Close Encounter of the Jack Kind
Jan. 13th, 2013 06:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moonshadowsI've just let Reaper into the facility and am settling in, checking all their cameras and making myself at home, when I notice a trail of bodies that we didn't cause. Alarmed, I search for the source. Then I hear Reaper over the com.
"What's he doing here?" he demands, outraged. Then, "I'll fix that."
"Who?" I ask, still trying to find-
"Morrison," comes the answer, every syllable dripping with loathing.
Fuck.
Drop a beacon. Stealthed now, running for all I'm worth, calculating an intercept course and throwing myself at walls to get around corners quicker, and there he is, there they are, facing each other across the - what, courtyard? Parking lot? Who cares. Uncle Jack's got a big, ugly-looking rifle in both hands and Reaper's raising his guns.
"Finally," Reaper growls. "We can finish what we started."
Dash the last dozen yards, skid to a stop behind him, and I drop stealth to grab his hood - because he doesn't have any ears, a girl gotta improvise - and jerk his head back enough to screw up his aim just as he takes the first shot.
"SOMBRA!!"
He's pissed. Too bad, he's about to get more pissed.
"Don't give me that tone," I snap at him. "One of us gotta remember we're here on a mission." Hood firmly in one hand, I start walking back the way I came, dragging Reaper a few stumbling steps backward before he turns around and bends his neck to accommodate my grip and be able to walk mostly forward at the same time. "You are twice my age," I tell him angrily. "How am I the adult here?"
"But...he..."
"Do I look like I give a damn, Papi? We got people to kill, and he not on the list." We're at the door. I shove Reaper at it and let go, both hands on my hips. "Now. You get inside, and you go kill the people we supposed to kill, got it?"
Reaper looks at me, wisping sulkily, wanting to say no but the power of Angry Latina is too strong.
"Don't give me that look. We got a job to do and you know it." Behind him, a brave or foolhardy guard has just realized he has a clear shot at Reaper's back but the first shot catches him in the shoulder. "Go eat that guy," I tell Reaper as he flinches and growls at the hit.
Reaper boils into black smoke and flows to envelop the unfortunate guard, who gives one startled yelp before an uncomfortable squelching, crunching, ripping sound starts. I close the door and turn back to the courtyard to find Uncle Jack standing exactly where he was, dumbstruck. He watches warily as I cross over to him.
"He probably won't come after you again this mission," I tell him. "He gonna be too busy taking his frustration out on them for a while. But I wouldn't tempt him if I were you."
"You were serious," Jack says in awe. "About keeping him from..."
"From killing his old friends? Yeah." There's a lot of gunfire and screaming over the com; good. I sigh. "Look, normally I'd tell you to feel free to have it out with him and shoot him a lot, let you both get some of it out of your system, but with you, I think it would be better if he didn't see you until I got him in a better place where he not got so much bad shit in his life to redirect at you."
"He blames me for what happened," Jack says...sadly? "Is he really still in there?"
"Ask Ana," I answer shortly. "I been in touch with her for a while. I should go babysit Papi, make sure he not being stupid."
"Hey, um..." Jack shifts awkwardly. "I was coming here to kill-"
Pull up a screen showing a name, a face, and a bio. "This guy?"
"Yeah. I guess you're here for the same thing?"
"Oh yeah. He gonna die, no worries."
"Great. Thanks." Then Jack shoulders his rifle and pulls me into a one-armed hug. "I'll talk to Ana."
When he releases me, I reach up and seduce his visor. Good, it has link capabilities. "And I'll warn you if we're going to be in the same area."
"Thank you, Sombra." He looks at the building for a moment. "I hope you can get him to a better place," he says quietly.
"I trying, Uncle Jack. I trying."
He tosses me a two-finger salute and beats a leisurely retreat while I sigh again and tap back into the systems I've breached to locate Reaper and see what he's up to. Killing his way through the compound, good. Activate my beacon, and I'm back in the control room. Time to get what I came for before Reaper gets through doing what we came for.
===
He's silently fuming the whole way back, smoke pouring from his head and upper back but also down his arms and some from his chest. When we get back to the public room, he hesitates but I strike first.
"Into the can," I tell him in a don't-you-dare-argue voice.
I was going to say that I wanted to check his vitals after that mission, but he just dissolves into smoke and flows into the COWA. That's slightly worrying. I close and seal the lid and also give him a dose of endorphins before setting the can onto the table and sitting in front of it on the couch. All the readings come back within normal, which means both that he remembered to eat before we left and also that he sees the can as a place of safety and security. It's heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
"You didn't let me kill him," Reaper accuses.
"We had a mission, Papi."
"I could have taken him."
"I'm sure, but you would have had guests, and what if one of them got the shot before you did?"
He wasn't expecting that. There's silence while he chews on the idea of someone else stealing his kill.
"Point," he finally grinds out reluctantly.
"See? I just looking out for you." It's smug and teasing, inviting him to tease back.
"Sombra," he growls, but it sounds like he's trying not to smile.
"Don't worry, Papi," I tell him soothingly. "I'll make sure that you get a chance to have it out with him, no interruptions."
There's silence for a minute, like he's trying to decide if I'm not telling him something. I thumb the seal and open the lid.
"Your readings are good. You want to sit in the can and think, that's fine, but you don't have to stay there."
Unhappy grumble.
"I will be right here if you need me," I tease. "Just gonna do some work on your swarm."
The grumbling this time only sounds like it's pretending to be unhappy.
I pull up a handful of screens, but the first thing I do is contact Tia Ana.
HAD A RUN-IN WITH JACK.
After a minute or two, I get a reply. YOU? OR GABRIEL?
BOTH. I give her time to roll her eyes and mutter under her breath. NO FATALITIES. ONLY ONE SHOT FIRED, AND IT MISSED.
THAT IS GOOD TO HEAR.
TOLD JACK TO TALK TO YOU. I WANT TO KEEP THEM APART UNTIL... Until what? Until Papi's got his head on straight? Until I'm sure he won't actually kill Jack? Until Talon's a burning wreck behind us?
UNTIL GABRIEL IS READY TO LISTEN? Ana asks.
YES. AND IN THE MEANTIME, I WILL KEEP REPORTING OUR MOVEMENTS TO YOU AND ATHENA. I THINK I'M MAKING PROGRESS ON THE "LISTENING" FRONT BUT IT'S GOING TO TAKE TIME.
I HAVE FAITH IN YOU, Ana types.
Somehow, that just makes me remember Reaper's assertion that his old friends wouldn't want him back. I AM DOING THE RIGHT THING, AREN'T I? IF I CAN GET HIM CLOSER TO GABRIEL AGAIN...
I WILL WELCOME MY OLD FRIEND GLADLY, NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES.
Good enough. Even if it's only them, having Jack and Ana welcome him should be enough. THANK YOU, TIA ANA. HOPE IS A FRAGILE THING FOR SOMEONE AS BROKEN AS HIM.
A STRONG HEART CAN PROTECT FRAGILE HOPE. YOU ARE A STRONG GUARDIAN.
THANK YOU, I type again, wanting to cry for Papi and for myself. For a moment I want to tell her that the child I once was looked up to her. THAT MEANS A LOT.
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, LITTLE SHADOW, AND TAKE CARE OF GABRIEL. I LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING BOTH OF YOU, WHEN YOU ARE READY.
WHEN THE TIME COMES, I WILL LET YOU KNOW.
Now that that's out of the way, I switch to the screens showing Reaper's swarm. Today was a close call, and while I can stick closer to him in the future, I won't gamble that I can stop him like that again or that I'll be able to drop what I'm doing the next time. I need a failsafe, a non-lethal killswitch. There's the sleep dart Tia Ana has, but I won't leave him vulnerable like that. I can do better.
Screens open up while I doodle out different ideas. I want something that will stop him dead in his tracks without leaving him sprawled out on the ground, where anyone can shoot him to dust, or leaving me to carry his limp body back to the ship. I could...consolidate him. Tell the swarm to assume a static shape. That would prevent him from chewing my ear off, too. Keep him from being aware of what's going on, let me get him to a safe location before I let him out. A sphere would be the simplest shape-
-but if the floor isn't perfectly level, if we're outside somewhere, I don't want to be chasing a 200-pound bowling ball down a hill where it can get into all sorts of trouble.
A cube is still a pretty simple shape. And it doesn't roll. I can make it small enough to fit into the COWA easily, and that would make it dense enough to maintain molecular cohesion even in the face of strong impact. The command is actually easy to program, both the shut-down and the release, and the commands can be sent from my linksignal or over our secure channel.
Behind my screens, a black mist is flowing out of the can.
"Hold up a second," I say, dismissing screens, and the mist hesitates. "Got an upgrade for you."
Reaper solidifies next to the table and holds still while I press my hands to his chest, transferring the new programming. "What is it?" he asks warily.
"Just a little something to help keep you safe," I tell him. "If you get too hurt to hold yourself together, I can trigger a static shape to keep you in one spot until I can come and get you." It's not really a lie. The memory of Reaper limping back from the fight with Winston as a stream of smoke is sobering, and the thought of something disrupting him badly enough to keep him from even limping back is terrifying.
A few wisps leak out from Reaper's chest before he dissolves entirely and flows out of the room. I wonder if he knows the location of the wisps is tied to the emotion he's feeling.
I wonder if he knows that I know.
"What's he doing here?" he demands, outraged. Then, "I'll fix that."
"Who?" I ask, still trying to find-
"Morrison," comes the answer, every syllable dripping with loathing.
Fuck.
Drop a beacon. Stealthed now, running for all I'm worth, calculating an intercept course and throwing myself at walls to get around corners quicker, and there he is, there they are, facing each other across the - what, courtyard? Parking lot? Who cares. Uncle Jack's got a big, ugly-looking rifle in both hands and Reaper's raising his guns.
"Finally," Reaper growls. "We can finish what we started."
Dash the last dozen yards, skid to a stop behind him, and I drop stealth to grab his hood - because he doesn't have any ears, a girl gotta improvise - and jerk his head back enough to screw up his aim just as he takes the first shot.
"SOMBRA!!"
He's pissed. Too bad, he's about to get more pissed.
"Don't give me that tone," I snap at him. "One of us gotta remember we're here on a mission." Hood firmly in one hand, I start walking back the way I came, dragging Reaper a few stumbling steps backward before he turns around and bends his neck to accommodate my grip and be able to walk mostly forward at the same time. "You are twice my age," I tell him angrily. "How am I the adult here?"
"But...he..."
"Do I look like I give a damn, Papi? We got people to kill, and he not on the list." We're at the door. I shove Reaper at it and let go, both hands on my hips. "Now. You get inside, and you go kill the people we supposed to kill, got it?"
Reaper looks at me, wisping sulkily, wanting to say no but the power of Angry Latina is too strong.
"Don't give me that look. We got a job to do and you know it." Behind him, a brave or foolhardy guard has just realized he has a clear shot at Reaper's back but the first shot catches him in the shoulder. "Go eat that guy," I tell Reaper as he flinches and growls at the hit.
Reaper boils into black smoke and flows to envelop the unfortunate guard, who gives one startled yelp before an uncomfortable squelching, crunching, ripping sound starts. I close the door and turn back to the courtyard to find Uncle Jack standing exactly where he was, dumbstruck. He watches warily as I cross over to him.
"He probably won't come after you again this mission," I tell him. "He gonna be too busy taking his frustration out on them for a while. But I wouldn't tempt him if I were you."
"You were serious," Jack says in awe. "About keeping him from..."
"From killing his old friends? Yeah." There's a lot of gunfire and screaming over the com; good. I sigh. "Look, normally I'd tell you to feel free to have it out with him and shoot him a lot, let you both get some of it out of your system, but with you, I think it would be better if he didn't see you until I got him in a better place where he not got so much bad shit in his life to redirect at you."
"He blames me for what happened," Jack says...sadly? "Is he really still in there?"
"Ask Ana," I answer shortly. "I been in touch with her for a while. I should go babysit Papi, make sure he not being stupid."
"Hey, um..." Jack shifts awkwardly. "I was coming here to kill-"
Pull up a screen showing a name, a face, and a bio. "This guy?"
"Yeah. I guess you're here for the same thing?"
"Oh yeah. He gonna die, no worries."
"Great. Thanks." Then Jack shoulders his rifle and pulls me into a one-armed hug. "I'll talk to Ana."
When he releases me, I reach up and seduce his visor. Good, it has link capabilities. "And I'll warn you if we're going to be in the same area."
"Thank you, Sombra." He looks at the building for a moment. "I hope you can get him to a better place," he says quietly.
"I trying, Uncle Jack. I trying."
He tosses me a two-finger salute and beats a leisurely retreat while I sigh again and tap back into the systems I've breached to locate Reaper and see what he's up to. Killing his way through the compound, good. Activate my beacon, and I'm back in the control room. Time to get what I came for before Reaper gets through doing what we came for.
===
He's silently fuming the whole way back, smoke pouring from his head and upper back but also down his arms and some from his chest. When we get back to the public room, he hesitates but I strike first.
"Into the can," I tell him in a don't-you-dare-argue voice.
I was going to say that I wanted to check his vitals after that mission, but he just dissolves into smoke and flows into the COWA. That's slightly worrying. I close and seal the lid and also give him a dose of endorphins before setting the can onto the table and sitting in front of it on the couch. All the readings come back within normal, which means both that he remembered to eat before we left and also that he sees the can as a place of safety and security. It's heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
"You didn't let me kill him," Reaper accuses.
"We had a mission, Papi."
"I could have taken him."
"I'm sure, but you would have had guests, and what if one of them got the shot before you did?"
He wasn't expecting that. There's silence while he chews on the idea of someone else stealing his kill.
"Point," he finally grinds out reluctantly.
"See? I just looking out for you." It's smug and teasing, inviting him to tease back.
"Sombra," he growls, but it sounds like he's trying not to smile.
"Don't worry, Papi," I tell him soothingly. "I'll make sure that you get a chance to have it out with him, no interruptions."
There's silence for a minute, like he's trying to decide if I'm not telling him something. I thumb the seal and open the lid.
"Your readings are good. You want to sit in the can and think, that's fine, but you don't have to stay there."
Unhappy grumble.
"I will be right here if you need me," I tease. "Just gonna do some work on your swarm."
The grumbling this time only sounds like it's pretending to be unhappy.
I pull up a handful of screens, but the first thing I do is contact Tia Ana.
HAD A RUN-IN WITH JACK.
After a minute or two, I get a reply. YOU? OR GABRIEL?
BOTH. I give her time to roll her eyes and mutter under her breath. NO FATALITIES. ONLY ONE SHOT FIRED, AND IT MISSED.
THAT IS GOOD TO HEAR.
TOLD JACK TO TALK TO YOU. I WANT TO KEEP THEM APART UNTIL... Until what? Until Papi's got his head on straight? Until I'm sure he won't actually kill Jack? Until Talon's a burning wreck behind us?
UNTIL GABRIEL IS READY TO LISTEN? Ana asks.
YES. AND IN THE MEANTIME, I WILL KEEP REPORTING OUR MOVEMENTS TO YOU AND ATHENA. I THINK I'M MAKING PROGRESS ON THE "LISTENING" FRONT BUT IT'S GOING TO TAKE TIME.
I HAVE FAITH IN YOU, Ana types.
Somehow, that just makes me remember Reaper's assertion that his old friends wouldn't want him back. I AM DOING THE RIGHT THING, AREN'T I? IF I CAN GET HIM CLOSER TO GABRIEL AGAIN...
I WILL WELCOME MY OLD FRIEND GLADLY, NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES.
Good enough. Even if it's only them, having Jack and Ana welcome him should be enough. THANK YOU, TIA ANA. HOPE IS A FRAGILE THING FOR SOMEONE AS BROKEN AS HIM.
A STRONG HEART CAN PROTECT FRAGILE HOPE. YOU ARE A STRONG GUARDIAN.
THANK YOU, I type again, wanting to cry for Papi and for myself. For a moment I want to tell her that the child I once was looked up to her. THAT MEANS A LOT.
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, LITTLE SHADOW, AND TAKE CARE OF GABRIEL. I LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING BOTH OF YOU, WHEN YOU ARE READY.
WHEN THE TIME COMES, I WILL LET YOU KNOW.
Now that that's out of the way, I switch to the screens showing Reaper's swarm. Today was a close call, and while I can stick closer to him in the future, I won't gamble that I can stop him like that again or that I'll be able to drop what I'm doing the next time. I need a failsafe, a non-lethal killswitch. There's the sleep dart Tia Ana has, but I won't leave him vulnerable like that. I can do better.
Screens open up while I doodle out different ideas. I want something that will stop him dead in his tracks without leaving him sprawled out on the ground, where anyone can shoot him to dust, or leaving me to carry his limp body back to the ship. I could...consolidate him. Tell the swarm to assume a static shape. That would prevent him from chewing my ear off, too. Keep him from being aware of what's going on, let me get him to a safe location before I let him out. A sphere would be the simplest shape-
-but if the floor isn't perfectly level, if we're outside somewhere, I don't want to be chasing a 200-pound bowling ball down a hill where it can get into all sorts of trouble.
A cube is still a pretty simple shape. And it doesn't roll. I can make it small enough to fit into the COWA easily, and that would make it dense enough to maintain molecular cohesion even in the face of strong impact. The command is actually easy to program, both the shut-down and the release, and the commands can be sent from my linksignal or over our secure channel.
Behind my screens, a black mist is flowing out of the can.
"Hold up a second," I say, dismissing screens, and the mist hesitates. "Got an upgrade for you."
Reaper solidifies next to the table and holds still while I press my hands to his chest, transferring the new programming. "What is it?" he asks warily.
"Just a little something to help keep you safe," I tell him. "If you get too hurt to hold yourself together, I can trigger a static shape to keep you in one spot until I can come and get you." It's not really a lie. The memory of Reaper limping back from the fight with Winston as a stream of smoke is sobering, and the thought of something disrupting him badly enough to keep him from even limping back is terrifying.
A few wisps leak out from Reaper's chest before he dissolves entirely and flows out of the room. I wonder if he knows the location of the wisps is tied to the emotion he's feeling.
I wonder if he knows that I know.