Chapter Text
12:28am. Mann Co. Double Cross. BLU Workshop.
Two machines whirred to life, its blue glow lighting up the dim concrete room. The metal frames of contraptions and tools reflected the circular sources of light. A stout man wearing dark blue overalls with a blue collared shirt stepped towards the spinning device.
“Last one for the night.” He speaks up. A strong Southern drawl in his voice.
He pulled his welding goggles down from his hard hat, securing them over hazel eyes. The machine beneath him whirred in a higher pitch, charging up for something.
A flash of light filled the workshop, taking the man with it once it disappeared. He reappears on the other side of the room on the other circular machine. The man steps off of the second glowing device.
He pulls a notebook out of his front pocket, opening it to a page filled with tally marks. he draws another line on the already crowded page.
“The new cooling system works better than bacon ‘n eggs.” He chuckles to himself. He walks out of the workshop, turning off the lights and teleportation devices as he leaves.
“G’night” He mutters to the empty room. Rubbing his face while he walks down the hallway.
,,,
He stifles a yawn while entering a room with the word engineer printed on the front. The small bedroom had a plain bed with a simple desk next to it and a closet. The bland concrete walls were covered end-to-end with blueprints and messily written notes. Notebooks stacked up high on the desk.
The engineer couldn't hold back the yawn anymore as he changed into simple blue sleepwear, settling into bed. He closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.
,,,
It was dark.
Unrelenting and seemingly endless. the suffocating pressure crushing down on him.
Then there was blinding light.
A white pain overtakes him as sudden as the light had appeared.
He feels a familiar nausea he gets from the teleporter. He thought he got used to it by now.
His skin ached.
His body burned.
His hair rose up. In fear? In pain? He does not know.
He looked down at his arms, Goosebumps were covering him, head to toe..
His hands shook. something was stabbing him from under his skin.
He tried to scream, he tried to call for help but the only thing that came out was high pitched whistling.
Like a dying wheeze.
,
But something was off.
It almost sounded,
,
Unhuman.
,,,
The Engineer woke up in a fright. Shooting straight up after sleeping for around 5 hours did not do any favors for his old bones. He groaned as he felt multiple pops run up his back.
He rubs the sleep away from his eyes to check the time. It was almost half past six. A good time to start the day as any. He wandered out of his room to the shared restroom in the base. He looked in the mirror at the stubble that had grown on his chin. The hairs were stiffer than before but nothing noteworthy. He ran the blade along his cheeks to remove the whiskers.
,,,
Once he was done with his morning routine he went downstairs to start up breakfast for the rest of the team. Half of them are banned from using the kitchen. Meal duty was handled by 4 of the 9 mercenaries, including himself.
“Mornin.” A rough Australian accent spoke out as he entered the kitchen.
A tall, lanky man wearing sunglasses indoors was standing next to the coffee pot. He already had a full coffee pot in his hand, but was preparing another.
“G’morning, Sniper.” Engineer smiles. “Is this your first pot for the day?” He asks in amusement.
“Second,” The Sniper said with a straight face. He then brings the already filled coffee pot to his lips, and chugs the steaming hot coffee.
Engineer lets out a low whistle. “You were up early then.”
The Sniper grumbles before turning away. Leaving the room with his third pot of coffee.
The engineer pulls out supplies to make breakfast for the eight other men. He was half way done mixing pancake mix when a trumpet blares out through the halls. he almost spilled the mix all over the floor.
“WAKE UP MAGGOTS! IT IS 700 HOURS!” A rough American accent roared out. “WE HAVE A WAR TO GET TO! MOVE UP!”
“Dagnabbit Soldier.” Engineer curses under his breath. “SOLDIER! IT IS CEASEFIRE TODAY! NO BATTLES!”
“THOSE COMMUNIST RED MAGGOTS COULD BE PLANNING AN ATTACK RIGHT NOW! GET YOUR LAZY ASSES UP!” Soldier shouts at the top of his lungs.
Engineer lets out a frustrated sigh. He puts down the mix and walks over to Soldier. The muscular man was carrying a bugle while in a military uniform that doesn't seem to fit any military unit. An oversized steel helmet was covering his eyes. Engineer yanks his ear, soldier lets out a surprised shout.
“Stop hollering like a rooster! let them rest. It was a rough fight yesterday. So get your butt downstairs to help me with breakfast or go back to your room! There will be no fights from us or the REDs.” Engineer released the taller man’s ear.
“Damn hippie fruit baskets.” Soldier turns his head down and mutters a half-hearted protest before turning to head off to the shooting range.
A lanky young man exits his sleeping quarters. He wears a simple blue shirt with pants, a baseball cap on his head. He tugs at his dog tags with wrapped hands.
“Thanks Engie.” Scout says in a Bostonian accent before running to the kitchen.
Engineer followed at his own leisurely pace.
,,,
When Engineer catches up to Scout, he sees Pyro already at the stove. The masked figure huddled over with something on fire in her gloved hands. He doesn't seem to mind the flames slowly licking up its asbestos covered arm.
“Pyro, what did I say about burning things in the base?” Engineer scolded the fire starter.
Pyro mumbled an incoherent response before patting the flames out.
“I appreciate you wanting to help with the cooking, but we ran out of fire extinguishers yesterday. so maybe next time.” Engineer sighs while rubbing the back of his head.
Pyro enthusiastically nods before wandering off to sit next to Scout. Scout visibly flinched away from Pyro before starting a one-sided conversation. Pyro listened intently to the Scout as he rambled on about Tom Jones.
Engineer shakes his head with a grin before going back to making pancakes for the crew. The day was pretty calm so far. Would be a good day to take a break from tinkering with the teleporters.
He needs a break if his sleep is filled with that nauseating feeling.