Time Will Tell
Lena felt it coming again. The surge.
She was going to vanish again. She felt tears fall down her face and watched as they fell to the ground, only to go right through it. Who knew where she’d end up or when she’d end up. She’d seen some horrible things while popping in and out of time.
It had all started in that stupid ‘Slipstream’, the teleporter going mad and her suddenly feeling a surge through her body before she ended up in an icy no man’s land in the middle of a bloody blizzard.
But, she hardly felt cold.
At first she figured that, due to her gear being made to withstand the cool temperatures in the upper atmosphere, it might be the reason. But after walking through the snow for what felt like hours, she turned to see how far she’d gone and realized something that made her blood feel as cold as ice;
She hadn’t left any foot prints in the snow, and while the storm was quite bad, she should still be able to see at least what direction she came from.
After that she put together that, while she was in a time period and in a place, she couldn’t touch anything. People could see and hear her sometimes, but only for an instant.
She was a flickering ghost to the world.
And she was going to flicker again into another time and another place. She felt her chest ache as she started to cry.
She wanted to go home.
She missed her friends, her family, her life. She never wanted to be held in a tight embrace more in her entire life. To feel the warmth of another person without them walking through her and freaking out and running off, screaming about a weirdly dressed ghost.
She continued to cry as the world shifted around her, colors, sights and sounds changing, but all she could hear was the sound of her pitiful, lonely wailing.
Until she heard someone call her name.
“Lena?”
She turned and saw a small old woman with two cowlicks sticking straight up on her head look at her with wide, violet eyes before dashing to a nearby table, snatching something with a blue glowing light and strapping it to her chest so fast that Lena, who was a track champ for most of her life and was good at getting things done quickly, wondered how the hell it was humanly possible that she got it on so fast.
At that moment, she suddenly felt solid again, like the weight of the world swallowed her and she soaked back into existence. Like she was back to the way she was before she got into that damn plane.
The old woman let out a sigh of relief, the cowlicks curling into a heart shape, “I thought I was goin’ ta miss ya for a second there!” She said, revealing that she had an Australian accent, before she gave her a big, slightly jagged smile and a small pat on the back,, “Well, ‘m glad I gotcha anyways. Not sure how long th’ charge’ll last, th’ old thing ain’ what she used ta be, but it’ll probably be enough for you ta have a noice cuppa tea ‘n a snack ‘fore it needs chargin’ again.”
The old woman began gently guiding her towards the nearest with a warm arm against the small of her back, “But no worries! I always keep your favorite, Earl Grey, in th’ kitchen. Oh ‘n I got some tasty biscuits tha’ one of me pilots picked up from King’s Row. A taste of home will do ya wonders!” She assured her.
Lena looked her up and down, touched at the fact that this person knew her and was able to bring her back to... wait. What year is it? And where was she?
And know that she thought about it, did she know someone with purple eyes, weird cowlicks and an Australian accent? Would she know someone like that in the future?
Well, considering the confusing aspects of time travel and her sudden return to a physical plane of existence, she decided the only way to find out was to ask.
“Do... do I know you?” she asked nervously.
“Not yet, love.” The old woman said gently, “I met ya way after ya stopped hopscotching through toime.”
“Oh, then what year is it?” she asked her, the old woman looked thoughtful at this before finally replying that, “I don’ think it’d be wise ta give ya th’ year, toime space ‘n all tha’.”
“Oh...” she said softly.
“No worries, love, talkin’ ‘bout th’ future you can change is off loimits, howevah,” the old woman’s eyes twinkled with mischief, “Tellin’ ya ‘bout stuff you can’ change should be foine. You’ve been bouncin’ through toime enough tha’ no one would question how ya know.”
She smiled as they walked down a corridor, unable to shake this feeling of Deja Vu. Had she been here before?
She glanced around, searching for a sign when she found it. A small blast mark on the ceiling.
“Are we in Overwatch’s Gibraltar base?” she asked. The old woman smiled, obviously pleased that she recognized it, although it’d be hard for her not to. She’d made that mark when she met Genji Shimada, a cyborg ninja who had scared the living hell out of her and made her shoot the ceiling while she was getting a tour from a Jesse McCree of Blackwatch. The two of them had found it hilarious. She and their boss, Gabriel Reyes, had not.
“Didn’ think ya’d catch on this quick. Thought ya’d need a bit more toime adjustin’.” She then opened the door to the kitchen for her, “Yes, we’re in th’ Gibraltar base. It’s been through more than one face loift since you last seen it, but...” the woman looked around the halls her eyes warm as she seemed to be lost to old memories for a moment, “in many ways, it hasn’ changed one a bit.”
“How long have you been here?” she asked the old woman as she glanced around the kitchen. It had a few new things on the counters that she doubted she would ever know the function of and watched as she turned on the stove and grabbed a nearby kettle and walked over to the sink, the woman’s face thoughtful, “I came here when I was seven. You flew me ‘ere with me Da’, me Mum, me Uncle, me aunt, Fareeha ‘n Good old Reinhardt for medical treatment.”
Lena smiled at the mention of Reinhardt’s name, the old German’s loud laughter and kindness instantly popping into mind. Fareeha, if she remembered correctly, was Captain Ana Amari’s daughter. Her smile grew at the thought of how proud her mother would be that her daughter had followed in her footsteps.
“Oh, Ana was pissed when she found out tha’ Fareeha joined. But she accepted it in the end.” The woman recalled, as if she had read her thoughts as she took the filled kettle from the sink and put it on to boil. She then grabbed a few mugs from a nearby cabinet, placed them on the counter and walked towards the pantry.
“And Reinhardt?” she asked.
“Oh, he was on Fareeha’s soide. Said there was nothin’ wrong with ‘er wantin’ ta do somethin’ tha’ brought ‘er closer ta ‘er Mum.”
“Well, Ana could’ve said no, though, she was high ‘nough in th’ chain of command.”
“Ah, ‘ere’s th’ thin’, though.” she said as she brought a box of Earl Grey and a box of her favorite biscuits from back home, “She wasn’ exactly in Overwatch when Fareeha joined.”
“Loike retirement?” she asked, “’Cause I’m sorry, I can’t see Captain Ana Amari stepping down from ‘er spot unless she was dead!”
“...” The woman gave her an apologetic expression.
“Toime space thingy?” Lena sighed, a little annoyed that she wasn’t allowed to know the juicy details, but realizing that the woman’s hands were probably tied on this matter and decided not to press.
“Winston was very clear ‘bout what I could ‘n could not say ta ya.” She made an annoyed face, “Was a huge pain in th’ arse ‘bout it, now tha’ I 'member it...”
“Sorry about that.” she said, but the old woman waved her off as she motioned for her to take a seat at a prep table that hadn’t been there when she had visited whenever she had, and sat down in a bar stool on one side while the old woman opened the biscuits and poured them onto a plate and placed it in front of her, “Marmalade?” she asked.
“Please!” she said excitedly, with all that time hopping she did, she had no idea when she’d last eaten and was pretty hungry. Biscuits, marmalade and Earl Grey was a welcomed treat for her stomach as well as her soul.
The woman brought back two butter knives and two jars, one orange, one red, “Strawberry jam.” the woman said sheepishly, “I’ve had a weakness ta it fer as long as I can remember.” Lena waved her hand, as if to tell her it was no big deal as the kettle began to sing. The woman poured the hot water into the mugs and pulled some milk and sugar from the fridge and another cabinet and quickly made it up before bringing her mug over.
“I also put a little lemon in there, jus’ how you loike it.” she said with a chuckle.
“Thanks!” she exclaimed as she took a sip. She really wanted to chug it down, but it was still too hot for that, so she decided to give it a little more time to cool while helping herself to a biscuit.
“So, I never got your name.” Lena said as she applied a large blob of marmalade to her biscuit and began spreading it out.
“Ah, Molly. Molly Rutledge.” she said, holding out her hand to shake. Lena shoved her food into her mouth and took it with both hands and gave it a shake as she chewed, making the old woman laugh at her antics.
Once she swallowed she happily took another sip and began lathering another biscuit in orange goop when she noticed Molly looking at her funny, as if she was happy, like she was seeing her old best friend over for a visit, but she could see a tinge of bittersweet and loneliness in her eyes.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
“No, it’s jus’...” she saw the old woman blink back some tears as she continued on to say that, “It’s jus’ been a long toime since one of you lot were home. It’s noice havin’ ya back, Lena. Even if we don’ know fer how long...” she shook her head, “Tha’s not a way ta be thinkin’, sorry...”
“It’s fine!” she insisted, “I’m glad I’m here too!” she looked around the kitchen.
Home. Molly called this place her home. She wondered how long this was her home, was Molly’s home, was Winston’s home... Who else lived here with her? Did she ever marry, have a family? She had so many questions she wanted to ask about her life here...
But Lena swallowed the questions back with a biscuit and another sip of tea.
This woman, Molly, said that she had flown her here with her family when the old woman was only seven years old, she guessed this was after Winston had found a way to help her (possibly with the device the old woman had strapped to her when she appeared here). But still Molly wasn’t a little girl anymore, she was an old woman. How many people had she loved here that left her behind due to age or battle? How long had it been since she’d last seen Lena?
Lena wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answers to that.
“It’s been a very long toime.” Molly answered anyway, her voice thick with emotion, “It’s not loike I don’ have people I love ‘ere with me now, ‘m gettin’ more ta love more every day, fer bettah or worse... It’s jus’...” she looked at her, tears welling in her eyes and starting to spill down her cheeks, “You lot were...are me family. I miss you all so much. It’s hard ta think ‘bout how much I miss ya when I’ve got so many others ta consider now. I guess, with you bein’ ‘ere, it’s hard not ta think ‘bout you all...” She let out a bitter chuckle as she wiped at her face, “But look who ‘m talkin’ to. You more than anyone else know how cruel toime can be when it comes to those ya love ‘n ‘m sorry fer makin’ ya listen ta me blubber loike this when you’ve prob’ly dealt with worse.”
Lena felt her own eyes begin to water as she shook her head.
The loneliness, the cold, wanting to reach out but never being able to touch anyone or anything. This woman’s memories of her and everyone else here with them when she first got here were like how she had been since ‘Slipstream’s malfunction. Only, unlike this woman, she would have a chance to see them again, to touch, to laugh. But Molly never would, she only had her memories, and even the most vivid ones would fade over time. She quietly prayed that the ones she loved now were just as good to her as those she had loved along with her back then.
She got up from her seat and hugged the old woman tightly, “Thank you!” she sobbed, “Thank you fer bringin’ me ‘ere! For being with me! I know exactly how you feel! It’s so lonely it hurts! It hurts so much!” She felt the woman’s arms wrap around her and give her a gentle squeeze as they both cried for the people who they loved and missed.
After a little while, they calmed down and resumed their tea and snacks with sniffles and a little bit of hiccuping. Once Lena’s belly was full, the device on her chest began flashing.
“Shite!” Molly hissed as she dashed to her side and began inspecting it.
“How long I got?” she asked softly.
“A couple of minutes.” the old woman hissed, frustrated, before looking up at her, upset, “’M so sorry, Lena, I wanted this to be far more pleasant than it was...”
“No.” Lena said, placing at hand on her shoulder, “It’s noice ta know that someone understands how it feels without this thing. And it’s not like I won’t get ta have tons of fun with ya after this!”
Molly laughed, “Guess tha’s true, but still...” she then paused and an impish grin, “I’ll be roight back!” she said, dashing out the door and leaving Lena alone, confused and a bit lonely.
When she came back with an old picture, she looked at her funny, “Is that fer me?”
“Well, fer ya ta look at.” she said, “I don’t think it’ll go with ya, no offense.” Lena held up her hand then looked at the back of the photo, written there was her name, followed by heart and then the name Emily.
“Whose Emily?” she asked.
“Yer wife.” Molly smirked.
“I thought you said Winston was really strict about what you could and could not show me?” Lena squeaked nervously.
“I did ‘n ‘e was.” Molly said, “If ‘e ever found out, ‘e’d kill me.”
Lena looked at her, panicked.
“Oh, calm down, ‘e never foinds out, or if ‘e does, ‘e’s too ‘fraid of me parents ta ever try ta kill me.” Molly said dismissively as she showed her the photo anyways.
Lena gasped.
In the photo, next to her was the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen. Gorgeous red hair, beautiful eyes, cute freckles, beautiful smile...
Lena felt her face burn as she admired the goddess laughing in her arms as she held her in her own.
“Yes, ya hit tha’.” Molly said, “Ya married tha’. Ya adopted a kid ‘n Christ knows how many pets with tha’. ‘N ya grew old with tha’.”
“But... but what do I even say ta ‘er when I meet ‘er?!” she cried, “I mean, just look at her!”
“Say what you say whenever you see a familiar face.” Molly said with a shrug.
Lena looked up at her, pleading for something better than that.
“What was th’ foirst thing you thought when I took ya out of me office?” Molly asked her.
She paused then looked up at her nervously, “You ever get tha’ feelin’ of Deja Vu?” she asked.
The old woman smiled broadly, “Every toime ya say tha’.” she replied warmily.
The blinking increased and the old woman gently patted her shoulder, “I’ll see ya soon ‘nough, Lena.” she promised.
“Lookin’ forward to it!” she laughed as the device went dark and she felt the surge start up again and the background faded away. She felt the device sink through her before she vanished.
Only to reappear by her best friend, who was slumped over and crying while holding the picture she had taken of the two of them when they first met with her old polaroid camera.
“Why?” he sobbed, “Why can’t we find you?! You can’t of just disappeared without a trace! It’s not possible! You have to be somewhere!”
“More loike, somewhen.” She corrected softly. Winston froze and turned around, his eyes wide and red behind his glasses.
“L-Lena?” Winston sniffled, getting up from his spot and reaching for her only for his hand to go through her.
“Cheers, love.” She said tears filling her eyes as she took his hand as best she could and gave him a big smile, “I finally found the calvary.”
Eight years later, Lena entered a pub not to far from her place in King’s Cross, her stomach growling.
She was on leave after another job well done and had just gotten back today, so she had nothing in her fridge and the smells coming from this place had been too good to resist. She glanced around the bar, looking for an open seat when she spotted one next to someone with red hair.
“’Scuse me.” she said, “Anyone sittin’ there?”
The woman turned to her and Lena’s cheeks immediately began to burn.
It was the woman from the photo, Emily,
And she was far prettier in real time.
“Oh, no, no one is sitting there.” she said, motioning for her to take it. Lena did, unable to hide her shock and disbelief that she’d found her in a random pub. She’d tried dating sites, google searches (only having her first name didn’t really help, but she still tried) and so many other things, only to find her while getting a bite to eat.
“Is something wrong?” The woman asked her.
“No!” she blurted, then felt her cheeks go from pink to red with embarrassment. ‘Real smooth, Lena, real smooth.’ she thought, ‘Molly told ya all that just for you to screw it all...’ she stopped, remembering the advice she had been given before she vanished back into the time stream.
She looked at the woman, still a bit embarrassed, but far more relaxed now, “It’s just... well... You ever get that feelin’ of Deja Vu?” she asked her.
A few more years later, Lena sat in the cock pit, waiting for the others to arrive back with the weapon Talon was buying from Hyde, smiling as her girlfriend ended the call with a yawn and a ‘Love you, Lena.’
The Recall made their relationship far more long distance than she would have liked, but they still made it work some how and she was grateful for it. And she was grateful for all the new faces and old who had also answered the recall, they all seemed nice, albeit she found the bigger Junker they hired, Roadhog, to be fucking terrifying. But he kept the smaller one, Junkrat, a friendly and slightly nuts explosive expert with a tendency to catch on fire a little too much, under control and they were both great guys to have on your side. They’d saved her last week when a rogue omnic pushed her off a cliff, Roadhog using his hooked chain to yank her back up and making sure she was alright, while Junkrat blasted the fleeing omnic, along with several others coming towards them, with a simple jump on a land mine of his and a few happily tossed grenades.
Remembering their thick Australian accents made her mind drift back to the old woman, Molly. She wondered when she’d get to see her again. It had been so long ago... or was it so far in the future?
Ugh, time traveler problems.
Her thoughts on this time conundrum was interrupted by a call from Symmetra, one of the other new faces they’d gained thanks to the recall. A Vishkar architect who could make tons of interesting things with just a few flicks of her fingers. She could be a bit cold, but Lena had befriended colder so she wasn’t too bothered by it.
“Tracer, we have the weapon, but there is a complication...” She informed her.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
She heard the Vishkar sigh, “I- It’s difficult to explain.”
“No it ain’.” Junkrat said plainly, “The explainin’ ain’ th’ hard part, it’s believin’ it.”
“Try me, loves.” she challenged as she leaned back in her chair and opened her thermos, “I’ve been in Overwatch for years and I’ve been adrift in the toime stream for God knows how long. I doubt there is anything you can say that’ll shock me.” she said before taking a sip.
“The weapon’s a kid.” Roadhog said plainly, making her spit spray her tea all over the front window and start choking, Junkrat laughing hysterically in the background.
“Okay..” she coughed, “That shocked me.”
“We’re approaching the ORCA, can you set up a connection with Winston so we can pass along the news?” Symmetra asked.
“Can do!” she said, “See ya in a bit!”
“Understood, Symmetra out.”
A few minutes later she heard the door open and she hopped out of the cock pit, curious to see what a human weapon looked like.
She looked like a tiny little girl sitting on Junkrat’s shoulders with a dirty, blood stained dress, two cowlicks and...
violet eyes.
She approached the little girl carefully, her eyes wide and her voice a bit warped with shock, “’Ello there.” she said, feeling a smile curl up her cheeks at the child, “You ever get tha’ feelin’ of Deja Vu, love?” she asked her.
The little girl tilted her head, her cowlicks mirroring her eyebrows in a confused tilt, but she still gave her a vivid smile not too unlike the old woman’s from all those years go.
Lena felt her smile grow bigger. She had said that she’d have fun with her when she saw her again, and she was going to keep that promise.
“Oi, Rat, while we’re waiting for the others, wanna teach her how to slam dunk?” she asked, pointing to the little girl on his shoulders.
I don’t know why I wrote this.
Okay, I kinda do, I thought this up one day and then I wanted to make it a special Tracer chapter of my Adventures of Dadhog fanfic, letting Lena have a moment of calm and rest during her time skips while breaking the one of the big no no of time travelers (no spoilers) and sort of circling from Molly seeing Lena for the last time to Lena meeting Molly for the first time.
(Also, Molly would totally let Lena cheat and see her future wifey, Lena would have gone for her anyways, so why not? And while winston does figure out that old lady molly tells young lena, but Winston can’t punish young Molly for Old Molly’s shit. that’s not fair to young Molly. Plus Old Molly helped Lena, at least for a little while, so he figures if he’s super strict with her when she’s younger about what to say if Lena ever pops up without her chrono-excelorator on, then she won’t say as much, but she still does, thus completing the circle)
But I didn’t know where I should put it in there, like should I make it a bonus chapter when I finish that story or just get it out so i don’t forget it kinda thing, so I’m putting it here. Because I wanted to write it now and I am impatient.