She figured two days would be plenty of time to kit herself up and have supplies ready should things go haywire and not as she had planned them. Her knowledge of Talon's base was already extensive, but she had spent extra time studying all of her files and blueprints that she had stored in the data banks on her PC.
The first day she had taken extra care when going to retrieve first aid supplies 'just in case', and had still ended up getting tailed by two Talon agents. Unfortunately for them, she had been more than ready for their attack as she lead them down a dirty backstreet and ambushed them from above.
Amélie's sleep had been restless as well. Her head was pounding with an intense migraine, so badly that she'd needed to inject herself with painkillers that contained a sleeping agent, just to stop the visual disturbances and to calm the scraping, throbbing sensation in her skull.
As she had lain in her small bed and waited for the medication to take effect, the voices had returned in full force. Whispering her name, threatening her, pleading with her.
Why would you do this to your superiors? They've made you into an unstoppable killing machine, they've made you who you are!
As though not a will her own, her body spasmed and claws crashed against her skull. Her arm flung out and searched for a sidearm that she kept close by, despite her desperately willing it to stop. Inches away, they screamed at her, they wanted her to take the weapon. Take it and massacre everyone, everything!
Her fingers were within grasping distance of the weapon when a warm hand closed around her own, drawing her arm back towards her body and squeezing her tightly. Delicate lips pressed to her neck, reassuring her and calming her even as her body shook uncontrollably.
"You're alright luv, I've got ya'."
She knew she was hallucinating, or dreaming, or both; but even still, the reassuring presence of fake Lena calmed the screaming and the grating in her head until she was able to fall into a restless slumber. It was when she awoke on the second day, she knew that she needed to go back to Talon.
As an impossible of a mission as it might have been, she knew she had to face the people that made her this way. Maybe.. maybe it would help her find a way to fix what they did to her; perhaps she could hold their scientists hostage and demand they reverse the procedures on her body. It was a fool's errand, there was no mistaking that, but she was nothing if not determined to the detriment of her own health.
Preparing herself was easy enough. She wore her usual outfit, she most certainly was not afraid of death. Death was something she brought upon people, she did not fear it so much as death feared her. However, there was no harm in concealing extra reserves of ammo, hidden blades and even a small pistol if needed.
Amélie thought that on the way to the Talon base she might find herself being tailed again, but as though were expecting her, her journey there was uneventful. The men standing guard outside even paid her no mind and let her in as though it was any other day.
Was she suspicious? Most certainly. They knew they were losing an agent, that something had gone wrong with their programming, and they most likely were either seeking to end her or to tear her apart and turn her into the killer they had made her into originally.
The halls were dark, lit only by the dim blue glow of neon lights lining the ground and small white globes that were spaced equally distant from one another in the ceiling. Her boots clapped against the titanium grates lining the floors, her eyes scanning her surroundings with every footstep she took.
There were Talon guards and henchmen that passed her every so often on their way to their own assignments, none paying her any mind as she turned down into a wider hallway with a thick steel door. Her eyes burning like ember, she pressed her palm against a hand scanner and waited as red flickering lasers slid over it, taking a few seconds before beeping and turning green. The door clicked and clunked several times, a soft hiss of air escaping from the room that opened up before her.
It was full of consoles and monitors, equipment that beeped and showed scratchy images of targets being monitored by satellite, or by agents. Usually, these desks would be manned by people in grey clothing. They would all look the same, yet they were not. She could never be sure if they were just people that had been brainwashed like her or if they were all here of their own volition. She wasn't quite sure which answer was more terrifying.
Today however, it was vacant. This instantly disturbed her, to the point where her senses pricked up and she found herself instinctively reaching for her rifle as she approached a small holographic image of the Earth spinning at the very centre of the room.
Fully aware this was most likely a set up, she was none too surprised when the holographic image flickered and shifted, changing to that of a man standing with arms behind his back in a tight, thick suit of protective kevlar and carbon fibre pads. Scowling, she lifted her rifle up to the image, despite the fact that she couldn't do anything to it even she wanted to.
"Ah, Widowmaker. You are nothing if not always on schedule."
Teeth gritting together, she tightened her hold on her weapon. Though his face was obscured by a visor of his own, she was almost certain he was smirking behind it.
"I'm here for answers. You are going to give them to me."
A dry chuckle, grating on her ears and sending shivers twirling down her spine.
"Oh my dear, you are here because we want you here. That is what you were programmed to do."
Her finger trembled on the trigger, the scratching in her skull beginning again. You are here because they want you here, not under your will alone.
"What, did you really think Talon would let an unhinged, maniac murderer loose in their base?" another dry laugh. "No, that little device in your skull might be malfunctioning but it still works well enough to influence your will."
Chest constricting, she felt her knees wobble as though all strength had left them, her body falling to the ground and her weapon sliding from her fingers. On her knees now, like some helpless animal before its abusive master. She tried to reach for her rifle, but her arms wouldn't listen to her, the intense migraine splintering through her brain preventing her from moving from her position.
A gentle sob broke free from her throat as she realised her situation, what a fool she had been to believe that she could break away from the hold Talon had on her.
The doors behind her slid open, the sound of several sets of boots clattering up behind her. Two assault rifles pressed sharply into her shoulder blades, their cold metal just an extension of the cold humans holding them.
Another set of feet approached, rounding her form until she saw the boots coming to a halt in front of her. She recognised them instantly, her lips curling into a deep scowl.
"Reaper..." she managed to mouth, lifting her head as best she could but being unable to meet his eyes. She wasn't expecting a response, only the silence before the release of the safety on his signature weapon.
"Don't get me wrong, you have been an invaluable asset to Talon since your capture all those years ago. Unfortunately our scientists hadn't exactly planned for you to live this long, and to be quite honest you have out lived your usefulness," there was more silence, the man sniffing and possibly adjusting his position. "The technology in your brain is breaking down, but we here feel it is a better use of resources to train newer, younger agents."
"You... you are monsters," she struggled to get the words out as her throat clenched, rivulets of tears running down her cheeks as she felt the technology inside of her ripping her mind apart.
"No my dear, you are a monster. A beautiful monster of havoc," he almost sounded as if he pitied her. "It is unfortunate that you have become... redundant."
"I am no monster... she..."
A sharp laugh, mocking.
"Oh your little miss Lena Oxton? Yes, you have become quite taken with her haven't you?"
She jumped at his out loud admission, something inside of her burning with anger and frustration.
He hummed softly, as though in deep thought. "Yes, our monitoring had been pointing towards this for some time now. It's not surprising, considering the fact that you intentionally missed her even when you could have landed a kill."
What? She had? But... for how long now? Had she been infatuated with Tracer for longer than even she herself knew? Her fingers clenched to the point that those delicate nails painted black almost drew blood from her palms.
"Come now my dear, we did our very best to block out your emotions for you. It was for your own good after all," the man sniffled, fabric rustling and the guns pressing more firmly into her shoulder blades. "It's a pity we were not more... successful in this task."
Amélie's chest ached, filling with hatred and anger. She wished she could lash out and destroy every single one of these monstrous bastards, but the malfunctioning hardware in her head kept her body locked painfully in place.
"Reaper, be a good boy and take care of our guest."
Reaper shifted his stance, the cold metal of the gun pressing harder against her skull. Welding her eyes shut, unable to defend herself, she awaited her fate.
There was a thunderous roar, like that of a beastly creature let loose in a jungle, followed by the ground trembling as though it was wracked by an earthquake. An ear piercing explosion threw Amélie forwards, the jerking motion shaking Reaper from side to side. His gun went off in the haze of curdling smoke and Amélie felt a stinging sensation crack the side of her head.
Falling to the ground, she couldn't make anything out through her blurry vision, she could only hear the sound of whipping gun spray and the woosh of time itself being zipped through. Tracer.
This sound was followed by more rapid gun fire and the shouting of the few guards remaining in the room, crashing footsteps and another beastly roar as two of them were thrown well over six feet. She wasn't sure what had happened to Reaper, only that the booming sound of his guns was long gone; most likely the worm had slithered off back to his hole.
A familiar scent filled her nostrils, a smell that calmed her burning nerve endings and soothed the pulsing pain splintering through her head, a warm hand pressing against her temple followed.
"Oh no, Amélie," Lena, she sounded so... panicked. "Winston! She's over 'ere!"
The ground shook with the ape's approach, a huge blob of white filling her vision. "I can't carry 'er."
"I've got her."
Gentle hands the size of her head- perhaps even larger- scooped her up until she was nestled safely against Winston's plated chest, his tree trunk like arms holding her securely. Her body shivered, but not with cold. She could feel a heat returning, a heat she had not experienced in so long it brought goosebumps to her skin and a glaze of sweat along her brow.
"It's alright luv', yer safe now, we got ya'."
She wanted to ask how they found her, or why there were even wasting their time on saving someone like her, someone un-saveable, irredeemable. Instead, as though by some magic, she felt Lena's lips touch her forehead; the contact so soft and calming, she allowed herself to slip into unconsciousness.
Shorter chapter as I have still more planned, but as my girlfriend and I are moving house in about a fortnight it might be a little while before I can settle back down and relax to write more than just a few sentences at a time.
In the mean time, I hope you enjoy!
Special shout out to reviewers Ghost Critic, elizabeth397, jimbostevenson, lex and Proxy reader for all your positive words, it means a lot more than you could ever know!