"Brat!" He growled out as he stalked down the hallways of Gibraltar towards the dorms. The kid hadn't shown up for the premission briefing and that was something he just couldn't tolerate. Recklessness got people killed. She may be young but that didn't mean that she couldn't be killed in the line of duty just as easily as an old soldier like himself.

And he didn't want to outlive another comrade.

He marched up to a plain door, pivoting to face it and knocked.

No answer/

He knocked harder, waiting a moment for a response.

No answer.

Growling under his breath he pounded on the door hard enough to rattle it in it's frame.

Still no answer.

"Override Protocol Alpha." He shouted into the corridor.

"Identification?" Came Athena's cool voice.

"Strike Commander Jack Morrison."

"Identity confirmed." Athena replied.

The door whooshed open, revealing a dark room littered with chip bags and soda cans. Huffing he stepped into the darkness taking a few steps before his eyes adjusted.

76 gasped at the sight before him. A pale face, barely illuminated by a small LCD screen in the corner was the only light in the room, revealing the dark silhouette of the young korean laying on her bed, back to him, clothed only in tiny pink panties and a baggy half shirt.

He may be older now but any man would appreciate the sight that lay before him. Long, lithe legs fidgeted above her tiny round ass as she stuck her tongue into the corner of her mouth, ovbiously engrossed in whatever game she was playing, headphone blaring music so loud, he was surprised she could even think.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he continued over to her bed, kicking the corner of her mattress to gain her attention.

"Hey!" she squealed, ripping off her headphones and turning to glare at the intruder.

"Where the hell were you, Song?" He asked, assuming his commander voice.

He watched her face fall as she realized she had missed the meeting, "I'm so sorry. I guess I lost track of time." she mumbled as she picked at the hem of her shirt.

His tone softened, "Don't let it happen again. Pre mission briefings are done to keep you and everyone else alive."

"Yes sir. It won't happen again. I'll be ready for tomorrows mission." She tried to say confidently.

"See to it." He said, turning to the door and leaving the young pilot to her solitude.

Soldier rolled behind a partially destroyed wall, gaining cover from the rain of bullets. Opposite him was Dr. Ziegler pressed back into the bricks of a store front, looking to him for commands.

He peeked around the corner with his visor, trying to gain count of the enemies so he could formulate a plan. They were defending the lab of Dr. Jan Koffson, the polish scientist working in the bunker below their feet. He had mutated smallpox into an even deadlier strain and now Talon was looking to take it from him and weaponize it.

He saw Reaper flanked by at least 15 of his goons before the bullets took even more chunks out of his hiding place. This wasn't good. That was a lot of fire power for just the 3 of them. The rest of the team was securing the bunker and blockading all entrances. It would still be a few minutes before they got any help up here.

Above him on the roof, he heard the cry of "Suiting Up!" as flew down from the building, plowing her meka straight into the center of the thugs, leaving Reaper at her back. They immediately started pounding her meck with assault rounds, with Reaper unloading his shotguns into the power pack of the machine in front of him. Hana was unloading her own rounds into the goons in front of her, mowing them down, but she couldn't turn her bulky meka fast enough to get them all before her power pack started to short out from the assault.

76 bolted out from his cover, picking off the thugs closest to him, trying to reach the girl before she was forced from the machine that protected her.

Seeing no other options, smashed her fist into the self destruct button, diving out and scrambling behind a market stall. Reaper cackled and vaporized, now immune to the blast the was about to come. Soldier dove into a broken shop window to shield himself from shrapnel.

The mech blew itself to pieces, blowing away the wooden stall Hana had been hiding behind, launching her back into the brick walls surrounding the square. She crumpled to the ground, not moving. The thugs were scattered about, only a few of them moving after the blast.

76 clambered out of the shop, surveying the scene through the clearing smoke. His eyes went wide as he saw Reaper materialize behind her prone form, locking eyes with 76 before laughing and unloading a round into the girls back.

"NOOOOOOO!" he screamed, over taken with rage. He charged forward, intent of destroying his nemesis, he shot his helix rockets at Reaper's chest.

Reaper just laughed louder and evaporated before the munitions could touch him.

Soldier skidded down beside the unmoving girl, pulling her limp body into his lap to survey the damage to the tiny slip of a girl. Her jumpsuit was soaking up large amounts of blood that poured from the buckshot holes that riddled the back of her chest. Her breath was coming in tiny pants, but at least there was still hope. He immediately unzippe d the back of her suit, pulling the cloth away from the wounds so that Mercy, who was flying in now, could work.

Dr. Ziegler swiftly pulled her Caduceus from it's clip on her back, handing it to Soldier, "Keep the healing stream on her as I work. We may be able to save her." She instructed tightly.

He wiggled his legs out from under Hana as he position himself to keep the biotic stream on her to aid in Angela's work. She pulled a jar of white paste from her bag, applying to the worst of the wounds first to stop the bleeding.

"She's pierced both lungs. I need to get her into surgery. Where the hell is that medivac!" She ground out, scowling with irritation.

"Just do your best. I'll radio to see how far out they are." He put one hand up to his ear piece, barking orders over the radio, " We have a team mate down. We need immediate evac or she is going to die!"

"Understood. We are 2 minutes out in the medicopter. Prepping the back for emergency surgery for Dr. Ziegler." crackled the reply.

"Understood."

Soldier looked back down at the girl, her skin even paler than normal, her tiny body unmoving as Angela fished some of the shallower buck shot out of her shoulder, her hands covered in blood.

"Who is it Jack?" Came Ana's raspy voice into his ear, trepidation evident in her tone.

Soldier sighed before answering his old friend, "It's Song. Reaper shot her."

Silence followed. None of the rest of the team could believe what they heard, broken only by the hum of the approaching hover copter, trying to maneuver the buildings to land next to them in the square.

"76 I need you to load her for me. As gently as possible onto the table." Mercy barked as the copter touched down and opened the hatch.

He scooped her off the ground, handing the staff back to Angela. She hardly weighed a thing. She was too young to be here. Too young to face the horrors and dangers she had faced at only 19. The tears couldn't be held back now, blurring his vision as he climbed into the medivac and gingerly layed her on the table. Dr. Ziegler barked orders to her staff, already hooking up an IV and instructing for another to start suctioning her airways.

Unable to watch, 76 weaved through the medical team to the front of the aircraft. Taking a seat and belting himself in before falling back into his past and letting it consume him.