Author Notes

Thank you as always to everyone who has supported this story via reviews, favourites, follows and by PMs. Without your encouragement and feedback there would be no story! :-)

I'd also like to try an interact with you guys so I thought I'd try looking for some new roleplaying partners, so if you're interested in roleplaying stories in Overwatch, Lord of the Rings, Command & Conquer, Jurassic Park/World or Warhammer 40000, and would enjoy roleplaying with someone who likes their detail and good story plotlines/character developments (etc), then feel free throw me a private message here so we can discuss it. As a heads up, I generally have eccentric/unusual characters.


Chapter 3

Angela sighed as she sat back in her chair and stretched slightly in an attempt to get rid of the stiffness she felt throughout her body, she hadn't taken a break from her analysis of Widowmaker's scans and blood samples since the previous day when she first made them. Dark lines had formed under her eyes as she yawned slightly and grabbed her cup of cold black coffee only to find it was empty, which caused another sigh to escape from her lips.

Angela looked around her lab for a moment, it was a large room that use to be filled with assistants back in Overwatch's prime but was now mostly in pitch black due to the blast shutters on the windows having been closed since Overwatch was shut down, with most of the equipment still covered by protective coverings. The only lights that were on were focused around a corner of reactivated equipment and her desk which had become her work area that she had been using for her analysis of Widowmaker's medical examination data and blood tests.

Everything Angela had learned from her analysis had only confirmed her initial diagnosis that Widowmaker had a history of receiving abuse was indeed correct and that made Angela's skin crawl. To think she'd have to explain this to everyone else in the meeting Winston had urgently called for in an hour didn't settle the unease she felt; she was definitely going to need more coffee.

She stood with her cup which had the words '#1 mum' in big black bold letters and had been a half joke gift from Lena on mother's day earlier that year due to how she mothered after everyone. It was a gift that Angela had cherished as she did consider Lena to be her adoptive daughter and so she turned the joke round on Lena much to her giggling dismay. The memory caused her to smile despite how tired she felt as she began to leave her lab and go to base canteen for a coffee refill.

As the doors to her lab opened out into a corridor, Angela was greeted by the bright light of a sunny midday through the unshielded windows that caused her to squint slightly. She really had lost track of time she idly thought to herself as she walked down the corridor, before hearing someone running up behind her and then throwing their arms around her from behind in a hug, and causing Angela to almost loose her balance.

"Alright love, where you been hiding all morning?" Lena giggled, squeezing Angela tightly before letting her go to walk by her side.

"Scheiße Lena, what have I told you about doing that?!" Angela smiled at Lena, pinching her cheek gently "... You almost made me drop the cup you gave me!"

"Sorry mum!" Lena giggled again, putting specific emphasis on the 'mum' before escaping Angela's grasp on her cheek.

Angela continued smiling at Lena and simply shook her head in amusement, Lena had this innate ability to make you smile no matter how you felt.

"And for the record, I haven't been hiding. I was completing the analysis on Widowmaker's medical, I simply lost track of the time..." Angela stated as she began to continue walking through the base again.

"Your always all work and no play Angie, you need to get out more love." Lena replied as she followed alongside Angela and cocking her eyebrow in curiousity "... learn anything?"

"I get out plenty!" Angela replied defensively, before half groaning knowing Lena wouldn't likely take no for an answer "... Nothing I'm sure you won't learn during the meeting with Winston later..."

"Hmpf, your no fun with your secrets ya know!" Lena pouted playfully "... just one thing... come on!"

"Lena, if I didn't know any better I'd of thought you were a child rather than an adult... sometimes you make me wonder." Angela half smirked, glancing at Lena through the corners of her eyes.

"Oh come on Angie, you know I'm curious! She is my responsibility after all." Lena stated in a serious tone that caught Angela slightly off guard although she instantly knew why.

"Lena... it wasn't your fault, so don't blame yourself, ok?" Angela quickly replied, looking at Lena with a serious but sympathetic expression.

"I guess..." Lena answered in a half shy tone, and looking away from Angela, it was only for a moment before she giggled and returned to smiling and looking at Angela with a mischievous glint "... so?"

Angela groaned again, placing her hand against her face while closing her eyes momentarily, she was too tired for this "... you'll find out later, like everyone else."

Normally Angela wouldn't share such personal & confidential information about a patient with anyone, but given the circumstances and the implications with Widowmaker she didn't have much choice.

"Ok, ok! I get it, I'll stop pestering." Lena held up her hands, admitting defeat before opening the door to the base canteen and holding it open for Angela.

Angela walked through the door to be greeted by a surprisingly empty canteen. She quickly ruffled Lena's hair on the way past much to Lena's protest, and approached the coffee filtration machine where she was grateful to find a freshly made pot off coffee for which she silently thanked whomever had made it, before filling her cup. Angela always drank her coffee black and without sugar, obsessed as she was with at least trying to maintain some form of healthy lifestyle as a good example to the rest of them, although she generally failed at maintaining such a lifestyle due to her obsessive nature where her work was concerned.

As she walked back through the canteen to where Lena was still holding the door open, she noticed Lena was looking down at her hands as she twiddled with her thumbs, Angela instantly knew something was bothering her.

"What's bothering you Lena?" she asked Lena getting straight to the point, gently placing her hand on Lena's shoulder in a comforting gesture.

Lena sighed, Angela always could read her like an open book "It's Widowmaker... she asked me for a writing pad yesterday, after you'd left... I spoke with Winston about it, but it just been bothering me as it doesn't make any sense..." Lena paused for a moment as she scratched the back of her head "...She also asked about Gerard and she was so... emotional. It's not like her and you know me, I want to help her, but I can't tell if it's just a ploy or not."

Angela eyed Lena carefully before replying "... Amelie use to keep written memoirs... it was one of her ways of coping with Gerard's absences and not knowing what had happened to him for months at a time, along with her other stresses. Due to Widowmaker regaining some of Amelie's former memories, and the fact that she is asking about Gerard, it could be a lifeline she's unknowingly trying to reach for. I couldn't honestly tell you though, mental health isn't my particular area of study and Widowmaker's mind to me is the equivalent of a minefield. The only thing I can suggest for you to do is to be careful, as I know you won't listen to me telling you to keep your distance."

Lena giggled slightly in embarrassment, Angela definitely knew her all to well "... Thanks Angie... just helps me to talk, and I know you knew Widowmaker before she was all blue, so bit of outside perspective helps, if ya know what I mean."

Angela smiled gently at Lena "You don't need to thank me, I'll always be there if you need me Lena."

Lena beamed a smile at Angela before suddenly hugging her, causing Angela to almost spill her coffee "Well I'll catch you later Angie, I'm going to go bug Winston!"

Angela just smiled and shook her head once more at Lena as she ran off, always a endless supply of energy. She took a sip of her coffee before checking her watch and realised she only had a couple of hours to finish off her analysis before the meeting, so she set a quick pace back to her lab.


=Two hours later, Winston's lab=

Winston grunted as he looked down at the equipment he'd dismantled, equipment they had confiscated from Widowmaker when they had retrieved her unconscious form from the time void. He then looked at several small electronic devices he had placed in a petri dish. They were disabled now, although the damage they had potentially caused was already done. He had called a meeting the previous day as soon as everyone could make it the moment he had discovered the devices, and had specifically asked Angela to bring her updates on Widowmaker's medical examination as well if they were available; the tired eyes Angela looked at him with told him she had stayed up all night to finish the analysis for the meeting, he'd have to make it up to her later.

Lena was sat on the edge of a giant tyre that doubled as Winston's seat when he worked at a computer terminal, where as McCree was sat on a crate and as always was smoking a cigar; Winston had long since given up asking him not to smoke in his lab. Angela meanwhile was sat in a chair next to a table where she had place some files down and was nursing a cup of coffee in her hands, and Genji was stood silently off to the side.

Winston pushed the glasses back up his nose before he coughed slightly to clear his throat.

"Thanks for coming everyone... I've called this meeting due to a rather urgent discovery I need to share with you all."

With that opening he held up the petri dish with the electronic devices in them.

"I found these in Widowmaker's equipment, they are tracking devices, advanced ones. I'm certain their signals have penetrated through the Watchpoint's jammers and scramblers, which means Talon know we have Widowmaker."

McCree sighed and drawled "... Perfect, that means they'll certainly come here to retrieve their prized assassin, and let's be honest... there is what... Us 5 agents here with a handful of support volunteers and a few soldiers on base, Talon will surely know we are under manned if they have intelligence teams worth a damn."

"That is why I've called you all here... recall is still active, it is however quite slow. I was hoping some of you might be able to reach out personally to some of your contacts as I'm sure you can appreciate we can't let Widowmaker go especially with her having the potential to have access to the same abilities Lena does. Speaking of which, Doctor would you give us all a breakdown of your examination of Widowmaker?" Winston responded, before shifting his gaze onto Angela whom nodded, grabbing onto the files she had placed down on the table and opened them for reference.

"I will forewarn you all now, some of what I'm about to tell you is unpleasant." she stated in her cold stand off voice, giving everyone a stern look before continuing.

"Widowmaker as she stands right now is in perfect health, however she has received extensive modification with cybernetics and gene therapy. All these modifications to summarise are designed to enhance her capabilities as an assassin, one such example would be a reduction to her metabolism and a dramatically reduced heart rate so she generates less heat and require less food and water to survive, too cybernetics enhancing her physical strength and dexterity. She was essentially rebuilt to be the perfect assassin."

Angela briefly glanced at everyone before she continued, only Lena appeared uncomfortable so far with what she had said as she saw her fidgeting on Winston's tyre where she had sat.

"There are however significant signs that Widowmaker has been historically tortured due to internal tissue scarring from what can only be described as invasive techniques designed to illicit as much pain as possible in their subject. In addition, there are signs of damage to her kidneys and liver from heavy use of drugs that some of her cybernetics have been specifically designed to pick up the slack. I've found traces of psychoactive drugs and neural pathway inhibitors in her blood work that resulted in her mind being more open to programming, supressing her emotions and aiding in the blocking of most of her long term memories. It's my belief that if she had remained with Talon she'd probably end up suffering from liver and kidney failures within the year."

Angela took a sip from her cup of cold coffee she had brought with her, in her favourite cup before continuing, it was a pleasant memory for her in the sea of depressing information she was dispensing.

"There are signs however that the inhibitors are breaking down in her brain, and there are already indications that she is starting to regain some of her memories. Gauging her mental health is not my field of expertise though."

"Perhaps I can add some clarification Doctor Ziegler." echoed a digitally synthesized voice of a woman.

"Please go ahead Athena." Angela replied.

"I've been monitoring Widowmaker constantly since she arrived at the Watchpoint, and can report she is suffering from some form of posttraumatic stress disorder. She has consistently woken up screaming from nightmares in cold sweats, in addition to erratic emotional outbursts she's had in private and discussions she has had with Agent Oxton." Athena stated neutrally.

Angela simply nodded in agreement "I'd agree with Athena then, although how we go about treating her is another matter entirely. From what I can tell though, she recently received a high dosage of drugs designed to undo the programming and aid in the degradation of the memory blockers, it's almost like someone within Talon helped her. As to what ends, I couldn't say although it's something for us all to keep in mind. In regards to helping her better deal with her situation, perhaps we could grant her request that she put through Lena?"

"It's certainly an interesting theory that warrants further investigation" Winston nodded in agreement with Angela's theory about Widowmaker's unknown helper as he continued "... if you don't mind me asking, what are your thoughts on how writing could potentially help Widowmaker, Angela?"

"Well, it's something Amelie use to do to cope with her stresses before she was taken by Talon. It helped her back then, so I think it's worth a shot and it may give us an insight into her state of mind." answered thoughtfully as she too remembered her earlier conversation with Lena.

"We could also potentially learn something about Talon in the process if she opens up like that..." McCree drawled his interjection as he puffed cigar smoke into the room.

"I agree!" Lena chirped with a smile "... we need to help her, she's been through enough if what Angie says is anything to go by."

"Well I'll sort something out for Widowmaker's request then... and Lena, since Widowmaker seems to have developed a bit of a rapport with you, you just volunteered to be in charge of her." Winston grinned at her, knowing she wouldn't have it any other way anyway. Lena just half pouted in jest as a response to him, before smiling and ignoring McCree shaking his head and Angela's concerned expression.

"I believe my master, Tekhartha Zenyatta, may be able to help her." Genji softly spoke "... he helped me through my anger and to come to terms with what I had become, even when I didn't want his help. If what Dr Ziegler says is true and Widowmaker is regaining her memories then I believe he may be able to help her find peace with herself and what she is."

"Wait, Zenyatta? Isn't that Mondatta's brother?" Lena suddenly piped up.

"I believe so yes Lena." Genji answered quietly, and Lena visibly seemed to shrink as she went back in her mind to the day Widowmaker killed Mondatta. The implications of Lena's question wasn't lost on the group however.

"I'm certain my Master will want to help Widowmaker all the more due to her hand in his brother's death." Genji stated.

Genji suddenly spoke up a bit louder than usual "... I shall also contact my brother and request his assistance with defending this Watchpoint."

McCree cocked an eyebrow at Genji as he pulled the cigar from his mouth "From what I remember you telling us of your last encounter with your brother, it wasn't exactly a happy family reunion."

"He'll come." Genji simply answered.

"Fair enough partner." McCree answered with a shrug before replacing the cigar in his mouth "... unfortunately all my old Blackwatch pals are either dead or in Talon so I can't call on anyone to help bail us out."

"I will contact Fareeha Amari, Ana's daughter. I kept in contact with her while I was in the middle east and I'm positive she'd jump at the chance to come back." Angela directed at Winston.

Winston nodded "Alright, looks like we're getting a few more agents. Angela and Genji, if you can make contact today we can arrange transportation to retrieve your contacts. In the mean time, we all need to make preparations for an attack as well as the possibility for the need to abandon this base and going to ground to rebuild Overwatch in a more secluded environment."

Lena then suddenly felt her stomach drop "... If we end up leaving, what will we do with Widowmaker?"

"I'll figure something out, don't worry Lena." Winston gave her a reassuring smile. Lena nodded in return with a half smile she didn't really feel was genuine.

"Alright... thank you all for coming. I'll now let you all get on with whatever you doing before." Winston said aloud, and everyone left Winston's lab to get on with their tasks, all except Lena whom instead walked up to Winston.

"Big guy... I have an idea..." she gave a cocky grin up to Winston.


=Secret Underground Talon Facility, Sahara Desert - 24 hours prior to Winston's meeting=

Reaper growled through his mask as he stood in the command and control centre of the base, looking at a screen that showed several tracking devices in the middle of a supposedly abandoned Overwatch Watchpoint in Gibraltar. At least, the tracking devices had been active several minutes before and were now inert. He absently stroked his chin with his armoured claw fingers as he thought on this latest development.

Widowmaker was obviously still alive although her personal tracking device seemed to have stopped working back in London, the fact her equipment reappeared in an Overwatch base only to be disabled days later told Reaper that someone had dismantled Widowmaker's equipment and that they didn't want to be tracked. Must of been that insufferable monkey he had the displeasure of meeting and getting vaporised by during a raid in that very base. At any rate he knew time was now against him as the more time he gave them, the more they could prepare.

"Get my Company ready for an excursion." he hissed in his dark gravelly voice "... get them in quietly, I don't want to tip off whoever is in that Watchpoint that we are coming."

The thought of there being Overwatch agents in the Watchpoint was tantalising to Reaper. His revenge was ever becoming a step closer, the urge to kill someone making him shiver in delight, but he denied himself for now and thought back to those he had recently killed, specifically those in the Widowmaker project and that sated his lethal desires for now; at least he didn't need to worry about any loose lips sinking his ship.

"Aye sir." answered one of the Talon officers in the room before continuing a moment later "... logistics informs us it will take a five to six days to get the men and equipment into position at Gibraltar under stealth conditions."

Reaper growled, that was too long. How he longed for the Blackwatch logistics teams, it would only take them a matter of hours to move 200 men and their equipment. He wanted to strangle the logistics idiots in charge here, Talon had given him the dregs where his support network was concerned and he knew deep down that they didn't really trust him, not that it mattered to his plans too much.

"Fine..." his voice echoed with malice as he walked over to the Talon officer who just so happened to be new to Reaper's command, and jammed an armoured finger into the man's chest "... but if my prey escapes due to logistic incompetence, I'll take it out on you instead."

With that Reaper turned and left, growling into his mask as he did so, leaving the Talon officer visibly shaking in terror. Reaper didn't care though as in part he enjoyed the effect he had on others, but right now he had preparations to make. His time was coming and he wouldn't be found wanting when it arrived.