And with that, like a taught wire, Rain snaps. She rises from her chair with enough force to send it falling backwards, palms slamming against the surface of the table before she stands at her full height and whips around to face Mako properly.
“Between the years of 1990 and 2016 alone, humans removed more than 1.3 million square kilometers of forests and jungles, cutting down vast swaths of them faster than they could grow. During this time, a 2016 report released by the Food and Agricultural Organization stated that seven million hectares of forest were lost annually. In 2019, global scientists declared a twelve-year limit on Earth’s remaining resources, saying you were rapidly running out of time to undo the effects of deforestation and global warming.”
She takes a single step, voice cold as ice and tone just as sharp. “From the start of human history to the beginning of the Omnic Crisis, an estimated 1.5 billion humans killed each other in wars alone. In the twentieth century, that death toll surpassed 108 million people in itself, and the number continues to grow. The omnic population following the Crisis has been more than halved, and now, even in places where we are meant to be safe, omnics who have never raised a hand to anything more harmful than a fly live in constant fear of assault, abuse, and murder.”
By now, she’s almost up in Roadhog’s face, fear abandoned for rage long suppressed. “Ever since its foundation, the United States of America has been carried upon the backs of slaves and the corpses of Native Americans who were lied to, assaulted, and murdered in the name of a new nation. Starting in 2016, President Donald Trump started a campaign that demoralized and ultimately killed hundreds of nonwhite citizens, while others were kept in cages packed too tightly for them to so much as sit down.”
Rain lifts her chin, fingers trembling not with panic, but with sheer, unadulterated anger. “In 2051, the Australian Liberation Front blew up the Australian Omnium, because they would rather condemn their friends, families, and innocent, uninvolved civilian strangers to a life of sickness and misery rather than share an otherwise barely-inhabitable land with omnics as part of a deal made with the Australian government.”
The omnic raises a single graceful hand, reaching out to grab the curve of Roadhog’s hook. “And you, Roadhog, carry weapons as big as yourself, and stomp around acting like you’re the biggest bad in town, picking fights with bloody babysitters because you have no idea how to interact with anyone in any semblance of a friendly manner!” She shoves the weapon away in disgust.
“Oh, and for the record,” Rain says, stepping back and taking a calming breath as she folds her hands behind her back, “The R-40 line, my brothers and sisters, are and always have been caretakers. None of us were reported to have deviated and killed anyone during the omnic crisis, so no, my brothers and sisters don’t destroy, unlike a certain someone. Knowing this, do you still want to talk to me about being different?”
a grunt— rain is beginning to violate his personal space. she’s striking
a little too close to home, personal flaws &. past transgressions; he doesn’t
move a muscle, even as she’s guiding his hook around, playing with the sharp
metal as though she thought he wouldn’t hesitate to use it.
the heads of the nails on the hook pressing against her abdomen, he
hopes, is evidence to the contrary. his eyes remain locked on her, never
straying, never retreating— the leather of his gas-mask hiding the snarling
lips just underneath the surface, barely rejecting the idea of hurting her.
if he’s going to hurt her, he thinks, he wants it to be her fault.
“you don’t know shit about the force.” his voice is more strained this
time, not quite a shout, but certainly not a grumble. she’s got a way of
spinning events to her benefit, he defends— the liberation force was not
sacrificing the citizens of australia, he thinks.
certainly, it was too late to make that call.
“they arrived in hordes to destroy our lands, our families, everything
we built towards. the problem, little babysitter,” he sneers, “they were gifted
the land they had a hand in destroying. a peaceful little place reduced to
ash, smithereens, gunfire and smoke, and all because your kind strolled in.
but of course, you won’t know anything about that, will you? loss.”
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