Lena's return to the waking world was gradual, less a discrete awakening, and more a slow realisation that reality had overtaken her fevered dreams.

In the pre-dawn gloom, it was hard for Lena to discern her surroundings. The bed she lay in was not her own, but as memories of the previous night resurfaced, the Mistralian teenager assumed she was in a hospital. No pain though, so I guess we're sweet, she mused internally, continuing to assess her environment.

As her eyes adjusted to the low light, what she had assumed to be the walls resolved into a curtain of fabric surrounding her cot. To one side sat a vaguely lamp-shaped shadow, and a few seconds of half-awake swiping flooded the area with a warm orange glow, revealing that it was, in fact, a lamp.

This discovery also allowed Lena to lift her blanket and see the hospital gown someone had left her in – that's two-for-two on the guesses, go us – and she also noticed a table opposite the lamp, upon which sat her favourite orange-tinted goggles, as well as her dual mechashifting gauntlet-warglaive-machine-pistols, Phase and Pulse.

All was right with the world once again, and Lena was about ready to get back to sleep when she heard the shuffling of footsteps, and her privacy curtain was carefully pulled aside.

Looking in on Lena was a woman she had never met before, somewhat elderly judging from her fully white hair and the lines that ran deep into the brown skin of her face. The woman wore what looked to be pyjamas, with some kind of lab coat hastily thrown over top. The coat was white with red accents, and Lena couldn't help but notice a certain amount of tears and scorch marks dotted across the surface, as well as signs of multiple repairs.

The most striking features of the visitor, however, were her eyes: the left had a curious, curved tattoo around and beneath it, while the right was hidden beneath a thick black eye patch. Even so, the eyes were friendly, and when they met Lena's the whole face bloomed into a smile that could only be described as motherly.

"My my, you woke up quickly. Aura boosting is such a wondrous thing, no? How do you feel, my child?" The woman asked, Lena placing her lilting accent as hailing from the far western reaches of Vacuo.

"I'm fine, good even, cheers." Lena responded with the best smile she could muster. "Quite tired, ma'am, but there's no pain. I don't remember much about the fight though."

"Excellent. You only took a grazing shot, a few pellets to the side of your waste, no need to worry dear. For one so young, it's perfectly normal to be exhausted after your aura is depleted."

"Okay, thanks. Sorry if I woke you up. If you don't mind, ma'am, where are we?"

"Not to worry dear, we'll both get our beauty sleep soon. Where are my manners though; my name is Doctor Ana Amari, Chief Medical Officer of Beacon Academy, and you are a welcome guest in my infirmary."

Lena's eyes lit up.

"Beacon! Oh that is tops, I'm actually coming to study hear this year, so I'm sure we'll see each other loads!" Lena paused, her grin dropping like a rock and her cheeks pinking as her own thoughts caught up with her words. "Not that I plan to get hurt a bunch and wind up back here, but, well, I mean-"

"Hehe, settle down child, I know what you mean." Doctor Amari stepped closer and put a reassuring hand on Lena's shoulder. The reassurance was coupled with a gentle yet firm push, sinking the agitated teen back into her cot. "And I know you're a student, miss Oxton. Rest now, you can spend the next two days here, until initiation. However, the man you helped last night, Professor Morrison; he will be your battlefield tactics instructor, and after yesterday's showing, I believe he intends to have some rather loud words with you tomorrow."

Lena whimpered involuntarily, but she agreed that some sleep was the best course right now. She was alive, she was comfy, and the scary angry professor was sounding distinctly like a tomorrow-Lena problem. Doctor Amari wished her a good night, and flicked off the lamp as she departed, while Lena lay back and allowed the gentle darkness to envelope her once again.

Author's Note: Anyone who read this story in it's first year might remember a different, comedy-focused chapter two. That chapter is now non-canon, but parts of it will be rewritten as part of later chapters, and once there are more characters and less hospital beds I will be swinging back towards a more comedic tone.

A quick note on names, both team and personal. I am NOT sticking to the RWBY colour naming rule. Even though it's justified in canon, it doesn't make sense to me that EVERYONE would do it, and with how little we actually know about many Overwatch heroes, their names are going to be important to making this not feel like twenty OCs. Thus, I saved name changes for when I had a specific reason to do it, such as Lena being short for Eleanor because I want an E in her team's name.

As characters are introduced, I'll include a direct reference to what skin they're using after the chapter, as well as a justification for any names changed. Nicknames (e.g. Tracer) will be used later on once characters become more familiar with each other, and it's those character I'll generally be more comfortable making alterations to their real names.

[Names and Skins]

Ana (Professor Ana Amari) - Merciful