A/N:
Greetings to the girl in the Munich subway who read my story on her laptop last week. You were sitting next to its author. And now you will never know who it was :DD Judging by the way you smiled, you enjoyed. Thanks for that smile. It was the best review I ever got :)
I'll make a few comments on how Reaper acts in this chapter at the end of it.
-/-
"You!" Widowmaker hissed as she was made aware of the presence of someone who should not have been here. She spun around and away from the console she was currently hammering commands into, and saw how Mercy was grabbed into a tight headlock by no other than Reaper.
He was pressing a napkin to Angela's face, her body going limp.
Widow made a step forward, but Reaper materialized one of his shotguns into his hand and pressed it to Mercy's temple.
"Uh, uh, uh!" He admonished, causing Widowmaker to freeze in place, staring deadly daggers at Reaper.
She couldn't believe her own two eyes. This wasn't seriously happening. Not now of all the times. Two minutes more and they would have been gone. They would have gotten away.
But it all had to go wrong in the last two minutes. Widow knew now why she had that unpleasant feeling of being watched. It was simply because someone was watching her. Now only two questions remained: How long had he been watching and why?
"What are you doing here, la Faucheuse?" she hissed, her body tensing up to spring into action in an instant, should the need arise.
God, Widow scolded herself internally; she had been too sloppy. She should have paid more attention to Mercy. She should have told her to stand in the corner of the cargo boxes where no one would have seen her and where no one could have snuck up on her from behind.
She should have carried her rifle with her and not stored it in the bag. If she could have had it handy now, Amélie was positive she could blow a hole in Reaper's head before he could even think about pulling the trigger.
But she did neither of those things.
And now Angela Ziegler was held hostage by Reaper. A few moments away from their safe escape, Widows plan turned to ash. Maybe this was fixable. Maybe she could talk him out of it. But then again, who was she kidding here? It just had to be Reaper. Anyone else she could have intimidated enough to fuck off. But not him. What was he even doing here? He was supposed to be on the other end of the world.
"Why are you even on board? You shouldn't be here!" she snarled aggressively.
"Of course you would have checked that" Reaper replied with a low voice but didn't sound mad at her "You should know that this is one of the advantages of being with Dark Wing" he chuckled. "We get to show up wherever we want."
"As if I ever got to go anywhere because I wanted to." she remarked. "You know that, too"
"True" Reaper replied in something which was as close to a sigh as he could probably get. "Listen, little spider, we have to talk" he said.
Widow couldn't help but let a pissed off laugh get over lips "I'm all ears, la Faucheuse." she gestured toward Mercy. There was really no point in denying this. For a fleeting moment she had considered barking at him and making stuff up about official orders, but it would have never worked. First of all, Reaper wasn't stupid. He probably knew already which orders Widowmaker did or didn't have; namely none as of now. And second, she didn't even know what he wanted yet. Amélie just knew that he wanted something. Reaper always wanted something, otherwise he wouldn't do anything. It was the one thing that made him predictable to a certain degree. There was always some kind of ulterior motive behind his actions. Though what that motive was, no one knew.
"You are making a run for it, aren't you? You want to get out, is that right?" Reaper asked with a seriousness Amélie had never heard from him before. She would be lying if she said she wasn't afraid.
Because she was.
Reaper was one of the few individuals she was scared of, simply because he was dangerous. Very, very dangerous. He didn't lack the matching cruelty whatsoever.
"What do you care?" Widow replied sternly. She didn't like this. He knew something. More than he let on. Probably much more. Her body was tense, each fiber of her muscles clenching together as she tried to figure out what to do. Giving him a definite answer would feel like signing a death sentence.
"That's not your business now. Let me try again" he adjusted his vice-like grip on Mercy, making Widowmaker aware yet again that he still had a loaded shotgun pressed to her face. "You rigged the fuel valves with more plastic explosive than you'd need to level a skyscraper. You killed our superior, General Azarova, a loss I am not going to mourn, and you freed this little cunt before you killed Montgomery. So, I ask again: Are you trying to leave Talon?"
Amélie had to concentrate so her expression wouldn't betray how freaked out she was at the moment. She had not expected that Reaper would know this much about the things she did. But if he knew, then why didn't he stop her sooner? What was going on here? What did that man want? And how did he find out? Did he know everything from the beginning?
"How do you know all that?" She wanted to know, concentrating to make her voice seem like she wasn't as shaken up as she was felt like.
"Don't take me for an idiot, little spider" Reaper growled "Answer the question."
Widow felt her stomach tie the umpteenth knot into itself while she was rapidly running out of options. She hated that feeling of not having a choice. It was what her whole life looked like. She never got do decide anything, not even for herself. Other people always did that for her, and usually not with her best interest in mind. They all wanted to control her.
Everyone.
Except for one Lena Oxton.
It was so painful to think about that now while being so close to getting away; so close to going back to her and being able to give her what she wanted. Amélie would stay with her as long as Lena wanted her to. They wouldn't have to worry about Talon anymore. And the key to all this was no two meters away from Amélie now. Two meters which felt like infinity.
What could she really do? Reaper knew everything. He knew about the explosives. He knew what she did to Azarova. Hell, there was no point in even trying to deceive him somehow.
"Yes!" She hissed "I was running away, ok? I did everything you just said and it would have worked if not for you. I should be thankful that you prevented the last scheduled memory reset, or this would not have happened." Widow tried to keep her voice down, but she managed to somehow yell silently, the sour lump in her throat tighter than she wanted to admit. Did she come so far all for naught? "Tell me, did this all go according to your plan? Do you have me right where you want me? What do you want in the first place?"
"Suddenly she remembers the reset again" Reaper chuckled "Who would have thought?"
"If you think you can drag me back in there and put me in some machine again, then forget it. Nowhere in hell am I going to do that again. And I don't care that you hold a hostage. We both die here, or we both leave. I will not allow anyone to lay another finger on her. I will not allow her to be turned into what I became! So tell me what you want so we can get this over with!"
Reaper said nothing for a moment, carefully considering his next move. He had never seen Widow emotional at all. Not one bit. She was always a cruel, cold hearted bitch and a part of him always reminded himself to be careful around her. She was dangerous. A lot more dangerous than she probably knew. Definitely more dangerous than he was. He was brutal and straight forward, a battering ram, achieving his goals with sheer violence.
Widowmaker wasn't. She was his exact opposite: a precision tool who needed exactly one moment and one shot to end it. He ripped things apart. She left a clean, cold, and emotionless cut. One could hear him coming. She was silent. One knew when Reaper was out to get someone. With her, the light just ceased to exist from one innocent moment to the next.
And now this emotionless killer, this absolutely ruthless assassin was starting to break apart. She hid it well, but he could see it. Smell it. Feel it. For a long time he had an eye on her, the fine nuances of her mimic and gestures weren't los on him. He could see how scared she was underneath all that seething rage. Rage covered up by a stoic face. But it still burned so vividly in her golden eyes. Her glare was almost painful.
Reaper knew that if he wanted to get what he came for, he would have to defuse the situation. This didn't go into the direction he wanted it to at all. Maybe he should have taken a different approach. He should have considered that the goals of this escape meant more to Widow than he might anticipate.
He knew about her goals. At least the few things Morrison told him. About her and Tracer. Then again, Morrison just told him that Widow and Tracer were probably close.
That could have meant a lot. He and Soldier were close as well, but they were brothers in arms. It didn't mean they ever felt the urge of hopping into bed with each other. The emotions boiling so violently in Widowmaker that they made her eyes glow brightly and her hands shake slightly spoke volumes though. Then again, she had also kissed Mercy. So, who knew? It wasn't like Reaper cared who it was Widowmaker wanted to see so badly that she decided on the risk of betraying Talon was worth it.
All that mattered to him was, that there was such a person. Someone who drove Widow away from Talon.
It was important because it meant he and Morrison achieved what they set out to accomplish. It took them long enough and more setbacks than Reaper wanted to admit. The poor bloke he encouraged to talk with Widow and who got his neck snapped by her being the most critical in a row of failures.
They were so close now. Reaper couldn't allow another setback. She needed to calm down. And she needed to listen to him. It wasn't like he didn't understand why she was upset.
"None of that will happen." he said sternly, causing Widow's face to drop. What?! "I have no intention of holding you here. In fact, I'd prefer it if you go." Reaper surprised Widow completely when he let go of Mercy and leaned her against the railing next to him. He did, however, keep his shotgun pointed at her, just for good measure.
Widow couldn't honestly say that she understood what was going on. Was she stuck in the wrong movie here? It sure felt like it.
"You aren't making any sense, la Faucheuse. What do you want?" she asked, suspicious about the entire situation. Her mind was working extra shifts to figure out what the hell was happening. Reaper, yes the Reaper, prevented them from escaping, sedated Mercy, and held her hostage, just to reveal now that he wanted her to escape. Wait. Her?
"You don't get Mercy either" Amélie hissed.
"I heard you the first time" Reaper replied, briefly looking at the blonde woman who was peacefully leaning on the railing as if she were asleep.
"I hate that bitch" he growled lowly "And I really want to kill her. But I will not." he said.
"You hate almost everyone. And you like to kill almost everyone. Would you kindly tell me what you want now? If you want us to go, then why stop us? Just let us be!"
"It's not that easy and you know it, Widowmaker" Reaper replied with a shrug "Listen: I need you. And the only reason I stop you now is because you were stupid enough to forget the last favor you owed me and chose to ignore the second. So, here I am now."
"You aren't seriously still going on about that favor I owe you."
"I am not kidding about this, Widow." Reaper growled. "And this is the last chance you get. Because I am sure as hell not going to go otherwise."
"I really don't trust you." Widow narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
Reaper laughed to himself "I can't blame you. I know you have no reason to believe me, but I am not your enemy, little spider. I do this-" he wiggled his shotgun a bit to indicate he was talking about holding an unconscious Mercy hostage, at least more or less at this point. "Because I need your help. Not because I want to screw you over. I even drugged her so you can make up some story later of what happened, I don't care."
"Ok." Widow started reluctantly. "Let's just assume for a moment you get the favor you want. What would that exactly be?" Widow wanted to know. It wasn't like she had a lot of options here. So far Reaper had been surprisingly civil. But she had absolutely no doubts that he would kill both her and Mercy if he didn't get what he came for. Besides, he did prevent the last scheduled memory reset. So, in a way, Amélie was only able to get to the point she was now because of him. Otherwise, she might have never considered Tracer in any way. She wouldn't have been distracted in the following job. She wouldn't have been shot, and she wouldn't have ended up in Tracer's bed.
Also, he knew about Amélie's plan to blow the freighter and the tanker to hell and back, buthe didn't appear to be inclined to prevent this in any way... which was strange.
"One day, Widow, I will play a name into your hands," Reaper grumbled "And you will find and kill that person. You will tell no one. You will leave what you do in that moment, and you will dispose of whoever it is I tell you then." Reaper said, not liking the expression on Widowmaker's face. She looked like she calculated her chances of rushing him now and how successful she'd probably be in shooting him with his own shotgun before he could turn Mercy into Swiss cheese. Considering how fast and nimble Widow usually was, she could probably pull it off.
That must not happen.
This was the crucial part for all their plans.
He needed a skilled freelancing assassin -neither tied to Talon nor Overwatch, or any other organization- he could trust. And those were not exactly easy to come by. So, he had to create one. Or better yet, they needed to create one. It was Morrison's little push in the right direction which eventually led to this result after all.
Had Soldier not sent Tracer to deal with Widow... But that was a thought for another time. Though Tracer was a good cue. There was something he could say to make Widow more inclined to agree. "I, however, can reassure you that the target will most likely be no one you would care about, if that helps your decision."
There wasn't really a lot more he could tell her even if he wanted to. Just dropping Tracer's name would probably ruin more of his and Morrison's work than it would do good. But they really needed that one favor. That one free kill. That one, single, untraceable execution. Their endgame. They needed the best sniper in the world for this part. It was completely dependent on Widowmaker. But he couldn't tell her that for obvious reasons. He couldn't just risk that they'd be able to convince her later on either. It had to be done now.
Widow didn't quite believe her ears "You want me to do a job?" she asked, flabbergasted. "Something you could have ordered me to do yesterday? Why?"
"I told you already, Widowmaker. I am not Talon. Never was. Never will be. Our-"
"Goals align at the moment. Yes. I feel like I heard that before somewhere" Widow snorted.
"Precisely." Reaper grumbled "So? What's it going to be? Decision time, little spider."
Widowmaker didn't like this. She didn't like this one bit. He was playing with her; Amélie could feel it. But Reaper always played games. Nothing he did usually made sense at first glance. His mind worked in complicated ways. However, he did sound serious about this.
And he still got a shotgun pointed at Mercy.
"Just so we understand each other." Widow said rather aggressively "You let me go. You let Mercy go. And one day I will kill someone you want dead? And that's it. This entire commotion is only for that?"
"It is" Reaper replied. Widow pondered this for a moment. Seriously speaking, what did she have to lose here? It wasn't like she had much of a choice anyway, and she still got to do what she wanted. He let them go where he could have just as easily shot Angela in the face, dragged Amélie back into the ship, and strapped her to the next reconditioning-unit where one of Talon's torturer would reset her mind completely.
"So be it, la Faucheuse." she nodded. "You get your favor. One kill. Nothing more and nothing less. One. Life. No questions asked."
"Good" Reaper growled, his shotgun vanishing in his hand before he held it to Widowmaker for her to shake. She was cocking an eyebrow, because she didn't expect him to confirm their deal with a handshake. Contrary to what people might think, Widowmaker was an honest person. She didn't usually lie, and she also usually did what she promised... should she remember it. Normally, Widow just avoided making promises to anybody.
A little bit reluctantly, Widow reached out and shook Reaper's gloved hand. Her slender fingers vanished in his large, strong hand and she was actually a bit surprised that she got her hand back in one piece.
"One more thing" Reaper spoke up, and Widow glared at him warningly. He ignored it "Do you have your infrared sights with you?" he wanted to know.
Amélie nodded hesitatingly, again not sure what he wanted with them. Reaper held a hand out to her, waving his fingers to indicate she should pass them over.
For a moment, Widowmaker didn't move, just staring at the arrogant bastard that was Reaper, but she eventually did crouch down, quickly retrieving her visor from the bag, and passed it to the black clad man.
He took the piece and tossed it over board without any hesitation. Widow's jaw dropped, but before she could ask anything, he provided an explanation "Cutting the tracker out of your neck was good. But it won't do you any good if you take another tracker with you. Now you can fake your own death" he chuckled.
"Whatever" Widow huffed, as Reaper turned to leave. Widow quickly rushed to Mercy's side to check if she was alright.
"Oh, and Widow?" Reaper said, turning one final time. He saw the deadly assassin kneeling next to Mercy and couldn't help but think that they'd make an adorable couple even though he despised the doctor with unparalleled passion. "Do stay true to your word this time. I don't care what you do with your new life, and I won't check either, but if I give you that name, and you don't act, I will make you regret it. Compris?"
Amélie kind of wanted to punch him now. She really wanted to. He always had to get his way.
"Oui, oui. You get your free kill"
"That is good to hear. I will leave now, my shuttle is already waiting. So hit that detonator whenever you want and blow it all to hell. I don't care. Enjoy your new life." he said, maybe a tiny bit mocking her, before he vanished in a dark cloud of smoke.
Amélie returned her attention to an unconscious Mercy right in front of her. She quickly checked Angela's pulse. Luckily, it was there, strong and steady beating against Amélie's cold fingers on Angela's neck. She was alive, which was good news. Widow picked the blonde woman up from the floor and swung her over her shoulder before she activated the initiation sequence of the dinghy, grabbed her bag, and boarded the small speedboat.
Moments later, they touched the ocean surface and Widowmaker fired up the engines, quickly bringing some distance between her and the intimidating, large Talon freighter.
Mercy was lying on a hard metal bench, her legs hanging to the floor and her arms folded across her chest. Widowmaker had just dropped her there along with the bag before she quickly turned the speedboat to make a beeline for Diskon. With every mile they got closer to the city and further away from Talon, Amélie felt herself being able to breathe more and more freely. There was a certain weight lifted off her shoulders even though she knew it was hardly over yet. They still had to get out of Diskon. Somehow. And Mercy's condition wasn't getting better either.
Widowmaker would have lied if she said she wasn't worried about the doctor. She might have acted like she didn't really care, but a part of her did care. Angela Ziegler was a nice person. A good person. She didn't deserve to die because of what happened to her. Amélie enabled the autopilot of the speedboat and walked over to Mercy. Lifting her head up into her lap, she quickly checked her neck. Her artery was starting to turn black again. Not good.
The doctor started stirring in her involuntary sleep.
"Mercy" she gently said, stroking over her cheek. "Wake up, Mercy"
It took Widow some minutes to get Angela awake, but luckily the concentration of chloroform Reaper used apparently wasn't too high, and she managed to not inhale that stuff too deeply. Her eyes fluttered open, a full purple glow peering at Widow. Angela's body immediately tensed up as if she had awoken from a horrible nightmare... which she had in a way.
"It's fine. We got out. You are safe. We are on the way to Diskon. Everything is good." Amélie said and tried to give the doctor a reassuring smile. Mercy blinked, shaking her head and sitting up. The purple glow was gone by the time she closed her lids for a third time.
"What happened?" Mercy asked, taking in her surroundings. She felt groggy and hung over. In other words, simply horrible. It took her quite some effort to actually sit up and for a while she wasn't sure if she could even do that. She had to lean on Widowmaker for support, but the longer Mercy tried, the better she felt. Her strength was slowly returning into her arching bones.
"Walked right into a trap" Widowmaker stated, as if it would explain everything. She indeed was glad that Reaper had drugged Mercy. It would have been difficult to explain what happened otherwise. Well, maybe not the explaining part of what happened, but the explaining of why she agreed to the favor. It would surely upset the doctor. "I took care of it. We are fine"
"Oh, God! Did you-?"
"Kill the lowlife who held you hostage? Yes." Widow lied. She didn't necessarily like the idea of lying to Mercy, but what else chould she have done? It wasn't like she could have told her that she now had a deal with Reaper. That would have surely not worked in her favor.
What was she supposed to say? I made a deal with Reaper. He told me to kill someone when the time has come. I don't know who it is though. Could be you. Could be Tracer. Could be anyone.
Stupid. Then again, Reaper told her the target would be no one she'd miss. But this could have been a lie, too. No. It was best if Widow kept it all to herself. Besides, there were really only two people as of now she wouldn't have killed. And one was in the same boat with her.
"How are you?" Widowmaker asked, successfully attempting to change the topic of their conversation. She must have had a worried expression on her face, because Mercy's eyebrow twitched slightly.
Angela looked at the person who had risked her life to get a complete stranger to safety for a moment. She could tell that Widowmaker was treading on completely new grounds now. She was just as lost as Mercy. With the difference that Mercy was leaving the unknown and was brought back into her own world while Widowmaker had just defied her former masters and was now running away into the unknown. She could somehow sympathize with the blue-skinned woman.
"I'll survive" she tried to smile at Amélie who just shook her head. There, of course, was still the horribly real possibility that Mercy's nanoprobes would go completely rambo any moment. And that would not be healthy for the bearer.
"Widowmaker?" Mercy asked, leaning slightly into the woman sitting next to her, their shoulders touching just a little bit.
"Amélie" Widow corrected. She stared through the naked metal wall opposite to her. The interior of the speedboat was meant for around twenty sailors. But now there were only two. The damn thing felt like a metal coffin racing over the water to its grave. Maybe that was overly melodramatic, but Widowmaker still looked very much forward to the moment when she got to set foot on land again. Luckily, the speedboat was designed to hydroplane, so the ride over the waves was a rather smooth one.
"Sorry?" Angela asked, blinking confused.
"My name" The French woman explained. "Widowmaker is ... was someone else. It's a call sign, not an identity I ever wanted or chose. It's Amélie." The identity Lena gave me back. The person I want to be for her sake.
And suddenly, the feared assassin became human.
"Oh." Mercy nodded sadly, feeling the weight of Widow's inner struggle all the way over to her. This must have been so difficult for her. "I understand," she said, even if she could only imagine how it must feel to be her. "Well, I just wanted to tell you that... that I will never forget what you did today. For me. I really owe you... Amélie."
"Oui." Widow replied with a jesting smirk, shaking the sentimental feeling off her face. It wasn't a side of her she wanted to show around Mercy. It was bad enough the doctor caught a glimpse of it. Maybe she was cruel to Angela, but Amélie couldn't help it. She only felt comfortable around Lena like this. For some reason it was so easy to be around her; to open up to her. But Widowmaker withheld a lot of things from even Lena. Things she felt were too much for the lively Brit. Things she did tell Mercy. It was a strange feeling. She would have to talk to Tracer soon. "You do owe me quite a bit. Just remember how much when your people want to put me in front of a firing squad, ok?"
"I won't allow that. I will do everything so that you can stay at the Watchpoint with as much freedom as possible." Mercy stated with overwhelming sincerity, reaching out to give Widow's hand a reassuring squeeze. Amélie flinched slightly at the contact of her warm touch. It reminded her a lot of Lena. She missed her so badly, it almost hurt inside. "I promise," Mercy added before falling silent for a while. No one of the two women spoke before it was yet again Angela who decided to say something more.
"You know, to be honest, you aren't how I imagined you at all"
"Funny" Widow replied with a cold laugh. She was far, far away with her mind; Mercy could tell.
"How is that funny?"
"Because I wanted to say the same thing about you just now." Widow stated, and Angela couldn't help but feel her eyebrow rise up.
"And what exactly did you or did you not expect about me?"
Widowmaker almost said that she isn't the way Tracer described her. At least, not everything. The side Lena told her about was definitely there. There was just... something else as well. "Your name doesn't really suit you." Amélie explained "Mercy. That implies a certain compassion. But you beat Montgomery senseless and I bet you'd have actually skinned the man alive if I hadn't shown up."
Mercy fell silent yet again, her head sinking to the ground, as if she was struggling to admit an undeniable reality to herself.
"Ja" Angela said sadly. It almost sounded like a confession "I know." She hesitated for a moment, contemplating if she should continue, but her mouth already started talking again "Not a lot of people know about this side of me. It's my best kept secret." Mercy groaned uncomfortably, rubbing a hand over her tired eyes. "Herrgott, I don't even know why I am telling you this" she said, more to herself than to Widow. The blue-skinned woman still nodded thoughtfully.
"You should know what stress and adrenaline does. There is a very good reason why soldiers refer to each other as brothers. Once the bullets fly over your heads, you quickly bond with the guy next to you. He might be the last face you see before you die" Widow shrugged. It wasn't like she hadn't seen this happen before. Especially during more complex operations, when Talon sent her as fire support for larger forces of infantry. Soldiers were always talking about everything. Amélie just never cared. She never listened either. People died, some sooner, some later. It was her whole business. They never understood that.
Also, she was rationalizing. But Widow wouldn't acknowledge that. She was rationalizing why she had told Angela so much of her 'private' life with Talon, blaming stress and adrenaline. The truth was, she had to tell someone. Someone who wasn't Tracer. Someone who wouldn't worry about it. It was the past. It couldn't be changed. Lena was helping so much as it was, she didn't need to worry even more.
Telling Mercy helped. Somehow.
Though Amélie would never admit it, she grew to like Mercy. In the short time they spent together she had proven herself strong and dependable. And not once had she judged Widow in any way. Maybe at the beginning, but that was to be expected. Yet the longer they spent time together the more Widow found herself wanting to look out for Mercy. Not because she had ulterior motives, but also for Angela's sake. When Angela collapsed in the freighter, vomiting into the corner of the mezzanine, Amélie was genuinely worried. She was worried and mad at her, because she wanted Mercy to be fine. She didn't understand why that was.
"I suppose you are right" Angela agreed silently. "So far you have been very good to me, Amélie"
"Hey, don't forget the reason for all of this" Widow said, and Mercy just nodded like it didn't really matter. And maybe it really didn't matter at all.
Angela took a deep breath before she suddenly continued. She decided to just tell Amélie now. It wasn't like she hadn't seen what happened to Mercy first hand. There was no point denying it. An explanation wouldn't hurt anyone. "What you saw on the freighter was... well, something I am not proud of. Ever since my parents died when I was a little girl, I had this-" Mercy paused, searching for the right word to use without sounding stupidly dramatic "-This other half of me. I can't control it. Sometimes it just... kind of shows up, you know? I am so ashamed of it... but... but I just hate people hurting other people without any apparent reason. Without any need for it. It reminds me so much of my parents being butchered in the chaos of the first Omnic war. I hate the feeling it gives me. I hate the memories that it wakes up. I can't stand seeing it."
Mercy inhaled sharply "So I try to help wherever I can, but sometimes... Well, sometimes I am too late or I make a mistake. Or someone interfered with my work. It makes me so sick. I... get so angry, and then..." Angela trailed off into silence. The way she felt the last couple of hours was not new, but it was certainly a feeling that hadn't paid her a visit in quite a long time. She didn't want to tell Widowmaker that she couldn't feel empathy anymore when it happened. She didn't want her to know that the feeling she got whenever her other side took command was one of almost infinite power, blessed with the capability to decide over life and death. She didn't want her to see what it turned her into. And when it disappeared again, it left the real Mercy as a confused and emotional mess; like the one Amélie had to deal with after Montgomery had been killed. Mercy was just glad that Widow didn't walk in on her a few minutes prior, when her other half still had the full control of her. She would have torn Montgomery to shreds. She hated that man. She still does after his demise.
"Yet, you don't hate me" Widow stated. It was painfully obvious. They were getting along quite a lot better than either one of them had expected. Amélie found the doctor's presence almost comfortable, and hoped that this was alright. Was it ok for her to feel at ease around someone who wasn't Lena? Was this the friendship thing Lena had been talking about? Amélie didn't know; she never had a friend. Was this supposed to be this way? Lena would know that. She'd have to ask her about it... and maybe tell her about the kiss... It wasn't like Widow meant anything with it, but Lena still deserved to know. Amélie felt like there wasn't an awful lot she could give the bubbly Brit anyway, so total honesty would have to do.
"I won't lie to you. I did. I really did. Do you have any idea how many people I had sent to me where I could do nothing else but sign the death certificate, because of you? My resurrection doesn't work on holes in heads as big as an apple. I hated you with a passion" Mercy said, not looking at her companion. She just stared ahead with a blank expression on her face like the blank metal wall opposite to them suddenly became the most intriguing thing in the world. "I thought you were a cruel, cold hearted bitch who gets a kick out of killing innocent people. I thought you were crazy." Angela gently shook her head no "But now, after all you've told me? After all I've seen? What I have been through myself? I can't bring myself to hate you. How could I?" Angela asked. She actually began to wonder who was really saving whom here. Maybe they were saving each other.
Widowmaker actually laughed this time. What a sob-story. She was just fucked up. There was no point in discussing this side of her. "You do realize that what you said is true? I do like killing. It makes me feel alive. I love the recoil of my rifle against my shoulder, and there is only one thing I love more than taking a life. I am just like you said, Mercy. Killing gives me a kick."
"Nein." Mercy shook her head "You don't convince me of that. You try to seem cold and distant, like you don't care, but you do care. In the last couple of hours you were worried about me. Genuinely worried. Don't think I missed that." Mercy took a moment to peer deeply into Widow's cold, golden eyes, a part of her happy that this mask of indifference was melting away at least a little bit. "Amélie, you didn't choose to be like this. You didn't choose any of this. You said it yourself: they enhanced the traits which made us great hunters in the past. They made you like killing, and I don't even want to know what they did to give you that kick each time you pull the trigger. Because I am sure once I open that file of yours," Mercy pointed at the bag sitting next to her, "That I'll find at least three different psychoactive substances used for basic conditioning. I'd take any bet. It's all Talon's fault. Not yours."
'They did this to you. It's not your fault, Amélie. I am here for you. Everything will be alright again. You mean so much to me, luv. I promise I'll keep you safe. They won't ever hurt you again.' Tracer's voice was whispering into Widow's ear as she stared blankly into the nothingness in front of her. Amélie might have been asleep while Lena said those things, but she still remembered them. She had been crying when she held Widow the entire night. Crying for Amélie's sake. Lena's words always held such a powerful peace within them. It calmed Widow down.
A loud beep from the steering-unit pulled Widow back to reality. Right. There was a much more pressing task at hand.
"Maybe you are correct" she said plainly, and ended their conversation while standing up and hurrying over to the steering wheel. All the time Mercy and Widow had been talking, the speedboat brought them closer to Diskon just like its autopilot was programmed to do.
Amélie pressed a few buttons and manipulated some levers before she took hold of the steering wheel. Slowing the boat down considerably, she used the last bit of speed to glide closer to the frozen coast-line using the night vision monitors of the dinghy to know where she maneuvered to. Widow had to pay attention so she wouldn't get too close to the coast and cause the boat to go aground. It needed to maneuver itself out to the open sea after they dismounted their ride.
"Open the bag I brought along and give me one of the light yellow packs and one of the chips next to them." Widow instructed, before Mercy began digging through the bag's contents. A moment later she tossed Widow the requested items, who then placed the yellow pack on the dashboard and stuck the chip inside the clay-like substance.
"What are you doing?" Mercy asked curiously, walking up to Widow and peeking over her shoulder. The assassin seemed to synch the chip she stuck into the clay with an olive green device. Afterward, both tech-thingies made a silent beep, apparently indicating proper functionality.
"Well, you see, the freighter we were on is about to suffer a horrible accident while refueling. And it would be strange if they found a completely intact dinghy, wouldn't it?" Amélie explained, hammering commands into the autopilot yet again. The console beeped loudly, confirming Widowmaker's instructions.
"Alright. Give me the bag and come with me" Widow instructed as Mercy handed her the black sports bag. She followed the assassin outside of the squat vessel, while Amélie slung the pouch across her shoulders.
"Come here" she instructed, and yet again, Mercy did as she was told and stepped up to Widowmaker. She had no idea what was happening when suddenly the French beauty grabbed her and lifted her up bridal style. Mercy couldn't help but yelp in surprise.
"Quiet!" Widow admonished, moving to the corner of the boat. She really didn't want anyone to hear a woman scream from somewhere in the sea.
"Give me a heads up next time!" Mercy complained, wrapping her arms tightly around Widow's neck. The slender woman definitely was a lot stronger than she seemed, apparently easily capable of carrying Angela around.
"There won't be a next time" Widow stated matter-of-factly, peering off the corner of the ship into the water. She slightly adjusted Mercy in her arms into a more comfortable position.
"I can walk just fine, thank you."
Widowmaker didn't reply as she jumped down into the ice water. Her knee high boots vanishing inside the jet black liquid. "Yes, you can walk now" she stated "But your feet would freeze off in a matter of minutes. I surely don't need to tell this to you, doctor" Widow explained, steadily walking toward the shore. The boat they came on suddenly awoke back to life with a deep roar of its twin engines and quickly spun around, piloting itself out to the open sea.
"Same applies for you, Widowmaker" Mercy snapped. "What are you thinking! You can't-"
"My boots are waterproof. I am in no danger." Widow stated, almost stumbling over a rock, but easily regaining her balance again. Mercy held on to Amélie tight, her muscles tensing up because of the swift feeling of falling. There was a quick smirk spreading on Widow's lips for a moment.
"Don't tell me you enjoy being carried like this" Amélie teased with a dry remark. She needed to talk about something; anything really. The closer she got to shore the more her slow heart started fluttering, knowing that each step toward the shore would bring her closer to Tracer. Closer to the love she yearned for so badly. She needed to take her mind off this idea. It was distracting her too much. This wasn't over yet. Thus, she resorted to teasing Mercy a little bit.
Mercy couldn't do more than make gasping noises as she tried to come up with a witty reply for the sudden teasing. Usually only Tracer pushed those kinds of buttons on her; Mercy wasn't prepared for this. It wasn't fair.
"Oh, so you do enjoy it. Being carried to safety, that is. How curious." Widow chuckled almost a little bit cutely, but definitely still with clear intent of winding Mercy up. There was nothing she could have done against it in this moment either. It wasn't like Angela could have just walked away, seeing how she would fall into ice-cold water if she tried. "And here I thought you were straight." Widow smiled a smile... which quickly froze. That was a mistake. Angela never told her she was straight. Only Tracer did.
"Oh?" Mercy asked, finding her way back to her brainier side "And what makes you think that? I could be falling for you just now, for all you know." Luckily, Angela did completely miss the implications of Widow actually knowing and not just guessing her preferences. To her, the blue beauty merely assumed.
"You weren't kissing me like you were falling for me" Widow shot back, relieved that her little slip was left unnoticed. This was good. It was meaningless and silly. They both needed to vent some stress over completely pointless shit. And the mood was getting lighter, which was a welcome change of the otherwise heavy atmosphere.
"Ah, I believe you were the one who kissed me. You even fondled my breast. Rather aggressive for a first date, wouldn't you say? Are you maybe the one falling for me, Widowmaker? You know, I wouldn't judge you. My best friend is a lesbian."
Widow chocked back the 'I know' which was already forming in the back of her throat and instead went for something a little different.
"And what if I were?" she grinned and cocked an eyebrow. Why the hell did she just say that? They were both filled to the brim with adrenaline. If Mercy got some things mixed up now, Widowmaker would have to do some very awkward explaining. But luckily, the smile on Mercy's face told Amélie otherwise. The doctor understood this was just for fun. Just a game.
Mercy couldn't help but smile. This reminded her so much of Tracer. This kind of winding each other up would be exactly what Lena would have done. It was just how Angela imagined being carried to safety by her best friend. Yet, it wasn't her best friend carrying her, and that made the whole situation even more amusing.
"Ah, I believe I would have to gently let you down. Because, unfortunately, you are quite right about your initial assumption" she laughed, wonderfully lighthearted considering the seriousness of the situation they were still stuck in. "I am perfectly straight. Sorry. You have to give your heart to someone else" As Mercy spoke these words, however, they didn't feel like they were rolling off her tongue as easy as they usually did. She had told Tracer a thousand times, without batting an eye, but now... now the same words felt more difficult to form. She couldn't explain it, and she also didn't want to think about it. But Widow's lips were softer against hers than any male's lips ever were. Definitely softer as the last ones were before Amélie's.
"It already belongs to someone else." Amélie mumbled, not talking to Mercy anymore. Suddenly, the teasing tone was gone, replaced by total seriousness, as Widow carried Mercy ashore, gently letting her down on her feet. Dr. Ziegler slowly slid out of Widowmaker's arms, the snow peacefully scrunching underneath her feet.
"I thought so." Mercy stated. For some reason she knew. It was the only logical reason behind everything Widow had done today. It was the only legitimate explanation as to why Amélie had decided to help. Angela might have not realized consciously at first, but it was crystal clear now. So clear, it made her next question basically obsolete. "The same person you don't want to forget, right?"
Widow's reply was just a single nod, her golden eyes peering through the night like two new suns. It made Mercy wonder what type of partner Amélie preferred. Was it a man? Or a woman? Neither of those ideas seemed to fit properly. Widow had kissed her like she had done so to a girl before. Then again, Amélie had been married to a man in the past, too.
"Is he special to you?" Angela wanted to know.
"She" The correction slipped off her tongue without hesitation, and Widow didn't even notice she said it out loud. She couldn't help but smile lovingly when she thought about Tracer "For her, I'd go through this hell all over again"
Mercy listened to the sounds of the waves washing ashore next to them for a moment, taking in the sight of Widowmaker, dimly illuminated by the harbor lights of Diskon not too far away and the weak moonlight. The cold rays of artificial light somehow managed to play softly with Widow's prominent facial features. She looked happy, a warm smile on her cold lips and eyes shining with hope. It was a sight to behold, and a moment made for all eternity. "I understand." Mercy said, and Widowmaker just gestured a silent thank you.
"This way. Let's search for a phone and call your friend" My friend. My lover. My sunshine. My everything. "Oh, and..." Widowmaker opened the bag she was carrying, reached inside and handed Mercy an olive green box the size of a mobile phone. It had a small black antenna on top of it, a protective switch on the one side, and an elongated button on the other. Four red LEDs positioned next to each other were glowing on the front.
"Whenever you are ready" Widow said.
"Is this..." Angela stared at the box in her hands. It was a lot heavier than she imagined. Maybe the weight was just in her head. She knew what this little thing would do. The accident Widowmaker had been talking about.
"The firework for today, oui."
With numb and slightly clumsy fingers, Mercy lifted the protective cover off the switch on the side. She had to swallow hard, not denying a certain excitement. The thought of how many people possibly were on both of these ships did cross Mercy's mind, but she couldn't care anymore. Technically, it was murder, but Angela had little doubt that she was indeed removing a large number of very bad people. People who wouldn't hesitate to commit the cruelest atrocities imaginable. She was aware that this was probably a point in her life she'd look back to in a few years and wonder if she made the right call, but right in this moment it seemed like a no-brainer. "You sure you don't want to?"
"Light them up, petit chou" Widow encouraged her, hoping it would bring Mercy some kind of closure. She didn't get to kill Montgomery, after all. Maybe it was better this way; maybe it wasn't. Amélie didn't know.
Mercy flicked the switch, turning the four lights orange before she pressed the button on the side.
The lights turned green with a prominent beep.
A moment of complete silence passed. The ocean was still. There was no wind.
For a second, they passed into a soundless world of ghosts.
And suddenly the horizon lit up bright as daylight, a huge fireball exploding into the night. The moment of complete silence continued, almost like someone muted a movie. There was a mushroom of smoke rising into the air, like someone had nuked the ocean, yet it was only the almost infinite amount of high energy fuel from both the tanker and the freighter. Both ships got vaporized in this instant. And then there was this deep, intimidating rumbling in the distance, like a growl originating from the deepest pits of hell. The beach started vibrating from the echo of the explosion before a loud bang, much like the ones from a supersonic boom, ripped the air over Diskon apart. Mere instants later a shockwave washed over the ocean, ruffling the water surface before hitting the shores with the force of a storm. The waves crashed against the breakwaters, splashing up into the freezing night air a few meters.
Mercy had to grab her combination cap so it wouldn't fly away, but at the same time the winds were pulling on her hair and clothes, she also felt like they also carried away what happened on board the freighter. Like the fires burned away all the evidence of what happened, the sight of the explosion swallowing the heavy burden of what was now the past. It was finally over. She felt relieved of a heavy weight. The danger they were in finally no more. It was as though the biggest threat to Angela and Amélie just went up in smoke.
Apparently Mercy was not the only one who felt a certain relief because of the explosion still burning brightly into the night sky, illuminating the darkness in warm orange.
"Bon débarras, bande de malades!" Widow called out rather loudly over the echoing noise of the explosion thundering over Diskon like the wrath of Zeus. Mercy couldn't help but notice that Widowmaker seemed truly happy for but a brief moment. Then the glowing expression on her face vanished again, as if she remembered that she wasn't done yet. Quickly setting down the bag Widow carried, she shuffled through some of its contents and retrieved another long black coat with a large hood.
"Are you cold?" Mercy asked, confused as to why Widow quickly slipped into the coat.
"Non. I am a bit obvious, aren't I? It's so I can blend in." Widow replied, pulling the hood deep in her face and, indeed, covering both her blue skin completely as well as her purple hair. The only thing which still showed was the tip of her index finger and her thumb, both parts not covered by the sniper-gloves she wore. In a certain light, her piercing, cold golden eyes glowed from under the hood as well.
Widow turned around to Mercy and nodded toward the small set of frozen stairs leading up to the harbor "Let's go!"
-/-
Genji Shimada, wearing a large brown, hooded cloak to conceal his cybernetic body in public, and Jesse McCree, in his usual attire, were standing at a corner in the port of Diskon. They were right at the front entrance where they entered the city before, at the crossroad leading to the hotel they were staying at.
The position Tracer chose to meet up gave them both a perfect overview over the port. They could keep an eye on all entrance routes and roads leading away as well as on the piers itself. The two Overwatch agents waited until Zarya and Tracer returned. They were currently procuring a boat from only God knew were.
Genji re-adjusted the position of the two kitbags they brought along for the thousandth time. He never quite liked how they just sat there, idly, in between him and McCree.
Things were rather boring for the most part.
At least until the horizon suddenly lit up in a bright explosion before, a few moments later, the shockwave hit the port in a large wave, splashing water all over the streets, piers, and adjacent houses. Genji and McCree could barely duck behind the corner, otherwise, they would have been bathed in ice-cold sea water. The roaring thunder of what had to be an explosion of enormous proportions rumbled through the night, making the streets and houses vibrate.
"Report" McCree pressed a finger to his earpiece "What the hell was that?"
Tracer's voice came a moment later than he would have liked "Explosion at sea." she said with questionable emotional stability in her voice: There was the sound of an outboard motor clattering in the background. They apparently already got the boat and were now heading back to the RV-point. "I want an uplink to the satellite immediately. Tell me exactly what exploded and what caused it to blow up. Inform headquarters this instant. I want to know and see everything."
"There is only one logical explanation for an explosion of such magnitude" Genji stated dryly.
"No!" Tracer almost cried into her communicator "I refuse to believe that! We didn't get so far to lose her now! The mission will go on as planned until the reason is confirmed, do you understand me?"
"Listen, kiddo-" McCree started, but was cut off by Zarya over the com. Apparently she felt the urge to step in and, seeing how she was the only one really capable of judging Tracer's reaction properly, that had to mean something.
"There is nothing wrong with continuing until we know something definite. Tracer and I procured a boat. We will all meet up in approximately 10 minutes."
"Athena?" Genji meanwhile asked the AI. "We need to know what happened to the freighter and the tanker at sea in front of Diskon. There was a large explosion at sea. Could you please find that out for us?"
"My seismographic sensors registered the explosion. I am currently analyzing the image-material I got. It looks like a fuel-explosion of unknown reason. The explosion caused some electric interference in the atmosphere. I am currently rebooting the satellites in this sector. I will know more shortly. Please be patient, Mr. Shimada." Athena's emotionless, monotone voice explained calmly. The mere fact that there was an explosion large enough to cause atmospheric disturbances was a very, very bad sign.
"We will. Thank you, Athena" Genji replied, ever the polite one.
"Say, Genji" McCree suddenly started, gazing over the port to the other side. "Realistically we both know that the freighter got blown up. Probably together with that tanker, right? I mean, unless someone chose to nuke the ocean for no apparent reason, they were the only two ships around here for miles large enough to justify such a violent explosion, no?"
"That is correct" Genji replied, not knowing what his comrade was getting at, but willing to wait and see.
"And we also know that Angie was abducted by Talon who brought her on board that freighter. So, it would be a safe bet to say they are probably the ones running the damn thing, yes? They brought her on board one of their swimming operation bases."
"That certainly would be an assumption of reasonable nature."
"Then don't you find it at least a bit odd that there is a Talon Brigadier General, if my eyes don't lie to me, walking down the port here with that shady dude right next to her?" McCree asked in an almost hilariously dry way while he subtly pointed his cigar in the approximate direction. He didn't move otherwise, so he would just seem like a random cowboy; maybe an America obsessed Russian, in the middle of Diskon. Genji turned his head ever so slightly and quickly spotted both individuals walking down the port like they were hiding something. For a moment the general seemed familiar, with her blonde hair and striking blue eyes, yet, how she walked close to the shadow next to her seemed foreign. The hooded figure moved carefully, but with determination. Whoever was hiding behind that coat was dangerous. So much was obvious from the body language of the shadow next to the General. It seemed almost like the cloaked figure was some kind of protector.
"That does seem rather peculiar to me, I have to agree. High ranking officers are rarely seen in public like this."
"Right?" McCree nodded, grabbing his peacemaker revolver without drawing it. "I guess I am going to talk to the lady. Politely ask her if she knows anything about Angie."
"I recommend caution. The person accompanying her surely seems to know how to handle themselves in a fight."
"I'll be careful." McCree said, tipping his hat, before walking off.
"Very well. I shall provide assistance if necessary." Genji replied, waiting until McCree was gone before he started to head out himself. It was important to not draw attention. Genji knew how to move in the shadows and be unseen. He would utilize that.
What he didn't know was where that strange cloaked figure suddenly disappeared to. Hadn't he or she been here a moment before? Genji hadn't even seen the shadow move. Now it was just... gone. It didn't really matter. They would find out whoever that person was soon enough along with who the General was and what their intentions were.
"Tracer, come in please" Genji spoke into his communicator. "We spotted a Talon officer and are going to intercept her. Maybe we can get some valuable intelligence from her."
"Understood. But be careful. Zarya and I are there in probably seven minutes. Sit tight. Cavalry's on the way."
"Very well" he nodded.
"Oh, and Genji?" Tracer spoke up once again. "If that General seems like they know anything about Angela, beat it out of them, if you must."
"I understand." Genji said "Requesting radio silence until further notice."
-/-
A/N:
Alright, that's it for today yet again. Thank you everyone for reading and staying with me. It makes me really happy that so many people are enjoying the story.
As for Reaper:
I can imagine some of you may think he was acting weird. Let me explain a little bit. The scene was re-written quite often and it never seemed right. I have it to a few selected people to give me feedback and their opinions were split exactly in half. One half thought he needed to be more sinister, more evil and that he seemed to friendly. The other half said, considering he is obviously plotting something, it was just fine the way it is.
I should have asked an uneven number of people. Because asking an even number got me nowhere. In the end I settled for the version you just read.
Should this feel out of character for Reaper now, I humbly ask you to have some patience. I promise his reasons for acting the way he did will make perfect sense in the end. There is a plan behind it all.
Anyway, that's all I have to say for Reaper.
Thank you all for all the amazing reviews and all the favs/follows. I can't believe how crazy popular this story is. Someone pointed out we are second place? Holy cow, I would have never thought. Seriously, I cannot thank you all enough.
Keep it up guys and girls!
Special thanks, as usual, to the three angels for their hard work and never ending support. I could not do this without you!
I'll see you all in the next installment of Addictions.
Until then
o7
E82
-/-
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Translations:
Bon débarras, bande de malades! = (French) (approx.) Good riddance, you sick fucks!
Herrgott = (German) Christ!