The only things Angela could note were responses to her tests.
( And he should know the tests -- basic strength exercises, vitals responses. Nothing is bad, far better than it had ever been, and somehow... it was wrong.
And, as if on cue, the cup that Ana had been placing down breaks )
Apparently my reactions exceed anything she's measured before.
[As soon as he hears the telltale shatter of the teacup, he understands what's going on--Jack used to do the exact same thing. He'd been very young at the time, but he still remembers what it was like, to accidentally break most everything he touched.
He opens his mouth to speak, but closes it when he realizes he's too bewildered to actually say anything. It takes him another minute to find words.]
[He is already imagining the potential destruction, if only because he lived it. How do you describe to someone else how it feels, when he's had more than thirty years to get used to it? When he's never had to instruct another person how to cope with abilities like his?]
Angela will figure something out.
[She's got to, though he says it more to assure himself than anything else. Hopefully this is only temporary.
After a moment of consideration, he stands, moving behind her to reach around and take the broken pieces of the cup out of her hands.]
[Extra gentle, like handling tissue paper, at least to start. His eyebrows are furrowed in concentration, like he's trying to remember exactly what this feels like. He's been living with his enhancements for longer than he's been without them, so it's difficult to recall.]
I broke a lot of things, the first few months.
[Implying that he didn't get used to it easily either.]
[Like a lot of other things they've experienced both on the Moira and on Thisavrou. That's all he can really hope for. Now that he's removed the pieces of the cup from her grasp, he moves to take her hans in his.]
( She starts to move her hands from him, worried that if she broke a cup so easily--
But it's Jack and that gets her to stop, almost relax a little. He's never hurt her, and she's known him long enough. Light touches, a grip of her shoulder, pulling her from danger. He'd figured it out )
You'd be the best for it.
( Her head tips back up, eye settling on him and she smiles a little )
[That had, at one point, been one of Jack’s greatest fears—that he’d accidentally hurt someone by underestimating his own strength. In earlier years, he’d been very strict about who he spars with and when, and always held himself back accordingly. He can feel her flinch underneath his hands and he tries to run a reassuring thumb over her knuckles letting her know that it’s all right. She won’t hurt him.]
No.
[And she’s lucky that she just has the abilities, now, and didn’t have to go through what he did to get them. He’s since compartmentalized the experience, but he does remember sweaty, painful nights in the medical bay, the ache of everything changing too fast, being overwhelmed by heightened senses and raw power, feeling like his body didn’t belong to him until he finally started to settle into it.]
I don’t think they did, either.
[The goal had been stronger, faster, sharper, more durable. Something that could stand a chance against the Omnics. When faced with human extinction, unintended side effects are something of an afterthought. He's not even sure how long he's supposed to live.]
( There's a nod, an understanding of his intentions. It will be alright, and if he thinks it would be temporary then Ana may even hope for that. If not she would learn and adjust. She could, somehow )
They just got what they wanted.
( He'd been a success, and Gabriel too. They'd stood against the Omnics, had brought hope and peace. That was all that they'd cared about, but not what Ana did. She wanted to know the rest -- the things only he could know )
[So they got what they wanted, sure, but not without human cost. Jack was one of the lucky (and alive) ones. Even if they made it through the program, graduates got mowed down by Omnics just the same. Overwatch had been the only way to win that war.
And now here he is, thirty years later, trying to make sense of it all. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.]
I don’t know what I expected. They wanted to make us better soldiers, and I wasn’t going to say no, not given what we were up against.
( And if it was more than what she'd seen in the field, something other than saving a life, then it might feel different.
Jack had gone through this before she'd ever met him, and then it had just been a fact -- accepted without these personal questions. Some she'd later asked, found out more, but nothing this deep )
[Jack has to think about that, and it's evident on his face, because the only thing his enhancements are really good for is making him an absolute nightmare on the battlefield or in hand-to-hand. He supposes the fact that he's incredibly difficult to kill is also good, but he knows that's not what Ana is looking for.
He takes a moment to relocate, releasing her hands and sitting down at the kitchen table.]
I know you don't need to be like me to protect people, but. It's nice. Knowing that I can.
[That's an even trickier question, because Jack's choice had been entirely rooted in circumstance--and at the time, it had seemed like something he had to do. His patriotic duty, or something like it. Thinking about it now feels like something he didn't even live, like the person who signed his body away to the US government at twenty years old isn't even him. In many ways, he wasn't.]
I wouldn't have met Gabriel.
[Which, of course brought its own measure of strife, but he doesn't regret their friendship. Jack wouldn't be the same without him, in a large variety of ways.]
Wouldn't have been tapped for Overwatch. Wouldn't have met you.
[He meets her eyes when he says that--it's the most important thing, as far as he's concerned.]
( Though Ana had been looking for honesty that wasn't what she'd expected. There's a noise, a sort of reflex chuckle, but she knows he means it. Unquestionably )
Then I can weather it. As long as I stop breaking all of the cups.
( Because that's her temporary goal. She's not going to dream of getthim to make all of the tea -- Ana has too much pride for that.
She gives him a nod, a silent thanks. It'll all work out )
[More joking, but that much is true at least. Another thing he wouldn't have experienced if he never met--Ana. He'd have garbage tea-making skills. It doesn't take long for him to take care of it, and soon he's setting two steaming mugs down on the table. No teacups, this time. Something a little sturdier.]
( There's a nod, and a few secpnds of hesitation that he'll be able to notice. Picking it up is no issue, and a few seconds after she tastes it there's a smile )
It passes.
( It more than passes -- it's good. Even after all of this time he remembered exactly how to make it.
The mug stays in her hands, risking the pressure of holding it rather than trying to put it back down )
[If he had a touch in the first place. Jack is watching the way she handles the mug, seemingly ready to reach out and correct her if it looks like she’s about to shatter it. But these mugs are sturdier, and her grip is more careful. Obviously, the situation is less than ideal, but they’re both adaptable.]
Maybe when we’re finished I can show you how to jump out a second-story window.
( But she's amused, her first real sign of starting to relax since this thing started.
Though Ana supposes she can see the useful skill in it, if this stuck around. He had had to jump them both, and another passenger, out of a window not all too long ago )
How many floors is it before it isn't recommended to do?
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( And he should know the tests -- basic strength exercises, vitals responses. Nothing is bad, far better than it had ever been, and somehow... it was wrong.
And, as if on cue, the cup that Ana had been placing down breaks )
Apparently my reactions exceed anything she's measured before.
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He opens his mouth to speak, but closes it when he realizes he's too bewildered to actually say anything. It takes him another minute to find words.]
Are you breaking a lot of cups? Today?
[Or. Other things.]
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( Thankfully the rest hadn't actually broken but there'd been a close call with a door.
Or two )
I don't know what to do, Jack.
( Or how to not do it, really )
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Angela will figure something out.
[She's got to, though he says it more to assure himself than anything else. Hopefully this is only temporary.
After a moment of consideration, he stands, moving behind her to reach around and take the broken pieces of the cup out of her hands.]
Here. You've just gotta be gentle.
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( It had felt, at first at least, as if her motions were the same -- the same gentle ease that she always gave.
Apparently her old kind of gentle was no longer enough.
Ana sighs as Jack takes the pieces from her, head dipping slightly )
How did you get used to it?
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[Extra gentle, like handling tissue paper, at least to start. His eyebrows are furrowed in concentration, like he's trying to remember exactly what this feels like. He's been living with his enhancements for longer than he's been without them, so it's difficult to recall.]
I broke a lot of things, the first few months.
[Implying that he didn't get used to it easily either.]
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( Or she can't. It would have been one thing if she'd been younger, or even expecting it, but not now. She's too old )
It took me a long time to adjust to losing my eye. I didn't think to expect anything again.
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[Like a lot of other things they've experienced both on the Moira and on Thisavrou. That's all he can really hope for. Now that he's removed the pieces of the cup from her grasp, he moves to take her hans in his.]
I can try to help.
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But it's Jack and that gets her to stop, almost relax a little. He's never hurt her, and she's known him long enough. Light touches, a grip of her shoulder, pulling her from danger. He'd figured it out )
You'd be the best for it.
( Her head tips back up, eye settling on him and she smiles a little )
Did you know going in how much would change?
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No.
[And she’s lucky that she just has the abilities, now, and didn’t have to go through what he did to get them. He’s since compartmentalized the experience, but he does remember sweaty, painful nights in the medical bay, the ache of everything changing too fast, being overwhelmed by heightened senses and raw power, feeling like his body didn’t belong to him until he finally started to settle into it.]
I don’t think they did, either.
[The goal had been stronger, faster, sharper, more durable. Something that could stand a chance against the Omnics. When faced with human extinction, unintended side effects are something of an afterthought. He's not even sure how long he's supposed to live.]
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They just got what they wanted.
( He'd been a success, and Gabriel too. They'd stood against the Omnics, had brought hope and peace. That was all that they'd cared about, but not what Ana did. She wanted to know the rest -- the things only he could know )
What did you expect would happen?
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[So they got what they wanted, sure, but not without human cost. Jack was one of the lucky (and alive) ones. Even if they made it through the program, graduates got mowed down by Omnics just the same. Overwatch had been the only way to win that war.
And now here he is, thirty years later, trying to make sense of it all. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.]
I don’t know what I expected. They wanted to make us better soldiers, and I wasn’t going to say no, not given what we were up against.
[When the alternative was extinction.]
It’s not all bad.
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( And if it was more than what she'd seen in the field, something other than saving a life, then it might feel different.
Jack had gone through this before she'd ever met him, and then it had just been a fact -- accepted without these personal questions. Some she'd later asked, found out more, but nothing this deep )
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He takes a moment to relocate, releasing her hands and sitting down at the kitchen table.]
I know you don't need to be like me to protect people, but. It's nice. Knowing that I can.
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( And that isn't really about his abilities or what he's done with them, how its entirely him. His strength helps, but she's glad its him there )
Would you have ever changed it? Looking back now, I mean. After everything that happened with the SEP.
( Not everything since, just his strengt, and the rest of his enhancements )
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I wouldn't have met Gabriel.
[Which, of course brought its own measure of strife, but he doesn't regret their friendship. Jack wouldn't be the same without him, in a large variety of ways.]
Wouldn't have been tapped for Overwatch. Wouldn't have met you.
[He meets her eyes when he says that--it's the most important thing, as far as he's concerned.]
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Then I can weather it. As long as I stop breaking all of the cups.
( Because that's her temporary goal. She's not going to dream of getthim to make all of the tea -- Ana has too much pride for that.
She gives him a nod, a silent thanks. It'll all work out )
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[But he will, if he has to, make the tea. In fact, he's going to get up and do that RIGHT NOW.]
Let me make the tea.
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( But, polite refusal aside, it is appreciated. And maybe she does need one. Help the conversation )
It's just one step at a time.
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[IT'S TOO LATE HE'S GOING. He's getting a new cup. It's happening.]
Unless you don't trust me.
[He says that with a wry smile. A joke, of course, but he's messed up her tea more than once. Jack likes to think he's learned by now. ]
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I trust you.
( There's not many she does trust with her tea, which should say enough )
Tea might be welcome.
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[More joking, but that much is true at least. Another thing he wouldn't have experienced if he never met--Ana. He'd have garbage tea-making skills. It doesn't take long for him to take care of it, and soon he's setting two steaming mugs down on the table. No teacups, this time. Something a little sturdier.]
Just be careful.
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It passes.
( It more than passes -- it's good. Even after all of this time he remembered exactly how to make it.
The mug stays in her hands, risking the pressure of holding it rather than trying to put it back down )
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[If he had a touch in the first place. Jack is watching the way she handles the mug, seemingly ready to reach out and correct her if it looks like she’s about to shatter it. But these mugs are sturdier, and her grip is more careful. Obviously, the situation is less than ideal, but they’re both adaptable.]
Maybe when we’re finished I can show you how to jump out a second-story window.
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( But she's amused, her first real sign of starting to relax since this thing started.
Though Ana supposes she can see the useful skill in it, if this stuck around. He had had to jump them both, and another passenger, out of a window not all too long ago )
How many floors is it before it isn't recommended to do?
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