A/N-Holy freaking freak. Can you say longest chapter I've ever written in my two and a half years of writing? I can. Wow. This was craaaaaazy long. Anyway, OH MY GOD I GOT SO MUCH SUPPORT ON THE LAST CHAPTER. Seriously. It blew me away just how much support I got. Like. Wow. So I decided I was feeling motivated and I pumped out the next one of these suckers for you, and it got sorta out of hand fast. Anyway, thank you guys so much for all the support, and I hope you enjoy chapter 33!
Chapter 33- Wounded
…
Mercy started barking orders the moment Hana landed the jet in the hangar of Gibraltar. As per her orders, Hospital beds were already prepared. Symmetra, Winston, Reinhardt, Pharah, and Zenyatta were all waiting to help.
"McCree, grab Sombra's IV drips! Reinhardt! Put Sombra on the bed then immediately help Efi by carrying Orisa to her workshop! Pharah, help Efi repair Orisa. Zenyatta, come with me as I take Sombra to the emergency room! Symmetra, get Lúcio on a bed and tend to him in one of the hospital rooms! Genji, put Lena on a bed and take her to medical wing! Hana, you're going to need to go with Slipstream so she doesn't get destabilized. McCree, once Sombra is in the bed with her IVs attached, go get Hana's charger off the ship and follow them! Winston, you'll need to take Slipstream's prosthetic and harness and check them both thoroughly for sabotage."
Everyone moved frantically. Even Zenyatta was running rather than levitating as he held out his harmony orbs over Sombra's bed while Reinhardt carefully laid the girl down on it, McCree begrudgingly trailed after them until he could move the IV drips from the rolling rack to the bed. She was beyond pale, with her clothes covered in blood. She was barely breathing after the several-hour flight back, with Mercy's nano-technology being the only thing letting her cling to life.
Symmetra looked less-than-pleased, but she didn't argue as she helped a barely-conscious Lúcio stagger over to a bed before wheeling him off. Winston hesitated, glancing at Lena for a long moment before tearing his gaze away and shaking his head as he grabbed technology and stumbled off to his lab with it. Reinhardt, Pharah, and Efi hurried off with Orisa, who was barely able to walk on her own thanks to the many injuries she had sustained.
Before Mercy could rush off with Sombra, McCree grabbed her arm. "Doc, how long until you can get that sympathiser out of Lena's head? Talon can prolly fry her brain or something with it!"
Mercy whipped around, yanking her arm free. "I don't know, Jesse. You're going to have to be patient. Right now, Sombra is my top priority."
"But Lena could die at any moment!"
"And Sombra will die at any moment unless we do something. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait a few hours. Genji, hook Lena up to a heartrate monitor and an IV drip with a sedative in it to keep her under while I'm operating on our guest here."
McCree growled. "Who gives a damn what happens to Sombra? I'm more worried about Lena! After everything Talon- after everything Sombra put her through, you're going to prioritize her over Lena?"
"Jesse, calm down." Genji put his hand on McCree's shoulder. "You're stressed, but that's no reason to act irrationally."
"Irrational? Irrational? Well excuse me, but I'd rather not see Tracer die because we decided to wait so we could help the person who captured her in the first place before her!"
Mercy shook her head, narrowing her eyes. "Do you think I don't care about Lena? Because believe me, after that video, I want nothing more than to heal every scrape she may have, but that will simply have to wait. Right now, I have to prioritize the immediate danger Sombra is in over hypothetical danger Lena is in." Mercy turned around and stormed away with Sombra in the direction of the medical wing, with Zenyatta following close behind.
McCree balled his hand into a fist and shouted after her. "What the hell is hypothetical about some implant in her brain!? And Sombra can die for all I care! She's the one that got us all in this mess in the first place!"
Hana chewed her lip. "She's really not that bad."
McCree turned his glare on her. "What the hell is up with you? You've been defendin' her non-stop! Do you not see what she put Lena through?!" McCree gestured to Slipstream, who was lying on the bed with a pale pink glow barely visible from under her eyelids.
"She's been trying to make up for it. She just doesn't know how," Hana pressed as Genji began pushing Lena's bed.
"Oh, really now?! Are ya tellin' me that the cyber-terrorist suddenly grew a conscience? Because that's the shittiest bull I've ever heard!" he snarled, his voice loud.
"You know what? That's exactly what I'm telling you. Not everyone is a villainous overlord." Hana retorted, crossing her arms over the harness. "Stop pretending like you know what's going on inside her mind when I've literally been inside her head. And let me tell you, she's felt pretty awful. And she's done just about everything she can to make up for what she did!"
"Oh, because leaking info from time to time makes up for capturing someone to be tortured and mind-controlled," Jesse spat back, gesturing to Slipstream's scarf.
"Seems to me like you already forgot that she's the reason we managed to capture Slipstream back in the first place. And she got shot full of holes at point-blank because of it! I'm sure she was looking for a better, safer opportunity, too. I've seen how she's been thinking! She's been guilty! She's been scared! She's been stuck in a group full of murderers with no way out! It's not some game where she can get a one-up and try again if she messes up! Her life has been just as on-the-line as Tracer's! And a few hours ago, she finally decided to put someone else's life over her own and this is how you thank her? By saying she should die? Where's the justice in that?" Hana took a deep breath as she turned away from Jesse and began to unstrap her harness. "From what I've heard, you've made your fair share of mistakes in your life, yet Overwatch has given you a ton of extra chances to make things right. So, quit acting like she's beyond redemption or something."
Jesse looked like he was about to say something, but Genji interrupted him by placing his hand on McCree's shoulder. "Jesse. Calm down. Everyone is injured and tired. We can debate what is and is not best for Sombra and Lena when we are all in our right minds. For now, just do what Angela said and get Hana's charger."
"Like hell am I gonna- "
"Jesse. Please," Genji begged. McCree glared, then grunted, turning around to retrieve the charger from the jet.
Genji sighed from behind his mask and began pushing Lena towards one of the hospital rooms as Hana followed closely behind. As they walked, Hana fidgeted with the various clasps and buckles on her harness. After fighting it for a few moments, she pulled it over her head, grunting as the strapped snagged on her ponytail. Genji chuckled at her plight.
"You could ask for help, you know," he offered, pausing to help untangle Hana's hair from the heavy harness. She grunted indignantly.
"Hey! I got it!"
"Now that I've helped you, yes, you do," he said in good nature, handing the harness back to her. Hana shook her head, instead setting the device on Slipstream's chest.
"Last thing we'd want is for her to fade through time and wake up and whatnot. I'm still not totally sure why it's impossible to sleep while destabilised…" Hana admitted. "It's like… I'm never tired, but even then, I don't even think I can sleep even if I was already sedated. From what I've heard, Lena just disappeared immediately if she was destabilized while asleep. Which is like, really annoying, because it'd be great to sleep away that boredom."
Genji went quiet for a moment, pensive as he pondered Hana's words while pushing Lena's bed. "Is it possible you disappear whenever you are asleep, and when you disappear it is equivalent to something of a fainting spell?"
"You know… it could be. But who knows? It's not exactly something I wanna test if I don't have to." Hana made sure to stand close to the bed, probably a bit closer than normal, but she figured nobody would complain, given she wasn't in the mood to deal with fading through time. She yawned. "Do you think we'll need people to take watch and whatnot? Talon might come after Lena and Sombra. Then it'd be game over for all of us. Back to level one."
Genji considered her words. "No, we managed to injure Reaper and Doomfist, and Moira never was the kind of person to get involved in the fight if she could just watch from the side-lines. We have time before anyone of importance will be in any position to launch a proper 'rescue mission.'" He snorted at his last comment. "I'm less-than-surprised to see her Moira working with Talon, though."
"Oh yeah, Moira was the edgy woman with the silver eyepatch that ran like an anime character, right? The one that copied Reaper's edge-step power? What's her story?"
Genji grunted. "Dr Moira O'Deorain. Reyes brought her on board shortly after McCree and me. She was in charge of the sketchier side of cybernetic enhancements. She got a kick out of seeing what kinds of bells and whistles she could include in my 'upgrades.' Mostly harmless stuff though, like being able to jump higher or whatever. Angela usually made sure to take care of my injuries personally, so I never was in her lab long."
"Ohhhh, so she's the stereotypical mad scientist that'll experiment on a puppy for the fun of it?"
Genji nodded. "Basically. Though she prefers experimenting on bunnies. She was particularly interested in further researching Tracer's chronal technology, but she was never comfortable around Moira, so Winston never let her near Lena."
"Aw, not bunnies! I'm pretty fond of those! That's so not cool!"
"It figures that's the point you'd fixate on," Genji joked as they rounded the corner to the medical wing. One of the rooms was already occupied, presumably with Sombra. "But yeah, the short version is that she's an asshole."
"Trust me, I got the subtext. Anyway, where's Jesse? Grabbing the charger should have taken literally eight seconds." Hana yelped and jumped into a vacant room after Genji after a brief poke from Time.
"Taking his sweet time and venting into a wall. He's not exactly great at controlling his temper."
Hana clasped her hands together and said in a melodic voice, "Patience is a virtue."
"You sound like Zenyatta." Genji tried to hook Lena up to an IV drip, only for him to groan when he rolled up her sleeve. Lena's purple gloves that extended and wrapped around her hands were some sort of undershirt, keeping Genji from inserting anything into her arm.
After a moment, he sighed again. "Sorry again, Lena. If the doctor asks, I did this with a pocket knife." He grabbed one of his stored shurikens, and pinched a small amount of the fabric in his hand. He used his Shuriken to create a tear in the fabric near her wrist before sliding the weapon back into the storage compartment in his arm. Next, he began to rip the fabric, tearing it so that he could slide the sleeve down and allow him to insert the IV drip into her hand. Next, he wrapped a wristband securely around her wrist as a heartrate monitor began to beep in the background. Hana noticed some scarred skin poking out from the edges of the long sleeve as she remembered the cuffs on her arms with no small sense of queasiness.
"That should do it for what Angela requested," Genji said after a moment. He hesitated, and Hana couldn't help but wonder what expression he was making under his visor as he looked at his friend, lying unconscious in bed, missing a leg and coming from the enemy team.
Finally, McCree shuffled his way inside the room, carrying Hana's charger and still looking grumpy. "Y'all're way too loud. I could hear ya down the hall." Without looking at either person in the room, he bent down at the nearest electrical outlet and plugged in Hana's charger, which he carried to the harness. Setting the charger by Lena's bed, he finally plugged in the chronal accelerator. Hana sighed in relief as she could feel the slight tugging sensation from being a few feet away from the harness vanish. She finally looked around the room, her gaze fixating on a comfortable-looking armchair. A few seconds later, she flopped down onto it with a content sigh.
The room was silent for a moment. Genji watched McCree carefully, unsure of what he would do. The cowboy took a few steps towards Lena as he took further inventory of his friend's injuries. He narrowed his eyes at the scarf.
"Jesse," Genji warned, putting his hand on McCree's shoulder as the man reached for the garment on Slipstream's neck.
"Calm down. I ain't doin' nothin'. I just gotta look." He grabbed the bright pink scarf in his normal hand, gently unwrapping it as he revealed Lena's neck.
Hana stood up, peeking over the bed to see what McCree was glaring at. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but even though she wasn't surprised, she was still mortified at the scar wrapping Lena's neck like a necklace. It was pink and white, twisted and distorted. The skin was rough to look at and seemed to be old but irritable, like rubbing it too hard would cause it to start bleeding all over again. Hana sat back down, feeling ill.
"McCree- " Genji started, only for the cowboy to cut him off.
"God dammit… I'm going to kill that bastard if it's the last thing I do. How the hell would Reyes ever be okay with this!? I can't believe I ever trusted him!"
"McCree! Calm down!"
"Why the hell should I calm down?!" McCree about-faced and scowled at Genji. "You're seein' the exact same thing I am! Why the hell aren't you angry, too?! Am I the only one in the base that actually wants to see Lena cured!?"
Genji shook his head, his voice firm. "Of course, you aren't! Stop pretending like you think I'm not upset either! But if you let your anger control you- "
"Oh enough with the preachy bullshit! You've been spendin' too much time with that robot! Look at this! Look at what Reyes did to her! And you're acting like everything is A-okay!"
Genji stiffened. "You will leave my master out of this discussion. And believe me, I know full-well what is wrong. Probably more than you do, given I know my way around debilitating injuries. And believe me. Part of me wants nothing more than to let my dragon rip Gabriel in two. But acting for vengeance gets us nowhere, fast."
"Like hell it doesn't! If we take Reyes out, then he won't be able to do anything like this ever again! How is that actin' for just 'vengeance?!'" McCree's voice was steadily growing louder, though Genji didn't appear like he was about to back down as Hana watched the argument with wide eyes.
"Listen to yourself! Do you honestly think you're thinking rationally? What you're saying is the definition of wanting revenge!"
"No, it ain't! It's wantin' justice! Look at her! Look at everything he did to her! She didn't deserve any of this! She was tortured, brutally injured, mind controlled, and forced to do stuff she'd never do! And you're acting like all Reyes did deserves a slap on the wrist! Do you really not care that much!? I think hangin' out with that Omnic screwed with your common sense!"
McCree's remark hung in the air for a single, silent moment with tension so thick that Genji's blade could cut it. The Cyborg took a single step closer to McCree, inches away from his face as he pulled off his visor. His eyes were intense, almost hurt, as he glared daggers into McCree. "Listen to me now, McCree." He took another step closer. "You know full well that I care for Lena just as much as you do. You are perfectly aware that I know what Reaper did to her. You should know that I knew Reyes just as well as you did back in Blackwatch. I feel just as betrayed as you do. So, stop implying you're the only person with any clue what is going on. None of us are stupid. I lie awake at night, actively trying to get the thoughts of revenge out of my head. I'm trying to remain calm and rational about this. But someone like you, going around and screaming your head off at me, saying that I don't care is really making that difficult. So, wake up. You are not the only one that cares about Lena. Stop saying that I'm not aware of the gravity of what Reaper did. And stop badmouthing Zenyatta like that. He is the only reason I have moved on from my past like I have. He is the only reason I don't jump to violence before anything else. He is the only reason I try to use common sense! If anyone needs to talk with Zenyatta more, it's you! So, leave him out of this."
McCree's glare wavered as he fumbled for some retort. But no words came out. He just scowled and stormed out of the room.
After he was gone and the door to the room slid shut, Genji sighed and clicked his visor back into place. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Hana."
"It… It's fine," D,va responded awkwardly. "Are… you okay?"
Genji chuckled, though it was uneasy. "Of course. No need to worry about me."
Hana frowned. "Alright… but you were right when you said it was late… you can leave me here and go get some rest…"
The ninja pondered her offer. "I do not wish to leave you trapped alone all night."
D,va shook her head. "No, don't worry about that. I'm about ready to pass out, anyway. This chair is really comfortable."
"There's a softer blanket hidden under it, I believe," Genji offered.
Hana's eyes lit up. "Oh, even better! See? You don't need to worry!"
"In that case, I think I will go get some rest. Thank you, Hana. Once again, I apologise for that display earlier. Sleep well."
Hana waved to Genji as he hurried out the door. She hoped he was going to talk with Zenyatta. But she couldn't worry about that right now. She reached under the armchair and fiddled for the blanket. After wrestling with it for a few seconds, she pulled out a soft blanket that would more than suffice. She practically fell asleep the moment she covered her face with it as Slipstream's heart monitor beeped in the background.
…
"Ugh! It's so frustrating! She treated me like a little kid!" Efi vented as Pharah passed her a mug of chocolate milk. The two had been working with Reinhardt to repair Orisa, though it was clear Efi was beyond tired. So, with the promise that he would keep a close eye on Orisa, Reinhardt sent the twosome off for a break. "The whole way back from the mission, Dr Ziegler was going on and on about how 'reckless I was being' and how 'I'm not supposed to be the one fighting!' It was so frustrating!"
Pharah listened to the child, her lip tilted upward in a small, amused grin. Efi rubbed the bandaging wrapping her arm. "I didn't even get that hurt! I don't see what the big deal is!"
"Mercy has always been the kind of person to fret over others. You should have seen her when Jesse first lost his arm. I heard he cried a bit."
Efi giggled. "Really? Wow. I've heard so many rumours about the doctor. You guys make her sound like a maniac!"
"When it comes to health, she certainly is maniacal about making sure we are as well as we can be. She's particularly worried about you, though." Pharah explained, sipping her own cup of chocolate milk as she sat down across from the girl.
"Why? Is it because of my age? I'm not that young, you know!" Efi defended, crossing her arms again.
"Of course, you aren't," Pharah said in a hurry, which seemed to calm Efi down some. "But you joined Overwatch as an engineer. You were never supposed to fight."
"But if I can help, then I should!" Efi pressed, though that didn't stop her from taking another drink of her milk.
"But what about your parents?" Pharah said, making Efi blink.
"Mom and Dad? What about them?" the child asked tipping her head to the side.
"I can tell they care about you a lot; they'd be very worried if you were fighting. If you get badly hurt, they'll be really upset."
Efi paused, looking down. "I mean… I know that! But I should try to do what's right! You don't get it!"
To that, Pharah laughed. Efi gave her a confused glare. "Hey! What's so funny?"
"Nothing is funny. You just remind me of myself when I was your age," Fareeha admitted. "All I wanted to do was fight. My mother wouldn't have any of that, though."
"Captain Amari? I haven't spoken with her much… she really didn't want to let you fight even though she was so good at it?"
Pharah nodded. "As a kid, I couldn't understand it. All I wanted was for her to let me join Overwatch. Even after she 'died,' I still couldn't get into Overwatch. I think Mother had called in favours and told them to never let me in." Pharah chuckled. "Boy, was I upset."
"But now you've got that awesome jetpack flight suit thing! That's still pretty mean of the captain, though…"
"Oh, I was furious at the time. Now, I can understand why she did it. Not to say I agree with it, though," Fareeha admitted after a moment.
"Wait… I'm confused now. What's the morale of this story?" Efi took another drink of her milk, waiting for Pharah to continue.
"That when the doctor is keeping you from fighting, it's only because she cares. And while you may be mad about that now, it's only so you'll be able to live a long, happy life."
Efi frowned, clearly not happy with the message. Fareeha sighed. "And that if you're really serious, I can take you to the training field and show you some basic hand-to-hand techniques, though. However, for the time being, it'd be for only self-defence."
Efi's face lit up. "Oooh! Really? You'll show me?! Awesome! And yeah, self-defence. I know. But if I were to, hypothetically speaking, find myself in the same room as Reaper, it'd count as self-defence if I drop kicked him, right?" She gave a cheeky grin.
Pharah laughed. "I can promise that nobody would be mad at you if you gave him a bruise or two! Just be careful though, please. If you go in and try to attack someone when your life isn't in danger, I'll feel responsible if you get hurt."
The girl sighed. "Yeah, okay… fine."
Fareeha nodded gratefully and took another sip of the mug of milk, sighing in contentment as she set it back on the table. The two were silent for a moment as Efi stared at her mug.
She hummed. "Umm…"
"Hmm? What is it." Pharah perked up.
"Oh… nothing… don't worry about it."
Fareeha chuckled. "Come on, out with it. What's up?"
"I was… er… I was just curious… but… I was wondering if sometime… You could maybe take me flying in your suit?"
"You wouldn't be the first person to ask that, you know. Thankfully, you're much lighter than a mildly injured Helix squad mate." Pharah smirked. "But if I could carry him, I can carry you. Sure, I can take you for a little flight. I just recommend getting goggles first."
"Goggles? Why?" Efi asked, though she was already bouncing in her seat from excitement.
"Because that particular ally broke his visor. A fly hit his eye."
Efi giggled. "That sounds terrible! And you're terrible for finding it funny! I guess I'm terrible too!" she yawned and looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh… it's getting late. I should try to finish fixing Orisa tonight…"
"No, Efi. You're not going to be able to finish fixing her tonight. She's in a much better condition than she was. After this, you're going straight to bed."
The child groaned. "You sound just like my mom!"
"But I'll take you flying first thing tomorrow morning."
"Okay, maybe a little less like my mom."
…
"None of the damage is permanent," Satya said in monotone as she finished wrapping some bandaging around Lúcio's legs. "Your back will need time to heal, and you have However, even with your exoskeletal enhancements, I suggest a few days of bed rest and minimal walking for a week after."
Lúcio sighed. "Whatever you say, Vishkar." He yawned and leaned back in the bed, pulling the covers over his legs, which weren't much good without the cybernetic exoskeleton on, anyway. He had managed to change into a more comfortable t-shirt and pair of sweatpants, although Symmetra was originally opposed to it. She was wearing her combat outfit. Lúcio had the feeling it was just her favourite thing to wear. "I don't suppose I can at least wait the healing out in my own room, can I?"
Symmetra thought for a moment, "That should be fine. The painkilling IV drip should be transported to your room with you, but other than that, I see no issues with it. I can take you there now if you like."
The DJ blinked. "You're awfully generous today. I guess I'll take you up on that offer."
"I am not incapable of being 'kind,' if that's what you were implying."
"No, no, it's not. Just… alright let's go back to my room." Symmetra just nodded and began to move him out of the hospital room. An awkward silence hung over the air as they passed through the halls of Gibraltar. Everyone was busy with one thing or another, so the building was deserted.
"I will bring your skate suit and sonic amplifier to you after I take you to your room. My apologies for leaving it on the ship."
Lúcio blinked, "Uh… alright. You don't seem too upset about your tech anymore, huh?" he laughed nervously. "Think we can call that character development?"
Satya bit her lip. "I know it is better used by you than by Vishkar at this point."
"Wait, really?" Lúcio was stunned. "Why the sudden change?" He turned around in the bed as Symmetra continued to push at a much slower pace.
She quieted, staring ahead as she gathered her words. "I saw the footage of your fight with Talon back in MEKA. The argument with Moira O'Deorain was what caught my attention, in particular."
"Alright?" Lúcio had a feeling he knew where this was going. "She did mention something about my technology that I stole, yeah. What of it?"
"Do you think me to be like Moira O'Deorain?" Satya asked. She had completely stopped the bed at this point.
"I… you're gonna have to be a bit more specific than that," Lúcio stammered, not sure how to reply.
"During your skirmish, she admonished you for not utilizing the mind-controlling capabilities of the sonic technology. Do you think of me as someone with her levels of regard for humane limits to technology?" She looked away, rubbing part of her dress' fabric between her fingers.
"I mean, you work for a company that tried to enslave my country. I don't think someone would work for them if you weren't okay with it." Lúcio turned back around, lying back on the bed. "And honestly, that's a pretty shitty thing to do. So, I think you can see where I'm coming from when I'm a little pissed off."
"I have stated this before. I was not aware this was how Vishkar utilized the sonic tech until you brought it to my attention. I only overlooked such an egregious invention because it has its merits when used for interrogation. It should never have been used against civilians."
"That's something we can both agree on," Lúcio huffed. "But obviously you aren't that against it."
Satya narrowed her eyes and leaned over the side of the bed so Lúcio could see her glare. "Why do you assume this?"
"You still use their technology and are here on their behalf. You represented Vishkar when you went to the U.K. Sounds to me like you still support them plenty." He sat back up with a groan as his back protested. "If you were really against Vishkar, you'd leave them in the dust." Satya hesitated, looking unsure.
"Do you not think the idea has crossed my mind? I consider leaving Vishkar on a daily basis. But if I do that, they'll undoubtedly send someone here in my stead, leaving Overwatch with someone who wouldn't hesitate to expose the plenty of criminals hiding here. Including, but not limited to, the outlaw Jesse McCree, the vigilantes known as Shrike and Soldier 76, the cyber-terrorist Sombra, the vandals and robbers known as the Junkers, and last but not least, Talon's latest terrorist known as Lena "Slipstream" Oxton. If I leave Vishkar, then there's no promises that their presence here will remain hidden."
"Then take them down! The shit they take part in is extremely illegal! I'm sure we can get some sort of dirt on them!" Lúcio argued, his voice raising.
"I've searched. Unfortunately, I didn't have access to anything useful. And even then, what would 'taking out' Vishkar accomplish? Putting hundreds of employees, equally as ignorant to what their employers use their technology for, out of a job and sending them to live on the streets? Because that's the opposite of why I remained with Vishkar despite my doubts all these years. I want to keep people in stable homes. That's what Vishkar promised." Satya adjusted her visor as she finally met Lúcio's gaze."
The man was startled. He wasn't quite sure what to say. "Well… then have you considered trying to change Vishkar?"
Symmetra blinked. "Pardon me? Change Vishkar? I am not nearly at a high enough rank to change them to any significant degree."
"Well… you don't want them to use their technology like they do. You want to build communities for people in the slums. Seems like the only way to get both of those to come true without putting the company away for good is to stop what they're doing yourself." Lúcio sighed. "As for how you'd do that, I've got no clue. But if you want it bad enough, you can probably figure something out."
Satya knit her brows in confusion. "I was under the impression you hated me. Why are you suddenly giving me all this advice?"
"I don't hate you. I hate the company you work for. And if you hate them, then the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Plus, I've not got enough energy to be mad right now."
This seemed to snap Satya out of her stupor. "Oh, my apologies. I should get you to your room so you can rest." She continued pushing the cart as Lúcio chuckled. He flopped back on the bed.
"How about this? Once we've got this whole 'Slipstream' ordeal figured out, we can look into ways to get control of Vishkar. You don't have to take the company down, and my country stops being oppressed. Seems like a win-win to me."
Satya thought for a moment. She stammered, "Ah, yes… that seems like a suitable arrangement. I… I appreciate the offer, Mr. dos Santos. Thank you."
"No prob, Vaswani."
…
Hana awoke to the repetitive beeps of a heartrate monitor. She yawned, sitting up in the armchair. Mercy had her hair pulled back with a lab coat on, and Hana noticed Slipstream had been changed out of her Talon uniform and into a standard hospital gown, though she was covered mostly by the thin hospital blanket, and her scarf was still lightly draped over her neck.
"Oh, hello, Hana. Sorry for waking you this late at night, but it's the first chance I've had to give Lena a proper medical examination."
"Mm. Don't worry about it. Did you get the sympathiser out?" she asked as she sat up in the recliner with a small groan.
"No, not yet, much to Jesse's dismay I'm sure." Angela sighed. "You can see her eyes glowing behind her eyelids."
It was true. Hana peeked over the hospital bed where Slipstream was sedated, and her eyelids did indeed have a faint pink shine to them. "What is that stuff making them shine, anyway? It's super freaky."
Mercy busily typed notes up on a HoloVid as she answered. "It appears to be the standard solution given to colour-blind or visually impaired patients. It can be modified radiate different colours and send them to the brain when stimulated with a certain signal. In terms of danger, both the solution and radiated signal to cause it to glow are harmless. Genji had some while he was first being treated. His eyes glowed red for a while because of it."
"Ohhh… okay… When I heard about those eyes I'd just assumed it was to keep the edgy look going," Hana said lamely, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, watching with mild interest.
"Given Gabriel was in charge of the Blackwatch uniforms, it's not something I'd have put past him." Mercy allowed herself a brief chuckle before she turned back to Slipstream with a sad sigh. "To think he could have caused all this. I definitely have my work cut out for me here. Honestly if you had told me when I met Lena that I'd have to give her a check-up like this, I would call you crazy."
"Hmm? Why? She seems fine aside from the eye-glowy thing. I don't think she got a proper injury yesterday." Hana took a few steps back as the doctor shuffled by her as she pulled on a pair of hospital gloves.
"Because there's no telling what kind of drugs could be in her system, especially since she had been appearing to be in such good health so shortly after what Reaper did." The doctor's expression tightened as she drew a syringe of Lena's blood from her shoulder. She set the large vial in a scanner that drained and analysed her blood.
"What kind of issues would she have from all that? I know there are those burns and her leg but other than that…"
"The scars are just the visible damage. Those on their own have issues that we'll need to address. For instance, one thing I noticed she had been trying to hide, look." She took a deep breath, and removed Slipstream's scarf, once more revealing the ugly scar wrapping her neck. It made Hana feel ill just looking at the twisted white and pink burn that didn't get a chance to heal in time. Mercy gingerly ran her fingers along the mark with a painfully neutral expression. Next, she gently grabbed the sides of Lena's head and turned it, like she was making her look to the right and left; the only difference was that Mercy stopped after turning the head in, at best, twenty degrees in both directions.
"The scars restrict her movement in the neck. The skin there is a lot less flexible and far more rigid, leaving her unable to turn her head fully. She mostly compensated for this by turning her whole body when she needed to look around. So, while it appears the scars have been treated on occasion, it doesn't seem like she was going any rehabilitation to regain flexibility."
D,va blinked, biting her lip as she tapped her fingers on her sides in some vague rhythm. "Really? I didn't notice at all… Can you heal that?"
Mercy shook her head. "Unfortunately, these scars have healed just about as much as they can without some sort of cybernetic replacements, which I would rather avoid if at all possible. Her chronal disassociation would add a long list of technicalities for us to deal with in that regard. Surgery is possible, but it wouldn't give her much in the way of flexibility. However, if, when we've got Lena back, she cooperates and does some small, daily exercises with some a little medication, I believe she can regain some of what she may have lost. That wouldn't be easy, though. She also had one of those metal shackles on the entirety of her torso, meaning I doubt she's even close to being able to touch her toes. But, like I said, rehabilitation is key. We just need to be grateful the scars were treated as well as they were, or else Lena would have a much harder time than she already will in the future." Mercy sighed again as she shuffled over to one of her cabinets, grabbing a bottle of some kind of lotion from the back. She poured a small amount on her fingers, which she began to rub on Lena's neck scar.
Hana hummed," I'm not sure 'grateful' is the right word to use there. I prefer 'ever-so-slightly-less-pissed-off-than-I-already-am.'" Mercy's small huff of amusement was enough of a win for her for the time being. "Anyway, I don't like just lurking here. Do you want some help? I can do her arms, if you want. I figure she's got some there, too."
Mercy nodded. "Thank you, Hana. Wash your hands and grab a pair of the disposable gloves. Normally I wouldn't allow something like this, but seeing as your stuck here, I'll make an exception."
Once she had cleaned her hands and thrown on a pair of the thin, plastic gloves, Hana grabbed the bottle off the counter on which the doctor had set it. She squeezed a dollop of it onto her finger, and pulled Lena's left arm out from under the bedsheet. She wrinkled her nose as she saw Lena's uncovered forearm for the first time. It was just as ugly and mangled as her neck, though it was the size of it, as it spanned from her wrist to elbow, that made it set in for Hana just how much Slipstream's costume had been hiding. Chewing her lip, Hana began to rub the thick cream on Lena's arm. The skin was just as rough as it looked, though Hana chose to ignore that and ask the doctor more questions as they worked.
"You said the scars were just the surface-level stuff. What other crap does Lena need treated?"
Mercy finished treating Lena's neck and moved on to her left leg. Hana felt a little weird watching, so she just focused her attention on Lena's arm while the doctor spoke. "Talon probably already did what they could for other major health issues. Keep in mind, these are not ordinary burns. They are electrical burns. It honestly is a miracle that Lena's heart didn't stop long before we tried to rescue her. Although, I'm sure Reaper had something planned for if that did happen. It's also possible whatever food they gave her was drugged with something to strengthen her heart and prevent it from failing. I'm testing her blood right now, but she is most definitely on some form of heart medication. She will likely continue needing it for the rest of her life, but once I figure out what kind Talon was using, getting that sorted out shouldn't be a problem."
"Why do you need to know what kind Talon was using?"
"Because it would probably be best to keep her on something similar, if possible. But if it's addictive or dangerous in some way, I'll probably put her on something different."
"Ah, okay." Hana decided to let that topic be for now, since Dr Ziegler obviously knew best. In the whole time they'd been talking, her expression had hardly changed from being all-business as she spoke in mostly monotone with the slightest tinge of sadness.
"The other major thing I'd wager she's on some sort of drug for is motor skill issues. Most effective medicine for that sort of damage is fairly new, but given she's not had any issues in doing things like shooting or walking, it wouldn't surprise me to find something treating that in her system."
Hana hummed again, somewhat confused. "Okay, I kinda got it, but not totally. By "motor skill," you mean stuff like writing, right?"
"Anything that requires precise muscle-movement. Spasms are not uncommon in people who have suffered extreme exposure to electricity. However, it is, once again, something that can be taken care of with a daily pill of some kind, depending on what Talon gave her."
By the time the doctor was done, she had already put the covers back on Lena's legs and had begun treating her torso in the time it took Hana just to move on to Lena's other arm. "That… seems like a lot of debuffs. Will she ever be fit for active duty again?" she asked nervously, mildly afraid of the answer.
Much to her relief, the doctor nodded. "Physically? Yes. None of this should, in the long term, greatly hinder her ability to fight. Now, whether or not she'll want to, and whether or not she'll be allowed to are horses of different colours."
That caught Hana by surprise. "What? I know she'll have a lot of issues to get worked out emotionally once we get that stupid Sympathiser out, but what do you mean 'allowed to?' Are you guys seriously not going to let her back onto active duty if she wants to?"
"Oh, no. I'm sure Jack wouldn't be a huge fan of it, but if she wants to, Lena is always welcome to fight with us. It's the government I'm more worried about. Right now, we are keeping the fact that Slipstream is in our custody on the down-low. However, we'll have to reveal that she's in our custody soon. And once she's considered 'sane' enough, she will have to be tried for her crimes."
"What? She's going to have to go to court? But none of what she did is her fault!" Hana all-but-shouted, glaring at Angela in disbelief. She shook her head.
"I couldn't agree more. Everyone in Overwatch agrees one-hundred-percent. However, it was Lena Oxton that was seen attacking civilians. It was Lena Oxton that killed that man in Numbani. Like it or not, she is going to have to answer for those crimes."
"So, she's gonna go to jail for something she was forced to do?"
Mercy stopped and finally turned to Hana, her neutral expression moulding into determination. "No. Lena is not going to go to jail. Either we're going to find a way to prove her innocent, we're going to take custody of her similarly to how Overwatch first gained custody over McCree, or we will break her out of prison. None of us are going to let anything else like that happen to Lena."
D,va couldn't help but be startled by Mercy's sudden passion. She grinned. "I can help with the breaking-out part if we have to do that!"
Angela raised an amused eyebrow. "I'm not sure that'd be a great way to avoid incriminating Overwatch."
"I dunno what you mean! I am the master of subtle!" Hana slammed her hand to her fist. Then she grunted in annoyance as she realized she got the lotion all over the glove. Mercy chuckled.
"Let's finish tending to Lena's burns. Afterwards, I need to go check on Sombra one more time while Lena's blood is analysed. Then I'll call Winston in here and we'll begin looking into the Sympathiser."
Hana raised an eyebrow. All tonight? Aren't you going to get some sleep?"
The doctor crossed her arms. "Weren't you the one quoted as saying 'sleep is for the weak?' at three-a.m. a couple weeks ago?"
"Touché" D,va said with a chuckle.
…
Mercy couldn't help but pity Winston as he bumbled into the room with various machines piled in one arm. The moment he laid eyes on Lena, he froze, his gaze fixating on her. Hana had fallen back asleep on the armchair, so it was up to the two of them to analyse Lena.
Mercy sighed. "Winston, I know this is hard for you, but we need to focus. I just finished with the x-rays. We can check those once you get the scanners set up."
"O-oh. Okay. Y-yes, hang on," he shook his head and grabbed the various machines, rustling around on the ground as he snapped some parts into place. "We used this back when we were first looking into Lena's condition. It's a bit slow, though. So, it'll take a moment to get a read on her chronal signature."
Angela nodded. "Okay, get that running, then." Mercy watched Winston as he fumbled with the device he had set on one of the counters. There was something resembling a camera that he pointed towards Lena as the device began to hum. Every now and again during setup, Winston would sneak a glance at Lena, and each one broke Angela's heart. It was like Winston was hoping he'd suddenly look over to see the same, peppy Tracer they had always known. She didn't have the heart to tell him that it'd never be the same even after they got the Sympathiser out.
The two of them waited a few moments as Winston plugged the scanner into his HoloVid. A few moments later, Winston hummed and began checking the data as the device searched for "energy irregularities." He groaned.
"It looks like everything is normal, for Lena, at least. The device is sensing Hana, the accelerator, and Lena. When it maps them out, every part of Lena is considered an "irregularity," meaning the Sympathiser is destabilised to remain with her even if she were to fade."
Angela sighed. "I suppose that makes sense. Didn't you see her destabilise when she first attacked the base?"
"I try to forget," Winston admitted, half chuckling and half cringing as he failed to make levity of the moment. "But yeah, I guess she did. And even then, if it weren't destabilised like normal, we would have been able to see it through her head when she was unstable. What about the x-rays?"
Mercy cringed. "That's definitely where the problem lies. The Sympathiser, or at least what I assume is the sympathiser, is indeed in her head. The problem is that the cavity in which it was inserted is so impossibly precise, that it is quite literally impossible to operate there without major risk. It's surrounded by so many delicate nerves and brain structures. And there was no sign of an incision anywhere in Lena's head. If I were to guess, I'd say they destabilised Lena, and used her semi-invulnerability in that state to bend the rules and create the incision with destabilised tools, although I can't be certain on the details there. After that, they must have inserted the Sympathiser in the hole that's the perfect size for it. If we were to just remove the sympathiser, she'd probably start bleeding. Which is never a good thing to do inside the head."
"So how would we go about removing it?" Winston asked with a growing sense of trepidation.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I don't think we can do it while Lena is under. We'd need to try to get our hands on technology similar to what Talon used. Then we would have to have Lena destabilised while we perform the operation."
"But… she can't be unconscious while destabilised." Winston's eyes widened. "That means she would have to consent to the surgery, and allow us to remove it, since any slight motion could be catastrophic!"
Mercy nodded grimly. "Keep in mind, when Sombra is awake, I plan to get as many details as possible. Best case scenario, she can turn off the Sympathiser, and we can eventually convince Lena to let us remove it for good. But worse-case…" she gave a melancholy sigh as she put her face over her hands. "We'd have to fight an impossible battle."
"You mean… we'd have to convince Slipstream to let us remove the Sympathiser," Winston realised as he sank to the ground. "But… how would we even do that? Lena is practically being mind-controlled!"
"I… I don't know. But right now, those are the only two options. If Sombra doesn't cooperate… Then we're going to have to try to convince a perfectly content, brainwashed, and apathetic assassin to intentionally undergo the emotional pain she experienced back in MEKA."
Winston stared at Angela in disbelief as she shook her head and returned her attention to her screens as though they would have an answer. "Slipstream is not stupid. She can remember things, and I'm certain she'll remember how she felt back in MEKA. And I know, that if I were in her position, I would most certainly prefer not needing to have a conscience. And without the capacity to care about you, Jesse, Genji, or anyone else, she would feel as though she has nothing to gain from coming home to us."
"But… it's Lena! She's not like that! She wouldn't just choose the easy way out like that!" Winston argued, standing back up as he hurried to the side of his sleeping friend's bed. "She would choose what's right, even if it's harder!" Angela's eyes crumpled as she watched Winston put his giant paw on Lena's hand. "She'll choose what's right, even if Sombra doesn't cooperate!"
"Winston…" Mercy began. She hated dashing his hoped like this, but it felt cruel to let him build up false hope. "While… While it's not impossible… you need to be prepared for if Lena doesn't act like that. She's gone through such an ordeal already. We don't even have any way to know how it might have changed how she sees the world." Mercy gingerly took Lena's scarf off her neck, on which it had been draped. "You saw for yourself. And you know that these scars affect more than her body. I'd imagine they run deep in her heart and mind as well. The odds of her wanting to come back to us…"
Winston visibly flinched as he saw the scar. He stammered for words. "I… I know that! I know that! But it's Lena! I don't care what the 'odds' are, though! It's Lena! It's Lena. We've known her for years! You can't just give up on her because of 'odds!' If we based all our actions off of 'odds,' then she'd still be wasting away in the time stream!"
Mercy sighed, looking at the ground. "Winston. I know what you're saying. And I agree with you. But you should be prepared for the worst. For if she doesn't want to come back to us."
Winston gazed sorrowfully at Lena's face for a long second. Then he slowly moved his gaze up to Dr Ziegler. He removed his glasses, staring intently at her through tearful yet resolute eyes.
"Even if Sombra doesn't help us. Even if Slipstream doesn't want it. Even if all the odds are against it, I'm not going to ever give up. We will not give up. We'll find some way to help Lena remember who she actually is."
...
A/N:
Hi guys! Sorry if you don't like these at the end, but I wanted to try something new. If you've read this hecka long fanfic, then you probably like GOOD fanfic. Which, if you've seen ANY of Overwatch's available fanfics... you were probably underwhelmed. Therefore, I am going to try adding a list of my personal favorite fanfictions for Overwatch at the end of my chapters, just to help you guys who might not have found these!
For reference, FFN is Fanfiction,net, and AO3 is Archive of Our Own (which is a second fanfiction platform). Sorry FFN readers, but you're going to have to pop these suckers into the search bar yourself, because FFN is severely allergic to hyperlinks. Seriously. It removes D,va if I forget to change the period.
Onto the List!
...
thanks dad, love hana - By Snowsheba on AO3.
A long, heartwarming read, though Tracer isn't the focus. As of writing this, it is currently unfinished but I still firmly believe it is worth the read. It focuses on a father-daughter relationship that builds between D,va and Soldier 76. Also gave me a lot of inspiration for my own story.
...
6 A.M. – By Windowtoad on AO3.
Another fairly long read. It is a Widowtracer AU written in second person, but if you can get past that, it is one of the most beautifully written and poignant stories I've read in a long time with a great sense of how to use literary devices like repetition to rip your heart in two. A story in which Tracer becomes immortal thanks to the Slipstream accident. I haven't been so touched and affected by a story since.
...
Overwatch: Out of Time - by monthefratellis on FFN.
One of the few good Overwatch fics that I've read on FFN. Its a bit on the shorter side, but a decent read all the same. It focuses on McCree and Tracer as they're stranded on Route 66, though it is not a romance story in any way. Overall a short but solid read exploring McCree's past.
...
the young never sleep – By cerealmilk on AO3.
A bit on the angsty side, maybe a little bit too much so at some points, but I ultimately had a very good time reading this D,va fic. It's an interesting take on D,va's character, being focused more on how fighting in a war has affected her psychologically.
...
One last wish - by NohaIjiachi on AO3.
Now we're getting to the weirder ones. In this AU, Hanzo is half human and half dragon. Genji and McCree have an amazingly well-written platonic relationship here as they try to save Genji's brother from enemies and himself. I'd say this fic is worth reading for the Genji and McCree banter alone.
...
To Breathe Above Water – by Emiza on AO3.
So, this is a Genji X Mercy mermaid AU. While the concept is pretty out there, the writer demonstrates enough skill with a keyboard to make it work fairly well. This one is also pretty short, but it's a decent way to spend an afternoon.
...
That's all I have for now, but if I find more that blow me away, I'll probably add them! Go check these out if you want more OW content!