Sooo, this is going to be tricky for me…
As a person who only played Overwatch, like ten consecutive times, on my friend's PS4 account, I will say that the game is flipping awesome and I wish I had the money to get a PS4 myself (curse you, student loans!), but still, in spite of Overwatch's extensive and overwhelming timeline, I still think the game's lore is fantastic and has all this lovely diversity, continuity, and likable characteristics, so kudos to you, Blizzard! :)
Anywhom, this is another one of those Post-Recall fics with Overwatch sent on their first group mission in years (let's say this story takes place a month or two after Recall), though this story is really meant to be a sort-of family bonding and humorous story rather than an action-packed story.
Keep in mind that b/c of Overwatch's vast timeline, I felt like I had to tread carefully when limiting which characters that would return to the team after the recall has been issued, so let's just say that Soldier: 76 and Hanzo won't show up today (boo!). Regardless, I hope you enjoy the show! :)
Overwatch is owned by Blizzard. (I do not own any of its characters nor its properties. This is purely a non-profit fanfic made for fun). Additionally, the lyrics to "The Boys are Back in Town" belong to Thin Lizzy.
SKIRMISH
[LOCATION: 150 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL - DESTINATION: RIALTO, ITALY - ESTIMATED TIME UNTIL DROP ZONE: 25 MINUTES, 16 SECONDS]
Lena Oxton traipsed happily around the air carrier's holding compartment, reveling in the sight of seeing so many old friends and famous heroes gathered around together once again.
After Winston's latest run-in with Talon, led by Reaper himself, Lena, famously known under her moniker "Tracer", had been the one of the first heroes to respond directly to the scientist's recall program, and soon, not long afterwards, many other heroes answered the call to help bring Overwatch into the spotlight once again, including some of Overwatch's most elite heroes like Angela Ziegler, Jesse McCree, and Wilhelm Reinhardt. As of now, Winston and Angela have been appointed in a co-leadership role until further notice, with no complaints from the team.
Of course, as expected, not all members of Overwatch have responded yet to Winston's message; notably being co-founder Jack Morrison (his disappearance still worrying Winston and Angela even to this day), but even then, Lena still considered the recall initiative to be a big step into officially reconstructing Overwatch's place in the world.
And now here she was, on a mission with some of Overwatch's most renowned heroes for the first time in years and she was feeling incredibly happy…
"Lucio, ye' little punk, tone it down wit' that blasted rock n' roll, already!"
"Hey, chill out, Torbjörn, nothin' wrong with a little jammin' session!"
...more or less happy, but regardless, Lena enjoyed the time she spent reunited with her old colleagues.
Yes, once in a while, some of the members would continue the tradition of bickering with each other, due to some of their clashing personalities (which is why the award of "Always Having Something to Complain About" was always given to Torbjörn), but despite the occasional complaining and jabs thrown at each other, Lena knew deep down in her heart that they all really did miss each other very much and were all very much happy to be reunited again.
Of course, the heroes milling around the holding area were all friends and members that Lena recognized from the glory days, some being Reinhardt Wilhelm and Jesse McCree, who were both polishing their respective weapons before they had to start their mission; Torbjörn Lindholm, who was grumpily idling in the corner making sure that he had all his tools on hand; and lastly, stood Hana Song, Lucio Correia dos Santos, and Bastion, all chilling out against the right side of the hanger, with Hana and Lucio taking goofy selfies, blasting some music, and happily chatting about their "superstar lifestyles" and Bastion awkwardly standing around nearby, tending to his pet bird, Ganymede.
Taking in the lovely sight of seeing her family again, Lena breathed in a content sigh as she waltzed past the right side corner of the carrier, where Hana, Lucio, and Bastion were hanging around, busy with their own affairs. The tune of a familiar classic rock song coming from Lucio's music player flowed through the air inside the hanger, along with the combined, infectious sound of Lucio singing along with it.
'Guess who just got back today? Them wild-eyes boys that had been away…'
'Haven't changed that much to say. But man, I still think them cats are-' "Oh, hey Tracer, what's shakin'?"
Lena returned Lucio's wave and bounded towards the threesome with a big smile on her face. Hana and Bastion looked over to see their perky teammate join them.
"'Sup, Tracer?" Hana welcomed coolly while leaning against her MEKA suit.
"Breeeep-boooop!" greeted Bastion kindly in his usual robotic speech. Even Ganymede chirped a little hello to the ex-pilot as she bounced right next to them.
"'Ello, fellas!" cheered Lena, her British accent all squeaky and excited. "Oh, isn't this just smashing, guys!? Our first mission since the recall has been launched?"
Hana yawned and stretched her arms, all while flashing a cat-like smile towards the Brit.
"Ahh, I suppose…" she pondered slyly, "I do know that only thing 'smashing' about this is all those Talon paeja that I'm gonna blast away once we drop down!"
Lucio couldn't help but to look towards Hana and copy her cocky smile in return. "Oh, really, Song? Worried your mech suit won't slow ya down a bit?"
Hana put on a mock-pouty face as the Brazilian support hero chortled next to her, but she still continued to playfully rib him as well.
"Well, at least my suit can fly…" she crooned in a competitive tone. She swayed up to Lucio and gave him an expression that was a mix of flirty and conceited. "Can those silly skates of yours fly?"
Lucio only shrugged and smirked softly. "No, but they can glide across any surface, including walls and roofs, so that's kinda like flying…" he bragged, which Hana only replied with a scoff and a smirk.
Lena giggled softly at the spectacle before her. Hana and Lucio have always had that kind of relationship where they loved to compete with each other (whether on the battlefield or not), but they did so without being hostile or too violent about it.
"Well, we know one thing though. Talon will be runnin' for the hills once they see us rollin' into battle with this bad boy right here, am I right, Bastion!?" chortled Lucio, playfully slapping Bastion on his arm. Bastion tilted his head curiously.
"Bweee-bee-boop-preeeeep…" came the reply from the omnic. Torbjörn, who was listening in on the conversation from his side of the hanger, couldn't help but to scoff.
"Pah, it'll take more than a bunch of fancy stunts to scare away all of Talon 'fer good, kid…and I also doubt that they'll retreat after crossing paths wit' that pacifistic bucket of bolts…" grumbled the Swedish engineer in an untactful tone.
Bastion seemed to deflate from Torbjörn's rude comment and only replied with a single, sad beep. Lena and Lucio both gave Torbjörn unimpressed looks. Hana, however, just rolled her eyes and snorted to herself.
"Hmm, shock of all shocks, Grandpa's feeling grouchy again…" she mused cheekily, prompting a muffled chuckle from her group, much to the Swede's annoyance.
Evenly so, Lena still decided to keep the good vibes flowing, regardless of her teammate's negative attitude.
"Oh, stop being an old stick-in-the-mud, Torbby! Aren't you at least happy to have the team back together again?" she asked kindly, placing a friendly hand on his shoulder. Torbjörn shook his head and groaned softly in defeat.
"Ugh, of course I'm happy to have the team back!" he groused, "...but with the damn government getting all on our backs with this lousy Petras Act, who knows how long Overwatch will last again!?"
McCree, still sitting in his spot and polishing his gun from afar, overheard their conversation and just chuckled softly, flashing Torbjörn a friendly smirk.
"Slow your roll, Lindholm. It'll take some time before the big boys in Congress can officially bring back Overwatch, so we just gotta prove to them that Overwatch is worth bringing back. Besides, Numbani wasn't built in a day, y'know…" he chuckled good-naturedly.
Torbjörn rolled his eyes and scoffed. Hana couldn't help but to giggle and smirk at the stout Swede beside her.
"Yeah, old man, try and be like McCree here! At the very least, he's happy to be back in the saddle again..."
The lame pun was enough for the hanger to be filled with laughter, with the only exception being the groans from an irate Torbjörn. Even McCree couldn't help but to give a small chuckle himself.
"Very funny...but I'm just sayin', per chance if one little thing goes awry while we set down in Rialto, we may get found out and then we'll be sayin' adjö to Overwatch all over again..." grumbled Torbjörn disdainfully. McCree flicked away his cigar in a nearby trash bin and stood back up with a self-assured smirk.
"Well then, we'll just have to not screw up on this mission then…" drawled the ex-Deadlock member simply.
Reinhardt, also noticing his friend's irritation, got up from cleaning his hammer and shambled towards Torbjörn in his signature, heavy armor, giving him a playful, but hard pat on the back that nearly sent the Swede falling on his face.
"Ah, look at it zhis way, old friend!" chortled Reinhardt, "If zhis mission goes well, Overwatch vill be swarming with new heroes, und soon enough, ve'll be protecting all our loved ones once again…just like ze glory days back in Eichenwalde!"
Torbjörn could only shrug, his scowl softening up a bit. "Yeah, I suppose you're right…"
"Speaking of recruits…" put in Lucio, "Didn't Winston say something bringin' in some new guys on this assignment as well?" he asked curiously. Reinhardt nodded at the Brazilian deejay.
"He did," he confirmed, "Angela iz in the back prepping ze two as we speak…"
Hana raised an eyebrow. "Two? I thought we had three newbs coming in…"
"The third recruit is still at Gibraltar undergoing training wit' Genji an' Mei…" replied McCree, now joining the group. "Winston felt that the kid still needed some more practice before we can officially break him in…"
Tracer seemed to be sad at this news. "Aww, really? I was hoping to have him join us on our first mission…" Torbjörn scoffed in indignation.
"Oxton, the young'un's still too green around the gills to be placed on a recon mission like this! Just because he helped ya and Winston fend off Talon at that museum doesn't mean he's instantly a hero! Jobs like this need training, y'know..." he huffed, matter-of-factly.
As much as Lena hated to admit it, Torbjorn did have a good point. When the newcomer (a young human teenager) willingly joined the ranks as a Overwatch rookie, he has certainly came to take his job seriously and was willing to fight alongside his fellow teammates (even going as far as to look up to Tracer as something of a mentor), but even so, the new human was less combat-efficient of the three new newcomers and the other members of Overwatch felt that he still needed more proper training.
"I suppose…" she sighed in defeat.
*WHOOOSH!*
The sudden whoosh of the cargo bay doors was enough for everyone to stand in full attention as the two temporary leaders soon entered the loading area. Lena's sadness quickly turned to excitement, her eyes glimmering with child-like joy at seeing the familiar ape scientist and angel-esque doctor together at last, but she still managed to keep her composure regardless.
Fixing the small glasses on his head, Winston shuffled his massive ape body to one side and cleared his throat loudly.
"Alright, everyone, listen up please!" he stated importantly, "Now, I know that it's been a long while since our last mission in Overwatch, but that doesn't mean we should lose sight of our mission! Talon is still under operation and with members like Reaper and Widowmaker still at large, we must do our best to apprehend them. So hopefully, should this mission prove to be a success, we may be closer to officially reviving Overwatch!"
The loud, collective response of the whole holding compartment cheering in excited support was enough for both Winston and Mercy to smile broadly at their team's loyalty. Winston, in return, chuckled good-heartedly.
"Angela, would you care to explain our battle strategy?" he offered, gesturing towards the Swiss angel beside him.
Dr. Angela Ziegler gave a kind smile and a nod at Winston. "I would be honored, danke, Winston...now everybody, here's our report!"
She then moved towards a large computer screen that was showing an overhead map of Rialto. The other members shuffled closer for a better look.
"Pharah has broadcasted from HQ about suspicious activity in Rialto concerning about a coup of Talon officers having just stolen a weapons payload from ze local armory and are planning to take it back to Talon HQ to supply new weapons. Zhey are still miles away from ze town square yet, so we are scouting ahead to make sure zhey don't leave ze area with any more weaponry, which iz why we are going to issue a surprise ambush."
Mercy turned towards the crowd and scanned each member in thought. "Reinhardt iz planning to get the drop on them before they reach the river bridge, so once he does zat, we'll be able to rush in and stop Talon long enough to take back ze payload."
She pointed to each team member as she assigned their duties out one by one.
"Lena and Hana, you both shall stake out on the east side of the bridge once Reinhardt initiates his attack. McCree and Winston, you vill take the west side. While you four take on za Talon soldier, Reinhardt vill be on ze point to protect the payload. Bastion, you'll be helping Reinhardt out, so stay in turret mode when you get on the payload. Lucio, you vill join me in healing the team when needed. Torbjörn and our new recruits shall camp up on one of the upper rooftops to support cover fire when needed."
Winston nodded, his stern face turning into a determined smile. "Is everybody clear on the plan?" he stated loudly for all to hear.
"Roger that, luv!"
"Yes sir!"
"Ja!"
"Gotcha!"
"Whatever ye' say, partner…"
"Beeeep-boop!"
"Wait a minute now!"
The indignant reply of Torbjörn was enough for most of the team to groan impatiently. Regardless though, Angela gave him a patient nod.
"Yes, Torbjörn?" she asked kindly. Torbjörn placed his right arm on his hip and scowled.
"Why am I playin' babysitter to these newcomers!? My turrets can handle themselves just perfectly without the help of some lousy omn-"
*THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!*
Soon enough, as if on cue, the team felt the hanger begin to shake a bit as the sounds of metallic stomping rang across the room. At first, they all thought they were experiencing some turbulence, that is until the cargo bay doors opened once again to reveal that those sounds were coming from their new recruit.
Then again, it is kind of hard for a tall, four-legged omnic to keep quiet after all…
Mercy chuckled softly and gestured towards the large behemoth of an omnic. "Miss Oladele has graciously assigned Orisa to assist us in our latest venture, and considering ze amount of soldiers zhat Talon had deployed for zhis job, we'll need all ze support we'll need…"
The rest of the team couldn't help but to gaze in awe at the colossal, centaur-esque omnic before them. Torbjörn, however, groaned internally and rubbed his temples.
'Why am I always stuck workin' with the robots…?' he grumbled to himself.
Mercy walked next to the large omnic, looked up in Orisa's eyes, and placed a motherly hand on her front left knee.
"Orisa, dear, you shall be assisting Torbjörn with at ze upper point and you'll back him up when he tends to his turrets, understand?" Mercy asked softly. Orisa lifted up her Fusion Driver weapon without hesitation.
"Understood, ma'am!" she replied, her eyes shining in determination. She then galloped over between Bastion and the tired-looking Torbjörn and readied her stance for the drop-off.
"Yeah, wunderbar…" mumbled the Swede, a glazed look in his eyes as he looked towards Orisa, "Now, where's this new partner-in-crime of yours?"
Orisa loudly chirped and bleeped a few times, as if to call out to the other recruit to come over.
In response, the team carefully made way as a large, cast-iron ball rolled its way into the holding area, before it quickly halted to a standstill in front of Torbjörn. The engineer raised an unamused eyebrow.
"This is one of our new rookies? A giant, metal sphere?" he drawled. Clearly, with the antics he had to deal with since he returned to Overwatch, he wasn't in the mood for child's play.
He was too tired to even notice Winston flash a knowing grin towards him. Chuckling softly to himself, Winston lifted up a hand, snapped his fingers once…
*CLANK! WHOOOSH! CHHHIRP!*
"What the-?"
...and in an instant, four crab-like legs popped from underneath the orb. Torbjörn flinched a little from the sight, especially when he saw two fully-loaded turrets poke from the upper sides of the sphere-like droid.
Nothing else happened after that, which prompted Torbjörn to cautiously peer inside the mech's open hatch, half-expecting to see something like a missile or a bomb or a smaller omnic that was piloting this mech itself.
He was only half right on the latter, but he still didn't expect that the droid was been piloted by a hamster of all things…
Torbjörn's befuddled expression upon seeing the little critter pop out from his mech was enough for everyone to join into raucous laughter (except for Hana who just d'awwed at the sight of the hamster's appearance). Winston couldn't help but to chuckle softly at this spectacle.
"I think you'll find that Hammond here will prove to be an efficient team player while fighting alongside you, Torbjörn. Personally, I see him as a textbook example of 'don't judge a book by its cover'..." stated Winston in a warm tone.
Torbjörn could only roll his eyes in annoyance. 'We are really getting desperate for new heroes, aren't we?' he thought to himself.
But before the Swedish engineer could gripe for any longer, everything seemed to happen at once...
*BLEEEEEP! BLEEEEEP!*
The room was immediately engulfed in a flashing red light along with a loud, klaxon alarm blaring out from the P.A. system. Winston's eyes grew serious yet again.
"Hold on tight, everyone!" he ordered sharply as he steadied himself in the corner of the ship.
Everyone in the cargo hold made haste as they all managed to grab hold of the safety bars lined up against the walls. The ship began to shudder loudly as the team felt themselves safely descend down from the sky. That along with the sudden reply of Athena's voice ringing over the intercom could only mean one thing...
"~NEARING DROP-ZONE IN FORTY-ONE SECONDS. PLEASE STAND BY IN PREPARATION FOR DEPARTURE~"
Everybody wasted no time to prepare for their drop-off. They all readied and loaded up their respective blasters, mech suits, and other choice of weaponry. Even with their morale all boosted up, everyone still made sure to mentally prepare themselves for their mission, considering that it has been a while since their last group outing.
Tracer, in particular, was certainly feeling jazzed up and ready to go. With her dual pulse pistols were reloaded and her chronal accelerator all charged up, she eagerly used her time-shifting device to blink in front of the side hatch ahead of the others, awaiting for it to open as the ship slowly descended down on a clear, open area close by to their location..
"Pilot says zhat Talon hasn't noticed our ship pass by, so let's try and get to ze payload and not draw attention to ourselves!" called out Mercy, her Caduceus Staff all primed and ready to heal. "Winston, open ze hatch!"
Winston nodded and pulling down a lever, the hatch doors slowly began to open, now revealing the gorgeous, rustic town of Rialto up ahead. Mercy joined Tracer up front and put on a brave face.
"Touchdown in 10…" she stated boldly.
Torbjörn joined up next and hawked up a spit ball to the side, gripping his trusty hammer and Rivet Gun against his side.
"9…"
Orisa took her stance behind Torbjörn and charged up her, her expressive eyes glowing with determination. Hammond, sitting next to Orisa as well, popped back inside his mech and converted back to its "wrecking ball" mode, ready to move quickly to his position.
"8…"
With a brave beeping rendition of the famous "charge" cry, Bastion promptly transformed himself into his tank mode, with Ganymede fluttering alongside him.
"7…"
McCree tossed away his freshly-downed whiskey bottle and readily whipped out both his pistols, capping off his self-appointed badassery by cracking his neck loudly.
"6…"
Hana's hot pink MEKA suit hummed loudly as the Korean gamer swooped inside her suit and took her stance next to Tracer, all while popping her bubblegum and smirking proudly.
"5…"
With his Sonic Amplifier in one hand and his music player in the other, Lucio swiftly skated next to Hana, both sharing a cocky smile with each other.
"4…"
Reinhardt stomped in next, gripping his war hammer in one metal hand and his shield in the other, he put on his war helmet on and was ready to roll.
"3…"
Winston fixed his glasses again before slowly joining Tracer and Mercy up front, a determined and proud smile plastered on his face and his rocket boosters burning brightly.
"2…"
Tracer breathed in a deep sigh and put on the most serious smile that she could muster. After God-knows how many years of being stuck in hiding, the heroic men and women of Overwatch were ready to break away the shackles of abandonment and finally band together to show the public that the world does need more heroes after all, whether or not that the Petras Act is still active regardless.
As of today, It looks like the cavalry has finally arriv-
"ALRIGHT GUYS, LET'S DO THIS! WHOOOOOOOO!"
"AW, YEEAAH, LET'S GET READY TO BREAK IT DOWN, YA'LL! WHOOO!"
Before Angela could finish her countdown, the sudden, combined cheers of and Lucio were enough to break the tension as the superstar duo immediately dashed out of the air carrier and zipped their way towards their location, all while whooping and cheering loudly along the way.
"Last one there is a rusty omnic!" yelled Lucio playfully.
"Just try and stop me!" Hana squealed in return, as both heroes made their way towards the town.
The rest of the team could only stare in stunned silence, with the only noise being the hum of the ship's engine and the agitated groans of Torbjörn.
"För kärleken till Gud, this is gonna be a long day…" he muttered. Winston mutually shared the Swede's feeling as well, before deciding to waste no more time and to start their mission.
"To your positions, soldiers! Let's take back that payload!" he rallied, picking up his Tesla Cannon and jetpacking out from the carrier.
Before long, the other nine brave and daring members of Overwatch poured out of the air carrier, guns and weapons a-blazing, following the two young, wayward heroes already swooping towards their positions.
And as they stormed over the bridge leading towards the streets of Rialto, the indescribable feeling of nostalgic joy coursed through Tracer's veins as she zipped alongside Winston and Mercy, along with the famous rock song Lucio was playing earlier echoing in her mind...
It's so wonderful to be back…
'The boys are back in town, the boys are back in town…'
'The boys are back in to-ow-ow-ow-own, the boys are back in town…'
THE END
As the song has repeatedly stated, Overwatch is back in town, baby! Apologizes if we didn't get to see any action this time, but if the response to this fic is well-received enough, I may even write a follow-up story involving that third new recruit that Tracer mentioned earlier… ;)
Overall, thanks for reading and have a lovely day! Stay frosty, lads!
Paeja = Korean word for "losers"
Aljö = Swedish word for "goodbye"
För kärleken till Gud = Swedish phrase for "For the love of God"
~Thunderbyrd