Hollywood. Palm trees, movies, a giant white sign, and copious amounts of illegal substance abuse by famous actors and directors. It's also known for eccentric narcissism.
"Can we move this along? I have a full day of shooting, and we're already seven seconds behind schedule."
Vigilantism doesn't always pay for itself like in most RPG games where the hero can clear out a cave of bandits, and take their ill-gotten gains for themselves. Nope. In the real world, heroes sometimes need to take the odd job in order to buy gas. Literally, the local Overwatch team lacks the sufficient funds to get their truck enough fuel to make the long trip to Seattle.
And they can't fit a mecha into a prius. Dva won't leave it behind despite how expendable and easily replaceable it is.
Tracer had a very hard time forcing a smile on her face. This job was on the bottom of her list of fundraisers, but sadly it became the only one available to them. The FBI already busted the California Talon group, the National Guard had actual retired Overwatch agents advising their instructors, and even the police had convicts from the local prison on trash detail. That last one being the job above this one in preference.
"Sorry for the delay Mr. Glitchbot. We're ready when you are," Tracer said.
"I'm always ready," Hal-Fred Glitchbot said.
Hal-Fred Glitchbot did not move however. An awkward silence came over them as Tracer and her team stared at the Omnic movie director waiting for him to get into his limousine.
"Well," Hal-Fred Glitchbot.
Tracer glanced around. "Well what?"
"Aren't you going to open the door! I'm a director, I don't open doors for myself," Hal-Fred Glitchbot said.
Tracer gave Hal-Fred Glitchbot an incredulous look. She glanced back at Mercy, and silently asked her if this was happening. Mercy just gave Tracer a blank stare and shrugged. Ahead of them, Dva turned her mecha around for a brief second before deciding to stay out of it, and faced forward again.
Tracer turned back to Hal-Fred Glitchbot, and made another forced smile. "Of course Mr. Glitchbot," She said through her clenched teeth.
Tracer grabbed the latch, and pulled the limo door open.
"Finally! Jeese, it's impossible to get some decent service around here," Hal-Fred Glitchbot said.
Hal-Fred Glitchbot climbed into his limo, and Tracer shut the door on him. She breathed a sigh of relief that he was inside, and they could get moving. Just before she could wave Bastion over, Hal-Fred Glitchbot rolled his window down.
"Hey my wine cooler is empty. Is there whiskey back there," Hal-Fred Glitchbot said.
Tracer didn't have a response to that. Mercy leaned over the other window, and tapped on it. Hal-Fred Glitchbot rolled it down, and let Mercy lean in.
"Um, I don't recall Omics requiring human sustenance," Mercy said.
"Well I didn't ask for your opinion did I? I asked for some damn whiskey," Hal-Fred Glitchbot said.
He rolled the window back up, and caught Mercy by her neck. She choked, and tried to push the window back down to get free.
"ACK! Window. My neck! AH!" Mercy choked.
Hal-Fred Glitchbot didn't seem to react, and only tried close his window harder. After pushing hard against the door, Mercy wrenched herself free. She stumbled back, and held her throat as she sucked in life giving oxygen. She glared back at the car, and forced herself to keep from ripping the door open, and beating Hal-Fred Glitchbot until he was full of dents.
Tracer growled under her breath. She knocked on the limo, and yelled at the driver. "Get this thing moving."
Tracer waved Bastion over. The omnic war veteran hopped on top of the car, and switched into his sentry mode. He aimed his minigun down range, and beeped that he was ready for action.
"Oh yeah great, have a two ton walking turret sit on top of my limo. If you dent my limo, it's coming out of your paycheck," Hal-Fred Glitchbot said. "All of your paychecks."
Tracer scoffed, and walked to the front of the line. She slapped Dva's mecha, and got her attention. "Dva, take the rear. Orisa's got the front."
Dva, and her mecha, saluted Tracer. "Roger that Tracer." Dva headed to the back, and Orisa jumped into her place. The four legged omnic tank stood ready and proud to face any challenge in her way.
"I am ready for duty Commander," Orisa said.
"Uh just Tracer, okay Orisa," Tracer said.
"Affirmative Commander Tracer," Orisa said.
Tracer scratched the back of her head oddly. She looked around the rooftops trying to find the last member of their team.
"Genji!" Tracer called.
Genji jumped down from the sky, and landed on Orisa's back. "How can I help?"
Tracer smiled, and pointed back to the rooftops. "Keep a bird's eye view for us. Alright Genji."
"Of course." With that, Genji returned to the sky, and disappeared out of sight.
"Alright, move it out," Tracer said.
"Finally!" Hal-Fred Glitchbot said.
As the limo and its escort started moving down the road, they were being watched from a dark window. Widowmaker zoomed in on the car, and observed its defenses. Bulletproof windows, Bastion turret riding shotgun on the roof, modified OR15 on point, Mercy and Tracer covering the flanks, and a child taking up the rear.
Widowmaker held her hand up to her radio. "I see them."
"Target the girl first," Reaper responded.
Widowmaker smiled, and leveled her rifle on her target.
Dva reached into her chip bag, and grabbed a handful before stuffing it all in her mouth. She was concentrating on practicing her Starcraft II playing on her HUD while her mecha was on autopilot. On her Twitch stream, Dva was getting thousands of comments saying how cool it was she was in Hollywood, and a few locals watching welcomed her. Some were even apologizing that she had to escort Hal-Fred Glitchbot through town, and offered their sympathies.
Dva was fighting off a Zerg rush when crack of a rifle shot echoed through the city. Tracer and Mercy ducked behind cover. Bastion and Orisa tracked the shot, and opened fired into the building it came out of. Hundreds of rounds tore through the building, and riddled it full of holes. After a few seconds, the gunfire ceased, and the two omnics reloaded. In the torn up building, Widowmaker was standing on one foot while holding her arms up behind the last piece of solid plaster. After years, her heart was finally beating normally again.
"Oh ho ho! Okay, big two ton turret on top of my limo! That's what I'm talking about," Hal-Fred Glitchbot said.
Tracer ran up to front. She cringed at the damage they caused. "Orisa. Bastion. You two just cost us our gas money with that amount of damage."
"Wooooo," Bastion whistled.
Orisa held her hand up to her 'mouth' in embarrassment. "Efi will not be happy about this."
"Ah don't worry about it. The building is scheduled for demolition anyway. You just cut about two hours worth of work for the demo crews," Hal-Fred Glitchbot said.
"Scheisse! Dva!"
Tracer felt her heart drop. When she turned around, Mercy was reaching through Dva's mecha. There was a hole in her windshield, and blood spatter on the inside. Tracer ran back to Dva, and looked at her wound while trying to stay out of Mercy's way.
It didn't look good. Blood poured down the side of Dva's head. She hung limp in her cockpit, and had slow shallow breaths.
"Angela, please tell me she's going to be alright," Tracer said. On the mecha's HUD, Tracer could see comments rolling by calling out Dva's name. Crying for her to wake up and be okay.
Mercy reached inside the cockpit, and pulled the ejection lever. The mecha opened up, and Mercy ran around to catch Dva sliding out. She laid the eighteen year old girl on the ground, and started dressing her wounds.
"I can get her back into the fight, but a bullet wound to the head takes time to heal," Mercy said. "I'm not a miracle worker Lena."
"Just save her life Angela!" Tracer said. "She's just a kid!"
Tracer looked up at the stopped limo. "Get going!" she shouted.
The limo drove forward again. Orisa ran ahead up to the next corner, and threw down a barrier. She stood behind it, and looked down the road.
"Orisa, watch out!" Genji yelled from above.
Orisa ducked back behind the wall when a heavy rocket hit her barrier, and took it down.
"Halt the limo!" Orisa called.
"Stop the limo. Move the limo. Stop the limo. Would you people make up your damn minds," Hal-Fred Glitchbot said.
Down the road, a roadblock was set up. Two crazy shirtless australians from the outback were lying in ambush. Junkrat standing on top of the barrier, and had an oversized rocket launcher sitting on his shoulder.
"Wow wee! Did you see that Roadhog! It blew that barrier apart in only one hit!" Junkrat cheered.
"It would've been better if it leveled the whole street," Roadhog said.
Junkrat's face lit up as he realized this. He slapped his head, and said, "Oh why didn't I think about that sooner!"
"Maybe because your brains have rotted away up there," Tracer said.
Junkrat spun around just in time to see Tracer wink at him before disappearing in a blue flash. Roadhog pulled up his gun, and fired a load of shrapnel where Tracer had been. Junkrat dodged to the side, and barely avoided getting turned into mincemeat.
"Hey watch it you walking mountain! You nearly took me out too! I'm not paying you to kill me you fat idiot!" Junkrat yelled.
Three ninja stars flew over his head, and shaved some of his hair off.
"Wow!" Junkrat ducked back down, and looked to see where the ninja stars had come from. On the roof of a building, Genji held three more ninja stars ready to throw. Tracer appeared next to him, and stood back to back.
"Ready to do this love?" Tracer asked.
"Yes," Genji said.
The two of the, split up, and attacked Junkrat and Roadhog from two different angles. The deranged criminals hefted their weapons, and fired at the two Overwatch agents. Junkrat lobbed a hail of grenades at Genji, but the ninja was too fast. Genji climbed up a tower, and perched on the top. Junkrat smirked, and fired a grenade. It flew up to Genji, and stopped just under his feet. Gravity took control, and the grenade fell back down at Junkrat.
"Uh oh."
The grenade hit the ground, and exploded. Propelling a screaming Junkrat into the sky, and sending him far away. Eventually, a plane hit him, and carried him back to Australia.
Roadhog roared in anger at Tracer running circles around him. He grabbed onto his meat hook on his belt, and threw it at her. Tracer was running sideways when the meat hook latched into her leg. She barely had time to scream when Roadhog yanked on the chain, and pulled Tracer to him.
Tracer landed at Roadhog's feet, holding her leg in agony. She looked up, and stared in horror as the barrel of Roadhog's shrapnel launcher filled her vision.
"Say goodbye, Overwatch," Roadhog said.
Someone tapped Roadhog on his shoulder. He turned around, and came face to face with an enraged Orisa.
"Say goodbye, aussi," Orisa said.
Orisa reared her fist back, and delivered a powerful uppercut on Roadhog. The giant man went flying up high into the air, and got hit by a plane that carried him all the way to Australia.
Orisa leaned down to Tracer lying bleeding on the ground. "Hold still. I will acquire medical aid." Orisa turned around, and ran back to get Mercy.
Bastion and the limo drove up, and pushed past the roadblock.
"Great we're moving again," Hal-Fred Glitchbot said. "Here I thought we'd be stuck in traffic the whole day."
Genji jumped down from the tower, and stood next to Tracer. He growled at the limo as drove away.
"I'm really starting to hate him," Genji said.
"What do you mean starting to?" Tracer said. She winced when a shot of pain ran up her leg.
On the previous street, Mercy was checking Dva's vitals after she regained consciousness. As well as giving her a lecture.
"Honestly Hana, you must pay attention to your surroundings," Mercy said.
Dva was pushing her fingers together as she looked at the ground in shame. "I'm sorry Angela."
"If you continue to focus on playing your games in the middle of battle, I'm afraid we're going to have to take them away from you," Mercy said.
Dva didn't argue. Not after a bullet went through her temple, and nearly ended her career as a pilot.
Mercy was just finishing up on Dva when Orisa came charging down the road. "Mercy, Command Tracer has a puncture wound in her left leg. Result of a meat hook."
Mercy gritted her teeth. "Roadhog." She muttered. "I'll be right there."
Mercy activated her valkyrie suit, and flew up over the buildings, and down into the street where Tracer was lying on the sidewalk. She and Genji looked up and both smiled in amusement as Mercy came flying down like an angel sent from heaven.
"I'm bleeding out here, and you have to focus on making a dramatic entrance," Tracer said.
"Well it did get me here faster didn't it," Mercy said. She 'cocked' her staff, and aimed it Tracer before unleashing a golden beam of healing energy.
Tracer's wound was nearly sealed up when the roar of Dva's mecha thundered in their eardrums. The bright pink mecha flew above them as it caught up with Hal-Fred Glitchbot's limo. Orisa was left in the dust behind her, and she was running as fast as she could to catch up. As Orisa passed Tracer and Mercy, she fired a barrier generator to cover them.
"I will see you on ahead," Orisa said.
Dva followed the planned route, and caught up with Bastion and Hal-Fred Glitchbot in the warehouse where his trailer was kept. She landed in front of them, and took point. She wasn't going to let her guard down this time.
"So anyway, Bastion was it. How would you feel about being my limo turret guy?" Hal-Fred Glitchbot said. "Pays well, and you get to ride in style. All the while blasting at people I don't like. Like that Taplin kid who keeps joy riding in my golf cart."
"Oooohh wooo hoo," Bastion whistled.
"I'm sorry was that a yes or a no?" Hal-Fred Glitchbot asked.
Dva was just approaching Hal-Fred Glitchbot's trailer when a shadow slipped in front of her. Reaper stood up, and laughed at her.
"Well well. Looks the little girl can actually take a punch," Reaper said.
Dva glared at him. Her Twitch feed filled with the comment, "Get him!" Instantly she pulled the triggers on her control sticks. Suddenly the world started spinning around Dva. After two revolutions Dva realized the world wasn't spinning. She was!
Laying on top of the doorway above them, Sombra watched the poor Korean pilot spin helplessly in place.
"Ha ha ha. Too easy," Sombra said.
"Sombra, the Bastion," Reaper reminded her. Dva was the only thing between Reaper and the minigun turret ready to shred him to pieces.
Sombra rolled her eyes, and tapped on her holographic display in front of her.
"Chill compadre. I'm on it," Sombra said.
Bastion perked his head up when he felt Sombra try to access his brain. He locked up to fight off the hack, and keep himself from turning on his allies. Free of obstacles, Reaper walked around Dva, and approached the limo.
"Uh guys. Bodyguards hey bodyguards! I could use some help over here!" Hal-Fred Glitchbot said. "Guys?"
Reaper pulled out his shotgun, and reached for the door latch. Just as he was about to grab it, a metal hand latched onto his arm. He looked up and saw a very angry Orisa glaring at him.
"Oh shit," Reaper said.
Orisa picked Reaper up, and started thrashing him around into the ground and surrounding objects. Hal-Fred Glitchbot rolled his window down, and leaned out to watch.
"Oh wow. That is amazing," Hal-Fred Glitchbot said.
Dva finally managed to stop spinning. She checked her controls, and found that Sombra had re-binded every control and locked out her access. Dva wasn't about to let that stop her. With only a brief study of the new controls, Dva activated her jump jets, and flew up to Sombra.
The hacker was still working on Bastion when she noticed Dva aiming her cannons at her.
"Uh oh," Sombra said.
"You're gonna need Mercy when I'm through with you," Dva said.
Just before Dva pressed down on her triggers, Sombra tapped her holo display, and switched the controls again. Dva then flew up into the sky. Sombra quickly started working on Bastion again, and tried to get him under control, but he was being a pain.
Orisa threw Reaper into the far wall. He slumped to the ground, and moaned in pain. He looked up and saw Orisa shove her fusion cannon into his face.
"I apologize for any pain this might cause," Orisa said.
She let loose a hail of gunfire at Reaper, and blew him to… shadows! Orisa gasped, and jumped back as Reaper disintegrated into nothing, and vanished. Leaving only a dark laugh as he disappeared.
"What is he?" Orisa asked.
Sombra was about to crack Bastion when she heard something. She looked up just in to to see Dva's mecha falling down back to earth. Right on top of her! Sombra pressed a control on her wrist, and she teleported away in time for Dva to hit the doorway she was lying on.
Sombra reappeared on the other side of the warehouse. "Stupid puta!" she spat.
Sombra tried to finish up on Bastion when something whacked her in the back of the head, and knocked her out cold. Dva stood behind her holding her pistol by its barrel, and wearing a smirk on her face.
"Pay attention Sombra. Cheaters never win," Dva said.
Hal-Fred Glitchbot finally exited his limo, and walked up to his trailer. "Oh man it's great to finally be able to get to work. Now if I can just find where my crew went."
Behind him, Tracer, Mercy, Genji, Orisa, Bastion, and Dva stood behind him. Wearing proud smiles and feeling great after a good day's work. Sombra was tied up, and sitting on Orisa's back waiting to be handed over to the authorities.
Hal-Fred Glitchbot turned around, and addressed his bodyguards. "Well thanks folks for saving my life. It's been fun, now take your pay," Hal-Fred Glitchbot pulled out his phone, and tapped a few keys to transfer the hero's pay into their account, "And get out of here!"
Tracer waved goodbye, "Goodbye Glitchbot."
"Yeah yeah goodbye, get lost," Hal-Fred Glitchbot said.
The team made a series of collective eye rolls and shrugs as they turned to leave. Just before they made it halfway through the warehouse, Hal-Fred Glitchbot's trailer exploded in a huge fireball. The team spun back around, and watched the red orange flames burn the remains.
From Orisa's back, Sombra chuckled in victory. Tracer glared at her, and grabbed her by her coat collar.
"Why? Who hired you?" Tracer yelled.
"Back off chicka. I don't know. Reaper came by with the order, and we just followed like always," Sombra said.
Tracer threw her back onto Orisa, and stormed off. Mercy and Genji shared concerned looks. There nothing they could do for Hal-Fred Glitchbot, so they followed Tracer out. Dva, Bastion, and Orisa looked back at the burning trailer. Bastion whistled sadly and they left too.
Today they got paid for a failed mission. It left a bad taste in everyone's mouths. Today the bad guys won.