Deadlocked

Ch. 4: Genji's Return

Lena threw her hands across a switchboard as a small aircraft landed into the hangar, slowly touching down as she whizzed her hand across a bevy of buttons, the ceiling beginning to close as she wiped her hands off on each other, grinning widely toward Winston. He nodded approvingly as the vertical plane hit the ground, the engines churning to a stop as it sat there, Lena excitedly hopping over toward the others.

"Wow, wow, wow; Genji's here!" she spoke up, excitedly, earning Fareeha's worried glance, "Oh, Pharah, you've got to let him show you how he carves pumpkins! He balances it on his sword, tossing it into the air, before-!"

She excitedly threw her arms in the air wildly, her face contorted as she made whooshing sounds, finally coming to a stop, "He carved Rick Allen into mine last year! Kind of appropriate, you think?"

"I suppose?" Fareeha answered, confused, turning to Angela, who wore a bright, nostalgic smile as she watched the door of the plane open, a green-haired head popping out from within.

"This is my stop, right?" he asked, innocently.

"Of course, dummy!" Lena shouted before warping over toward him, giving him a massive hug before he could even step onto the retractable steps that led to the ground, "C'mon! Say it!"

He nervously furrowed his brow, "Uh, the cavalry-"

"Pfft!" Lena couldn't withhold her laughter, her arms wrapping around her stomach as she keeled over, bursting into amusement, "I-I'm sorry! You're just too cool to be saying that!"

"Nice seeing you too, Tracer," he concluded, warmly, before stepping out onto the stairs, Lena warping along back to the others.

Fareeha's eyes widened as she caught her first glimpse of the man, shocked by what she was seeing. She had known his situation, but she hadn't ever seen a picture or anything; the idea of a man who was more machine than skin simply a thought in her head. Seeing him, though, she was taken aback.

His entire body was laced with metallic plating and armor, leaving only his head intact, and even then, his neck was a sort of amalgamation of skin and metal. She did her best to hide a cringe at the sight, knowing it would have been immensely rude, though her eyes focus on his face as best they could.

He smiled brightly as he approached the lineup up hosts, walking first toward Winston, "Gorilla."

"Macintosh."

Genji grinned as he offered a hand, which Winston happily accepted, "Recall keeping you busy?"

"Eh, not too much," Winston shrugged, "It's worth it to be seeing everybody again. Jack will be here at some point, along with some others. You have the honor of being one of the earliest."

Genji reached up, grasping his shoulder, "Yeah, Tracer's grip should soften as the excitement wears down from more and more arrivals."

Lena glared at him, unamused, though he only gave a silent chuckle before moving along, to Fareeha. He examined her head to toe, his eyes shrinking as he stared at her face, his eyes pulling toward her tattoo.

"I'd know that face anywhere," he smirked, admiringly, "You must be Ana's daughter."

"Y-Yes sir," Fareeha answered, nervously, not expecting to have been addressed in that way.

Genji laughed, "Oh please, no formalities. I had enough of that growing up; and from what I know of your mother, I'm sure you did as well."

Fareeha nodded carefully as he reached a fist up into the air, allowing her to bump her own fist against his as he happily nodded toward her, "I look forward to seeing what you can do."