ears from behind and I glanced back to see Bastion staring out from the cargo bay of my ship with what looked like the tightened eyes of a child. Or whatever the robot equivalent is.
"A bastion!" Cheerleader exclaimed though her expression was of sheer alarm and panic.
I tilted my head in question as Lucio yelled something and both he and cheerleader dove to cover, well blinked to cover in the case of the British teleporter.
"What're you two freaking out about?" I yelled, throwing my arms in the air as my frustration stared to get the better of me.
"Uh Nate. Behind you." Dig stated with a voice that I knew meant trouble.
I turned on my heel and the child like Bastion was gone. Instead was a machine with a red eye and its weapon pointed right past me and at the others.
"Bastion? Buddy?" I asked, Raze Lighter appearing on my back.
He didn't look at me and instantly transformed within a second to his massive turret mode. I knew what was coming and drew my sword leaping right in front of him before he fired and raised my shield.
"Yo! Chill man!" I yelled the gatling gun looking me dead in the eye.
The machine didn't fire and I stayed there narrowing my gaze.
"Enemies located. Request permission to terminate?" My translator picked up from the machine. This voice though wasn't anything like the Bastion I knew. Sure I hadn't spent a lot of time with him, with all the saving Hana and not dying thing, but I'd never heard this before.
"Nate, he's in combat mode. He did this when he covered you in Korea remember?" Dig informed me.
I nodded, simply out of habit to show I understood, then stated, "Bastion, relax. They're friends. No shooting anything."
The machine beeped a few times, my translator failing to translate the sounds, but fortunately he didn't open fire. He stayed in his…. turret form? Yeah I'll go with that. He stayed in his turret form and I turned back to the others.
"He's protective." I stated.
"It's an omnic soldier! Do you know how many people those things killed?" Cheerleader exclaimed as she stuck her head out from behind the car she was using for cover.
I pursed my lips. "Dig?"
"She's not lying. His designation is a bastion unit for the Omnic army. The reports I'm reading are pretty fucked up, but if what I'm reading's accurate, his entire class of soldier was decommissioned. He might be the last one."
Well shit.
Bastion was on the Omnic side of the war. Great. He had tried to exterminate humanity. But if he was programmed to do that… why didn't he kill Hana? Or me for that matter?
He had stated he had a friend, a little girl. What had happened to her? Had he killed her?
I didn't know. I'd have to pry it out of him. But that could wait.
As of now, Bastion had only defended me, and even Hana to an extent.
So fuck it. He was backing me up and as of right now that's all I could ask for.
I shook my head. "Look, we can discuss this later," I threw thumb over my shoulder and at my ship, "but right now I'm going for Hana. Maybe Bastion's killed some people, fuck if I know, but seeing as he can become a giant gun, I'd rather have him helping us than not, so I'm leaving now."
My cape fluttered as I turned and marched the rest of the way up to the cargo bay of my ship. I glanced back and yelled, "you coming or not?"
There was a whir of sound and Bastion reformed to his bipedal self, standing tall and looking down at me with his blue eye.
"Bastion is sorry." He stated, looking down.
I pat his metal leg as I walk by. "Don't worry about it man."
"Where is girl?"
I sigh and shake my head as start up the short stairs leading to the rest of the ship. "Someone took her, and we're going to get her back."
His eye turned red. "We will terminate those who took her."
I couldn't help but agree.
Clunk. Clunk.
So someone was going to join me after all. Fun.
I looked down.
It was Lucio. He hobbled his way up the ramp, gritting his teeth as he obviously struggled to walk. I sighed and leapt off the stairs before rushing to him and wrapping one arm around him so I could help support his weight.
"Thanks." He muttered.
"Welcome."I replied. "You know they're gonna try to kill us right?"
"Yeah man, but it's my fault she got taken." He tensed as we hobbled to the stairs. "I'm gonna get her back."
"Well," I started as we took the first step up, "at least you're a good friend. I'll patch you up once we're inside. Dig, close the bay door."
I felt a small jerk as the ship started to ascend and I felt a pang of frustration. Damn Cheerleader was too proud to fucking take a chance. Sure she didn't trust me, but come on. I obviously wasn't going to kill her.
The gears started turning and the bay bay started to close when suddenly a flash of blue filled the cargo bay.
I froze and Lucio coughed.
"Nice of you to join us." The darker man grinned as he looked down at the rest of the bay. Bastion too was looking down and I rolled my eyes before following their gaze.
Cheerleader was standing there next to me, arms crossed as she subtly glanced around the cargo bay though most of her attention was obviously on Bastion, who in turn stared up at her with his head now tilted to the side in obvious confusion.
She quickly turned to me, arms still crossed as she straightened her stance, her gaze hard behind the orange visor.
"One conditions, you tell me everything once we find her."
I narrowed my gaze.
"Just do it man. We could use the help." Lucio stated with a grunt. "Got our asses kicked before."
"Fine." I mumbled. "We'll tell you everything we know, but only when we get Hana." I turn away and the door to the rest of my ship slides open in front of us. "Deal?"
I can feel her smile.
"Deal."
It takes us about thirty to forty five minutes to fly up to a country called Mexico, to the facility Dig tracked. I'd never been here in my own world, never had needed to, but I don't think I'd ever seen a place as dry. Well maybe Mars…
The ground was rolling hills covered in dirt, rocks, and few plants. The plants that did grow looked hardy, and lacked any real color. The gray mountains beyond did nothing to help the sight.
What got me though was the fact there was nothing but desert in sight. No buildings, no secret facility.
Nothing that showed Hana was here.
My grip tightened on my chair as I stared out the cockpit, hoping beyond hope to find something.
"Dig?" I asked as the waypoint on the cockpits glass grew bright. The ship slowed to a halt. We were at the coordinates, but all I saw was cacti and fucking dirt.
So much dirt.
My Ghost appeared next to me in a flash. "It's probably under ground. Secret facility and all."
Part of my apprehension left and I asked, "any idea where the entrance is?"
"No man. The info got dumped before I could sort through it. I've been trying to track it, but I'm coming up empty. Wherever all the black boxes info went probably went offline to keep it safe from hacking. Without being physically near it I can't track anything to help."
"Great." I sighed and turned away. "What about any signals? Anything out of the ordinary out here?"
"Not that I'm seeing. Get me down there and I can do a deep scan, see if there's anything down below."
I nodded and walked into the main room, helmet in hand.
Lucio was laying on the couch out cold. I had to given the dude some painkillers as me and Cheerleader pried his backpack off earlier after they told me what happened to him. Though the explosion had fired his backpack, it had actually fried his back like it was a wall of fries. A bag of sealing gel took care of any scars or wounds, but he was out like a light after.
Which left me with five bags left. Not a good amount considering how much they're being used.
Cheerleader on the other hand was wide awake, sitting on the table with her legs crossed as she lazily whistled some tune that annoyed the fuck out of me. Her reaction to Dig had been hilarious at first. She had started spouting questions but when I threatened to blow her brains out, and only after Lucio intervened so we wouldn't kill each other, did she back off.
Of course she still eyed Dig like he was some strange artifact, but Hana had kind of had a similar reaction.
Then there was the fact she had started asking about my ship. I told her it was an advanced personal jet. She didn't buy it for a second, but it was at least enough to get her to shut up.
And she's still whistling that damn tune!
"Can you not?" I growled, slipping my helmet on as my rifle appeared on my back. I slipped it into my hands and checked the ammo count.
She shot a glare at me. "Are we there?"
"Yes." I stated, moving to Lucio and gently nudging him with the butt of my rifle.
He stirred but didn't wake.
"Good." I heard the small pat as she got off the table and landed on the floor with a bounce. "What's the plan?"
I raised an eyebrow at her. "We go in, find Hana, and kill anything in our way."
"Really?" She gawked.
"No not really." I grumbled, nudging Lucio again. "We don't know where the entrance is but Dig can do a deep scan. Once we find the entrance you and me head in nice and quiet. We find Hana and try to get her out without starting a firefight. If the shooting starts, which I'm betting it will, Lucio, Dig, and Bastion up here are the calvary."
"How?"
"Bastion's a giant killing machine, Lucio can use my rocket launcher, and Dig can use the ships cannons to distract them. If it comes down to it, he can use the canons to bury them alive while he transmats us out."
"Transmat?" She asked with a curious look.
"Teleport." I clarify, though I don't hide my annoyance.
"Long range teleportation?" She asks, a small glimmer in her eyes. "Winston would have a field day if he could examine your things…"
I didn't bother to reply as Lucio finally moved and his eyes slowly opened. He grimaced but pushed himself up so he was sitting, stretching one arm.
"All right…" he grumbled, "whats the plan?"
I explained to him my simple plan and he frowned.
"That's what you got?"
I swung my rifle onto my shoulder, "we don't have much else to go off of." Truthfully, I'd gone into much worse with much less of a plan.
Then theres the fact that most plans end up turning into shitfest shootouts anyway.
"I'm not sitting up here while you two risk your lives to save Hana." He replied, crossing his arms. Bags were under his eyes and a tinge of worry hit me. The dude looked tired as hell. I knew from experience surviving an explosion was tough so I felt for him.
"Lucio-"
"I'm the reason she's here man." He sighed and shook his head. "I have to get her back."
I pursed my lips. "Look, I get it. I want to get her back too okay? But, you're in no shape to fight man. You'll slow us down and how do you think she'd feel if you died trying to save her? You're here, and you've got my back, that'll be enough. No need for anyone to die."
"I'm not gonna die."
"And if you do?"
The man was silent.
"Love," I glanced to Cheerleader as she started, "I know what its like to rush in a save a friend, but he's right."
Huh thats a first from her.
"You're not in a good state. If you die, how will Hana feel knowing you so stubbornly ran in, and died trying to find her while we were there already and could've gotten her out without you dying?" She smiled, and for a moment I forgot my annoyance with her.
"Guys, it's my fault." He laughed darkly. "I have too."
"You don't." I said. "It's not even your fault. If anything, after Korea, I should've known they would be one step ahead. Besides, I promised to protect her, and once again I've broken that promise. Don't blame yourself for my mistakes." I added.
Cheerleader glanced to me and I met her eyes with my own, but my head stayed still so she probably had no idea I was looking at her and not Lucio.
It was quiet for a moment, then he sighed. "All right. I'll stay up here. Just keep me updated." Gingerly he got to his feet and headed to the cockpit.
Watching him struggle just to walk ensured me I had made the right call. Poor dude had a good heart but he had been caught in the middle of a massive explosion. Hell I don't think even I would've survived it, its a miracle he did.
"Dig?" I asked, my thoughts telling him exactly what I was thinking.
"Ramp's lowering. I'll keep an eye on him once I get the scan." My Ghost replied, appearing next to me.
A moment of silence and I glanced at Cheerleader, gesturing for her to follow me.
I headed out of the main room and into the cargo bay, light footsteps following after me, and drew my rifle as the light from outside pierced the cargo bays relative darkness.
Our footsteps fused and echoed slightly off the cargo bays walls till we reached the end of the ramp and the sound dissipated into the open air.
With a small hop I landed with a thud on the dirt soaked ground, my boots crunching the dirt as Dig floated down next to me. A lighter crunch followed and I started forward a bit, raising my weapon and giving a quick scan to our surroundings.
Aside from a particularly foul looking cactus there was nothing out of place and I lowered my weapon as Dig's light shined and his parts separated and began twirling, albeit as slow as a sloths sprint.
I looked at the cactus again.
"Aren't cactus supposed to have nice looking flowers?"
"Not in this region, well at the least for the big ones." Dig replied, though his focus was obviously somewhere else.
Cheerleader walked up next to me, her own eyes peeled as she gazed out to the horizons, her heading moving left and right as she searched for something other than the cacti, dirt, and mountains.
I opened my mouth to say something when Dig's voice filled the air. "Got something. Whatever it is, its deep, like ten stories deep. Looks like an elevator shaft about three hundred meters to your left."
I looked in said direction and saw the rolling dead hills and more mountains in the background. These hills though were sparsely populated with both cacti and large boulders, none of which looked any larger than me.
"You sure?" I asked, somewhat confused. There was no way to hide anything up here, but Dig's scan said there was.
"Yeah man, one hundred percent."
I huffed and my sparrow appeared as Dig floated to us. "I'll be in the cockpit with Lucio. Keep in touch and try not to die." He disappeared before my retort could leave my lips.
I climbed onto my sparrow and scooted forward. "Get on."
Cheerleader complied and slid on behind me. I hit the throttle and shot forward, racing towards the waypoint that appeared courtesy of Dig. She yelped a bit when I hit the boost, and I grinned for whatever reason.
It was a short journey, like a couple dozen seconds short, and I hit the brakes and slowed to a halt before a series of boulders and cacti that were much larger up close than I had initially thought. Cheerleader leapt off with a grace that impressed me and made me feel clunky as I slid of my sparrow.
My ride disappeared and I stalked towards the boulders. They were larger than my ride, but not large enough to hide or run into, or well do anything that would be the size if an elevator. Unless they transformed into one.
I studied the formations and I could see Cheerleader doing the same, though where I stared and studied, she blinked around the area looking for anything out of place.
I stepped onto one of the boulders and looked down at a few more behind it.
So far nothing out of place or weird.
Just dirt, rocks, and…
I narrowed my gaze.
That cactus was…. The flower type. It was a bright blue, but it was big. The cactus was easily my height, and had a giant bright blue flower.
I looked around and saw none of the other surrounding cacti with a similar feature. I hopped onto the next boulder and slid off it and onto the dirt before trudging over to the cactus. I looked it up and down before poking the flower.
It felt real and nothing happened. I frowned and poked one of its arms with my rifle. Nothing.
I shot it, and its arm blew off in a spectacular displaying of green guts and juices.
But nothing happened
"What happened!" A voice chirped from behind me.
"Nothing." I sighed, knowing cheerleader probably had her weapons out.
"Did you shoot a cactus?"
"I thought it was a secret door!" I defended, turning back to her. "It looked out of place."
She gawked. "What?"
I waved off her comment, looking at the surrounding boulders that… were all in a circle around this cactus. My eyes went to the ground. This cactus was the only growing in this patch of dirt between the rocks.
"How often does a wild cactus grow on a circular patch of dirt that just so happens to be surrounded by boulders that block it from view?"
"Huh." I hear her grunt as she blinks down next to me. "Odd."
"No kidding…" I swept the outer edge of the dirt circle, and found a small rock, about the size of my head resting against its larger brethren. Oddly enough, there were scrape marks to the left of it, like it had been repeatedly rubbed against the larger boulder but only to the left.
Secret door anyone?
I pushed the rock with my foot and after a few inches of movement it locked up and the sounds of gears and pistons starting up filled the immediate vicinity. I went wide eyed as the ground suddenly started to shake and the Cactus from before toppled over when the ground opened up.
I blinked backwards onto the boulders and heard Cheerleader do the same as the ground opened up, the dirt sliding underneath the boulders. A small slab of rusted metal rose up from the darkness, at an angle mind you, and slide to a halt in place of the ground.
Damn thing looked old.
Nothing else happened so I jumped down and onto the platform. I stomped on it and it held.
"So I'm guessing this is some secret entrance type thing," I started as Cheerleader followed my lead and blinked down onto the platform. "How does it start?"
As if on cue the platform jerked and started to descend. I looked up as metal railings and walls passed as on our angled decent and watched as the sun and desert disappeared above, the ground sealing itself and closing us off from the world.
"Well that was easy…"
The light on my helmet powered up but there really wasn't anything to see aside from Cheerleader and the platform and the metal walls.
My grip tightened by a hair on my rifle. "Anyone else feel like this is a trap?" I spared a glance at the woman and she grimaced, her own body tensing for the moment we both knew was coming.
But nothing happened.
The platform descended, and we both stood there looking around, still waiting for the trap to pop up.
The light from Cheerleaders chest piece gave off a quaint glow but was dwarfed against my own. For a moment I considered asking her why she wore it but my thoughts were interrupted.
"Nate, I'm getting readings." Dig's voice suddenly filled my ear. "Pulses of energy from down below, like somethings powering up."
"Definitely a trap." I muttered, and several sparks of white trickled down my arms.
There was a screeching, the terrible shriek of metal on metal as a jerk signaled the platforms deceleration.
I gripped my weapon tighter. "Dig, any idea where this thing leads?"
"Like I said before, the deepest my scan revealed was the shaft you two are racing down. I have no idea what you're walking into." My ghost replied.
"Great." I mumbled as the descent came to a crawl, the metal walls around us disappearing as shadows and darkness engulfed the sides of the platform.
My weapon snapped up and my eyes took in the…
My eyes went wide. "Geez."
Immediately my light grew stronger as my own power fueled it and the light pierced the darkness. But considering the… bay? Hangar? Whatever it was, was bigger than a football field, well my little light did next to nothing but show us the faintest outlines of the vehicles inside and edges of the roof and wall.
"What in the world?" Cheerleader asked from my side and I couldn't help but agree. This place was even bigger than the Hangar back home in the Tower.
I stepped forward once, boot clanking off the metal floor as I kept my weapon up and lightly swept the area in front of me. My light showed several really old helicopters and old cars and trucks, but aside from that there was nothing special.
Dust kicked up as I took a second step and I waved my hand to clear the air.
"Where on earth are we?" Cheerleader asked from somewhere behind me.
"No idea." I replied starting forward. Dust billowed out from every step, and that alone showed me how old this place was.
This was the secret lair of some master torturer?
It met the whole creepy thing thats for sure.
Eeeekkkk….
I spun around, weapon at the ready, and found Cheerleader standing next to a copter with her hand pressed against it. Apparently the aged metal wasn't fond of being touched.
"How about we don't touch shit and let everyone know we're here?" I hissed but she completely ignored me.
"Nate," she started, her voice a stark contrast from its usual peppy, energetic self, "this helicopter, its old… the design is decades old… They haven't used these since the Vietnam war."
I looked around. Considering I had generally no idea what she was talking about, I just had to play it off, but I tried comparing it to what I had seen in Korea and Rio. And well, I could agree that these things definitely looked a lot older than what I'd seen.
Ancient compared to my own stuff, but hey I'm like from the fucking future type shit so that didn't count.
"This base… we're in Mexico and they have US issued helicopters." She continued on her rant and then blinked around the helicopter and out of sight.
I rolled my eyes and blinked after her, landing on the other side of the copter as she landed next to another aircraft.
"Japanese Zero. World War II." She blinked again.
I blinked and boosted after her.
Again she was staring at another vehicle.
"Venom FB. Mark 1, Iraq Air force." She looked at the aircraft I landed next too and before I could say anything she continued, "Aero L-39 Albatros, Russian air force. They have dozens of aircraft from across the globe, all from different times. Why would anyone collect this?"
I grit my teeth. "Dig, do you have anything else on this place?"
Instantly my friend replied, "no. All I got from the files were the location and name of something called 'Project Illumination'."
"Illumination?"
"No idea, but you need to move. Those energy readings from earlier? They've almost quadrupled!"
"A bomb?"
"Well I'm not detecting any known explosive yields but ifs its energy based then it could be."
"Shit." I grumbled. "How long till it reaches a critical point?"
"About twenty minutes."
I rolled my head and exclaimed, "cheerleader we gotta find Hana now! Dig's picking up some energy readings and we don't want to be around once they reach critical point!"
She frowned then blinked on top of a nearby plane, turning on her heel as she obviously looked over the rows of aircraft for something. "The names Tracer. How much time do we have?"
"Twenty minutes, give or take." I replied, blinking up next to her and landing with a much harder thud than she did.
So she had a name, and it was Tracer? What kind of name was that?
"Wonderful." She muttered before she threw her hand out and pointed to the right end of the underground hangar. "There!"
And with a flash she was gone, blinking away towards what I finally saw was a door. Well a set of steal doors.
I followed, blinking and boosting after her till I landed with a clunk behind her. My eyes spotted the keypad she was tampering with and then moved to the door. It too was rusted and old, but the beeps of the keypad obviously showed the facility was still powered.
Which left the questions of, why they had so many aircraft, and what was powering up.
"You know what you're doing?" I asked as I stood, cradling my rifle against the nook of my arm with a lazy aim at the door.
Her fingers clicked and clacked against the keypad as she started, "my friend Winston taught me how to break simple security. It's not too hard once you bypass the mainframe and access the key codes directly."
"The what?" To be honest, tech wasn't my area of expertise. That was Dig's. I was good at blowing shit up.
"And wha la," she proclaimed, turning as a hiss echoed out and the doors slid open. "easy as…."
Her voice died and for a moment time froze.
Three soldiers, black armor and red eyes, stood there in the doorway, weapons down by their sides, hands raised as if they had just been talking about something while the doors were shut and they were separated from us, but now were staring at us like we were ghosts.
We stared back.
I saw one of their heads look to the side, where the keypad was with a small gray button laying below the actual numbers.
They twitched.
I blinked at them, and the sound of Cheerlea- Tracer, doing the same echoed behind me. I was aimed directly at the man closest to the keypad and I landed in front of him, legs launching off the floor at him in a continuos motion as I drew my blade.
He tried to raise his rifle, but I smacked it down with my free hand and swung the blade in a arc in front of me, hitting the weak armor beneath his chin and ripping cloth and skin alike. Red spurted out of the now open neck and I kicked him away.
I spun on my heel and saw Cheerleader deflect a punch from one soldier with her forearm, and proceed to jab him three times in the torso. The second soldier was stumbling to his feet, having been knocked down apparently and I lunged at him.
My fingers wrapped around his throat and I slammed him against a wall.
Maybe it was sheer bad luck that three guards had been standing there when the door opened, but it also gave us an opportunity.
The soldier reached for the hand encasing his throat, trying to pry my fingers off before my free hand jammed my blade into one arm, piercing flesh and bone and eliciting a muffled cry from the man.
"Where's Hana Song?" I growled, loosening my grip on his throat and my motion tracker showed a friendly behind me.
"I- I don't know!" the man heavily replied, breath escaping him in random intervals.
I didn't believe him and twisted my knife. He screamed bloody murder and my blade tore muscle and I twisted it towards the nerve in the arm.
"Where is she?" I asked again.
"Please!" He begged.
I pulled the blade out and drove it into his left kidney. He screamed again.
"Tell me." My voice was controlled and even. He shivered and my grip tightened slightly.
"I swear to God I don't know! But- but, he might! The skull mask, Reaper! He'll know!" The man gasped, one arm still clawing at my own while his other hung uselessly at his side. He was talking about Vape God.
How many trained killers dressed like that?
I clenched my jaw and passed the blade a little deeper. "Where?"
"Down the hall! Take a right and he's in the control room! I swear to God!" His voice cracked and muffled sniffles fled from his nose.
I nodded and ripped the knife out before dropping him. I didn't bother to see what he did since he was too hurt to fight back and would probably just try to bandage himself up, so I turned and sheathed my blade.
Brown eyes met mine and I knew she disapproved of my methods, but she kept quiet about it. It told me she understood why I did it, but didn't like it.
Still, I felt bad. Maybe it was because of her, or the thought of Hana learning I tortured someone to find her. I don't know, but killing people wasn't fun, let alone torturing them. Maybe i made myself feel bad?
Oh well, I could worry about it later.
We started off down the hall, glancing down the rights to see if anything like a control room laid in the halls. The first three had nothing but more turns at the end of their respective halls so we skipped them. At the fourth right we saw a large set of steel doors that hinted at something important behind them so we took it.
Strange that no other guards or soldiers were around.
In fact, no one else so far had been around other than us.
The thoughts of a possible trap came back.
We reached the doors, and instead of waiting for the woman to hack it I simply drew Raze Lighter, courtesy of Dig transmatting it, and slammed its super heated blade into the metal. It ripped open like butter and my momentum carried me forward.
I raised my shield, expecting shots, but nothing came. My eyes scanned the shadow covered room, and from the advanced computers, screens and machinery that filled it I was ninety percent sure this was the control room.
A large glass viewport was off to the side, a few computers lined against it with a space between them that was obviously meant for looking out the window and too whatever was outside. Those computers were on with bright-
Blip!
My motion tracker went off with two reds to my left and right.
Guards popped out from behind large computers and fired on me, but my shield deflected their bullets. Good thing I had kept my sword up.
A blue flash raced over me and to the guards on the right so I took the left. I rolled at them, ducking under their shots as I went, and boosted over the computers they were using for cover.
Shields flared as bullets bounced off me and I lunged down at the nearest guard. The blade cleaved him in half without a hitch and his body disintegrated as he let out a scream that would haunt any hardened soldier.
I turned on my heal and swiped at the second guards rifle, which broke like a toothpick. He tried to draw a side arm and I drove my blade through him too. He met the same fate.
I returned my sword to my back and drew my rifle once more. I walked out from the makeshift cover and found Cheerleader knocking out the last man, though the other was obviously dead from the bullets holes riddling his body.
So she does kill. Told you Hana.
The brit turned to me. "Oi, what're you standing around for?"
I shook my head and blinked up to the working computers.
"Dig, get down here and-"
"Nate."
I turned to look at Cheer- ah Tracer, and she was looking out the viewport. I walked over to her and followed her gaze.
The room we looked into was large and gray, like training arena, but it was empty save for a single metal table and a person on top of it.
Hana.
She was bloodied and from the rips in her clothes and dark spots on her skin I could only imagine what they had done to her.
But we found her.
I found her.
My rifle barked twice and the glass viewport shattered. I leapt through it, barley caring as I landed and my legs groaned from the thirty foot fall.
A head coated with brown hair turned to me and I saw her eyes. Tears stained them, but nothing else on her face moved. Her lips were cracked, her right eye blackened and swollen shut.
"Hana…" I jogged forward, and saw that her shirt was torn open and fresh wounds on her chest leaked blood.
I guess the tormentor was just here. I was going to make him pay.
"Well done."
I stopped in my tracks and shot at the voices owner, Vape God or as the guard had said- Reaper- who was standing across from me, at the other end of the arena and had just stepped out of the shadows as he spoke. He side stepped the shots but didn't raise his own weapons in return, in fact he wasn't even armed.
What the hell was he doing?
"You found Ms. Song."
I stepped forward but a hand grabbed my elbow and firmly stopped me. I tore my arm from Tracer's grasp and glared at her before looking back at the man in charge.
He raised a hand before I charged. "Take her and go, we don't need her anymore."
This bastard had the gall to talk about Hana like that? To act as if she was just some piece of meat? Like any of us were?
I growled and blinked forward to where I stood between Hana and this Reaper. None of these bastards would touch her again. I snarled and stated, "now you die."
"Nate!"
I jerked as a blade ripped through my shields and armor in one go, tearing out of my lower right side and through what I guessed was my intestines.
"Gah!' I roared as I stumbled forward, spinning and haphazardly firing at whoever had stabbed me.
Hana was there, standing with a glowing red blade protruding from her arm, and my bullets bounced off her skin harmlessly.
My eyes went wide.
Humans, not even Guardians, had bullet resistant skin and swords for arms, and I knew Hana was most defiantly human.
So that left me with one conclusion.
This was most definitely not Hana.
I fired again, and the bullets still had the same affect before this… thing charged me. Fortunately a flash of blue intercepted the being and sent it flying with a well placed top kick.
"You!" I roared turning to Reaper who… was gone.
"Uh Nate?" I heard Tracer say and I turned back to her and the imposter.
The imposter was standing now, its sword hand now back to a regular arm. It was then I noticed the differences.
Hana's skin was near flawless, that I had noticed, but even she had a speck of imperfection on her arms. This skin was perfect. Utterly flawless and smooth. The hair was also longer and a lighter brown than before. The only reason I noticed was cause I had spent the past weeks with her almost nonstop. Her chest was slightly too large and her gut too toned as well, but what really gave it away was the eyes.
They held nothing. No life, no remorse. They were blank.
Zero emotion.
"Did you really think you'd find her so easily?" A voice called out from above, electric and commanding.
I looked up but only saw the ceiling. They were using a PA system.
"It took time to regrow her skin and hair, but it was well worth it. A completely new Hana Song, one so close to the real thing that only someone very close to her could tell the difference."
Thunk.
I went wide eyed and back stepped a swipe from the impostor, raising my rifle and firing once more at point blank range.
They regrew her skin….
"Alas, Ms. Song was strong. Strong willed, but weak in the body. You failed at protecting her. Let that knowledge die with you both."
The voice ended and creaks filled the air, rumbling gears echoing off the walls.
I blocked a fist from the impostor, astonished by the fact it managed to push me back with strength that was superior even to mine, and side stepped its sword arm once more. I drew my own blade and blinked forward, jamming my electrified blade at its heart.
The tip of my blade found purchase and pierced through thick metal. Only about an inch went in and the impostor jabbed an elbow into my gut, knocking me back and leaving my blade protruding from its chest.
Thump!
Thump!
The ground shook and I rolled and twisted, under another onslaught of attacks from the imposter. Blue surrounded me and Tracer appeared under the imposter, driving her small feet into its chin and launching the thing away.
Thump!
I grit my teeth and stepped back as I saw the cause of the thumping.
Three massive machines, all the same as the one from the warehouse, stood before us. The ceiling sealed itself back up after dropping its payload and I looked around to find an exit.
There was one.
But three machines and an impostor stood between us and it.
"Any ideas?" Tracer asked, a hint of anxiety clogging her voice.
As if on cue a flash of white glistened out from behind us and I glanced back.
Dig was there, floating above Bastion, whose eye was a dark red and aimed its weapon at the machines before us.
"Thought you could use a little help." My Ghost quipped before disappearing, and warmth engulfed me.
I drew Raze Lighter off my back and twirled it once.
"That impostor has a shielding system. Its magnetic, blocks anything like a bullet, but I'm guessing Arc powers managed to get through it, hence your ability to stab it." Dig informed me through the Coms. "It's also the source of energy of those energy readings. Whatever that things got in it is powerful."
"The others?"
"Same as before."
Great. Just as annoying to kill, and now there were three and a super impostor thing. Things just kept getting better and better.
The machines took a step forward, and the three giant ones drew swords, each larger than me.
Tracer took a step back and raised her machines guns. Bastion raised his own weapon.
I raised my sword.
Definitely a trap.
A dark cloak fluttered in the wind, sniper aimed down at the boulders where an old friend had disappeared with someone they didn't know, someone who had stolen several reels of news across the globe.
"Gabriel left, but Lena's still down there with that stranger." The woman spoke, her voice softer and old, the slightest hint of an accent muddling her words.
A man with gray hair kneeled next to her, a visor covering all but his forehead.
"We need to find out what he's planning." The man's voice was deep and rusty.
"And Lena?"
"She's a big girl. She'll be fine."
"She hasn't come out." The woman replied, her good eye narrowing at the man as the desert sun bore down its heat.
The man grunted. "Then we go in. Quick and quiet, and make sure she's all right. Can't let either know we're here though."
"Overwatch would hunt us down."
The man stood.
"And so would Gabriel."
"Gaaaahhhhhhh!"
Hana Song cried as the Conductor yanked the fish hook up, the fishing wire threaded through the back of her neck forcing her head up, water trickling down her face, and tears streaming from her eyes despite the fact her head was drenched.
"I vill ask once more, madam, tell me the code." The man asked, a normal, simple smile plastered on his face.
She gasped, water dropping dow her lips and cheeks. A raspy cough escaped her and spits of water left her mouth. She hardened her gaze and looked at the man.
"Go to hell."
The man sighed. He glanced at the two black geared soldiers standing on either side of her. "Again."
She sucked in a breath and one man yanked her hair back before thrusting her face back into the barrel of water. She held her breath, her eyes still stinging from tears and the man's grip tightened.
Pain shot through her skull but she kept her mouth shut and her nose still.
She had too.
She thrashed and felt the second guard hold her hands to keep her from hitting anyone. She had tried escaping twice, and each time ended up getting beaten by the guards. A pair of ribs were still broken from those encounters but she held strong.
Or at least she was trying too.
An ache spread through her lungs. She needed to breath and her head jerked back on instinct. The guard pushed her head further into the water.
She began to shake, violently thrashing as her body demanded air and panic once more overtook her.
Pain grew.
Panic grew.
Lungs demanded air. Her body demanded air.
She couldn't help it any longer and sucked in water for air. Her eyes went wide and she tried to pull back. This time she was allowed and she fell back, head leaving the water as her lungs expelled the intruding water with harsh, thick coughs.
Her stomach wretched, but nothing came out, only coughs.
The fish hook once more was yanked up and she screamed again, looking at the man pulling the infernal device.
Oh how she wanted to punch his scrawny face in.
"Now, again I ask. The code."
She pursed her lips.
The code he was referring to was a code she actually didn't know. Her commander was the only one who knew it, at least as far as she knew, and it was meant for remote shut down of her Mekka unit.
But she didn't know it. So she had to hold out, it was the only reason she was alive, she was sure of it.
Nate and Lucio would find her. She was sure of it. They just needed time, so she had to buy some.
"Like I said," she started, "go to hell."
The man grinned and cleared his throat. "Agai-"
Swick!
"Sir!"
Her eyes shot to the doorway where another solider stood, automatic doors having opened for him.
"What?" The man growled and she saw the soldier clench his fist.
"He's on the line for you." The soldier replied.
The Conductor nodded and sighed, releasing his grip on the fish hook before stepping forward and cutting the fishing wire free from her skin.
Relief wasn't even close to describing what she felt.
"Lock her up till I return." The man walked over to the long table in the room, typing away on a laptops keyboard before turning and leaving her alone with the soldiers as the doors closed. She wondered is the bastard kept detailed accounts of his sessions on that computer.
She glared after him but complied when the soldiers yanked her up to her feet and practically dragged her to the cell hidden in the far back shadows of the room. She didn't complain when they tossed her in and the concrete hit her.
She was just grateful to have something between her and them.
With a pained grunt she got up to her knees, glaring at the soldiers who now stood guard at the cell door with their backs to her. She wished she had her pistol.
Or at least Last Word. Who knows what they did with it when they kidnapped her.
Her eyes fell to the laptop on the table.
Oh how she wished to go home and play StarCraft. To click on buttons and commands, and to the days where her biggest worries were wether or not she would win the next tournament.
Then she saw it.
At the top right corner, the little connection bar…. It was full. It was full!
They had internet here! The Internet could be tracked! More specifically, internet posts could be tracked, especially by a highly advanced computer in the name of Dig!
But that required her getting out of her cell and getting past well trained soldiers with broken ribs. Then there was the cell door too…
Her shoulders slumped.
It was a good idea, but there was noway to get out. Sure they had to keep her alive, but they'd beat her within an…
Wait.
They had to keep her alive. They needed the code still.
If she hurt herself they'd have to come help her in the name of keeping her alive, which means they'd open the cell door!
She looked up at the soldiers. They had rifles, but they also had side arms. If they were trying to help her getting a side arm would be easy. If she used it, which she would have to to even stand a chance, she'd have seconds before other soldiers came in.
But if she pulled it off, posted something on any social network, anything at all….
Then that damn machine of Nates better be able to track it.
It was either try and reach out, or hope they find her and endure.
She narrowed her gaze.
No way in hell was Hana Song gonna go down without a fight.
So she decided. Her plan was ready, now she needed a distraction. What could she do? Her eyes traveled her cell. Nothing loose was anywhere near her, no way to cut herself or fake a suicide attempt without them knowing.
Heart attack? No, she was too young, they'd probably catch on.
Seizure then. She'd seen a classmate have one in primary school. That's what she could do. Fake a seizure. They'd have to help.
She sighed, and slumped her shoulders, wobbling her head slightly. "I don't feel…" she managed before flopping herself over.
She made sure to make noise, and was rewarded with a glance from one of the guards. Then she rolled her eyes to the side, hung her mouth open and started jerking. First her legs then her arms, then her head. She did her best to make it random and purposefully pushed spit from her mouth.
It wasn't pretty, and she could only hope to play it off like the real thing.
But she could barely ehe while she jerked around. She didn't know if they were even paying attention to her.
The sound of the opening cell door caught her ear.
"Shit, grab her head, keep her from killing herself. Damn doc will turn us into a freak show if she dies on our watch." One of them exclaimed, though she couldn't tell who because she was throwing her head around like a madman.
She felt hands grab her head and force her to steady but she kept twitching and rolled her eyes downward.
The other guard grabbed her shoulders. The one who had her head.. his sidearm was inches from her hand.
She made her move. She grabbed the sidearm and slammed her forehead into the nearest soldiers head. Of course he had head protection but the point was to get the gun, which she did, and her hand slipped up to where she placed her gun on the soldiers chest, the one who was holding her shoulders.
Bang!
The shot tore right through him and the second soldier, who had reeled back from her headbutt, stumbled back and tried to grab his rifle which was slung over his back.
Bang! Bang!
She fired twice, one in the mans leg, the next in his head. He dropped like a sack of flour and she sprung to her feet.
Her ribs ached but she ignored the pain and dashed out of the cell to the computer.
She slammed her fingers into the keyboard, and fortunately it hadn't fallen asleep or locked itself yet. She hit several keys and the internet browser popped up.
Swick!
"Shit!" She pointed the pistol and fired at the now open doors.
The soldier from outside threw himself out of sight and she grabbed the computer before ducking down under the table.
"Come on!" She growled as Facebook opened up. She entered her email and footsteps rang out. She looked up and fired off several more shots at the legs of the soldier rushing in. They hit and the man collapsed yelping in pain as she finished him off with another shot.
The clip clicked empty and she tossed the gun away.
She looked back and entered her password.
The sounds of boots rang from the hall outside and she cursed.
She had seconds.
Her page loaded up. She hit the text box at the top and typed, 'Nate!'
"Keep her alive!" The conductors voice rang out and she saw boots enter the room. She hit enter, but knew she couldn't let them find what she had done. She slammed the laptop shut and dove out from under the table towards her cell.
A soldier lunged for her and she slammed the laptop into him. It shattered and he stumbled back.
"Enough of this!"
She froze and soldiers lined the room, at least six of them. The Conductor stood in the center and raised his arms at her.
"We can do this the hard way or the easy way my beautiful escapee." He stated with a calm smile.
She gulped and raised her fists.
"Then the hard way it is."
A/N So its been a while but here is the next installment. Sorry it takes long but school is really killing me right now. But here it is. Finally got it done. Its also the longest chapter so theres that.
Alas we see what Tracer was doing before helping Nate, and how exactly she took down a whole police station in time. You can't tell me Winston wouldn't invent a fast acting knock out gas for crowd control. He invented a machine to control time travel. Fast acting gas is a piece of cake. Lucio's alive, Nate and them fell into a trap, Hana's being a badass despite her setbacks, and two more people have entered the fray. I'm sure you all know who they are.
Of course more will be explained next chapter as we have about five more left in this first part.
Onto reviews.
kyro2009: I get that. Hana will have to face consequences because of the things done to her, but I won't outright write some stuff. Stuff like… for example Rape and shit is too much even for me. IF I were to do anything that dark I would simply infer it, I couldn't write. I don't think I could handle writing something like that you know? Alas, the whole story won't be all death and decay, but there will be harsh realities if you get me?
Rasputin: Now that would be funny!
Bearybeary: I hope so too! Nate still has a chance though, not everyone hates him.
Realist: Thanks man. It does take a lot
Guest: Ha im not dead.
ecoolasice: Um for Destiny or Overwatch?
Guest: Yes they care then, but also in darkness zones where the light is snuffed out and they can't revive ever again. Hence Oryx's power of darkness and snuffing out light.
Amir-015: Possibly, but not now. As you can see, they want information. By why shut down her unit? What does Talon gain?
HHunter101: Cool I get that. Don't worry, Hana Song won't become some dark gothic avenger character or anything like that. She'll just have to deal with traumas.
Foreteller of Three: He didn't transmit out because of the fact he would've had to expose his ghost. And yeah I tried to fix most of the errors here.
Arc-Angel-Of-Fire: Sorry that you felt that way…. I kinda agree but only because the most information that ties it together is in this chapter. It was just too long to put everything into it.
DMD Hanafin: I can do some torture. Such as here where Hana's basically water boarded.
SlightlyOff7: He would've had to expose his ghost. Not really a good thing around finicky cops.
Normally I try to respond to every review but this time there are just too many. I'll respond to direct PM's and review with questions or point that need addressing or further clarification.
So yeah. This is this. That is that, and heres to Overwatch!
Thanks again fellow readers! Review please! God bless you all!
-Metal4k