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Chapter Text

He probably never intended to kill Jack, it just happened by pure chance. The explosions that brightened the night sky gave him the perfect opportunity of blaming the incident on that man. The fire only grew and took the two seniors with them anyways. The smell of death loomed over every Overwatch member that day, and Gabriel was no exception. He knew Jack had died, and so did he- sort of.
When he came to, Gabriel was a living corpse filled with anguish and disgust. Skin faded to a dry surface that paved his zombie like features.

Gabriel had never screamed so loud in his life after being born into death.

- - -

He recoiled at the memories. Reaper had forgotten a majority of what had happened that night, and would rather not remember quite frankly. The smell of burning flesh and bone seem to probe his thoughts temporarily, and he seethed at anything that gave off the odor. Even so, Reaper had accepted his limited memories as his own identity, creating the death of a man he is today.

Reaper growled again, cursing beneath his breath at his psyche as he looked over a cliff. The dead man was in Dorado, glancing over the glistening sea shore almost in contemplation. He had been surveying the city, screwing around with some of the gang members in a nostalgic tune that rendered useless at this point. Reaper knew little of this area, but would always come back as though it was his home. The man squinted slightly at the dim lights over the city, only managing a few jarring memories of himself as a child. There have been flashes of his past in a painful recollection for years now, ever since the incident.

It has only been recently that he remembered of that pristine man in blue uniform. He remembered that he hated him.

The poster boy look, that cocky smile, the happy go lucky attitude of his... And something else. Ever since his discovery of Morrison, Reaper has had conflicting emotions over it. He doesn't remember exactly who this man was to him other than a colleague. He could possibly be a former friend, but it doesn't seem to matter, Reaper still rules his second death at the fault of Jack Morrison. He clenched his teeth, just the thought of him is enough to put Reaper in a fit of rage. But, he doesn't really know why. The sound of gunshots grounded the man back to reality, and he disappeared in a cloud of black off the ledge he once stood. Only to reappear on top of a run down rooftop that seemed stable enough to put weight on. Looming over the building , he began to listen in on the fury of bullets hitting the walls, with the occasional yelling. Those gangsters may have issued a fight, and Reaper was curious as to what mundane disagreement they might be fussing about.

He thought for a moment, and hovered over to the next building. A massive explosion caught his attention over by a secluded alley, that admittedly caught him off guard. Nonetheless, Reaper waited momentarily for the commotion to die down, and slowly descended off the building, towards the alley. He peeked over in silence, and detected the gangsters writhing in pain over several shell casings and debris. He chuckled to himself, wondering what they've done to piss the rival gang off this much. Reaper crouched, his leather clothing creasing slightly as he surveyed the display of charred walls and bullet holes below him.
Something seemed off however, this didn't appear to be the doing of a rival gang, as it appeared more uncoordinated. Maybe a rogue passed through, or the policía, but the lack of alien ammunition shells that would be scattered across the cement floor made him think otherwise.

He saw a figure rise.
Out of the corner of his eye, a man had leapt up a building and was gazing over one side of the street. Reaper glanced over, the other mans back facing him, and saw the number 76 plastered over his jacket. The dead man shifted slightly, as to not make any sudden noises, and looked over the others weapon to confirm his suspicion.

It was a rifle

Reapers head ached suddenly, he pressed whatever force he could muster through his mask to ease the pain that had randomly occurred. He felt another episode come on, but it quickly faded as the man jumped off the rooftop into what seemed to be another dark alleyway.
Did he do this? Reaper wondered, still jarred from the recent migraine.
After a few moments, he stood up slowly and surveyed the area in an effort to figure out where the other had gone. But realized it seemed useless as, this incident did not concern Reaper in the slightest and opted for heading towards Talon headquarters.

In the dimly lit city, Reaper walked in the shadows feeling rather exasperated. He felt annoyed by the recent headaches so he couldn't muster any energy to complete any possible scouting missions he originally intended to do in Dorado. The dead man peered over his shoulder one last time before heading off towards dusk.

His head still hurt.

Chapter Text

Talon headquarters was dimly lit in most areas, Reaper came to enjoy the dark scenery of damp basements and cold atmosphere. It was his home, that gave off a chilled welcoming every time he stepped into the large guarded doors and was promptly greeted by acquaintances. Reaper approached a meeting area where most members had already left into their dorms, and rested against a table in relief.

"Something is bothering you,"

Widowmaker was leaning on a large door frame, she almost appeared out of nowhere which caught Reaper off guard, and he tensed up.

"This isn't the time to think about that," she tilted her head, almost in annoyance.

"This doesn't concern you," Reaper barked back, scraping his claws against the metal table.

"It does when it tampers with your scouting missions,"
She replied, obviously aware of the others blunder.

Reaper stepped back slightly, huffing in frustration at what had happened earlier that day. The dead man crossed his arms to calm himself over the minor ordeal and spoke slowly.

"...I had another episode, I didn't want to deal with it. That's all."

He saw Widowmaker scrunch her face, unsure wether to be disappointed or not. She only sighed and muttered,

"There is more to it, isn't it?"

Reaper clenched his fists under his arms, his muscles stiffening at the others' assumption. He refused speaking to Widowmaker about his little 'condition' since she would often be apathetic or disinterested about it.

She seemed to have noticed Reaper's uneasiness and snickered softly to herself,

"You're such a child."

She brushed him off, adjusting her weapon over her shoulder before heading out the door.

"It's best you try and scout Dorado again. Just don't mess it up."

"I won't."

She grinned, pulling her rifle beside her and disappeared behind the frame. Which left the room colder than it has ever been.
The dead man growled, these new memories coupled with an agitating colleague is enough to stress him out for a long period of time. Which of course, interferes with his missions.

Reaper glanced over the exit Widowmaker had taken, and strode across one side of the room to reach a stairway. His room was a little ways off from a majority of other Talon grunt dormitories, so Reaper had quite a while to himself.

Right, the memories.

He wished he had forgotten them, but none of of the episodes ended with what he preferred anyways. Reaper creaked his door open, still in a state of irritation and lugged himself onto his stiff bed. Black bedsheets of course. His hand grazed the top of his mask, claws etching its surface that created a soft screech through the silence. He needed more rest, perhaps if he closed his eyes the memories wouldn't bother him so much.

- - -

"Nice shot Reyes!,"

A familiar voice echoed through the training grounds. It was booming yet friendly, he turned his head to view the source and was greeted with golden hair.

"As always,"

Reyes scoffed, pulling his shotgun away and resting it on his shoulders.

"You don't have to compliment me all the time,"

"Hey, you're really not that bad," the other shrugged with a smile,
"The best soldier here deserves it."

"You're killing me Jack."

Jack Morrison?

He set his pulse rifle up along a row of others, fetching a bottled water and handing it to Reyes. He hesitated, but grabbed it, nodding in a thank you.

"Even seniors need breaks Gabriel,"
Morrison patted his colleague in the back, leading him towards the rest area. Reyes chuckled, turning the other cheek in embarrassment. His friend noticed and shook his shoulder in a jovial manner.

"Haha, I know. Quit embarrassing me in front of the younger ones alright?"

Morrison laughed, taking another swig at his water bottle before entering the crowded rest area filled with lockers and playful young adults. They had been training with some of the other Overwatch members, gladly teaching everything they knew. The two soldiers were showered with compliments as they passed by some of the new recruits, and Jack always returned the compliments back, distinctly remembering each members feats. Gabriel likes this about Jack, he always took an extra step in ensuring others health and self-esteem, especially his close friends.
After a quick trip to their lockers, setting aside their gear and picking up towels and soap, the two headed into their own showers. Reyes waited a little longer, for the water to turn hot, just as he preferred.

"You going in?" Jack breathed out, panting slightly at the thick air that omitted next to him.

"In a bit, I take long showers anyways so it's alright if you finish before me." Reyes replied, assorting his soaps nervously,

"Was kind of hoping I'd have lunch with you!" The other laughed, looking over Gabriel's reaction, and remembered the faint scars that creased over his face. Jack's smile slowly faded, looking off slightly as he fidgeted with his belt.

"...Unless I'm a bother, you need space too-,"

"No, no, my colleagues never bother me! It's fine really,"
Gabriel suddenly chimed,
"You just want to learn more from the most skilled member is all..."

He chuckled, Jack joining in on the laugh and playfully nudged his friend. Gabriel then leaned towards the shower, testing the water and figured it was the right temperature for him. It actually wasn't, he admittedly just wanted to finish the same time as Jack so he could have lunch with him as well. When he turned, to his surprise, his friend was already in the shower, rinsing too. Gabriel hurriedly took off some article of clothing with Jack's view only slightly obscured over the shoulder length stall. Jack, still noticed, trying not to giggle under the water. He stopped however, when Reyes slowly took off his beanie and set it aside. He has only seen him without it on few occasions, and it always felt as though Jack has seen his curls for the first time.

"Agh, I need a haircut,"
Reyes exhaled as he entered the stall moments later.

Jack laughed a bit, face covered in his hands as he wiped his eyes. Gabriel paused, looking over the other stall a bit. Jack had fairly broad shoulders and a very muscular figure that was almost indistinguishable behind his gear. The water would trickle down his light skin, and Jack would occasionally fidget his head with his hands still buried in his face. Gabriel noticed he kept glancing over his friend a bit too much and shyly looked away as Jack removed his hands to reach for the soap. Reyes sighed, and continued his routine looking rather red by the end. Jack figured it was always due to the heat of his shower, and snickered at his choice of temperature after leaving the stall. Gabriel always laughed along with him at the remark, but he knew that he was red for another reason.

- - -

Reaper awoke to the sound of sirens, and growled at the sharp noise that echoed through the metal walls. There was a furious knock on the door, followed by several footsteps that passed Reaper's room.

"Sir, there has been a security breach!" he heard a nervous Talon member shriek.

Reaper sighed, quickly opening the metal door that caught the member off guard and reeled back a bit.

"What do you mean?"
The large black figure snarled and the other cowled at his intimidation.

"I'm sorry sir... Sir!"
He quickly collected himself, slinging his gun over his shoulder.

"Security breach, by an unknown rogue at east bay, sir."

"Where is Widowmaker?"
Reaper looked to each side of himself before stepping out and headed toward the location of said rogue. The Talon member hesitated, but followed his superior to answer.

"She is out on a mission with others, we contacted her and she said you would handle it."

Reaper would roll his eyes if he could, typical Widow. He cursed under his breath and walked faster, leaving the grunt to follow quickly behind him.

"Sir, should I call for another squad to accompany you-"

"How many are down there already?" Reaper bitterly shouted as he seemed to be walking at a faster pace.

"Squad 34, 2, and 16. Last I've heard they've all been-"

A radio sound omitted from the side of the grunt, frantic yelling and gunshots could be heard from it, and the two stopped in their tracks. The Talon member quickly listened to it, a few mumbles were all he could hear before it was cut off. He slowly put the radio down, and nervously looked at the tall figure before him.

"... Down. They're all down, sir."

Reaper bellowed a deep growl, and annoyingly pulled out two shotguns from underneath his coat and hurried off. The other, seemingly confused at the sudden appearance of his weapons, caught up to his superior but was stopped.

"I'll handle this myself," Reaper barked, and transformed into a cloud of smoke before disappearing.

The Talon member, was admittedly glad he didn't have to follow.

Chapter Text

The sirens had been blaring through the base for a what seemed to drag on for hours. Reaper grew irritable of the incessant beeps and called for them to be stopped over a mounted speaker that reached a watch room. He pulled away slowly from it after disconnecting, and listened to the few noises that echoed through east bay. Reaper could has sworn he heard footsteps not too far off, he was certainly in the presence of whoever accessed this area of Talon headquarters. His shotguns clicked as he peeked over one corner, only to be greeted by the emptiness of the room.

He grunted, surveying the abandoned control center that had a single panel opened on one side. A few sparks flew from it, which explained how the headquarters received the warning. East bay has be relocated a few days prior due to construction issues, but the area was still being protected. Reaper figures that its connections to the new East bay, renamed section 6, was still unstable. Therefore, many of Talon's information was still logged into the old control center.

Reaper approached another mounted speaker, and called for the current synopsis.

"Files have not been tampered with, only viewed for a short period of time between 22:36 to 22:39,"
The voice from the speaker replied.

"It appears they only viewed a map of the entire facility for about 3 minutes,"

"Nothing was taken?"

"No, we are resuming our system recovery ten fold sir, we are sorry for the inconvenience,"

"That is fine. Increase security for East bay until everything is recovered, and destroyed,"

"Yes sir,"

There was a beep that signaled an end to the call, and Reaper exhaled all the frustration he held in. He was still relieved that nothing essential had been taken, nevertheless, he was still curious as to what motive the rogue may have. Perhaps they got spooked by the sirens even though they intended to search for more files.

Reaper silently wanders over various aisles of dusty shelves, still wary of the presence. But the area was seemingly empty, no other exit was available, so the rogue may have snuck out before Reaper arrived. Reaper clutched his shotguns angrily, but calmed himself before approaching a tattered area of the room, which was littered in papers, dark marks, and of course, his own security squad. Reaper paused for a moment, knowing fully well they were still alive. He stepped over an unconscious body, seemingly uninterested with the Talon member's safety. He kicked another member lightly against their head, and he moaned in pain. Of course they were alright, and Reaper only growled in annoyance. This squad didn't exactly do their job, but he promptly decided to cut them some slack as, nothing significant had been stolen.

"Come on, get up,"
His voice echoed,

"You've only been knocked out, don't you try and tell me you can't walk to the infirmary,"

The withering members groaned, overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of their superior. One stood up, still jarred from the ordeal which caught Reaper's attention.

"You. Who was is that came in here?" He demanded,

The other shook his head, looking around the facility in a confused state.

"The... one that ambushed us...? Uh... I don't know really he... just came out of no where... sir,"

He gulped, still rubbing his sore side and glanced over his other squad members in concern. The Talon member quickly recuperated and stated,

"But... I do remember seeing a bright red lens over a visor... before he took everyone else down..."

"...Really."
Reaper replied, motioning the members to leave the area.

"That is all any of you remember?"
He raises his voice over the others, and they nodded in agreement.

"You may leave," Reaper directed in a low voice, obviously trying to hide the fact he was enraged.

They limped off, and Reaper followed a bit until he was outside, but crossed a different path. He inspected the entire area of East Bay but found nothing of significance. The cleanup crew arrived shortly after, along with extra security guards, but Reaper payed no mind. He simply left without saying another word, and wandered outside headquarters.

Searching Dorado again would be ideal at the moment, as Widowmaker had suggested, but Reaper felt that he could possibly find tracks of the rogue from earlier.

No luck of course.

Reaper scratched the earthy crust of man made cliffs as he strode beside its surface. He was a ways off from headquarters, and these cliffs served as a distraction from their location. Regardless, the area was fairly deserted. With the exception of a few rocky spots that could potentially harbor some suspicious activity. Reaper debated on looking over these areas, but the odds of finding anything were slim, as they weren't large to, say, have somebody hide behind the rocks. It had already been 2 hours since the dead man had surveyed the surrounding brush and cliffs, and decided to travel a bit further before heading back to headquarters. Still, nothing. Another half hour had passed and Reaper clasped his hands together, they were a bit dusty from turning stones. But as he headed back, he noticed some untouched area of dirt had been tampered with. Reaper had passed by that location, and the ground hadn't been walked over at all. It was by a cliff side, so Reaper turned in that direction, clearly fixated on something out of one heap of rocks.

Out of the many shades of warm colors, there was a distinct sliver of blue. Reaper breathed, slowly approaching the small crevice by the cliff. Once he was out of view, he pulled out his shotguns and paused.

"It's you." He said flatly,

Reaper turned his head slightly, the soldier was directly behind him.

"You're more clever than I thought... you even broke into my base. And for what?"

His whole body moved, and Reaper was now face to face with this 76 man he had seen briefly not too long ago. Or, at least he would be if the other even had a face, which was covered by silver mask and red visor. The soldier was armed, with that same rifle Reaper had seen before.

He winced, another migraine had crawled up his head again, but Reaper was determined not to show any sign of weakness.

The soldier shifted, lifting his pulse rifle towards the grim man and said in a stern voice,

"I'm not here for you, I suggest you move out of the way."

Reaper exhaled quickly, a sharp pain surged through his skull at an even faster pace. This was not the time to be at this state, but he stood his ground.

"Don't...think you can just leave without repercussion."

Before Reaper could lift his weapons directly in front of himself, the soldier dashed to the side and Reaper quickly fired in his direction. All of his shots seemingly missed, as the soldier rolled onto the dirt to pick up a blue object sitting between some large rocks, which Reaper mistook for the other. It appeared to be ammunition, but Reaper only focused back to his target after noticing. He dashed to the side in an effort to halt the soldier, and the other fired in his direction. Reaper transformed into his wraith form, the bullets passing through him yet rang in his ear annoyingly. The dead man disappeared, leaving the soldier in disbelief as he searched around the area. He side stepped towards the opposite direction of the crevice in an effort to escape, his breathing evenly paced. The soldier heard occasional laughs surrounding him, and he froze. He spun in a different direction and suddenly fired his helix rockets just beside himself where Reaper had reappeared.

"Agh-!"
He cried out, falling into the hard ground as the smoke around him vanished.

The withering man on the ground clenched his chest, sections of his clothing were torn from the impact. He only viewed the others legs from his angle, but Reaper was determined not to let the soldier get away, and desperately clawed at the dirt in an effort to grab him, but to no avail.

"...You... who the hell even are you-"
Reaper muttered weakly. Despite this injury, Reaper was more focused on this infuriating migraine.

The soldier paused, aiming the rifle towards the one on the ground. That weapon was the bane of Reaper's existence at this point, it was the source of the troubling memories that have been flashing through his head recently.

"I don't have a name anymore, just a soldier, Soldier 76."

He walked off, boots crunching against the dirt while Reaper laid there, motionless. All he could see was the soldier walking into the distance, traveling further every time he blinked. The flashes of memories never ceased, and Reaper didn't move an inch whilst his episode resumed. He suddenly remembered why the number 76 meant so much to him.

- - -

Reyes pulled his arm back, a jolt of pain crept through his arm as he carefully removed the bandages on his right hand. He wiggled his fingers a bit so it would distract him from the pain, and heard a faint knock on the door frame.

"Hey, brought some antibiotics- uh, what are you doing.."

Jack had come through the open door, and kneeled down to the other. Reyes was apparently on the floor, leaning against the bed and looked quizzically at Jack as he bent to his level.

"My bed is right there, I won't get mad if you dirtied it.."

A smile formed on Gabriel's face, which in turn made Jack laugh and he led him onto the bed.

"So humble, but reckless too,"
Jack handed the medicine, smirking a bit.

"Yup, that's me."
Reyes scoffed playfully, glancing over Jack's features.

"Umm, Gabriel." Their eyes met, and Reyes quickly looked off and spoke,

"Yeah?"
He pretended not to focus on the others question, and was carefully applying a fresh bandage to his palm. He was still incredibly nervous at the silence throughout the room.

"...Thank you, for yesterday, I never got to say that while you in the recovery room."

Reyes paused, looking over his burnt hands, one of which was still covered in old bandages.

"What we do is pretty much a thankless job, but thank you, I appreciate it."

He tried not to sound too serious in front of his friend, but admittedly struggled with sounding nervous as well.

"I know, I just, realized how much you... meant to me that day."

Reyes gulped, he swore he felt his heart jump out of its place when he said that.

"...Like I could've been crushed by the boiler if you didn't.."

Jack breathed, looking over his friends injuries while remembering the incident from yesterday. A manufacturing building had collapsed and while many Overwatch members had escaped, Reyes and Morrison were left to ensure no survivors had been left behind. Reyes distinctly remembered the fear in Jack's eyes as a large heated boiler collapsed from its frame and was headed in Jack's direction. Without thinking, Reyes ran towards the falling boiler, and pushed whatever force he had to stop it from falling on his colleague. The heat was so intense it nearly shredded through his gloves and severely burned a majority of his hands. Reyes shuttered at that thought, and turned his head towards him.

"I had to act fast, I couldn't let my friend get hurt."

The word 'friend' was actually difficult for Reyes to say out loud. He chest ached a bit whenever it was ever referring to Jack.

The other smiled, bringing a hand to Gabriel's shoulder.

"I owe you my life Gabe, thank you."

He shivered at Jack's words, and only realized how close the two of them were. Reyes avoided his eyes, seemingly nervous but built up enough courage to look again. Jack was staring straight at him with his blue eyes, and Reyes inhaled quickly. His head leaned down a bit and managed a smile, muttering something almost too quiet for the other to hear,

"You mean a lot to me too, Jack."

He exhaled loudly, and quickly patted him on the back before standing up, and collecting his antibiotics. Jack blinked a little in disbelief, his ears turning a little pink.

"I'm getting lunch, wanna come?"

Reyes spoke by the door, with a smile.

"...I just ate, but uh, take care of those wounds-"

"You're not my dad."

Reyes joked, Jack bursting into laughter while waving him off and Reyes disappeared behind the door after saying goodbye.

Jack only sat in the silence of his room, gripping his mouth awkwardly. He looked at the spot Reyes was sitting on, and placed a hand over its sheets, gripping it slightly. Jack felt odd at this moment, and it bewildered him why he was acting so strangely. His thought was quickly interrupted when his stomach growled, he was hungry of course. Jack never ate today however, he just really needed time to think.

Chapter Text

"I'm so god damn weak, that bastard!"

The dead man hollered, fumes of smoke engulfing his wounds as he leaned against the cliff side. His episode didn't last for long, as the morning heat quickly woke him. Reaper was furious at this point however, he felt useless against that Soldier 76, and only because of that damn rifle. He wished to tear that man apart and make him suffer, just out of spite. Reaper absolutely refuses returning to the base without anything to show for it. He's angered by his lack of focus in the brawl that he feels inclined to hunt the soldier down before returning. The dead man shook his head, Soldier 76 couldn't have traveled far, and even so, Reaper had a good indication where he'll end up.

The soldier prompted himself on a ledge, away from the commotion of people by the streets. His rifle sat idly by as he started rubbing off any residue that may have stuck to it from earlier. The ammunition he had recovered, was placed neatly in one of his side pockets. No mascot wearing thief was snatching it from him this time. A thumb rubbed over his own cheek, and there was an ash like substance. It was from that ghostly man certainly, and the soldier turned his head in the direction of the town folk in an effort to wipe the incident from his memory. He shouldn't let his guard down, but being in the presence of other beings put his soul at ease. Being a lone wolf does deprive you of human contact, and even emotions.

Soldier 76 couldn't rest easy anymore however, there was a commotion in an alley of the town, which was followed by an explosion. The soldier nearly leapt, and inspected the smoke that filled the previously clear sky. Screams we're echoing throughout the small alleyways and he quickly tried to reach for his weapon beside him.

His vision was spurred, a black figure loomed over him as the explosion flushed behind the soldier. A foot pressed itself against his pulse rifle as the smoke cleared, revealing the dead man he had encountered. A chuckle formed within himself as he shoved the weapon to the side of the tattered roof. The soldiers gaze was followed by various Talon members emerging from the second floor, clinging to the edge, and aiming in the his general direction.

"No where to hide you old fool."

The dead man chuckled, lifting his two shot guns at the one bellow him.
In a hasty breath, Soldier 76 scrambled towards the corner of the rooftop, narrowly missing the shots that followed. His efforts were worthless unfortunately, as the soldiers fired ruthlessly at the soldier, causing him to roll over in pain.

Reaper steps towards the man, while other Talon members pick the soldier off his feet, cuffing him in the process. He gave a few tugs at his restraints, weakly shoving against the various enemies that surrounded him.

"You're coming with us,"
The Reaper muttered, bashing his shotgun against the soldiers head in a swift motion. Followed by blackness.

"Morrison,"

He heard a familiar scraggy voice, followed by emptiness.

- - -

The air felt cold, floor paved in rough concrete that scratched over the skin's surface. He winced under his restraints that weren't malleable at the moment. Yet managed to push his shoulders forward slightly, so that he could lean on one side. The soldier squinted under the visor, which painted everything he viewed in a deep red. He almost didn't notice the shadow of feet from the door, until the small light source was covered. Soldier 76 heard a few voices over the ambience, his head throbbing under the tight rope.

After what seemed to drag on for an hour, the voices were suddenly hushed, and the room fell quiet. He took notice, holding his breath in as the large metal door before him opened.

Five men stepped out, one holding the door as the others followed in a timely fashion. The soldier on the floor stopped shifting and stared at the five Talon members, faces covered and cold.

"Don't move, or..."

One of them spoke, and lifted his weapon slightly,

"You know."

There was a small chuckle when he said that, three of the members approached the fallen man and lifted him by the shoulders and restraints. The lone soldier grunted at his exhaustion, unable to support his own weight from the lack of movement in his cell.

"Not so tough now huh?"

One of them took notice of the prisoners tired nature and gripped onto his chin,

"You've been a real pain in the ass,"

The soldier jerked his head, refusing to speak in terms of his Talon foils. His head pulsed, trying to recollect his last memory. Right, the mysterious shadow man. His appearance ruled ridiculous at first glance, the soldier had only received rumors of this so called Reaper and his advanced weaponry. His stubbornness however, got 76 where he least expect it, so he was flushed in this unfortunate situation.

Suppressing his whines made the pain less noticeable to the enemy, prompting some of the Talon members to sneak in occasional punches to the gut. The soldier grunted slightly, pleasing some of his enemies for their efforts.

"You know he won't talk that easily,"

One of them muttered, poking his rifle against the soldiers temple.

"He will,"

Another chimed in, pushing the gun down from Soldier 76's head.

"We just have to break him,"

The bounded soldier looked up slowly, his panting almost resembling a growl. The members that held him threw his body against the wall, a jolt of pain rose from the his numb figure. Much of the Talon members chuckled at their prisoners anguish, fiddling with some of his clothing. Tough leather-like fingers traced over his pale skin, and trembles at the touch of every new rough hand. A stifled exhale barely escaped the soldiers lips as one Talon member held a firm grip at his throat. He was disoriented by their efforts, still struggling under the weight of his enemies as more hands rummaged over the soldiers body. Several hasty breathes continued to escape him, 76 had become light headed over the two pair of hands grasping his throat. The once loud chuckles and rummaging quieted down as the soldiers body grew weak, and the struggling halted.

"We're not done,"

One Talon member growled, fidgeting with their heavy duty pants. The bound man lifted his head up weakly, just registering the position he is in- all members had surrounded him, occasionally rubbing some parts of his exposed skin.

The soldier nearly gasped as he looked down, his jacket had been unzipped, shirt pulled over his neck, and a flaccid dick poking out of his unzipped pants. He jerked his head to the side out of embarrassment, and anger, whilst noticing that his gear had been thrown to the side of the dark room.

"You will talk, but first..."

The enemy in front of him spoke pleasantly, pulling out a small wrapper from his pocket. The soldier immediately jerked his body back, the members behind him laughed, roughly shoving him towards the other again.

"There won't be much fight left in you once we're done.."

"We'll be taking turns in getting the answers out of you-"

"How's that sound? You old coot,"

The soldiers chest heaved up and down rapidly as soon as he felt his legs spread apart. They were definitely going to do this to him.

He ached to escape their touch, to scream, to just disappear, but it seems that Jack Morrison will be living through this nightmare, again.

Chapter Text

Soft thuds can be heard through the gray walls, any moral individual would inspect it curiously, unfortunately Reaper was no moral man. He knew what was causing such a noise as he leisurely walked up the rusty spiral staircase. Talon knows just how to torture a poor soul, the man thought.
As he trudged by, steps scraping closer to the newly accompanied cell, Reaper heard the grunts and shuffling of multiple individuals. He stepped back, listening intently before adjusting his belt like molasses. There was a distraction, but familiarity to these noises he couldn’t put together in the moment. Sure the torture is expected but... why so many people? Were they in trouble? Had the rogue incapacitated his troops without his knowing? The flashes of insecurities only angered the dead man, and without thinking he shoved the slightly rusted door open in relative ease with a clawed hand on his holster. This rogue isn’t getting away this easily.

And he wasn’t.

Among the sudden movement of Talon members looking up at their superior in shock, lays the supposed prisoner. Partially clothed and exposed amongst his enemies, he grunted at the sight of an unfamiliar shadow. At the same time, some members have hurriedly composed themselves, in embarrassment and guilt. Reaper had hardly noticed the awkward atmosphere and was mostly fixated on the tattered prisoner.

“Ah- sir we..”,

“You see there was...”,

“Shit it’s not what it looks-“,

The couple members had all interrupted each other in an explanation, Reaper only grunted in annoyance lifting an arm that caused everyone to flinch.

“Some LIGHT torture was what I asked... this is unacceptable and....”,

He trailed off, looking at the rogue in anger. This feeling was accompanied by a sweet aversion to his next words.

“... disgusting,” he merely spewed out, waving at his troops to leave.

As they did so with tails between their legs, Reaper grabbed one by the collar and growled into his ear.

“Bring me throwaway clothes.. and I won’t mention this to anyone,”

With a slight nod the troop nearly leapt out of the unwanted grasp, leaving the cell cold and barren.
With a sigh, Reaper turned his back from 76. He kept twisting his body back and forth trying to decide what his next action should be. Eventually, he slowly turned back around, head turned as he approached the over-encumbered man. Knelt down to his side, his mind nearly blank at the situation- Reaper abruptly removed the restraints from the other. 76’s arms fell on top his lap and quickly leaned over in an effort to shield his partially nude self.

The dead man, still looking off in the cell kept his breathing steady in great effort. Unable to form the correct words, he sighed in annoyance and stood up once more.

“You shouldn’t expect an apology,”

Reaper expressed flatly as the other man stayed silent.

Although he seemed distant and uninterested, Reaper had many thoughts spiking through his head the moment he pulled open the cell. He supposed his mind froze as a defense mechanism, and as a result, related so coldly. Is that not normal for him though?
It seemed the opposite was true for the one laying in misery- head hunched and vibrating slightly.

“That isn’t what I-“,

Reaper stopped himself, taking a couple steps back as he hears thuds outside the cell. Why should he care? This is his prisoner, but what happened to him hit a soft cord within the dead man and he wasn’t sure why.

His head jerked, claws reaching into the crevices of the ancient mask as the rhythmic thuds grew louder. Another migraine, another episode, how he dreaded their consistency. But just as the episode began, it stopped when an arm reached out for the ajar cell door. Attached were the items per Reaper’s request.

“H-here sir...”,

A meek voice interrupted,

His boss took a moment to respond, until he reached up to clench the clothes slowly, and pulled away. This terrified the subordinate, who rushed away after mumbling a couple thank-yous under his breath. As the foot steps faded, the air became riddled with a sense of uneasiness. Reaper had this anxiety of interaction overcome him in this silence, suddenly the meager act of handing something to someone turned into a mental feat. The sudden sharp inhale of another man’s attempt to hide his emotions centered Reaper back into reality. Approaching the other, he gestures towards the clothes on hand before dropping them to the cold floor.

“We’ll be back tomorrow,” the dark man said,
“No funny business either,”

And with quick pace, left the room and locked it behind him. He could only imagine what the rogue must be thinking, horribly, he thought. Was that not the point? But Talon isn’t known for interrogations, hell not this division at least. At this time he and his colleagues are not equipped for that, why else would they have done.... that.

There was a soft click of an elevator door opening in front of the dark man, out came her majesty.

“Oh god,” he thought, but remained as calm he could.

“What are you doing here?” Reaper muttered sarcastically in an attempt to break his anxiety,

The soft glow coming from her augmentations blinded the man for a second, as it was nearly pitch black down here with the withered and unused lights. But he knew exactly who it was regardless with it’s purple outline. Sombra.

“I missed you too,” she snickered, “I was just in the neighborhood, thought I’d stop by... but I couldn’t find you anywhere!”

Sombra shifted her gaze just behind him briefly, and back up before he noticed.

“But I saw some cabróns coming out of here and figured something might have happened-“ she paused.

“We got a rat?” A smile crept upon her face.

“Something like that. He’s incapacitated.” He stated flatly, trying to shut her off from pressing even further. Knowing Sombra, this would only make her more curious.

“Aw, guess I was too late in the interrogation, should have had me deal with him before you beat him senseless,” she pouted, holding open the door as it dinged to close.

With long strides, Reaper stepped inside the elevator, pressing the floor button and waited to rise back into his station. All while getting increasingly annoyed at Sombra’s presence. If she had an aura, it’d be smirking and laughing at him right now. With an exhale, he broke the silence with the small walls.

“I’d say it’s good timing, you could try figuring out his m.o.”

“You think I don’t have better things to do?” Sombra leaned over as if to see his reaction, his mask of course disallows that.

A pause, met with with a self assured “No,” followed after in a self absorbed tone. Sombra huffed in response as to not laugh at this man’s attempt at humor.

“You already know I wouldn’t pass this up! Give me an hour and I’ll even find out where his grandparents lived-“

“Tomorrow,” he interjected abruptly.

“Eh?” Sombra raised a brow.

The elevator door dinged as it shifted open, and a gush of warm air from the floor filled the once cold shaft. Reaper stepped out, leaving Sombra to question his motive.

“I’m not made of time you know... I could start right now!” She leapt out of the shaft, in an attempt to catch up to the larger man.

“Then make time,”

She smiled, following just behind Reaper’s shadow. There was an anxious tone to his words that couldn’t be masked for someone like Sombra. Something had sparked inside this man just recently and she wants to find out what it is. Tomorrow can’t wait, she thought, this had to bring an interesting plot onto the table. And that rogue has something to do with it.