A/N
I AM BACK PLEASE READ THIS! And not to cancel the story, as probably everyone was expecting! I feel like an explanation for my absence is in order.
At first it was school. Anything post-spring break is a living hell of finals studying. After that it was the severest creative drain I think I have ever felt. I thought about this story almost all day, every day, for over a year straight, and I was exhausted, to put it simply. I wrote about half of this chapter near the beginning of summer before my passion died and died hard.
Discovering Hetalia didn't help. I found myself in love with the series and have been enjoying what that universe has to offer. I have even begun planning a longer fic for it. Overall, I just needed a long break from this beast. But here's the thing.
I AM NOT QUITTING THIS FIC WITHOUT A DAMN GOOD REASON.
This thing is 200k words in! And yet, at most, it's 2/3, maaaybe 3/4 of the way through. I have put in waaaay too much time and love to quit now. And I can't leave you guys on a cliffhanger. Mostly since I haven't even reached the arc I'm most excited for...
FINALLY:
My tastes have changed, a LOT. The type of stories I like are almost completely different from the last chapter. However, this will not impact the story in the slightest. In fact, you may not even be able to notice the change in style. But it's there. I have changed the style in which I plan to write the rest of this, although the actual storyblocks remain unchanged. You have To Kill a Mockingbird and (of all things) a Hetalia fangame called HetaOni to thank for that. I'll go into more detail whenever this monster reaches its end.
Anyway, I've kept you all waiting for too long. To those of you that have stuck with this story despite everything... Thank you, and I love you guys with all my heart.
...
Chapter 34
Mercy groaned and rubbed her temples as she waited. The incessant droning of Sombra's heart rate monitor had become little more than white noise after hours of operations and checkups. She wasn't totally sure when the last time she slept was, although she was fairly certain the number could be measured in days.
Sombra's condition had been slowly but steadily improving. She was lucky there would be no lasting damage, thanks both to immediate access to first-aid, and the fact that none of her vitals were hit. She would probably need to be in a wheelchair for a few days after her initial recovery, but that was negligible in the grand scheme of things.
Part of her wished she had taken Zenyatta's offer and gone to sleep, but right now she had two other people's health to put above her own. That didn't stop her head from feeling fuzzy, like it was stuffed with cotton, as random bits and pieces of medical gibberish floated across her brain. Sighing, she took another sip of her coffee.
A knock on the door snapped her out of her stupor. She jolted up from her seat in front of her computer, staggering slightly as her body protested the action. She flopped back down in her seat in defeat with a disgruntled "come in." The door slid open as Genji stepped in, his head turning from Mercy to Sombra then back to Mercy in the blink of an eye.
"Konbanwa, Ziegler-san."
"Is it evening already?" Mercy asked, only just now noticing that it was nearly dark outside. She sighed again. "Regardless, good evening to you too, Genji. How are you feeling?" She turned to her former patient, spinning the office chair around as he greeted her.
"I should be asking you that. It smells like a Starbucks just made out with a dentist's office here." Angela could practically see him wrinkle his nose. She huffed in weary amusement.
"You really do have a knack for poetry," she retorted with a soft smile. "As for me, I'm just peachy, thanks."
"When was the last time you've eaten, slept, and just generally taken care of yourself?" he asked in concern.
"Do I have to answer that?" she waved him off with a laugh. In truth, the only thing she had done was change clothes, and that was for the sake of Sombra and Lena rather than herself.
"Angela, neither Lena or Sombra are going anywhere. This is not worth your own health," he recited, a similar phrase to one he used when she worked on his cybernetics. Angela rested her chin in her hands with her elbows on her knees.
"You say that like some of Jesse's fears of a 'kill switch' in Lena and whatnot weren't perfectly valid. The sooner this is all sorted out, the better. Speaking of Jesse, how is he?"
This time, it was Genji's turn to sigh as he gingerly sat down on one of the visitor chairs. He rubbed his "temple" with his thumb and index finger, despite his helmet only acting as armor without the sensation of touch. "Throwing a temper tantrum. I'm waiting for him to get over himself right now. We had an argument about Sombra and Lena. He's been avoiding me since."
Mercy hummed with a small snort. "That sounds like him. I wouldn't take anything he said personally," she advised with a knowing smile. Jesse's temper was no foreign concept.
"It will take much more than his empty words to bother me. Nonetheless, I still can't help but feel guilty about raising my voice as I did…"
"I wouldn't worry too much about it. We were all stressed then. I doubt he'll hold a grudge over this."
"As long as Sombra is around, I can't say he'll let it go any time soon. You know he hates her." Angela sighed, watching Sombra's rising and falling chest as she took steady breaths. Her face was still lacking some colour, and her hospital gown covered a fair number of ugly stitches. There was nothing permanent in terms of damage, but Mercy couldn't bring herself to muster any anger at the woman.
"That's true. He does hate her… but eventually he'll have to face the fact that Sombra was one of the reasons we captured Lena. And hopefully, I can get some more information out of her. She's not really fit to be awake just yet, but I am waking her up."
"Ah, so that's why you're still awake… What are you hoping to get from her?" Genji asked, cocking his head in place of quirking his eyebrows, which were hidden under the helmet. "If she's still heavily drugged, I wouldn't put too much stock in most of what she says, right?"
"You're absolutely correct," Angela replied with a small smile. She pulled open a nearby drawer and rummaged through it for a brief moment before pulling her hand back out with a small, clear container. Kept safe inside was a sizable collection of data chips of various kinds. "We found these hidden in various pockets of her outfit. However, they're all password protected. Hopefully, they have information on them that will be useful in both stopping whatever it is Reaper plans to do, and in removing that hellish machine out of Lena's mind."
"I see. How long until she wakes up?" Genji asked as he turned his head between Sombra and the doctor.
As if on cue, Sombra stirred, her head barely shifting. "Looks like soon. You're free to stay if you like, just try not to provoke her. She's still pretty drugged too, so don't expect much coherency."
Genji nodded. "Of course, Doctor. I'll grab the HoloVid for the data chips. So at least you can focus on talking to her."
"What would I do without you?" Mercy sighed with a smile, and eased herself out of her chair, mentally reciting what she'd say to Sombra in her head as she reached for a clipboard.
"Mff… Where…?" Sombra cracked her eyes open halfway, her head lolling to the side on her pillow as she attempted to look around the room.
"Good evening, Sombra. How are you feeling?" Mercy asked as Genji stole her spot in the chair and prepared the HoloVid for any inputs by Sombra if she agreed to help.
Sombra squinted, like she was trying to focus on Angela's face. "Z…Ziegler… why'm I here?" Her words were slow and slurred, still very much so under the influence of various drugs.
"Can't move…"
"You're in the Overwatch medical bay. You sustained several severe bullet wounds and lost a lot of blood."
There was a shift in Sombra's expression. The girl was sharp, Mercy would give her that. She could see Sombra's expression harden as she made a visible effort to lift her head and assess the situation. She suddenly appeared much more lucid, despite the little time elapsed since she regained consciousness. "What do you want from me?" Her accent was almost unnoticeable as she clearly enunciated each word, exerting effort to keep herself from slurring further.
Angela smiled. "I apologize for waking you up like this. Normally I would wait until you were properly recovered, but this is urgent. We found several data chips hidden in your outfit. We need to know the password to any of them that might have information helpful in healing Lena."
Several emotions flashed across Sombra's still-drowsy face. Surprise. Suspicion. Fear. Relief. Scepticism. "You guys got Slipstream here too?"
"Thanks to you," Genji added from his spot on the chair, holding up the HoloVid with her chips plugged into it. "You're EMP was vital in recapturing Lena." If it were McCree in the room, Mercy had no doubt he would have some choice words to shout at Sombra for calling Lena by her Talon codename. Thankfully, Genji sounded genuinely grateful. He was much more socially cognisant.
Sombra narrowed her eyes. "And what if I don't help you?" It wasn't surprising that she was being cautious. She probably assumed her life depended on whether or not she gave them some passwords.
However, Angela was not that petty. "Then I continue your treatment like you were one of our agents. You may be Overwatch's prisoner, but that doesn't make your life a bargaining chip for us. And if anyone tries to tell you that, I'll put a stop to it immediately."
Sombra blinked. Then blinked again. Several seconds went by before comprehension dawned on her face, followed by bewilderment. She still sounded sceptical. "You're not going to kill me if I don't give you the passwords?"
"We will not," Mercy said, her tone final.
"…" Sombra paused. She tried to crane her neck to see her wounds, but found herself unable to move anything other than her head. "How bad are my injuries?"
"You took a shotgun blast point-blank in your stomach. You'll recover, but it will take some time. You'll not be walking for a few weeks at least. But you will fully heal by the end of it all."
Genji leaned over her bed, holding out several of the data chips. "Please, Sombra. You put your life on the line to save Lena. I ask that you help us save her again. We need information on the Sympathiser. That's it. Please. If any of these have any medical files, we need to have them. Help me save my friend." His voice was calm yet containing a tinge of desperation as he begged for Sombra's help.
"Shimada…" she muttered, then sighed. "It's the blue USB stick. The password is 'I hate Talon and my boss sucks' with no spaces, all lowercase."
Mercy didn't say anything, though she couldn't hide an amused quirk of the eyebrow as Genji hurried to type in the password. Sombra ignored her.
"It worked…" Genji whispered, his voice awed. "Sombra… arigatou."
"Sure, whatever," she responded quickly, not liking the attention. "There are a couple files on other medical mumbo jumbo as well. Dunno if it'll help but it's there. Do whatever you want with it, I don't care."
Mercy smiled. "You have no idea how much you just helped us. I'll put in a good word with the Commander for you. You will not be mistreated here. I need to put you back under, though, so I can continue treating you."
"Mm… not like I can do much 'bout it..." Sombra slurred as Mercy put an oxygen mask over her mouth, the anaesthesia beginning to work within seconds.
When she was fully unconscious, Mercy turned to Genji with a triumphant smile. "Genji! We got them! We got the files! Let me see the HoloVid!"
Mercy reached to grab the device from Genji, but he stepped back and held it over her head. "Not yet. The files can wait. I've already saved them. They're not going anywhere. You, however, are going to eat a hot meal, then take a long rest. And by 'long rest,' I mean ten hours minimum."
Angela frowned. "But the cure for Lena might be right in your hand! You want to wait?"
He nodded without hesitation. "If you're not healthy, you won't be able to help Lena. Now, go eat. I'll look through the files and see what I can find on my own."
"You're exhausting, Genji…" Mercy chuckled with a defeated sigh as she stretched her back, meandering to the doorway. "Very well. Goodnight, Genji."
"Goodnight, Angela."
…
Beep… Beep… Beep…
Winston sighed, staring at the same x-ray for the fifty-third time, searching for some clue for how to get the Sympathiser out of Lena's system. It had been a few hours since his discussion with Mercy, and Hana was still asleep on the armchair. He kept his voice low, but primal emotion laced every word.
Beep… Beep… Beep… The heartrate monitor had been his only companion for the last several hours, and he was starting to tire of the sound.
Despite his desperate searching for a single clue, he found nothing. Her readings were the same as they'd always been, save the singular disc in her mind keeping Lena locked behind those pink eyes.
Beep… Beep… Beep…
"Alright! I get it! She's alive!" Winston growled, pointing an accusing finger at the heartrate monitor. "She's alive, but what good is that when she can't even live like a person? When she can't even feel anything? When even if she could, she'd probably be more hurt then she ever deserved!"
Beep… Beep… Beep…
"I get it! She's alive, but I can't do much else to help her!" Winston glared at the damn monitor, watching the spikes that jutted upward with every flow of the single, green line. "I wish I could just… rewind. Undo this all… What I wouldn't give for a do-over…"
Beep… Beep… Beep…
"It's that damn chamber all over again. If only I had double checked the plane! Made sure it was absolutely fool proof! If only Lena hadn't been the pilot…"
Beep… Beep… Beep…
"It's my fault she has to deal with that for the rest of her life, and now it's my fault she has to go through this fresh hell! So, stop reminding me!" He lunged to snatch the heartrate monitor, but forcing himself to a stop when he saw his skin hue changing, feeling the familiar sparks of rage travel through his tears. He trembled, before collapsing onto the ground with his head buried in his hands.
Beep… Beep… Beep…
"God, Lena… I'm so sorry… I'm so, so sorry… I'd give anything to get you back. And you're right there! You're right in front of me! So why do you feel so far away… Everyone is so far away… First the moon base, then that plane, now this… It's not fair…" Winston did nothing to repress the defeated sob worming its way through his throat.
Beep… Beep… Beep…
"God, I'm pathetic… You're the one having to live through this hell, and I'm sitting here pitying myself. What am I doing?"
Winston jumped as the door slid open without warning. He hurried to stand up and wipe away his tears before turning to face the visitor. It was Efi. Her kips were pursed when she noticed how Winston scrambled to his feet.
"Dr Winston? Are you okay?"
"Oh! Yeah, I'm fine, Efi! What's up?" he replied, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. She didn't buy it, but Winston was thankful she didn't press the point.
"Everyone is back from Russia. The commander told me to 'make myself useful and go tell Winston that the debriefing is at nineteen-hundred sharp,'" Efi grunted in a raspy voice in some childish imitation of Morrison's voice.
The gorilla huffed. "That's awfully rude of him to speak to you like that. Was he injured that badly?"
Efi giggled, "No, but he looked like he hadn't slept in months. And I couldn't even see his face!"
"At this point, I think it's more surprising if he looks like he didget sleep. Explosions aren't good for the complexion. Thank you for telling me. You can tell him I'll be there."
The girl snorted. "If he lets a 'civilian' into the meeting room, I will." There was no animosity in her voice as she teased the commander. She held her hands behind her head with a carefree smile as she turned to leave. "But he can't keep me out, so whatever."
"Oh, and Dr Winston?" Said gorilla jumped as Efi abruptly spun around, not having expected her to have anything else to add. He saw her eyes flit over their unconscious patient, but without the same pity with which most others saw her. Instead, she smiled. "You know, this whole thing sucks… it really does. But… don't give up, okay? None of that despairing angsty stuff."
Winston blinked. "P-pardon?"
"Things may be bad right now, and Tracer might be in a terrible situation. But you can't start pointing fingers or getting all worked up! It's not about the bad things someone goes through or anything like that. What matters is what you do to light up all the darkness. With enough effort, you can turn a failure into an even bigger success! And if anyone can save Lena, it's the smartest scientist in the world!" Efi's beaming face remained implanted in Winston's mind as she skipped out of the room.
…
Morrison was in the meeting room first, thirty minutes before the meeting actually started. It was the largest meeting room in Gibraltar, with fourteen seats on either side of a long table and one on each of the ends. In front of each chair was a small folder containing papers with any relevant information. The room was in the middle of the building for security purposes, and as such, possessed no windows.
Agents started arriving fifteen minutes before the start of the meeting. Surprisingly, the first to enter the room was Oladele, walking alongside her centaur AI. Her expression was carefully neutral, most likely in an attempt to seem professional in spite of her age. Morrison denied her quickly when she asked if she needed to do anything else to prepare for the meeting. She took her seat halfway down the table and set to entertaining her by scribbling small designs on a piece of scrap paper on her clipboard. Orisa slid the chair out of the way and sat on the ground, although her stature still put her higher than most adults.
The next to arrive was Vaswani. Morrison greeted her with an appreciative nod, returned in kind. She sat a few seats away from Oladele and immediately began reading all the documents in the folder in front of her. She was all-business, just as Morrison would expect the Vishkar representative to be.
Amari strode shortly after, wearing a duplicate of her combat hood as opposed to the Gibraltar uniform- she didn't like the colours being her usual reasoning. She took a seat next to Morrison himself, flippantly kicking her feet up on the table as she passed him a document with the list of agents from Russia that were unable to attend the meeting.
Fawkes had taken some hits that would leave him unfit to fight for a couple days, and Makes refused to leave his side during his tedious recovery. Burn injuries, mostly. It wouldn't surprise him to hear they were from their own explosives. Shimada, the elder one, that was, had also sustained a head injury, but it was enough to keep him out of the meeting for the time being. According to Ana, she wanted to make sure he was well enough so she could prove once again that she was the better sniper in some petty competition. She always did have the knack for lightening the mood; if she saw Hanzo as competition, he must have done extremely well in the fight.
Her daughter, Fareeha Amari, arrived next. She sat next to her mother and began reading the documents in front of her with a professional and detached calmness not unlike Vaswani.
The newest recruit, Zaryanova, scanned the room just as much as Morrison assessed her. She walked with the air of an elite soldier, and he could see the gears turning in her head as she judged every possible danger. She was a sharp one- she survived the Omnic fighting with more than luck on her side.
Lindholm and Wilhelm were accompanied by another new yet familiar recruit. Brigitte Lindholm seemed to regard Morrison with some disdain- a sentiment he was not unused to, and he could think of a few reasons why she might not like him personally. Trailing behind them was the strange and whimsical Bastion unit that he couldn't help but have mixed feelings about. The strange robot plopped down next to Orisa and entertained itself by showing her his pet bird. The odds of it trying anything strange were low, and Morrison decided to trust Lindholm's judgement rather than watch the Omnic the whole meeting
Five minutes before the beginning of the meeting is when most of the casual yet still punctual agents arrived. First was Shimada and Zenyatta. The former of which was as carefully guarded as ever, yet with an air of calm rather than anger from years prior. He greeted most everyone by name or title before him and his master sat across from Oladele. Morrison got the feeling that Omnic meant almost as much to Genji as Ziegler did. Jack made the mental note to be careful when putting the two on missions together. Their bond could serve as both a strength and weakness depending on the situation.
McCree was notably upset about something, offering words to nobody as he stormed into the room and sat down in the seat farthest away from Genji. Morrison had heard mentions of an argument between the two. They'd get over it soon. But his sour mood was likely due to whatever condition Oxton was in. That was one of the topics of discussion this meeting.
Dos Santos was rather relaxed as he strode into the room, though he carried himself with just as much weariness. Morrison noticed a couple fresh bruises, and he wondered if the kid had been in the training field again. While he did get sloppy when emotional, it was far from an unproductive way to vent any frustrations.
Dr Ziegler and Winston arrived last, both together. Their expressions were sombre and tired, and he noticed neither of them made a direct attempt to make eye contact with anyone. Whatever news they had wasn't good. McCree seemed to notice this too, and his grip on whatever paper he was reading tightened, and his teeth clenched over his unlit cigar with a narrowing glare.
Commander Morrison huffed as he surveyed the group of agents in the room as the large digital clock over the door switched to seven o' clock. "Where is Agent Song? I wasn't told that she was injured in that fight at the MEKA base." He noticed Winston suddenly begin to fidget, with stammering words tumbling from his lips. He likely forgot to report her as unfit for the meeting. It was sloppy, but far from the worst blunder someone has committed.
To his surprise, it was dos Santos that piped up, raising one hand partially up as he leaned back in his chair before Winston had a chance to speak. "Oh, my bad, Commander. I was supposed to tell you. Check-ups and such weren't done with her chronal accelerator from Talon, so there's only one. Hana couldn't leave Lena's hospital room.
It was a lie; Commander Morrison knew Winston didn't like to delegate tasks to a messenger boy. But he did appreciate his attempt to cover for Winston and move things along faster. He decided to leave it alone with a nod as he continued the meeting. "Very well, then. Athena is recording this. We'll send a copy of it to Agent Song after. But if we are to proceed, the first order of business is our two new members. Many of you will be familiar with Brigitte Lindholm. She travelled over land to Russia to meet up with Reinhardt and Torbjörn. She will be working as both an agent and mechanic. She's also a reliable medic in case of emergencies." He sat back down and gestured to the standing woman with a nod, giving her a moment to speak.
"Hell, everyone! Glad to be here! If you ever need help, just let me know, be it with machines or an injury!" her voice lacked any animosity written on her expression when she first saw him. He wasn't certain if it was because of his kinder words about her, or if her animosity was solely towards him- Jack would have to ask her later. He nodded to her in approval as she sat down, though most of his facial expressions were lost behind the mask.
"Next up is Aleksandra Zaryanova, codename Zarya. She's here on behalf of the Russian Defense Forces; she was an invaluable asset in stopping the Omnic advance in Siberia." Morrison gestured to her as she stood up.
"It is a pleasure to meet you," Zarya began in a thick Russian accent in strict formalities. "I look forward to working with all of you towards our common goal." Morrison noticed her sideways suspicious glance at the small group of Omnics, as though to confirm that their goals were, in fact, the same. He was relieved she never crossed the line directly into hostility- she likely knew that would be a poor way to begin introductions. "And do not worry, Soldier 76. I have no intentions of selling out any of the… vigilantes being kept here." That earned her a few appreciative nods.
When she sat back down, Jack stood back up and moved onto the second item on the list without missing a beat. "Our second order of business is our mission statement from here on out. There are two major goals: to secure peace between humans and Omnics, and to stop Talon."
Ana interrupted him, much to his annoyance. She never did like the stuffy meeting rooms. "Of course, if it were so easy, we'd have done that years ago."
"Which is why we're going to start with the smaller battles before moving on to the war. Human and Omnic violence has been on the rise. All active agents should be ready to receive a mission assignment at all times. Medics, make sure at least one of you is available for dispatching at a moment's notice as well. Overwatch will be sending peacekeeping support wherever it looks like a fight may break out." He continued before Ana had the chance to interrupt. "Furthermore, the entire public has not yet been swayed onto Overwatch's side yet. Members popular enough with the PR should be expected to go to meetings, news interviews, rallies, and anything that could boost Overwatch's reputation. Those with a powerful online presence should also use this to their fullest ability."
"Don't worry, I've been on it. Got a few gigs booked all over the place. Some in places where Overwatch isn't exactly popular. D,va's been working on it too, as much as she can, at least."
Morrison wished Lúcio could see the disapproving glare at his speaking out of turn, because Ana certainly did and he didn't enjoy how smug she was about his annoyance, since he knew the only technical reason he had any power in his current position was because the agents still held some respect for his name, so he didn't technically have the power to punish the disrespect. But he also knew he had more important things to dwindle on, so he continued.
"Expect more details on potential missions at a later time. Our third order of business is probably the touchiest one here. So, I'm going to have to ask all of you to put your feelings aside and listen." He would wager McCree could feel his glare through the visor. "As most of you should know, Overwatch has regained custody of Lena Oxton, who had been serving Talon under the callsign 'Slipstream.' This fact was made public and caused quite a bit of chaos. Now, however, she is back in Overwatch custody. With her, Overwatch also captured the anonymous Talon agent Sombra, who apparently betrayed Talon and was shot near-fatally by Reaper. She is unconscious in her hospital room." He noticed Zaryanova perk up at the mention of Sombra. She clearly had some history with the hacker. He made a mental note of that.
"It has been decided that Sombra is to remain under Overwatch care as she is being treated, and her presence will not be made public. For questions and complaints regarding this decision, please consult Dr Ziegler when she is free." Jesse balled his hand into a fist and glared even harder at his paper. A sore subject, unsurprisingly.
"Oxton is a much more complicated case, and it is here where I give Dr Ziegler and Dr Winston the floor." Winston nodded to him gloomily as he and Angela both rose from their seats. Heads turned to them without a word- aside from Jesse, who continued staring at the same paper from ten minutes ago.
The gorilla never shifted his gaze from the wall across from him as he spoke. "So… Lena has been… er… had a device surgically implanted in her brain. Supposedly, Talon called it the sympathiser. Ironically so, it suppresses all capacity for feeling negative emotions. Under this devices influence, Lena was almost entirely drained of free will."
Morrison watched Jesse physically resist the urge to blurt something out.
"R-removing it has become… p-problematic, though…" he was struggling now- Winston always was more of a softie than his appearance suggested.
Before he could get too worked up, Dr Ziegler put her hand on his shoulder and took over for him, her voice and expression cool and controlled. Jesse could learn a thing or two from her. "I'll spare you the technical details, but the gist of the matter is that the Sympathiser cannot be removed through standard surgical procedures. Furthermore, the EMP used to incapacitate her the first time in MEKA may have severely damaged the device, and doing something like that again to shut it off could have deadly consequences. The only apparent way to safely remove it is through some extremely unorthodox means that are impossible without willing and conscious cooperation by Lena."
Fareeha raised her hand a few inches into the air. Mercy nodded to her. "So, if I'm understanding this properly, the procedure to remove the emotional-suppressing device cannot be conducted without Agent Oxton being both willing and conscious?"
"Y-yes… that's the truth…" Winston bit his lip as Genji spoke next.
"And, if I may ask, what does this mean for Lena?" his voice was somewhat apprehensive. Yet still calm.
Mercy took a deep breath. "It means this "Agent Slipstream" personality that Talon has created from Lena is the person we'll have to convince to allow us to remove the device suppressing any pain she may feel. In short, the apathetic Lena will need to agree to feel pain again. It is a daunting task, and we don't know how to go about it, entirely. Tomorrow, we will be waking her up in her own room. Expect to be called at some point when not on duty if we need anyone to talk to her. We don't know how she'll respond to anyone at this point. But we will be doing our best, and will not stop until we get our Tracer back." The firm declaration at the end almost masked the impossibility of the battle they'd be fighting against Talon's pawn. Jesse seemed intensely interested in that document, despite a few creases around where his robotic arm gripped the paper.
Morrison cleared his throat to regain everyone's attention after a few grave moments of consideration by the room. "Well, if it were anybody else, I'd call your chances of success slim to none. But Oxton has a knack for defying the odds. Best of luck to you, Dr Winston and Dr Ziegler.
The meeting adjourned a few minutes later, and Jesse was the first one to storm out the door. Morrison would have to have a talk with him later about having faith in his team member.
His words earlier were true. Out of everyone in her squad, Lena was the one that shone above the rest and got picked for Overwatch. In lieu of a plane crash, Lena survived. Lena managed to overcome an unprecedented condition despite a year of failed attempts. Lena managed to defy death again and again facing everything from an army of Omnics to a deranged Talon elite that destroyed her lifeline. Lena was the one that stared death in the eyes time and time again before deciding to tell it to "bugger off" because she had better things to do.
If anyone would come out of this fight a victor, it'd be her.
...
A/N
I'm still gonna c/p these here: Overwatch fic recommendations!
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.