Watch Them Fall
Jack Morrison wasn't of mind to get crushed by a couple tons of debris again. The man now know publicly as Soldier: 76 ducked down a staircase leading deeper into Watchpoint: Madagascar as the station shuddered underneath a barrage of missiles launched from a Talon gunship dead set on wiping out any trace of Overwatch from the planet. The deeper sub-levels were reinforced enough to shrug off hits from the heaviest of Omnic guns. A couple hovercraft rockets weren't gonna breach it so easily.
The walls still buckled as he descended.
This staircase would be buried under the upper portions of the base soon enough. Another gravemarker for Overwatch, and a mausoleum for the Talon agents already dealt with.
The base signal came in from both a station and channel that was five-years offline. Someone was either desperate or baiting a trap and he'd be enough to take care of both situations.
Trap turned more likely when he scouted out the watchpoint's perimeter. Talon's black-clad goons swarmed the place like it was some piece of carrion. The automated defenses had been decommissioned with the organization and all the databanks wiped. They wouldn't find anything here they liked.
A brief exchange of firepower later and he had a dozen prisoners half-conscious. He was all set to work on getting intel when the roof came crashing down. Stealth-tech and silent running hide three aircraft.
Sloppy.
For them. The Heavy Pulse Rifle packed enough punch to pierce their armor, and followed by a trio of helix rockets, two of the fliers were quickly knocked out of commission.
Third, being a sensible sort, had backed off and unleashed hell.
He reached the end of the hall. Before he could pry open the door another quake rocked the building. Pipes and walls began to break under the thunderous barrage above. Small sparks of metal striking metal and steam shot out.
Steam that shouldn't be here. Aside from power to keep doors shut and the emergency signal, the Watchpoint shouldn't have running utilities.
Someone was operating in the base. It wasn't Talon, or a half-dozen auto-turrets would have cautioned his approach. Someone still fighting the good fight, he hoped.
He pried open the elevator door. The shaft was dark, and empty. Cable in the middle wobbling in conjunction with the building falling apart above. The ground floor elevator would be even worse off. He leapt in, gripped the cable, and slide down as the base above fell apart.
He slammed down on top of the elevator car proper. The rooftop hatch was already opened so he wasted no time slipping inside.
Clear.
The elevator doors were forced open, sabotaged intentionally. Dull light flood in from the room attached.
There were no sounds, save the humming of the lights. The room beyond was just the entryway before the bunker proper. But even the massive blast door was just askew as the prior. Same caution he approached it.
Nothing. Not that he expected a full security contingent awaiting him at the checkpoint, but the lights being on cast a more telling glow than being off.
The underground base was larger than the above-ground set-up. Multiple entries, even more specific exits. It'd seen a lot of usage during the Omnic Crisis and beyond and, aside from Talon reducing it to rubble above, didn't have the wear-and-tear expected with age.
It wasn't just being used by whoever was here ahead of him, it was being actively maintained.
He followed the floorplan as best he recalled. Armory, comms, medical.
Residential was where he finally found other signs of life. Gunshots, explosions and completely out-of-place maniacal laughter.
Then the only sounds were his boots hitting the floor and the door.
"Freeze!" he shouted. His pulse rifle leveled with the back of the black-hood of the man surrounded by the bodies of half a dozen familiar agents.
"I think that's someone else's schtick," came the reply with a familiar gravelly voice. No face came to fore as the target turned around and revealed a bone-white mask obscuring his head.
"Gabriel."
"Not a name I'm familiar with."
"You're the only lunatic who runs around with two shotguns."
Deep, throaty laughter twisted by the mask answered back. "You've been out of the game for six years old man, things change."
"You're older than I am."
"Death is ageless."
"For God's sake Gabriel," Jack pushed, "you once woke me up at three a.m. blubbering Sheila broke your heart. I'm your kid's godfather. Hell," he lowered his aim, "you probably got inspiration for that ridiculous costume from some sketch he did."
Gabriel Reyes' black-gloved hands didn't bother reaching for his guns. "Rich coming from you, you ridiculous old man. Soldier: 76? The raid at Grand Mesa with no fatalities? You might as well announce to the world Jack Morrison is alive."
"Not until those who smeared that name are brought to justice."
"One of them's right here." Gabriel pointed a thumb at himself and Jack could well-imagine his lips growing into a smirk behind that mask.
"Don't feed me that bullshit, Gabriel," he retorted. "I've followed the press releases for 'Reaper', if you wanted out of this room you'd be gone already. If you wanted me dead you'd have fired."
"I want to savor the kill," he said as drawn out and fake as possible.
"And I want a bottle of Jack Daniels but they aren't storehouse regulation. Talk."
"You're senile, old man."
"Someone triggered the emergency signal equipped on this base. One only the Overwatch and Blackwatch Commander's could send, or receive. And now I find you here first, in a bunker deep enough underground to stop any transmissions from escaping. You wanted me here, and if it was to put me down the whole building would have been wired to explode. Talk."
Gabriel stared from beyond the mask… gave up, shrugged and said, "Can't play along for a damn second can you?"
"I'm too old to be playing around."
"Old? Please, I look like a rotted rope under this ridiculous get-up."
"The hell happened to you?"
"Some sort of dark matter leak when the HQ blew up. I got a fresh bath of anti-matter while still being matter. Ziegler did her best, but the nanites only do so much. Now I steal 'souls'." He threw out some air-quotes with his fingers.
"So, that's where the Reaper thing comes from?"
"Yeah, but Talon's upper-levels buy it. Even said Omnics have souls and nearly broke 'character' holding back a real laugh."
"So, Hawk's real then?" Talon had always been too persistent and dogged to just be funded by one source.
"They've got their Talons in everything, Jack," said Gabriel. "Governments, Omnics, Corporations. I sure as hell wasn't the first Overwatch agent they turned. Though I think I'm the only one that played double agent."
"Too well." He glanced down at the pile of dead Blackwatch agents at Gabriel's feat. Each one of them was part of Gabriel's "coup" six years ago, and had vanished along with nearly everyone else involved.
"They jumped the gun over my orders. I wanted them all rounded up for us to grab but…"
Hell.
The firefight in the HQ was a bigger mess than anything in the Omnic Crisis. When all the Blackwatch agents started shooting, all the Overwatch agents started shooting right back. Including both Commanders. All the publicized shit with Blackwatch and Gabriel's resentments. At the time, Jack didn't think twice that it was a coup.
Only when he wasn't Jack did he realize it didn't add up. Gabriel could be an asshole, but the man wasn't a villain.
"So, now I'm playing the over-the-top vengeful villain and Hawk buys it hook, line and sinker." Gabriel snatched something out of his pants and tossed it over. A data stick. "That's everything I've managed to scrounge up. Including the process used on Lacroix."
Ziegler might be able to break the brainwashing then. Jack nodded and stored it securely. He clicked back the slide on his rifle. "You ready for the show?"
"I've had plenty of time to work on my acting."
Wasted rounds, near-hits enough to draw blood. Bodies—traitors given the final peace. The report to Hawk would be the Blackwatch assets were taken out by the vengeful Soldier: 76.
They'd know for sure it was Jack Morrison coming for them.
Good. Let them run scared. Let them post their bounties and move their money. They'd stick out like a hawk in a city.
Talon and Hawk's days were numbered. He'd sure as hell watch them fall this time.
If the Zerg and the guy who cleaves planets in half can be good guys then Reaper sure as hell will be.