"Alright, everything looks like it's in working order. Though, I still don't know why the accelerator started working again." Lena sat across from Winston as he tinkered with the chestpiece - the chronal accelerator.

Winston's London workshop, compared to the Gibraltar one, was significantly less impressive. Only a single table filled with various tools that were just a bit larger than normal, and a chair that was miraculously holding up Winston's weight - not that Lena would ever mention it.

'...A talking moon gorilla.'

Oh, and Lena was also treated to having an outside observer watching them like some sort of pervert.

'I heard that.'

"You were supposed to, you bloody bastard."

Suffice it to say, Lena was just a bit pissed, and more than a bit paranoid after having Archer talk to her just as she was about to sleep. Who wouldn't be, when the idea of a possibly invisible person talking in your head could possibly be watching you and your fiance?

It got to the point that she didn't sleep, which only made her paranoia act up more so than normal. Even Emily had commented on it, calling her skittish when the other woman woke up to Lena holding her tight.

The pilot only relented when Archer promised that he wouldn't try anything, and that he'd explain after she'd gotten some sleep. Surprisingly, she believed him, and she'd gotten a couple hours of sleep soon after.

Now, she was brought right into Winston's office for whatever the scientist needed to do. Which reminded her…

"He's not just some monkey, so don't call him that."

'Right. Sorry, just, this may not be the weirdest thing I've seen, but it's definitely a first for me.'

At least the man in her head apologized. Winston put down his tools before handing the accelerator to Lena, "From what I can tell, you can take this off for around thirty minutes before you start to disassociate again. If there's any problems, come to me and I'll fix it right up."

"You got it, big guy!"

Lena hurried to put on the chestpiece, breathing a sigh of relief as the pull faded away. Winston handed her a tablet, "For now, Dr. Ziegler wants to perform a physical on you. Even if you seem fine, doesn't necessarily mean you are."

Lena smiled back, though even Winston saw it was a bit strained and had to fight back a laugh at the pilot's obvious distaste, "Right! Better get it over with."

Lena left the workshop, and was greeted by a flurry of Overwatch personnel milling around the hallway. The London Overwatch base was one of the more populated ones, if she recalled correctly. It was near King's Row, a particularly dangerous neighborhood due to Omnic-related violence, and with Overwatch's previous involvement with the Omnic Crisis, it only made sense to keep an eye out for any developments.

'Scared of doctors?'

Right. Man in her head.

"Just don't like the idea of being poked and prodded. I trust Winston not to do that, but this Dr. Ziegler? I don't know."

'Don't worry, if she does anything, just say it and I'll help.'

Lena weaved through the hallway, waving to anyone that greeted her as she followed the map on the tablet she was given. The on-site clinic was on the complete other side of the building, and trying to navigate the base without a map was just a nightmare.

"Wait what? Can you even do that? I thought you could only talk to me?" She heard a sigh, one tinged in amusement.

'I suppose now is as good a time as any to answer your questions. Lay them on me then.'

Lena thought for a moment as she waited for the elevator, before finally replying, "That place we were in. What was it? Was it even real?"

'Starting with those types of questions huh?' Lena could hear the tiredness in Archer's voice, but she couldn't at all fathom why.

'That place was a Reality Marble, something that exists like a world within the one you're currently in. Despite its name, it isn't real. It's more akin to a dream than a physical world. That's why you found yourself gone for, what, three months? Instead of the few days you probably felt. Even then, you didn't even need to eat or drink, so it should've been a clue.'

Lena dodged a particularly clumsy intern, obviously running late, as he spilled coffee all over the floor. She couldn't help but wince at the face they made, one that screamed that they were in so much trouble.

"Okay, that was a confusing explanation, but whatever. Next, who are you really?"

'I've already told you that I'm called Archer. That's all there is to it. Right now, I'm also your contracted Heroic Spirit. Normally, I'd call myself a Servant, but our contract right now is more than a bit different.'

"Different how? And Heroic Spirit? Isn't that a bit disrespectful to, y'know, the dead?"

'Hah. It would be, if I wasn't dead myself. That's what Heroic Spirits are, after all.'

Lena gulped as the implications of what she was talking to came at her like a ton of bricks, "You're…dead?" She heard another sigh, this one a bit more annoyed. At who, she couldn't tell.

'Yes.'

"I'm, I'm sorry-"

'There's no need for that. I've been dead for longer than I can remember. You owe me nothing - hell, I probably should thank you for getting me out of my previous contract.'

She schooled her features as she continued to walk along the winding paths of the Overwatch base. For all that the taskforce was, they really should hire an interior designer or something just to make sure the hallways didn't all look the bloody same.

"Your previous contract?"

There was a pause, longer than the previous ones, and when Archer did start talking, it was with a bit of trepidation, 'It doesn't matter. In the end, what does matter is that you got me out of there. Plus, there are some things I need to discuss with you.'

"Such as you watching me and Emily sleep?" Lena injected every bit of snark she could into her voice.

'That wasn't-fine, I'll let you have that.' She could feel a grin stretch across her face.

'In all seriousness, our contract is extremely different from what I am familiar with. For one, where normally, you'd be the one providing me with energy, currently, the complete opposite is happening.

'Your existence is currently out of sync with the world. I've seen this happen before, and it's not pretty. The energy I'm providing you provides you some resistance against it, and coupled with that device your friend made, it makes it so that you can interact with the local space-time.'

"So, what, I'm just some sort of time-ghost and this thing is the only thing keeping me here?" Lena didn't like the sound of that. If what Archer was saying was true, then she was effectively dead, a thing she didn't want to think about. Moreover, how could she be dead when she was standing - walking - right here?

'I'm not going to say anything else that might cause you a mental breakdown, not when you have a doctor's appointment. We can always talk later. By the way, you passed the clinic like, two minutes ago.'

"Ruddy bastard!"

As she entered the sterile clinic, she couldn't help but scrunch up her nose. The smell of whatever cleaning materials they used here was way too prevalent. Just another reason why she couldn't stand being in a hospital.

That being said, the room was one of the more advanced places she's been in, and that's coming from someone in the RAF. Various beds lined with IV stands, vital monitors, and what looked like a stick with wires plugged into it. Said stick, more of a staff really, produced a yellow light that oddly felt soothing whenever waves of it grazed her skin.

"Ah, one moment." From behind some shelves, Lena could make out a head of blonde hair as they shuffled around some boxes. She took a seat near the counter, feeling like a kid going to the doctor's for the first time. Especially with how bloody small these seats were.

"Apologies for that. Now, it's so good to meet you, Miss Oxton." The doctor, made obvious from the white lab coat that she donned, was one of the youngest people that Lena had seen in the facility. Smooth, unblemished skin, coupled with blonde hair tied neatly into a bun. If Lena wasn't in a relationship, she'd have asked the doctor out in a heartbeat.

The woman smiled warmly, "I'm Dr. Angela Zeigler. Pleased to meet our newest recruit."

That jolted Lena a bit from her seat. Right. She'd still been thinking that she was part of the Royal Air Force, when in reality, she was now part of Overwatch itself. That this building was going to be her new workplace.

She felt way giddier than she needed to be, "Lena Oxton, at your service!"

The other woman probably saw that as well, given the way she chuckled, "Well, now that introductions are out of the way, let's get down to business." Dr. Ziegler's smile turned into a more serious disposition as she grabbed a chart off her table.

Maybe this wouldn't be that bad?

It was that bad.

The whole examination took a grueling two hours. Two hours of being put through machine after machine, being poked and prodded for any problems she may have. Lena knew that this was for her own good, for her own health. That didn't mean she had to like it.

Thankfully, Dr. Ziegler - Angela as she wanted to be called - made it a bit more bearable with some small talk. That didn't stop Lena from squirming whenever the doctor probed her with whatever tools Lena could barely recognize as medical instruments.

"Wunderbar! Just one more test, and we'll be done."

"You gonna be shoving me into that thing?" Lena motioned towards a table with a bunch of stands she could see in a separate room from beyond a window, a set of consoles lining up said window. Lena could see Angela smile wryly.

"At least this time, it'll just be a CT scan."

The pilot looked at her incredulously, "Seriously? That's a CT scanner?" It looked nothing like the ones that she had seen on whatever medical drama she had watched in the past. On the side, Angela smiled excitedly.

"I know right? It's my own design, and it's probably the best scanner in the world right now. It's even the reason why I'm with Overwatch right now, and not in Zurich. Well, that and my little pet project over there." She inclined her head towards the staff, before nodding towards Lena.

"Still can't allow any metal in it though. So, if you would? I understand that you can take off that chronal accelerator for a few minutes?" Lena nodded, and started to remove everything metallic on her, hesitating only for a moment with her ring.

'Don't worry, I'll keep track of it.' Archer's tone was reassuring, and again, Lena couldn't help but be reminded of an overbearing mother. Still, despite there being no real danger, it was a relief that he'd be watching over.

The moment she took off the chestpiece, Lena could feel a pull. It was significantly weaker than what she had originally experienced, and she could still hear people just fine.

'By my estimation, you probably have around ten minutes before you need to put that thing back on.'

She relayed what Archer said to Angela, noting to herself that she really needed to grill out more answers from Archer later on.

"Ten minutes? Fascinating. Well, that shouldn't be a problem. We'll only really need three." Lena lied down on the table, everything on it whirring to life as Angela did whatever it was on the console.

"That ring you have, I noticed it was new. Who's the lucky guy?" The doctor made some more small talk. The question brought a smile to Lena's face, "Her name's Emily. Proposed to her just yesterday."

"Oh my! Any plans for the wedding yet?"

"Nothing concrete so far, just that we want it during spring. Maybe go to Italy, or Venice, maybe France."

"Give me a call if you ever need someone to help you plan it out. Wedding planning's a hobby of mine." Angela clicked a few more buttons, and soon enough, the tools near Lena powered down.

"And done." The door to the room opened, and the doctor came in with Lena's equipment. The pilot hurried to put them on, the ring more so than her accelerator. She sighed in contentment as the uncomfortable feeling of being pulled faded into nothing once again.

"I'll have your results in a couple of days. For now, I'm still recommending you get plenty of rest, and," She handed Lena another tablet, "Follow this diet plan. You're a member of Overwatch now, can't be falling behind the rest of us, ja? Oh, you'll also have to take a psych exam, but that can wait another day."

"Thanks Angela."

Any further conversation was stopped as alarms blared throughout the entire facility. Angela's smile turned serious, as she rushed to the staff and started fiddling with it. Lena meanwhile looked around frantically.

"What's going on?" Angela, still messing with a bundle of wires, answered her, her tone much more serious than Lena had heard so far.

"Overwatch has been monitoring King's Row for a while now. Omnic-related violence has seen a recent uptick, and we've been having to deal with them." The doctor was focused on whatever she was doing, so Lena didn't ask her to elaborate. Instead, Lena asked, "Do you need help?"

The grateful smile on Angela's face told her she did the right thing, "The beds - some of them still aren't prepped. If you could-"

"Say no more!"

Being a hero wasn't always jumping right into the firefight. Sometimes, taking a support role was all that one needed to do. Hell, she'd probably be a liability if she tried to go help out the rest of the Overwatch personnel outside.

She was a pilot, after all, not an infantryman. Not even a bobby.

Being here, helping in the clinic, was the best thing she could do.

But, there was someone else who could lend a hand.

"Archer, you said that you could, like, materialize or something, right?"

'Yes, I did. But Oxton-'

"No buts. I can't help them. You probably can."

'My main priority is keeping you safe. Our contract relies on you being alive.'

Lena furrowed her brow as she moved a bed into position, "I'm in possibly the safest place in the whole of London. Besides, the best way to keep me alive is to just take out whatever the problem is in the first place, right?"

'...I hate it when shit like this makes sense. Fine, I'll go. Don't you dare put yourself into unnecessary danger.'

"I'll be fine, you bloody worrywart. Just go."

Lena felt a breeze pass her by, and she could only assume that it was Archer. It seemed that she wasn't the only one that noticed, since Angela whirled around and started frantically looking across the room.

"Vhat was that?" Her accent was thicker than normal, a testament on how nervous she was. Lena tilted her head in false ignorance, knowing that if she told the doctor that an invisible man that she met in a dream-thing would probably have her on one of the beds herself.

Angela shook her head as if to clear it, while Lena sighed internally in relief. Now, Archer just had to come through. And from what she saw of the man, she had every bit of faith in him.

She just hoped that she put her faith in the right person.

A/N: For those who aren't aware, and I'm sure there's a lot since I only said this in my latest story, which a lot of you probably haven't seen since my last story had the link censored, I now have a P-atreon. Hopefully, this doesn't get deleted as well. In case it does, just know that it's the thing with patrons.

On there, I post chapters a week early, which does mean that Anomaly Ch. 4 is already on there by the time this is released.

Link to there is just P-atreon (space) com/Almistyor. I think you all know how this works by now. That said, don't worry - I'll still post my works on here.