Authors' Notes: Hello readers and thank you for checking out our fic. This fic is a collaboration between Pureraro and Peasent, and it follows the events of Overwatch's rebirth and its new era. The enemies they have to face, and the new allies they have to make. Although story orientated, pharmercy will be a prominent ship here with some widowtracer. We hope you enjoy the fic and would love to hear your reviews, thanks!
Lena Oxton breathed a heavy sigh of relief as she finally turned the engine off. She relaxed her tense grip on the steering wheel and reached a hand up to remove the scarf covering her nose and mouth. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Lena tried to remind herself that she was a fan of historic technology.
Perhaps not all were as great as she thought.
The old flatbed truck sure was ancient, you only had to look. Its manufacturer had long shut down. The truck drove on wheels. Worst of all, it ran on synthesized petroleum.
Lena took in a deep breath of the crisp fresh air and savoured it. It was a lot better than breathing in foul exhaust. At least she had arrived at her destination on good time.
Just ahead was a lone, tall, stone tower with fading hints of Renaissance influence. It sat peacefully at the edge of a cliff, blanketed tenderly by the shadows of the night. Watching out at the rough blue sea beyond.
Watchpoint: La Rochelle
She let herself pause in the seat as the memories, pushed away all these years, washed over her. Memories of pride and achievement. Memories of pain and anguish.
The skies here were so peaceful. So bare and quiet. It wasn't anything like this not so long ago. Lena had been up there.
The skies had taken her.
The town hadn't changed much. It still held on to the days long gone, the architecture, the clothing and the vehicles. Life here seemed much simpler, more peaceful. Just as she remembered. The skies were rough, unmerciful. The ground was at war with the sky.
Lena shrugged off the thick leather coat she wore to cover her chronal accelerator. Even though the people around here may distance themselves from the world, she couldn't run the risk of being recognized.
Reminding herself not to ruin her cover, Lena walked briskly over to the chain linked fence that stood in her way. On the gate hung a rusty faded-red sign.
Restricted Area.
Helix Security International.
Lena glanced quickly to her left and right, checking for any Helix soldiers but the area was devoid of life.
Cracking a grin, Lena swiftly scaled the fence and landed gracefully on the other side. Checking her surroundings again and confident she was in the clear, Lena quickly made her way to the entrance.
Reaching the door Lena eagerly worked open the control panel and pressed her hand against it. Humming to herself as she waited.
Nothing.
Lena tried again.
Nothing.
Stumped, Lena reached into her jacket pocket for her holo-phone. With ease, she hit the redial button and waited.
A click.
"Winston? It's me, Lena," Lena whispered into the phone.
A pause.
"Why are you whispering?" came the confused reply.
"Cos y'know, secret mission and stuff," Lena replied impatiently, tapping at the blank security panel.
There was a soft chuckle before Winston spoke, "How can I help you Lena?"
"Y'see I can't get in, Winston, doesn't seem to be any power in the security systems."
"Huh, literally pulled the plug," Winston grumbled, "No power you said?"
"Yeah, either that or the panel ain't working," Lena tapped harder.
"Give me a second Lena, I'll find you another way in," Winston went silent and Lena could hear him working away. Lena bit her lip as the silence grew uncomfortable.
"Reckon there's much left?" she blurted out, grimacing as she realized what had slipped.
A heavy sigh came on the other end. She could hear Winston's tire groan under his weight.
"Lena, I can only hope," Winston replied simply. Lena decided not to press further.
"Alright, there should be a large stone to the right of you,"
Lena turned to her right and saw a multitude of rocks strewed about on the grass.
"Winston, there's a ton of them, reckon you could be a lil more specific yea?"
"Look for the one not covered in moss."
Well that was specific.
Mood better since she had a workaround, Lena inspected each and every stone until she came upon one untouched by nature. Giving a quick 'found it' to Winston, Lena placed both her hands on the stone and pushed. With a little effort, the stone slid away to reveal a ventilation shaft.
Lena stared down the abyss and scrunched her nose up.
"Talk to ya later luv," Lena pocketed her holo-phone, took a deep breath, and jumped in.
Lena checked her watch as she exited another empty room.
12 minutes, 48 left.
She huffed as she stared down the dark hallway. Although she's done this before, her fourth time to be exact, she can't say her optimism was holding up. Each Overwatch facility she had visited progressively had less and less to scavenge or salvage. 12 minutes in and all she had to show for was a bottle of bleach and a small box of Itrium screws.
"Bollocks," Lena muttered under her breath.
The base felt so empty, bare, void of life or character. All that was left was a disgusting expanse of metal; cold and suffocating. The silence was deafening, the stillness maddening.
She blink skipped the next few doors until she came across a familiar large door. The main hangar bay, a once sacred place to Lena.
Grinning, Lena pulled the mechanical release and eagerly pried the heavy doors open. With a loud protest the blast doors slowly opened, grinding loudly on deteriorating gears. As more of the hangar bay was slowly revealed, Lena squinted to see into the dark expanse.
There seemed to be some aircraft still around, each covered by a large grey cloth. As Lena scanned the residents, she counted 5, her eyes rested on a particularly familiar shape underneath the covers.
"You're joking," she whispered as she blinked over.
With gusto she tore away the large heavy fabric to reveal the proud aircraft underneath.
Lena couldn't help but whistle approvingly as she inspected the Eurofighter Typhoon DA20. With the light of her chronal accelerator, the aircraft looked much larger and sleeker than she remembered.
Gently she caressed the smooth exterior of the aircraft as she made her way down to the nose. Her finger instinctively worked their way into the engraving on the side of the cockpit.
Slipstream.
Lena smiled as whispers of the past flitted back into her memory.
It truly was a bold aircraft. Where normal jet fighters were constricted to range from their airbase, the Slipstream promised exceptional range and reduced the need for Overwatch airbases around the globe. The bloody plane could teleport. Air support response times would be incredibly rapid, allowing for greater air reliability.
Finding the side ladder groove, Lena climbed up to peer into the cockpit. Bare, like everything else. The craft seemed to have been stripped, leaving nothing but the exterior. She tore her eyes away from the dark cockpit and jumped down, disappointed.
Lena could remember the feel of the jet through the stick, could remember each pitch, yaw and roll. The aircraft was not as responsive and agile as the standard Eurofighter Typhoons but Lena loved it all the same. It granted the jet a unique character, bold and stubborn. Lena liked that.
She also remembered the feel of the stick slipping through her fingers, the cockpit warping around her, the displays an angry glare of flashing red. She remembered nothingness.
Lena gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as the wave of fear and nausea hit her hard. She was proud to be in the air, she belonged up there. That stupid accident shouldn't, won't, ground her. Lena was determined to dominate the skies once more.
"One day," Lena let out a frustrated sigh, "One day."
Having enough of the anguish, Lena blinked straight out as fast as she could. Pushing those buggered memories physically and mentally away.
Lena looked down both hallways, trying to remember the route to the medbay, when she noticed a faint purple light at the far end of the right hallway.
Curious, Lean cautiously made her down the hallway and towards the calling light.
It was a weird device that she had never seen before, attached to the wall with 6 spider-like legs and carrying a glowing purple liquid that it rotated gently. Whatever it was, it was definitely new and not running on the main power.
Something about it just shouted danger.
Giving it a wide berth, Lena followed the wall and continued up ahead. She could hear what sounded like voices and strained her ears to listen.
"Pour la gloire…de Talon," a distinctive feminine voice drawled, Lena struggled to pinpoint the language or accent. French perhaps?
Quickly but quietly, Lena made her way towards the entrance of the room. Lena carefully peeked into the dimly lit room, dangerously aware of the possibility of a Talon agent right in that room. Whoever it was didn't sound too pleased saying that name however.
"Ils me rabaissent avec de telles missions banales, je suis beaucoup plus compétente," the woman audibly seethed.
Footsteps, the woman was moving towards the door. Lena flattened herself onto the wall and dropped to a crouch. A distinctive sharp metal click resonated in Lena's ears.
Click. Click. Click. Click.
"They think me, -"
Closer now, Lena had to make a choice.
"A professional, fameux, parfait, -"
Her ears thumped and Lena was no longer sure if it was those heels or her heart.
"A foolish, little girl."
There was a pause, a silence, and all Lena could do was hold her breath.
Thunder.
A rush of air.
Bright red lights took up her vision.
"Bonjour petite mouche."
Lena froze in her spot, her eyes darting between the sizzling hole in the wall just inches away from her and the woman before her. Through the bright red glare, she could make out the barrel of the gun pointed right at her and a sharp grin.
"Y-you wear bloody heels?" Lena tried to smile as she tried to speak, but it came out as a choked excuse.
There was a smooth chuckle, incredibly intoxicating as it echoed in the hallway.
"Aren't you a délicat little thing," the woman drawled as she stepped closer.
Lena could feel the chill air brushing over her face every time the woman breathed and it was starting to break her stupor.
"I don't suppose you have a name? Hm?" the gun was now pressing right into her neck and Lena could hear rubber tensing as the woman tightened on the trigger. Lena realised that the woman was toying with her, and if she didn't act soon, she would be very, very dead.
"I can't kill you without a name chéri, what would they remember you by?" the woman sang, the gun digging into her throat, pushing up to tilt her chin. It was time to leave.
"The name's 'bout time I buggered out of here, cheers!" Lena winked as she mentally disengaged her chronal accelerator.
The world turned into a dark blue tinge, objects blurring into one another, walls leeching into the floor. Lena navigated the mess of reality with ease and quickly got her feet in motion. She couldn't help but smile at the experience she knew too well, and as the world began to catch up, she let out a loud cheer.
Blinking sure was exhilarating.
There was another thunderous echo and Lena vaguely registered being shot at.
'Someone's persistent' Lena thought to herself as more rounds were discharged her way. Whoever she was, scary French lady was not one on giving up easily.
Regardless, she kept going, trusting her feet to remember the way out. Blinking whenever she could to make herself unpredictable.
The sounds of gunfire soon began to fade behind her and the light of a doorway greeted her. Lena didn't bother to think when it had opened, choosing instead to rush through the threshold.
The crisp cold air smothered her body and Lena gladly welcomed it, greedily sucking all she could into her burning lungs. She glanced back behind her, to the darkness beyond the doorway, expecting scary French lady to pop out at any second.
A loud booming voice shattered the air.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"
Bright lights burned her vision for the second time tonight. Her chronal accelerator hummed audibly.
"Helix Security International, hands in the air!"
Lena knew she shouldn't stay; this was definitely not going to end well. Helix Security weren't daft, they would know to lock her up under a hundred international laws and acts. But she was tired of being seen as some sort of criminal. Maybe she could just explain.
Slowly, for the soldier's sake, she raised her hands up high. Her chronal accelerator whined louder with the increase of her heart rate. At least she had a way out. She gave a quick glance at the doorway.
Heavy boots pounded the earth loudly as the soldier, soldiers, made their way to her quickly.
"Look, I was just- "
"Save it for the captain," The man roughly cut her off. Lena frowned and crossed her arms unhappily.
Rude 1, Lena mentally named, ran a quick scan of her with a quick flash of light from his helmet and lowered his weapon.
"Don't try anything funny," Rude 1 warned, to which Lena rolled her eyes. If she wanted to, these poor chaps would be seeing nothing but dust.
"Marlowe, captain's inbound," someone spoke behind her, and suddenly all three men's eyes were at the sky. Lena looked up, curious as to the sudden interest.
The skies were bright and clear, the moon right above them. But the skies were not calm. Lena could hear it, although faint, the unmistakable roar of jet engines. They were considerably quieter and smoother than what Lena was familiar with. Lena could now see why.
A figure, flying smoothly through the sky. Steady, calm, and confident as it flew across the moon. Lena watched in awe as the figure descended towards them. Whoever it was held control of the air like nothing she had ever seen.
The figure suddenly plummeted to earth, falling fast and dangerously approaching death. Just as it looked like it was the end, the figure engaged her thrusters with a spectacular roar and landed with a kneel. Lena refrained herself from whistling as the figure walked into the light, revealing a large blue power armour and captivating golden visor.
'She's a damn sweet bird' Lena thought to herself in appreciation.
Marlowe, Rude 1, saluted as the figure approached them.
"Marlowe, report," the figure spoke, a powerful yet exotic tone. A woman, she noted, of origins that Lena wasn't familiar with.
"Captain Amari, we have found the intruder."
The woman, the captain, large in build, strode quickly towards her. Heavy boots rocked the earth.
Lena instinctively backed up, standing taller to match the woman before her.
"Pharah," the woman introduced curtly.
Lena opened her mouth to introduce herself in kind but quickly shut it, choosing to nod instead. This was a different day and age. It's best not to be known.
Pharah was quiet, waiting for an answer, and with the helmet on it was hard to read her expression. Lena tried her best to remain firm.
"You weren't alone, were you?" Pharah suddenly said, breaking the awkward pause.
"Uh, yea. How did you know?" Lena said carefully. So far things have been pretty calm, Lena expected quite the lecture and a rough handling. Studying Pharah closely however, Lena had no doubt that Pharah was way more capable than that. The armour was large, but it was also had some considerable weight, hinting at the woman's strength.
"You've been shot," Pharah stated as she picked at Lena's jacket. Lena quickly looked to find an angry crimson patch on her shoulder, seeping through her bomber jacket.
"Oh she's good," Lena winced as she realised her injuries. She tested out her shoulder and was relieved that it was just a flesh wound. In her time with Overwatch, Lena could count with one hand the amount of people that could actually land a shot on her. Scary French lady seems keen on wanting to be added to the list.
"Stay right here," Pharah pointed sternly before moving towards the door, "Team, follow my lead."
"But Captain she-" Marlowe began.
"She has stolen nothing and it is clear there is still another intruder inside.," Pharah cut Marlowe off, looking Lena right in the eyes, "Besides, she'll stay right here, correct?"
Confused, Lena stared right back at the captain, trying to understand what she was saying. Stay out here? Without a watch? Then she saw the slight smirk on those lips.
"Right uh-yes!" Lena stammered out quickly.
Pharah nodded approvingly and gestured to her team. Soon the four Helix soldiers were making their way inside.
Lena waited until they were all out of sight before she made a run for it.
By the time she got to the designated extraction site, the Orca was already idling on the grass, a huge relief to Lena. Her lungs were competing with her chronal accelerator with whom could make the most noise. Lena could feel her chest rattle with each breath. Her accelerator beeped angrily.
Groaning and grumbling, Lena made her way as quickly across the field. Her adrenaline was wearing off and the pains and aches were kicking in. And they were kicking in hard.
As if expecting her, the large door of the Orca came down to beckon her in. Mustering her remaining energy, Lena made her way up the ramp and into the chilled cabin. She lazily swiped a first aid kit of the rack and began to work a large treated bandage onto her irritating wound. The door secured in place behind her with a loud hiss and the cabin began to pressurize. The spectacular light display of the cockpit caught Lena's eyes and she gazed upon the empty seat and the vast controls beyond, calling for her, yearning for a pilot.
Perhaps another time.
Lena slowly made her way over to the passenger seats as the engines began to increase in pitch. Her vision was getting blurry and she had the sudden urge to just lie down. She barely remembered to turn her comms back on.
"Lena? Lena are you there? Is everything alright?" Winston's voice immediately came over the comms, terribly worried.
"Hm? Yea luv, I'm fine but I'll have to tell you about it later. Just take me home," Lena fumbled around with the straps as the ship began to tilt. Why were they suddenly so short?
"Change in plans Lena, I'm afraid it's going to be a busy night."
"All right," Lena sighed as she sank into the seat, already beginning to doze off, "Where to?"
"Zurich, Switzerland."