He walked through the streets of Dorado, searching for the Los Muertos gang. His search had gone on for a month, and he was close to bringing down the gang. The vigilante's goal had always been the same- find their leader and make him pay for the suffering that he and his cronies had dealt out to innocent people. The sun had started to set on the Mexican town and the lights were dimming, his boots meeting the cold, hard ground resonating throughout the alleyway. The slight breeze that blew through was simply ignored, merely drifting over the man in the jacket marked '76' on the back. His visor hid his icy stare as he looked around, wary of any potential sneak attacks that may occur.
'He has to be near,' he thought to himself, 'he will pay. This is where it ends.'
"Looking for someone?" he heard someone say from above.
He turned around and aimed his pulse rifle in the air, ready to shoot on sight, but stopped when he saw who it was. From above descended a woman, dressed in white and gold. Her attire, and the air around her, made her seem like an angel, particularly her white hair which draped over her eye, her halo-like headpiece and her mechanical angel wings. She gently lowered to the ground, landing gracefully with her staff in hand.
"You clearly have an idea where you are headed," she said, her Swiss accent coming through clear with her smooth voice, "and yet you seem to have lost direction in life."
"Angela Ziegler," he said, his voice cold and distant, "A.K.A Mercy. Head of medical research at Overwatch, you joined so you could use your expertise to try and prevent the loss of life of good people and protect the innocent. You were there in the Omnic war and were rewarded, as were the rest of your team."
"You know my story," she replied, smiling at him, "but that was before we disbanded."
"That was after two of your agents, Reyes and Morrison, engaged in a fight that had destroyed the base, and they were never seen again. The world's leading governments decided that the activities of Overwatch were illegal and demanded the group to disband."
"It was inevitable. Reyes didn't like how Morrison had been celebrated more than him, and that jealousy corrupted him." She shook her head, trying to bury those memories. "But I didn't come here to talk about the past, Mr…"
"Call me Soldier: 76."
"I came here because Overwatch is reforming and we are seeking new members, because the devastation that is occurring right now is worse than what we dealt with before-"
He held his hand up, signalling for her to stop. He looked down the alleyway, seeing a man with skull paint on his face.
"Muertos," he snarled. He snuck up towards the individual, silently approaching the unaware goon, before he pulled him by the back of his collar, covering his mouth before slamming his head into the wall. He fell to the ground unconscious. "They're nearby. It's time to end this." He turned around to face Mercy. "If you want me to join Overwatch, then help me."
He headed down the alleyway, heading where other Los Muertos members had been spotted. Mercy, unsure what to expect, caught up with him.
"Who are they?" she asked, keeping her voice hushed.
"Los Muertos," he explained, "they've been harming innocent people, human and Omnic, in this town and others for months. I've managed to whittle them down and tonight, I end it, by taking out their leader." She pulled him back by the arm.
"You're going to KILL him!?"
"No. This is a pulse rifle. I leave them unconscious, then leave before the authorities show up. I seek justice, not vengeance." He stopped at a warehouse, setting his visor to heat vision. This highlighted some twenty people inside, each with a similar skull paint on their face, with one man standing above the rest. "We're here."
He shot the door handle, before kicking it open. The gang members all looked over, grabbing their guns and trying to take aim. Mercy and Soldier:76 ducked behind some crates, before he started to shot. The impact knocked five out straight away, while Mercy, with her blaster, took out another two. They reloaded, allowing them to take down man after man, soon having the gang whittled down to four men, one being their leader. They ducked down again, allowing them to recollect themselves.
"It's just four, but I'm out of ammo," 76 told Mercy.
"Me too. Do we leave and hope the police handle the rest?"
"No! This. Ends. Here."
Taking a risky move, 76 rushed down one side, tackling one man into a wall before punching the gun out of the other's hand and then punching him square in the face. Once he had taken their ammo, he looked over at Mercy, who was running down the other side while the other two were distracted so she could take down and knock out the other goon. This left the leader. Before 76 could finish it, however, he saw his target aiming right at Mercy.
"You thought you could enter MY base, take out MY men and undo everything I'VE done?" He laughed, while Mercy closed her eyes, preparing for the worst. "Looks like there's another angel in heaven tonight."
76 immediately, without thinking, rushed towards her and pushed her out of the way just before the shot was fired, then taking the chance to shoot, knocking out the final member of Los Muertos. His victory felt short lived, however, as looking down, he saw a small circle of blood in his chest, which grew larger as he fell to his knees in pain. Mercy looked at him and gasped, grabbing her staff and running towards him.
"76!" She shouted. "Are you alright?"
He simply laughed. "It's over. They're done for, and it looks like I am too. At least these people won't suffer any longer."
"You listen to me, 76. I helped you so you could join Overwatch, and I am not letting you die."
She aimed her staff at the bullet wound, a green aura emanating from the end of it which covered his wound, healing it right before his eyes. The wound got smaller, before disappearing entirely.
"I forgot about that."
"Why did you save me? You could have ended it there, but you made sure I was safe first. Why?"
He placed a hand on his visor and slowly pulling it off. When she could fully see his face, she gasped. "I guess some habits die hard."
"Morrison," she whispered, teary eyed and in disbelief. Lying before her was the former 'leader' of Overwatch, her former ally who she thought had died- Jack Morrison. "You survived."
"Guess Reyes couldn't get the job done."
She grabbed his face and pulled it towards hers, placing her lips to his. Even when they were in Overwatch together, she had been drawn to him, a longing that burnt within her soul, a desire that she could indulge in. When she eventually pulled away, she brushed hair out of her eyes, a pink tint in her cheeks while he just looked smug.
"Does rule 23 not apply anymore?" he joked. She punched his shoulder.
"I don't care. I'm just glad you're back." She helped him to his feet, allowing him to re-apply his visor, when suddenly the sound of sirens alerted them, indicating the arrival of the police. "We have to leave."
76 walked over to the leader of Los Muertos and picked his unconscious body up by the throat.
"Looks like Los Muertos really is dead," he snarled, before dropping him. He turned around and held out a hand to Mercy. "Shall we?"
She laughed and grabbed his hand. He threw down a smoke grenade and they ran out the back exit. When the police entered, the smoke had cleared and they saw the unconscious Los Muertos. They began to round them up one by one.
"Looks like this was their hideout, chief," one officer told his boss, "but no signs of anyone else. Do you know who it could have been."
"There's only one man it could be." He looked out the open back doorway.
"Soldier:76."