The Villain Wrangler | Overwatch

Chapter 37

Jack hid a smile as he ducked out of the common room. Apparently, Larson and Goodall were female, and incredibly interested in Winston. He thought about sending the polyamory info to Winston, but decided to stay out of it for now. Winston would ask for help if he needed it.

He shook his head, ducking around a ladder as he made his way to Angelica's office.

"Hey, boss! You might want ta bring an offering. Heard her old boss was anglin' to bring her back," Jesse called as he passed.

He waved in acknowledgment, but kept walking. He figured she'd be more amused than upset by their change of heart. He leaned on her doorframe, a smile tugging at his lips as he watched her at her desk. The screens were blank, but she was still making notes on a pad of paper.

"Isn't it considered rude to stare?" she asked without looking up.

He huffed a laugh. "Probably. It's hard not to, though." He walked in and settled on a visitor's chair. "So, what are you planning now?"

She looked up with a grin. "Shooting Star. It's a good company, but Anderson needs to pull his head out of his ass."

Jack arched a brow. "What are you planning on doing to him?"

"Nothing too horrible. Get him bumped down to where I was and have his assistant take over. Sharona did most of his job anyway." She set the notepad to the side. "So, have you gone and yelled at Gabe yet?"

"Hadn't planned on it. He and Angela are still shut up in the med wing." He shrugged. "I don't know if he'll appreciate us dropping in."

She rose. "He can snarl all he wants. I'm going to go check on him."

Jack followed her toward the medical wing, amused. She was almost a force of nature when she wanted something.

—

Gabe looked over as the doors hissed open, shaking his head when he saw Angelica marching in. Jack was following, barely hiding a smirk. Gabe shook his head in feigned annoyance, secretly pleased they'd come.

Angela looked up from the notes at the sound. "Ah, good. I have good news and bad news." She smiled when Angelica stiffened. "Not that bad. I can fix the imbalance in the nanites, but it will take a week or so, and you," she jabbed Gabe with her pen, "will need to spend a week in a tank."

"What," Gabe snapped his head around to glare at the doctor.

"Unfortunately, I'll need to increase the destabilization."

Angelica held up a hand. "So, he's going to be just a cloud of nanites for a week?"

"Yes. Tyr and Athena have been helping with my research, and with these notes, we can fix the underlying issues." She scowled at the notebook. "Honestly, most of the issues were deliberately introduced."

Gabe sighed, heaving himself off the exam table. "Great. Wonderful. Fine. Fix up what you need, and let's get this over with."

"It will take a while to modify the equipment I need. I will let you know when I am ready."

He hooked an arm around Angelica's waist, grabbing Jack on his way past, and towed them out of the medical ward.

"This is gonna suck," he muttered.

He slowed down when Angelica's arm tightened on his waist. "At least this way I only have to worry about you in the field," she said softly.

Jack hummed agreement.

"You know what? Help me pack. I don't want to sleep alone."

Gabe grinned. "See? I told you it was a good idea to move the bed!"

She rolled her eyes, letting them into her room and leaving them to pack up everything in the main room. She dropped the smile as the bedroom door closed, pulling out her phone.

-You can fix him, right? You're not just trying to lessen the blow?

She had finished clearing out her dresser when her phone buzzed.

-I promise. I'm not so sure he'll be able to burst into a cloud of nanites anymore, but he won't die.

Angelica nodded, tucking the phone away and pulling her suitcase into the main room. She was slightly amused to see the door open, and the beginning of a bucket brigade down the hall. She handed her suitcase to Jack and watched as it got tossed to Gabe, then Jesse, then Brigitte, then further down the hall.

"Hey, we should get most of it out in a bit," Jack told her, leaning in for a swift kiss before tossing another box.

She watched for a bit, then pulled out her phone again, dialing the number for a local restaurant that was always pleased to deliver to the base. She figured she could afford to feed everyone if they did the heavy lifting of moving for her.

Once her belongings were in their new home and the food had been delivered, everyone sat scattered around the kitchen, discussing upcoming missions. Jesse mentioned Rialto, and Jack shot a pained look at Gabe.

"Sorry, sweetheart. But there's a good chance Ana will be there."

Gabe sighed, leaning against Jack's shoulder. "This makes us even for our eighth anniversary, though."

—

Two days later, Gabe floated in the tank, bored out of his mind. He had completely evanesced, no visible eyes, or mouth, or any features, really. Just an inky black cloud in a shiny tube. He glared around the room, then sighed. No one thought to leave a TV, or a radio, or- he snapped to attention when the door opened, revealing Angelica. She was in her pajamas, a laptop in her arms.

"Hey. Figured you'd be bored, and I can't sleep with Jack gone. Wanna watch a TV show?"

He bobbed as well as he could, watching as she dragged an instrument tray around, setting up the laptop where he could see it.

"I brought M*A*S*H. I don't know how much you'd like it. It's super old, ran from the nineteen seventies to the eighties, but it's funny. It's about one of the mash units during the Korean War. Ran for eleven seasons. It'll take about five days to watch the whole thing if we binge it. I'm going to keep the laughtrack off, though."

He laughed to himself as she started the playlist. It was obviously an old recording, but he let himself get drawn in to the world of the 4077th. He was amused to realize he recognized some of the locations from his childhood.

Angelica left after a few episodes to curl up on one of the beds, but he was hooked. He made a mental note to show a few episodes to Jack, especially once his hometown was mentioned.