Strange dreams haunted her, with vivid hallucinations and terrible thoughts. She relived the battle she had against Widowmaker, only it seemed worse every time she tried to remember it.
Once she finally woke up, she found herself onto a bed, with bandages and a pole transfusing blood into her. The layout of the room was unknown to her. Had she been rescued? She tried to remember the large man who took her out of her confrontation with Widowmaker… could it be Reinhardt? She didn't know any other man that would've have such stature, although she was very weak and had started seeing things when it all happened.
Someone had taken care of her and she could finally think more clearly. At least, she was safe wherever she was. A glass of water was standing on a small table next to her, she jumped on it and try to grab it with her right hand, only to notice and remember the three fingers she was missing to it. Only her index and her thumb were left and it was no use to try and use it for now. She had to use her left hand which felt uncomfortable, but after what she had endure, it wasn't much. If she had truly been rescued and was free to go, at least she knew that mechanical fingers could replace the ones she was missing, one of the few hopes she still had in her.
She teared up while thinking about what happened. How close had she been to dying? It was only now that she realized what she did. She tried to fight back, she had dark thoughts in her and she were ready to bargain for her life. She had completely given up on her moral code and her word at that very moment.
She had horrible thoughts about Widowmaker… could she actually live up to her word of never seek revenge after all of that? She tried to clean up her memory. Everything would go back to normal soon and she could get back to the hospital, do her duty as an advocate for peace…
No. Something was wrong. She knew that she just couldn't get back to work after all of that. She had left a dark trail behind her as she tried to spread good and peace around the world, she had seen it with her own eyes during her time among the Talon agents. To many things were happening in her back, to many bad things had happened because of the way she decided to spread her morality. For once, she started questioning herself, her motivations and her dreams. There was something wrong within them, but she couldn't make out what it was.
On her right, a door opened, with a large stature entering the room. The man was tall, with dark skin and a large metallic arm…
She recognized the Doomfist gauntlet, it only meant one thing.
« Agent Mercy. » He said as he closed the door behind him.
He was wearing a white tuxedo which had the right arm cut out to let the large mechanical piece stick out. His face wasn't the one of a monster, nor was it the one of an evil man. He simply looked… normal.
He sat on the end of the bed, with Angela retracting herself closer to the other side. She didn't know what to say, but at least, she knew that her journey wasn't over.
« I would like to start by apologizing, he said. I had clear order for agent Widowmaker and agent Sombra regarding you, but it does seem like they disobeyed them. I'll make sure they do not disobey again. »
Angela was confused. He was one of the leader of Talon… Why was he apologizing for any wrong that he would've done. « You're the one who took me prisoner in the first place.
- Indeed, in was me who ordered they find you and take you back here. I did not expect they would attack Numbani's General Hospital to get to you, however.
- They are terrorist, and so are you. What were you expecting?
- I had orders not to hurt you or your surrounding.
- And why was that?
- I wanted to talk to you, Mercy. »
His voice was soothing, calming. Angela couldn't make out her emotions. He was one of the leaders of Talon, the one who ordered her kidnapping and the one who had broken through Numbani's prison and attacked the city which made her come to it's aid in the first place. Why would he want to talk to her? And about what? « What do you want? »
Doomfist sighed and got up. « I've heard a lot about you and your accomplishment around the world. You have a rather impressive resume regarding your technological breakthroughs.
- And why would a man who besiege a peaceful city be interested by a doctor's breakthrough in medicine?
- I've also heard about your unclear allegiance to Overwatch and the many problems that your moral code had with the choices of the organisation. »
Angela thought she understood what he was trying to tell her. « You want me to work with you? You won't be able to convince me. I will never work for Talon.
- I won't ask you to join Talon. Nor will I try to convince you that I or any of it's members have done good in the past.
- Then what are you trying to tell me? »
Doomfist turned around to face the wall, bringing his arms behind his back. « When I was in Numbani's prison, I had a lot of time to reflect on my previous decisions. I will be the first one to admit that I have not done what would normally be considered good. »
He turned around and looked at her in the eyes. « I did, however, always fought for what I though was the best for our civilisation.
- Destroying cities and killing innocent people will not help our society grow.
- Because of my actions, the Numbani's new OR-15 robots are now more powerful and safer than ever. The hospital you work in had never been in better condition, at least before the bombing, and the citizen were even more united through what they had endured. My actions helped the city grow just like your work helped put it back together, even better than before.
- But how many had to suffer and die for this to happen? »
Doomfist sighted. « Only through conflict can we evolve. It is what I had in mind when I laid siege on Numbani for the first time. And I thought I was right, since what I did helped the city grow. Think about your work, Doctor Ziegler. If it weren't for the Omnic crisis and for the many wars all across the world that you have been through. You wouldn't've ever developed all those new technologies since they were not needed. Conflict forces evolution, making us stronger than ever.
- But if we did not have any conflict, we would never need such technologies.
- Tell me, Angela… is it O.K. for me to call you Angela?
- Yes.
- Then tell me, Angela, which one is more believable : A world where world peace is achieved and constant, or a world of conflict mixed with eras of peace? »
Angela sighted at the thought. She acknowledged with a sing of the head. « If people stop evolving and try to live in harmony, those who do not share their thought process will become better than them, surpass their technology and defeat them. It is inevitable in the world we live in. »
He got back to her side and sat on the bed next to her. « I joined Talon because they used my path to get what they want : they use violence and create conflict to achieve their goals while you chose Overwatch for their own way of achieving their goals : through the idea of world peace and heroes fighting evil. The only problem that I have finally understood in prison was the following : although they had the same way of achieving their goals, they did not have the same goal as I did.
- And what is your goal?
- It is the same as you, Angela : I want to leave the world better than it was when I entered it. Not only that, I want it to be at it's best. At first, I thought that conflict was the only way to push this idea, but then, I heard about you.
- Me?
- Yes, you. You have been known to clearly object to your superior and your friends over the use of your technology and it is clear why : you do not have the same goal as they do, only the same idea as to how it should be deployed onto the world. »
Angela was shocked to see this figure, the Doomfist himself, being so philosophical over her. Although she did object to Torbjörn's use of her technology when developing agent Ana's sniper riffle, and even though she helped the Shimada brothers and Gabriel with no concern of what Overwatch had to say about it, she never thought of the reason why such clash of ideas occurred.
« I am a different man than when I entered the jail of Numbani, Angela. I heard of what you did to Gabriel Reyes and you were right. Everyone deserves a second chance. I only ask you to give me one.
- I… don't know.
- It's alright. I won't force you to decide right now. I needed years in prison to realize this.
- We cannot work together. I will never let my coworkers hurt others, even for the sake of progress.
- I know, and I won't be able to work with you as long as you remain passive and simply try to rebuilt damage that has already been done. I simply think that, since we do share the same goal, working on a better way of achieving it will be more effective if we both try together. I am ready to change, but are you? »
Angela shivered at the idea of working with Doomfist. She felt like she was betraying the world, siding with the wrong side. But her feeling couldn't prevent her from seeing the reality : he wasn't wrong.
Doomfist pulled out a small electronic chip, took her hands to gently put it in between the fingers of her left hand. « I figured you'll know how to use this. When you make your decision, use it. »
He closed her hands together and got off the bed, slowly walking away. « In a few hours or so, this building, which is already surrounded by the police, will be attacked from all sides. Agents of Overwatch will get in once agent Sombra open the doors to let them in. Once this is done, you will be rescued by Overwatch. I will let you do what you want, for I cannot force you to work with me. This needs to be coming from both sides. Goodbye, Angela. »