Y/N'S POV
Though I was laying in bed, I was wide awake. In one hand, I clutched a small cb radio I had stolen from a cop a long time ago.
I had the volume turned down to the lowest possible setting. I pressed the small receiver against my ear to listen to what they were saying.
"Car chase... looks like... armed..."
I tuned out what they were saying. It didn't matter so long as they didn't mention him.
When a hero from Overwatch shows up to help the police, they usually mentioned it over the radio with a detailed description. And thus, night after night, I had been curled up in bed, listening intently, waiting for them to mention something -- anything --- about the green cyborg ninja.
Sombra was fast asleep. While I knew that the other Talon members would be awake and busy despite the fact that it was 2 AM, the only one keeping track of my whereabouts was her. She seemed to be walking on eggshells ever since the encounter, making sure to take note of where I was at all times.
While I was still completing my missions to throw off suspicion, my mind was somewhere else. For once, I held some sort of ambition for myself.
"Seems like... it is! Genji, the hero, is here!"
As they said that name, I felt an unknown emotion sweep through my body. It felt like my breath had been knocked out of my completely, and I found my hand gripping the radio as tightly as I could. I was listening now.
"...sword... throwing stars... moves so fast... 24th Avenue, Tokyo..."
It was him. There was no doubt.
Keeping my eyes trained on Sombra's slumped-over form, I silently slipped out of bed, one hand reaching for my knife belt and the other grasping my new porcelain mask. I slipped it on over my face, heaving a small sigh of relief at the familiarity, before shooting one last look at Sombra.
She knew something about my past. They all did. Yet they kept me in the dark. Why? When I had demonstrated nothing but loyalty.
It wasn't like me to question authority. It wasn't like me to feel anything at all. Yet the meeting with the cyborg had left me full of emotions I hadn't experienced since Moira awoken me: curiosity. And anger. Lots of it.
I had a plan. It was rough, brash, and not thought out at all. I hated the fact that I was acting on impulse and emotion rather than logic, but as long as the cyborg walked free, I had a weakness.
I narrowed my eyes as I slipped through the door into the cold halls of the facility. There was hardly any light at all, but I had gotten accustomed to navigating the grated floor plan over the past couple of months.
With footsteps as light as a feather, I found the room I was looking for. I looked left and right, ensuring that I was truly alone, and then entered.
Laying on her desk, passed out from exhaustion, was Airi, one of Talon's younger recruits. At the age of 17, she had become one of Moira's understudies in the field of science. She aligned strongly with Talon's chaos principles and left her old life behind to join us.
She had been assigned to me as essentially a trainee of sorts, having to assist me with anything and everything. It was a risk coming to her for help, but she was young and naive and easy to manipulate compared to the others.
I placed a gloved hand over her mouth and her eyes shot open with shock. I raised a finger to my lips, a silent order to keep silent, and then removed my hand.
She adjusted her bottle-cap glasses and sat up in her chair. "Sal? What time is it? Oh no... am I late for training?!"
Her pale skin began to burn a bright red with embarrassment. "How long have I been sleeping? Oh no... oh no..."
"It's 2 AM." I whispered.
That piece of information seemed to gradually settle in for her, but she remained tense and nervous. "I don't understand. What are you doing here?"
"I need your help with something."
"O-of course. Are we going on a mission?"
I grabbed a duffel bag and began filling it with her equipment. Clothes, weaponry, anything that we would need later on. Along with my cb radio.
"We're going on a mission. An unsanctioned one."
She rose from her chair and sleepily holstered the two pistols that were laying next to her on the wooden desk. Though she was small and seemingly harmless, her aim was shockingly accurate for her age.
"I mean... everything that Talon does is unsanctioned." Her long black hair whipped around as she spun to face me suddenly. "Hold on. Why are we being so sneaky?"
Her eyes were wide and afraid under the moonlight of her window.
"By unsanctioned, I mean this particular mission... is not for Talon."
"What?! Then I-I can't help you."
"You can." I zipped up the bag and shoved it in to her arms. "And you will."
"I'm trying to prove myself, here, hello! I've been here barely a year, I can't play rogue with you, even if you are my superior!"
"Mmhmm, that's 100% true: you've been here a little over a year. So who do you think they're gonna believe if I tell them that their star pupil has actually been working with Overwatch this entire time?"
She adjusted her glasses with disbelief. "That's not true!"
"That's the point, Airi. I would be lying. This is threat." I paused. I could almost feel bad for her, seeing her posture start to wilt with realization. "I'm threatening you."
"Yeah, okay, I got it..."
She muttered something under her breath, pacing for a moment, but then seemed to accept it with an sight of defeat. "What are we doing? Are we killing someone?"
"You won't. I will."
"Who is it?"
I shot her a look, but she only persisted. "Might as well tell me! I'm your accomplice now, aren't I?"
"The cyborg from Overwatch."
We exited the room with her trailing after me. "The cyborg from Overwatch?" she whisper-yelled in my ear.
I held up my hand to silence her as a guard walked past the upcoming corridor, his shadow cast against the flickering light of his dim candle. I gestured to the next left, and we both ducked into the shadows once again.
"What'd he do to you?"
We approached the rusty metal ladder that led to the city streets above. Luckily, the manhole that covered the entrance was behind an old building that no one but druggies frequented, so we were able to come in and out without raising suspicion.
I flicked on my flashlight and attached it to my belt, leading the way up the ladder. "He thwarted my plans," I told her, a spike of anger in my voice. "A few days ago."
"But no one thwarts your plans!"
"I know. Which is why I need him dead."
"What'd he do? No way... did he beat you up?!"
I looked downward at her, even though she couldn't see my snarl through my mask. "He did not beat me up. He just... anticipated everything. That's all."
"Okay, Sal, don't take this the wrong way... but I have literally never heard you angry before. This is a whole new experience for me..."
I reached the manhole cover and pushed the slab of rock upwards, moving it aside. I hoisted myself up to the top and was instantaneously greeted by the crisp night air.
Then, the bustling sounds of the city of Tokyo rang in my ears.
This particular base had been stationed in the heart of the action for a while. It was the epitome of being hidden in plain sight. Underneath the city, there was a network of cold tunnels that comprised the place.
There were many entrances and exits, but this was the closest one to 24th Avenue, which they had mentioned on the radio.
Once Airi was out, I positioned the slab back over the manhole. "Don't get used to it. Once he's dead, I'm sure everything will go back to normal. I can get these unruly emotions under control."
"I like this better. You're more human, somehow. You're usually so cold..."
"I told you not to get used to it, didn't I?"
What she was saying was the truth. I felt myself losing the steel grip that I had on reality little by little. I wanted the control back. Wanted my unwavering disposition back. Moira always said emotions were good for one thing, and that was wasting the potential of a good soldier.
"Will we get found out?"
I shook my head. "No. I have a plan."
"So I won't get in trouble?"
"...no."
"You're sure?"
"Just shut up, Airi."
She shrunk in shame.
"Sorry."
Sometimes, I forgot that she was still a kid. While she was in Talon, she was missing out on all the experiences of the average teenage girl. I could almost feel bad for her.
The cb radio chimed once again, and I snatched it from the bag and turned up the volume.
"That's it! He's successfully detained the robbers!" the cop exclaimed through the fuzzy interference.
The edges of my mouth twitched into an almost-smile.
I unzipped the duffel bag, pulling out the girl's old school uniform. She was wearing it the day she joined Talon and had subsequently forgotten to get rid of it.
Upon seeing it, Airi scrunched her nose with distaste. "That old thing. What do you have that for?"
I threw it at her. "Put it on."
"For what?!"
"I have a plan."
"You said that!"
"Just trust me."
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GENJI'S POV
The cop opened the backdoor of his car eagerly, and I threw the unconscious pair of robbers onto the leather seats. Making sure that their hands remained tightly bound, I sighed with relief and shut the car door with finality.
It's not like I had planned to do some heroic works on the way to finding (y/n). But if I wanted to find her, I had to be in Tokyo, the center of crime and the likely site of a Talon base. And it's not like I could just turn my back on those who needed my help.
(Y/n) was like that too. She risked her life for the omnic in Hanamura... and insisted on helping me find Cara. In a way, she was once more heroic than I was.
Once.
The cop clapped his hands excitedly, and a couple of his partners walked up to me. "Mr. Genji, I am such a big fan of yours!"
I chuckled awkwardly. "Really? That's... fantastic-"
"Thank you so much for your help! I know not everyone is on Overwatch's side... but I am. You guys are truly something."
"Ah, I appreciate it, but you're the ones policing the streets on the daily. You're truly something, too."
His eyes glistened over with admiration, and it looked as though he was about to burst into tears. "YOU'RE AMAZING!"
The cop was really cool. I couldn't help but grin and give him a thumbs-up. "No, YOU'RE amazing!"
He looked like he was about to pass out with emotion.
One of his partners rolled her eyes. "I apologize on his behalf. He's just a really big fan."
I patted him on the back to stop him from crying as he gushed on and on about how his children had Overwatch action figures and he himself had a shrine to me in his room. Some of the fanaticism was a bit scary, but it was clear he meant well.
It was then that a sudden thought came to mind.
"Hey guys, I'm actually here because I heard there's been quite a bit of Talon activity in these parts. I know that there hasn't been enough concrete evidence for anything yet, but I'd be grateful for any info you could give me surrounding their current whereabouts."
The woman nodded with understanding. "That's right. We're assuming that they're holed up somewhere in the city, but the attacks are so spread out and well-coordinated that we haven't a clue as to where."
I chuckled a bit under my breath. That was (y/n) planning everything for sure. Smartass.
"Well, thanks anyway. I should be off."
"Sorry we couldn't be of more help."
The radio in the cop car suddenly buzzed to life. "All available units, be advised that there is a hostage situation under way a couple blocks North of 24th Avenue. Witnesses state that a high school girl is being held at gunpoint-"
Gunshots sounded in the distance, spilling into the night air.
A/N:
I kept y'all waiting for the longest time.
I apologize for the uneventful chapter, but it's much-needed exposition after my long hiatus. The ongoing craziness in the world has given me time to get back to writing, so please look forward to new chapters these next few days. <3
I hope you guys are staying safe and healthy during these weird ass times.
Thank you for waiting and supporting me. Love you guys always!