Rottenburg am Neckar, Tubingen, Germany. 6 years after the incident.
Dr. Angela Zeiger watched her kids played on the front porch of her modest terrace house. Non-identical twins, a boy and a girl of 6 years in age, they were both currently playing a game with each other.
"Hannah, throw the ball!" Julian shouted in excitement. His sister complied and passed the ball to him.
Angela reached for the locket on her and opened it. In it was a black and white polaroid photo. The kind that was common almost a century ago in the 1970s. She looked at the picture, a picture of Dr. Fritz Mengele. Under it was a handwritten sentence. "Even time will never separate us. May we be together till death my dear Angela." It was a promise, made during a quiet moment in front of a base. The man, Dr. Fritz, whom calls himself 'Medic', who she initially disliked a lot due to his lack of medical ethics and later, his dark history. He, who would later on go on to be her closest friend and the father of the two wonderful kids in front of her now.
"Mom? Are you looking at that old picture of Dad again?" Julian asked, snapping her out of her trance.
"Yes.." Zeiger said. "I'm just remembering the times we spent together."
"When is dad going to come back?" Hannah asked.
That question made her pause for a while. "He has some problems to solve where he is. It would be awhile before he can make it back." she said.
"Isn't he a doctor just like you?" Hannah continued.
"Yes dear. But he's very far away so it is difficult for him to come back home." Zeiger patiently replied
"Where is he?" her kids asked.
"Somewhere in the American Badlands. It's a remote place, so it hard for him to write back." Dr. Angela explained. "He will be back one day. He promised"
The explanation seemed to satisfy her children's curiosity and they went back to their game. Dr. Angela got up from her chair and went back in her home. As she headed past the living room, she noticed her Valkyrie suit on the stand in the corner. Her kids often like to play with the Cascadus Staff and the suit was useful for moments where she would need a ladder to retrieve something that her kids accidentally threw in a tree. Plus they also liked how their mother looked in the armour. Letting her eyes wonder around, she saw the military peaked cap and it's ringed insignia on the mantle. His hat… she though. It was one of his most favourite headwear. With a chuckle, she recalled the moments when he tried to set it on fire without it burning up to make a unique accessory. The burn marks are still visible on some parts of it.
Soon evening came and went. She made dinner for her two children and when night came, tuck them to bed. Once they were asleep, she headed back to the living room. Turing on the reading light, she opened the book that she brought back. 'Love on the battlefield' it was called. Written by some now long dead author, she and Medic would read the book together by the light of a lantern.
Another polaroid photo slipped out from the chapters page. She picked it up. It showed a picture of Medic and his mercenary friends with her outside of their base near a small town called Telford. Her thoughts drifted back to the time when she got sent back almost a century by accident.
8 years ago. Watchpoint Gibraltar, Iberian Peninsula, 1 month after recall signal was sent.
Dr. Angela Zeiger, also known as Mercy by her ex-colleagues, finally arrived at the orbital launch facility. Shortly after receiving the recall signal from Winston, the doctor set off from her makeshift clinic in Iraq where she was helping to nurse the locals. Over the month, she had travelled across the Northern African countries at night to lower suspicion. When she arrived at Gibraltar, she spent the day there resting and sightseeing. Then when night came, she waited for the city to sleep before unpacking her Valkyrie suit and fly to the supposedly abandoned Overwatch base in the middle of the bay.
It was almost 6am when she sighted the base. She had been flying for almost two hours straight and was starting to worry that her suit's battery would be depleted before she even see the base. Seeing the helicopter pad near the command building, she landed there and headed towards the entrance.
As she got to the door, a familiar voice called out. "Dr. Angela Zeiger, callsign 'Mercy'. Welcome back to Overwatch." Athena greeted through the base's speaker system.
"It's nice to be back Athena, how is Winston doing?" she replied.
"Apart from the time when Talon operatives broke into the base and him ignoring the Petras Act, he has been doing fine. He still goes through jars of peanut butter just like before." the AI answered. "Hold on, let me get the door for you."
The door slid open and Angela went into the base. As she walked down the stairs, fond and bitter memories began to surface. The comrade she had with her fellow operatives, the tensions between the leaders and the eventual accident that happened. The explosion that leveled the Swiss headquarters and the death of both Jack Morrison and Gabriel Ryes. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she was suddenly surprised by a young British women from out of nowhere. "Heya love, it's good to see you again." the woman known as Lena Oxton said as she gave Angela a hug.
"Hi. Lena. You know, it would be better for everyone if you do not try and cause stress cardiomyopathy everytime you say hi." Angela said. "I don't think Reinhart at his age can take much of it."
"What's stress cardiomyopathy?" Lena asked.
"It's a condition where you cause someone to have a heart attack after you surprise them from nowhere." Angela jokingly replied.
"Oh come on. I'm not that scary. See." Lena said as she made a face. That made the doctor laugh. Despite the years, Lena Oxford still had her energy and humour that she had.
"So who else came already?" she asked.
"Well, Torbjorn, Reinhardt and Genji arrived over the past 3 weeks. We also got some new people here. I'll show them to you." Lena offered.
"That would be great." Angela thanked.
…
During breakfast, Dr. Angela got to know the new arrivals. There was Mei-Ling Zhou, a well known climatologist who was with Overwatch formerly at Watchpoint: Antarctica. Ana Amari's daughter Fareeha Amari. Aleksandra Zaryanova, a large Russian bodybuilder. They shared stories of their lives while having a pile of pancakes. After clearing the table, Dr. Angela bid them farewell and went to find the medical bay of the base to set up.
After a few moments of wandering, she found the medical area. Granted that it was more of a doctor's office and that almost the entire room was coated with dust, it was manageable and with a little time, ready for operations.
A knock on the door brought her attention from tidying up the room. "Who is it?" she asked.
"It's Winston." came the reply from the gorilla as the door opened "I wanted to check in on you. I hope that the facility here is appropriate for your needs."
"It's will do just fine Winston. I worked in a makeshift clinic in Iraq before I got your call." Angela said.
"Still trying to heal everyone in the world huh." Winston asked. "Some things still do never change."
"It's a noble goal. I hoped to get this technology out to everyone one day. For the past decade, that was what kept me going." Angela said. "Why did you call for us though? You know how some governments would keep tabs on where we are."
"I had no choice. Tension between omnics and humans has been increasing. There's a second omnic war in Russia and Talon continues to be stronger than ever." Winston pointed out. When he saw the doctor raise an eyebrow he continued: "They have been attacking our outposts as well. If I had not stopped them here, they would have gotten information of all of you."
"Well, I guess that one thing that I have to thank you for." she replied. "So I take it that you are the leader of Overwatch now."
"I guess so. I'm nowhere near as capable as Commander Morrison was." Winston scratched his head. "If you would excuse me, I'm going to go back to work on my latest invention."
"See you around then Winston. Remember to take regular breaks." Angela called out.
"And you as well Angela." Winston answered back as he leaped down the corridor.
Soon the evening came and went. Mercy finished cataloging all the medical supplies that were available to her. It wasn't much but she had made done with lesser. After putting them away she looked around the now tidy doctor's office. Looking at the clock, it read 1am. Not wanting to disturb anyone who was asleep in the barracks, she opted to spend the night in her clinic.
…
Unfortunately for them, Talon decided to stage a visit to the regrouping organisation tonight. And this time, they brought their elite operatives. Amongst them were the feared assassin Widowmaker and the lone operative known as Reaper.
"So, you ready for your rematch with the monkey?" Widowmaker said to Reaper while in the transport. "Remember the plan, you and your squad are to secure the command center. Mine's to secure the barracks. Oi?"
"I'm afraid that there is going to be a slight deviation of that plan." came the answer from the grim reaper. " Someone dear to me just arrived here. And it is time I repay the favour of what she did to me."
"Whatever, so long as you stick to the plan."
…
The only indication that Mercy had of the base being under attack was the loud explosion on the roof of the building. Quickly, she scrambled over to her Valkyrie suit and began to don the armour. Just as she was done she heard a ominous voice.
"Doctor…"
"Who is that!" she said, pulling out her blaster.
"I'm your own creation. Did you forget?" the voice growled.
"I don't know who you are! Why are you here for me." Mercy shouted, looking around the the entire room.
"You really forgotten about me haven't you Dr. Zeiger. I'll give you a hint, the Swiss headquarters." the voice continued.
"The Swiss headquarters? All that happened was an explosion from Talon." Mercy answered.
"Oh yes, you were trying to save the souls of everyone. There's one person who you failed on. Your first test subject." the voice went on. She could hear the venom in the voice when it said test subject
"First test subject? Everyone who was killed was brought back." Mercy said. But she stopped herself Everyone but one she whispered to herself. She could remember the incident clearly. Instead of resurrecting him, his body broken down into dust. "No, it can't be"
"You sowed the seeds and now it is time for the dead to reap." the voice concluded as Reaper materialised himself behind the doctor. Pulling out his twin shotguns, he fired one shell into the back of Mercy. The armour held but the force of the blast knocked her forward, causing her to hit her head on the edge of the desk in front of her. She was knocked unconscious.
…
When she came to, she found herself tied up. A single light illuminated her in an otherwise dark room. Glancing around, she saw Reaper right in front of her. "Now that you finally woke up. I should begin with the monologuing." he said. "You guessed my name right?"
"What happened to you Reys." Mercy asked.
"You tell me doc." Gabriel Reyes said. "Ever since that day, I have been in constant pain. My form continuously disintegrating." He raised his hand and it disappeared to black smoke before reappearing. "I had to kill, to take their essence so that I can continue to live."
"This was not what I intended for you Reyes" Mercy said. She tried to find something sharp to cut the ropes but the floor was clear and devoid of anything useful.
"You knew exactly what you were doing!" Reaper snarled. He headed towards Mercy. She braced herself, expecting pain. But there were none as Reaper walked past her. She turned her head around and saw Reaper keying in something to a laminated panel. A door open to a white chamber, the glare almost blinding.
"Now should be the time when I killed my victims but you don't deserve this quick way out." Reaper said as the machine hummed. "As much as I want to kill you for what you have done to me. I will acknowledge that you are the reason as to why I am alive."
He turned to the doctor. "So instead, I think a one way trip back in time is more suited for you. I hope you enjoy the 1970s." When he saw the dawning realisation on her face, he crackled. "Oh yes. This invention here is Winston's latest project. When I tried to hack the computers here, I did not get all the data I wanted but there was this. He wanted to send some back to when Overwatch was still around and Morrison and I were still friends to guide the organisation to a better future. But obviously, he will not get the chance."
He picked up the bound doctor and carried her into the time chamber. He went back out the chamber and within moments her Caduceus Staff was thrown into the chamber as well. The door slid shut. By this point, Dr. Zeiger was genuinely afraid. She slammed herself against the door, hoping it would break but it did not.
Through the small window, she could see the figure that used to be Rhyes programming the machine. "The others will be here soon. Please stop it Gabriel." she frantically said.
He looked at the trapped doctor. "They are not coming, it will be too late." he simply said. It was then, they could hear gunfire and explosions in the distance. Mercy perked up a little.
"They are coming soon Rhyes. Release me and run." she said.
Reaper simply laughed and went back to his task. The gunfire got louder and louder. With every moment, she became more hopeful. But if the loud hum of the time chamber was accurate, she only had a short amount of time left.
"She's in the lab. Everyone get there quickly." the all too familiar voice of Winston can be hard down the corridor. The footsteps became louder. But time had ran out. Reaper stood up and pulled out one of his shotgun out. With his one free hand, he waved the doctor goodbye.
"Good bye Mercy.I hope the people who found you will show mercy." Reaper mocked as he pressed a button. The light in the chamber began to shine even brighter. The machine getting even louder. The last thing she could hear was Mei saying "冻住，不许走!" in her Chinese and Reaper chanting "Die" three times. Then a flash. And nothing but blackness.