Tracer

Overwatch Gibraltar was in the horizon when they saw it. The whole ship filled with light, almost similar to the whiteness that had nearly blinded everyone when the black omnics self-destructed in Rialto. When the golden-hued beam concentrated back overtop of the base and was sucked into, presumably, its original source, Jack was the first to say anything, his voice low and full of contemplation.

'That damned woman…' He uttered, and Lena looked around desperately, seeing Reinhardt and Ana were the only other agents with similar reactions.

'What the bloody hell was that?' She ventured to ask, the newer members of Overwatch equally perplexed.

There was a heavy pause, which rarely boded well for what came next.

'I want to be wrong, but I doubt it.' Jack started, still sighing as he explained. 'Hard to forget what that kind of sight means.'

'Hope. It always meant hope for victory.' Ana added.

'But I thought…it wasn't possible anymore.' Reinhardt said as well.

'Obviously, it was still in within her power, but…we might know better now why she refused to bring forth that level of ability.'

Lena waited, but nothing was confirmed, and communication was finally linked up with Overwatch Gibraltar again, Athena's voice coming through the aircraft's speakers. Static remained prevalent still, remnants of the damage done to the base's mainframe lingering, but it was undoubtedly and authentically Athena.

"Overwatch Gibraltar is now clear. Requesting system calibration and check. Agent Angela Ziegler in critical health. Vitals fading. Estimated life-expectancy: twenty-four hours. Forty agent fatalities. Thirty-eight injured. Beginning system purge."

'W-what…?' Lena whispered.

'I knew it.' Jack hissed.

'Damn them!' Reinhardt hollered, practically shaking the plane.

"Whoa. Hey, there." McCree came on the line suddenly, and Lena swallowed, hoping there wasn't worse news. "Athena sure doesn't mince words, huh?"

'What the hell happened?' Jack grunted.

"Like we thought; Talon was all over this place when I got here. Dva did her thing and pretty much got the job done while I rounded up a bunch of hooligans on my side. But I'll give you the tiny version fer now."

Lena forced herself to swallow again. So many deaths. Who was among them? Was Winston? Was…Amelie?

"Some super omnic thing callin' himself Nemesis showed up and wrecked our crew. Hired a bunch of criminals to help him do it, too. Took out a lotta folk, like Athena said. The big hitters all had a near-fatal beating except fer me and…yeah, Angela. So, you can guess what happened from there, right?"

'She mass "revived" who she could in one fell swoop.' Jack elaborated in a hushed tone.

"Bingo." A deep exhale. "Saved em' all. Every single one. Whoever wasn't dead – even if they were just barely clingin' to life – got back up. That girl…she ain't human, I tell ya."

'Unbelievable…' Ana breathed.

"Looked real rough gettin' carried to what's left of the medical ward. Fareeha was pale as a ghost and Angela…"

'We'll be back to base within the hour. Tell Winston to begin the process of relocating. We're abandoning Gibraltar as soon as humanly possible. Enough of this. No more.' Jack was angry. He always sounded on the brink of losing it, but he was especially aggravated now.

'S-she'll be fine, right? It's Angela we're talking about! Hahah!' Lena tried. She really did. But even she was well aware of the futility of her plight. Angela wasn't going to be okay. Not at this rate. It didn't take a genius to read between the silent rhetoric in the aircraft.

That brutal quiet? It didn't let up until the aircraft landed, the still smoking Overwatch Gibraltar in shambles, and everything Lena had known about the place turned inside out.

The cleanup involved was nothing short of taxing. Lena couldn't say she minded removing rubble and dangerous obstacles from clear view throughout the base, but by far the most trying task was collecting the dead and identifying them systematically. Jack and Ana took charge of this grueling job, fortunately, but Lena assisted with the transportation of the corpses, and it ripped at her heart, causing even the sun of Overwatch to struggle with any form of optimism. Zenyatta made the calls to families to inform them of the unfortunate passing of said agents, and when the voice of an "omnic" wouldn't suffice, Winston or Jack himself would need to step in to calm the, understandably, hysterical wife, husband, mother, father, brother, sister, or child.

It took hours to get Overwatch Gibraltar even relatively livable again, with large portions of the base (like Angela and Fareeha's living quarters, for example) completely destroyed beyond repair for quite some time. Fortunately, there were some smaller spare rooms similar to Widow's that could be utilized for most, and despite some individuals having to share a bed, it was far better than nothing. Even the primary sector of the medical ward, where many beds could be found, suffered only minor trauma, and recovering agents, like those caught up in Nemesis' final tirade, had a space to heal, with any remaining doctors and nurses on duty ready to serve.

When everything was said and done with all immediate demands related to making Overwatch Gibraltar semi-functional again, Lena made her way to that very sector of the base, poking her head in with a tray of hot beverages. She waved at the collection of agents with their curtains open, and noted the lack of Amelie, despite her file's update stating her neck had been gashed severely. Winston, however, was present, and was seemingly making his own rounds, shuffling through the tiny space and offering his apologies to the various agents, calling them all by their names without missing a beat. Lena decided to do much of the same, offering the drinks to those who accepted her act of kindness and eventually meeting up with her large friend outside the sizable room, sighing in relief to find the big guy fairly healthy, all things considered.

'Don't bloody scare me like that again, Mister!' Lena gave Winston a light jab, thankful she could tease the monkey after everything that had happened.

'I know. I'm sorry. It was…a difficult attack. I was foolish to think any kind of heightened security would keep Talon out if they truly wanted to infiltrate the base. Their resources are…so much vaster than ours.'

Lena could see the hurt and regret in her friend's kind eyes. He was shouldering the burden all on his own, which couldn't be fair in the slightest.

'Don't you dare blame yourself, Winston.' Lena chastised seriously. 'We're a team, and all of us went forward with the mission and this base's state together. Like you said, we're still getting a proper handle on what Talon is all about, and it's kinda an uphill battle, wouldn't you say?'

'Yeah…But this feeling in my stomach isn't going anywhere soon.'

'And that's what separates us from the bad guys.'

Winston seemed to smile at that, the hair all about his body still a little worse for wear. He smelled a little, too, which meant he hadn't had a chance to bathe or anything for quite some time.

'Jack wants to relocate.' Lena decided to say, following her friend outside the medical ward and traversing some narrow halls with him.

'It's the right call. This base was mostly ideal for its somewhat hidden location and naturally formidable terrain, but Talon has hit it twice now, this most recent attack doing a number on…well…almost everything. We'd be foolish not to try and make a move of some kind. However, without open U.N. support, things do not look so great. I'm not sure what Jack's thinking, but it's not a simple matter of upping and leaving like that; not an operation this size.'

'Right…'

Winston ruffled Lena's hair, shrugging nonchalantly.

'But we'll get through it somehow. We always do…'

'Yeah.'

Winston and Lena exited the hall, rounding a corner and making it into the large loading bay in the near centre of the base. Agents were working overtime and hard to manage the mess Talon had made still but, fortunately, some form of rest seemed to be on the horizon. Lucio was providing fantastic music for the entire area, his melodies as soothing as ever, as though they truly had unseen perks that allowed the soul to naturally find peace and healing. He waved happily to Lena and Winston from a distance, and it was nice to see the man was fairing well considering Nemesis had apparently torn a large piece out of his side.

'Is Angela taking visitors yet?' Lena thought to ask, although part of her was begging to know where a certain other woman was at this point.

'…No. None. Fareeha is with her, but she is refusing any other guests.'

'Whoa. Really?'

'Yes. She's stable, for now, but Athena's calculations weren't terribly far off.'

'Meaning…?' Lena held her breath.

'Days.' Winston answered carefully. 'Although I'm holding out hope for her. She's pulled through this sort of thing in the past recently enough, right?'

Lena could tell Winston was hiding something. He was attempting to be optimistic, but it wasn't taking. There was more to the story than he was elaborating upon. McCree sounded as though he was about to say something before Jack interrupted him as well. Lena supposed she could wait and see, which was something she would admit she was just terrible at. To distract herself a little more adequately, Lena finally asked about the one person she refused to all day.

'Any idea where Amelie is?'

Winston allowed a smirk, but that was all. He was a kind individual.

'Athena has been keeping tabs on everyone, including our new guests that go by creative names like Roadhog and Junkrat. They're not talking too much yet, but we got them in holding, alongside some other Talon agents until we can transfer them over to the proper authorities.'

'Now, if only Moira was still in our care, huh?'

'Don't remind me…'

'Pretty daft trade off, I'd say.'

'That's putting it lightly.'

A small pause as the duo made it closer to the communication tower, the craters and cracked flooring all around them a constant reminder of the damage that had been done in such a short amount of time. Winston turned almost completely, pointing up at the large spherical structure near the edge of one of the buildings.

'She's there.'

Lena's heart gave a leap.

'Okay…'

'Go see her. She's been…quiet since the fight. Although, I guess that's not completely abnormal.'

'Heh. True enough.'

'I'll talk to you later.'

'For sure.'

Lena took her time getting up the multiple flights of stairs, wondering exactly what she would say to Amelie Lacroix. They hadn't been apart for that long, but the conversation they had left on carried enough weight to make one another's absence feel like days. Where did they go from here exactly? What was the best course of action? The answers in relation to Widowmaker had never been clear; so, why would they start coming easily now?

Lena dug her hands into her hair and ruffled it about, squinting through the nearly set sun's rays and finding Widow sitting precisely where Winston had indicated, her legs pulled in against her chest and her dark hair tied into a loose ponytail flowing a little behind her head, bangs lining her dark, sultry eyes as she stared off into the distance.

She looked bloody beautiful.

'Heya…' Lena squeaked, her voice sounding ridiculous to her.

Amelie didn't turn for a moment, forcing Lena to nearly repeat herself, but then she closed her eyes, breathing out slowly and shaking her head just a touch.

'Welcome back.' She answered softly, and Lena's whole body tightened.

'Glad you're okay, Luv. Sorry I wasn't here to help…'

'I'm a big girl.' Widow peeled herself away from where she sat, sliding down and landing before the time traveler, a white, loose, sleeveless shirt tucked into flowing black pants. Lena looked away. She had texted Emily just before landing, telling her she would be fine, but somehow she still felt guilt being in this situation.

'Heh. Clearly. Heard you even stopped Nemesis for a sec. That's gotta mean something.'

'Quite. That is…a moment before he did this.' Widow angled her neck to the side, showing a fairly prominent scar stretching across it. The mark was a light shade of blue, and seemed painful still.

'Yikes!'

'I suspected it was the end, to be completely honest.' Amelie sighed, smiling painfully. 'But that woman…that otherworldly being saved me again.' She turned, looking out onto the ocean once more, enunciating every word with care. 'I owe her too much.'

'We all do, Luv. It's just what Ange does.'

'At the cost of her own life? No. I think not.'

'Did you…see something?' Lena asked, and Widow crossed her arms, still staring off toward the horizon.

'It was only a glimpse, and perhaps the light or my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I saw…white hair and…withered skin.'

'Jesus…!'

'Nanomachines, were they? I suspect her age suspension has not only caught up with her, but has accelerated severely as well. She pushed herself beyond human limits, and now, her very body is rejecting her.'

It made sense, from what Lena knew. Massively "reviving" so many from the edge of death? The recoil must have been just as demanding as the miraculous feat itself.

'Fareeha's with her.' Lena said dumbly, not sure what else to add.

'Yes. She is with her lover, at the very least.'

A small pause, and Lena blinked, looking around a little as she wondered what to say next. Surprisingly, Amelie restarted the conversation, her tone quieter than before.

'May I stay with you tonight?' She asked simply, but it almost made Lena fall over.

'Oh. Right. Your room is messed up.'

Widow met Lena's eyes, the gaze deep and powerful.

'I want to be with you. It's as simple as that.'

'U-uh…'

'It's my turn to be selfish, understand?'

'I…don't know if that's a good idea.' Lena grimaced.

'It may not be.' Widow affirmed, and it only caused more confusion. 'However, so long as you behave, all shall be well.'

'I can do that.' Lena told herself.

'I know.' Her torturer giggled lightly. 'Let us walk. It is getting late, and I am fatigued.'

Lena nodded, following Widow as she moved through the base, her confidence and presence as a whole completely different now. Overwatch agents looked upon her with awe now primarily; not fear. Widowmaker had fought against Talon with all her might yet again, and not only that, had possibly killed Reaper and stopped Nemesis for a time. She was ascending to a new form of legendary status, and it was nice to see some agents even dare to greet the woman, the men especially willing to give her a subtle once over as she passed by, her figure somehow more distracting in such casual clothing.

Lena tried not to stare, but she was only human, and a quick glance at Amelie's curves didn't hurt anybody, did it? No. That wasn't fair to Emily. She needed to be strong. Triggering her desires was not a smart move whatsoever.

Widow led herself and Lena to the room, damage still surrounding the area somewhat, but Lena's living space not terribly compromised. She leaned against the door, crossing her arms and grinning slyly. How she had changed. How far they had come in such a short amount of time. At the end of the day, Lena could at least pat herself on the back for helping this former assassin find her humanity again. She had the chance to enjoy life at last; a life she had ripped wrongfully from her grasp.

'Overwatch is moving their base, correct?' Widow said suddenly and strangely. What did that have to do with anything now?

'Uh…yeah. Not sure where yet, but it's a thing.'

She glanced to the side, a silent contemplation about her since Lena first lay eyes on her this day. What was she thinking? Would Lena ever really know? This mystery…was intoxicating. It always has been. It was a drug. An addiction. Lena couldn't help but want more, and now Widow was more than aware of the effect she had on the poor girl. She was cruel. Even now, simply blocking Lena playfully; it was painful.

'You will continue the fight?'

It was a simple question with an obvious answer. Why ask at all?

'Of course, Luv. I gotta.'

'You do. Fighting alongside Overwatch…it suits you.'

A panic filled Lena's lungs then. She couldn't place its source, but something nagged at her eagerly.

'Suits you, too, you know?'

'…Perhaps.' Amelie answered wistfully.

'A-and you owe it to us, right? I mean…you're so strong. Overwatch needs you.' It was awful to say, and the anxiety was only building in Lena's stomach.

'Heh. Indeed. More killing. More…fighting.'

Lena bit at her lip, and Amelie simply lifted her shoulders in dismissal, stepping to the side. There was more to say, but it scared Lena, and thus, she gained access to her living quarters and tapped away at her phone, submitting her withdrawal for the day. Athena confirmed the request, and Lena placed the device on the table, flicking on the tiny dining room light above the stove.

'May I watch some television?' Widow asked curiously.

'Course, Luv. Go for it.'

'Wine and snack food of some form would be ideal as well.'

'Now you're just being demanding.'

'Heh. Indeed, I am.'

Lena couldn't say she minded. She was smiling, she realized, as she noted Widow in her peripheral vision seating herself on the couch and starting up one of her silly soap operas. Lena flipped through her cupboards, obtaining the rare wine glasses she did have and began putting together a small dish of crackers, grapes, and cheese. She had picked up the variety rather recently, aware that Widow enjoyed such "nutritious" finger foods. Lena sort of liked the combination of tastes herself, if she were to be honest.

The sound of the television. The silent presence in the other room. The sexual tension. Lena missed this so much. She paused, went to her phone, and messaged Emily, telling her she'd be visiting soon.

'Tell her I say "good evening".' Widow requested, making Lena almost drop her device.

'Er…right. I can do that.'

"Really? That'd be great! I've been missing you pretty hard."

Lena breathed out slowly, and wrote more, her thumbs shaking as she did so.

"Amelie's here with me. Base was attacked. Her room was destroyed. Bloody crazy, right?"

It was a delayed reply for Emily. She was usually quite quick.

"Gotcha. Hope everyone is okay. Take care of her."

Lena grimaced, answering swiftly.

"Lost quite a few agents, but nobody you know of. Still terrible. And will do."

A blip in time.

"I love you."

Lena's turn to pause.

"I love you, too."

She exhaled in an effort to control her emotions. She just needed to keep herself in check. Simple. Lena poured the wine and brought the glasses to Widow, returning to the kitchen in order to retrieve the snacks. She was seated soon thereafter, her t-shirt heavy and shorts uncomfortable.

Amelie, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine, and sipped her wine gracefully, stacking some cheese atop a cracker and chewing purposefully. She appeared engrossed in her program, the flickering lights from the television illuminating her dark face dramatically.

Lena took a sip, unable to understand what was happening in the show, but noting the way two of the characters began kissing suddenly in what appeared to be a hospital room. A nurse? No. A relative? What on earth?

'Hmph. Adequately performed.' Widow evaluated, her eyes shifting.

'I still can't get over the fact you like this stuff.'

A short laugh for an immediate response.

'It's positively ridiculous, I will admit as much. But there's also something to be said about the raw, unfiltered emotions on display as well. In a single sitting, one is taken for a ride that is unparalleled due to the performances of the characters in question. It isn't so unlike dance, I suppose, although my art requires much more talent.'

'Whoa! Cocky! Hahah!' Although Lena appreciated hearing Widow talk so much for once.

'I'm merely stating the truth. It takes years, and years, and years of training to perform the way I and my colleagues could. Hours, and hours, and hours of rehearsing to present a veil of perfection to our audiences all throughout France. Eventually, I travelled internationally, and the barrier of language – despite its decline due to technology – was hardly a rub, for my motions spoke universally, and I could see the individuals in the auditorium swooning with admiration, sadness, fear, anger, and adoration.'

'Did Gerard travel with you to all the shows?'

Widow took another sip of her wine, letting her lips linger on the edge of the glass, a touch of her saliva remaining where she left the clear material.

'In the beginning, he was the epitome of dedication to my craft. It's how we met, after all.' She smiled distantly; woefully.

'In the beginning, huh?'

A beat, with only the heated argument developing in the show before them adding words to the blank slate inserted.

'…He was a good man, Lena Oxton. Just as you are a good woman.'

This bit into Lena's pride, but she accepted the blow willingly, listening to Amelie go on.

'He had his imperfections, as we all do, but I hardly fault him for it. He cared about me, at the end of it all, and despite notions of infidelity due to his unrestrained passions, I have chosen to remember him for all the good he brought to my life.' Widow finished her glass, eyeing the droplet of wine remaining. 'You and he…so different, yet so similar. Life is a comedy of errors, surely.'

Lena chuckled hesitantly.

'You might not be so wrong about that…'

Widow seemed to wait for more, and when Lena failed to deliver, she handed her the remote with a daring look.

'Show me something you would like to watch, Lena.'

'Huh?'

'Is it such a difficult task? If you were alone, what would you ideally be viewing at this time?'

'I don't really watch a lot of television, I guess. But I throw this kind of stuff on in the background when I'm poking around my room and whatever.' Lena changed the station to a comedy network, with one of her favourite shows playing. It was something of a prank series that went around to public areas and put everyday people into compromising situations.

'I like it when they have stand-up comedians, but this stuff's not so bad either.'

'Heh. I'm not terribly surprised.' Widow gave Lena a nudge with her shoulder, staying dangerously close afterward. 'You have a charming laugh. Evidently it has been thoroughly trained.'

'Hahah! Maybe!' Lena blushed. Amelie was acting so different. Like, not out of character or anything, but just so much more vocal with her thoughts. It…was brutal. How was Lena supposed to react, exactly?

Widow stood up, went to the kitchen, and refilled her wine, swirling it elegantly as she sat back down to her original position, one leg over the other like the ideal woman. She observed the program with intrigue, humming at a funny moment inwardly when the focussed-on prank was executed without a hitch.

'I see. The human element of this show carries a level of intrigue for me. How will they react? Why, even the omnics know not what to do in some instances. Riveting.'

'It's…just dumb background noise…' Lena mumbled.

'Hardly. Spreading joy, no matter what the methods, should never be undervalued. You, of all people, should understand that.'

'I'm really not all that. I just…'

'No matter the reasons, you brought light back into my life, Lena Oxton, and for that, I will forever be grateful.'

Another agonizing pause, and Lena finally turned to look at Amelie; really look at her. She didn't try to hide it, and Widow simply drank more of her wine, touching her own cheek gently and retracting the hand slowly. She then placed the wine glass down, turned off the television in one motion, and looked back at Lena, her sharp gaze ever intimidating yet alluring at once.

Lena parted her lips to say something – anything – but couldn't manage even that. Again, it was almost as if Amelie was waiting for her to change both their fates.

With a saddened expression of resolution, Amelie sighed, inching closer upon the couch and placing a hand in the space between Lena's legs.

'Don't move an inch, Lena.' She whispered with a small shake to her voice. Then, a moment later, she was kissing her neck, and Lena's whole body tensed, goosebumps littering her skin. She did as she was told, and Widow stretched her shirt so she could trail her perfect kisses to Lena's collar; to her shoulder. Her hand moved inches from Lena's groin to her right thigh, trailing within the lining of her yellow panties and teasing the heat within.

'Hah…' Lena exhaled, her brain muddled.

'Don't move. Don't react. Don't touch me back. Don't…' Widow's voice faded, and she pushed up into Lena's shirt, massaging her breasts and encircling her hardened form. She lifted the material over Lena's head and carefully undid her chronal accelerator, handling it with intense affection before placing it down amongst their wine and snacks, both glasses empty.

'You're a beautiful girl, Lena Oxton.' Widow said to her skin, kissing, kissing, kissing her all over, and moving to her chest, nibbling ever so slightly in just the right places and with the desired rhythm. 'Never forget that.'

Lena clenched her eyes shut. The pit in her stomach was only growing alongside the lust fueling her veins. Amelie…What was happening?

She positioned herself between Lena's legs, pulling her shorts to the ground and rubbing her thighs in preparation. Soon, Amelie's dexterous fingers were pressing against the dampness before her, and then she pulled it to the side, kissing Lena again and again and again, pushing her tongue in deep and touching Lena's heart with a knife.

'A-ah…' Lena gasped.

'Shhh.' Widow urged, her hands navigating Lena's body and holding it, caressing it, remembering it. She was too good at this. It was as though she were reading Lena's mind. She wasn't going to last. It was a blur of sexual intensity, and just as Lena felt her stomach prickling, Widow stopped, stood up, and provocatively lifted her own shirt above her head, arms crossed over one another and stripping it off as though she was some form of professional seductress.

Lena knew it was wrong. She knew she was making a horrible mistake. But something urged her forward. Something she didn't understand but struggled to all evening gave her allowance. She couldn't argue. Certainly not anymore.

Amelie leaned in, pressing her breasts against Lena's, rubbing them over her body while gripping them with her own hands, using her pointed tips to tickle Lena's skin. It was overwhelming. She felt like she was drowning in emotions that weren't hers. Widow pressed her knee against Lena's groin, grabbing hold of her backside and making Lena grind against her. Her panties tightened against her womanhood, and she winced, clutching her mouth shut and feeling her neck tensing with arousal.

Widow pushed Lena down onto the couch then, mercifully stripping her underwear off and shuffling her own pants to her ankles, kicking them to the floor before pressing into Lena, her bare body firm and curvaceous. Widow hadn't been wearing anything underneath. Lena could feel her swollen form mixing with her own. She angled herself masterfully, their legs entangled and the sweat beginning to cascade over Lena's entirety.

'Ung…! A-ah…hah…A-Amelie…' Lena wheezed, her voice high.

'No. Don't.' Amelie only said, finally kissing Lena so deeply she drowned further into the abyss. Full lips. Passionate embrace. Naked intimacy. Amelie prided herself on the emotions she used to have. The feelings she once depicted for thousands were taken in by Lena, and she couldn't answer them.

She wasn't permitted to.

Amelie slowly, willfully pulled away from Lena, staring at her with eyes swimming in tears. She gave a grin, and touched Lena's face, shaking her head, as if warning Lena to still not move, and then began rocking, riding Lena's body and grinding with her until Lena's mouth hung open and she had to cover it with her hands, groaning stopping in her throat. Widow reached behind herself and continued to push Lena further. Further. Further. She was inside her again, reaching deep, forcing Lena into ecstasy.

It was so different from anything before. This was raw, unfiltered, honest affection being given to her, and it made Lena want to sob like a child. She almost did. She was seconds from both forms of release. It was an eruption of lunacy and bliss, and Lena screamed into her hands, her hips twitching, and her feet pushing into the side of her couch.

'Jesus…! Oh, bloody hell…!' Lena moaned.

Widow covered her mouth again with her gorgeous lips, and she hummed as they danced, holding Lena's neck with one hand. Then two. And the grip only tightened.

'Gah…! A-Ame…!'

'Goodbye, Lena. I'll never forget you.'

The next day, Lena was told Widowmaker – Amelie Lacroix – had disappeared without a trace.