#you KNOW its bad when the man who (partially?) severed his hand in a rally horror crash for 30 minutes before having it reattached

[andromedasummer]

its been months but every time i remember robins injury in mexico i get so mad. guy went to race in a wec race when he recovered and robert kubica, who drives the other car in robins team, was like ''hey hows your hand— HUH thats bad! let me know if you want tips on driving one handed!" like bro kubica thought his hand injury was bad. fucking KUBICA.

[patrickstargang]

The Firelord’s Promise (Kyoshi fic)

Chapter 1: Nomad’s Land

Chapter 2: A Bureaucrat's Word

Chapter 3: Throw Away Your Honor, Rally In The Streets

Chapter 4: Unfortunate Truths

Chapter 5: A Change For The Better

Chapter 6: The Roles We’re Given

Chapter 7: To Save A Life

Final Chapter: I’ll Always Be With You

*this fic contains massive spoilers for Shadow of Kyoshi

The distance from Yokoya to the Fire Nation wasn’t particularly far, but sometimes a sky bison could be unreliable in long distances. It didn’t help that everyone from the estate (minus Aunt Mui) decided to join in on Kyoshi’s “diplomatic” meeting with the Firelord. Even the Flying Opera Company begrudgingly tagged along as back up. They weren’t in support of dabbling with the authorities but they still swore loyalty to their brothers and sisters.

They found themselves in a canyon, the slightly rougher areas of the Fire Nation wilderness that bordered the capital. To get to the capital was about a day’s journey on foot, but it was already nearing dusk. Everyone made camp while the sun was beginning to set.

Kyoshi stood away from the camp, attempting to earthbend, something that should be more than familiar to her. While her state of bending improved since the day Hei-ran arrived at the estate, Kyoshi still found herself struggling with bending. She lifted up a large chunk of the ground in front of her, but it began to swivel around as she tried to push it forward. It was fragile and unbalanced, crumbling before it could make impact with anything. Her face strained as she tried again, feeling like it was more of an effort than it should be.

Rangi noticed Kyoshi struggling, seeing the Avatar having to face the obstacle of basic bending was a sorry sight. But Rangi remembered her promise, and she knew what to do in a moment like this.

She walked up behind Kyoshi, observing the towering girl as she tried to hold another chunk of stone before it collapsed. “Having trouble?”

Kyoshi shook her head with a stoic face. Rangi then stood in front of her with a knowing smirk. “Are you sure?”

Kyoshi then remembered the promise she made to Rangi, to be more honest with her when she needed to. She exhaled, letting the fourth attempt at shifting earth fall to the ground.

“I’ve just been having trouble with bending lately. Like yesterday, I couldn’t even bend a puddle, now I can’t even bend my native element.”

Rangi began to understand the severity of the situation. At first, she thought her superstition about the Avatar not learning the elements in order was becoming true, but she knew that saying that wouldn’t help. So she had other ideas.

Rangi lightly tugged on the sleeve of Kyoshi’s kimono, getting her attention. “How about some firebending practice? This time we can actually start with fire fists.”

Rangi stood back and reeled her arm behind her and swiftly let out a quick but forceful flame from her fist, like a sudden fiery jab. Kyoshi observed, noting the delicate details she might have missed the first time she properly learned the technique. She copied her motions to the best of her ability, only to have produced a light spark from her knuckles. She hid her face in her hands, filled with aggravation.

“I don’t understand! I was fine a few days ago, now it’s like my bending disappeared overnight.”

Rangi’s concern grew, she wasn’t sure if this was something that she could help with. Jinpa stood off to the side listening to their conversation, but after Kyoshi’s last statement he decided to join the group.

“Maybe it has something to do with your chi flow,” said Jinpa while stroking his chin.

Kyoshi remembered her lessons about chi flow at the Air Temples. She learned about its place as the energy that connects all life, more or less the ultimate life source. But she also learned that it is the life force of the bender , giving them the powers they possess. And as a result, she learned about chi block, an instance where bending is rendered almost useless by some physical or mental obstacle. She wasn’t being attacked in any way so she crossed off physical obstacles from the possibilities. All that was left was the more tricky of the two.

“Honestly I’m surprised you haven’t had a chi block sooner, especially with your run-in with the Yellow Necks.”

Kyoshi remembered the injuries she took from her fight with Xu Ping, which should have been a complete block of her chi from everything the Monks told her. Yet she was still able to bend after her recovery. So why was this happening now?

Rangi wasn’t entirely knowledgeable about chi, as it was a concept that was never taught in-depth at the Academy. However, she tried to move the conversation in the right direction. “Is there a way to unblock her chi?”

“Well, one way to do that is to connect to your spiritual side. Sometimes this could mean visiting a spiritual place or something as simple as clearing your mind and emotions through meditation. It all depends on how bad your chi block is.”

It was strange for Kyoshi. In terms of being the Avatar, she still had trouble connecting with the spiritual, mainly since most of her encounters with it left her in dire situations. But this gave her an idea.

“Maybe I can try going into the Spirit World, there's nothing more spiritual than talking with your past lives, right?”

Jinpa thought about it for a moment and quickly nodded in agreement. “I don’t see why it couldn’t work.”

But then an air of doubt came over Kyoshi, she looked down. “But at the same time, I’ve only gotten it to work on rare occasions. The only thing I’ve noticed is that I was able to enter the Spirit World whenever I was in a spiritual place, and as far as I know, there aren’t any spiritual places near he-”

Suddenly, a rustling came from the bushes next to camp that caught everyone off guard. It stopped for a moment before rustling again. It also sounded as if voices were coming from them. At that point everyone became alert. Rangi held out a ball of fire in her hand and Kirima brought a stream out from her water skin, ready to attack. Kyoshi got into her earthbending stance before she remembered her chi block, awkwardly dropping her hands.

Rangi stepped toward the bush, a stern authority in her voice. “Who's there! Show yourself!”

Suddenly, four different people rolled out from the small bush. They were wearing light Fire Nation clothing with long sleeves and carried small bags and satchels. One of them, a somewhat scrawny man with a big beard and spectacles, held up his hands trying to stop the tension.

“Hey, hey, we mean no harm! We didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

Kirima raised an eyebrow. “Oh really, then why don’t you explain what you're doing out here in the first place. Who are you people?”

At that moment, Jinpa noticed something about the group. They were all wearing necklaces, more specifically necklaces made from fire lilies. Jinpa’s eyes widened. He moved past Rangi to meet the group.

“You-your all nomads, aren’t you.”

The bearded man smiled at the sudden recognition. “Yes my good man, more specifically we’re Fire Nation nomads.”

Kirimia and Rangi slowly let their guard down, both confused at Jinpa’s interaction. He shook the bearded man’s hand, keeping his polite demeanor.

Kirima walked up to the group of nomads. “That still doesn’t explain what you're doing out here.”

“Why, we’re out on a spiritual journey to find enlightenment. We’re here to find Szeto’s Pillar.”

A feeling of suspicion came over Kirima. “Szeto’s what?”

The bearded man turned off to the side and pointed out into the distance. “Szeto’s Pillar.”

Surrounded by a sea of cooled molten rock stood a towering, monolithic pillar of stone. With its height, it was able to partially block out the sun as it was setting.

The bearded man continued to gaze off into the distance. “During the age of Avatar Szeto, one of the volcanos near the Fire Nation capital was erupting, causing mass hysteria and panic for the people. But Szeto stopped the magma flow from the safety of his stone pillar. Now, these volcanoes will stay dormant for years to come. This pillar has become a sort of sacred spot, a place to stand where one of the great Avatars once stood.”

This gave Kyoshi an idea. Not only did she have a spiritual place to unblock her chi, but this could be an opportunity to speak with Szeto. She was able to contact Kuruk and Yangchen, this could be the next step.

She turned to Rangi, whispering so the nomads wouldn’t overhear. “This might be my chance, if I can get my chi flow back by tomorrow we’ll be able to make it into the capital safely.”

Rangi let out a light chuckle, realizing this was Kyoshi’s way of asking to leave. “You don’t have to tell me twice, go on ahead.”

Kyoshi smiled and kissed Rangi on her forehead before starting a light jog towards the Pillar.

The bearded man halted his conversation with Jinpa to note Kyoshi’s sudden leave. “Gee, your friend there is pretty excited to see the Pillar.”

Jinpa nervously rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, she can be a bit….enthusiastic sometimes.”

The bearded man let out a hearty laugh before surveying the area. “Well, it looks like you're all settled in pretty nicely, I guess our journey can wait till tomorrow. But in the meantime….”

The bearded man and the other three nomads all pulled out jars filled with a strange looking liquid.

“Who wants to drink cactus juice and find spiritual enlightenment!”

-----------------------------

Night quickly came over the canyon, the campfire lit up the darkness and spirits were high. Mostly. The nomads were already in full swing with some of their “spiritual” exercises. Jinpa decided to join in to varying degrees of success. He thought that cactus juice was a spiritual cleanser, like what onion-banana juice was back at the Air Temples. Now he was laughing hysterically at the wildlife and his own airbending while the nomads incoherently argued about who opened the most of their seven chakras.

Kirima and Wong were both amused and terrified at Jinpa’s state. The airbender was known to be somewhat of a stickler for good behavior, but now he had no regard for proper manners. Hei-ran looked as if her soul was leaving her body, watching everything that was unfolding alongside the other two members of the Flying Opera Company. She had her blackboard and chalk but even her words couldn’t communicate the confusion and distaste she felt. Atuat almost tried the cactus juice, but after seeing how Jinpa fared after trying it she decided against it.

Rangi half paid attention to the antics that were taking place, but part of her mind was elsewhere. There was a lot of uncertainty for what tomorrow would hold. Even though she was the Avatar’s bodyguard, she was also part of the Fire Nation military. Now she would have to face the idea of going against her own nation’s leader. She had fought to stop corruption in many other parts of the world, but it was a different beast to deal with corruption in her own home. If Zoryu had not kept his promise, then that means Rangi would have to go against her own code of honor.

But then another thought came to her. She had said before that she wished to share the greatness of the Fire Nation with the rest of the world, but with everything that was happening she was beginning to question how true that “greatness” really was. The more she thought about it, the more it upset her. The Saowan clan was charged not for the few people that were creating pushback, but for the entire clan itself. Chaejin and Huazo obviously had their hand in starting a commotion but there were those who were arrested without knowing what was even happening. It made her stomach churn.

But then she became much more grateful for Kyoshi, she could have pretended that Zoryu’s treatment of the Saowan clan never happened and let them all be imprisoned, or worse. But she didn’t. She became a headache for both Zoryu and the chancellors. The Firelord was trying to make an easy solution for a not so easy problem, which might cause greater harm to his people and his own status than he may realize. Kyoshi wasn’t out for what she believed was revenge, she was out for stopping injustice enacted by those who were the supposed preservers of justice. But the possibility of killing Zoryu was still a thorn in Rangi’s side, the consequences for it could be much greater than the Saowan’s imprisonment. What could Kyoshi be gaining if she went through with it?

Then on that thought, Rangi realized Kyoshi was still at the Pillar even though hours had already passed. She might be having trouble getting into the Spirit World. Rangi remembered her promise to Kyoshi, as she got up from her seat.

She leaned over to Atuat. “I’m going to go check up on her. Could you keep an eye on Jinpa for me?”

The healer chuckled lightly. “Don’t worry sweetie, I’ll make sure he doesn’t embarrass himself...well any more than he already has.”

As she said that, Jinpa was reaching for another glass of cactus juice before Hei-ran took the drink out of his hands and threw it into the bushes.

------------------------------

The terrain of the cooled magma was uneven, like trying to maneuver through a valley filled with millions of small hills. Rangi skipped from the peak of each mound, getting closer to the Pillar. Once she arrived, she noticed a stone stairway around it, one that was built at some point after Szeto’s time. She ascended to the spiraling staircase, noting just how tall the Pillar actually was. Once she made it to the top, she found her Yokoya girl meditating.

At least that's what it looked like at first. As Rangi moved closer she could see the strain in Kyoshi’s brow, like someone trying their hardest to look as if they were at peace. Kyoshi let out a soft sigh and opened her eyes. She turned her head to see Rangi.

“Still having trouble?”

Kyoshi looked back out into the distance, feeling the soft breeze that such a high spot gave her. “Yeah….But I’m still not getting anywhere. I’m the only one who can bend the four elements and communicate with the Spirit World and right now I can do neither of those two things. Some Avatar I am, huh….”

Rangi gave her a concerned pout. “You seem to forget really quickly don’t you,” she said as she shifted to sit beside Kyoshi. “You may think that you have to face your Avatar duties alone, but you don’t. I’ll be here for you, even if I can only help a little.”

Kyoshi’s sardonic tone quickly changed to sincerity. She didn’t forget, but it was still nice to remember that Rangi meant what she said that night. “Thank you….”

“Now, maybe you just need a partner,” Rangi crossed her legs and put her hands together in the same position that Kyoshi was in. “Try breathing with me.”

Kyoshi straightened herself and closed her eyes, waiting for Rangi’s orders. It was like doing Horse stance again, except without the pain in her legs.

“Now do as I do…..In.”

Kyoshi inhaled at her command, letting it linger as long as it needed to.

“And out…..”

She exhaled through her nose. Already she had a greater sense of flow than she had when she was alone.

“In…..”

She inhaled again, she was fully in sync with Rangi. While the Avatar was uncertain of her many bending abilities, she felt comforted by the fact that she still had air on her side.

“And out….”

Kyoshi could feel Rangi’s warmth beside her, every breath like an ember slowly growing its flame. It was relaxing and stimulating at the same time.

Soon the words were fading out, but she still kept into the flow of her breathing before she was doing it instinctually. Sound began to fade out completely, her mind becoming clear. She stayed in that silence for a little bit.

Then she felt a cool air come over her, like that of a mist coming over the mountains. She slowly began to open her eyes, seeing the abstract clouds that enveloped the Spirit World before she heard a voice. A voice that sounded experienced yet rough.

“It’s about time you showed up, you're a few months late.”

[gduncan969]

The Covid-19 Lost Sheep

Matthew 18:12 - 14 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

John 10:12 “But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”

If things ever do return to normal once this pandemic runs its course, one of the most urgent tasks for the Church of Jesus Christ will be to send out search parties into the highways and byways to find the sheep that have strayed from the fold and bring them back into the fellowship.  If the polls are correct (and early indications suggest they are) about a quarter of those who were regularly attending services before the shut-down have stopped attending altogether either in person or on-line even although the churches are now partially open.  There are doubtless many reasons why they have quit and some may even argue that just because they no longer attend church doesn’t mean they have given up on the Lord Jesus.  That may be true for some but for the majority I fear it may not.  The Lord calls us over and over again to “love one another” (John 13:34-35; John 15:12, 17; Romans 12:10; Romans 13:8; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 3:12, 4:9; Hebrews 10:24; 1 Peter 1:22, 3:8; 1 John 3:11, 23; 1 John 4:7,11,12; 2 John 1:5—Yes! That’s how many times the New Testament commands us to love one another.)  Loving one another goes far beyond a friendly smile on a Sunday morning, good though it is (though hidden behind a mask).  It requires involvement in each other’s lives, not the prying kind of involvement but the caring kind that says, “I just want to know you are OK and that I’m here to help, if you need me”.  It’s the kind of involvement that wants to know and share each other’s struggles and challenges and do what we can to help.  It’s the kind that sees each other as a family held together by “bonds that cannot be broken”, bonds that are stronger than any others outside of the family of God.  Many of those who have given up on the Church are not coming back unless the shepherds go out and find them and the shepherds are those in the Body who love one another enough to care where we are all headed. We are all well aware of how easy it is to let our responsibility to love one another slide—remember, Christian love is an action, not a feeling—and if we don’t halt the slide we will gradually drift apart and fall into old bad habits, ending up as withered branches on the vine (John 15:1) with little or no contact or relationship with the Lord and our fellow believers.  The fate of such branches is simply to be cut off and burned! This is why the Lord joined us to his Body through baptism in the first place, after we made our commitment to follow Him and it is why He warns us that the path to glory in this marathon of life we are all engaged in is steep and narrow while the path to destruction is broad and easy (Matthew 7:14).  Modern medicine has shown that when a human body loses a member—a finger or a toe or even an arm or leg—quick surgery to reattach it can save the lost member because there’s still life in it that can be restored. In the same way, when the body of Christ loses a member, quick action by the Church can restore him or her to fellowship within the Body as a member with a particular use in the Body.  However, the problem right now is that no one, including church leaders are aware of which members of their local bodies have wandered off and left the Church because under the current restrictions there’s no easy way to find out.  We have not been allowed to meet and even now we must distance ourselves from each other!  This is one of the many hidden dangers of closing churches.  Even among those members that haven’t wandered, many are lonely, depressed, fearful, frustrated and even angry, not just at the virus or their government but at their church for failing to meet their need for caring fellowship.  It puts tremendous pressure on the church leadership, especially the pastors, who are trying to be good citizens and tend their flocks while their  hands are tied by rules that forbid them from doing so.  It also puts pressure on the rest of us to make the effort to stay in contact with others in our local bodies to encourage one another but even here we are restricted in our ability to do so.   

What can be done?

When this all started, we were told that the churches had to close to do their part to “flatten the curve” so that our medical services would not be overwhelmed and hospitals would be able to cope with the enormous number of cases that were expected.  However, the curve flattened off in April and the enormous number of cases and deaths never materialized.  New information has come to light showing that over 90% of the deaths attributed to this virus are associated with nursing home and chronic care patients who also had other serious medical issues. Also, the unexpected consequences of the shut down such as depression, anxiety, fear, anger and suicide may be causing more harm than the virus itself.  There is now a growing number of protest rallies against the shut down spreading across the world as a battle-weary public, fed up with the multitude of contradictory instructions given them to follow, displays its frustration at being told how we must now live. This frustration is evident in the Church as the lock-down continues to prevent the Church from fulfilling its ministry in the manner ordained by God under a threat of severe punishment if the rules are disobeyed.  However, our first duty is always to God and it’s to Him, not government, we must turn for direction.  Whilst He has told us in His Word to be “subject to the authorities” (Romans 13:1) we must never forget He is the ultimate authority and always comes first.  Whatever our struggle and despite appearances, He is still the one in control who “has given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.“ (1 Peter 1:4). The damage being done to the Church cannot be allowed to continue and I believe it is time for Church leaders everywhere, both locally, nationally and internationally, to tell governments that the current restrictions to ministry cannot and will not continue. The Church cannot continue to be denied its ability to meet together and must do whatever it takes to fulfill its God-given mandate to preach the full gospel of Jesus Christ in season and out of season, a gospel which sees this plague stopped in its tracks and people set free not just from the virus but from all that binds them whether that be physical illness, depression, anxiety, fear or any other thing.  The world is looking for answers in the midst of all the confusion surrounding this pandemic and If the Church will rise up in demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit and bring relief, there will be a harvest for the Kingdom of God such as has never been seen before.  First, though, the Church must fall on its knees in repentance for past failures to be the salt and light to the world the Lord has made us.  As a chemist, I used to wonder how salt can “lose its savor” (taste) as Jesus speaks of (Matthew 5:13) but later decided the only way this can happen is if it never gets out of the package. I do not believe that the Canadian or Provincial governments acted with malice towards the churches when they cavalierly decided that churches are non-essential.  Rather, it may well be that they saw the churches as nothing but well-meaning bland and tasteless organizations unable to demonstrate the power (light) of the Gospel they preach so they designated us as non-essential. That may be a hard pill for all of us in the Church to swallow but its about to change!

[reapers-carino]

Best Kept Secret redeaux

“I need you to check out a lead for me, mi reina.”

Gabe looked tired.

So goddamned tired.

Serena hadn’t know what to expect when Gabriel had called her to his office so early in the morning, her heart aching as she looked over her mate, her Alpha. She could see the exhaustion in his features; his shoulders sagged, bags heavy beneath his eyes, his head barely held up by two of his fingers. Blackwatch demanded that a toll be paid and Gabriel had paid it in spades; the mirth, happiness and pride that had once filled his brown eyes replaced by mistrust, pain and a soul-crushing sadness. Whether SEP injections or the melanin within his skin, age didn’t show easy on his face but in his eyes it look like the man had seen and experienced enough to have lived centuries.  

Serena envied the members of Overwatch, envied their sister organization’s ability to believe their actions were benevolent and that they were the peacemakers the world made them out to be. She remembered having that naivety, recruited to espionage and spying, believing her skills would be used to better the world in only the ways Overwatch had become known for. But Blackwatch had stolen those rose-colored glasses from her. Years of deep cover, assassinations, espionage, doing what was necessary to get the mission done had stripped both the Alpha and omega of any feelings of righteousness.

Blackwatch was the answer to questionable missions that Overwatch couldn’t do, to handlings that Overwatch couldn’t manage or dealing with terrorists before they became a bigger issue than what they were. Just as every righteous government of a major world power had their shadow organization, the United Nations had Blackwatch. Initially, no one within the Blackwatch sector harbored any ill will, understanding that difficult choices had to be made and choices had to be taken in order to secure the overall safety of the world. But as the years had grinded on the line of necessity began to grow murky before turning outright fluid, invisible. As friends, comrades, brothers-in-arms fell to a cause that no longer had a clear outcome, the confidence of the entire organization shuddered. And it fell squarely on Gabriel shoulders to hold it up.

He rallied his pack back together, told them to believe in one another rather than their cause, all while covertly gathering information on the holders of their reins. The deeper he dug, the fewer people he realized he could trust, the darker and more sinister this entirety of Overwatch and Blackwatch appeared. Jesse and Serena had been the only two privy to this knowledge; the only people he could trust without a doubt as he dug. Initially, Gabe had tried to include Jack but the Overwatch commandeer was having absolutely none of it. Jack’s trust in Overwatch was unwavering, the ‘breadcrumbs’ that Gabriel brought him not enough to deter his stance on the organization’s necessity. Their arguments became volatile, the two Alphas growling and posturing, their twenty-plus year friendship disintegrating under the weight of disbelief and accusations. Attacks against knowledge turned into attacks on personal character, vitriolic hatred saved for their worst enemies suddenly hurled at someone who was practically blood. It only grew worse when the leaks started.

Details about failed missions, stolen or leaked schematics of hypothetical super weapons, partial mission statements and death records of civilian, terrorist and Overwatch agent revealed amongst hundreds of other documents. Ambivalence had fallen over the organization that had once been beloved which soon turned to utter mistrust when the existence of Blackwatch was revealed. External fights became internal, turning friend against friend and soldier against soldier. Jack and Gabe were barely holding their organizations together, each organization crumbling from the inside out. Between the sensitive leaked information about Overwatch, deaths of prominent Overwatch agents, the reveal of the existence of Blackwatch, the world had started a witch hunt and it was time to get the hell out of dodge. Jesse had left first with Gabriel’s blessing, but his protege couldn’t convince the Blackwatch leader to leave himself and Serena refused to forced out without her mate.

Moving across the room, Serena’s hands lightly twisted his chair so the man could face her. She moved into his space, arms wrapping around his neck, gently pushing his head to her shoulder. His hands encircled her waist, squeezing tighter and tighter as if he was afraid she might disappear if he loosened his grip, pressing his face against her scent glands and inhaling deeply, soaking in her calming energy. Serena’s fingers lifted, gently combing through the thicket of black curls on his head, the warm, comforting action combined with her scent easing some of the tension out of his body. The both of them stood that way for several moments before Serena leaned back in his arms, hands dragging from his hair and to his face, pulling him away from her neck to look him in the eyes. Her milk brown eyes stared into his darker ones, her thumbs rubbing his jaw in small, soothing circles.

“I got you my king”, she responded softly, nodding assuredly. “What do you need me to do?”

Overwatch may have had many issues but if there was one factor everyone could agree with, they ensured all agents were treated equally. When one was recruited, it wasn't as an Alpha or omega or beta, it was as an agent with a recognized and appreciated set of skills that could be utilized for the betterment of the world. That is how Serena had earned her spot as the lieutenant commander of Blackwatch, head of the espionage and infiltration unit.

She was a proud omega, her classification as important to her as being a Black or a woman or from ‘Charm City’. Being an omega wasn’t a weakness to be looked down upon but was something she had turned into her greatest strengths. Omegas were unique position of being highly sought after while still being mildly invisible, especially to the overconfident or unassuming Alpha. At first glance they weren’t threatening; they were soft and demure, submissive and accommodating, the soft to an Alpha’s hard. Of course, while there were truths in those stereotypes, omegas came in every flavor and personality one could imagine. But it didn’t matter what was the truth, especially in espionage. As long as they believed it was true, Serena knew she could take advantage of them. The cutting edge technology that Overwatch provided them with assisted her with that as well.

The hard light technology of the Vishkar Corporation had been repurposed into a wearable holographic jewelry, hers’ a pendant that Gabriel had fashioned into a choker on one of their anniversaries. It projected a physical hard light hologram over her entire body, allowing her to completely conceal and change her appearance to her liking or necessity as well as masking her scent from all but her mate. While the appearance altering function was unable to withstand the high paced movement of combat, it was the perfect tool for infiltrating parties, homes, gangs or corporations. The times she did get into a pinch, she was fortunate that the appearance altering construct would drop and switch to a personal shield. Although, it appeared that neither one of those functions would be quite necessary today.

Gabriel had sent Serena to France, had told her that there was a lead in Lyon that may help finally bring to light what was actually happening and who might be causing the schism in their organizations. The building, however, was undistinguished, old and two-stories tall and empty as far as the petite omega could tell. She wandered through the building warily, her microgun unholstered and in hand, prepared to open fire on anything or anyone that stepped out. But with each room she could feel her guard dropping, the empty room completely cleared of anything but dust, dirt and the occasional stray cat. Pulling her hand away from the gun, Serena pushed her hand through her hair with a quiet, vexed sigh. There was only one set of rooms left to go in, and she had yet to sign in. Gabriel always vetted his sources, he hated chasing his own ass and hated wasting time so she knew there had to be something here.

‘He needs a break’, Serena thought to herself as she passed through the threshold of room on the right. ‘He’s starting to lose--what was that?’

The sound of technology whirring up yanked the warm sepia-skinned woman out of her thoughts, body shifting into a battle stance. Her gaze was sharp as it scanned over the room, her thumb flicking the cover of the trigger to the microgun, cautiously moving further into the room. Maybe he hadn’t been wrong.

“Ey!”

Serena’s body slid backwards as a beam of light shot up from the middle of the floor, the high-pitched whirring of the gun giving way to the sound of bullets. The bullets sliced through the light smoothly, the noise filling the room as her ammo embedded itself in the opposite concrete wall. The light flickered for a moment before morphing into a familiar shape--Gabriel Reyes. Incredulity settled on Serena’s features, her brow furrowing as she moved closer, he gun dropping as she stared into the pale life-sized version of the Blackwatch Commander. Slipping her gun back into its holster across her back, Serena moved closer, examining the projection. It wasn’t live, the hologram didn’t follow Serena as she walked from left to right, her hand waving in front of its face questioningly.

“What the hell are you playing at Gabe?”

“Hey princesita.”

A cold chill ran down her spine, a stone settling in her stomach as the nickname hung heavy in the air. He had only called her princesita when there was bad news; when they had found out about Ana, after a botched mission where she miscarried a child she didn’t know she was carrying. He always said that nickname in that sweet and soft voice of his, trying, even through the call, to forcibly calm his omega. It, unfortunately, didn’t work, a ball of panic rising in her chest, her hands shaking as they unconsciously grazed over her mating mark.

“I tricked you”, he said, a sweet tenderness in his voice that made her heart feel as if it was physically breaking, an unheard keen starting in her throat. “I know you, even better than you know yourself, cariño. If you knew what I had found, you wouldn’t have left. You could have gotten hurt and I will be damned if I let you d--if I let you get hurt because of this bullshit. You mean too much to me.”

He choked on the word before he spit out the rest of his sentence in a clipped tone, the hologram’s face contorting into pained anger before it scaled back into exhausted pain. Heart drumming in her chest, Serena moved closer to the hologram, practically chest to chest as she stared it in the face. He was trying to fall on the grenade, to take the brunt of whatever went wrong while protecting all those around him. But this wasn’t fair.

“Gabriel”, she breathed out, distress clear and heavy in her voice as she tried to reason with the hologram. “We promised...we’re mates, you don’t do this baby. We are supposed to do everything together...please…Whatever is going on it’s you and me against the world, remember? You and me!”

Her begging had turned to yelling, a painful hiccup cutting off her breath as anguished tears rolled down her cheeks. This couldn’t be happening. It just...couldn’t. The hologram didn’t respond to her shouting but paused, the expression frozen until her sobs quieted for half a second.

“By the time you wake up”, he started again, his practiced speech making your brow furrow in confusion. “All of this should be over. I don’t know how bad it’s going to get, but I’ve got you. Money, cover, living arrangement. Only McCree knows about this, okay? Take this shit and go.  Don’t be stubborn, just listen to me. Alright? Just this once....If they get close, burn the ring”

A harsh sob racked through her body, an ocean of emotion hitting her all at once. Anger, disbelief, anguish, fear, heartbreak, realization tickling quietly at the back of her head.

‘By the time you wake up’. What did that mean?

The hologram disappeared all at once before gas began to emit from the device, Serena’s eyes going round. Her hands dove into the bag on her waist, going for the gas mask she kept on her side for when she used her nightshade ammo. ‘Shit.’ Her hand faltered as it grabbed the zipper, the woman trying to force her eyes to stay open as she yanked the pouch open. Serena’s right knee dropped to the floor, her body wobbling as she fought against the gas to stay upright. She cursed him mentally as her fingers stopped cooperating, cursed him again as her other knee came crashing down to the floor and her body fell to the side, cursing him once more for sending her away when she knew he needed her. Her final thoughts were consumed with weakening keening sobs and angry thoughts of how much she loved the man that had forced her away to protect her. Her eyes slipped shut as the gaseous concoction finally did its job, her body sprawled out on the dirty floor.