(A/N): I dunno why I even asked. Of course you guys would pick the route that gives maximum fan service haha.

All good. I got no problem with it, I just figured I'd throw the question out there cause I like it when you guys have a hand in the story too.

Anyway, let's get back to it.

Please! Do let me know what you think of the story so far! If there's anything you guys want to see or if there's anything I can do better, please let me know through either a review or a PM!

Kindred Spirits

Chapter Three: Through The Cracks

~ o ~

Resistance inevitably gives way to a powerful enough force

And no force is more powerful than that of time

~ o ~

"The voltage...how intense does it have to be to short circuit the device?" she asked.

I shook my head, cursing under my breath that I didn't know the answer.

"I would guess at least five hundred volts; those devices are made to withstand punishment," I replied.

I shook my head.

"It also runs the risk of reaching your heart, which if it does...it will likely not restart," I continued.

I let out a deep sigh, suddenly realizing that both options were probably not feasible.

"It's alright, we can figure a way around-"
"Let's do the ultrasound,"

I looked at her in disbelief.

"...Are you sure?" I asked.
"We won't be able to hide from them while that tracker is still inside of me, let's get this over with." she replied.

I nodded before turning on my PDA.

"All of the equipment we'll need is at my hideout in Paris; it's an abandoned medical facility from the strike that happened a few years ago," I explained.
"You mean one of the sites Overwatch held before Talon drove them out?"
"The very same; all of the medical equipment is still there,"

Amélie put her hand to her chin for a moment before looking down at her leg.

"Paris isn't exactly close by...so how are we going to get there without being noticed? I'm not exactly an easy person to miss." she asked.
"A good friend of mine is making a trip to Paris. I already informed her of the situation and she agreed to get us there unnoticed," I replied.

She raised her eyebrow.

"A good friend?"
"You might know her..."

I laughed nervously before calling a number on the PDA and putting it on speaker.

"Hola Aiden!"

I had never seen Amélie's face sour so quickly before as she rolled her eyes.

"Hello Sombra...I was just telling Amélie about our plan of action," I began.

The screen then produced a video feed of the hacker's face and she seemed almost overjoyed to see her former partner.

"Looks like the spider needs some help this time eh? Are you two ready to get out of there?"
"We're already packed up, just need that transport," I replied.

Sombra smiled brightly.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes. Be ready mijo."

She winked at me and blew a kiss before cutting the call off. I looked back at Amélie to see that she was visibly irritated.

"You two don't get along that well I take it?" I asked.
"She thinks all of our work is a game," she replied.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Is there a story behind this?" I asked.
"We were assigned to assassinate Katya Volskaya and she came with Reyes and I...the mission was a failure and I still haven't the slightest idea why. I don't even think we needed Sombra to get the job done but Talon assigned her there anyway." she explained.

She folded her arms and scoffed...but for some reason smiled.

"She's an excellent hacker however. Likely the best I've ever seen." she said.

It was strange hearing her compliment someone; I knew her to be a very cold person but for some reason, she didn't get furious or get annoyed enough to dispute anything we've done thus far.

"Maybe the reconditioning really is breaking..."

"Agreed. Anyway, let's pack up and get going; the longer we stay in Annecy, the more danger we'll be in," I said.

Twenty Minutes Later

"It's so good to see you again mijo!"

I didn't get to say anything in response before the hacker threw her arms around me.

"I trust you've been taking care of yourself?" she asked.
"As best I can. Is everything ready?" I replied.

She nodded before turning to Amélie and winking.

"Long time no see," she said.

The sniper rolled her eyes and let out a sigh of annoyance.

"Sour as ever I see," she said with a snicker.
"Considering how much pain she must be in standing on that leg...I suggest we get moving before things get worse," I interjected.

The hacker nodded before gesturing over to a black van.

"You're going to have to drive mijo; Talon will be looking for me," she said.

I nodded before approaching Amélie and offering my hand.

"Let's get going," I said.

She nodded before taking my hand and allowing me to help her into the van. In order to better conceal her identity, I ensured that none of her skin apart from some of her face was showing by giving her long sleeved clothing. She was wearing one of my sweaters along with very thick cotton pants along with one of her coats. After helping her into the back of the van, I loaded all of the luggage we were taking with us before turning to Sombra.

"Would you mind riding in the back with her? Just to ensure she's not in too much pain?" I asked.

She replied by poking my nose and once again, feigning a kiss.

"Anything for my friend," she replied with a wink.

Knowing just how much she liked to flirt with people caused me to laugh softly before I gave her a hug. She was evidently caught off guard by the gesture due to how much she flinched in my grasp.

"Thank you for helping us Sombra...I really appreciate it," I said.

She responded by relaxing and returning the hug, wrapping her arms around my back and leaning her head into my chest.

"A girl's gotta thank the man who helped her out of a tight spot somehow! Now let's get going." she replied.

~ o ~

"Who would've thought we'd see each other again so soon?" asked Sombra.

I rolled my eyes before leaning my head back against the seat.

"What happened to your leg?" she asked.
"I was shot," I replied.

The hacker whistled loudly.

"I'm assuming Talon found a reason to want you dead right?" she asked.
"I'm a liability because my reconditioning appears to be slowly fading away," I replied.

She approached me and sat on the floor in front of me.

"Let me see the wound," she said.

Thinking nothing of it and noting just how serious her face got, I sat up and stretched my leg out. She unwrapped the bandages before whistling loudly.

"Poisoned bullet, trademark of the black ops division of Talon. You've got some bad people after you mija," she said.

I raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know?" I asked.
"I recognize that type of wound anywhere; it's infamous on black market reports concerning those assassination contracts," she replied.

She discarded the bandage before applying a fresh one.

"You're very lucky to be alive araña...and it's only going to get harder to stay off the radar once you get to Paris," she continued.

I nodded in agreement.

"I was lucky that Aiden happened to be there...speaking of which, it seems you two have a history?" I asked.

For some reason, I felt genuinely curious and this was a chance for me to learn what kind of reputation my husband's best friend had with others. Sombra then laughed softly, her cheery disposition coming right back as if it never left.

"He helped me get my hands on some tech in the past. Risked his life to save me as well. Needless to say he means a lot to me," she replied.

She then gave me a rather devious look.

"Why? You jealous?" she teased.

I had no idea why I felt heat come to my cheeks but I shook my head, ensuring that my face was still blank.

"He's helped me out a lot in the past and I saw this as a chance to start repaying him, even though he never once asked for anything in return," she explained.
"Selflessly righteous is he?" I asked.

Sombra shook her head.

"He's a man who follows his beliefs without compromise. A lot of people could learn something from him that's for sure." she said.

She took a deep breath and let it out.

"He also saved some of my friends back from my time in Los Muertos...so I feel very indebted to him. Out of anyone I can say is a good friend to me, he's the first person that comes to mind."

She took her seat back on the other side of the van before looking at me.

"I'm assuming he's told you about the tracker that's inside your body?" she asked.
"Yes. And I already decided how we're going to deal with it." I replied.

She sighed softly.

"It's one of the few devices that I have problems hacking; my tech doesn't really go through flesh very well so I'm sorry I can't be of much more help with it mija," she said.
"You've nothing to be sorry for; you're helping enough as it is." I replied.

A rare genuine smile graced the hacker's face as she laughed softly.

"You know araña, you can be a sweet girl sometimes. You should do that more often; maybe you'll find someone who can help you heal because I know how much you're suffering inside." she said.

It was strange hearing such insightful words from someone like her, but I smiled slightly and nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied.

I laid back but before I could close my eyes and fall asleep, I felt the ever familiar feeling of a finger on my nose.

"Boop!" she cheered.

Though I really wanted to throw a fist into her stomach, I let go of it and simply smiled.

Six Hours Later

"We can begin whenever you're ready," said Aiden.

I glanced at Sombra, who was snickering childishly at the door as I began to remove my coat. She quickly made herself scarce once I began to lift my shirt over my head. I kept my eyes on Aiden but much to my surprise, he was looking away. He didn't even seem the least bit uncomfortable. I removed all of my clothing short of my bra and panties until he finally spoke up,

"Let me see if I can find the tracker in your current state; it may not be necessary to be completely nude," he said.

I laid on the table as he turned on the ultrasound machine. It came to life as he removed the apparatus from its holster and turned to me. He then applied some kind of gel to my stomach before he began to run the apparatus across it. It was warm...and felt surprisingly soothing for something that was scanning right down to the subcutic level of my skin. He kept his eyes on the screen as he carefully moved the tool to different areas. It took about five minutes before he shook his head.

"Nowhere in your stomach, let's try your back," he said.

He wiped the gel from my stomach with a towel as I turned over and lay on my stomach. He repeated the process, applying the same gel to my back as he began to run the tool across it. Another five minutes passed until he made an audible gasp.

"The machine is picking up something, but it's clouded by your bra." he said.

I wordlessly unlatched the garment, allowing it to fall to the table as I placed my head on my arms and closed my eyes. It took him about two minutes more of searching until he finally found the device, which was more on the right side of my back, between the legs of my spider tattoo. I felt Aiden make some kind of marking on the spot with a marker before he reached for the extraction tool. It was a small device, no bigger than a tall glass that had four claws which I assumed were used to anchor it for the extraction process.

"This device will be able to remove the tracker. Thankfully, it's in a non-vital location so it should be quick...but it's going to hurt. A lot."

He then reached for a syringe before holding it up in front of my face.

"I'm going to knock you out so the extraction will be painless." he said.

I nodded before stretching out my arm. He injected the drug and it wasn't long before I began to feel the effects. He then brought a transparent mask to my face, which was hooked up to some kind of gas tank as it emitted visible white gas.

"Count to ten." he said.

I breathed the gas in and within seconds, I felt it begin to take effect. I could feel my entire body relaxing even against my will and slowly, my vision began to fade.

"One, two, three...four...fi-"

Everything went black.

~ o ~

Once I was sure she was no longer conscious, I placed the device over the mark I made earlier. I took a deep breath as I pressed the button to bring the tool to life. It clamped onto her skin with a transparent glass casing touching the point of entry. After checking to be sure that she was unconscious once more, I adjusted the settings to aim for the sub-dermal layer. I then pressed the large red button, causing the device to emit a visible current of electricity over her skin. It took several seconds for it to begin the extraction and within the blink of an eye, it sucked the tracker directly out of her skin. Before the cut could begin to bleed, I immediately cauterized it with a second current of electricity. Thankfully, it didn't leave a large scar and the regenerative drug that she was currently taking would likely make short work of this wound and not leave a scar.

I removed the device and wiped the wound with some disinfectant before applying some gauze with medical tape. Once I was satisfied that the wound was attended to, I looked at her face.

"She's not going to wake up for about an hour..."

I latched her bra back on...and reached to pick her up but for some reason, my eyes hovered over her face.

"...She's beautiful..."

Gerard really chose a beautiful woman to take as his wife and even though her skin was blue due to the physical alterations Talon made during her reconditioning, she somehow managed to remain a stunningly attractive woman. I had read a lot on her exploits as Widowmaker, especially the assassination of Mondatta and it absolutely astonished me that a woman who used to be so gentle and kind could kill a figure as pure as that of an omnic monk. She was almost nothing like the woman I knew back then, but small bits of her emotions were seeping out through the cracks in her brainwashing.

I knew that I had to find a way to break its hold on her, else she would never be able to move on and forgive herself for what she did. As furious as I was to hear that she was the one who killed my best friend, after having been subjected to largely the same procedures...I couldn't bring myself to blame her. She was kidnapped and it wasn't like she volunteered for this. She was supposed to live her life as an agent of Overwatch, not become one of the world's most infamous assassins.

My hand unconsciously ghosted over her cheek as she continued to sleep peacefully. It was cold...but by now, things like this did nothing to terrify me. It would hopefully only be a matter of time before she could return to her former self.

It took me a few seconds, but I broke away from admiring her beauty and picked her up in my arms. I carried her out of the room and into one of the sleeping quarters of the facility. I had modified it beforehand to accommodate three people, as I typically had one or two partners on some of my contracts in Paris. It seems it was a good thing I did; Sombra and Amelie would be here for a while. After placing her in the bed and drawing the covers over her, I left the room to find Sombra. She was in the opposite room, sitting on a couch...wearing no shirt. She appeared to be playing some games on hologram screens. I cleared my throat, causing her to turn around and snicker.

"Got the tracker out of her?" she asked.

I handed her the extraction tool, now with the tracking device inside of it.

"Can you shut it down?" I asked.

She winked at me.

"Did you forget who you're talking to?" she said.

She took the tool from me, placing it on the table in front of her before she patted the couch. I honored her request, sitting next to her as she scooted close to me in her usual flirtatious manner.

"So what was it like? Looking at your best friend's wife in all her glory?" she teased.

I shook my head and laughed.

"It didn't have to come to that." I replied.

The hacker raised her eyebrow.

"You make it sound like you don't want anything to do with her. You'd be pretty stupid to think she's not muy bonita mijo," she said.

I sighed deeply.

"I can't look at her that way. You know that." I explained.

She raised her hands and shrugged.

"Just a thought amigo; if you're going to take care of her you'd might as well take the chance huh?" she said.
"Still always thinking about the fun things. Do you ever take anything seriously?" I asked with a chuckle.

She shrugged casually as she removed the tracker from the tool and brought up her signature holographic interface. It took her a few minutes, but I saw the device light up in her trademark pink glow. She then turned back to me, smiling.

"Not only did I just hack this, but I got past the security protocols so we could activate it ourselves and they'd be none the wiser," she said.

I let out a breath of relief as I leaned back in the couch.

"Good...that's one problem dealt with," I said.
"What's next on the agenda then mijo?" she asked.

I looked towards the entrance to the room and sighed.

"It all depends on how her leg is feeling; I won't be able to take on the force that has my daughter without endangering her if I'm alone." I explained.

Sombra put a hand to her chin for a few moments before snapping her fingers.

"I've got an idea. And I'm sure araña will be very interested in it too."