Lena threw her hands across a switchboard as a small aircraft landed into the hangar, slowly touching down as she whizzed her hand across a bevy of buttons, the ceiling beginning to close as she wiped her hands off on each other, grinning widely toward Winston. He nodded approvingly as the vertical plane hit the ground, the engines churning to a stop as it sat there, Lena excitedly hopping over toward the others.
"Wow, wow, wow; Genji's here!" she spoke up, excitedly, earning Fareeha's worried glance, "Oh, Pharah, you've got to let him show you how he carves pumpkins! He balances it on his sword, tossing it into the air, before-!"
She excitedly threw her arms in the air wildly, her face contorted as she made whooshing sounds, finally coming to a stop, "He carved Rick Allen into mine last year! Kind of appropriate, you think?"
"I suppose?" Fareeha answered, confused, turning to Angela, who wore a bright, nostalgic smile as she watched the door of the plane open, a green-haired head popping out from within.
"This is my stop, right?" he asked, innocently.
"Of course, dummy!" Lena shouted before warping over toward him, giving him a massive hug before he could even step onto the retractable steps that led to the ground, "C'mon! Say it!"
He nervously furrowed his brow, "Uh, the cavalry-"
"Pfft!" Lena couldn't withhold her laughter, her arms wrapping around her stomach as she keeled over, bursting into amusement, "I-I'm sorry! You're just too cool to be saying that!"
"Nice seeing you too, Tracer," he concluded, warmly, before stepping out onto the stairs, Lena warping along back to the others.
Fareeha's eyes widened as she caught her first glimpse of the man, shocked by what she was seeing. She had known his situation, but she hadn't ever seen a picture or anything; the idea of a man who was more machine than skin simply a thought in her head. Seeing him, though, she was taken aback.
His entire body was laced with metallic plating and armor, leaving only his head intact, and even then, his neck was a sort of amalgamation of skin and metal. She did her best to hide a cringe at the sight, knowing it would have been immensely rude, though her eyes focus on his face as best they could.
He smiled brightly as he approached the lineup up hosts, walking first toward Winston, "Gorilla."
"Macintosh."
Genji grinned as he offered a hand, which Winston happily accepted, "Recall keeping you busy?"
"Eh, not too much," Winston shrugged, "It's worth it to be seeing everybody again. Jack will be here at some point, along with some others. You have the honor of being one of the earliest."
Genji reached up, grasping his shoulder, "Yeah, Tracer's grip should soften as the excitement wears down from more and more arrivals."
Lena glared at him, unamused, though he only gave a silent chuckle before moving along, to Fareeha. He examined her head to toe, his eyes shrinking as he stared at her face, his eyes pulling toward her tattoo.
"I'd know that face anywhere," he smirked, admiringly, "You must be Ana's daughter."
"Y-Yes sir," Fareeha answered, nervously, not expecting to have been addressed in that way.
Genji laughed, "Oh please, no formalities. I had enough of that growing up; and from what I know of your mother, I'm sure you did as well."
Fareeha nodded carefully as he reached a fist up into the air, allowing her to bump her own fist against his as he happily nodded toward her, "I look forward to seeing what you can do."
Fareeha returned a nod, lowering her face nervously as he walked along. He did, indeed, look cool, and acted cool as well. She shivered at the thought, however, of his body. What exactly had happened to it. She had questioned Angela about it once before, but she'd plainly refused.
"Angela-hakase," Genji spoke up, yanking Fareeha from her train of thought as her head whipped to the side.
He had her hand clasped between both of his, bowing his head to her as the two shared a moment of silence, with Angela smiling rather bitterly as her head was also bowed. Fareeha watched them curiously, though a red flash grew across her face once Genji lifted his head, bringing Amgela's hand up to his face for a kiss, steam nearly blowing from the Egyptian's ears.
"Everything working okay?" Angela questioned lightly, smiling.
Genji nodded, "As far as I can tell. I'll assume that, with the recall, Winston might want some tweaks to be made, though?"
Winston nodded, "Yes; Angela actually mentioned some possible upgrades."
"Mei has a friend now, so she's been cooking up some crazy schemes," Angela mentioned, suddenly pausing, "I mean, ideas. of course."
Genji looked at her, almost worriedly, though Angela happily pulled his arm down, excitedly pulling him toward the main doors of the hanger, "But enough about that for now! I can't wait to see you in action down in the range!"
"Eh, I might need some rest," he answered, shakily, as he was pulled, "It was a long trip, after all."
Fareeha frowned as she crossed her arms, her brows furrowing sadly as she watched Angela drag him off into the next room as the others followed along. She sighed, lowering her head as she began walking along in the same direction, her hands brushing up and down her arms. They'd become so cold all of a sudden.
Fareeha leaned her back against the far wall of the control room, arms crosses, as she stared, darkly, at Angela, who stood in front of the same large pane of glass that overlooked the training ground. Her lips twisted in her silently jealous musing, her finger even tapping at her arm in order to exert some sort of the energy that had pent up within her.
Angela turned to Winston, speaking to him before returning her attention to the training area, with Fareeha much too far gone to care for listening to whatever was being spoken. Her eyes jerked toward the monitor that showed Genji down in the pit, the training ground having replaced the shooting range from earlier with a labyrinthine collection of walls and towers for a ninja such as Genji to jump from.
Winston eyed the monitor, confused, leaning toward Angela as he spoke up, quietly, "Uh, what's he doing?"
"Meditating," Angela answered, tilting toward the large window to get a better look, "He said he found himself. Well, he found a spiritual guide, then found himself."
Winston's face dropped, "He didn't pay beforehand, did he?"
Angela gave him a wry smirk, though Lena was quick to speak up, "Hey, now. There are some things that can't be learned by perusing data or textbooks."
Winston shrugged, "Hey, I'm not knocking it. Meditation is, indeed, a legitimate means of relaxation and focus. I'm rather curious about how much it could affect him. In fact…"
He switched on the intercom, clearing his throat before speaking into the training ground, loudly, "Hey, uh, Genji. Sorry to interrupt, but- How high were you wanting the set-"
"Max."
Winston pulled his hand from the button, shutting off the speaker as he turned to Angela, who shrugged back at him, "You heard the man."
Sighing, he shook his head, flipping a few knobs as Lena spoke up, "Vitals are stable. Far lower than what they used to be, even."
"Well, let's hope that his luck has increased," Winston groaned, flipping a final switch before a loud buzzer rang out through the base.
Genji remained kneeling, his legs outstretched as his knees dug into the dirt below, his ankles twisted atop one another as his head hung low, his hand slowly reaching for the sword just in front of him. His head was soon encompassed by a mask, which materialized from his neck, fusing with his skin as he stood, breathing deeply as he heard the tell-tale stomping of footsteps.
Winston and Angela both nodded approvingly as the man quickly dispatched the robots, hopping from platform to platform, like a zephyrous wind, dashing around faster than even the bot's joints could take them as their heads attempted to keep up.
"Hasn't missed a beat," Winston appraised, happily.
Lena nodded, leaning in toward her own monitor, "You said it. I haven't seen vitals this even in the heat of combat since Pharah first showed up."
Fareeha ducked her head low as her code name was invoked, trying to hide her being upset in case somebody were to turn toward her. Below their level, Genji skillfully took out the last of the training bots, barely huffing in breaths as he stood up, staring up toward the large pane of glass as he hung his limbs, disappointed.
"Is that all you have?" he asked, sincerely dismayed at the thought.
Winston looked around his desk for nothing in particular before he replied, "Well, uh…no. I mean, I could program them differently, but even then, with the stuff they're made out of, there's not a terrible amount we could do to enhance your-"
"I'll go in there," came the voice of Fareeha as she straightened up to her feet, arms still crossed.
The three whipped around toward her, watching her, surprised, before Genji's voice came out over the speakers, "Was that Amari? That would be an exciting proposition! Winston?"
"I-er, you don't need my permission!" he replied, hurriedly, "Uh, Fareeha, if you want, your Raptora is in the locker room."
"Thanks," Fareeha answered, stepping out of the room without a glance toward Angela.
The doctor glared at her as she left, curiously, as if able to tell that something was up, though the reason eluded her until Lena muttered, excitedly, "Ooooooh! Someone's jealous!"
"J-Jealous?" Angela shot back, thinking Lena had referred to her.
Lena smirked, "I know that look Fareeha had. It's the same one I get when the train attendant tries to keep Em and me from the doors when they open."
"I think that's just for your safe-"
"I give that sort of brooding stare and pull my Emmy into my arms, like I'm making sure they know she's mine. She says she hates when I'm presumptuous like that, but I know she doesn't pull away when I do it," Lena concluded, giggling.
Angela turned toward the door that Fareeha had left through, confused. Was Lena on to something? Certainly not; granted, Genji was rather hands on when the two reacquainted earlier, but he was always like that with her. After all, she'd been the one who-
She shut her eyes, groaning to herself, recalling that she hadn't told Fareeha about it yet. As far as she knew, he was making a pass at her, but could she really be that stupid?
"Not stupid," Angela though to herself, rubbing her face with her hand, "But impulsive? Definitely."
She just opened her eyes slightly as a soft beep went off, signaling Fareeha's entry into the training ground. She stared at her, slightly upset herself, now, as Fareeha flexed her knuckles in either hand as she stood on the high platform that overlooked the dirt floor. Genji turned to face her, hanging his sword behind his back before his back plate magnetized, holding it in place as his hand left the weapon.
"Amari," he spoke up in acknowledgement.
Fareeha frowned, "That's my mother. Please, just 'Fareeha'."
"Fareeha, then," Genji replied with a tone that could be interpreted as being alongside a smile, his mask covering all trace of emotion from his face, "Please, fight me like you would any opponant. I'm very excited to see how similar your style is to your mo-"
Suddenly, Fareeha blasted into the air at a blistering speed, hanging far up in the air as she stared down at her adversary, particularly his sword, which made up only a percentage of the distance between them. Genji shook his head, grinning beneath his armored mask.
"Okay, let's go with 'not at all', then."
Pharah whipped out her cannon, blast a shot straight at Genji's feet, forcing him to leap away, though Pharah had already anticipated such a thing, launching rockets at the three areas he was likeliest to jump to. As he caught his feet, he was met with a rocket, though quickly slammed his sword across his front , sliding the explosive in half as his arm flew into his chest, finishing his slice.
His eyes narrowed as Pharah's massive body flew into him, knocking him through the air and slamming him into the wall while Pharah managed her footing, her rocket launcher falling gracefully into her arms. A loud banging came from the pane of glass above as Angela pounded at the window, angrily.
"Hey!" she shouted, angrily, "If you hurt him, I'll-!"
Genji pounced to his feet, and in a immediately cutting of the air, his body burst forward and around to Pharah's back, his limbs wrapping around her before throwing his neck backward, pulling the two of them backward into the ground, though he skillfully spun around her body, finally bringing his feet back into a recoil before launching them into her back, sending her flying off of the platform, falling face first into the dirt.
Angela's hand clasped into a fist against the window as she watched Fareeha lying there, her teeth clutching at her lips in suspense, even though she knew this was merely an exhibition match of sorts.
Genji wiped his hands as he jumped to the ground, approaching the still body, "For one with such a one-dimensional set of movements, I'm surprised with how creative you've gotten, I must say. Surely you have some more tricks up your-"
Instantly, Pharah's body flew up from the ground, anchored at her feet, pulling her up before her feet detached, sending her backside straight into Genji, the vents across her chest exploding in a thrust that sent the two of them flying, straight into the wall of the arena with a smashing force, so much so that Pharah had lost feeling in her legs. She managed to push herself out of the crater that had made in the wall, staggered, as she turned to find nobody there.
She immediately spun around, her eyes up in the air, completely ignoring the crater. From within the darkness, a green 'V' suddenly shone through, Genji pouncing out of the crumbling wall before knocking Pharah forward, whipping his sword our and smashing at her, rapidly, her arms desperately trying to keep up as she blocked the blows from her visor.
Finally, she managed a hand around her back, swinging her rocket launcher toward her opponant, who quickly leapt backward to avoid the blow, though as Pharah aimed her weapon, Genji landed with a thud, crouched down, hand against the ground, prepared to evade her shot. She paused for a moment before firing a round before blasting off into the air, eying Genji has he jumped away, though her fist hurried to follow him, firing a concussive blast to the ground where Genji was headed, knocking him back into the air. Unable to influence his trajectory, and with Pharah dictating his direction from the blast, she whipped her gun up, firing a blast right where was Genji was headed, the two objects meeting with a massive CRASH.
Pharah landed gracefully, making sure to have her launcher properly secured at her back before slowly approaching the new crater in the ground. Suddenly, her eyes drew wide as she saw the damage. She knelt down, worriedly, finding Genji's leg to be completely shattered into metallic bits, along with his arm being torn from him and a massive crater across his torso.
"Oh, f-"
"GENJI!" Angela shouted, running out onto the arena floor toward the two, in a mad dash.
Fareeha looked on in horror as Angela fell to her knees, coming to a sliding stop at Genji's side, her worried look slowly becoming more angry as she gave the shredded body a cursory look. She stood up, slowly, like a serpent unwinding from its coil, her head turning to stare at Fareeha, whose horrified look turning into an oblivious expression.
"Why?!" Angela shouted loudly, "Because you're jealous?!"
Fareeha raised her hands in innocence, "I-I-"
Angela stomped over toward her, her voice quieting down, though that only made her snarl that much more heated, "Whose bed do I crawl into at night?!"
Fareeha frowned, disappointedly, turning away, "…mine."
Nodding seriously, Angela made it up to her, suddenly pushing her backward as her open hands shot at the soldier's chest, "And whose shoulders do I surround myself with?!"
She shoved Fareeha backward again, though she barely sustained much of anything beyond the force of the push, her face simply falling, "…mine."
"Damn right!" Angela shouted, "And who's the only person I ever hit because they just upset me so much sometimes, but I do it anyway because I know that, no matter how often I do it, she'll still love me despite how difficult it is all the time?!"
Fareeha sighed, frowning, "Me."
Angela nodded, her barely-contained shouts having calmed her down. She dropped her head, reaching up to ahold of the cleft of Fareeha's armor that served as a sort of collar, pulling her down so that her head could rest against hers, as if punishing her.
"What am I going to do with you…" Angela mumbled, hiding a slight smile with her downturned head.
Fareeha's eyes jumped upward, "Uh, maybe help him into a medical room or something?"
"Medical… Oh, he's fine," Angela shrugged as she pulled away, half-turning toward Genji, whose arm lifted up from the hole in the ground, giving a thumbs up.
His voice was heard, alongside a chuckle, "In my state, sweet nothings do the heart good. At least, what's left of it, anyway."
Angela smiled lightly, "We have newer equipment for him anyway; I was just worried you had injured something organic. No harm done, though, my heart is a bit bruised. To think that you wouldn't trust me? How loose do you think I am?"
Fareeha rolled her eyes with a shake of the head, though Angela quickly blushed, D-Don't answer that; I know what you're going to answer. It isn't something I need everybody and their mother hearing later."
That was Fareeha's cue to blush, her eyes rushing up to examine the pane of glass, just in case her mother had joined in at some point, leaving her with only a relieved sigh.
