Mei fidgeted in her seat, trying to keep herself awake as fellow members of Overwatch began to file into the Briefing Room. Winston stood at the forefront of the room, shuffling and adjusting files in his enormous hands. Catching eyes with her, he gave her a brief salutatory smile before turning back to stand behind his podium.

She was soon joined by Tracer, who handed her a paper cup of black tea with plenty of cream and sugar, just how she liked it. Thanking her quietly, she holds the little cup in her hands, resting it on her thighs. Tracer bends to look into her face, bright eyes examining her friend's face.

"What's the matter, love? Not like you to miss out on tea. I always see ya stirring cream into your cup at the coffee table during mission briefs!"

Mei smiled gently at Tracer, rubbing at her sleepy eyes with the back of her hand behind her glasses.

"No no, Lena. I'll be alright. I suppose I didn't sleep well is all. No need to worry."

Tracer's mouth twitches into a pout, but she resolves to leave Mei to her own business.

"Okay, love. Just know that you can always talk to me, okay?"

Mei smiles once more, genuinely thankful for her kind friend, and nods.

She takes a sip of the hot drink and sighs, hoping the caffeine will help to wake her up. Lifting her eyes to the crowd of heroes, she takes a quiet mental roll call of her teammates. sits beside Lucio, showing him something on her phone that makes the both of them smile and laugh. Soldier 76 sits beside them, ramrod still, waiting for the briefing to start. When her eyes drift farther back in the rows, however, her heart stills in her throat.

Junkrat and Roadhog are sitting side by side, the former propping his prosthetic leg up on a second chair. Roadhog has settled down into three chairs, sipping from a cup of his own. Looking down at Junkrat's hands, Mei's chest lurches. It's not the unidentifiable lump of metal parts he's tinkering with that makes her breathing hitch- Its his hands.

Just a matter of hours ago, those hands held everything that had ever had meaning to her in their clutches. His nails were painted jet black and his skin was coated in a seemingly permanent layer of soot. He had spindly fingers with strong knuckles, the palm of his flesh hand was broad, scarred, and smudged. His mechanical hand glinted coldly in the fluorescent lighting like a threat. She shuddered- the unspeakable evils those hands had likely committed were probably innumerable.

Feeling the burn of his eyes before she saw them, she froze to her spot when she looked to find that he had noticed her staring. The color of his eyes seared her into hers like embers, and he seemed to observe her warily, mouth parted in an unreadable expression.

Then he did something rather unexpected. Rather than his typical predatory grin, he lifted his metal hand and waved at her: once, twice. His lips offered something of an awkward chuckle, and the hand that had waved at her quickly delved behind him to rub at his neck awkwardly. His lips twitch into an uneasy smile.

She sucks in a breath, whipping her gaze back to the front of the room to nail her focus back onto Winston.

If she hadn't been awake before, she certainly was now. What the hell had just happened?

She shakes her head and forces herself to exhale, fingers curling on her knees in the fabric of her leggings. She wouldn't let him near her again.

The prank war at least had some semblance of playfulness to it, or at least so she had thought. The events of yesterday had made her reconsider. Mei was now convinced: This man was not someone to play with or joke around with. He could and WOULD hurt her.

Huffing and clenching her hands into tiny fists, he made a promise with herself that she wouldn't let him deter her from her goals. She would avoid him at all costs. Pulling her pen and notebook from one of her many coat pockets, she set to work on absorbing as much information as she possibly could on their upcoming mission.

It was revealed that they would be heading to Egypt on an escort mission and were being split into small groups. She had breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she had been grouped with Tracer and Zarya, and Junkrat had been selected as a precautionary measure alongside Lucio and Roadhog. A part of her took pity on the DJ: he was kind, friendly, and optimistic no matter what was thrown at him, but she wasn't sure how he would fare being paired with the rowdy duo.

Winston warned them that this particular mission could potentially become very dangerous very quickly, and that the arid climate wouldn't be forgiving.

Without a second thought, she etched a reminder to bring water bottles at the bottom of her notes.

The briefing came to a close and they were all dismissed. Hurrying to gather her things, Mei all but scrambled over to the recycling bin to throw away her paper cup and make a hasty exit.

Racing through the double doors, she exhaled a breath she didn't even know she had been holding, certain that she'd made a decent getaway.

She began to walk quickly down the corridor, back to the safety of her quarters, when the sound of rapid metal clacking behind her and the feeling of a firm grip on her wrist made her freeze in her tracks.