Disclaimer: I own no franchise mentioned in this work. Halo belongs to 343, Overwatch belongs to Blizzard.

Lot of people seemed to be quite supportive of Sombra's arms being bent in ways they were not made to do. As tempting as it was, and it was extremely tempting, I think that Sombra is more interested in herself than any loyalty to Talon, as shown in her Animated Short.

On that note, however, Sombra is more interested in herself than realizing her situation. She's used to being treated as a valuable asset rather than a disposable source.


Sombra's reactions to Cortana's order were both warranted and entirely predictable.

The first reaction was confusion as she processed the command. As a Talon Operative, Sombra would have some knowledge in acquiring information, by force or coercion. It was unlikely that she had actually engaged in any forceful methods of getting prisoners to talk, seeing as how she was an electronics specialist rather than interrogator, but the knowledge was still there.

Once she had realized that she hadn't misheard, the confusion on Sobra's expression turned to disbelief as she glanced at the approaching warrior. She clearly believed the order to be a threat, some form of intimidation to get her to cooperate. Even to Tracer, however, it was clear that the hacker was not exactly confident in her assumption.

Subtle shifts in her body gave away Sombra's insecurity, though those little motions quickly turned into much more obvious gestures of panic as the giant armored being grew closer. This led to the Talon Operative's third and most reasonable reaction as Sombra tensed up and prepared to get away from her captor.

Whatever her plan was, it failed before it had a chance to begin as the alien behind her restricted her movement once more. Knowing that breaking free would be virtually impossible without dying in the process, Sombra withdrew her arms to attempt to free herself. Instead of accomplishing that, she gave the being holding her a chance to seize one of her arms and force it straight before trapping her hand against the table. This left Sombra's arm in the perfect position to be shattered at the joint, a move that wouldn't even require the prodigious strength that these beings had already displayed.

Out of options and nearly of of time as the armored giant drew back very slightly in preparation to execute his assigned purpose, Sombra glanced at the AI for any sign of calling off the hit. She received a blank look in response, making it clear that Cortana believed this to be more of a nuisance than anything worthy of note.

"I just work for them!"

At the panicked shout, the very large, very hard, and very heavy hand that had been closing the distance to Sombra's arm came to a halt. Considering the speed it had been going, Tracer was impressed that the large being could stop the momentum at all. Had the hit connected, Sombra would have less of an arm and more of a formless sack of shards attached to her side.

When there was no further movement, Sombra glanced between the golden visor and the armored fist that was being withdrawn. A look from the AI on the holotable got the point across to the Talon Operative as she continued, "They pay me to get into systems and for a gun in a fight. I don't know their plans or what other operations they have."

"See, not so hard. Please, continue," Cortana stated with feigned pleasantness, causing Sombra to glance between her and the massive being that had threatened her.

The Talon agent wisely decided to obey the order, however, as she continued, "I'm known as Sombra, work for Talon and other interested customers, for the right price. They told me to take out your friend over there, no reason not to with the pay. Well, no reason until Widowmaker failed to hit her target."

"Right. I can assume that this 'Widowmaker' is your friend back in the brig?" Cortana inquired.

"Not friend, more of a work colleague," Sombra replied.

A raised eyebrow on the blue avatar did not change the response, allowing the AI to press, "Doesn't sound like there's much loyalty to this Talon."

"Talon has its own goals. They hire me, but they are not the only ones," the prisoner answered.

Cortana considered this before asking, "Why would you work with them? There are plenty of other jobs that don't involve getting shot at."

Sombra acquiesced to that with a nod but countered, "They do not pay as well, in information, money, or experience. Thus, I do not bother with them unless there are no other options."

"Indeed. Seeing as you deal in information, perhaps you have heard of some interesting stories from Australia," the AI stated with a suggestive tone.

"Perhaps I have," Sombra replied easily. Any amusement that the Talon agent was expecting from her comment failed to appear as the AI simply looked at her. Eventually Sombra got the point and continued, "What are you offering for that information?"

Irritation appeared on Cortana's face as she responded, "It appears that I was unclear earlier."

Before Sombra could figure out what the AI was talking about, she was distracted by the gauntlet suddenly entering her peripheral vision. A brief flash of surprise delayed the Talon agent's reaction due to the unbelievably silent approach that had allowed her captor to get so close. Even when she tried to react, the Talon operative's sitting position prevented any escape she attempted as the massive hand engulfed Sombra's own. That was all the warning that was given before the impossibly strong being squeezed.

Sombra had felt pain many times in her life. Several broken limbs from fights under her employers as well as bullet wounds were the worst, though other injuries had also been notable. None of those could compare to the overwhelming sensation of her hand being reduced to a sack of useless flesh. Any resistance that bones provided was overcome with laughable ease as the crushing force gave them nowhere to go but where they were not supposed to. Nerves were severed by the shards that were the result of this, adding to the pain.

As the operative attempted to deal with the sudden development, the armored being pulled back and returned to its previous position, showing no sign that it had been at all bothered by its action. Tracer wisely kept quiet as she watched her enemy trying to scream, an action which was prevented as Sombra was overwhelmed by the agony.

Unperturbed by her comrade's actions, Cortana resumed, "You will answer our questions. For the information that you provide, your life may be spared. That depends on how useful you prove to be."

When Sombra began to sob quietly as she held her wrist to keep her hand still, Tracer addressed the AI and asked, "Was that really necessary?"

"Anyone involved in terrorist activities has forfeited their rights," Cortana replied easily. "She admitted to exactly that, showing no repentance for her actions and specifically pointing out that she was not coerced."

"Well, alright, I guess," Tracer said hesitantly before pointing out, "There's little chance of recovering her hand without a prosthetic."

A snort was Cortana's first response before she replied, "That's the point. She shot at us and didn't cooperate, so she paid the price."

"Quite the price," Tracer commented.

"Not at all," the AI argued. "Want to guess how many people survive shooting the Chief?"

The Overwatch agent considered that for a second before predicting, "Not many?"

Cortana laughed at that and confirmed, "Not many might be an overestimate."

"He had no problem with torture though," Tracer said, looking at the nearly unconscious Talon operative.

Shrugging in a dismissive way, Cortana explained, "Chief knows how to interrogate prisoners. Special Operations and all that. We aren't here to be merciful to those who would oppose our attempts to return home. If they get in our way, they will die."

Tracer accepted that doubtfully but could find little way to argue with it. Considering the conflict that these people had seen, she couldn't claim that something as minor as a single individual would matter much to them. As jaded as it might have been, refusing to acknowledge that truth would be willful ignorance rather than uncomfortable acceptance.

Any further conversation was cut off as the Master Chief pulled something from one of the pouches at his waist and stepped towards Sombra once more. Even though he made no effort to approach stealthily, there was no reaction from the Talon operative at the thud of armored boots. With Sombra on the verge of passing out entirely, the Spartan encountered no resistance as he revived the enemy prisoner.

It was easy to see when Sombra regained awareness as she gasped out a breath. Apparently whatever she had been given had dulled the pain as the Talon operative loosened the death grip she had had on her wrist.

When it seemed that Sombra had sufficiently recovered, Cortana continued her questioning, "What is in the Outback? You know something about it."

"Some sort of ruins. No one has survived entering," Sombra replied quickly as she attempted to conceal any weakness from her voice.

The clipped words gave her away, however, as the AI pressed, "When were these found?"

Sombra tried to shrug, only to visibly regret it as it jostled her hand. Since using body language to answer was not an option, she responded, "They were found when the Australian Liberation Front attacked the Omnium. No team can reach it, it's too radioactive and junkers infest the surrounding area."

"Mild inconvenience at best. Any other such findings at the locations of these Omniums?" Cortana inquired.

"Russia," Sombra ground out after a second of thought. "They found something, tried to get to it. That's what started the war again."

An amused sound came from the AI at that as she stated, "Bet your employers were quite pleased with that." The Talon operative glared at the small blue avatar but did not respond. When Sombra maintained her silence, Cortana continued, "We have our next target, then."

"No other questions?" Sombra asked in confusion.

"Oh, we will have more, but you aren't going anywhere. There's nothing you have that can bring down this ship and the information you have provided is more important than continuing to learn about dealings we do not care for," Cortana explained.

With that, the holotable went blank and the Arbiter grabbed Sombra around the neck once more. Tracer followed the two large aliens out the door as they left, silent as she tried to keep up with the sudden change in objective. She had expected to question both Sombra and Widowmaker, but apparently whatever these ruins were seemed to be more important.

As they walked, Tracer asked, "What about her friend?"

"She's been trying to contact Talon while we talked," Cortana unexpectedly replied from nowhere. "Since her communications seem to be modifications to her body, we couldn't remove them. Well, not easily and keep her alive for questioning, at least."

"Right. So we aren't asking her anything because why?" Tracer inquired.

It was almost possible to hear the shrug that the AI must have done at that as she explained, "We can deal with Talon when we get the chance. Investigating leads as to the object that the junkers talked about is more important."

"You want to go wandering into some unknown ruin surrounded by either hostile junkers or omnics?" the Overwatch agent asked doubtfully.

"We've done it before," Cortana answered before amending, "Not with these junkers or omnics, mind you, but other enemies. We'll be fine."

Tracer didn't seem to doubt that as she replied, "It isn't you I'm worried about."

This seemed to amuse Cortana as she said, "So don't come with us. You've been cooperative and haven't attacked us. Give us a way to communicate with you and we'll drop you off in London. If we have any other questions for you, it would be easy to simply ask."

"I might as well stay with you, since you don't know your way around as well. Instead of charging in without a plan, though, maybe we could get in contact with Winston and see what he knows about the area?" Tracer suggested.

A few seconds passed before Cortana replied, "If he has information that can help us, I don't see an issue with it. We will need coordinates and communication keys, however, unless if we're going in hot."

"Just let me talk to him and we should be just fine," Tracer responded.

With that, silence fell on the group as they arrived at the brig once again. Less than a minute later, the three began the trek back to the hangar, leaving Sombra to deal with her injury alone. Tracer had considered voicing a complaint against withholding medical supplies from the Talon operative, but ultimately concluded that it would be hopeless. Sombra had brought it on herself by working with Talon and resisting Cortana's inquiry, leaving Tracer to accept the treatment however much she might disagree.

Before the group entered the hangar, the Arbiter came to a halt and addressed the Chief, "I will stay on this vessel and monitor the situation. My presence in the structure might disrupt the Oracle and bring more resistance against you."

The only answer the Chief gave was a nod, though that seemed to be enough as the alien being turned away to continue further into the maze of metal corridors. He quickly disappeared from sight, leaving the two remaining fighters to board the transport and leave for the planet.

Due to the opening left by her tentative ally, Tracer was able to take a place in the cockpit of the craft. After glancing at Tracer when she followed him, the Chief paid no more attention to her as he brought the transport around and out of the enclosed space.

At first, the only thing Tracer could see was a massive expanse of black framed by the hangar walls. There were no stars nor any other identifying features as to what the thing might be, leaving the Overwatch agent rather confused as to their location.

This was quickly fixed as the Chief turned the craft, bringing it parallel to the ship that they had apparently been on. Any confusion that Tracer had been feeling was almost immediately replaced with awe. Judging by the section that she could see, the ship had to be massive, at least two hundred meters long. Armored plating covered everything and large turrets were visible even from a distance.

From that view, Tracer knew that the vessel was large, but she kept in mind that there was even more in the direction the Arbiter had gone. Considering that the most ambitious project in space for the people of her planet was a failed colony on the moon, it wasn't difficult for Tracer to deduce that the ship she was seeing was far beyond anything built by Overwatch or any other government. While she had known that the ship she had been on was both large and advanced, seeing the disparity up close gave her a clue as to why Cortana had been so unconcerned with the Talon agents.

Quite simply, if they escaped, they would die in space or die on the ship. No matter how clever they were, stealing and successfully piloting an alien vessel from their current location to somewhere on Earth would be impossible.

It was only the lights on the vessel that allowed Tracer to gauge its length, however, as there was no other way to judge the scale. In front of them were the points of light created by stars and galaxies far away, while to their side was the dark object. From the position of the ship as well as the general circular outline that Tracer could see, the Overwatch agent deduced that the object next to them had to be the moon as it was the only celestial body she knew of that could fit the situation.

This assumption was proven correct as the transport began to curve away from the ship, allowing a slim crescent of silver light to appear on the horizon. Within seconds, various craters and other evidence of impacts could be seen as they left the massive ship far behind. Even though Tracer knew that they had to be travelling at a ridiculous speed, she couldn't feel the acceleration that they had undertaken.

Attributing this to the gravitational manipulation of her new allies, Tracer sat back and watched as Earth came into view. The planet floated serenely against the backdrop of space, giving no evidence as to the conflicts occurring on its surface.

Even at the speed they were going, it still took a good bit for the transport to begin breaking into the upper atmosphere. Specks of matter flashed by as turbulence began to shake the craft, though the Chief showed no sign of concern at this. Once they had reached the upper layers of the stratosphere, their descent leveled out. Most of their velocity had been shed in reentry, however, their speed was still well above what would be considered possible for such a craft by Tracer's standards.

Taking this as her cue to help out, Tracer undid the straps of the seat she had taken during their journey and stepped up beside the Master Chief. It seemed that he had been expecting that as he turned a display towards the Overwatch agent, allowing her to see a grid overlaid on a map of Earth. Finding the Strait of Gibraltar was easy enough as Tracer quickly selected the location.

While she didn't have the exact geographic coordinates of the Overwatch base memorized, it wasn't exactly difficult to just show that they were headed to the Rock of Gibraltar. Showing them the base wouldn't be an issue either, since it was common knowledge that it was built during the Omnic Crisis. Would have been almost impossible to hide that it anyways, seeing as it was in such a prominent and well-known location.

Any other thoughts that Tracer may have had were disrupted as the transport suddenly went into a dive. Due to the gravity plates, the Overwatch agent had no issue beyond being quite surprised at the sudden change in direction. A couple steps and she was back in the seat behind the Chief, eagerly watching as they drew closer to the clouds.

As much as she enjoyed her time as an agent, Tracer knew very well that she truly missed being a pilot. The freedom it granted, as well as the unequaled supremacy that she had when she was flying, was addicting. Nothing else matched it, and no matter how hard she had pushed, she had never been authorized to fly after the Slipstream Jet incident.

Seeing the clouds approaching at such a rapid pace brought back memories for Tracer, and while she wasn't scared, it was rather disorienting to be in the passenger seat while watching such a display. She had done many dives like this herself, but she had always been the one in the pilot's seat, able to control when and how to end the maneuver. Watching from the backseat was certainly not Tracer's prefered position, hence why she had become an agent of Overwatch rather than staying behind the lines.

It was when they broke through the cloud cover that Tracer became seriously concerned. While the Overwatch agent had assumed that they would have several miles of open air to drop down and pull out of the dive, this was not the case. Instead, the waves on the surface of the sea below were visible, a concerning fact considering that the transport was headed straight for them.

Tracer gave a quick glance down to the pilot, only to be reminded that he was wearing a suit of armor and had the vocal communication capabilities of a rock.

Based on what little body language she could see from her position, the Overwatch agent was somewhat reassured. Rather than jerky movements or any other signs of concern, the armored being was simply staring down into the water. On one hand, this showed that he was not panicked, but on the other, Tracer was sure that he should have been.

That concern quickly dissipated as the Chief suddenly began working at his controls, though Tracer couldn't see what exactly he was doing. Whatever it was, the transport began to rotate as the nose approached the horizon rather than the water. Even with that, the craft would be dangerously close to the surface, at least by Tracer's judgement.

Whether or not that was actually an issue was not up for debate as the transport leveled out just above the waves. Glancing out the side, Tracer could see a wake forming behind them in the water, showing both their speed as well as proximity to the surface.

The reason for the extreme maneuvering became clear as Tracer noted their position on the map that was open on the screen in front of her seat. Apparently their orbital approach had been plotted to bring them to land in London, though Tracer wasn't sure if that was by design or simply a returning feature on the craft itself.

Either way, when she had given the coordinates to Gibraltar to her ally, he had altered their course to bring them in. Due to this change, a steeper descent was needed, hence their current position skimming the tops of the waves. Having been in such situations herself, Tracer could tell that the Chief was trying to bring them below civilian radar detection.

While it would be effective for standard air traffic control systems, it would not prevent lidar or over the horizon radar from finding them. Of course, with the speed that they were going, it was unlikely that any aircraft could be scrambled to intercept.

It was that speed that promptly brought them to their destination as land appeared on the horizon, quickly growing larger as the transport closed the distance. Within seconds, the individual forms of various features could be seen, with the most prominent being the Rock of Gibraltar. Tracer could pick out the orbital launch facility that Overwatch had built, though the details became much clearer as the craft made its final approach.

Even though she couldn't feel it, Tracer knew that they were slowing down based on what she could see. The lack of any feeling as they decelerated was rather disorienting, though the Overwatch agent dismissed it as a familiar feeling that seemed to be becoming a rather common occurrence.

Before Tracer could direct the Chief to any particular landing site, he suddenly pulled up from his previous flight path. This let him survey the area from above as the transport blasted past the launch facility. Even though it was far too fast for Tracer to pick out anything helpful, it seemed that her amored friend had no such problem as the craft began to turn about.

Looking up from her seat, Tracer had the odd view of seeing the ground above her while feeling as if she was simply sitting against the ceiling. This was quickly fixed as the transport rotated as the Chief began to circle his selected landing spot.

As the craft bled off speed, it was a simple matter for Tracer to look down and to the side to see the shuttle pad a short ways below. Glancing around the area, there was little evidence of a response from within, though the Overwatch agent knew that Winston used this particular facility as his Headquarters. Seeing as it was Winston that had issued the Recall, it was probable that multiple agents and other personnel were also present.

Contacting them would be her first priority as having an unfamiliar aircraft blasting into their airspace and then landing at the facility sounded like an excellent recipe for conflict. Whether Tracer was more concerned for her fellow Overwatch agents or for the Chief was something she couldn't decide, which was rather interesting to her.

If the large armored man had taken out a full Helix security squad while fending off two Talon agents with little trouble, then it was entirely possible he'd be able to take out several Overwatch operatives. Admittedly, he'd had help from his own ally, but the point still stood in Tracer's mind.

While Tracer considered that, the transport descended onto the small landing pad. The only thing that could be seen in front of them was a solid wall of rock, leaving the back of the craft facing the exit track.

The Master Chief rose from his seat after making several motions on the console in front of him, something Tracer assumed was meant to lock his craft and prevent anything from messing with it while they were on the ground. Knowing that the situation could go south if not handled correctly, Tracer undid the straps that had secured her in the copilot's seat. This allowed her to take the lead into the back half of the transport, though she did not yet open the hatch that led outside.

A second later and the large armored man was beside her, allowing Tracer to see that he had his weapon drawn and ready for action. In attempt to prevent the situation that she had specifically been thinking on, the Overwatch agent spoke up, "Please don't shoot anything."

No verbal response came from that, but it was obvious that Tracer's words had been heard as the weapon was shifted into a relaxed carry. Seeing as it was no longer an alert and ready stance, Tracer accepted that as the best she would get from her seemingly paranoid ally. In the next second, the ramp of the transport began descending as its owner pressed a button on the side of the bay.

Lena stepped forward first, carefully examining the area around them to make sure that it was clear of any troublesome agents. As much as she enjoyed working with Overwatch, even she had to admit that some of them were significantly less restrained than possible. Excellent trait in a fight, but outside of one it would cause issues.

Nothing particularly notable caught Tracer's eye, nor did anything seem to stand out to the Chief as he kept his weapon at parade rest. There were no outstanding signs of decay, though many painted areas had significant wear from years of use and then neglect. Apparently some work had been done to clean the area up after the Recall was sent out.

After the moment had passed, the Overwatch agent continued forward towards the base. Behind her, the soft thuds of armored boots on concrete sounded, reminding Tracer just how unnaturally quiet her ally could be. She considered telling him to keep to the side of the path so that any agents would see her first, but quickly dismissed the idea. Their landing would have already been seen and it wasn't like the armored giant seemed particularly concerned for being hit in the first place.

As they turned the corner, Tracer looked up to the Overwatch symbol on the wall beside them before bringing her attention back to their path. The outside world was quickly obscured as they entered the tunnel into the watchpoint, though sunlight supplemented the artificial lighting.

That idle thought brought Tracer's attention to the lights overhead, not so much due to their presence but rather the fact that they were lit. Before the Recall, Winston had been focused on preserving power as well as staying undiscovered. Apparently that was no longer a concern, at least not for whoever had replaced the broken ones after Talon's attack.

It was yet another sign that Watchpoint Gibraltar was becoming a makeshift headquarters for Overwatch, as it was most certainly not Winston who had cleaned up. As good as he was at science stuff and taking a hit in a fight, Tracer knew very well that the ape was not the cleanest of beings. Of course, even if he had been focused on that, it was beyond any one person's ability to clean an entire facility of this size on their own.

Any other miscellaneous speculation on Tracer's part quickly died as she noticed a closed door ahead. Unlike the small doors to the side that they had passed, this particular gate was in place to allow the shuttle to make its way to the launch pad on the other side of the Watchpoint. Why it had been designed that way was a mystery to Tracer, but that wasn't her concern currently.

Since Tracer had already seen the barrier, she understood the sudden alert air that sprung up around her ally. As silent as he was, Tracer knew that the Chief wasn't a fool by any stretch of the imagination. The fact the someone was attempting to funnel them or completely block their path was obvious, even to her.

Before she could advise any particular action, the armored being brushed past Tracer to stand in front of the metal doors. As this was happening, he pulled a small object off the side of the hip. While the Overwatch agent wasn't sure what it was at first, its purpose quickly became clear when it lit up in a brilliant display of white plasma.

That light was almost instantly extinguished as the Chief plunged the blade into the metal before him, allowing him to easily carve a rough opening through the barrier. Tracer winced at this, knowing that Winston would be less than pleased at the damage.

Much to Tracer's surprise, the Chief stepped back from the new doorway and motioned her to go through. Since she had a much better chance of talking down any situation, Tracer had no issue in obeying.

It was lucky that she did so, as on the other side were Genji and Mccree. While Tracer couldn't see any expression on Genji's mask, she easily observed the doubtful look on Mccree's. Apparently the display by her companion had made an impression, probably due to the fact that he had so easily breached what should have been a secure barrier.

Tracer wasn't sure either way as she was more concerned with keeping attention on herself as the Chief stepped through his makeshift entrance, "Hello again. Here to see Winston."

The other two Overwatch operatives seemed rather unsure of that, but seeing as the Chief wasn't shooting at them and had Tracer vouching for him, they didn't argue. Rather than leaving them to their own, however, the two fell behind Tracer and the Chief as they made their way through the Watchpoint. Tracer's best guess was that they had been holding the area in case of hostilities, though she couldn't know that for sure.

Shortly after setting off through the warren of tunnels that made up the Watchpoint, they arrived at the facility's briefing room. While Tracer had made her way here with the intention of leaving Chief to go find Winston, that plan was ruined as she noticed the scientist, along with several Recalled agents, sitting around the table. No one seemed surprised at their entrance, though stares were directed at the massive armored being following Tracer.

Giving a wave to the gathered fighters, Tracer prepared for the inevitable questions to come.


Could certainly have continued from here, but hit 5,000 words and need to work on other stuff. Glad I got this out on schedule, was a close one.

-evevee