Revised on the 15th of November 2017


Never expected a smut warning, did'ya? Well, you're getting one, now (for the first section at least).


Numbani, Western Africa

2076

Nathan felt the Savannah's sun shine down upon him, warming up his cold, sweat-drenched skin and urging him awake. Slowly, he opened a set of dreary eyes and sees the ceiling of his hotel room above him, the ceiling fan slowly spinning and feeling gusts of air blowing against his body. Groaning all the while, his brain feeling like it's in a vise, he cranes his head up to see he is lying in the hotel room bed. Resting an empty glass in his left hand on his naked stomach. He plops his head against the pillow, still groaning in discomfort, and reaches to the left to place the empty glass onto the nightstand. He stops shy of the nightstand as he feels something weighing his right ride down.

He turns and sees the sleeping form of María, her arms wrapped around his right arm and hugging it close. Her face buried into the side of his bicep. Of course, she also had no clothes on.

Trying to sit up, Nathan slid his arm from the woman's grasp, making her stir a little, before fully propping himself up and just looking down at her. Trying to remember how she got there, what they did. He could only recollect a haze. Not the first time.

Heaving a heavy sigh, he leans back and rests his head against the bed's headboard before bringing his hands up and burying his eyes in it.

'Always thinking with your fucking dick,' Nathan condemns himself, shaking his head in dismay. 'Just need to get her out of here before Oxton-'

He felt the mattress shift before someone plopped themselves onto his lap and place their hands on his shoulders. He lets his hands down and is presented with the nude body of the woman he slept with. The man wasn't going to lie, it was quite the sight.

"¡Buenos días!" the Latina greeted, smiling with a set of dreamy eyes.

"Er, mornin'," the Californian returned, senses still muddled. "You're still here?"

"Of course," she replied, her right hand tracing a finger along the Waster's muscly, scarred chest. "After a night like that? Mmm! Was too exhausted to even get out of bed. Hope you didn't mind me staying."

"No, no, I… I don't," he yawned, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "I still have to get ready for work."

"It's still a bit early. Your coworkers are probably still asleep… Why not have a bit more fun?"

María bit her bottom lip as she began to grind herself against Nathan's crotch, moaning lightly as she did so. The man also felt a sensation shooting up his spine, exhaling slightly as he felt something wet and warm rub against him. His eyes drifted downward and watched as her sex sailed across his, which was starting to get firm. As his breathing became slightly more ragged, his hands – as if on their own – drifted to her hips and firmly held wherever he could. Gathering as much supple, tan skin he could in his palms.

"You don't have somewhere to be?" he asks, looking up at her but as he held on.

"I do," María answered, now drifting a hand across his abs. "But I'm sure my colleagues can wait."

"Riiiight," Nathan sarcastically drawled out, watching as she broke her momentum and reached out to the nightstand on his left, retrieving a green little plastic square with the words "Jimmy Hats" printed on its side in white.

Tearing it with her teeth before ripping it open, she picked the condom inside and reached down. Grabbing hold of his erect penis and wrapping it in the latex sheath, working to make it safe for entry. The man just watching her as she did so as if a spectator despite being right beneath her.

"I've never heard of this brand, before," the Mexican noted, already halfway done. "Is this from home?"

"Yeah…" the Californian answered, sliding down so that his head laid on the pillow, so he could at least be comfortable while she did her thing. "…From home."

"I should visit sometime," she added on, raising herself up to position herself over his member. "These aren't that bad."

Plunging straight down, María threw her head back in ecstasy as she felt Nathan's cock go inside. Her hands plant themselves on his chest, her fingers digging into his skin as she begins rising up and down, slowly and making sure to savor every inch. The man below her letting out a small gasp each time he feels her sliding up and down on him, the cold air stimulating him before being enveloped in her warmth. The Latina watched his expression and grinned as she kept going, speeding up her efforts.

As much as Nathan wanted to get on with the rest of the day, he held onto her waist as she moved. Throwing his head back and moaning, eyes closed. The chica chuckled as she kept bouncing on his dick, starting to fondle one of her breasts and bring a hand down to her crotch. Further stimulating herself while also occasionally brushing against him with her fingers. The air becoming steamy between the two of them, their gasps and moans being the only noise occupying the hotel room, the man lying there as he felt himself falling into another stupor.

Then, there was knocking on his door.

His eyes snapped open and he sprung up, offsetting his partner's balance, and making her fall against his chest in surprise.

"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me!" the Waster cursed under his breath, hating how even he wasn't free to himself in the confines of a hotel room.

"Oi, Brin!" they heard a British voice calling out, muffled by the door. "You up? We've got a full day ahead of us."

Nathan then got María off him, despite some protests in Spanish, before hopping off the bed. He rushes to find his clothes, so he can at least be somewhat presentable, unaware that his partner was already making her way to the door.

"I'll get it," the Latina said, using the bed's blanket to cover herself.

Nathan froze when he heard the door clicking, but was unfortunately too late to intervene as she already had already twisted the doorknob. Letting it swing inward to reveal Lena, casually dressed with her backpack, looking down at her phone.

"Brin, you ready? We're about to-" she looks up from her phone, but is surprised to see a Latin America woman in place of the tall Waster. "Who are you?!"

"¡Hola!" she greeted, waving the fingers on her left hand while still holding onto the blanket with her right.

Lena's eyes dart over her body to see she wasn't wearing underneath the sheet before peering to the left and seeing Nathan by the bed, and to her horror, in the nude.

"Eww!" she exclaimed, holding up her arms to shield her eyes. "Nathan, your knob's out!"

"Nice, isn't it?" the Latina naughtily asked, leaning against the doorway.

"Sorry, guys aren't my cup of tea. I-I-I-I'm not saying you shouldn't have a preference it's jus-jus-just…!"

The brunette opens her eyes and peers through the openings of her arms to reaffirm what she saw. Then, immediately regrets doing so as she squeals in further disgust.

"Ahhh! I'll be across the hall until you're done with… Whatever the hell this is! Oh my God, Brin!"

Oxton storms off, María peering into the hallway and watching her go to her room.

"She's cute," she states, shaking her head while still smirking. "Too bad we can't ask her to join us."

"Yeah, sure," he replied, trying to rub the embarrassment out of his visage. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"Can I join you?"

He stops in his tracks, and just scowls at the Latina, still smirking as she walks closer and throws the blanket onto the bed to reveal her naked body again.

"What? I remember you blowing your leche all over me. I still need to clean it off."

Nathan further narrows his eyes at her, before groaning in annoyance.

"Fine, but no more sex? Alright?"

"Entiendo. You'll help me with my back, though, right?"


After recuperating from the horror she had witnessed, Lena got out and waited outside of Nathan's hotel room for almost half-an-hour, sitting by the door with her legs crossed and staring down at her phone. Making occasional glances at her watch, grumbling in frustration with every passing minute before going back to her phone and trying to distract herself.

Finally, she heard the door opening and jumped up to see Nathan and his muse walk out. Fortunately, in their clothes.

"I had a great time," the Latina said, reaching up and planting a long, sensual kiss on his lips. Holding him by his cheeks before separating with a resounding smack. "Adiós."

Lena rolled her eyes with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Adiós," the Californian returned, but with not nearly as much heart.

She turned and went down the hall, opposite of where they were going to head. The two just watched her, their eyes following her until she turned and went down a different hallway. Waiting until she was out of sight, Lena then began to punch Nathan in his shoulder. Repeatedly.

"Focus. On. The. Mission. You. Bloody. Tosser!" the Brit scolded, emphasizing each word with a punch.

"Alright! Alright! Alright!" he exclaimed in surprise, not really hurt by her attacks but still bracing himself. "Dammit, stop! I'm sorry!"

Lena kept battering the man for several more moments before slowing down, still landing a few uncontested blows until finally letting her fists fall. Nathan then eased his stance, looking down at the small woman cautiously.

"Better?" he asks, frowning.

"Better," she nods her head, before looking him in the eye. "You have poor taste in women, mate."

"Yeah, let's go."

"I mean, seriously? Have you seen her hair? I'm surprised you could even sleep in the same bed with that night-light glowing next to you."

"And I'm surprised you haven't poked anyone's eyes out with your spiky hair. I've seen cacti not nearly as thorny as you."

"Hey!"

The two continued walking down the hall as they made their way to the penthouse to meet up with their soon-to-be recruit.

"Where's Zenyatta?" Nathan asks.

"Zenny should be up in the penthouse with Lúcio," Lena answered.

Suddenly, they heard something rumble and felt the whole building shake. The two almost being knocked off their feet. Just as soon as it started, the shaking ended, and they just stood there, wondering what just happened. The doors around them started opening, the guests poking their heads out and wondering the same thing.

"Was that an explosion?" the Brit questioned nervously.

"No," the Waster answered, looking all around. "An explosion that close would've shattered the glass in this place. Sounded like something crashed into the building."

There was another, more sudden, boom and the window at the far end of the hall shattered. Both covering their ears as they watch flame and smoke fall through the air. The guests around them now running for their lives. The two agents exchanged looks with each other, before running back to their hotel rooms.

"I'm going to see what's happening outside," Tracer said, clutching her backpack tight as she sprinted. "You go up to the penthouse and see if Lúcio and the others are all right."

"Sure thing," the Courier accepted, weaving his way through panicking hotel guests.

The brunette gave him a nod before turning and going through a door, her room. Nathan wasn't that far from his, and bursts into the room, shattering the lock. Running to his closet, he opens it to reveal his armor and gear splayed out over the large suitcase. He scrambles to put his armor on as more explosions and screaming civilians surround echo from the hallway. A man running through the halls stopped at his door and looked in, seeing Nathan in the closet.

"Excuse me, sir, but we have to evacuate the building!" he said, urging him to leave. "It is not safe here! Please, come with us…"

The Courier peeked from the closet, showing off the riot armor he was in minus the duster. Addressing the concerned man with his red eyes.

"Oh," was all the citizen said before running away.

Nathan went back to putting on his gear, getting the duster on and grabbing his weapons. He got up, walking in front of the window as he worked to fasten a bandolier to his waist. As he did so, he noticed movement in the corner of his eyes and looked up to see a black rope dangling in front of the window. Wriggling as if something was holding on to it.

"What the-?!"

He watched as a man in black tactical gear and metal helmet descended the rope and hurled toward him, boots first. The Courier dodged out of the way as the glass shattered and the man jumped into his room, circling around with a muzzle in the air. The man tries to fire his weapon at the man on the ground but is beaten by just a split-second, a burst from All-American ending him and making him fire his weapon harmlessly into the air. Watching him collapse to the ground, Nathan and gets up and approaches the man, his rifle still trained on the intruder. Upon closer inspection, he sees the familiar metal mask and red eyes he's fought in the past.

"I'm really starting to get tired of these Talon assholes," he remarked, clenching his teeth.

Distracted long enough, he leaves the corpse in his hotel room and runs through the halls. He reaches the stairs, bursting through with the muzzle pointed, but seeing it seemed clear of life. No civilians, no hostiles – but he needed to be sure about the latter. Walking up the stairs, he kept his muzzle trained above him, careful about any movement he could spot. After climbing a few flights of stairs and without warning, one of the emergency exits swung open. The Courier stopped and raised his rifle, but saw it was just a man and a woman - a couple - who froze and became wide-eyed at the armored man in front of them.

"Oh God, please don't hurt us!" the man pleaded, shielding his spouse.

"Oh, for Tandi's sake," Nathan muttered under his breath before gesturing to the set of stairs below them. "Get out of here, now!"

They stared at him as if they couldn't believe the big man in scary armor with blood-red eyes wasn't going to hurt them.

"MOVE!" the Courier bellowed, making them flinch but comply as they started making their way down the stairs. Eyeing him uneasily as they passed, while he just shook his helmeted head.

He continued making his way up the stairs, to the top floor and saw that he had finally reached the last door in the tall staircase. Kicking it open, he marched inside and saw the hallway leading to the penthouse was a mess. Room doors wide open as everyone left in a hurry, décor scattered where it isn't supposed to be, and shattered glass all over the floor. At the end of the hall was the door to the penthouse room – Lúcio's room – and it was still closed.

Nathan walked to the room, keeping the carbine's muzzle trained on the door as the sound of his boots cracked against the broken glass. As he was mere meters away from the door, Nathan saw something pop out of a room on his right and fired two shots, making another Talon soldier fall back and leave an imprint of blood on the door. Movement to the room on his left made him duck and push the barrel of an assault rifle into the air, narrowly dodging gunfire, before punching the second Talon goon hard in the stomach. Reeling forward from the pain, the man was then hurled against a wall and had the thick case of the Pip-Boy squeezing against his windpipe. Holding him there, the Courier reached for his waist and tried to grab his handgun to finish him off, but was confused as he felt nothing in the holster.

'Oh, right,' he thought, remembering he lost it the night before.

The sound of a click broke him from his train of thought and made him look down, jumping out of the way of a pistol shot directed at his gut. The silver-masked man then tried to bring his sidearm's muzzle up to bare but cried in pain he felt his wrist be crushed by the Waster before being grabbed by the throat and thrown to the ground. The Courier then got on top of him, pulled out his knife, and drove the blade into the man's chest. Ignoring cries of pain and hands trying to claw at his helmet as he pulled the blade out and drove it back in, repeatedly, the sound of blood sloshing and flesh squelching as the blade cut through. His set of red eyes just staring at his victim's, watching the life drift away from below beneath that silver helmet as the knife was held in his chest cavity. Then, he heard a room door open behind him and turned around with the bloody blade, ripped out from the corpse. Instead of a threat, it was a little girl standing in the doorway of the penthouse, looking at the knife-wielding man in black armor and the corpse of his victim below him, the blood making a puddle. Looking like she had seen a ghost, or something worse. The Courier stood up and she jumped, slamming the door shut and running further into the room.

"Orisa!" he heard Efi Oladele yell in the room, clearly terrified by what he saw.

"Great," the grown man cursed under his breath, putting the knife away and putting the sidearm that was used against him in his holster. "I hate working with kids."

The Courier ran in, slamming through the door and into the room. However, before he could even check his surroundings, he felt something strike his left side and send him hurling to the wall. The Californian grimaced in pain, instantly clutching his left shoulder, feeling as if he had taken a direct blow from the hind legs of a Brahmin. Certain that something just broke. He then felt a large mechanical hand wrap around his throat and hoist him into the air. Only able to grab onto it with his right arm, he felt himself being choked again but looked to see it was the big mechanical quadruped with the weird eyes. Except they formed two thin lines, looking as if she was narrowing her eyes at him.

"Stop right there!" the machine boomed, glaring at the man she was holding.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Nathan tried to gurgle out, the hand not much gentler than the noose.

"I am detaining you. A violent criminal. As I have been programmed to do."

"No! You're-!"

"Orisa!" they heard Efi interject, looking to see she was standing at the big hole in the wall, looking over the chaos they could hear happening outside. "They are in trouble! We have to get down there."

The large Omnic then looked at Nathan for a split-second, before pivoting and hurling the man across the room. Tumbling and crashing through the penthouse floor and knocking over luxurious pieces of furniture, only stopping as he crashed against a wall. As he wallowed there, feeling sore all over his body, he could hear the large robot stomp out of the room with her creator.

Grunting through the pain, the Courier sat himself up and reach across his left shoulder with his right hand, moving it slightly until he felt it sting right at the socket. His left arm wriggling like a limp noodle. Breathing heavily, he grabbed his left arm, again, ignoring the pain as best he could as he hoisted it over his head and pulled it to the right until he felt the joint pop back into its socket. Instantly grimacing at the pain, before there was a wave of relief and a numbing pain took over. Not the worst injury he received this week, but still something he wished to avoid.

'What a funny way to detain someone…' the Waster thought, as he reached behind and pulled out a Stimpak. 'Starting to miss the days where I just fought hopped up junkies and poorly-armed convicts.'

"Nathan, it's Tracer!" the Brit called out to him on his radio, the sound of chaos in the background. "What's your status?"

"Self-medicating," he responded, punctuating it as he jabbed the needle into his arm and heard the syringe hiss as it emptied it regenerative contents for his broken bones. "You?"

"Fighting. And pursuing. I found out what's been causing all the ruckus. It's a-"

The sound of static and fighting garbled the transmission, making what she was going to say unintelligible.

"A what?" he questioned as he got up and walked to the hole in the wall, still clutching his arm.

He looked out down below, seeing that there were people running away from something, fire and rubble all along the streets. He could see explosions occurring in the distance, a couple city blocks away, but he couldn't see what was causing them. Only that was where the people were running from. However, he spotted Orisa and Efi running towards the action. The Omnic's bulk helping part through the waves of people. They certainly were braver than most, but he was starting to question the young girl's intelligence.

"-And it's got Zenny!" the rest of Tracer's transmission came, incomplete but making the situation seem even more dire with just a name. "You need to get down here, fast!"

"Godammit," the Courier muttered under his breath, running back through the hallway before scaling down the rest of the hotel. "I'm heading down right now!"

After he ran down flights of stairs, sometimes hopping across steps to save time, he finally made it out onto the Numbani streets. The mayhem just as bad on the ground as it seemed from above. With All-American in his hands, he began running through the street and towards where the others were. Listening to the explosions and gunfire get louder, knowing that he was on the right path. There were still people running from it, another obstacle the tall Waster had to weave through on his way. Many of them didn't pay him any mind as they were too busy running for their lives, but others noticed and were equally shocked to see him.

"It's the man in black armor!"

"What's he doing here?!"

"Oh, God! Get out of his way!"

'Word gets around fast in this place,' the Waster observed, focused on getting there as fast as he could.

As he crossed another street corner, he stopped in his tracks as a set of missiles came around following a blue streak of light and crashed into a parked car, destroying it in a ball of fire. Tracer then appeared in front of the Courier, Pulse Pistols out and charged. She turned around to regard him.

"You're here! Finally!" Tracer exclaimed, a bit out of breath. "We got ourselves into a bit of a scuffle."

"With what?"

Suddenly, a large mass crashed in front of them, shaking the ground they stood on. They brought their weapons to the sky, but the Waster slightly lowered the gaze of his rifle as he saw a huge Omnic towering over them. Armed like a tank with guns and turrets over its hull, but with four spider-like appendages that stabbed the concrete where it stood. It pivoted its main body to stare down at the two humans with glowing red visors. The machine wasn't too dissimilar from the dead hull's he saw at the ruins of Eichewalde, but it was larger and clearly alive.

"Really starting to miss those days…" the Waster said aloud, gaping at one of the larger robots he's seen.

The two then jumped out of its way, narrowly avoiding a blast from one of its cannons. The concussive blast did send Nathan flying across the street and tumbling along the concrete. As he tries to get up, the Spider-Omnic stomps its leg across the ground as it turns to face him. Getting ready to fire another blast from its powerful cannons. Nathan pulls out his carbine and begins unloading a barrage onto the machine as he tries to evade its fire, but only manages to make rifle rounds ping off its armored hull. However, just as the machine was about to fire, he notices greens sparks appearing along the outside of a building behind the huge machine. Seeing something gliding along the exterior. Eyes widening in surprise as he sees it was the Disc Jockey, Lúcio, wielding a weapon in his hand that looked like a speaker.

"C'mon!" the man cried out, firing his weapon and sending pulsating "rings" of energy towards the back of the Omnic. "Let's do this!"

While not doing any significant amount of damage, it annoyed the machine to the point where it rotated on its axis and faced the man skating across the building, revealing its backside to Nathan and showing it had a little jail compartment on it rear. A glass casing reinforced by metal rings keeping it in place. And Zenyatta was inside, maintaining a meditative posture inside his confines as if not disturbed by the events that have transpired.

Seeing this, Nathan rose his rifle and shot at the glass, but only managed to leave a small white speck on the transparent material. Zenyatta looked up and saw his would-be savior, promptly waving to him from inside. The Omnic then spun around and began firing machine guns at the human, the rounds trailing as he ran and dove through a store's window. Inside, Nathan got behind something solid and stayed there as machine gun fire ripped the store apart. IN a blue flash, Tracer appeared in the store with him, taking cover on the opposite side of the store, holding her Pulse Pistols up in the air.

"Fancy meeting you here!" the Time-Jumping brunette tried to lighten up the situation, bobbing her head to avoid a stray round.

"Any idea how we can take this thing down?" the Wastelander asked, pulling out a magazine with blue tape around it.

"Shooting at it until it dies?"

Even with a helmet, she could tell he was not amused by that suggestion with the way he just stood there and stared at her.

"Sorry," she apologized, before taking a more serious tone. "To be honest, we might not have the right equipment to take on this big stomper. I've got my bomb, but I don't think that alone will do much against this big lug. You?"

Nathan peered out of cover, seeing the big Omnic was now preoccupied with trying to hit Lúcio, the DJ expertly skating and bouncing from surface to surface, evading fire while returning his own. The Spider-Omnic was big, but it didn't seem too good at focusing on multiple targets at once.

"I might have something," the Courier began, still watching the war machine. "I brought some Pulse Grenades with me, but just a couple. I didn't think we'd need them."

"'Pulse'?" the Brit asked.

"E.M.P. grenades, basically. Though it usually takes a couple to take down a Sentry Bot in my world, so I don't know how this big son of a bitch will react."

"It's worth a shot. Do you have any on you?"

A stray rocket flew into the store and blew a huge chunk in the wall, narrowly avoiding them. Nathan hugged the wall harder as he looked at Lena.

"Nope, they're at the hotel room. In my suitcase."

"Leave them to me."

Lena then blinked out of cover and back onto the street, the large Omnic spotting her. Its body hunkered closer to the ground, as a set of tubes on its back opened and missiles popped out. Somebody then started firing upon the machine, distracting it and making it twist around to face its attacker. There, Nathan saw the attacker was Orisa, on a balcony, firing a flurry of green energy bolts from her left arm like a minigun. The larger Omnic then pivoted its body to her, then launching the salvo of rockets. Nathan barely had time to intervene when the ordinance flew into their target, covering the area in a ball of flame and smoke, the blast powerful enough that he could feel it from where he was. However, just as he thought the smaller Omnic was done for, more of those green bolts kept firing at the Spider-Omnic through the smoke. Then, as the smoke cleared, it revealed that Orisa had somehow summoned a blue energy barrier between herself and the missiles, still relatively unscathed. Impressed but not trying to get distracted, Nathan joined her and Lúcio, their combined firepower enough to at least confuse and distract the Omnic from focusing on one single target.

The Spider-Omnic twisted and turn, trying to figure out which target to prioritize, before it let out a terrible, electronic wail and stomped its arachnid-legs, now firing everywhere wildly. Turning the city block it was terrorizing into more of a disaster zone. Nathan cursed as another stray explosive round nearly blew him into bits and forced him out of cover, now trying to find something thicker to hide behind. Then, a large explosion above him made him look up and see the skater crashing to the ground, soot covering his body. Grunting as he tried to get himself back up. He was scooped up in Nathan's right arm before one of the Spider-Omnic's large legs crashed down at where he fell. The taller man ran, carrying Lúcio in his right arm like a sack while holding his carbine with his left and firing at the Omnic. They made it to another building, shielded from oncoming fire as Nathan laid the DJ down and began to assess the damage.

"Oh, man…" the musician grimaced in pain. "That really hurt."

"I can tell," the Courier dryly noted, rummaging his belt to find a spare Stimpak.

"Lúcio!" they heard someone call out to their left, looking at a stairwell and seeing both Efi and Orisa standing there, looking at them. The latter then shoving its gun-arm to the front and pointing it at Nathan.

"Step away from him!" the Protector commanded, her eyes "narrowing", again.

"Woah, woah, woah!" both Lúcio and Nathan exclaimed, the man in the duster getting up and holding up both of his hands.

"Chill, Orisa, chill!" the DJ instructed. "This guy's cool. He's here to help. And he just saved my life."

They both became surprised by what he just said. Orisa slackened her posture and stood there, her head tilting and her eyes clicking curiously, while Efi held her hands up to an open mouth.

"B-but but but I saw him in the hallway with the knife! Covered in blood! And he looked scary and-" the little girl tried to recollect in her mind, shaking her head as she clutched it.

"Newsflash, kid!" the Courier barked, making the little girl jump. "'Don't judge a book by its cover!' You know what a book is, right? Otherwise, you would've been smart to see I was helping!"

"Hey, man, lay off with that!" the man lying on the floor intervened, looking at the two. "Efi may have made a mistake, but she's still a kid!"

"Her toy threw me like a ragdoll!"

"Actually," Orisa interrupted, holding up a finger and making everyone look at her. "I am a modified OR-15 unit built for the purpose of providing security and I would highly advise against-"

"Shut up!"

Orisa recoiled and her eyes became wide as plates from that sudden outburst, looking around confused.

"Look, man," the music artist continued speaking for them. "She's smart, but she's still learning. Yelling at her isn't going to solve anything. Be cool."

The Courier addressed him before redirecting a glare at Efi and Orisa, growling lowly as he looked back at the injured musician. Hoping they don't get in the way, again.

"What about you?"

"Stayin' alive," the musician reassured, waving his left hand to the left and watching the lights on his body switch to yellow, accompanied by the sound of a song from the speakers of his back. "Ahhh, much better."

As he did that, Nathan then felt a tingling sensation across his body. A sense of euphoria almost overcoming his senses. Feelings of pain seemingly dampening. Before he could question further, the static in his radio came to life.

"Nathan, it's Tracer. I'm inside your room and looking at your suitcase. Which one of these are the Pulse Grenades? There's so much rubbish in here!"

"The silver cylindrical ones," the Waster answered, ignoring her last statement. "The ones that look like it has a Tesla Coil on top."

"Uhhh… Yeah, I think I found it. Is there only two of them?"

"Yup, those are the Pulse Grenades. You better get ready when you bring those things back here."

As he ended the transmission with Oxton, Nathan felt something tug on his coat. He turned and looked to see it was Efi, looking up at him with shy eyes. Good thing he had the mask to hide the scowl.

"What?!" he barked, making her flinch for a moment.

"Uhm, excuse me, sir, did I hear you say, 'Pulse Grenade'?" she asked timidly. "As in, 'Electromagnetic Pulse'?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"The Omnic outside is an 'Arachne Armored Destroyer', or AAD-51. They are heavily armored and have most of their electrical components located in the center of their hulls. If you want your grenades to work, you will have to destroy a part of their armor to access it. Explosives should be sufficient. After that, you should have a chance."

"A 'chance'?"

"These machines were designed for war by Omnics. They would've taken every precaution they need against EMP attacks."

Nathan's scowl then lightened, somewhat impressed at how knowledgeable the kid was about the big death machine outside was. But, there was still one problem.

"But our colleague, Zenyatta, is still being kept hostage by that thing. I don't think explosives nor EMP's will do him much good. How are we going to get him out, unscathed?"

"Leave that to me," Lúcio spoke up, now getting back on his feet and pulling out his radio-dish of a gun. "Orisa, are you in with helping me pull this off?"

"To ensure the safety of the people of Numbani, I will do whatever it takes!" the yellow face-pates Omnic answered, charging it arm-gun.

Suddenly, a wall caved in, a huge mechanical leg tossing rubble around and forcing them to vacate the building. Back on the streets, they faced the large machine, again, Nathan taking to the front.

"Whatever you have planned, get to it!" he ordered, firing off his carbine at the machine.

"You got it!" Lúcio said, before skating away with the others as he flicked his hand to the right and made the lights go green. "Let's double time!"

The Courier kept his eyes trained on his sights, unleashing the 5.56 Armor-Piercing rounds down range at the target. They weren't enough to severely damage the Omnic but chipped away at the metal better than standard rounds.

As he kept evading fire and being stomped on, he saw flashes of blue in the distance.

"Brin, I'm here!" he heard Oxton voice in the distance.

"Give me the grenades," he yelled over the fighting.

He watched as Tracer zipped by and tossed both grenades at him, Nathan having to let go of his rifle as he grabbed them simultaneously with both hands. After that, something swiped at him and sent him flying and crashing through a store window. Knocking displays and furniture over. Immediately, pain gripped the entirety of his body, a tightness in his chest forming as he started gasping violently. In an instant, the world felt like a blur. Barely aware of what was around him other than the agony he felt all over. His head was now throbbing as it felt like his brain was knocked around the inside of his cranium. As much as it hurt, he looked down and saw he still had the Pulse Grenades in his hand, shaking in his palms. He let them clatter to the floor as he lurched and raised his helmet up to expose his mouth, coughing out blood onto the floor.

'Goddammit,' he thinks, disappointed with himself, just staring at the patch of blood he knelt over, wheezing.

Trying his best to disregard the pain, he produced a Stimpak and jabbed the needle into his chest, maneuvering under the armor. He then grabbed the grenades and got up to his feet, now limping to the front of the store. Having to lean on the furniture to get there. Slowly, he brings a broken hand to the side of his helmet.

"Ox… Oxton," he rasped out, a sharp pain piercing him every time he breathed. "Lúcio's going to save Zenyatta. When he does that, throw your bomb onto the big fucker's hull."

"Wait, are you alright?" she asked, concerned at how he sounded. "I saw you plow through the window!"

Nathan spat some blood onto the floor, before setting his helmet.

"It's nothing, just do what I said! I'll throw the grenades after you throw the bomb. Got it?"

"…Roger."

The Courier then sat on the floor, still clutching his torso and feeling it sting. He could've guessed that two or three of his ribs were broken, probably close to getting one his lungs pierced. His leg didn't feel any better, feeling a sharp, stabbing pain when he tried to put pressure on it. Memories of falling from tall places flooding his rattled mind.

He watched the big Omnic still engaged the rest of the team, Tracer dashing and blinking all around the machine and confusing it. As it did so, Lúcio began wall riding and circled the Omnic for a few moments, before hopping off and jumping on its back. Instantly, it reacted to the intruder and began swiveling and shaking its hull to try to get the human off. Upon reaching Zenyatta's confinement, the musician slammed the muzzle of his weapon into the glass and emitted a powerful blast of audio that cracked the glass where it hit. While better than their earlier attempts, it didn't completely shatter the shell. However, seeing what was happening, Zenyatta rose from his position and the orbs that hovered around started flying and bouncing around him. Helping the man to crack the glass as the metal balls struck the weak points the blast created. The Spider-Omnic now went wild, attacking with newfound ferocity and doubling its efforts in shaking off the human. Finally, after one more blast from his gun, the glass pod shattered and Zenyatta was pulled to safety by an orb of energy. However, the hull of the machine began to spin in place with Lúcio still on it. The man trying to hang on at the breakneck speeds, but it proved too much as he was thrown off screaming and plummeted across the street.

"No!" Lena screamed, now jumping over the Omnic and readying her Pulse Bomb. "Here you go!"

However, she watched in horror as the explosive she threw was then intercepted by a projectile that originated from a slot in it armor next to a sensor, the AAD's active-protection system, rendering the bomb inert with a series of darts.

Landing on the ground, stunned, a series of explosion then knocked her off her feet and sent her flying. The pain rushing through her, her body then froze mid-air and began "rewinding" through the air in a glowing blue aura until she was back on the street again, unscathed but unfortunately aware there wasn't anything they could do now.

"Nathan, where are you?" she called out, before landing her eyes on an armored figure slumped over by the broken window.

She ran over to him, kneeling and looking at how messed up he looked before grabbing his arm and putting it on her shoulder.

"Come on, mate, we need to leave!" she said through grit teeth, struggling to hoist the big man over her.

"But…" the wounded man rasped out, his breathing still ragged. "The grenades…"

"I know, but that thing destroyed my bomb. We can't do anything, now! We need to leave or else we'll-"

A large leg stopped in their way, they turned and looked with horror as the Arachne towered over them and began priming its weapons at him. Lena looked at the man, still seeing him struggle to even stand, and thought about blinking out of there and getting out of harm's way. But it didn't feel right to just leave him. To abandon him all broken and bloody.

Then, as she began to brace herself, Nathan's hand jutted forward, and she watched as an armed Pulse Grenade flew in front of her. Just one of the grenades made it as it clattered to the floor and rolled underneath the Omnic, tipping its hull to look at it. A second later, it detonated into a bright, electrical field that reaches up to the machine. The time-jumping Overwatch agent then watched with astonishment as the little silver tube then caused the giant automaton to shake and stumble, struggling to even keep its balance as electricity coursed throughout its body. It let out a wail as if in agony, staggering into buildings and cars, knocking over street signs with little regard for self-preservation. Its weapons system started malfunctioning, either firing wildly or jamming. An explosion erupted from inside its hull and blew its insides all over the city block. A second explosion on its main cannon sent part of its face flying and it finally collapsed, some of its limbs still twitching as electricity continued to course through it. Lena just stood there, her mouth agape as she looked down at Nathan's left hand, which still held the other Pulse Grenade. The Pulse Grenade from his world.

"Well…" the Brit started, looking up at the dead Omnic in disbelief. "That was unexpected."

"Hey!" she heard the voice of Lúcio to her right, seeing him, Zenyatta, Orisa, and Efi running over to them. "You guys all right?"

"Yeah… Thanks to Nathan."

"Man, what was that? Never seen a light show like that before."

"What did you do?" Efi questioned, looking at the huge corpse of the Spider-Omnic beyond confused. "How many Pulse Grenades did you use?!"

"Just one…" they all turned and heard Nathan rasp out, shakily holding up his left arm and displaying the spare grenade.

The man then collapsed to the floor, Lena falling after him. The spiky-haired brunette was exhausted, breathing heavily as she fell on her back beside him, feeling pain radiate throughout her cut up and bruised body. She was then joined by Lúcio, who flopped down onto the concrete and stared at the sky, also tired and hurting. And they stayed there, taking in gulps of fresh air as the others watched them. The dead Omnic a couple of meters away still sparking.

"So…" the DJ let out, looking at Tracer next to him. "Does this mean I'm in?"

A smirk formed on her face, then lightly laughing, but wincing as it started aching on her chest. Kept laughing, though.

"Sure, love," the agent answered, folding her hands across her stomach. "I think it does."

"I hate to disturb this little nap we're all having," the bloodied Courier then spoke up, still not in high spirits. "But can we please get to a fucking doctor?"

Lúcio and Lena exchanged looks, regarding each other in relative silence before nodding in agreement with his request. The two, still hurting themselves, they got up to their feet and knelt to grab one of his arms each, before hauling him over his shoulders and trying to bring him across the street. The other three following close-by, all of them making their way around the huge corpse of the Spider-Omnic.


There was a dark room with a screen that showed the point of view footage of the Arachne in Numbani, replaying scenes of the Overwatch agents attacking the machine before it ultimately was destroyed. However, the combat footage rewinds, playing everything in reverse before it stopped on a single frame of a large, four-legged Omnic firing at the camera from behind a blue shield. A man in the room casually rubbed the bottom of his chin as he watched the footage with intrigue. His eyes studying the individuals on the screen. Some of the faces he knew and had a vendetta for, but others…

Tapping on a screen with a meaty finger, he forwarded the footage and paused it on another frame, this time of a tall man in a helmet and coat. Wielding a weapon that seems rather outdated. He could not tell if it really was a man with all that armor concealing him, but he could presume that someone covered in their blood and staggering in pain could be nothing else but that. However, he showed resilience earlier. The resilience that a simple hired-gun or petty mercenary would never have the mettle to possess. And this only made the viewer hum deeply in thought.

A door opened behind him, light flooding in and shining off his bald, dark head. The officer walked in, saluted the larger man before letting his arm down.

"Speak," the superior said, his accent heavy and like the ones in Numbani.

"Sir, surveillance shows Overwatch agents are still in Numbani but are too weak in their current state to pose too much resistance," the Talon officer said, straight-faced. "Shall we send in another team?"

"That will not be necessary."

"Sir?"

"They have won this battle, and they should revel in the rewards that it shall bring them."

The man turns around, towering over the officer and displayed the sheer muscle mass he had, some of it prosthetic but much of it pure human strength. Molded to his body through grit and determination. His face rigid and chiseled like a stone from the Greeks. The expression seemingly locked in a permanent scowl.

"It may be a waste of an Arachne," he noted, the scowl becoming harsher. "But an even bigger waste was sending in a machine for a man's work. Doing our men a disservice by not testing their skills in battle, letting the reward for their struggles and survival of becoming better warriors be squandered."

The officer's demeanor began to fidget a little under his superior's gaze. Remembering the punishments he would inflict on the subordinates who were less fortunate.

"So… What now, Sir?" he asked, wanting to break the small silence.

"For now, I have what I need," Akande Ogundimu explained, turning around and looking back at the screen. His eyes fixed on the man in the black armor. "There is much for me to learn about the world. How much it has changed without me. For as much as I deplore the use of that machine, it has been a valuable learning tool."

"To learn what, Sir?"

Doomfist just stared at the screen, his eyes fixated on the image of the man in the black armor. Assessing the apparent new thorn in Talon's side in his absence. As if they didn't have enough of those.

"Learn what it may take to break him."


Weird how I put a warning for sex but not all the fucked violence I write in this story, innit?