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Valor was lost.

Jack had left her, and she had barely left her room since. She was still on sick leave, though for how much longer she wasn't sure. Valor wanted it to be forever.

She would leave for food in the late hours of the night when no one was around to see her unkempt appearance. McCree had stop coming to her room after the first few nights she had kept her door locked. Valor would feel bad about it later, but all she cared about right now was her own pain. Gabe had come by, but after she refused him entrance several times he too stopped trying to reach her.

Valor curled up under her warm covers. She wanted to cry, but by now all of her tears seemed to have dried up. Her chest ached, and so did her empty stomach for that matter. All she could think of was Jack: his face, his voice, all of the intimate moments they had shared, every time they had laughed together. It truly felt like the world just wanted her to be unhappy. It had made her a freak, thrown her into a war, and if that wasn't enough it broke her heart too.

A loud knock on the door interrupted her wallowing. She ignored it and turned away to face the window, although it was blacked out by curtains.

"Valor!" She was surprised to find that it was Gabe. "Valor, listen, I know you can hear me. This has gone on for long enough you have to come out."

She remained silent, willing him to go away so that she could just lay there pitying herself forever.

"I don't want to do it but I will break down this door." He wasn't shouting, but she could still hear him as if he was inside the room.

Valor groaned and rolled over. This wasn't worth a broken door.

She opened the door with a fake smile in place, wanting him to just leave her be. "Can I help you?"

Valor realised she must have looked pretty unconvincing. She couldn't remember the last time she had combed her hair or changed out of her pajamas. Gabriel clearly wasn't buying it.

"Put on some clothes, we're going for a run." His arms were folded across his chest and he wore and expression that told her 'no' wasn't going to be an option.

"Yes, sir." Valor fake saluted and trudged back towards her bed.

She didn't bother turning as the door closed behind her.

"Okay we don't have to run, but would you at least talk to me?" Gabe sounded strangely defeated. "You've been locked away for weeks. If it's about the mission-"

Valor rounded on him. "It is not about the mission."

"Then what?" He walked closer and put a hand on her shoulder. "No one knows what happened, just that you suddenly disappeared from our lives."

"He didn't tell you?" Valor hadn't thought her heart could sink any further. Jack hadn't even told his best friend, maybe because he knew Gabe would try to knock some sense into him.

She turned away and walked a few steps. Her hand covered her mouth as she struggled to breath evenly, knowing that if she said it, it would only make it more real.

"Jack left me, Gabriel."

Valor hadn't started crying as she expected, rather she just felt very numb. She stayed facing away from Gabe, not wanting him to see her turmoil.

Warm arms suddenly enveloped her from behind, squeezing her tightly. She couldn't stop her tears.

Gabriel didn't know if he should be ecstatic or devastated by the news. It was clear that Valor wasn't coping well. She turned to hug him back, and he could hear her soft, sniffling cry.

"It will be alright, cariña." He whispered softly. Gabe gently rubbed her lower back as she cried, "Jack isn't the only man in the world."

He hoped he had said the right thing, and despite several selfish intentions it was honestly the truth. Gabe didn't know what possessed Jack to do something as stupid as leaving Valor, but he did know he wouldn't make the same mistake as his friend.

Valor pulled away slightly, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve. "Sorry, gross, I didn't mean to cry all over you." She said, dabbing at a slightly wet spot on his shoulder with her other sleeve.

Gabriel couldn't help but chuckle a little at her needless concern. "That is the least of my worries, trust me."

His main concern was her. He had been going crazy not knowing what was wrong for so long, and Jack had been more than happy to keep him in the dark. Gabe had suspected the mission as the cause, but this was almost worse. Worse in that he didn't want to see Valor so torn up and better because this gave him an opportunity.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"It's not like I wanted to go around announcing that my relationship just ended," Valor mumbled.

"Alright, fair, but you know I'm here right? For anything. And hey, if you need me to rough up the commander a little you just say the word." He was mostly teasing about the last bit, although he was fucking pissed at Jack.

"Nah," she shrugged and looked away, "not worth the effort."

Valor walked past him and sat on the bed, seemingly lost in thought. He didn't say anything for a minute. Gabe simply watched her, took her in. He too had been desperately close to losing her on the last mission. If she or McCree had died while he was off doing something else he would never have been able to forgive himself.

"The team misses you, you know. We even got a few new faces around since you've been locked in here."

"I miss them too, Jesse especially." After a moment she buried her face in her hands. "I shouldn't have left him like that. It was so selfish of me."

Gabe strode over and sat next to her on the bed, heart pounding as he took her hand in his. "It's alright, we're here to help Jesse too. You don't have to take every burden on yourself, Valor."

She held his hand tightly. "Do you think he blames me?"

"Jesse? No, but I get the feeling you're blaming yourself for all of this."

Valor smiled ruefully. "Of course I do. If I had just been able to touch both of them none of us would have been hurt. If I had saved us Jack wouldn't have left me."

She'd had far too much time to think this over. Insomnia plagued her every night as she ran through the mission over and over. When she could sleep her dreams were constantly replaying the memory of holding Jesse, the blood covering her hands from his missing arm and the strong stench of copper in the air. Gabriel hadn't been there, but if he had she was sure he would blame her too.

"Listen," he still held her hand but wrapped his other arm around her waist, "as your captain I will say that it was not your fault. We went in without enough information, we split up unevenly, and there was nothing you could have done to prevent what happened." Gabe squeezed her hand as she rested her head on his shoulder. "As your friend I will say that I know it wasn't your fault. Despite everything the best thing to do is move on."

"Move on to what? More missions where I put my friends lives in danger?"

"Your squad knows the risks, Valor, just like you do. If you want to know what I think, I think they are safer with you around to watch their backs. I trust you with my life, and so do they."

Valor groaned and fell back onto the bed. As much as she didn't want to admit it Gabriel was actually helping. She had needed to get all of this out, and needed for someone to talk some sense into her.

"How do I just go back to missions, Gabe?"

"One at a time."

"Helpful," Valor mumbled sourly as she watched Gabriel lay on his side next to her, head propped up by his hand.

"It's as easy as taking one step after another. You just jump in and try not to think about it."

"Even that sounds like too much right now."

Gabriel looked away from her for a moment and then back, as if debating on mentioning something.

"Listen," he began carefully, "there is a mission in two days. I'm not going to pressure you or make you go, but think about it okay? We can get you back on your feet and you can meet the new members of the squad."

The thought of meeting new agents did pique her curiosity. Despite her heartache and worries she was really tired of only seeing the four walls of her room.

Gabriel laid next to her quietly as she internally deliberated. She was grateful that he had come to comfort her. As much as she loved all of her friends in Overwatch she knew that he was the only one who could have helped make her feel better.

Valor turned onto her side to face him. "Thanks for being here, Gabe. I don't know what I'd do without you."

He smiled softly at her. "There is no place I would rather be."

They laid there, just sort of looking at each other for a while. If someone had told Valor on her first day in Overwatch that she would be laying side by side on her bed with her captain right now she wouldn't have believed them. Everything had changed so quickly though and she had found a family here, Gabe included. She didn't know how she could live without any of them.

"Hey, Gabe." Valor took a deep breath, hoping that she wouldn't regret this. "I'll go."

Valor paced back and forth in the hangar. She was about an hour early, but she hadn't been able to stand being in her room any longer. No one else had arrived yet and she regretted not just finding Jesse so that they could keep each other company while they waited.

She checked the large clock on the wall about once every three minutes, watching as it slowly dwindled down from forty to thirty to twenty. Valor was relieved when Gabriel was the first to arrive.

"How long have you been here?"

She shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "Like thirty minutes."

"And how are you holding up? You know you don't have to do this." Concern was written across his face.

"Yeah, but I should do it. I guess I'm holding up as well as you'd expect." She wrung her clammy hands nervously together. "But it's fine. I know that when we get there I'll be fine." Valor wasn't sure if she was reassuring him or herself, but saying it out loud at least made her feel better.

"I'll be with you the whole time," he put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

Movement across the hangar caught her eye. A woman she had never met was making a beeline towards them. She assumed it was one of the new agents Gabriel had mentioned. She strode over, greeting them with an easy, collected smile.

"You must be Valor, it is a pleasure to finally meet you." She extended her hand, "Moira."

Valor shook her hand. "That's me. I guess I didn't know I had a reputation."

"Moira is the new medical officer for Blackwatch. With all of the new agents flooding in recently Angela can't keep up with everything," Gabe said.

"Ah," it seemed to make sense now, "so you've heard about the parasite then."

"Of course. I would be delighted to examine it later actually, if you wouldn't mind." Moira still held the same even expression, but a slight lilt in her voice gave away her excitement.

"Sure, the more we know about it the better I'm sure." She saw no harm in it. If Moira was their new medic then Valor figured it would be best if she familiarized herself with it anyways.

"Splendid. I look forward to working with you."

McCree entered not long after their conversation. He approached her, giving her a slight nod of greeting as he made to stand beside her. Valor promised herself that they would have a long talk and she would apologise when they got back.

The second stranger was the last to arrive. Valor had to look twice, as cybernetics covered all of his body except for a bit of his face. As he stalked over she had to admit he looked very deadly, and angry. He was probably the closest thing to what she had pictured when she heard the name Blackwatch: dark and brooding.

She took a deep breath. Surely she was misjudging him based on appearances, but he quickly proved her wrong.

"Hi, I'm Valor." She extended her hand, trying to show the same courtesy Moira had given her.

"Is that a real name?" He didn't move to take her hand while hers remained held out for an awkwardly long time.

Valor blinked, completely taken off guard by the question. "I-yes?"

He looked her up and down, and as if not deeming her worthy of his attention looked away. "Genji."

Valor supposed that was the worst introduction she'd ever had. Well, maybe except for Jack and Gabe finding her half-sane in a warehouse. However this was far more embarrassing.

After that awkward conversation all eyes turned to their captain, as if praying for him to end the silence that was smothering the room.

"Alright, we have a mission to do."

Gabriel led them onto the plane where they quickly dispersed to different corners.

Valor sat alone, out of sight from everyone. Every second she waited was another second of misery. The anticipation was driving her crazy. That, and the fact that she knew nothing about this mission.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. Maybe Gabriel had been wrong, maybe she shouldn't have come. Her nerves would do nothing but get in the way.

Her captain saved her from her own thoughts as he poked his head around the little alcove of storage boxes she had hidden behind. Valor looked up at him, trying to look less miserable than she felt.

"Mind if I join you?"

She patted the spot on the floor next to her and he moved to sit.

"I think Genji hates me," Valor spoke up first, unsure if there was anything she could say to Gabe about her anxieties that hadn't already been said.

He looked at her sympathetically. "Genji is a special case. I can't disclose everything, obviously, but let's just say it wasn't his choice to get all of those cybernetics."

"I know the feeling," she grumbled. From her vantage point she had been able to see the others through a gap in the boxes. Valor could see Genji, arms folded and looking away from her direction. Everything but his face seemed to be inhuman, and she could scarcely imagine being forced to lose so much of oneself. "That's unfair," she said after a moment, "the parasite didn't change me that much."

Gabe gave her a sceptical look, "It did almost kill you."

She shrugged, maybe it was unfair to compare herself to Genji. Perhaps in a different world she might have felt a sort of kinship to him, but in this reality all she felt was pity.

"I didn't come here to talk about Genji." Gabe's voice was suddenly serious. "Things have happened since you've been away, and it's getting worse."

Valor watched as his fists clenched, his gaze remained pointedly on the floor. "What? Was there an attack?"

"Yes, but not by omnics. Talon blew up a base in Rome. McCree and I barely escaped, many others were not so lucky."

Valor stared at him, dumbfounded for a moment. "Why was Jesse there?"

Gabe's fists clenched tighter. "Just a coincidence, he just came along for a routine meeting."

She sat in silence for a moment before taking her captain's hand. Valor squeezed it tightly, unable to will the thought away that she could have lost them both while she had laid in her room hiding from the world.

"Jack doesn't think we should do anything without the UN's approval."

"What? But they attacked first! If they're a threat we should take them out."

Gabriel held out his hand as if to say 'that's what I've been trying to tell him'.

"Well why then? Why is Talon untouchable?"

"Connections in the government it looks like. Overwatch won't do anything unless the UN says so, and the only other option is to build a case for our target."

Valor leaned her head back against the metal wall behind her, ignoring the vibrations of the plane. She hadn't expected all of this for her first mission back, but it seemed like Gabe really needed her for this one, and not only for her powers. It made her glad she had decided to come.

"Building a case could take forever, and I'm sure Talon has employed some sort of hacker to get rid of evidence. So what are we going to do?"

Gabriel finally looked over at her, appearing relieved. "I have to admit I wasn't sure you would agree."

"Not that I was completely myself then, but I did kill those criminals back home. You didn't see me waiting for the police to do it."

"Fair enough. Well, we're not killing anyone yet. We'll get to Venice and take our target in for questioning, maybe just speed up that formal investigation a bit."

"Jack doesn't even want us to do this does he?"

"No."

She shook her head, trying to ignore the growing rift between her, Jack, and Gabriel. "That's fine, it doesn't matter anyways."

Valor sat face to face with Gabriel, her knees touching his in the cramped cabin of the helicopter they had switched to. Jesse sat next to her, his leg bouncing with energy, and Moira and Genji sat opposite each other, faces expressionless.

She felt better now that she was suited up and armed, and even more so that she knew what the mission was. The cause itself gave her more determination than she'd had before.

They were close to the compound now, and the stealth helicopter set down in grass about a mile away. Valor exited first and was greeted by the crisp evening air. The others filed out after her. Walking there didn't take long, and no words were spoken as she moved towards the entrance of the compound.

Valor already knew her duty. She would take out whatever guards their target had posted at the gates in order to open them and let her team in.

She had expected several obstacles, but there was only one man guarding the gate controls. It showed how overconfident their target was that they wouldn't touch him, which only pissed her off more. Too many evil men got away with these things, and she would be happy to bring them to justice.

Valor opened the gate and watched as the others approached out of the darkness, swift and silent. Gabe had plotted out the fastest route, through the East building which would lead right to their target's study. They would be in and out.

Gabriel led them with Valor close behind. The others fanned out through the building to make sure that they wouldn't be taken off guard.

"Doing alright?" Her captain asked quietly as they walked.

"Yes." She was. All she had to do was focus on the mission.

They were about halfway through the building now, and had faced little to no resistance. Although by the sounds of fighting coming from the other rooms she assumed the others had met some. She and Gabriel were about to pass a room when voices picked up in it. Valor pulled him back, and by his confused expression she could tell he hadn't heard them.

She peeked around the corner at the room. The door was propped open so they couldn't just sneak past. Valor listened closely to the voices trying to determine how many enemies there were. After a moment she held up four fingers.

"Just enough for both of us," Gabe whispered.

"Let me phase us through the wall," she offered, partially wanting to test whether she could do it again, "we can catch them off guard."

"You sure?"

She nodded. If this actually was one of her powers it would be very useful. "Be ready to shoot as soon as you're in." Valor knew she was used to phasing by now, but wasn't sure how it would affect other people. She certainly hadn't had time to ask Jack about it.

Valor grabbed her captain's shoulder before pulling him along. They slipped through the wall as easily as they would through air. Her shots barely rang out while the blasts from Gabe's shotguns would have been deafening without her ear protection. Now whole room was quiet except for the small hiss as the cooling system kicked in for her rapidly heating parasite.

"Amazing." Gabe's shotguns were held limply at his side as he just looked at her. Three shots had rung out from her pistol and three bodies matched them. He had seen her work, but rarely on actual missions with her.

"I'm sure my victims find it far less amazing," she commented lightly as she stepped over the bodies towards the door.

"I'm sure there are worse things to see before you die."

Valor smiled at the compliment. "Maybe your ugly mug," she teased.

Gabriel opened his mouth to retort, but Genji appeared in the hallway to report that everything was clear. Moira and Jesse quickly joined them as they made their way to the study.

Valor couldn't help but feel a little underwhelmed by the security, although maybe the others had just taken care of it already. Either way, the fact that there were no guards covering the study made her uneasy. At first she had thought their target simply didn't think they would act, but now she wondered if he was really just a step ahead of them.

Gabriel pushed open the doors which banged loudly as they hit the wall. They walked in together, Valor hanging towards the back to watch the hall.

The target greeted Gabriel casually, in a way that made her skin crawl. He was far too calm considering they had infiltrated the compound and killed his men. Valor clenched and unclenched her fist, trying to keep her hand away from her gun. They were only here to bring him in for questioning, after all, she couldn't get carried away.

"How will this look on the news, I wonder. Overwatch unlawfully abducting a respected businessman?"

She forced herself to look at the hallway again. Pretending she was keeping watch was easier than facing the man who was talking to her captain, to Gabriel, like that.

No one spoke, and so the target continued on. "Even if you took me now my contacts could have me out within the week."

Her nails began digging into her palms. If he continued on she couldn't promise she wouldn't shoot him. She hated people who thought they could get away with everything, but the fact that Gabriel and Jesse could have died in Rome really fueled her.

"All of these...theatrics, have been a waste of our time."

Her fingers brushed the cold metal of her gun. If Overwatch took him in for questioning she knew that he would get away just as he predicted.

"You're right." Valor looked up, surprised at Gabe's words for a moment before the blast from his shotgun rang out.

An alarm began to blare from within the compound. Her gun was already in her hand and she could see Genji reaching for his sword.

"Reyes, what did you do?"

"You heard him, Jesse, if we took him in he would just slip away." She was surprised at his outburst, but Valor felt the need to defend Gabriel.

"This wasn't the plan." Jesse had wanted to kill him too, but someone had to say something. They weren't prepared to face whatever Talon was about to throw at them, and Reyes was needlessly putting their lives in more danger.

"Then we're going with Plan B. We have get out before the whole compound comes down on us."

Valor looked at Gabriel. He seemed just as calm as before, like he had expected this outcome. As she looked around she realised at neither Genji or Moira seemed perturbed by the change in plans either. Honestly, neither was she. The more Antonio had talked, the further he had dug himself into his own grave.

They ran back down to the entryway of the building only to find it sealed.

"We have to find some way to breach it or we'll be trapped in here," Gabriel announced.

"They're coming from the ceiling!" Valor yelled a moment before she tackled Moira to the side to avoid her being crushed by one of the guards repelling down.

"Any ideas about that door?" Jesse called amidst the fighting.

"I'll get us through!" Valor called out, her elbow smashing into the faceplate of a guard that had grabbed her from behind. She phased through him and made a clean shot to his head.

"Everyone grab onto Wight and be ready to follow her outside!" Gabriel called over the din.

She rushed towards the door. Valor didn't know if she could phase them all at once, but more guards were pouring in. She didn't have a choice; there wouldn't be enough time to bring them through one by one.

Jesse's hand met her shoulder first while he fired at enemies with his other. Moira came next, then Genji. Only after everyone was ready did Gabe sprint over. When his hand finally grabbed hers she moved, pulling them all along with her.

As they emerged outside her knees met the concrete, her back in agony. The cooling system working overtime seemed loud to her ears as she tried to catch her breath.

"Incredible." Valor heard Moira breath.

Gabriel knelt down beside her, so close she could feel his breath on her ear. "Can you keep going?"

She nodded and took his hand to help her up. Her back was on fire, but at least she had gotten them out. Gabe sent her worried looks as they moved on, but any pain she was in was quickly being drowned out either by adrenaline or the parasite.

"Where are we going?" Jesse asked as they ran.

"We have to get out of the compound first, then we go through the city to the extraction point."

"Sniper!" Genji called, and they all lunged for cover.

Valor's heart pounded as she wondered if she would be able to pull herself together enough to make it to the sniper.

"Should I-"

"Let Genji do it." The concern hadn't left Gabriel's expression.

Valor peeked out from her hiding spot to find the cyborg standing out in the open. She wanted to call out to him but Gabe put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

It was over in a flash. She had barely registered Genji pulling out his sword before it was back in its sheath and the sniper collapsed. Her hand went to her mouth, wondering if what she had seen had actually happened. She had never seen someone deflect a bullet before, much less back to the person who had shot it.

Her gaze strayed up to Gabe and he shrugged. "Told ya."

She had been so ready to act that it made her wonder if Gabe was right. Maybe she didn't let herself rely on others enough.

They were on the move again before she could think about it any more. As the city rushed past her Valor had a moment to lament the fact that she couldn't fully enjoy it. It was short-lived, as they were quickly forced to take refuge in an art gallery.

Valor found herself crouching behind cover next to Moira. In the opposite corner she could hear Jesse still arguing with Gabriel.

"So, find yourself in situations like these often?" She asked, mostly trying to keep her own mood light despite the circumstances.

Moira looked over at her, still seemingly unperturbed by the almost constant firefight. "I've spent most of my time in a lab," a small smile twitched at the corner of her lips, "although I have been doing much more field work with Blackwatch. I have to say, it's refreshing."

Valor leaned out from the cover and fired at the last two opponents that the others hadn't yet taken out before standing. "Ah yes, nothing more refreshing than being shot at," she teased before offering Moira her hand.

The healer took it and stood almost languidly. "You don't seem to have very much trouble with it," she commented as the two made to join the others.

"That would all be the parasite."

"And yet it could not exist without its host. You hold all of the power, not the other way around."

Valor paused in the middle of reloading. She hadn't expected such a sincere response from Moira. Angela had tried to remove it, Ana had wanted to suppress her in case it took over, but Moira seemed to genuinely think she should embrace it. Even with the powers it had always seemed like a curse, but now she was filled with hope that it could be different. That was refreshing.

"Come on! Let's move before they're on us again!" Gabe's voice called to them, cutting her off before she could think of a response.

Valor finished reloading and returned her thoughts to the enemies closing around them on her radar. The longer they ran the more she wondered how much manpower Talon had. Their forces seemed endless, and she was quickly running out of ammo. Valor hoped the others were faring better. At the very least the extraction point was drawing closer; she could see it shining like a gold beacon on her HUD.

They had been running for nearly twenty minutes now without break except to fight. Valor knew they would make it out, at the very least she would make sure her team made it even if she didn't.

The extraction point was getting closer by the second. As they drew near the amount of enemies only grew. They fought off wave after wave, Valor counting her rounds until she was only left with one. The fighting died down for a moment as they reached the point near one of the waterways of Venice.

Valor breathed a heavy sigh, she could hear the sound of a helicopter in the distance. They had made it. She looked up to inform Gabriel but he was looking at McCree, distracted by a malfunction in his metal arm.

A flicker of movement behind Gabe caught her attention. They had missed an enemy.

Her heart pounded. Gabriel hadn't noticed so she raised her own pistol level with the soldier, only to find that she had miscounted. The empty shot never fired.

The enemy was injured, accounting for her missing bullet, but hadn't gone down. She could only watch helplessly as they leaned against a building for support, struggling to lift their gun. Valor willed her frozen body to move, she had to save them. She could hear each thud of her own heartbeat in her ears.

She knew she would be too slow, that she was too far away and there wouldn't be enough time for them to react. For a moment Valor could almost see them, bleeding out at her feet while she stood helplessly. She couldn't lose them, she had to move.

One second she was running towards them, the next she was behind them and the enemy. Her chest heaved as she breathed, trying to make sense out of why everything had gone quiet except for the beating of her own heart.

Her senses came flooding back to her. The night breeze cooled the sweat pouring down her neck, making her shiver. A hot wetness was spreading on her hand and she numbly looked down. Blood was leaking down her hand and splattering on the ground.

Its source was a heart, still writhing in her hand.

Gabriel sat in a meeting room, feet kicked up on the table as he watched Jack pace in front of him. They had just finished watching a recording from the mission.

It was only the two of them there, probably so Jack could chew him out without an audience. He had expected something like this and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for the commander to speak first. Gabriel had no regrets about the mission, in fact he thought it had gone better than expected.

"Why did you bring her?"

Gabe looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected him to bring her up, especially since he had been so tight-lipped about everything these past couple of weeks. "It's about time she started missions again, and as you could see she was far from helpless."

Jack continued to walk back and forth in front of him. "Yes, I saw, and you're lucky the rest of the world didn't get their hands on this footage."

"They already know it was us who killed Antonio, why does the vid matter?"

The commander faced him, expression incredulous as he ran an exasperated hand over his face. "You watched her rip a man's heart out and you don't know why?"

"She saved me and Jesse."

"That's not the point! Valor already isn't loved by the public. If they knew about this they would be horrified to know we have her in Overwatch."

"Blackwatch," Gabriel corrected him. He wasn't sure why Jack was getting all worked up in the first place. About the mission sure, but he had no right to be concerned about Valor's well being anymore. Gabe could take care of that himself.

"Not anymore."

"What?"

Jack finally stopped pacing and faced him again. "I'm pulling her from Blackwatch. It will be final tomorrow."

Gabriel was on his feet before he could stop himself. "You can't."

He could feel heat rising from his neck up to his ears. Jack could play at commander of Overwatch all he wanted but Blackwatch was under his command. In this instance, though, Gabe knew he was powerless. If Jack wanted to do this he couldn't stop him.

"The decision has already been made. She'll be moved to her new squad in the morning." Jack's tone was cold and final, leaving no room for argument.

Gabe had never foreseen this result. Jack could be mad at him all he wanted but dragging Valor into this was unfair. She was already in a fragile state after the mission, so clearly he didn't care at all about how she might feel about this decision.

"You're going to make her hate you."

"It doesn't matter if she hates me. I just need to make sure she's safe, and I don't think she's safe with you anymore, Reyes."

I'm excited! Valor's ult "Heartbreaker" has been revealed! More will definitely be explained in the next chapter. I also don't want to do the thing where I include the whole cast from the game, but characters that Valor is realistically likely to encounter will show up (hence Genji and Moira). Thank you so much for reading and I am making a new year resolution to reply to more comments because I love interacting with you guys.