"Easy now Angela, I'm here." Charles said helping the Doctor to her feet. After a few weeks, Angela was fully recovered thanks to the efforts of Zenyatta, Ana, and Lucio.

"I'm fine Charlie, but thank you for being there for me." Angela said smiling at him. "It's no hassle my dear, your safety is my only concern." Charles replied.

"How cute." Lucio said grinning at them. "Glad to see you feeling better Miss Ziegler." Aaron said leaning on the doorframe.

"I'm glad to see you doing well Arsenal, or would you prefer 'Manhattan' instead?" Angela asked with a smirk.

"Arsenal!? Wait, you're the vigilante?" Lucio asked in surprise. "Yeah, that's me." Aaron replied. "Whoa, I didn't know." Lucio said.

"Now that we got the introductions done, Angela, me and Charles found out more about Project Avatar." Arsenal said.

"I had thought that project was destroyed in the past. When we thought Fire and Snow were the only ones." Angela said lowering her eyes to the floor.

"I did too when I thought we had killed Fire. I thought wrong, it seems now they want to continue where their predecessors left off." Aaron replied nodding his head.

"Well, at least we have something to counter them." Ana said looking at Charles. "Perhaps, but we'll need my mom and dad if we are to stand a chance, most likely they have changed the pattern up and have spawned more of those elementals. Usually with more enemies, they tend to overwhelm their intended target." Charles said.

"Like the droids vs the clones in the Clone Wars series." Lucio chimed in. Everyone looked at him with a confused look.

"What? I don't just focus on music. I watch TV in my spare time." Lucio said crossing his arms. "Anyways, we've tried to locate more of their bases that house this projects, but it's been a futile effort." Charles said.

"Not necessarily futile, Lawson and the Unit have been working overtime to find these research plants. So far, we've found 5 of them." Aaron said.

"Great, let's get on the offensive and take them out." Charles said. "Easy there bonehead, we need to figure up a plan. Divide and conquer. We need to be smart and make teams to take out each of them." Aaron retorted. Charles sighed and nodded.

"It'll be better if everyone heard this, let's call a meeting in the rec room." Ana said as the group left and entered the rec to see Hana and Genji playing Battlefront, Reinhardt was reading a book before waving hi to the assemble group walking in.

"Athena, call everyone into the Rec room please." Charles said. "ALL AGENTS, REPORT TO THE RECREATIONAL ROOM." The AI said in the speakers. After a few minutes, the agents grouped up and looked at Aaron and Charles. The Unit and Lawson stood near the door.

"As we all know, Project Avatar is back in full spring." Charles said. Some murmured here and there before Ana silenced them.

"Thanks to the efforts of the Unit and Lawson, we've managed to find 5 of these research plants holding the serum. For us to be successful, we'll need teams of four to attack them each and individually. Junkrat, Roadhog, Ana, and Mei, you'll be team 1." Charles said.

"Got it." "Understood." "I copy." "I'm ready mate! Haha!"

"Jack, Hana, Bastion, and Reinhardt. You'll be team 2." The group nodded.

"The Unit and myself will be team 3, Genji, Winston, Zenyatta, and Lucio you'll be team 4. The rest will stay on the dropships as reinforcements should any of us require it. Ready?" Charles asked. The group nodded as they left for the hangar. Charles looked over to see Aaron and Lena talking before Aaron blushed and nodded. Lena smiled brightly and pecked his cheek before leaving. Charles pretended not to see anything as he tried his best to hide his smile.

"Laugh it up you prick." Aaron said trying to calm his red face. "Oh, is our little Manhattan blushing?" Barnes asked nudging Aaron's shoulder.

"Shut up Chloe." Aaron said through gritted teeth. "Whoever the lucky girl is, I wish you luck bro." She said before entering the dropship. Charles stood next to the group and nodded before seeing Lawson scowled. The dropship hovered before flying off towards their objective.

"Damn, got some heavy flak headed your way Team 3!" Lena reported as gunfire and explosions could be heard.

"We get through this, drinks are on me." Apollo said cracking his next. Charles glanced out the window to see a heavily fortified warehouse.

"I'm buying the whole damn bar." Charles said looking at the AA gunfire. "A little overkill for a warehouse isn't it?" Aaron asked loading up the Patriot. Charles glanced over to see Angela in her Valkyrie suit, her staff in one hand and pistol in the other. He squeezed passed the cramped ship and stood in front of her. She looked into his eyes with a worried glance.

"Don't worry, just stay behind me and you'll be safe." Charles said wrapping her in a hug and kissing her forehead.

"Just try to stay alive." Angela said with a smile. "I understand." He replied as the ship landed. "Alright, let's move it!" Barnes said as the Unit and Charles left. As Charles exited the ship, he turned to see Angela hopping off.

"Angela, I thought you were going to stay on the ship?" Charles asked. "And stay with Lawson, pfft, nah I'm good. Besides, someone needs to keep you out of trouble. Along with the rest of this lot." Angela said.

"Alright, stay close." Charles said as the two caught up to Aaron. Barnes raised her hand, signaling everyone to stop. Grief and Apollo turned to her as Aaron hefted his rifle.

"Alright, we'll need to be quick and fast. Hope after our little break you all are still on the top of your game." Barnes said smirking. Aaron turned to Charles and pulled out his double-barreled pistol, handing it to him.

"Take it, you'll need it more than I." Aaron said. "That is right, the sun is out high." Angela said looking to sky.

"You won't be able to use your Rider powers without the shade. So your best bet is to scrounge for weapons, or make it to the shadows and attack from there." Aaron said.

"What do you mean 'Rider powers'?" Barnes asked. Charles looked around until seeing a sizable rock covering a patch of land, enough shade for one person.

"Hand me your sniper." Charles said as Grief tossed the weapon to him. Charles quickly slid into the shade as he burst into flames. Hellfire infused itself into the weapon as it changed.

"Go, I'll cover you from here." Charles said. "Whoa." Grief and Apollo said in unison. "Enough gawking, get moving you three." Barnes said as the group left. Charles sat in the shade as he fired at and Talon operatives trying to impede their charge.

'Breath in, breathe out, pull the trigger.' The Rider said to him. Charles took a breath before pulling the trigger, embedding a bullet into a Talon operative that flanked the Unit. Charles watched as the group effectively wiped out every enemy with ease, just like in the stories Aunt Lena would tell him.

"They truly are amazing." He said to himself. He watched as Aaron and Angela stayed behind to guard the entrance as Barnes and the rest entered to destroy the warehouse.

"We've found the serum Commander, proceeding with destroying the stuff. Wait,Grief, LOOK OUT-" "Barnes? Barnes!" Aaron shouted. Charles stood up and began running towards the two as his flesh began to mend.

"What happened?" He asked. "I don't know, but let's move." Aaron said hefting the Patriot as they began running into the warehouse.

"DAMN, ATTICUS, LOOK OUT!" Barnes screams could be heard. As the three entered, the saw a man attacking Grief. He appeared to summon globs of green goo and tossing them at the Unit. When it landed, it began to dissolve the floor where it landed.

"Hehehe! You Overwatch scum are trash. Thinking yourselves as heroes. You're nothing more than vermin!" The man shouted as he punched Grief.

"We're not Overwatch you prick!" Apollo said running over to the man and swinging his left fist, only for the man to dodge and kick him back. The man turned to see Aaron, Charles, and Angela run in.

"Oh, would you look at that, reinforcements. As if I didn't have my own!" The man shouted before three more people ran in.

"Let me introduce myself, the name's Acid. These lovely people are my friends Earth and Wind. I'm sure you've already met our old friends Fire and Snow." Acid said with a grin. Charles growled lightly as he gripped his hand into a fist.

"So what if we've met them, you die here and now!" Charles shouted as he tossed the sniper down and ran at the elemental, the pistol in hand. He fired at the man as the rounds stabbed their way into his flesh.

"You think a puny pistol with do anything?" Acid asked as his flesh began to mend. "I control acid boy, you cannot defeat me!" He said dashing forward and punching Charles, making him slam into the wall.

"Charlie!" Angela shouted as Charles fell to the ground. Shakily, he began to rise before coughing blood. Angela glided over to him before being blown towards the wall. Angela slammed into the way, completely unconscious.

"She was a pest anyways. Now, Air, Earth, let's take care of this supposed elite Unit shall we?" Acid asked as he turned to Barnes. Charles coughed before glancing at the downed medic. Blood streaked down her face.

"A-Angela?" He croaked crawling over to her. He flopped in front of her as he struggled to his knees.

"Angela?" He asked again grabbing her and holding her close. Angela coughed lightly as blood trickled out her mouth.

"C-Charlie?" She asked before passing out. Charles felt a familiar feeling, a feeling he wished to never experience again. He removed his hand from underneath her as he saw the familiar thick, red, substance.

"Angela!" Charles shouted as tears fell down his cheeks. The memory resurfaced again, the highway, the smoke, the gunfire. Everything rushed back to him as he stared at the unconscious form of Angela.

"You, bastards!" Charles shouted as he glared at them. Fuming with rage, Charles placed Angela on the ground as he lifted himself up. Acid, Earth, and Air stared at him as Aaron and Apollo stood ready to defend them.

"Getting cocky boy, I'll have to take you down a peg." Acid said, motioning for the two to attack. Air thrusted his arm forward as a torrent of air shot towards them. Charles planted his feet as he withstood the blast. Air gasped lightly in surprise. Charles growled at them before charging forward.

"DONT BE A FOOL! YOU CAN'T TAKE THEM WITH ALL THIS LIGHT!" Aaron shouted. As Charles dashed forward, his skin began to boil against the sunlight. His skin began to glow red hot as the Hellfire began to cook the skin.

"You shouldn't have done that!" Charles yelled as he winded back his fist and thrusted forward, his fist changing to a flaming bone fist. His fist connected to his jaw as Air flew backwards and crashed into the wall behind him. Charles glared at Earth before his entire body exploded into flames, his skin and tissue dissolving before the group. He glanced at Earth and pulled out his chain as his Hellfire infused into it.

"Charles." Aaron said as the skeleton twirled the chain around and wrapped it around the Earth elemental. The chain steaming against his skin.

"Acid, help me!" Earth cried out before his skin began to turn into rock. With a flick of his wrist, the Earth elemental was reduced to rubble. Air began to regain his senses before noticing the pile of Earth.

"What the hell?" He said before feeling a hot sensation around his neck. The skeleton appeared in front of him as Charles clacked his teeth.

"You shouldn't have done that to her." He growled before squeezing the elemental's throat, killing him instantly. The skeleton opened his palm, dropping the body in a heap as it stared at Acid.

"Not really what I expected, but we'll finish this battle later, Demon." Acid said before a cloud of poisonous smoke appeared, masking his escape. The skeleton used his chain to dissipate the gas from killing the Unit.

"Charles, are you with us?" Aaron asked walking over to the flaming creature. "Aaron 'Manhattan' 'Arsenal' Richards. No, Charles is not here." The Rider spoke.

"What's happening to him, are you taking over?" Aaron asked, holding his rifle. "Calm yourselves, no I am not in control. Charles is all alone in his psyche, I'll try to talk to him. Just, make sure she's okay." The Rider said pointing to the unconscious form of Angela.

"You have my word." Aaron said nodding. The Rider grunted before sitting down to calm himself.

~Charles's Psyche~

The Rider appeared in his room of the body he shared. He walked to his door and opened it to show the form of Charles holding his knees, crying could be heard.

"Charles." The Rider said jogging over to the man and kneeling in front of him. Charles glanced up at the Rider as tears continued to fall.

"I-I, the memories, t-they won't stop flashing. I wasn't fast enough to save her." He said as memories continued to flash around his mind. The Rider looked up as the images raced by.

'I see, he believes he cannot save her. I'll take over the reins for now while he tries to deal with this, and I'll be right there with him.' The Rider said as he regained conscious. The skin began to reform on Charles. Aaron and the Unit stared at him as he stood up and cracked his back.

"Charlie?" Aaron asked hesitantly. "No Aaron, it's me." The Rider replied. "Why are you in control?" Barnes asked.

"After seeing Angela like that, he's suffering from panic attacks and other attacks mentally. It appears the incident on the highway was too much for someone so young. For now, I'll be in control for the time being." The Rider informed them. He walked over to the unconscious form of Angela and picked her up bridal style.

"Did you destroy all the data and set the explosives?" The Rider asked. "Apollo, let's set them now and book it out of here." Barnes said as the two ran and tossed grenades into the vat.

"MOVE IT NOW! DOUBLE TIME IT!" Barnes shouted as the group ran from the warehouse. Lawson brought the ship down and lowered the ramp, allowing the group to enter the ship and escape the burning wreckage. The Rider sat on the couch as he held Angela close.

"Everything okay?" Lawson asked. "Yeah, data and serum is destroyed. But not without a cost." Aaron reported, looking at The Rider holding the unconscious medic.

"Is she okay?" He asked. "A few cuts and bruises, but she'll be alright." Barnes reported. "Charles, are you okay?" Lawson said.

"He is fine." The Rider replied. "What the?" "Charles is catatonic at the moment, memories resurfaced that he shouldn't have witnessed as a child." Aaron said.

"At the moment, the Rider is in control until Charles is better enough to take the reins." Apollo said. Lawson looked at the Rider as he held the medic in his arms. He grabbed a towel and wiped the blood from her mouth and face. The dropship landed in the hangar as the Rider stood and walked out and towards the infirmary. The remaining dropships landed in the hangar, agents cheered at their success.

"Ana, Lucio, Zenyatta, come with me please." The Rider asked. The three healers walked over and looked at him.

"I require your assistance." The Rider said as they walked to the infirmary. The agents murmured to each other as they watched the Rider and healers leave the hangar.

"I hope he's okay." Aaron said before being tackled by Lena. "Whoa!" He yelped as the Brit smiled at him.

"Hey there nerd, I'm glad you're safe." She said. "I'm fine, but my back isn't." Aaron replied earning a few chuckles from the Unit and agents. Lena stood up and helped the weaponsmith to his feet before giving him a kiss, earning a red faced Aaron.

"Been waitin' to do that luv, be honest with ya, I may have fallen for ya since we dug you from the rocks." Lena said with a blush. Aaron was speechless at the sudden kiss.

"I'll let ya think on that. Love ya Aaron!" Lena said blinking off. Barnes walked over to him and laughed lightly and clapped his shoulder.

"Good luck pal." Barnes said as the rest of the agents left. Apollo laughed and pushed the man along.

The Rider sat next to Angela's bed as the EKG beeped. 'I should have been quicker, forgive me Angela.' The Rider thought. He sighed and stood up before leaning downwards and kissing her forehead. He exited the room as Lucio, Ana, and Zenyatta watched him.

"I'll be outside meditating if you need me." The Rider said leaving the medbay. The Rider exited the base and walked over to the cliff as he sat down and exhaled. He closed his eyes as he returned to Charles's psyche. He looked around to see Charles sitting alone, scared of his memories. He walked over to him and sat down and held him close.

"I'm here Charlie." The Rider said. "We're in this together, no matter what." He said. 

A/N: Oh baby girl, this was a hoot to write. I hope you enjoyed it guys and gals! I swear this might be the best I've written in a long time, and that's saying something. But I do hope you guys enjoyed it and from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading. It warms my heart knowing people enjoyed reading it. Until next time, tata for now fellas!