The convention hall was buzzing with the sound of the excited and loud chatter of the attendees. Hana watched as people came and went, getting dragged around by the torrent that was the sea of people on the floor. She wondered for a second how many people had she seen today? A thousand? More? She was sure that at least a hundred had come to her booth alone, so those numbers couldn't be that far off.
D.Va sat at her booth, her fans surrounding her, all eager to meet their idol. After a few years of peace, the world had finally calmed enough for her to enjoy a different kind of spotlight. She smiled warmly as fans brought an endless array of things with her logo and her face on it. From posters, merchandise, toys and even custom art for her to sign. One even bought her some bunny-shaped cookies which were, surprisingly, really good!
"Next, please!" she called cheerfully, waving over the next person in line.
A tall, pear-shaped woman stepped forward, her face glowing with admiration. Her short brown hair framed her face, making the pink markings resembling D.Va's own, stand out even more. The woman clutched a rolled-up poster tightly to her chest as she bounced on the spot. Hana couldn't help but notice how the little bunny logo on the shirt was stretched out beyond belief by the woman's sizable chest.
"Ohmygod I can't believe I'm standing in front of you! I just can't believe it! You are my absolute favorite. I've followed you since your StarCraft days and I've learned Korean because you and and..." the woman gushed in a rush, her words tripping over one another, like she wasn't sure which one was more important so she needed to say them all at once. "You've inspired me sooooooo much. Could you sign this up? It's for my collection!" She asked, showing off a poster of D.Va posing over her MEKA, Tokki.
Hana chuckled, at the enthusiastic fan. "Sure!" she said to the woman who beamed with a smile like she had won the lottery. Then eagerly unfurled the poster and handed it over with a purple pen.
"Could you write: 'For Johanna, my biggest fan!'? With double 'n' Isn't it crazy how even our names match? I mean not really, but they kinda sound similar..."
Hana took the pen, nodding absentmindedly, tuning out Johanna's rambling as she pressed the pen to the glossy poster. But as soon as she pressed the back button, a sharp sting pricked her finger. "Ow!" She cursed softly in Korean, shaking her hand. Her fan gasped concerned.
"Oh no! Are you okay? I, um, I got this pen from a vendor here. Maybe it's broken somewhere?"
"It's fine," Hana assured her, shaking her hand, though a strange tingle lingered in there. She quickly signed the poster and handed it back. Johanna thanked her profusely, in a pretty iffy Korean, before vanishing into the crowd.
Hana brushed off the incident, but as the day wore on, she started feeling...off. Her MEKA uniform, usually snug but comfortable, felt uncomfortably tight around her whole body. She tugged at the fabric, but it refused to budge.
By mid-afternoon, the discomfort became unbearable. She excused herself, her steps wobbly and unsteady as she made her way to the bathrooms.
Once inside, she groaned. "What the hell is wrong with this?" she muttered, tugging at the neck of her suit. It clung to her like a second skin, barely moving away. She stepped back to better examine herself in the mirror, her eyes widening in horror once she noticed it.
There was a faint, purple shimmer coursing over the material. Almost like veins that ran vertically around her; pulsating, almost alive.
Before she could process what was happening, the bathroom door creaked open, and Hana whirled around. Johanna stood in the doorway, the same pen in her hand and a knowing smile on her face.
"You," Hana said, her voice sharp. "What's going on? Did you--?"