Chapter 16
The Last Laugh
"Don't you know, big guy?"
Lena looked up at him with a wink, tipping an imaginary hat. Then she gave her best Indiana Jones impression.
"That thing belongs in a museum!"
The hangar was eerily quiet after that line, save for some snorting by doctor Ziegler. On one hand, the doctor was horrified by what had happened to Jack and tried to keep him stabilized. On the other, she was apparently the only one in the whole vicinity that found Lena's joke to be absolutely hilarious.
Doomfist, on the other hand, just raised an eyebrow.
"Are you stupid?"
Lena cocked her head.
"Well, I never stopped to think if I was or wasn't. I guess I'm pretty clever!"
Besides the two of them talking, the only background noise came from Angela whose stifled laughter devolved into sounds of a dying animal.
"I've never seen a more fascinating case of Dunning-Kruger."
"What's that?"
"When a person is completely oblivious of their own incompetence."
"Uuuh, that sounds fascina-"
A shockwave was sent Lena's way mid-sentence by a weighty punch. She was more than ready for it, this time, quickly blinking out of the way.
"Rude!"
Doomfist didn't seem phased in the slightest by his opponent's smooth evasion. The hulking pacific islander continued his attack with both fists. His fighting style tried to keep her occupied with the massive shockwaves from the gauntlet only to follow up with precision, lunging punches from his bare fist.
"Less talking, more dying."
Tracer dodged all of them with effortless ease, danced and weaved around her infamous enemy, but her resources were rapidly running out. The shots of her pulse pistols connected with their target, yet seemed to barely affect him. They did however singe through the stacks of tattered cloaks Doomfist was wearing, revealing a massive metal chassis below.
"Uuuuh, so you are a cyborg! Did you get into an accident, luv?"
He grunted. Doomfist was getting annoyed by this insolent girl's tenacity.
"No, I am by choice."
Another strike somehow predicted her next blink location. The fist was already directly before her eyes when Tracer let herself fall back. It missed her by a hairs breadth and she was struggling to remain balanced on her feet.
"End of the line!"
Doomfist was right. There was neither a recall nor a blink left to her.
Fuck!
He prepared his infamous gauntlet for the coup de grace.
Three months ago, somewhere in Chile
"Only throice, eh?"
"Yeah..."
"And rocket boots won't be enough ye say, missy?"
"Maybe, I got a hunch that she's too calculating to fall for that one…"
"Well crikey! Lemme think…"
Junkrat and Lena were sitting at a nice desk in a makeshift hobble and brainstormed over some way to improve her combat abilities. He was tinkering on the chronal accelerator she was still wearing in the meanwhile. At first she was anxious about him working on her anchor to this space in time, but there was no room left for doubt anymore.
"Wha' about… eh, nah…"
Something told her that this finely ornamented desk they were sitting in front of didn't belong here. The same vibe was coming off the fine tea set that Roadhog was using at that moment. Sometimes Lena would peak over to him. He held a tiny tea cup between two fingers and… kind of just sat there on a chair that was several sizes too small for the Australian. She wondered when the seat would give in.
Roadhog was a bit odd, but a nice fellow overall. Both of them had been very helpful, in fact.
Maybe they wouldn't have turned out to be crazy criminals if someone had helped them, too.
That thought made her a little sad, to the point of biting her own lip. This didn't last long however, as Junkrat cried out.
"EUREKA! I think I could jury rig this thing! Give a little boost to this baby, y'know?"
"Woah, izzat dangerous?"
Junkrat looked up at her with bewilderment. One of his raised eyebrows was happily smoldering all the while. She contemplated on making him aware of the fact, but decided against it.
"Who cares about dangerous? It'll be loads of fun! Well, yeah, maybe ya won't be able to blink after a while… or it'll explode… but that'd be just more fun! And in the meanwhile, you'll be blinkin' like craaayzy!"
He giggled obnoxiously.
"I… guess that's okay. As long as I don't get lost in time again."
Winston would surely be able to repair her accelerator if she needed to use this… 'jury rigged' overcharge. So she nodded her consent to Junkrat who proceeded with the alterations.
What's the worst that could happen?
She was sitting there, contemplating and watching him work for a while.
"But that doesn't really improve my combat strength, does it? It only makes me evade more, I guess?"
"Blinking just makes you faster?"
Roadhog's voice made Lena prop up in surprise. Jamison promptly hit his head on the chassis of her accelerator and began cursing accordingly. The big Australian had emptied the tea cup and gently set it down on the expensive table.
Damn, missed it! How does he even manage to drink with that mask on?!
"Well uhm… I guess so? I mean, that's why I run into walls sometimes, instead of just appearing, you know?"
Lena had never really thought about how her ability worked, she just intuitively used the acceleration to her advantage. It was weird to talk about.
"You smash into walls?"
"Not really? I kind of reflexively slow down when I approach something solid, I guess."
"Why do you slow down?"
That almost made her laugh. Why would she want to collide with something at full speed? Was he serious?
As she saw how Junkrat gazed up at her with a puzzled look, she remembered how he had been catapulted by his own explosion and left quite a dent in that metal wall back at the bank. Then the implication began to click in her head.
"Ooooh."
He had observed her combat style, figured out her movement patterns and timings. This should've been the opportune time for the finishing blow!
This isn't possible!
"Haha! I'm on fire! Really?!"
She had used another blink into the air, making a mock of his calculations. Doomfist looked up and was in awe by what he saw. The device on her chest was spinning like crazy and had changed colors drastically to a vibrant red, just as did the color of her eyes. A visible aura made electric sparks crack in the tense air around her. Even her hair was spikier than ever before.
Tracer studied her new look with giddy excitement. Then she leaned forward with a menacing grin, readying herself.
A lightning demon!
"What have you done?!"
He could barely get this exasperated question out before something smashed into him with unstoppable force. He could feel his skull almost crack, only protected by the metal plates bolted to it. Yet even they dented inwards.
His body felt heavy. Everything hurt, yet Winston ground his teeth against each other and pulled himself up. Mercy no longer had time to look after him, lest Jack would perish. It would be some time before she got him stabilized.
"Zis backpain is killing me…"
Reinhardt seemed to have more problems than himself. Being hit by a propelled wall wasn't the kind of experience Winston ever wanted to live through himself.
As he studied the fight, Winston had to adjust his glasses. He couldn't see Tracer anymore.
Only a mad giggle made him aware of the time travelers location. She was up in the air, holding her pistols close as she looked down upon her prey. Sparks flew from her chronal accelerator as it was going faster than it ever should. The obscenely bright, red light it emitted lit up Lena's widely grinning face into an outright demonic appearance.
"Get stuffed!"
Lena blinked once again, but not to encircle her opponent. No, she blinked directly at him! Winston gasped audible as her accelerating knee collided with Doomfists head. In the space of a moment the acceleration process ejected Tracer, but the momentum kept her going. While her knee cap buried itself in her opponent's face, her body lost any sense of control and barreled forward.
"Shitshitshit!"
Wheeling with her arms, she fell to the floor together with her opponent. Before they both met the ground however, Lena seemed to remember how to blink and suddenly got out of that predicament. As she stood firmly on her feet once more, she cleared herself of dust and grinned widely, examining her work.
There were cheers from the beaten lesser agents in the hangar as they realized what had happened. Doomfist lay on the ground, his face bloody, nose broken and metal plates dented. Doubtlessly to them, the villainous scientist would have mopped the floor with everyone in the hangar if it wouldn't have been for their very own heroine. Lena was visibly flattered by the cheers and rubbed the back of her head with one hand.
"D'aww, that was nothing! I'll give autographs later chaps!"
What only Winston seemed to realize was how Tracer sold herself short. Her leg was shaking visibly. Winston wagered that her kneecap was either broken or severely impaired by that collision. Even worse yet, her adversary wasn't close to being done.
Yet another effortless blink evaded the rising Doomfist in a failed attempt to catch her off guard. Gaining her attention turned out to be folly, as she blinked around him with ludicrous speed, too fast for the simple eye.
This is too much! The device and her body won't possibly function like that for long!
It was like watching a man getting assaulted by a red cloud made of thunder. Quick as lightning, Tracer began battering him with her own body at high speeds over and over again. The only thing Doomfist could do was try to shield himself with his fists.
"Reaper, I need your help!"
"Can't even deal with a girl by yourself, can you?!"
"Quit your attitude, don't you see her power?"
Reaper quickly entered the fight, his petty ego satisfied with the blow to Doomfist's pride. Shotgun shells began harassing Tracer from her blinking spots, only for huge fists to follow up the hunt. For all their squabbles, the two villains were fighting together in a ruthless tandem. Tracer was forced on the defensive, blink after blink used to evade.
Winston saw the inevitable. No matter how fast Tracer could blink, they would practically herd her in front of a devastating blow any moment now. Winston could no longer afford to just watch and recuperate.
At his command, the suit he was wearing injected enraging chemicals into his body. His jetpack roared into action as Winston physically grew into a larger form, swelling with red anger.
A giant scientist slammed into the blindsided mercenary with animal ferocity! He grabbed him by the waist with all his might and threw this giant hulk of a man away from Tracer.
"DOOMFIST! I'M YOUR OPPONENT!"
The throw had been beyond effective! Doomfist had been severely caught off guard and crashed into a pile of rubble that was left behind from his own destructive influence.
Behind him Tracer was continuing the fight with Reaper, giggling cheerily.
"Thanks big guy! Look, we're matching colors now~!"
Winston snorted and desperately tried to keep himself focused and angry. Everything still hurt from the numerous bullets that had entered his body. He just hoped that Tracer's chronal accelerator would hold for long enough to finish Reaper and help him out. Winston would barely be able to stand without the chemicals.
Doomfist rose from the rubble. He looked just as tarnished as Winston did, yet he laughed a throaty laugh. Still his gaze betrayed the deep seated hatred Doomfist harbored for his fellow scientist.
"Reaper, you can deal with the girl alone I believe?"
"Sure, go play with the beaten monkey while I do all the work!"
"He's not a monkey. I have a score to settle with… this… TRAITOR!"
In an uncharacteristic fit of rage, Doomfist threw himself at Winston.
"Traitor?! I never consented to your mad plans, Doomfist!"
They clashed, wrestling with their enormous arms for control of the fight.
"I thought you at least would understand!"
Doomfist raged as old wounds came to light. He lashed out with a mighty headbutt reinforced by pure metal, making Winston stumble backwards.
"You lost your home, even your father to human short-sightedness, just as my home islands sank below the waves!"
"Human ignorance is a problem, but the omnic crisis was never the answer Doomfist!"
That made the formerly composed giant only rage more, following up the distance that Winston had stumbled backwards.
"IT WAS!"
They exchanged inhuman blows, inflicting untold damage upon each other's bodies before another stalemate came in the form of interlocking fists. They were both heaving from the carnage.
"Don't you see?! Humanity is unsustainable! The omnics are the future!"
"You had to be stopped! Billions of innocents would've died in your mad plans!"
The brawl began yet again. Winston blocked a blow, only to realize too late that is was a feint.
"AS THEY SHOULD!"
The Doomfist itself smashed into his breastplate with full force, catapulting the commander of Overwatch into the next wall 10 meters over.
"Humanity WILL destroy itself, you only delay the inevitable, fool!"
Winston could feel his body going numb, his ears ringing and the voice of his opponent faintly in the distance, yet coming closer. The chemicals in his body had ran their course. He felt weaker by the second.
"You will see, old friend."
A large, metal fist gripped Winston by the throat. The large gorilla gasped, desperately hoping that Tracer would come to relieve him as planned, yet found her still interlocked in a seemingly even fight with Reaper. Winston realized that his gambit had failed. All hope was lost. Like a common street dog, he was lifted off the ground by his opponent's inhuman strength. Doomfist gazed at him with a mix hatred and smug satisfaction.
"We will orchestrate another omnic crisis… and I will make sure your little club won't interfere this time."
They both lay on the bed, panting and exhausted. At some point the victor had allowed for them to crawl back up into the softness of it. Their remaining clothes were strewn about the place. Hana was cuddling up to the prize she had claimed, resting her head on the collar bone of the slightly bigger girl. A sly grin found its way onto the Koreans face every time she moved a little too much so Sombra had to flinch because of her broken ribs.
If I had known before how much a sadist she is…
The Mexican girl was thinking whether she'd done the same again if she knew. Then she looked down at their naked, sweating bodies.
Eh. Probably.
"Claimed enough of your prize yet?"
"For now, at least. Maybe again in another minute or two?"
"Insatiable..."
They both giggled stupidly at that. A Korean finger trailed along the side of her all the while.
"So… you're not just here for me, are you?"
"D'aww, I'm hurt Chiquita… of course I'm here just for you~!"
A sudden rub to her rib cage quickly made Sombra quit the teasing while gasping audible at the pain.
"Quit bullshitting, would you?"
So sadistic!
"Alright alright! Dios mio… I'm… kinda here to infiltrate the place and weaken security, you know? Something about a French girl. But it's mainly an excuse to meet you, I swear! Even made them agree that they won't disturb me in here…"
The Mexican girl was afraid of another unwanted rub and flinched pre-emptively, just in case, but it never came. Instead, there was an entirely welcome rub in form of a light skinned, silky-smooth knee in untold regions. Hana bit her lower lip, completely enchanted.
"That's so cute of you! I'm happy that you came to be my prize."
Hana's voice was eerily sinister as she caressed her new lover's cheek while kissing the other. A shiver ran down the hacker's spine, caused by equal parts dread and excitement.
"Haha, y-yeah, me too…"
"Huh, but… a French girl you say?"
"Si. Blue skin, long ponytail. Wasn't interested in her that much."
"That's Amélie! She's one of my best friends!"
Sombra raised an eyebrow.
"She is?"
"Oh is she ever! I wouldn't be here without her, you know? She saved my life just a few days back."
As Hana was remembering what had happened in Seoul and their trip home afterwards, she was smiling heavenly. The girl below her however could feel a pit open in her stomach. It didn't help that Hana was looking at her again with curiosity once she finished reminiscing.
"What do your guys want from her, anyway? More rabid fans like you?"
Her expression was so incredibly naïve, it could've melted icebergs. Sombra knew that her associates were here to either kidnap or kill the French girl, but she couldn't just tell Hana the truth!
Unless I want more of my ribs broken. La cagué.
Practically out of nowhere, Sombra pushed her new lover to the side and hurried to stand up from the bed.
"Hey!"
She flinched all the while from her physical impairment, yet soldiered through until she reached Hana's gaming station, picking up her tools on the way. Hana was looking at her go in puzzled disbelieve.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Purple visuals already flared up around Sombra. The hacking device on her right hand navigated the menus with trained precision and ludicrous speed, yet she stopped after a few moments dead in her tracks, looking over her shoulder.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm switching sides. Si no es problema para ti?"
For all the cockiness of her words and that one obnoxious wink, Sombra's smile was quite nervous in stark contrast. Hana contemplated a biting remark, but held back. Instead she stood up, walked behind her own gaming chair and watched Sombra work while her arms slowly hugged the frantically hacking girl from behind.
"That's a coincidence. We could use a new security advisor with all the perverted girls breaking into my room lately."
Hana sought to calm her down with that little quip and a kiss to the neck… and succeeded judging by the shy smile on her new girlfriend's lips.
"STAY STILL ALREADY!"
Reaper cursed, mad as ever and Tracer was delighted by that fact. With cheery giggles she surrounded the black clad villain like an angry bee swarm and occasionally lashed out. Her whole body was trembling by this point from all the impacts, but adrenaline was one hell of a drug.
"That would be kinda stupid of me, wouldn' it?"
"THE HELL DO I CARE?!"
He was however way better equipped to handle her than his colleague had been. His hellfire shotguns denied a large chunk of area at a time and constantly kept her at a distance. She couldn't quite as easily get close to him as she could with a melee fighter like Doomfist, so she went with her pulse pistols most of the time. Every time she even saw an opening, Tracer just straight up blinked, but only through his Wraith Form. Her pulse rounds nevertheless took their toll. She would have him whittled down in the next minute.
"STOP WASTING TIME!"
It was delicious to her, watching him struggle with his inevitable defeat. Together the two villains might have bested her, but Reaper alone was nothing more than her plaything. It was also a good thing that she didn't think much about her status, as the blinks were again starting to ramp up on cooldown. The overcharge seemed to slowly recede.
More than enough to beat this chump!
Yet again Reaper was forced to retreat into Wraith Form. Lena blinked around him, taunting him and sticking her tongue out.
"Who's wasting time, eh? Ohh, it's you! That's funny."
The former Blackwatch agent raged to the boiling point, just like she wanted. As he left Wraith Form to shout a retort, she chose the exact millisecond to blink her elbow into his face! With a satisfying crunch, his mask cracked and Reaper went down quite unceremoniously. Lena towered over him with a mad grin on her lips and started to sing.
"Stupiiid! Stupid stupid stupid Reaper, kihihihi-ouch!"
In the middle of her maniacal laughter, something blunt hit the back of her head. Turning around, she saw the culprit.
There was the last remaining Talon agent in the hangar. Tracers pulse bomb had thrown her out of the aircraft a while back. Her legs were buried by debris and she had apparently launched a small rock at her.
Seriously?
Lena approached with a blink, too quick and close for comfort. The determined gaze of the blonde agent slowly eroded away. She wouldn't be able to move out the way and that rock had been the only throwable object in the vicinity.
"You got my attention, lass! That's what you wanted, right?"
Tracer leisurely pointed one of her pulse pistol at the nuisance.
"Isn't your boss just to die for?"
Sadistic thrill made Lena shiver with delight. Her demonic grin terrified her helpless adversary. Slowly, her finger pulled the trigger of her pulse pistol downwards to execute her target.
"LENA!"
Time stood still.
Amelie!
Lena turned her head towards the source of the shout and indeed, in the doorway to the cafeteria stood her anchor to sanity.
Oh god, I almost did it again! What a relief that she arrived in time. I still have to apologize for last time I killed one of her colleagues!
The madness literally drained out of Lena. Her demonic expression turned to one of soft delight. Her gun arm lowered itself, while the overcharge on her chronal accelerator flickered in dying motions until only a dim, light blue glow remained. The air around her and even her hair calmed down. Her senses dulled in the aftermath, adjusting to the sudden change. Her ears were ringing.
Everything is gonna be alright now! I can't wait to just sink beneath the sheets and forgot all about this. Curious though, why is she looking so distraught? I can't hear… Huh, why am I falling?
Time unwinded with an ear-splitting bang. Her hearing came back with it and was instantly shell-shocked. The sweet numbness provided by the static electricity that had coursed through her body faded quickly and adrenaline was no longer enough to keep her together. Immense pain assaulted her body from without and within, but especially in her left leg. In the process of panicking she looked down there.
Reaper was standing to her side. It was a phantom pain. He had shredded her lower leg with his shells from point blank, messily severing it below the knee.
Blood was everywhere as she fell to her knees.
She couldn't believe her eyes. Lena was feeling nauseous. There was no breath left in her lungs, yet she had to scream.
Amélie had rushed at the scene without thinking! This all wouldn't have happened if she didn't distract Lena!
She was deeply in panic, more than she had been when running from Ana. The sight of her loved one mutilated made her heart beat upwards, all the way to her gut. She ran towards her. It was only when she slowed her approach and finally stood in front of Lena that she noticed her second mindless folly.
A meter away Reaper waited. Amélie had begun to fear him ever since she stopped taking her medicine, culminating in this climax of hysteria. He was observing her keenly. His mask was broken, making him look even more terrifying.
"It's good to see you well, Widowmaker."
It was impossible to discern whether he meant it. Reaper had this habit of talking in a constantly sarcastic tone. Either way, a cold shiver ran down Amélie's spine.
Lena was kneeling in front of her. Her expression was wrecked by pain and stained by tears. Amélie couldn't look down there for more than a second. The pragmatic part of her mind that wasn't either terrified, guilt-ridden or panicking realized the modus operandi she had to take.
One deep breath.
"You… could use a new mask. Are we done here?"
Amélie looked around the hangar, mainly to escape Reaper's gaze. Looking him in his black, heartless eyes would give her away in an instant. The same was the case for looking down to her love. It took the last shreds of her will not to do so. Yet everywhere else was so much destruction, all because of her.
"Sure. Just cleaning up the trash."
He aimed one of his shotguns squarely at Lena's head.
"Wait!"
There was a pause in his motions. He was studying her with scrutiny now.
"I… I mean, haven't you learned anything? I already told you, it's much more efficient against morale to have her alive and suffering. You shot her leg off, what's she supposed to do?"
Amélie couldn't believe her own words. She felt like the worst. It took all her resolve for her voice not to break up.
Reaper's black eyes narrowed behind the shadow of his cowl.
"No. She dies."
"You… you can't! She's mine! Your mission is to get me out of here, so I won't come with you if you steal my prey!"
Now he was laughing. The sinister cackle gave her another shiver down the spine, which she did her best not to show.
"Like a petty child. Didn't the commander tell you? Our mission is to bring you alive… or dead."
Suddenly she was facing the barrel of his other hellfire shotgun. Her heart sank, this time with a visible cold shiver.
"But you know me, Widow… I'm a nice guy."
His black eyes narrowed again, this time with sick amusement.
"I'll let you do the honors."
The sound of hard-fought battle made him come to amidst the rubble, even though the vision was still blurry. His armor had been crushed, which made it hard to breathe. Winston realized that Reinhardt had intervened before Doomfist could deal the finishing blow to him. Still, the scenery that opened before him was dire to say the least.
"Zis cannot be! Lena, I'm coming!"
Reinhardt only narrowly managed to parry Doomfist's next attack, which quickly reminded him of who his opponent was.
"You'll have to get through me first, tin soldier."
Winston looked on along the hangar and spotted Widowmaker, running towards her wounded companion. The talon agent beside her seemed to be caught off guard by this and quickly followed.
"Winston?"
"Oh, Athena… It's still a few minutes off, isn't it?"
"Good news. An insider is rapidly clearing up clusters."
Now that was surprising to the scientist.
"Who could…"
Athena cut him off, since Winston was out of breath anyway.
"The insider is operating from miss Song's quarters. At this rate, hangar defenses will be up in 127 seconds."
Winston let his head fall back against the wall.
I knew I forgot someone! I'm so stupid…
"DVa, huh? I guess she's bound to be good with computers…"
The implication stunned her for a moment. Reaper would kill her, point blank, if she wouldn't end Lena. Widow's Kiss was weighing down like a terrible burden right now.
I… I can't. I absolutely won't. I can't live as a betrayer. Not again!
Her decision was set. For all the pretty thoughts, however, her body was shivering with cowardice. She could barely hold her rifle steady and the hopelessness of what she was about to do made breathing hard.
He can't make me… I'll… I'll just pull up and fire at him. I hope he kills me quickly…
After a moments hesitation, she initiated the motion, but couldn't manage to pull up Widow's Kiss. It took Amélie, utterly confused, a moment to realize that Lena herself had gripped the barrel of her gun.
"Traitor"
A raspy, tearing voice addressed her with audible venom.
"L-Lena?"
"You promised…"
She looked down with widened eyes and disbelief. What was she saying at a moment like this?
"This isn't the time-"
"Why do you have your gun?"
"Please just let go-"
"Why did you run from me?"
This was getting ridiculous. Nervously she monitored Reaper's status while half-heartedly trying to retort.
"B-Because-"
"I was supposed to protect you!"
"I… I know-"
"YOU PROMISED!"
The voice below was getting shrill, shredding itself with every word. Amélie gazed into tear-filled eyes amidst a face drained of blood. She could no longer keep the charade alive, desperately trying to explain herself.
"Lena, I didn't want this, it's not like-"
"I trusted you…"
The words were like a dagger to the heart. To breathe was getting impossible. All this destruction was her fault. Guilt weighed her down, yet hearing the accusations from her loved one is what broke her inside.
They were both crying at this point. Lena looked like she would faint any second now with all the blood loss and pain she must have endured. Amélie could make out the shouts of Angela and Reinhardt at the edge of her hearing, but she couldn't make out what was said.
There was a tug at her rifle, pointing it downward towards Lena's heart, right to the edge of her exhausted chronal accelerator.
"Finish it."
Lena's voice was nothing more than a husk of what it once was. Amélie couldn't stand looking at her anymore, shut her eyes in the face of despair.
"I… I can't…"
The presence of Reaper was completely forgotten. She didn't even want to look over. It would be a sweet relief to be shot in the head at this point, ending the pain. There would be no such luck. He probably delighted in this once-in-a-lifetime chance to see them suffering.
"You can."
Lena's voice broke even further. She was pleading at this point in a whispered, desperate tone.
A shadow clouded Amélie's mind. Her own cowardice feasted on the suffering she went through, the destruction she had wrought with her mere presence.
Why did I run… Why have I come here… Why did I call out to you… I've ruined everything!
A cold hand laid itself on her own, caressed her. She could feel a thumb enacting pressure on the finger that would end it all.
"Release me"
This… this is what she wants.
A shot echoed across the hangar.
Amélie opened her eyes, looking at her lover for a last time. There was a smile. A cheerful, reminiscing smile on the little Brit's lips, paired with immense relief. Those lips parted and Lena laughed happily with her broken voice until blood filled her mouth.
She suddenly understood that Lena hadn't meant any of the accusations, just meant to make it easier.
The cold hand slipped from Amélie's. Lena's eyes rolled back as her body lost its will to kneel upright, falling forward. The French girl quickly darted downwards to catch the smaller body, letting go of Widow's Kiss in the process. Again, she could hear the yells and cries of Angela and Reinhardt, reacting to the death of a symbol, but her instincts tuned them out. She didn't want to hear it. She betrayed them all.
Amélie's breathing was ragged as her brain tried to comprehend what had happened.
What have I done?
There was another laughter, deeper and darker, interrupting her thoughts.
"Delightful! You broke her poor little heart, metaphorically and literally. That's the second time now, isn't it? Aiming for a hat trick?"
Reaper reminded her with glee that this wasn't the first time she had betrayed a loved one for Talon. Thinking of Gerard only made the pit in her stomach deepen.
"They really made you good at following orders. You even killed her on her own behest! What a good little two-faced spider you are."
With shivering hands, she rolled Lena onto her back and carefully caressed that expressionless face. The mocking tone stung. Amélie knew it was true. With all the care and trust that Lena showed her, in the end she was still just a tool used for betrayal. The thought tore her apart inside.
Everything I touch goes to ruin…
A sudden roar of machinery coming to life stopped Reaper from mocking her further. Amélie couldn't care less either way.
"Agent Reaper, we need to get out of here! The hangar roof is closing in on us!"
"DAMN! Get your act together Widowmaker, no more time to play!"
"Just… just a moment."
Reaper wasn't in the least hesitant to turn around. She had reaffirmed her conditioning after all.
"Hurry up!"
Amélie did not hurry up. She still tried to comprehend.
I never told you, how much you mean to me.
That thought alone crushed her. She couldn't remember ever crying so hard before, being so torn in her life. Now she longed for the emotionless relief she had enjoyed for all these years.
Maybe I should go back.
While one hand straddled Lena's motionless head, the other ran along the side of her dead lover, until she could reach for what she wanted.
No. Running from you was the only real choice I made in over a decade. My foolishness knows no bounds.
Amélie regarded herself as a failure to the end, but found solace in the fact that Lena had given her the strength to decide her own fate.
I'll stay with you, ma chérie.
With one of Lena's pulse pistols pointed at her temple, for the second time after promising to never kill anyone ever again, Amélie Lacroix ended a life.
Je t'aime.
Viktor felt at ease that Josephine was safe, helping her up from the rubble. She had almost gotten herself killed, leaving him the sole survivor.
"Are you okay Josey?"
"Y-Yeah yeah! I would feel better if Doomfist had dealt with this… bastard already!"
Her seething gaze was attributed to the large crusader that was holding his ground against Doomfist. He was fighting valiantly, but lost his patience after watching the death of Tracer. Full of rage he gave the legendary Doomfist a run for his money, battering him with hammer strikes like a berserker.
"If the hangar is trapping us here, there will be no revenge for Graf at all! We have to hurry!"
The blonde agent followed his order begrudgingly, constantly looking back to the killer of her idol. They almost reached the aircraft, when another shot was heard, followed by something he had never heard before: Reaper crying out in terror.
"NO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!"
Viktor couldn't believe his eyes either.
Widowmaker, kneeling on the ground, had fired a pistol directly at her temple. The pulse round made her eyes and mouth shine in bright blue colors until her lifeless body slid to the ground beside that of Tracer.
The black clad villain wanted to run to the dead pair, even though it was much too late.
"There is no time, agent Reaper!"
Even if it was him, Viktor couldn't have more people die here for a useless cause. Luckily, Reaper listened after brief hesitation. They ran to the aircraft, which was already starting up, engines roaring and hovering above ground level. Everything was happening in the time of split seconds now.
"This is only the beginning, Overwatch! All of you will fall in time, like those two did!"
Doomfist roared with delight, even for his battered state. For the last moments, he guarded the aircraft from Reinhardt's fury, but suddenly another challenger appeared, roaring just as loud.
"Ryūjin no ken o kurae!"
Viktor couldn't quite believe his eyes! There was a full blown, neon green dragon, striking Doomfist from behind. Yelling bloody murder and bleeding like a stuck pig, the hulking giant struck the ground and let off enormous shockwaves to cover his escape. With inhuman strength, he jumped to reach the landing feet of the aircraft.
Suddenly an impact rocked the aircraft that was certainly not coming from Doomfist. The pilot's com flared up.
"We got a rocket trooper in the skies at 6 o'clock!"
Viktor looked out above and saw a blue clad soldier with a rocket pack to the back.
"Josephine, we need your drone defense!"
Without hesitation, her drones whizzed into action, terminating any danger to their escape.
As the huge hangar doors slowly closed below them, he could watch the enemy take just one more action. An angel like figure flew across the ruined battlefield towards the two corpses, glowing with holy light.
He knew this figure. He had seen the plans to reconstruct her gear in the Talon engineering department. The way she was glowing right now was a sign that she overloaded her Valkyrie suit, sending out a bright swarm of powerful nano bots to swiftly repair the damage of recently deceased patients and bring them back to life.
Viktor was torn at the prospect. The Widowmaker he met seemed like a nice person. What use was there in her death? Yet all their work, all their own casualties would be for nothing.
Suddenly he saw another figure run towards doctor Ziegler. It was Josephine.
WHAT? She jumped?!
"AGENT SANATA! COME BACK!"
Viktor was yelling after her in a stern voice, but his second in command would not be deterred.
He was looking for the rocket trooper as they would be defenseless now, but she seemed to have lost all interest in the aircraft, diving after Josephine.
All he could do was watch hopelessly as his second in command ran towards her target with crazed determination like a rabid hellhound. He remembered the medical reports of Graf's death that Sombra had sent them before the briefing, signed by doctor Ziegler.
Of course, she would take this last chance for revenge!
An army knife at the ready in her left hand. Rockets, shuriken and bullets from the now active hangar turrets hailed towards her, but she had set her defense drones to protect her body in advance. Without Josephine's active guidance however, the drones were bound to miss deletions. Single shuriken pierced the veil, burying themselves in her thigh and shoulder, yet she ran on.
"Heroes never-"
The cloud of bright yellow nano machines just about touched the corpses as Mercy was ripped out of the sky. The white clad doctor found herself pinned to the ground, Josephine sitting on top of her. Cold steel pierced her suit to stab deep into her flesh, between the ribs, again and again. Josephine was screaming like a banshee while doing so.
"YOU LET HER DIE! YOU KILLED THE COMMANDER!"
Viktor could see from the distance how the doctor spew blood as the knife entered her body for the fifth time. Just as the hangar ceiling closed before them, he could catch a glimpse of a huge hammer colliding with Josephine's unprotected body in full force, most likely breaking every single bone in her body.
Then, with a metal thud, further vision was denied.
Viktor sat there, stunned.
A fitting end, he thought apathetically. She died just like her idol.
The rest of the flight was largely eventless. At one point Doomfist heaved himself into the cabin from outside, closed the sliding door behind him and beamed a bright smile at his two partners in crime.
"That was outright exhilarating! Although I wish the gorilla would have met his fate."
None of the other two inhabitants of the cabin commented on that. Reaper was leaning against a wall, arms crossed, and commander Trgiňa sat on a bench, legs spread and eyes cast downward.
"What? Are you two sad that you lost your friends?
Again, there was only silence. Reapers gaze would kill if it could. The large scientist just laughed cheerfully to himself as he bled out in the open, sitting down on the bench a meter away from Viktor.
"You know…"
Doomfist slowly dislodged the gauntlet and set it down, gently. It turned out that the scientist had a bionic arm underneath, as the fake skin gave way for a myriad of tools, from cutters and needles to syringes and even a blow torch. The large villain leisurely began surgery on himself.
"…if you thought this would have a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention."
Viktor snorted.
"I know that quote. A song of ice and fire?"
The big cyborg raised an eyebrow.
"The show actually. I'm impressed commander, that stuff is over 50 years old."
It was weird to remind himself of old fantasy novels at this moment, but it helped to distract himself from the despair of having failed so many good soldiers.
"It does stand the test of time. Great writing. Hated the story though. Too much death."
"Really? But that's the best part! It evokes such powerful emotions!"
The islander laughed out loud in a cheerful manner, all the while casually operating on his own open flesh.
"Still, a pity you don't like it. There is so much inspiration to be had!"
Viktor stared at the huge man and wondered if he was in a dream turned nightmare. Then he contemplated where his life had gone wrong.
Je t'aime. ~ I love you.
La cagué. ~ I fucked up
Si no es problema para ti? ~ If you don't have a problem with that?
First of all, I'm so sorry that it took this long to write chapter 16!
A lot is going on in life, like moving to another country. And the fight scenes... oh so many fight scenes were a real headache to write.
But what do you think of the grand finale, dear reader?
There was so much tragedy in this chapter! Yet so many questions left unanswered! Who lives, who succumbs?
Let's find out together for one last time in the upcoming epilogue! ♡