Enraptured in Ice Ch. 6

AN: Hey everyone, sorry it took so long to update this story. I've been both working on some of my other fanfiction and my original work. Presently, I'm seeking a literary agent to publish my middle grade novel: Warren High, which is a paranormal thriller story. I'm also working on its second book as well as the rewrite of my first novel Trinity Wars. Thanks for your patience and support. I'm glad you are all enjoying it. -Kiba

Twiddling with her pen, Mei rested her chin on her arm. Staring at the writing utensil, she continued to lazily run her finger over the plastic as Tracer watched her utterly confounded. "Are you...okay?" she asked. "You didn't come to see Dan off."

"It's for the best," Mei recited. "He has feelings for me that I don't return. It'd only hurt him more if I was there." She wasn't even sure she believed that, but even still she repeated it like a mantra to convince herself that what she was doing was the right thing.

"Really?"

"Yep."

Tracer sat across from her, perching her chin in her hands. Mei looked up, though her head remained where it rested. "I can't believe I'm asking this question," Tracer sighed. "It's so dumb. Are you sure you're okay with all of this? It's just...for an entire week, you've been avoiding Dan like he's some sort of plague. I can understand he was a little forward…"

"A little," she agreed.

"But, I didn't expect it to bother you so greatly either. I mean, I can't speak for you, obviously, just that, I assumed you'd have simply told him 'no', and then went on like nothing happened. That's what I'd have done anyway."

"I don't think that's a good idea. It'd hurt too much."

"For him or for you?" Tracer challenged, causing Mei to once more lower her eyes to her pen. "Mei, if you like him, you know that's perfectly…"

The glare that the climatologist sent her, made her fall silent almost immediately. It was obvious she was uncomfortable having the conversation. "Any word from Winston on my new lab assistant?" she asked.

"Not yet," the younger one answered. "We've been incredibly busy lately. Reports have been flooding in from all over the world about people who are involved in vigilante justice. We have to investigate all of them if we want to ensure that Overwatch is back in top shape." Mei said nothing in response. "Mei, can I say something...just as a friend?"

"Sure," she finally surrendered.

"Call him. I know things have been awkward, and I know you think you're helping. But he really would love to hear from you. Regardless of what you think, he'd prefer to hear from you platonically than to never hear from you again."

She frowned, pondering Tracer's words. It was true, she did miss him greatly. Even if they'd only known one another for a short time, they had grown close. It wasn't so much that she was upset about his confession as much as it had simply caught her off-guard. "I can't."

"Sure you can. Really, I know what you're thinking but…"

"Tracer, I don't mean to be rude, but if you could please stay out of this, I'd really appreciate it. This isn't really any of your business."

Tracer's brow furrowed in frustration as she quickly stood up. "Fine. If you want to wallow in your own loneliness because you're willing to cast out the person who respected you most, then you're right, I suppose that isn't any of my business."

"Thank you for understanding," Mei blithely retorted.

The other let out a disgusted grunt before going to leave. "You know, he really did look up to you. Love or not, whatever, but it doesn't change the fact that he respected you and right now it seems the only person you're protecting this way is...well, obviously everyone's hurting, so I guess you're not really protecting anyone."

The pen clattered to the desk as she left, causing Mei to bury her face in her arms. She knew that Tracer was right, but she couldn't bring herself to contact him. She didn't even know what she'd say to him if she did call him. With a sigh of defeat, she reached for her phone. She'd spend another hour or two staring at its screen before she made her decision.

Multiple images of beautiful women danced through Dan's vision as he looked up from the strange place he was. Someone was on top of him, though who, he wasn't sure. Was this heaven? Maybe he'd died during the attack and was now surrounded by angels. That'd be nice.

"Hello?" a lovely voice called to him. "Are you okay, Dan?"

"Are you an angel?" he wheezed, the fractured images beginning to form together into the smiling young woman he'd met. A smirk was on her lips and he soon realized with a frustrated and embarrassed groan that it was in fact D. Va.

"Yours? Definitely," she replied.

"Hey Hana," he whined, going to stand, but with little effort, her hands went to his shoulders, pinning his body down on the bed. To his surprise, she was straddling his waist, smiling down on him. "Where am I?"

"Medic bay. Doctors said you'll make a full recovery thanks to that crazy armor you were wearing. They couldn't figure out how to get it off though."

Silently, Dan reached to his shoulder, pressing his thumb on the flat black pad. With a confirmed beep to recognize his print, it let out a hiss and folded inward, collapsing on itself until it was folded up snugly in his back pocket.

Her eyes sparkled in amazement as she leaned closer to him to try to get it for inspection. "I have to say, you sure know how to handle yourself for some political brat. Your parents must be some sort of military to have taught you so well," she commented, her face uncomfortably close to his.

"Hard to believe it's only my first week shooting a gun," he answered, squirming under her. He turned a bright red as she pulled back with the small metallic square the size of a wallet. "Why are you sitting on me?"

"The doctors said you're not allowed to get up until you're well rested. I'm just making sure you stay where you are," she replied as if her behavior was completely normal. She marveled at the small device, running her fingers over it before smirking. "Besides, don't pretend this isn't a dream come true for you. Most guys would kill to be in this position." She had a point, Dan mused. "Anyway, so what are you really doing here? If you were just some escort mission, you wouldn't be able to defend yourself as well as you did."

"Like I said, I'm here to observe you. That's all."

Her smirk turned into a frown. It seemed that wasn't the answer she was hoping for. Tossing him back his armor, she clambered off of him. "Fine. Don't tell me. I'll find out soon enough anyway. One way or another, I always do."

Suddenly the door bursted open, revealing a well-groomed military figure that slipped inside, bowing politely first to Hana, then to Dan. "Jal jinae?" he asked.

"He want's to know how you're feeling," D. Va. explained.

"Can you tell him I'm feeling a little better?"

Once she translated, the man nodded his head. "Yeogi Overwatch ui daepyo ga yeong-gwang ida. wa jusyeoseo jeongmal gamsahabnida."

"You're a member of Overwatch?" she gasped in surprise.

Dan scratched the back of his head nervously. "I guess the cat's out of the bag now," he chuckled nervously. "Yes, I'm from Overwatch. But in my defense, I wasn't lying. My job is to observe you and report back."

"I see." Turning back to the man, she spoke in rapid-fire Korean. He responded back excitedly, causing Dan to look between the two of them in confusion.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," she lied, "he's just really happy that you're here and safe."

"Thanks to you. Reaper was about to blow my face off."

"All in a day's work for a hero," she teased as the man left the room quickly. Dan watched after him just as his phone began to beep rapidly. "What's that?"

"Oh, Winston promised he'd send me a translation software once it was finished so now you don't have to keep translating for me," he replied. She smiled sweetly, but somehow he felt that it was less than genuine.

"I really don't mind," she promised. "Besides, you know how those translators are. They're not always reliable."

"Nah, Winston's a genius. He even included a translator for idioms and slang. He's typically on the ball with these sorts of things. Try it," he urged, holding the phone up to her.

"Yeot-meog-eo."

Glancing at the screen, Dan's eyes went wide. "Wow...you didn't hold back on that, did you?"

"What? I was just suggesting we get some yeot."

"Some what?"

"It's a type of candy," she giggled. "I guess this is your first time coming to Korea. Well, no worries, I'll be your guide. Are you up for some sight-seeing? I know some really cool places!"

"I don't know, I'm supposed to be on official business. I don't think they'd be too happy about me treating this like a vacation," he murmured.

She took his hand pulling him from the bed to follow her towards the door. "Oh come on, you'll be fine! All work and no play...right?" She looked at him her sparkling eyes, almost puppy like in innocence. "Pleeeeease? I don't get to go out very often. It'll be nice to relax."

"What happened to staying put?" he asked, though he did little to resist her tugging.

"You look well rested to me."

"Fine," he surrendered, "I doubt they'll mind if I take one day for myself."

Her arm wrapped tightly around his, gripping it fiercely as she escorted him down to the hospital's entrance. "Ooh! I know this great arcade. It's fantastic!"

"I thought you wanted to get candy."

"Later, obviously! Sheesh, try to keep up."

No sooner had the two of them taken a step outside that Dan found himself blinded by camera flashes, causing him to have to shield his eyes. "D. Va!" the reporters cried, crowding around the two. "Nuguseyo?"

"Igeos-eun naui sae namja chingu ibnida. Geuneun syupeo gwiyeoun aningayo?"

Immediately, they all began talking at once, shoving their microphones in his face, all talking rapidly as he looked at them in great confusion. "Wh-what did you say?"

"I told them you were a friend of mine," she whispered in his ear. "They just want to know more about you and what you think of Korea. I'm sorry if you're camera shy. This happens to me a lot. I figured it'd be best if I didn't mention Overwatch."

Mei's eyes went wide as she watched the television broadcast from Korea. She'd only been flipping through the channels when the world news reported that the world celebrity Hana Song has been caught outside of a hospital for an interview. What shocked her, however, was that there on the screen was Dan, standing there nervously, pressed against her and with her arm wrapped tightly around his.

She'd only ever seen him that flustered once: when he'd made his startling confession. "Nuguseyo?" the reporter asked, subtitles appearing to translate his question. Who is this?

Her response made Mei's blood run completely cold. This is my boyfriend. Isn't he super cute? What in the hell was going on?! Standing quickly, she leaned closer to the TV, her eyes unable to leave the images on the screen.

How is it dating an amazing star? Have you been enjoying Korea?

After whispering with her for a moment, he smiled to the reporters and waved slightly. "It's been great. I'm really excited to be here with Hana. She's going to take me sightseeing later. I'm sure it'll be plenty of fun."

"Boyfriend?" Mei asked stupefied. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He'd only been gone a day. Did he really fall that quickly? Of course he does, she thought. Think of how quickly he fell for me. "No, no. This isn't any of my business," she quickly argued with herself, turning from the broadcast to return to her work on the climate machine.

How long have you been dating? She whispered something into his ear again, causing him to smile.

"Ah, it's been a few months. I mean, I'd heard of her a long time before then, obviously, but it wasn't until a few months ago that I'd started really looking into her on a personal level."

"Great," Mei sighed, "so he's a stalker, too. Wait...if he's been dating her for months then…" A chill ran down her spine. No, Dan wasn't the sort of person to cheat like that was he? That didn't make any sense at all. He seemed so kind and genuine, if a little lacking in social graces. Besides, if that was the case, she was certain Tracer or someone else would have mentioned it earlier.

As the interview continued in the background, she glanced down at the phone on her table. Well, the interview was live...she could just call him and clear this whole thing up, but then at the same time she'd be talking to him, and that'd mean not giving him space.

After another few moments of debating, she picked it up, punching in his number and waiting for the call to connect. Sure enough, Dan glanced down at his pocket in surprise, reaching in and pulling it out to look at the screen.

For a moment, there was a gleam of recognition in his eye. His finger hovered over the answer button, but with a nuzzle from the young gamer, he stopped, pushing the ignore and tucking it back into his pocket.

"He...he ignored it," Mei whispered in disbelief. "He ignored my call." Churning feelings of annoyance, anger, and confusion flooded her mind, but still, she took a deep breath, setting down her phone and turning off the TV.

Collapsing into her chair, she tried hard to calm herself before laying her head down on her desk with a sigh. She didn't know why she was hurting so badly, but she just wished that it'd hurry up and stop.

"Wow, I guess you really are famous," Dan noted as the two of them managed to squeeze past the reporters. "I'm not used to getting so much attention, even back at Gibraltar."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, well...I'm not technically an Overwatch agent," he explained. "Actually, I'm more like an assistant to the team. When one of them needs something or wants an extra pair of hands, they call me."

"Then, why did they send you here?" D. Va. asked, a tinge of irritation in her voice.

Obliviously, Dan continued. "There was an incident about a week ago. I fell in love with a girl and I did some stupid stuff trying to save her life. So, I guess you could say this is half punishment and half distancing myself."

Once again, the sly grin came to Hana's lips as she pressed closer to him. "So, was that who was calling you on your phone?" she asked wryly. "Do you think she'd be jealous that you have such a cute girl on your arm?"

"Jealous? N-no. I doubt that. She umm...she didn't return the feelings for me. I'm trying hard to get over my own, so that's why I'm really grateful to be here. As for her calling me, I'm sure it was just a pocket dial. She hasn't spoken a word to me since I confessed to her."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I think you'd make a wonderful boyfriend. I even told those reporters so."

"You told them what?!"

Hana just giggled, leaning up and kissing his cheek playfully. "Don't worry about it," she assured him. "Really, I don't mind."

"That's not…"

"What? Am I not cute enough to be you girlfriend or something?" she demanded hotly.

"No! I mean, you're plenty cute, this is just sudden and...surprising. I figured you'd have guys demanding your attention every second of every day. You can't seriously be telling me that you don't have a boyfriend already."

She simply shrugged, "Maybe I'm just attracted to the desperate loser type." Noting Dan's expression, she just giggled. "I'm teasing you. Look I'm not asking for true love or anything, but I think it'd be nice for us to date while you're here. You'll be staying for a few weeks, right?"

"Yeah, but I mean...we're kind of supposed to be coworkers, and I'm observing you. I mean, won't this seem kind of corrupt?"

"Corrupt? Of course not! I mean, your mission is to observe me, so what better way to observe me than up close, hmm?" she asked, leaning closer to stare deep into his eyes. "Now stop complaining. Do you want to be my boyfriend or not?"

Dan couldn't believe how forward and confidant the girl was. She was incredibly attractive he had to admit, but...what about Mei? Somewhere, he could feel, he still cared about her deeply. But if she'd never feel the same way, then what difference did it make one way or another? "I…" he began, struggling to speak.

"Fine, Mr. Indecisive. I'll pick for you. You're my boyfriend now."

"Wait, you can't just…"

"Well you didn't say 'No', so I'm going to assume the answer is a 'Yes'. No need to be so complicated. I promise, it'll be great." Grabbing him by the hand, she began to drag him through the crowded streets as onlookers turned to watch in awe. "So where should we go for our first date, Dan? I was thinking the Mall, or maybe the arcade."

"Shouldn't we be laying low? I mean, Talon just waged an all out assault on us!"

"I have MEKA on call, so no worries," she assured him, refusing to cease. "Now will you quit your complaining? Sheesh, I figured a representative from Overwatch would be a bit more gentlemanly."

Resigning to his fate, Dan let out a sigh, finally stopping his struggles and protests. She had a point. There wasn't really any good reason he had to not be her "boyfriend". He took a moment to briefly stare at his phone. Maybe he should ask Tracer what she thought, but again the bitter memories of her chastising returned and he quickly shoved it back into his pocket. At the very least, he could proudly say he was able to fire back in a gun fight, even if he was only using stun bullets.

The sudden revelation surprised him. "Oh! That reminds me. What happened to the Talon operatives when you took me to the hospital? I'm sure Overwatch would like to interrogate them."

Hana snickered, "I think it's a little difficult to interrogate people with holes in their skulls. Great shooting by the way."

"What? No, I was using stun bullets. I didn't kill anyone."

She looked at him in surprise. "Stun bullets? I'm sorry to tell you, but that's not a thing."

"Sure it is. My mentor is the one who gave them to me. He told me that if I shot someone with them, they'd be knocked out for a few hours."

"Do these 'stun bullets' tend to cause their heads to turn into a fine red mist? Because if not, then I'm afraid he lied to you. I saw the bodies myself. They were dead."

Crushing despair seemed to fall onto his shoulders as his mouth suddenly felt very dry. "Oh Gods...I...no, no," he murmured incoherently. "That can't be right! It can't! Maybe those were your kills. I mean, I know I was shooting stun bullets but surely, you weren't…"

"What's the big deal? So you blasted away some baddies. That's a good thing," she retorted, walking further ahead before realizing that he'd stopped following her. When she turned back, his eyes were full of tears as he stared at the ground in shock, his entire body trembling. "Leave it to me to get the wimpy ones," she mumbled under her breath.

During the previous week…

"Alright kid, listen up. You and I are going to be doing some training. Your job, whether you like to admit it or not, is going to lead to some hairy situations and regardless of feelings or fears you're gonna have to sometimes fight your way out of said tough spots."

"This is still ridiculous. I really don't understand the point of it all."

McCree moved to Dan's side and slapped him over the back of the head. "If you'd shut yer trap and listen, you'd have heard me explain it. Now look, this here, is a gun." Pulling out Peacekeeper, he placed it in front of the assistant with a thud.

Immediately, Dan recoiled from it. "Yeah, I know what a gun is...I just don't want anything to do with it."

"Well, tough shit. Pick it up."

"I don't want to,"

"Boy, you'll pick it up or else I'll pick it up and trust me, you want the first option not the second."

Dan sighed. He doubted that Jesse would actually shoot him, but even still he'd promised he'd go through with this, if not for his own sake then to make up for his mistakes when treating Mei. Reluctantly, his hand once again found its way on to the cold steel butt of the pistol. Lifting up the heavy device, he turned to show his teacher who quickly placed his hand on the barrel and shoved it away from him.

"Rule one: don't point the damned thing at me. When we're here, you keep that thing on safety, down range, or both. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," he groaned sarcastically, earning him another slap to the head.

"Get a good feel for the gun. It's heavy, right? Believe it or not, that's a good thing."

"Yeah, I can only imagine…"

"Drop that tone, kid. This is not a battle you will win."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm sorry, Jesse. I'm just not able to put my heart into it."

The cowboy readjusted his hat on his head. "Yeah, I know kid. Look, it ain't hard to see when a man's down. You look like some puppy that's just been kicked."

Wanting to drop the conversation, Dan quickly changed the subject. "So why is a heavier gun a better thing? Other than putting bigger holes in people, obviously."

"A heavy gun is a stable gun. When it comes to gauging recoil, the two core factors that come into play are weight and caliber. Weight's obvious. Caliber is talking 'bout the size of the bullet you're shootin'. Problem is, Peacekeeper here fires a .45 caliber impact plasma round. A bullet that big is gonna kick like a mule, as you've already learned."

"Yeah, I remember. I thought you said it was stupid to start on the Peacekeeper."

"I did. That's why you ain't. You're gonna be starting on the gun my daddy had me start with."

Opening the case, he offered it to Dan. When Dan lifted it, he could immediately feel a difference between the two guns. "This," McCree explained, "is a .357 Ruger Vaquero. Back in the good ol' days, this was a pistol that was used by all sorts of competitors in quick draw events and such."

"Three hundred and fifty seven? Isn't that bigger than forty five?"

"Caliber is measured as a decimal. Come on boy, keep up."

"Sorry."

"Now a .357 Magnum bullet has the nickname 'Manstopper'. That's because it has a reputation for putting its victims out of commission, dead or otherwise."

"Look, guns or otherwise, I don't want to kill anyone. If you ask me to, the answer will always be no. I'm sorry."

"What you do with what I teach you is up to you kid, but I'm not going to have you sayin' that I let you off easy. From now on, this baby is yours," he stated, placing the gun carefully in Dan's hand. "All you have to do is give it a name."

Once she'd managed to pick herself up again, Mei slowly crept from her lab. No matter how she cut it, she couldn't come up with a valid reason Dan would have just ignored her call like that. He didn't exactly look hurt on the interview, but he also didn't seem as affectionate towards Hana as he was towards herself when they worked together.

Sneaking to Winston's laboratory, she peered inside to see that Tracer was indeed there, messing around with one of the many items that was on Dan's desk. "Psst, Tracer!" Mei hissed to her.

"Mei?" she asked, setting the knick knack back where it belonged. "What's with the secrecy?"

"Shhh! Keep your voice down," she urged her, turning to leave before gesturing for her to follow. Puzzled, the British agent complied, trailing her footsteps until they were back in her lab. "I wanted you to see something," she explained.

Seeing the image of Dan's face on the screen with D. Va. snuggled up next to him, Tracer looked to her friend with a sigh. "Oh Mei…"

"Look! She says he's her boyfriend and then he says they've been together for a few months!" she continued, pressing play on the recording. Before it could go further, Tracer paused the recording. "Why did you pause it? Did you see something else?"

"Mei, you told me to stay out of this, remember?"

"Yes, but Dan…!"

"Dan is an adult," Tracer interrupted. "I know he doesn't act like it sometimes, but he is. That means he's allowed to make his own choices. Did you call him?"

"Yes...but he ignored my call," she confessed.

"Well, you know what they say: karma's a bitch." Mei bit her lip as she opened her mouth to speak again, before thinking better of it and electing to remain silent.

"I'm sorry that I was rude before," she finally whispered. "I shouldn't have pushed you away when you were trying to help. Please, I need you to help me with this."

The combination of Mei's apology with the absolutely heart-wrenching expression on her face sent a pang of guilt through the pilot. "All right," she surrendered, her typical smile returning to her face, "what seems to be the problem, love?"

Pointing to the screen, the climatologist resumed the recording she'd taken. "Look. Here, the reporter asks who Dan is, and she says he's her girlfriend."

"Jealous, are we?" Tracer teased. "Okay, so perhaps he's fallen out of love with you, and now he's head over heels for this girl. Working on the assumption that you're not secretly into our Dan, what's the problem?"

"At first, that was my thought too, but then look...she whispers in his ear the next time the reporter asks a question, and Dan replies in English. But, don't his answers seem strange to you? He says that the two of them have been together for almost a month now. Did you know about this?"

Tracer was absolutely floored by Dan's 'confession' on World TV. "It's a cover?" she tried, hoping it would help explain the matter. "Okay, so I've absolutely no idea why he'd say that. I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, that Dan is most certainly not her boyfriend."

"How can you tell that?"

"Look at the way her body is angled compared to his. It's clear she's latching on to him, but he's sagging the opposite direction to compensate, rather than towards her like an affectionate couple. Now, if you also look at the pupil dilation…"

"Dan asked you for dating advice when he first melted me, didn't he?"

"Yes. Yes, he did," Tracer grinned broadly. "But that other stuff sounded pretty good too, didn't it? All scientific and what not. Dan would be proud." Mei couldn't help but giggle and nod her head in agreement. "Ah, there we are! 'Bout time I got you to smile again, love. So what's the plan? She doesn't look too big, I'm sure we can find ourselves an inconspicuous hole and a shovel."

"I...was hoping you'd have a plan," Mei replied. "I know I'm not supposed to be sticking my nose in Dan's business, but I was worried about him. Now that you know though, I'm just going to sit this one out."

"Oh, no you don't," her friend argued. "You can't come get me to see some thirty second news clip that has you in a tizzy after you've watched it who knows how many times then back out to avoid talking to Dan. My plan is we get you to call him and you can ask him yourself what's going on."

"But, I tried that," she said meekly. "He ignored my call."

"Then we call from my phone. Since Winston officially put me as the handler on Dan's case…"

"Winston made you Dan's handler?" Mei asked in shock. "But then why did you say it wasn't your problem?"

"I was being a bitch, love. Try to keep up. Anyway, I'll call Dan and since he has to pick up for me, we put him on speaker and talk to him together."

"O-okay. Can you ask him about Hana, though? I don't want it to seem awkward."

"Sure thing, love." Pulling out her phone and placing it on the table between them, Tracer pressed a few buttons and soon a dial tone began to ring.

"Hello?" Dan's voice sounded crestfallen, almost as if he were in a daze.

"Hello, Dan! Why so glum?" Tracer asked.

"S-something happened...on the way to the hotel...it wasn't great," he grumbled. "Talon attacked our limo."

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Mei quickly jumped in before the other could respond.

Dan was absolutely silent for a moment. "Mei?" he asked calmly.

She froze, her cheeks red and eyes wide at the shock of how quickly she rushed into the conversation. "Yes, love. That would be Mei. I wanted to surprise you, but she jumped the gun. Surprised?"

"So, you really were trying to call me?" Dan asked. "I'm sorry...I just assumed you'd pocket dialed me or something, so I ignored it. I thought you didn't want to talk to me."

"Of course, I wanted to Dan," Mei blurted before covering her mouth. "I mean...ummm, Tracer has a question for you." Every word out of her mouth slowly became softer as her blushing grew even more intense than before.

The pilot flashed her a thumbs down, before speaking up again, "Erm, yeah. Mei and I saw the news bulletin from Korea. Seems you have yourself a new girlfriend, hmm?"

Mei held her breath, waiting for his response. However, when a more feminine voice spoke up her heart nearly cleaved in two. "Who's this, Dan? Are these your friends from Overwatch? Hello, agents!"

"Tracer, Mei, this is Hana. Hana, these are two of Overwatch's operatives."

"Hello, Hana," Tracer cheerfully greeted her. "How is the situation in Korea going? I trust our envoy is treating you well."

The young girl gave a playful giggle. "Oh yes, he's treating me very well," she replied. "Dan's my boyfriend now, if he hasn't told you yet. Sorry Mei, this is what happens when you don't catch one of the good ones fast enough."

"Could you please put Dan back on?" Tracer requested as Mei simply stood there in shock.

"Hey, I'm here. So y-yeah, I'm dating Hana now...I hope that's okay, Tracer. I'm not entirely sure on what Overwatch policy is about fraternization."

Mei slowly began to back away from the table, before turning to rush outside of the room. "You know Dan, I'm going to have to check on that for you. Talk later, hugs and kisses, bye!" Hanging up, Tracer quickly ran after her. With a zip, she managed to catch up to Mei who had collapsed to her hands and knees outside of the lab. "Mei, are you going to be okay?" she asked.

"She's right," she sobbed, shutting her eyes tightly. "I...I shouldn't have pushed Dan away." She began to choke on her tears as Tracer wrapped an arm around her, helping her to stand up.

"There, there. Here we go," she comforted, guiding her to a place they could sit overlooking the bay. "Just keep breathing, for us. 'Atta girl."

"Why is this happening?" Mei quavered. "My chest hurts."

"That's called heartbreak," Tracer replied calmly, "and it's okay, I don't think…"

"Why are you so intent on getting me to fall in love with Dan?!" she suddenly snapped, causing the pilot to flinch. "I know he's your close friend, but all that's going to happen is…" her words cut off as she began to gasp, her hand resting on her chest.

"Mei?" Tracer asked, as her eyes began to flutter. The climatologist collapsed out on the ground. "Mei!" Lifting her in her arms, Tracer began to slowly stumble back towards the lab. "Athena, page Doctor Ziegler! We need help, quick!"

Mercy rushed out of Winston's lab, Valkyrie suit already donned and Caduceus Staff in hand as she jetted towards them. "What happened, who's injured?!" she asked frantically before seeing Mei in her arms.

"Mei passed out, she was really upset and she complained that her chest was hurting before she collapsed. Will she be okay, Doctor?"

"I don't know, Tracer. Hurry up and bring her to the Med bay. I'll have to do some scans and examine her there. For now, this'll help stabilize her," she explained, allowing the healing energy from the rod to flow over her. "This just helps to undo any physical damage, but we still need to see what's causing it, if it is being caused."

Placing her limp body on the examination table, Mercy affixed her staff into a holster to keep the beam active and concentrated. She began setting up an IV and activating the necessary monitors which showed that Mei's heart rate was still very high.

"Tracer, cut off her shirt and bra please."

"Yes, Doctor."

"Athena, I need you to perform an ultrasound on her heart please."

"Live ultrasound is on the screen, Doctor Ziegler."

Her eyes scanned the rapidly shifting image, searching for anything that was amiss. Her heart appeared to be swelling normally, albeit a little more than usual. If what Tracer said was true, it was likely that Mei had a panic attack, but something in the back of her mind told her that there was more to it.

Reaching up, she deactivated her staff, keeping her eyes on the screen. Sure enough, her heart rate instantly skyrocketed even further, showing that the blood wasn't able to leave the heart. "Subject is in tachycardia, cause unknown. Staff shows to be effective in lowering her heart rate to a safe amount, though still faster than resting. Present BPM: 213." Flipping the staff on again, she sighed. "Athena, please pull up a 3D image of Mei's heart."

"Yes, Doctor."

As the hologram appeared, she examined it closely, looking for any signs of distress. Well it seemed healthy. The pericardium, the sack that surrounded her heart, was completely intact, and showed no signs of damage. "Athena, please show me the image from last week's scan," she requested. "Place it as comparison, please."

"Yes, Doctor."

"Is she going to be all right, Mercy?" Tracer asked, her hand gently resting on Mei's.

"Only time will tell, Tracer. Please remain quiet so that I can concentrate," she politely answered. As the hologram appeared, it looked completely identical to the other image. Leaning closer, Mercy frowned, looking back and forth between the two over and over. "Athena, zoom and enhance on the pericardium, please and hit the lights."

With a click, the room was cast in darkness, with only the faint illumination of the monitors and holograms to light it. Just as she suspected, last week's scan showed that her heart wall was a lighter color.

"Zoom to 1600x magnification please and bring it into focus."

With a blink the holograms vanished before reappearing once again, and it made Mercy's skin crawl. "Doctor Ziegler, what are those things?!" Tracer gasped.

"Nanobots," she murmured. "They're nanobots."

"But I thought that Dan knocked all the nanobots out of commission with his EMP. Not to mention that you removed them from her lungs. There shouldn't be any more left."

"Lights." As they flourescent bulbs reactivated, Mercy turned to look at Tracer. "The heart, Tracer, has a very complex electrical system inside of it. This is why sometimes electric shock can cause irregular heartbeats. If I were to guess, I'd say that the nanobots that were harming her before had a fail safe attached to her heart, behind the pericardium in order to prevent anyone from tampering with the researchers in an attempt to over freeze them."

"Over freeze? Doctor, they're encased in solid ice. What's more 'over freeze' than that?"

"The nanobots were spread through her entire body to keep her inner organs functioning and healthy until she could be revived. The fastest way through the body is the blood. If you freeze the blood, nanobots can't travel, and the subject dies. So, should things become too cold for the present amount of nanobots, maybe there's a producer attached to an electrical synapse in her heart to replicate them as needed. This one didn't get the memo that she doesn't need them anymore, so it's just replicating them over and over and over. It's flooded her pericardium with them and now her heart has swollen. Add to that, Dan's EMP may have also triggered it to return some of the electrical energy it needed and you have her elevated heart rate. Whatever triggered her panic attack sent her heart and the producer into overdrive, so now it's just forcibly accelerating her heart."

"What can we do?" Tracer asked. "Surely there's some way to save her."

"I could extract the extra nanobots and the producer, but I'm willing to bet that thing has some sort of anchor to keep it there should she be jostled around too much. If we want it gone without ripping a hole in her heart, we're going to need a tech guy."

"Like Winston?"

"No, to disable the anchor, we're going to be using a drone that is very sensitive to controls. We need someone who's cooler under pressure and has smaller fingers."

In an instant, Tracer had her phone out and pressed to her ear. "Hello?"

"Dan, get on the first available plane to Gibraltar. You're needed here."

To be continued...