Winston was talking in hushed whispers with Mercy, his only lab companion at the moment. They had been discussing a suit of medium-level armor for the third, and unconsious, person in the room. It was planned to use both old-school exosuits and the nanite-utilizing Valkyrie suit that Mercy wore on the field as reference models.
That immediately paused when Winston perked up, slightly, and turned towards their latest charge, laying on one of the padded cots shoved into the corner of his lab. A small, bucket-sized canister with a faint blue glow around its steel exterior sat next to it, a glowing golden cord extending from its sealed top to the base of the patient's neck, who was beginning to stir.
"She's awake, I think," muttered Angela. It had been some years since she had last considered this woman 'alive,' much less 'awake.'
"She answered the recall, Angela. She's one of us," responded Winston, who knew Angela's concerns about the Captain- someone who had been devout to Overwatch and the world's safety, yet disappeared barely half a week before Overwatch's headquarters fell apart. And whether or not Dr. Ziegler agreed, Winston was in charge of this new Overwatch.
Quietly, Winston padded over to Leigh Wynne's side, staring kindly down at the aging woman as she slowly came to. Then, all of a sudden, the slight shaking of her head and stirring of limbs paused, and Captain Wynne's eyes opened. Piercing violet eyes- a rare mutation in the color of the eye- stared at Winston, and a brief moment of confusion passed over her face.
"Captain Wynne, welcome back to the world of conscious. Do you remember anything?"
There was a moment's hesitation, before Wynne's hoarse whisper replied definitively, "No. The Watchpoint?"
Winston nodded, seeing that she had already determined where they were. "Talon attacked me here, tried to get the database on agent locations. With the second Omnic Crisis, I thought it's time for a Recall of all agents. You were one of the first to respond, and I delegated you to pick up a couple new recruits to the organization on your way in. You were attacked, Wynne. And…"
Angela Ziegler stepped forward as Winston trailed off, leaving the medical details to the medical specialist.
"You broke your neck, Captain. I'm afraid that in order to restore movement to your body- which was paralyzed, by the way, and you very nearly died- I had to implant two titanium vertebrae as replacements in your neck. Nanites now function as the titanium discs' nervous system, since the original connection was broken and irrepairable. If you run out of nanites, you're paralyzed, Captain. It was not a pleasant thing to do, but before you blacked out, you told me to do what needed to be done. I hope you understand." Everyone in the Overwatch of old knew of Wynne's opinion of augments- real soldiers don't need to be enhanced. Real soldiers are trained, not built.
Wynne nodded slightly, from her spot, and winced slightly as she felt something digging into her neck. Cautiously, she raised a hand- one that wasn't shaking, one that responded perfectly normally- and felt around on the back of her neck.
She had a cord sticking out the center of her neck. Turning her head, she could see it out of the corner of her eyes; it ran to a small tank by her bunk. Nanites.
Wynne hadn't cried in over forty years, but this was the first time she felt tears prick her eyes and something akin to grief jolt through her.
"... can I have some time alone. Please."
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Two days later saw Captain Wynne standing, carefully taking another step. Everything felt stable, strong, sure, like she used to be. She even felt a little younger- like she could jump just a tad higher. She glanced down, below her hospital gown- her right calf and foot were robotic now. Apparently they were crushed; too severely damaged to be salvaged. And Overwatch, ultimately, didn't care if you were broken physically; if you had a mind that was still in the fighting mindset, they'd rebuild you as many times as needed. Leigh just never thought she'd be one of them.
The rest of her was in the best shape she could've hoped for. At age 62, she was getting old. Nevermind the fact that, for all intents and purposes, she appeared to be about 45 years old, or in better shape than people half her age. With midnight hair that's halfway to white, and a face that was as unlined as Ana Amari's, there are many that would say today that she's still quite attractive. A sharp face with piercing violet eyes, and a stature that stood tall, despite her 5' 7", she was the picture of a soldier. There were woman who were wiry, but Wynne was someone who was outright strong and muscled, bearing strong arms, even stronger, more powerful legs, and an amount of body fat that added just a bit more weight to her overall stature. It gave her an advantage when it came to fighting with men- they'd normally think that, beneath a cloak or jacket, she'd be just as easy pickings close range as any other female. Not so- she'd knock the breath out of them and throw them to the side in a heartbeat.
Captain Leigh Tessa "Lylla" Wynne was someone to be reckoned with, and despite her injuries, she was only more determined to keep kicking. The nanites in her system only made her feel stronger, faster, and unknowingly, younger.
[][][]
It took a week before Angela cleared her, citing that she needed to keep a patient for extended observation when trying something completely new- such as Wynne's case.
Two weeks after Leigh Wynne had nearly reached Watchpoint Gibraltar, she finally stepped foot outside the lab. Ana Amari was the first face to greet her, having already been outside the door.
"Lyall, it's so good to see you. So many of us didn't think you'd make it, when we saw you being rushed to Winston and Angela. I'd scold you for giving me that heart attack, showing up nearly dead after the rest of us believing you were dead, but I did the same, so… touche."
Captain Wynne immediately gave the woman a salute while she was talking, which the two-years-younger woman waved off, saying, "Please, stop that nonsense. Winston's in charge here, and the rest of us are all equal. You're my elder, anyhow."
After a moment of contemplation, Wynne nodded, and replied, "Alright, Ana. Fair enough. How is everyone doing? Who's arrived so far?"
Ana just smiled at Wynne's usual attitude, and began walking, escorting Wynne down the hall as she filled her in.