Oh boy, first time writing an Overwatch fic. Not gonna lie, I'm nervous, but it's hopefully gonna be ok! Enjoy!
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Junkrat said as he squinted up at an elegant building made from dark stone.
Roadhog grunted behind his mask.
"At least you can keep these straight." Junkrat grumbled. "I can't tell any of these fancy, shiny buildings apart. Oh well." He strode through the building's front door, throwing it back hard enough to cause its frame to rattle.
Inside was a small reception desk. Behind it sat a slight man in a suit with his eyebrows shot high up on his forehead by the Junkers' sudden entrance.
"Oi, you." Junkrat lurched toward the table. "Where can I find the bloke running the place?"
The receptionist's hands reached for his tie, shaking slightly as they failed to straighten the already perfect knot. "I-I-uh, do you h-have an appointment?"
Junkrat slammed his hands down on the reception desk. "An appointment? Roadhog, do we have an appointment?"
Roadhog turned his attention from a statue of an eagle near the doorway. With one hand, he gave Junkrat a thumbs up.
"Oh that's right. Of course we made a bloody appointment! Do we look like the kind of blokes who'd walk in here without an appointment?"
The receptionist scrambled to open several windows on his computer. "N-no sir. Of course you have an appointment. I'll just need to know who you're seeing and I can send you right over."
Junkrat tossed his head back. "I already told you who I'm seeing. Weren't you listening, you half-witted suit?"
"Are you finished harassing our reception staff?"
Junkrat recoiled from the desk, his head whipping around to face a heavy wood door along the back wall. Leaned against the wall's smooth surface was a well-dressed woman with blue skin and a stare like a wolf sizing up its prey.
Junkrat crossed his arms over his bare chest. "It depends on who's asking."
"You're Jamison Fawkes, no?"
Junkrat tilted his nose up. "Maybe I am."
The woman stepped forward, the fabric of her dress flickering in the light like a hologram. "Amélie Lacroix. And your friend is Mako Rutledge?"
Roadhog grunted, the sound muffled by his mask. "Roadhog."
Lacroix frowned slightly. "Very well." She pushed a red button beside the door, causing it to swing open qutomatically. "Let's not keep Mr. Ogundimu waiting."
"Finally." Junkrat tossed his hands in the air. "It's about time someone took us to the boss."
"I won't be taking either of you if you insist on wasting any more of my time."
Junkrat gave Lacroix a false salute, "Of course not. We'd hate to keep such a generous donor to our funds waiting around."
Roadhog came up behind Junkrat pushed him through the door, into a large outdoor courtyard. If he had his way, Junkrat would have sat there in conversation for hours.
"You know," Lacroix said as the doors snapped closed behind them, "neither of you are in a presentable state. You were informed this is a formal meeting, weren't you?"
Junkrat snickered. "Of course. These are our best cloths. It's a new line I like to call, Mercenary Chique."
"I believe a mercenary should look their best, we are professionals."
"Would you listen to this lady, Roadhog?" Junkrat pulled a bomb off his vest and began passing it between his hands. "She thinks we're professionals."
Roadhog gave a short, low chuckle. It wasn't much overall, but for Roadhog, it was a rather bold display of emotion.
A pair of double doors at the end of the courtyard clicked open. Beyond was a lavish office decorated in golds and reds. Several screens lined the walls, filled with pictures and snippets of articles. In an instant, the screens closed. In their absence, the room was bathed in a soft yellow light that give the gold trims a tantalizing gleam.
A set of curtains along the side of the room shifted.
Junkrat had seen big men before. He walked around all day with Roadhog, who was the biggest man he knew, so no one really ever caught him off guard. Then there was the man who stepped out from behind the curtain. The man himself wasn't exceptionally large by Junkrat's standards, but the giant prosthetic arm attached to him promptly threw the Australian for a loop. Just sizing it up, it had to be at least as big as Junkrat's entire body. If only he had the money for a thing like that.
The man followed Junkrat's line of sight down to his arm. He smiled. "Do you like it? It belonged to my old teacher, before he fell from our path."
"I do like it," Junkrat said as he stretched out his own mechanical arm, "Think I'll get myself one just like it after we're paid."
"You're a man of exquisite taste, Mr. Fawkes."
Junkrat frowned slightly and rubbed at a bit of soot on his cheek. "Junkrat, actually. Mister, eh…"
The man twisted part of his metal arm, causing it to slide free and reveal a flesh and blood arm underneath. With both hands, he positioned the massive gauntlet in a display case at the back of the room. "Akande will do. Now about why you're here. I understand you have a reputation for chaos."
"Little more than just a reputation." Junkrat snickered. "You won't find two blokes better equipped for chaos anywhere in the world."
"Excellent." The screens along the wall lit up with pictures of city streets and specs for a group of Omnics. "I need you to cause a disruption in London. Tensions there are already high and climbing. It won't take much to start a commotion. We think your best target is a group of Omnics visiting from-"
"You mean we get to scrap some Omnics?" Junkrat said, his fingertips drumming together rapidly.
Akande nodded. "That is exactly what I want you to do. My men will fly you to the roof of a nearby building. The Omnics will be going to a conference set up by humans who think our kinds should live in harmony. Attack them once they enter the courtyard. Do not kill anyone. I mean ill will only to the Omnics, otherwise our efforts are meaningless."
Junkrat nodded vigorously. "No humans, only Omnics. Gotcha. Humans aren't as much fun to blow up anyway."
"I take it you accept my offer?"
Junkrat glanced back to Roadhog, who motioned him a thumbs-up. "We most certainly do. There's nothing like getting paid to crush Omnics. And speaking of pay, you'll be getting that to us…"
"As soon as the job is finished." Akande said while the screens went dark around him. "I need assurance you'll hold up your end of our bargain."
"Of course, of course. We're professionals."
"Good." Akande gestured back to the main door of the room. "Reaper will take you to the transport. It should not take more than a few hours."
Junkrat glanced quickly between Akande and the door. "Wait already? I haven't even had time to fix my hair." He snickered.
A man dressed in all black wearing a skull mask stepped from the shadows, dark smoke drifting from the edges of his figure. "You'll have time on the way over. Let's move." He said.
Junkrat sauntered up to the man and smirked. "Lemme see. Gravelly voice, dark clothing, spooky mask. I take it you're Reaper?"
Reaper growled in the back of his throat. Without another word, he entered the courtyard behind the Junkers.
Junkrat slid up beside Roadhog. "Grouchy, isn't he?"
"Mhh." Roadhog agreed, walking both him and Junkrat into courtyard to keep stride beside Reaper.
Junkrat pretended to inspect his fingernails for dirt despite knowing they were absolutely filthy. "So London. You ever been there? Know if it's a nice place or not."
"Yes, by your standards."
"Like we have any standards!" Junkrat said, cackling at his own joke.
"To no surprise," Reaper said.
The three rounded a corner into a different, smaller courtyard where a Talon dropship sat idling on the pavement. Its doors were already open with a small group of Talon soldiers waiting inside.
"That's an awfully nice ship you've got there," Junkrat said, "if that's any indication of the money you blokes have, I can't wait to get paid."
Reaper sighed. "Just get inside."
"Alright alright," Junkrat said as he and Roadhog entered the belly of the ship.
Just as Roadhog's heels passed over the threshold of the ship, its doors began closing. Seconds later, the ship hummed and launched into the air, charting a course for London.
Junkrat leaned up against Roadhog. "How much longer are we gonna be stuck in this flying tin can?"
A faceless Talon soldier tilted her head towards the duo. She hadn't said a word since Reaper had left them on board the shiny new transport ship at Talon headquarters. For hours, all she'd done was stand still and wait. It was no surprise she didn't try to respond.
"Right." Junkrat sighed as he leaned further against Roadhog. "I guess we'll just get there when we get there."
The soldier drifted over to the bay door of the transport ship. Her hand passed over a bright read panel against the wall. With a hiss, the door began to open while the soldier turned back to Junkrat and Roadhog. "Prepare to jump."
Junkrat lifted himself off Roadhog's shoulder. "Whadda you mean jump?"
Roadhog nudged Junkrat. He held up two silver parachute pouches.
"Oh!" Junkrat snatched one of the parachutes from Roadhog. "That kind of jump. I almost forgot."
Roadhog shuffled closer to the door, slinging a larger parachute pouch over his shoulders. He grabbed Junkrat by the arm and helped him shrug on the last arm to his parachute. Together, the two of them lined up at the edge of the opened bay door.
The soldier came up behind the Junkers. "Jump." She gave the two of them a hard shove that sent them tumbling towards the streets of London.
Roadhog reached over and pulled the cord for Junkrat's parachute before letting lose his own. Once released, the silver fabric of the chutes shimmered and changed to mirror the brightly lit sky above them.
"Thanks there Roadhog." Junkrat said, his grenade launcher clutched tightly to his chest. "Almost forgot you've got to do that."
Roadhog motioned a thumbs up.
Junkrat loosened the grip on his gun ever so slightly. "No, really, I owe you one. Now," he shifted in his harness, "where's those rust buckets?"
Roadhog pointed down to a large square teaming with people. At the center lingered a large group of Omnics who were moving around slowly, heads turned up to the surrounding buildings. They were dressed in matching t shirts and holding collections of papers.
Junkrat followed Roadhog's arm down to the Omnics. "Perfect." He raised his voice so it could be heard as they drew closer to the ground. "Junk pilesTop of Form and scrap metal! This is your guide speaking. Please divert your attention to the air above. This is your final stop before reaching your final destination; the trash heap!"
One after the other, Roadhog and Junkrat detached themselves from their parachutes. Junkrat landed hard on the ground while Roadhog crushed a small group of Omnics beneath his feet.
Junkrat swung his grenade launcher around in front of him. "I'll give you to the count of three to start scrambling." He pulled back and launched a bomb into the crowd. "Three."
With a collection of surprisingly human cries, the nearby Omnics fled. Most headed for buildings, some panicked and ran into each other. For machines, they moved with a surprising lack of organization.
Roadhog stuffed a handful of metal into his scrap gun. With a few quick bursts, he tore through the Omnics surrounding them, leaving a field of fresh scrap in his wake. In a few more seconds, the ground was covered in a slick layer of fresh oil.
Junkrat inhaled deeply as he lobbed another mine into a running group of Omnics. "Ah, nothing like the smell fresh scrap in the evening."
Roadhog gave a throaty laugh. He reached down and scooped a handful of Omnic parts into his gun.
"I know right?" Junkrat watched Omnics fly into the air as his mine exploded. "It's just like taking candy from a baby."
A bright blue blur whizzed past Junkrat. "I wouldn't bet on that."
For a brief moment, the blur stood still to reveal a woman in a bright orange jumpsuit. She flicked her head to the side to get a lock of hair out of her eyes before blinking into another blue stream.
Junkrat whipped around and launched a grenade towards the blur of the woman. "What the? Who do you think you are?"
Roadhog grabbed Junkrat's arm. His hands were freed up, his gun on the ground. He tugged on Junkrat's right arm, then cracked the knuckles on his fist.
Junkrat reeled back on his heels. "Oh! Right, no humans. Gotcha." He tossed down his grenade launcher and held up his fists. "Come over here girlie, and fight me face to face."
The woman blinked to Junkrat's side, firing a few rounds into the tire on his back. "Sorry love, but I didn't come for a first fight."
Junkrat stumbled forward. He hardly felt anything as the tire took most of the power from the plasma rounds. He did notice, however, that the Omnics were starting to get to cover. Most of the ones left standing had cleared out of the courtyard and into occupied buildings. The few that were left were quickly scrambling away from the Junkers. Unless they took out the woman right then and there, they likely weren't going to take out anymore of the rust buckets that day.
Roadhog took a swing at the woman, only to have her blink away. All of a sudden, she was up in the air, firing down at Roadhog's exposed shoulder. He let out a muffled roar and baselessly swiped the air.
Junkrat turned a few rapid circles. There had to be some way they could get rid of the woman and take out a few more Omnics in the process. Then, up on the rooftops, he saw them. The distinct form of Reaper and the blue skin of Amélie Lacroix gliding over the gaps between buildings. They didn't look interested in helping with the fight, or even glancing over at Roadhog and Junkrat at all.
Junkrat elbowed Roadhog in the arm. "We've been set up."
Roadhog stumbled as he took another round of plasma bolts to the side. "What?"
Junkrat retrieved his grenade launcher from the floor. "We've been set-up!" He launched a grenade towards the woman as she blinked past. It didn't manage to land, but it came close. "Those blokes who hired us! They set us up just like that suit did the last time." He let out a yell as he swung his arm out and clipped the woman in the arm, sending her tumbling onto the ground.
In an instant, the woman bounced back to her feet. She raced after her twin pistols and before they'd even clattered to the ground, she'd snatched them back up. "Alright, time's up." She flicked a small triangular plate into her hand and charged the Junkers.
With an electronic click, the blue trail from the woman's blinking cut out, sending her tumbling down on her face.
"Oh finally!" Junkrat said as he lined up a perfect shot with her head.
He squeezed the trigger and his arms were pinned quickly to his sides as someone grabbed him from behind. His grenade went flying into the air, only to land harmlessly out in the middle of the deserted courtyard. "Hey no fair!"
"We're leaving." Reaper growled as he pulled Junkrat away from the slowly recovering woman.
Junkrat squirmed in the other man's grip as Reaper switched his body into one arm. "Let go of me, you no good spoil sport!"
Roadhog turned his face to the sky while Junkrat struggled. Hovering in the air was another Talon transport with two metal ropes hanging down to eye level. Mimicking Reaper, he wrapped the cord around his arm and let it lift him off the ground.
Junkrat's eyes widened as he watched the ground grow farther away. "Hey what gives?" He twisted his neck around to see the transport above him. "Oh. I-I get it."
Inside the transport, Reaper deposited Junkrat into an undignified heap on the ground.
For a few seconds, Junkrat scrambled to get his bearings. When he did, he sprang up to his full height and pointed a finger down at Reaper's mask. "You set us up!"
"Set you up?" Lacroix asked as she stepped into light streaming from the bay door. "In what way were you set up?"
Junkrat redirected his pointing to Lacroix. "You know how. You and your Talon hired us on to take the blame for whatever it is I saw you two doing earlier. Then you're gonna have us thrown in jail, collect our bounty, and probably file for an insurance claim!"
Lacroix glanced lazily towards Reaper. "You weren't set up. We did our job, and you did yours. Your payment is in that case over there."
"You…didn't set us up?" Junkrat said as he slowly turned to see a black briefcase and two more parachutes lying near the open bay of the transport. "Would you look at that," he bounded to the suitcase and snapped it open to find a very large sum of money inside, "you really did hold up your end of the bargain. I'm impressed. Didn't think fancy suits like you had it in you."
Roadhog leaned over Junkrat's shoulder to admire their new stash. "What are those for?" He asked as he pointed his thumb at the parachutes.
Lacroix drifted over to the edge of the door. "For you. Neither of you will be accompanying us back to Talon."
"Oh good," Junkrat said as he replaced the latches on the case, "don't think I could've stood to go back in that stuffy office again." He scooped up his parachute and slung it over his shoulders.
Roadhog pulled on his parachute and grabbed the case of money from Junkrat. With his other hand, he grabbed Junkrat's upper arm and led him to the edge of the transport. Below, the lights of London had disappeared, replaced with only the occasional glow of a lone farmhouse or a car driving down a narrow highway.
Junkrat cackled. "Looks like this is our stop. It was a pleasure doing business with you, m'lady. We'll be in touch again soon, I promise you that."
With a gentle tug, Roadhog brought Junkrat forward, sending them both falling though the night sky with their newly gained boons.
Thanks for reading, y'all!