Cold water flowed all over her body. It was the first time she could really take a shower since the incident.
She closed her eyes and let the water purify her skin. She reached out to her face to remove the hair from it, then looked back at her hands. Everything seemed wrong with three fingers missing from her right hand, but at least now she knew that she could have it repaired soon.
After her rescue, she had been sent on a plane and flew off to Watchpoint Gibraltar, where the rest of the Overwatch agent later rejoined once their mission was over. She had a small room with a window that lead to a large, beautiful cliff by the sea. She watched the morning sun with clean clothes and a cup of warm coffee, comfortable in large bed sheets. She couldn't feel safer, surrounded by Overwatch agents that cared for her in one of their own base of action, but at the same time, her own thoughts made her ashamed of being here. How could she, the one who was thinking about Doomfist and his offer, be in Watchpoint Gibraltar sipping coffee in a comfortable room? She should be thinking about this in her own laboratory, or at least in her apartment back in Numbani.
Someone openend her door with a knock. She instantly recognized the hairstyle. « Lena.
- Hi there, love. How you doing? »
Angela smiled at her and Lena got in the room. « We're happy to see you back, you know.
- I'd figure that out. »
She laughed and got to her only to give her a big hug. « I missed you, a lot.
- And so did I, Lena.
- You should come downstairs and say hi to everyone. They're all here.
- I'll be there in a moment. »
Angela turned around to look at the morning sky and took a sip of her coffee. Lena noticed her missing fingers. « God damn, that sucks, does it?
- I'd prefer that over being thrown across time and space, » she replied with a smile.
She laughed again. « Good to know you're still here, under that sad face of yours.
- It's just a matter of time before I can truly be back.
- You known who would easily cheer you up? Reinhardt! He's down stairs with the others and he can't wait to see you.
- I'm sure he is.
- Alright then, I'll leave you to it, just make sure you eventually come down, alright?
- Do not worry about that. »
Lena got up and looked at the sky just like her. « Angela… you know… once you'll see Winston, he's gonna have to talk to you.
- I'd figure.
- It might not be the most pleasant thing if you know what I mean.
- Does he want to interrogate me on the incident? To file a report?
- You already know about that?
- It's the normal procedure, I know Winston's gonna have to do it with me eventually too.
- Well, good to know you're already in. No hard feelings on it, right?
- Of course. We have to file the report, I'm a doctor, remember? I had to do these all the time before. »
Tracer acknowledge and got to the door to leave her alone, only to turn around before leaving. « You know Angela, if you need anything, need to talk to someone… I'm here.
- I know, just like everyone. Do not worry about me.
- I know, it's just… remember that time on King's Row?
- Your first mission?
- Yeah… You were always here to make sure I would fit in and that I would keep up with the others. I wanna make sure that you can fit in once again with all of us. Just know that I'll be here.
- Thank you, Lena. »
She smiled at her, they got out of the room, leaving Angela with a horrible gut feeling. She didn't know if, after spending the day with all of her former coworkers, she could ever think about considering Doomfist's offer. She could just forget about it, forget that it all ever happened and simply move on, but something simply wasn't right with that idea. Every time she thought about just going back to normal, she would look down on her fingers to remember.
She finally decided to go down the stairs and everything seemed blend in her mind. Reinhardt lifted her up to the roof, Torbjörn was talking about helping her with her fingers and her Caduceus staff while Tracer made sure to always be with her. She had to describe all the things that happened to her to Winston for his report, stating her injuries and the people she saw. She mentioned Doomfist, but didn't talk about their conversation.
« I'll let you go for now, Winston said. Go get some rest. Tomorrow, We'll talk about our new plans now that the Overwatch agents are reunited.
- What do you have in mind?
- We have to find Talon and put an end to it. They tried to take you away just like they did with Gérard Lacroix and his wife Amélie. They are a threat and we need to make sure they are no longer in our way. »
She nodded and he took his hands. « I'm sorry it took a kidnapping for us all to bound together again, but this time, we'll be stronger, we'll be smarter and we'll know how to react. »
As these words came into her ears, the only thing she could understand was « Only through conflict can we evolve. » It made her shiver.
She got into her room and watched the sun set on the other side of the sea. She could barely remember what happened throughout the day, her mind had been all over the place.
When the lights shut down and Watchpoint Gibraltar became silent, she opened her personal computer and inserted the chip. The monitor flickered and various codes were displayed onto it until finally a screen would display two clear options : « Yes » or « No »
She looked back onto her desk to find a picture of the Overwatch team from way back, right after the war had ended. It was a time of great achievement for her, when she used her new Valkyrie Swift Response Suit in battle and developed her staff. But these days were only that, old days, other times.
She clicked the « Yes » option.
A map was displayed on the monitor, telling her exactly where to go. Her heart started beating heavily once more and the idea of leaving during the night. But it was the only time that she would be able to leave without a trace.
But still, she couldn't dare simply leaving without explaining herself. She got everything she needed, then used the camera on her phone to record herself… How could she start such a speech?
« Hi… I just wanted to… to thank you all. You saved me and you were all there for me just like I've been in the past and for that I will always be thankful. But you won't be seeing me tomorrow because… I'll be long gone. »
She sighted and realize she was tearing up. « This is tearing me apart to say but… I have thought about Overwatch in the past few days and I think… well… I think it's best that it does not come back. We've done great back in the days but now… we spawned horrible things and the good we did is simply being pushed back. People won't forget that and we simply can't just act like it didn't happen. We need something new… a different approach. »
She took a deep breath and took all the courage she had left in her to say : « I'm leaving, and I don't know if I'll ever come back. I will meet Doomfist and we will try something different. He asked me to give him a second chance and I could see in his eyes that he was sincere about it. He made me an offer and I've accepted it. If that offends you or if you do not agree with that, I can understand. I know he has done many bad things in life, but I truly believe there is good left in him. We share the same goal and we will try to make it work… together. »
« Just… know that I will come back to you if you need me. I am not your enemy, I simply won't be working for Overwatch anymore. I just need time by myself without being watched or protected to see if this is a good idea. I have faith that if I do not agree with what he does, I will be free to leave. »
« Again, I want to thank you all for everything. I am in your dept and I will make sure that when time demands me, I'll be back on your sides. I simply need to give this a chance. If I'm just walking back into another trap and simply making my case even worse, I won't be mad at you for choosing not to risk your life again to safe me… I'll understand. I'm taking a huge risk, that I know. »
She took some time to breathe, holding back tears was making it difficult to speak. « If everything goes well and we start making things better, I'll recontact you and explain things a bit better, maybe even in person, if you wish to see me again. For now, please give me the time I need to figure what I wish to do. I am lost, I need new directions in life, new ways of going in those directions. I just hope you won't hate for for that. »
She whipped away the tears on her cheeks and simply ended by saying « I love you all. I want you to know this. »
She ended the video and broke out in tears on her desk. It was happening, she was going to leave Overwatch.
She packed her bag, uploaded the video onto Winston's computer so that he'd find it in the morning, then left without looking back. She took one of the small boat that allowed them to leave the island and quickly disappeared into the night.