Tracer

'Oi!' Lena moved without thinking. A light of pale blue followed her as she jumped to Widowmaker, the girl's body going limp and simply collapsing where she stood. Within the second, Talon's greatest assassin was cradled in Overwatch's golden child's arms, a single tear escaping from her left eye and trailing down her blue cheek.

'She's out. Just right out cold on me.' Lena shook her head. She had wanted to bring Widowmaker in alive, but she never expected to come out with such minor injuries. She supposed it wasn't over yet either, however, for without proper restraints, Widow was still a threat should she awaken. Lena needed to get off the roof of this building, which normally wouldn't be a problem, but carrying a body certainly created some issues as far as mobility went.

'A little heavier than I expected, too, Luv…' Lena grunted. Widowmaker's gear aside, she was muscular and toned, her body sculpted to perfection for all the physical demands it was put under. Lena wasn't completely different, but she was more toward the leaner side of the spectrum, whereas Widow had natural curves that remained after all the tonnage and muscular development had run its course. Lena had noticed, due to her preferences, that Widowmaker didn't exactly have the most bountiful of chests, being much smaller than Emily, but like Sombra had crudely made clear, the sniper's backside more than made up for such lacking. A horribly naughty thought passed through Lena's curious mind, but her chivalric nature easily overturned it, and she kept her hands appropriately situated.

'Right. Guess we're taking the normal way down. This is the problem with solo missions, innit? Least your outfit blends in, huh? Don't know 'bout the gun, but I'll see what I can do. Dumb to bring it. Dumb to leave it. Decisions, decisions.'

Lena managed to get Widowmaker over her shoulder enough to drag her without much difficulty while keeping a hand relatively free. She shot through the roof's entrance lock and kicked in the barricade, deciding to barely manage Widow's sniper rifle in tow. It certainly made for a more difficult trip, but she couldn't exactly leave such a dangerous weapon out in the open either.

Getting down the multitude of stairs in the apartment building wasn't quite her idea of fun as well, but thanks to Venice's festivities and avoiding the elevators available, Lena lucked out as far as meeting locals went. Getting to her personal transport wouldn't be terribly challenging either, but dealing with Widowmaker's sudden breakdown did concern the Overwatch agent. Obviously, Widowmaker had to be bound thirty minutes ago, but Lena could only do that once she made it to her vehicle. Otherwise, visiting some form of doctor was ideal, yet because of the circumstances, that brought with it a whole slew of issues Lena wasn't sure she wanted to deal with just yet either.

Once the two women were outside again, Lena took a moment to catch her breath. The noise and general activity of the partying nearby made moving through the night's shadows a breeze, but Widowmaker was getting heavier, and the fact Lena could barely feel her captive's breath was ever unsettling. She knew this was part of Talon's tampering, and it spurred her forward. Lena grit her teeth and proceeded, formulating a finalized plan and knowing she couldn't stay in Venice much longer; not when core Talon members lurked by and Sombra's network of communication was so dangerously fluid.

Although Lena hadn't landed terribly far, the trip felt worse under the circumstances. Her body was beginning to ache, and she realized how much she used her speed to make such trips seem like nothing at all.

'Big ol' normie now, right?' Lena laugh/groaned. Yet, she cut herself off when she heard what sounded like another pair of voices giggling. She took a quick intake of air, but knew she couldn't do anything more than embrace the couple that suddenly stumbled onto her path. They were wearing masks and somewhat elaborately flowing outfits, and they were falling into one another in a fashion that didn't look totally dissimilar to Lena and Widow's physical condition. Lena could only hope the concealment of night would mostly hide the wounds she and Widow housed.

'Good night for some merry cheer!' The man raised a glass, speaking in Venetian.

'Oh! Too much to drink? Poor thing! Neat costumes though!' The girl chuckled.

Lena knew quite a few languages, thanks to her Overwatch training, but Venetian was somewhat outside of her realm of expertise, so, she defaulted to English. She preferred to mingle with the locals more respectfully, but the choice wasn't available to her this time.

'Heheh! I know! You have a good night now!' It was such a basic and neutral response that it could work in most scenarios adequately enough. The couple was drunk outside of questioning too much anyway, and the girl pointed with an unbalanced stance.

'You, too! Cute couple! Make lots of love! Like us!'

'Oh! Are we making love tonight?'

'Of course! The festivities demand it!'

'Then we shall not disobey!'

And they were on their way. Lena almost worried about the sloshed pair getting to their destination, but she was in a precarious enough situation, and couldn't let her helpful tendencies get the best of her again.

'Hear that, little miss? Guess we're gonna have to do some lovemaking later. Festival rules and all.' Lena jested, although her chest flipped initially at the thought. Widowmaker was, strictly aesthetically speaking, quite possibly one of the most beautiful girls Lena had ever laid her eyes on. While Emily leaned more toward the cute or simply pretty side of the spectrum, Widow was the physical manifestation of idealized feminine attractiveness. She had a face that belonged on television, the runway, and on billboards everywhere. She had a body that women willingly paid millions for. It was all nearly intimidating to the relatively confident Lena Oxton. Still, the thought of even kissing Widow's pouty lips gave rise to heat in Lena's cheeks.

But then she would think about Mondatta. She would recall the fact this woman was Talon's perfect assassin. She would imagine Ana's death and all the other lives that had been ruined by the Widowmaker. It made Lena sick.

And yet, that revulsion would be overturned by pity. When Lena learned Widow's story, her heart was vice-gripped. Her heroic nature leapt forward and wouldn't let her turn away. As the person who saw just how tormented Widowmaker was in that pivotal moment when she laughed hysterically at Lena's plea, the Overwatch agent was linked to Talon's best before she could even think of recalling away.

'Almost there, Luv…' Lena pressed on.

It didn't take much longer. Lena's little aircraft remained safely out of way, nestled in a vacant lot she had managed to scout out while making the trip. Although she hadn't anticipated being so successful, she couldn't say she was upset with how the events turned out. Widow's mental state was concerning, but at least Lena didn't have to get too rough with the other woman. If Angela could just have a look at Talon's assassin, maybe there was a way to bring Amelie back. Maybe there could be a chance for this girl to have time to atone for what Widowmaker had done by helping Overwatch take down Talon and stop the second Omnic War from completely erupting all over the world.

Once Widow was laying on the floor of Lena's vehicle, Lena went to work, going into her Overwatch kit and extracting a number of items agents might use while on the job. Fortunately, when initializing the program, Jack had suggested a means to restrain persons of interest should the need arise. Gabriel hadn't thought of the necessity, apparently, but because of Jack's foresight, Lena had two basic cuffs on hand, and she locked in Widowmaker's hands first.

'Sorry about this. Haven't tried the kinky stuff myself before, but I'm pretty sure these are supposed to be fluffier. Can't have you strangling me midflight though, right?' Lena restrained Widow's hands behind her back, and then went to her ankles, admiring the way the woman's legs curved, the slight muscle intonations formed by Widow's current position distracting. Lena contemplated stripping the other girl down a little bit, considering her ballet-inspired outfit might not be terribly comfortable, but she didn't want to be too invasive. The flight wasn't awfully long anyway, and time was of the essence.

'Done. Um…should be something like a pillow or whatever somewhere. Ah! There we are!' Lena cradled Widow's head, slowly removing her elaborate headpiece that had what appeared to be an image of a swan's face sculpted into its construction, and then eased Widow into the cushion provided. Otherwise, Lena made sure Talon's sniper was relatively secured between seats, not wanting her to bounce too much all over the place, nor have a simple time navigating her way to Lena while she was trying to fly.

'Yikes. This is insane, innit?' Lena sighed, pushing her hand through her short, brown hair. 'They're never gonna let this down. I can hear it already. Jack's shaking his head at me as always. "There's Lena, doing something crazy again". Yep. That's me.'

Lena looked down at Widow's sleeping face, the venom lost from it, and only a vulnerable, scared woman present now. She was just a human being that had been forcibly corrupted into a killing machine. She was physically and mentally altered beyond recognition to the point of hurting anyone against her will.

'Yeah…I couldn't leave you, Luv. Just not in me. The fact you're so bloody gorgeous is a fun boon, but I'd have done it for anyone in your situation. It's in the "how to be a hero" small print. I'll give you a read if this all works out. Deal?'

Lena grabbed at the aircraft's door, but when her phone went off, she took a moment to check the notification, worried it was an urgent message from any of her friends. Many of them were on another important mission. Hopefully it was good news, if anything. What greeted Lena's eyes, however, was enough to send her mind into a frenzy.

"Hey. How badly you want to 'save' her?"

Her ears prickled suddenly, and the air was chilled. Sombra wasn't attacking her directly. It was a challenge, if anything. Lena looked around the darkness before her, only the slight lighting from nearby streets illuminating anything. A soft hiss permeated, and the shadows themselves seemed to shudder, melding and shifting within the night right before Lena's eyes.

She readied her Pulse Pistols, the comforting buzz of their loading relieving some of the stress. She saw it then, the shadows to her distant right converge into a shape, and she fired off a quick round of volleys into the blackness, only to massacre some of the building behind the forming being.

'Is that any way to treat your elders, "Tracer"?' Reaper's ghastly voice was everywhere at once, his body somehow feeling as though it was all around Lena, capable of grabbing at her from any angle. Angela's evaluation of Reaper, based on the latest reports from Jack, was that he had been genetically altered, his cells themselves experimented upon to allow for such ghastly tendencies. "He's hardly human anymore. Avoid confronting directly at all costs", was the final evaluation.

'Council party wrap-up already? Or did bad boy Gabe get sent into the hall for not playing nice?'

'…What the hell do you think you're doing? Taking Talon's broken plaything?'

'I'm going to help her. Overwatch exists to save people, Gabriel. Remember? You used to believe in our cause, after all. You used to lead our cause.'

It was a bad idea to antagonize Reaper, but Lena had to buy time. For what? She didn't know. If anything, the longer she stayed here, the worse off she was. Engaging Gabriel wasn't exactly her preference either, considering his incredible skill and deadly abilities, but that certainly looked like where things were heading. It was a really, really bad situation all around.

'All this for one girl? Your priorities need to be realigned.' Reaper sighed deeply, his voice modifier making every sound he exuded terrifying. The bizarre, skeleton pirate costume he had on didn't help matters either. 'Doesn't matter. One more off the list is fine with me.'

'Or you can just let me go and we both get out of this alive. Sounds like a peachy deal to me!'

A gurgling chuckle. Lena could almost hear Gabriel in there somewhere, but without being told what Reaper's true identity was, she would have never guessed. He was twisted beyond recognition, and by choice. It infuriated Lena, but she couldn't be sure she was able to beat him one-on-one yet. How strong had she become exactly? Could she handle someone who used to be one of the very best Overwatch had to offer the world?

'You leave Widowmaker and I'll delay your death just a little longer. That is the only deal I'll humour.'

Wait. Reaper was actually willing to compromise? Did that mean he himself wasn't confident he could beat Lena in this kind of setting? Or was he showing lingering mercy on an old teammate? The latter seemed unlikely at this point, so it was the former? Really? Interesting.

'If I fight you, you know it might not end well. I'm pretty good now. I'm not a cadet anymore. Grandmaster class. Been there for a while. They send me on the tough missions.' Lena decided to feed any doubt Reaper had and remind him of what he was about to challenge.

'That ranking system was broken the moment it was created.' Reaper growled, pulling out his two Hellfire Shotguns from either side of his hips, the clicking of their loading signifying this was very likely going to happen after all. 'But I won't deny that this kill will be very, very satisfying.'

'I don't want to hurt you…' Lena said with more desperation, the reality of injuring someone that was like an uncle to her back in her early Overwatch days gouging the girl's sympathetic heart.

'Then my job just got much easier.'

'We'll be heard. You know that, right? I'm not wanted. You are. They find you – '

'I kill the authorities and move on. Nothing changes for me. Now, stop trying to delay the inevitable. You're about to die in an attempt to save a woman who would sooner murder you as well than anything else. I always thought you were foolish and headstrong, but I never anticipated this level of idiocy.'

'It's never wrong to try and help someone, Gabe!'

'Right. Keep your head in the clouds, little girl. Wish I could see your face when you find out what the world is really like.'

'I know what the world can be like!' Lena hollered back, anger rising in her chest suddenly. She didn't get mad easily, but the more she saw what Gabriel had become, the more frustrated she grew. 'The world took an innocent girl and twisted her into a monster against her will! If I can do something about that, I will! The world can be horrible; I'll never deny you that. But the world can also be beautiful! It can be so wonderful! Humans and omnics can be together and happy! I've seen it, and I'm fighting for that potential! I'm not someone who will give up halfway through the war!'

'You would be if you were used and discarded like trash.' Reaper's voice lowered when Lena didn't even think it possible. 'You're naïve. Always have been. And, I suppose, always will be.'

'I'd rather be naïve than become a cold-blooded murderer, Gabe. How can you even look at yourself?'

A beat, with a small click sounding from Reaper's gun.

'…I don't.'

That was it. Reaper began his assault, firing his weapons one after another as he danced within the shadows. Lena could only react in kind, barely capable of tracking her opponent. Despite his somewhat unusual costume, Reaper still seemed capable of sinking into the darkness, emerging where he desired and filling the air with his lethal bullets. A few sprays clipped Lena, but her speed trumped Reaper's with ease, and she hastily navigated around the small alleyway, blinking every which way before pushing in for her counterattack.

However, she saw the barrel of Reaper's gun a second later, and barely made her recall back five seconds, leaping away and huffing tiredly, her energy semi-depleted due to the trip and having to carry Widow quite the distance.

'Heh. Still favour taking your opponent from the right. Have you grown at all?'

Lena breathed out slowly. She technically had the advantage, but Reaper's overwhelming experience tipped the scales more evenly. That, and his ability to evade physical objects at will made it very difficult to calculate when to move in without meeting his brutal weapons up close. The longer this battle dragged out, additionally, the worse for wear Lena was. Reaper knew this. He used everything available to him in order to win any fight, and that's partially why his rank was one of the top three within Overwatch during its glory days.

'Bloody hell…' Lena muttered. How to approach this now? She was so close, and yet this situation wasn't presenting any viable routes out. She could scream for help, but Reaper had made it so very clear that he truly didn't care about killing innocents. The scary part was? Lena believed him. She couldn't risk casualties. Gabriel was gone. Reaper was her opponent. Don't overthink it.

'Fine. We're doing this? I'm not holding back.'

'Oh? You're suggesting you were?'

'I didn't want to hurt you, Gabe…Reaper. But I don't have a choice. You're dangerous. I've gotta do the dirty work too if I'm claiming to be a hero.'

'Heheh. Amusing. Try me.'

Lena shook her head, but slowly dug around her coat pocket. Despite what Reaper thought, she wasn't a complete moron. She had prepared for something like this. A seemingly unwinnable situation. It wasn't ideal, but she had no other choice. Fortunately, Reaper's confidence remained, and he allowed whatever tactic Lena attempted to employ. That was his one weakness, if anything. He had displayed it at the museum, and he was showing the same desire to play with his prey now. Winston had caught him off guard then, and Lena was shocked she was being granted the same liberty.

She extracted a tube and pressed the back of it. She then stabbed her arm, an explosion of power electrifying her whole body. Reaper actually flinched, likely knowing precisely what Lena had resorted to.

'I'm saving her, Reaper, and no one's gonna stop me!' Lena screamed, her body screeching as she erupted from her spot, the world becoming a blur and miniature shockwaves spurring her forward as she gunned Reaper down, blinking every which way and overturning any counterattack the man tried. Pain meant nothing. Limits meant nothing. Time and space already bent to Lena's will, to an extent, and now, even they couldn't hold the lightning bolt that was one of Overwatch's greatest down.

It was over in a flash.

Lena gasped, her guns steaming and her body wheezing in reaction. Reaper could only retreat. He didn't stand a chance, and Lena was certain she had inflicted some major harm on his person. What she did could have even been fatal, as far as she was concerned. She had stripped herself of all restraints, a portable version of Ana's nano boost completely overturning any biological limits temporarily.

'No time…to lose…' Lena muttered, her vision doubling. She knew how brutal the aftershock could be, and now she had to fly? The nap she would need once she made it back to Gibraltar was falling quickly into the "epic" categorization. Still, she had somehow managed to evade Reaper's attack. Best move out immediately before more of Talon's big bad agents decided to show up.

Lena stumbled her way to her little aircraft, rubbing her eyes and sighing in regular intervals. At least Widowmaker was still out, it appeared, because dealing with her now, should she decide she wanted to struggle – and why wouldn't she? – would just be beyond Lena's capabilities.

However, the second Lena managed to check on her "guest", she was met with two yellow, soul piercingly lethal yet still somehow beautiful, eyes. The Widowmaker was awake, and she looked anything but pleased.

'Brilliant…'