Enraptured in Ice Ch. 20

AN: Well, everyone. I'm sorry to say that this is the final chapter of the story. I really appreciate all of your patience and support over the long time I've been writing this. It really amazed me how many members of the OW community came out to say they enjoyed my work. What's more, I'm glad to have talked to many of you. I know that there are quite a few readers who struggle with Asperger's and Autism in general, and many of you have said that this story has helped with that in some way. I'm thrilled that's the case, and I hope that you continue to support me in future endeavors. I do plan on working on Breaking the Shell which is an AU where Dan meets Hana before he meets Mei. Whatever the case, thank you all so much for everything. I wish you the best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba

Licking his fingers, McCree turned the page of his gun magazine with mild interest. Every few seconds, another series of bullets would fire from Torbjorn's construct, slaying another squad of Talon mercenaries. "Y'know, I kind of expected this to be a bit more excitin'," he commented.

Torb, who now lounged in a folding chair, took another swig from the cowboy's flask before offering it back to him. "Aye. Tha's the problem with fightin' this drivel. They don' ever use their heads. They haven't even tried to shoot the turret from cover. They just keep running in and…"

There was a loud boom as a rocket suddenly hurtled down from the sky, causing the turret to shatter into a million pieces. "Sweet Mary and Joseph!" Jesse cried, drawing his pistol and turning it to the sky.

Sure enough, Pharah's armored suit hovered above them, taking aim once more with its rocket launcher. "This can't be good," Torbjorn said. The two men dove out of the way of the next missile.

The smaller man quickly scooped up some of the scrap metal and in the blink of an eye fashioned it into a portable concussive resistant armor. Turning his rivet gun skyward, he fired hot bolts in the direction of the flying machine, but it was just too agile.

Meanwhile, on the hill, Ana, Jack, and Fareeha watched the battle unfolding. "That's what they get for letting their guard down," Soldier 76 huffed.

"That's odd…" the older woman murmured.

"What's odd?"

"The suit. It's empty."

"Let me see!" Pharah demanded. Taking the rifle from her mother's offering hand, she put the scope up to her eye to see she was telling the truth. "That woman...the one who hacked that perv-I mean, Dan...I bet she's the one who is controlling the armor."

"What do we do about it?" Soldier asked, but already the two women were sliding down from their lookout and running towards McCree and Torbjorn. The old man sighed. "Of course. No need to tell me the plan."

"Behind you, partner!"

At Jesse's alert, Torb turned firing a spray of red-hot metal into the face of a Talon operative, before using his hammer to cave in the skull of another. "Here cowboy! Extra armor," he called, throwing another makeshift blast shield to McCree.

Jesse peered up from the metal he'd been using for cover to take potshots at the flying exosuit. "Stop!" Pharrah barked, running to his side and shoving him down in the dirt. A missile flew over their heads, leaving a crater in the ground not even a few feet away from them. "Don't damage it! That suit costs more than your life is worth!"

"Not to me, it don't!" he protested.

"I may have a solution," Ana offered, throwing a biotic grenade towards an incoming squadron. As it exploded, they began to cough and wheeze, their bodies beginning to deteriorate. "If I can ground it, can you disconnect it from the network, Fareeha?"

"It shouldn't be too difficult. I'll simply reboot its satellite link to Anubis. If I do that, the guidance system will automatically switch to manual until I change it back. But how are you possibly going to get it down without…"

She didn't even finish her words. Her mother leveled her arm straight at the suit and fired a dart towards it. When it struck, it burst into a yellow dusty powder. Suddenly, the suit spasmed and came hurtling down towards the earth below.

"What was that?!" Torb questioned.

"Sleep dart. It interrupts electrical pulses. Kind of like a localized nanobot EMP. For humans, this puts them into unconsciousness for a brief few seconds. For machines, it shuts down their processors."

"Excellent!" Pharah beamed, running to her equipment. Placing her hand on its chest plate, the suit opened for her, as if an old friend welcoming her with a hug. She immediately set to work, unplugging wires and connecting them back together.

Soon, her body was encased in the Thunderbird, and a sense of pride and wholeness swelled in her chest. Yes! Without her armor, it had felt as if part of her were missing, but now she was her true self once again.

Her reunion was cut short however, when a bullet whizzed past her helmet, leaving behind a long red tracer line. "Sniper! Down!" Ana ordered. Immediately, they hit the deck, until an arrow came flying from their other side punching a hole into their cover.

"Hanzo!" Jesse gasped. "We have two snipers on us now?!"

Ana's voice lost its slightly cheerful nature. "Torbjorn, Jesse...focus on the grunts. Pharah, Jack...take care of Hanzo. This sniper is mine."

"Mother?" Pharah was baffled by her suddenly cold exterior.

"It's Amelie. She's the reason I lost my eye. She's the reason I left you Fareeha, all those years ago. Today, I take back my life and my daughter."

Using her scope, she wheeled out from behind cover. Sure enough, there was the blue-skinned woman, staring down her own scope back at her. Two bullets fired, both collided in the air, turning into a small clump of metal and falling to the sand below.

Soldier 76 nodded to the younger woman, signaling for her to fly upward. When Hanzo tilted his bow up to fire, that's when Jack sprung out. He may have been old, but with the tech he'd stolen and all of the nanobots in his system, he sprinted faster than even a healthy man in his thirties.

However, Hanzo realized his ploy at the last second. When he swapped his target to the rushing man, Pharah fired a concussion grenade, sending the unarmored archer careening back into the wall of the complex.

Soldier in turn fired three helix rockets. Each one swirled towards their foe, striking him with enough force to shred his gi, and send him into a crumpled heap on the ground. Blood was pouring from his chest as Jack leveled his plasma rifle at his head.

When Hanzo didn't stir, he gave a grunt. "You may be able to hack a soldier's body, Sombra...but there are downsides to taking away his mind."

Inside, Mei and Hana continued forward with Reinhardt and Zarya on their heels. "Which way is it to the computer room?" Mei questioned, though she knew none of her friends knew the answer.

"Well, there's a hole that the guy with the big arm came from," D. Va noted. "Maybe he came from there."

"I'll scout it out," the climatologist volunteered.

"What about us?" Reinhardt asked.

Hana considered it for a moment. "You should stay here. If those two start to come free, you can just slam your hammer down on them and send them back into the ground where they belong. That, and I don't think Meka could stand up to those two for much longer. I'll take the left passage way and reunite with the group there."

"Which leaves me with the right," Zarya said before jerking a thumb towards her chest with pride. "Leave it to me! I'll help forward team clear out their side before meeting back here. Agreed?"

All of the group nodded. "Be careful, Mei," Hana told her.

"I will." With that, she slipped through the crevice, with Snowball cheerfully nestled into the canister.

Mei wandered the halls for what felt like hours. Had she gotten lost? Just as she considered radioing for positions, her eyes fell on a door with a purple sugar skull spray painted on it.

Anger bubbled in her chest. Sombra! This was her room! That rage fueled her as she pulled back her fist, and with an unbelievable strength, punched the door so hard it broke open, revealing the shocked hacker.

"You!" Mei seethed. "You're the one who has been using Dan!"

Sombra's eyes went from worry to amusement. A smile crossed her lips. "Ah. I know who you are as well. You're the one who's been screwing with my toy. Literally." The scientist pointed her gun at the young girl's face, but Sombra quickly raised her hands. "Whoa! Ey! Easy, chica. I'm not going to fight you, okay?"

Mei seemed puzzled, but kept her gun aimed. "Why not?"

"Look at me," the hacker answered, gesturing to her neon purple outfit. "Do I look like the soldier type, huh? I mean, you just punched a steel door off of its frame. I don't want to tangle with you."

"Fine," the other woman said. "But I'm still taking you in. You're a terrorist, and you will pay for what you did to Dan."

Sombra laughed. "What I did to him? You mean making him strong enough to save you from those two women trying to attack you? Or helping him to recover from his injuries? All I did to him was improve upon him, gringa. If anything, you should be paying me."

"You controlled him like a puppet!" Mei protested.

"And so do you," she argued. "The only difference is, when I play games with his mind, it doesn't emotionally destroy him afterwards. His corazon stays perfectly intact."

The parka-clad woman took deep heavy breaths. Was she right? Had she been controlling Dan? There were times when she'd known that his feelings would play to her advantage. By acting on those opportunities, did that make her no better than Sombra? "Even still," she whispered. "I love him. Which is why I plan on destroying your console once and for all!"

"Hmm...I wouldn't do that if I were you," the hacker said with a cheshire grin. "Who knows what could happen if you did. Maybe he gets stuck in soldier mode forever? Of course, there's nothing you could do to stop me from hacking in him again. And believe me, no prison would be able to hold me."

"Shut it down, now!" Mei ordered. "I'm giving you a chance to surrender, but I'm not afraid to give you an ice-cold lobotomy, you manipulative monster!"

Sombra considered it for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "Alright. You win, bonita. I'll turn off his sleeper cells, kay?" Her fingers reached to the keyboard, typing commands in rapidly.

"Sleeper agent, deactivated," the computer whirred. "Enter authorization code to terminated vital processes."

"What's that?" Mei questioned.

"Hmm? It's what keeps him linked to the system. You don't want me to shut that down too, do you?"

"Do you think this is a game?" the scientist shouted. "This is his life we're talking about! I know to you he's just a pawn, but I care about him. I love him. So, no, I don't want him to be controlled by you or anyone. The only person that should have control over Dan is Dan…"

"If you insist." That smug grin didn't fade from her face as she typed in the code.

"Now deteriorating Sleeper Agent's cells. Time until death: T-Minus 10 hours."

Panic flooded Mei's heart. "NO!" she cried, shoving the girl out of the way and trying her best to access the program. "Please! Please! Abort, abort!"

There was a click from behind her as Sombra leveled a submachine gun to the back of Mei's head. "Sorry, chica. Nothing personal. You know what they say, better to die on one's feet than to live on one's knees."

Just as she squeezed the trigger, the nanobots in Mei's bloodstream went into overdrive just as Snowball exploded in a cloud of liquid nitrogen, sending the hacker stumbling back. The climatologist was now in a solid block of ice. It was so thick, not even bullets could pierce it.

She closed her eyes and began to sob inside of her shell. Dan was dying. And it was all her fault. There was a flash of light as Sombra vanished into thin air, leaving Mei isolated and alone.

Her tears fell down her cheeks as she clutched her knees to her chest. Suddenly, her comm buzzed. "Mei?" She gasped. She recognized that voice.

"Dan? Is that you?" she whispered.

"Yeah. Is everything okay? Snowball showed signs that you were in distress."

Mei began to cry harder now. "Oh Dan, I'm so sorry. I messed up. I tried to save you but now...I can't…"

"Are you hurt?"

"N-no. But Dan, I…"

There was a brief crackle in the mic, interrupting her. "I want you to listen to me, Mei," he whispered. "I believe in you. Even if you failed, I know you did your very best. That's all I could really ask for. Remember, this is a hostage rescue mission. Saving me is secondary."

"No," she protested. "That's not not true. You mean too much to me for that to be true. You're my priority! I love you!"

"I love you, too," he replied, almost cheerfully. "But that doesn't change that the fate of the world rests on your shoulders. Not mine. You're an incredible person. Even if things go wrong, things will work out in the end. You'll see."

"You don't understand…" she sniffed.

"Don't underestimate me. I understand far more than you realize. I know I'm awkward and strange. Maybe I am different. That doesn't mean that I'm a child though. All Overwatch members are prepared to face death. I'm no exception."

"But–!"

"But nothing," he interrupted. "If you really love me, you can prove it by completing the mission. If Zenyatta or Hanzo die, the last thing I want is for your love for me to be the reason they do. You're a hero, Mei. So go be a hero."

The ice disintegrated, falling around her like powdered snow. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but she knew he was right. There was still a job to do. And she would do it! For him. "Dan...don't ever change," she said to him. "When I get back, you're supposed to take me on a proper date, remember? So you'd better fight yourself. Don't even think about trying to skip out on me."

When he responded, she could hear the optimism in his voice. "Not a chance. I've already started making a reservation at the restaurant. Talk to you when the mission is over."

"Understood. Good bye, Dan."

"Bye Mei. I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Athena?"

The computer activated. "Yes, Dan?"

"I know my access to files have been revoked, but could you do me a favor?"

"Depends on the favor," she replied.

The assistant sighed as he picked up the small blue vial that had been in one of the Antartica crates. He knew what was in it: the nanobots that had saved Mei's life when she entered cryostasis.

"I need you to make a reservation."

"A reservation?" she repeated.

"Yes. Please contact the steak house and…" Dan fell to his hands and knees, coughing violently. Blood erupted from his lungs, sending a crimson spray on the tile below. He panted heavily, trying to regain his composure.

He didn't tell Mei, but he'd heard the machine's announcement. He knew this was the end for him. When he said he wasn't afraid to die, that was only partially true. In reality, he was terrified, but only because he knew how much it would hurt the woman he loved.

"I have that restaurant on the line, Dan. What would you like me to request?"

He smiled weakly. "A reservation for one. Put it under Mei Ling Zhou. Give them my card info, and tell them to use it for whatever she buys."

There was a pause before Athena came back. "The reservation has been made. Anything else that I can assist you with?"

He looked down at Mei's journal, opened up to the entry just before she'd entered the cryopod. "Yeah. Can you make me a bowl of hot soup?"

Just as Mei emerged from the room, she nearly ran straight into Tracer and Lucio. "Mei! There you are!" Tracer cried, taking her hand. "We've got big problems. We need to go, now!"

"What? But, what about Talon…? Zenyatta?"

"He's fine," Lucio said. "The other team got him out safely. Sombra just appeared out of nowhere, and while we were chasing her, she activated some defense measure. This place is rigged to blow in five minutes!"

Fear welled up in Mei's chest. "Let's get out of here then."

"What about Dan?" Tracer asked. "Did you manage to get him free of her control?"

The scientist straightened her glasses, trying to think of something to say. How could she tell Tracer that she'd failed so greatly. Dan not only hadn't been saved, in fact she'd doomed him to death.

"We don't have time to talk," Lucio interrupted. "We can discuss this when we're not about to die."

The three began to run as fast as they could, but already they could hear the panic siren ringing throughout the halls of the complex. Ahead, Symmetra stood, ushering other members of Overwatch through the teleporter.

Mei and Tracer leapt through, followed by Hana and Brigitte. The musician dashed around here and there, blasting his music to rush people to their escape. "Only two minutes left!" he called out. "Everyone out?"

"Almost," Satya answered. "Come on, Reinhardt! You're the last one to go."

The old man limped his way to the teleporter, still struggling to move from the damage that Reaper had done to his suit. The moment he stepped through though, the entire building shook, sending a piece of rubble from the roof and shattering the teleporter transponder.

Lucio and Satya exchanged worried glances. "Well," she chuckled weakly. "I guess this is the end of the line for us, huh? Ironic, isn't it? Actually, I'm sure you could make it out if you hurried."

"And leave you behind? Not a chance."

The woman moved to him, and stared into his eyes. "Listen to me. You may be a thief, and we are enemies, do not misunderstand. However, I would be lying if I were to say that I do not have some respect for what you do. I'm only a piece of a large corporation. Right now, Brazil needs you more than it needs me...so go. I'll only slow you down."

Lucio backed away from her, confused. He'd spent the better year of his life fighting against what Satya stood for, and the people she represented. Now, he could see for the first time the human that was beneath the cold exterior. "You really are just trying to help," he murmured.

"Of course. My priority is first and foremost the safety of the people of Rio. Right now, that includes you. So go."

He took a deep breath, running his hand through his dreads. "You know what? Not a chance. What sort of image would I set for my people at home if I ditched you here to save my own skin?"

Before Symetra could protest, Lucio scooped her into his arms and began rushing through the complex. "Wh-what are you doing?!" she barked. "I'm just going to slow you down! Idiot! We don't both have to die!"

"Funny thing about being a hero, amada. If you're not willing to risk your life to save someone else's then you're doing it wrong. Now take notes." He jumped into the air, grinding along the wall at an amazing pace.

Detonations rocked the foundation of the building as the roof began to crumble around them. Ahead, their exit was blocked by a massive pile of rubble, bringing him to a dead stop. "Well, it was a good try," Satya sighed.

"Don't count me out yet," he said, slinging the pack off his back. "You able to make me some tools with that fancy beam of yours?"

"Sure. What do you need?" she asked.

As he began to list things off, she started constructing them out of light and passing them to him one after the other. She was starting to run low on energy. But she refused to tell him that. It was obvious how much this rescue meant to him. Even though she didn't believe they'd be saved, she wouldn't dream of ruining this for him by saying so.

"And...there!" he exclaimed, slinging it back on his pack and tossing the light tool back to her.

The roof began to collapse on top of them. Before Satya could fathom what was happening, Lucio wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. "Wh-what are you doing?" she asked, her cheeks burning pink.

"Amping it up!"

A massive pulse of sonic energy erupted around them. The energy that had shielded the two began to fluctuate before expanding outward. The rubble seemed to over over them, as they stood within the protective dome of sound. Lucio raised his gun upward. With one last concussive burst, the rubble scattered, leaving them ragged, but alive as the rest of the building crumbled around them.

Outside, the rest of Overwatch looked on in awe at the two who were still alive. Symmetra was speechless. "You did it...you actually saved us," she murmured.

"Power of music," he boasted, twirling the sonic cannon around his finger.

Lucio helped her out of the rubble, as their friends rushed to greet them. Hundreds of questions about their well-being were answered in due time, but soon, all eyes once again returned to Mei.

The gloomy expression on her face was all they needed to see. "Well, there's always Plan B," Torbjorn offered. "We can still put him under the knife and get rid of it. I think it's safe to say with the computer destroyed, that hacker won't be activating anything for a while."

"I can't believe they all managed to escape," Hana protested. "Even the two that were frozen in ice disappeared! How does that even happen?"

"Let's just be grateful we're all still alive," Mercy suggested.

Genji approached his brother, who was being patched up by Ana. "You came back," Hanzo huffed. "Glad to see you have not forgotten your honor."

The cyborg gave a metallic sigh. "Both of us have reclaimed our honor today, brother." Reaching to his pack, he removed the rolled up family scroll, still stained with blood, and torn from the fight he had with his brother all that time ago. "That does not change, anything though. I stand by my decision."

Genji extended the scroll towards his brother, who gingerly took it from him. For a long time, Hanzo didn't say anything. Instead, he finally gave another grunt of approval. "Then you are still a fool."

Before the archer could react, the ninja hugged him tightly. Hanzo was caught off guard by the gesture, but with his good arm, he embraced his brother as well.

"I know your pride does not allow you to say the words, Hanzo. However, your eyes have said enough. I know you love me brother, just as I love you. And these people, the ones who've helped us…" Genji gestured towards the others. "You may not believe it, but they are my family, too. You need not branch away anymore. Come with me, brother. Be part of this family."

"Not a chance," he said flatly. "However, they have at least earned my respect. A little, anyway. I think I will take some time for myself. I need to meditate on my weakness that led to my capture."

He stood, giving a weak groan and began to walk off into the sands. Before he could get far though, Genji ran after him and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Wait. Let us at least give you a ride." To that, Hanzo just smiled.

Once everyone had arrived back and Gibraltar and had gone their separate ways, Mei went to seek out Dan. Winston's lab was empty. As were the barracks. And the warehouse. When she opened her own lab, there was a note resting on her work table.

"Did you find him?" Hana asked from behind her.

"No," she said, examining the envelope. "But it looks like he left this. I recognize his hand writing." She opened the parchment, only to find that written on it was "Command: Play 15734." After relaying the instructions to Athena, a holoscreen appeared before Mei and the gamer.

On the image, was Dan, his eyes dark and sullen. He'd been crying, but more than that the dark bags under his eyes showed just how quickly his health was deteriorating. "Mei, if you're seeing this, I want you to know that this isn't your fault."

Hana shuddered. "What is he talking about?" she asked the climatologist, but the bespectacled woman kept silent. Her eyes were glued to the screen in a mix of sorrow, shock, and longing.

"When Sombra activated the termination protocol, it was signaled to me. I don't really know how to explain it, but I just...knew. That being said, I've taken steps to prepare for...well, you know." Dan wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, giving a sniff. "Before I go though, there are somethings I want to tell you. Things you should know."

Mei began to cry again. The gamer beside her, realizing where this was going covered her mouth in shock. The two just stood there, staring at the last recording of their friend.

The image of Dan flickered for a moment as he looked down at the notepad on his desk. "Firstly, I discovered what it is that saved you when your friends were not. According to your journal, you'd received your day's rations just before cryostasis. With your body temperature elevated, the nanobots were able to survive the freezing process."

Hana's hand sought out Mei's. They searched for any comfort they could find together, but it was moot. They both knew where this was going, and neither liked it. "Dan, please," Mei began, though she knew he couldn't hear her through the recording. "Don't leave me like this. I need you here."

The recording sighed, flipping to the next page. "Secondly, I want you to know that I'm so sorry I have to leave you. I know this is hard, and I know saying I love you doesn't make this much better. But I do love you. Know that I'd never abandon you, just like I know you would never abandon me."

"Where are you?" Mei asked. "Please, tell me where you are. Even if it's just for a little while, I need to see you again."

"I promised you a dinner. And I want to deliver on that promise. You have a reservation for next week at the steakhouse that I first took you to when we met. I'm sure you remember the one. Everything is taken care of, so if you even think about stopping eating or hurting yourself or something stupid like that, you'll be wasting a lot of my hard work."

Hana gave a weak laugh. "That idiot. I can't believe that's what he has to say when...when…" She couldn't even finish the sentence. The thought of his death was too much for her to believe.

He took another deep breath on the recording, before a look of determination filled his eyes. The weak but playful expression he had turned serious. "I promised you I'd never give up, Mei. And this is me keeping that promise." He downed the coffee in his mug before picking up a small blue vial and holding it up. "I know you know what this is," he said.

"Dan, no!" Mei cried, but of course her protest went unheard.

Placing it into the injector, he held it to his arm and pulled the trigger. He gave a grunt, as the nanomachines flooded his veins, rushing to his heart to get to work. "By my calculations, the signal of deterioration has a lasting power of five years. That means that until then the only way to keep me alive is to halt the deterioration until that point."

Hana started to realize what his plan was. "No! That's insane! Mei, he can't possibly–"

"I know what you're thinking, and it's not that big of a deal," his recording assured her. "For me, it will be like no time has passed at all. And I've come up with a way to make it so you don't have to worry about missing me." He held up a small chip. "This," he explained, "is a collection of all my memories, experiences, and personality. Everything I am is on this, and I've placed it in the envelope for you. Here's the kicker. You can place it in an omnic body. But of course, this will only work if their personality chip is already missing or broken. It's simple. Just plug this in, and it'll be like I'm right there beside you again." After a moment, he shrugged. "Admittedly, I'll be nowhere near as fun to cuddle with."

Mei stifled a laugh. Even in the face of death, he was able to make her smile. Looking at the paper, she found the small chip there, and held it close to her chest. "This won't ever be able to replace you," she said.

"Just promise you won't fall in love with whatever robot you stick me in. I'm not against robosexuals or anything, but it'd be a bit of a bummer if I woke up to find that you were dating a cheap copy of me."

"Never," she whispered.

"One last thing," he promised her. "A function I didn't tell you about. Snowball has a camera and microphone for recording. Do me a favor. If you can't find a body for my artificial personality, talk to Snowball. He won't be able to speak back necessarily, but I think it'll help. Also, don't tell Hana, but I used some of the parts from her handheld to make him."

"He did what?!" she cried.

"Kidding," the recording grinned. "But she doesn't have to know that."

D. Va rubbed her eyes. "That stupid jerk."

Dan moved to the side of the room, where a cryopod rested against the wall, the same one Mei had awoken from. Punching in the code, he stepped inside and shut the cylinder. "Athena, end recording," he said. And with that, the screen disappeared.

Hana and Mei looked to the imposing glass container where it rested. They both cautiously moved towards it, and when Mei wiped away the frost, she could see her boyfriend, eyes closed and smiling inside.

Despite the panic and fear that she felt, his restful expression brought her comfort. "I know you can't hear me," she whispered to him. "But I will wait for you, Dan. No matter what."

"And if she doesn't, I definitely will!" Hana chimed in.

"Sleep well, Dan. I'll see you when you wake up," Mei murmured. With that, she leaned forward, placing a kiss on the glass, right above where his lips were. Somehow, she knew that everything would be okay.

One month later...

Mei adjusted her canister on her back. Talon had created an EMP bomb that they were going to detonate on King's Row, essentially frying the entire Omnic community. While Torbjorn and Zarya weren't thrilled about the idea of helping them, Mei knew that this could spell trouble. Not just for the Omnics, but for the birds and other creatures in the ecosystem. It may even cause more severe lightning storms for a decade to come at least.

"Come in, Mei," Tracer paged.

"Mei, checking in. What do you need, Tracer?"

"We've got a potential new recruit for Overwatch. He's a bit...odd...but I think he'll be of good use to you on the mission. He should be there now. Doesn't really have a name, but we call him 'Bastion'."

Sure enough, there was a heavy clanking noise as metal footsteps emerged from the subway train. The massively tall Omnic had a machine gun for an arm and a bird perched upon his shoulder.

It was a Bastion model! "Oh...hello," Mei greeted politely. "My name's Mei. It's nice to meet you."

She overed out a gloved hand, causing the inquisitive machine to glance at it. A small welder's tool emerged from his shoulder to give a polite wave to her. Followed by a bunch of mechanical chirps and whirs.

"Do you not talk?" she asked.

Beep, beep, breep, boop.

A smile spread across Mei's lips. Her hand went to the small container that she wore around her neck. "You know, Bastion...you'd make a perfect lab assistant."

The End