Overwatch: Jinxed

Chapter 35: Just Let Me Fight For You

Free. Free. Free.

Isabell had always thought her bad reaction to Tayanna's radiation-energy was a disadvantage. But it had saved her life. Burning through the collar's blockades, brittling the stone itself until finally, finally she was free.

She had also thought her Ultimate was a stun attack.

But she was now charged with a phenomenal amount of energy - from her battle with Lucio, her battle with Jamie, and from the energy she had been leeching from the collar itself and its power over her.

All.

This.

Power.

Turns out, she'd never been using her Ultimate to its full potential. Never letting it fully charge.

Turns out, her Ultimate did a whole lot more than she'd thought.

She stared at Jamie, the fear, the devastation in his eyes. The collar that was millimeters from being united around his neck.

"I thought you were stronger than this," he whispered.

Isabell smiled. "I am."

The collars. They were collaring Lena, Reinhardt and Genji.

No.

No.

"Now this is science at its best," Moira crowed, lifting the collar over Reinhardt's neck.

"You know what else is science?" Isabell snarled, standing up and releasing Jamie's face from the position she had held it in. She braced both hands on her collar, dull and lifeless. "Radioactive brain cells, bitch."

She didn't restrain it. Didn't stop it. She allowed the energy to swallow her, strengthen her, made her cells churn with power and her circlets barely able to hold it. And she smashed her collar.

For just a single second, the most beautiful expression of pure horror was displayed on every single member of Talon's face - including Reaper. She could tell, even with the mask.

She laughed, and she exploded.

Isabell had finally learned to control it. She calibrated it just perfectly to sweep over her friends and to barrel into Talon like a dump truck. Her friends stared as the massive bubble of blue energy enveloped the room, unable to believe their eyes as the Talon members howled. They didn't just get stunned, didn't just get turned upside-down - they were turned inside-out. Moira screeched and unearthly scream and staggered backwards towards Tayanna, limbs twitching and convulsing like she couldn't control her own movement. 

Widowmaker, with her delayed heart rate, gaped in shocked silence as her legs collapsed under her and her Widow's Kiss crashed to the ground, denting the barrel as it hit the concrete floor. Reaper snarled in pain as he attempted to shove the collar onto Genji, but the ninja deftly dodged and smashed Reaper in the gut with his helmeted head. Reaper roared as the Energy Strike amplified the pain and sent him careening into the wall.

"You can't get rid of me that easily," Isabell snarled, and stalked over to Moira, who couldn't see straight. Isabell gripped one of the pipes on her back, filled with glowing yellow chemicals, and smashed it with all her strength. The glittering golden liquid sprayed over her friends like water from a sprinkler and Isabell heard a collective sigh as the healing chemicals - which Moira had carefully directed only at Talon - dissolved on their skin and healed every broken bone, every cut, every bruise, every ruptured organ.

"Get your ass up," Isabell grinned as Talon lay groaning on the ground. She scooted over to Lucio and sliced through the glowing blue cord with a shard of broken collar, and hauled him to his feet. He stared disbelievingly at her and she raised an eyebrow. "Can't be sleeping on the job, Lucio. Get our friends out of those damn restraints! Also," she added with a sheepish smile, "Sorry for smashing your glasses."