Chapter one:
It was a calm morning in Switzerland. Zurich was, while already active, relatively quiet.
As quiet as it can get, with 3 thugs once again stirring up trouble by beating an omnic half to death in an alley.
A male, obviously rather young voice made them halt.
"All this noise, racism and discrimination, and for what? This is switzerland, for goodness`s sake, the country of peace. And money."
A Teenager, from the looks of it, walked into the beam of the streetlamp. He was reasonably tall, and not overwhelmingly muscular. He was wearing an all black buisness suit with a blue tie. His hair was as brown as his eyes and messy, despite being short. He pointed at the omnic, "And please, do leave the poor bot alone." His voice didn`t fit the words. It just didn`t seem to care very much.
The tallest of the three thugs - wich was also the one with the most muscles - stepped in front of the omnic, facing the stranger. The audacity of this kid.
"And why should we listen to you? We can mop the floor with ya, stupid suit." He said, obviously pointing out the stranger`s scrawny build. He simply shrugged, his face unsuggestive. Not like they`d know about what he`s gone trough. He didn`t have to save lives. But, sometimes, he didn`t want to either.
"well, t`was worth a try," he mused with an overplayed british accent, lifting his right arm with his fingers ready to flick,
"But by all means," he flicked, creating an unnaturally loud 'clack',
"Be my guest."
Behind him, an assault rifle by the type of SIG 553 materialized mid air, the bolt releasing and chambering a round with an audible 'klack'. The stranger couldn`t really hide his displeasure from the thugs at this point. Like it wasn`t obvious with the gun. It kept hovering, aiming at the tall thug. None of them moved. The stranger pointed at the one to the right, his hand forming a pistol.
"Bang." Was all he said, the rifle quickly dispatching the thug. A shell hit the ground. "Holy crap, are you insane? All this about a blechbüchse!" Really? "That 'Tincan' of yours just happens to me sentient. And, by law, you guys are criminals. And so am I, for shooting your friend there. So, run or die. Personally, I would recommend running." And that they did. Oh, they ran alright, and impressively so. The stranger was amazed at how fast they were. Maybe bionic prostethics?
He looked at the omnic, wich must still be very much startled, since he didn`t try to run off. That, or it was because of his legs having been mangled. The stranger got worried, walking over to him. "They sure did a number on your legs there. Good thing you dont have a third one, as humans do." he said, with a slight smirk on his face. He pressed a finger on his right ear, once again speaking swiss. "Hallo? Hey Mami, do händ es baar sieche ä Omnic beschädigt, kasch de Aliprando um hilf bitte?" he wasn`t about to ignore a damaged omnic just like that.
The omnic looked at him, obviously understanding what he said, but replying in english. Mabye his voice modulator got damaged? Aliprando`ll fix it. "I thank you sir. I don`t know what would`ve happened if you didn`t come along. But, do you really have to move me to your place? Not to be rude, but-" The stranger stopped. Omnic had a point.
"Calm down. I ain`t some thug. My brother`s a very capable mechanic, specialized on Omnics like yourslef." The omnic`s lights dimmed slightly on his right, indicating the Lifting of his eyebrow. If he had. "May I ask for your name?" the stranger sat the omnic up, dusting him off with his hands. "My name... huh. Well, i guess. My name is Alessio Guerri. My brother, the Mechanic, is Aliprando Guerri. Despite the name, neither of us can actually speak italian. Not even my mother." He said, smiling. "I can bring you to him, he can fix your legs in a jiffy." The Omnic nodded ever so slightly, now looking at the corpse of the thug, then at the bullet casing on the ground. "What about this?"he asked, waving at the scene. Alessio lifted him up, not answering the Omnics question. That he lifted him surprised the Omnic. He weighed around 150 kilos the last time he checked. "How-" "Don`t ask. It`s the one thing i shan`t answer." Alessio said with a stern face. "let`s bring you to my brother. It`s free, of course." Alessio wanted to deny it, but the Omnic did feel heavy.
With that, Alessio made off, carrying the Omnic piggyback. Trying not to show the strain.
At the same time, in a certain Hospital nearby
"Angela, do we really have to do this? You look like you haven`t slept in weeks, and rushing headfirst into a subsided shootout really isn`t a good idea, much less with the state you`re in."
Angela turned around, angry, her accent coming out. She wasn`t about to sit back and watch, despite her being tired and overworked. "Genji. My ztaff, and now. I vill help whoefer is hurt. We can run if ze police comez around, you are a Ninja after all."
Genji knew it was pointless, but he couldn`t just back down. Be it pride or stubborness.
"Angela, it is too dangerous. And im sure Alessio is already on it. You know he can`t just leave people in need."
Angela nodded to that, trying to find a way to make him give in. That worked before. She sighted, trying to sound genuinely concerned.
"Genji. What if Alessio is hurt? Even someone like him will get hurt eventually."
It was now Genji`s turn to sigh. "Even if he did, he`d just regenerate. You know that. And your suit isn`t exactly subtile."
"like your armor and lights are." Angela chuckled, ready to go.
Genji shook his head in displeasure. She could be so stubborn. But hell, thats another part of her he liked so very much."This`ll either go terribly wrong, or Alessio`ll just give us a ride home. Hey, didn`t you say your suit could need improvements?"
Meanwhile, outside the alley
Alessio already carried the damaged Omnic, whose name he knew by now was Jonathan, out of the Alley, turning left, towards an old car. It wasn`t one of the common Hovercars, it was a car with proper wheels. A 69 Ford Mustang, to be exact. Alessio`s '69 Mustang. He loved it to bits. And back together.
The Omnic Looked at it in disbelief.
"Mr. Guerri, you can`t be serious. Combustion engines are dangerous. We can`t drive with this." He exclaimed. This was hilarous. Combustion engine`s been as safe as never before. Alessio just chuckled in reply, but suddenly halted. Jonathan slightly tilted his head. "Are you alright?" to wich Alessio responded with a "Psst". "Footsteps. On the Roof. An... energy signature?" he muttered. He straightened his slightly slouchy posture, turning around- "I presume you are the reason behind the gunshots?" an Angelic voice came from behind him. Alessio turned around fully, facing Angela.
"I really should get a supressor. If you keep storming out like this, Genji`ll murder me one day." He said, putting his hands on his hips, slightly shaking Jonathan in the process. Angela wasn`t very forgiving when it came to hurting people. Alessio, tough atheist, prayed that she wouldn`t give him a preaching. Heh.
Genji dropped down the roof without making a sound, looking at Alessio. "Please, don`t go saying stuff like this about me."
Show off cybord saving his morning. Impeccable timing, as always. "They deserved it." he muttered, shrugging, turning to the car again and opening the right door. He didn`t have to shoot them. But it was easier than wasting energy he didn`t have left to spare in a fistfight. A meetup with the world`s most notorious hacker could be exhausting.
He flipped the passenger seat forwards, giving way to the back row.
"His name`s Jonathan, by the way." He said, pointing at Jonathan, while slowly lowering him onto the back seat. he flipped the front seat back, straightening again, leaning against the car. "You gonna tag along?" to wich Genji looked at Angela. She sighted, and nodded. They planned to go to the Guerry family`s place soon anyways.
Her wings folded compactly on her back, so she could sit on the passenger seat, Genji sitting behind the driver`s seat. Alessio got in, and immideatly hooked his phone up to the HiFi sistem, turning on AC/DC. He was close to binge-hearing them.
Angela looked at him, annoyed by the same music over and over again. The car`s upgraded, retardetly expensive sound system was playing 'For those about to rock', to wich Alessio fired up the engine, making it roar, and drove off in direction of the highway with them. Nothing better than a cruise with some nice rock to back it up.
A powerful gaze followed them, enhanced by a red, slightly glowing visor.
"Found you."
South Korea, Busan, around 40 Minutes later
Hana Song, 19 years old, Professional gamer, and currently one of the best MEKA pilots South korea had to offer. And fuck was she proud of it.
She was wearing casual clothes, and listening to Lucio`s album - Synaesthesia Auditiva - while cleaning the bulletproof windshield of her MEKA unit, trying to get rid of some paint splatters she accidentally left on it, when spraying the new sponsor logo on it. It spelt 'Victorinox' with gold letters, with a small red shield with a white cross in it, just beneath the name. It was her 17th sponsor, and the first from switzerland. She was proud to have gained the favor of such a small, yet incredibly rich country. Not everyday that goddamn switzerland got fond of anything other than Fondué or their Sackmesser. What a weird way to say 'pocket knife'.
From what she heard, the people were open minded about Omnics, yet incredibly close minded about nationality, but they were by no means like those... those... she stopped moving, trying to remember what they were called. Ah! The Nazis. The dark stain in the german historybook. She started rubbing the over the speck of paint again. Or were they? No, they didn`t wage war. They horted money like a hamster horted food, but never openly waged war. But, from what she heard, in WW2 they shot anything down that didn`t communicate.
Now that she really tought about it, Victorinox now provided almost half the money she made. She might actually be the richest MEKA pilot now. She smiled at the tought of it. All the upgrades she will be able to buy. She may be a MEKA pilot, but she will always be a Gamer at heart. Upragdes. so many upgrades.
She only just realized that she was drooling on the spot the speck of paint was. Huh, at least she got the paint off.
Someone tapped her on her left shoulder, startling her and catching her ellbow as it zoomed back.
Wait, caught it?
Hana looked at her assilant, who let go of her ellbow as she took a step back to be out of his reach, drawing her pistol. Why`d he let go of her ellbow? And why hadn`t he attacked yet? She muted the music.
He was... old. Middle aged, at least. He had already greying, shoulder long hair in a ponytail, a kahki suit and was supporting himself with a walking cane. He spoke.
"Ms. Song, I apologize for startling you. My name is Geoffrey Anderson. I tried calling you, but it seems you couldn`t hear me. I am here on my master`s behalf, she is asking if you were interested to work under her."
Hana froze for a moment. Guerri? She heard that name before, didn`t she? She kept her pistol tight in her grip. "Why would I? I have just gotten a big deal from Victorinox, im not giving up that much money to fight the giant omnic, to simply serve under some rich person." Damn right she wasn`t.
Geoffrey smiled gently. Public realtions were his field of expertise. "Ms. Song, i understand you won`t just give up your position, but i have watched many of your streams - even if mostly involuntarily - and have heard your admiration for many of Overwatch`s agents. Especially for one called 'Lena Oxton'. But we have gotten word that Overwatch is currently reforming, and that Ms. Oxton is already preparing alongside Winston."
Okay. Acually, no. What the actual fuck. She only mentioned liking Tracer once, and other agents just by-the-way, and why was such an old fart watching her play? Creepy. But Overwatch reforming? That would make them criminals, according to the Petra`s act. Sure, it was her dream to fight alongside them, but was this the time?
It was clear she still doubted him. Geoffrey sighed, pulling out a small white box with a silver line around it, causing Hana to aim at him. He looked at her in surprise.
"Ms. Song, what are you doing? This is a communication device. My master would like to speak to you, about recruitement. And please, stop waving that pistol around. It`s making me nervous." She hesitantly lowered her pistol, not putting it away. Now that she really tought about it, how did he get in here? The hangar was off limits for civillians. Hell, the base altogether was off limits for civs. She then only noticed the little plate he had on his chest. Sponsor / Visitor. Looks like he wasn`t spewing complete bull.
She holstered her pistol, but didn`t put the safety on. Can`t be too careful.
Geoffrey put the box down on the ground. A hole opened on top of the box, projecting a Holoscreen into the air. It was man-high, a good bit higher than Hana, and double in width. If they didn`t give everything the same color, it would be such a good screen for gaming.
It was dialling a crest. Hana tried making sense of it. It had the same shape as the Victorinox shield, but instead of the swiss cross, it had a swallow with outstretched wings on it, holding a sword in its claws. That would be a good guild crest.
The comms link connected, and a young woman, barely looking older than Hana appeared. While the Holoscreen made everything look blue, it was clear that the woman`s hair was as dark as her eyes. She was beatuiful, as Hana had to admit to herself. And she was certainly bigger. She towered over Hana by almost a head`s height, and her beautiful face showed curiosity. "So, you are Hana Song, the streamer?"
Hana tensed up. She couldn`t quite describe it, but something about this woman made her feel like she had to show respect.
"Yes, Ma'am." Hana was confused. Why was she acting like this? "Might i ask who you are?"
The woman on the screen looked flustered. "Ähem, yes, i forgot to introduce myself. Apologies. My name is Amalia Guerri, older sister to Aliprando and Alessio Guerri. I am currently the leader of this household, with Geoffrey serving as my right hand ma-" Amalia flinched as the door behind her opened, and Alessio came in, with Hanzo behind him. "Hey sis, look who i found!" Alessio pointed at Hanzo behind him, looked at the screen and froze. Not for long however, as his surprise made space for a exited smile, when he saw Hana - and ran to the screen.
"Holy crap, ! This is so awesome! Im such a big fa-" Amalia covered his mouth. He was always like this over gaming celebrities. "I must apologise Ms. Song, my brother is, as he said a great fan of yours. His name is Alessio, and he`s the one who suggested recruiting you, should a certain organization called Overwatch ever reform. Since that happened literally an hour ago, we contacted you. Speaking of wich, i hope Geoffrey didn`t sneak up on you?"
Alessio pried Amalias hand off of his face, still smiling exitedly.
Hana hesitated. He snuck up on her alright. Maybe she was listening to music full blast, but still. "He did." Geoffrey looked at her like he had just been betrayed. "With all due respect, Ms. Song, you were listening to music so loud i could hear it from afar!" Geoffrey tried to play up his displeasure about the situation, but just couldn`t.
Amalia and Alessio looked at each other and started giggling. Geoffrey was so easy to read. He couldn`t hurt a fly, even if that fly just so happened to be a Talon agent firing a gatling gun at him. It was a nice trait he had, even if Alessio always had to save his ass all the time.
Alessio spoke up. "Ms. Song, i take it you know some of the more popular agents from Overwatch? Like Mercy or Tracer?"
Oh, Hana knew them alright. She idolized Tracer, who was pretty much who she modeled after. Bubbly, happy-go-lucky personality and always up for a challenge. She knew Mercy, but not much about her, except having achieved several break-troughs in the medical world. She nodded.
Alessio nodded, and started typing on the holo-keyboard in front of him. He connected to a public stream running on an infinite loop. It was Tracer, also known as Lena Oxton, speaking in front of a backdrop with the Overwatch logo painted on it. Her British accent was unmistakeable. "-alon has been running attacks on Watchpoints and we have gotten intel on them planning attacks on the public. I am sure that you have, by now, heard of the terrorist 'Reaper'`s attack on the Overwatch museum, trying to steal this." She raised Doomfist`s gauntlet-"Doomfist`s gauntlet. His accomplice, known as Widowmaker, was close to killing two children, who were present at the scene. We knew before that they were unethical, but even we were enraged at this. Wich is why we are reforming Overwatch. I can no longer sit by idly, watching the world and people go to hell by the hands of Talon. So, in that sense, we ask you, who deem yourself capable of such a task, to come to us, to help us save the world once again. The world can always use more heroes. Tracer, out." She saluted with the gauntlet, and the recording started anew. Alessio closed it, and looked up at Hana, who was watching it attentively.
"So, what do you say, ? Ready and willing to fight the good fight?" was ready. But was Hana? She hated shooting at humans, but had done it before, as violent riots broke out among the people and they couldn`t be calmed. She used beanbags, mind you, despite her friends not doing so. Now, friends? She had some people here who were nice, but friends? She wasn`t too familiar with anyone here, it still wasn`t easy however. But she couldn`t pass on such a chance, to meet her idol, to fight alongside her to save the world. "Oh, and by the way, a certian musician better known as Lúcio Correia dos Santos is interested in making the world a better place. While he`s not been recruited yet, or hasn`t seeked contact, we tought about going to ask him, and seeing that he is also a fan of yours - and you of him - this might be your big chance to meet him."
Hana was definetely delighted at the idea. "Don`t really have a reason to refuse. But - what about upgrades? I want upgrades for my MEKA unit." Alessio chuckled. "Already taken care of. Aliprando?" A second comms link established, voice only. "Very much so, good brother. HUD Upgrades, weapon efficiency upgrades and more in developement."
Hana`s and `s eyes were sparkling. "Im in. Where should we meet up?" Amalia smiled. "Geoffrey will take you along. He came with one of our private jets, even your MEKA unit should fit in. Tough, i would advise to inform the proper authorities. You are over 18, so switzerland won`t give any you trouble." Geoffrey was already inspecting her MEKA unit, careful as not to touch it. "It`ll fit, even without taking it apart. But i must take Amalia`s side, you should inform your commanding Officer and/or Major, at the very least that you are leaving. I do suppose you own the MEKA unit?"
She did. Well, kinda. She spent enough money on it to build it five times over, but hadn`t actually bought it from the government yet. "Kinda?"
Geoffrey, seemingly understanding the situation, nodded. "I shall take care of the situation. While i`m on the way, ill also speak to your Major." He pulled out a smartphone - where did he dig that up? From a ancient graveyard? - and handed it to Hana. "This phone contains a map of the entire area, it has the Jet`s location on it. I will be waiting there with the MEKA unit for you, while you go and pack your bags. And, maybe say goodbye to your friends here? An 'I`ll be back!'?" He chuckled at his last comment. Hana also smiled. Something about that sentence seemed familiar.
She set off to her quarters, to collect the few things she had. Luckily she didn`t bother setting up a proper PC, only using a high-end Laptop for the little gaming she had time left for, between her MEKA training sessions. That, and that it wasn`t technically allowed to have your own laptop in the quarters. Good thing the higher-ups understood the situation of the gamers they recruited. Addictions are hard to deal with.
She reached her room and walked in, flipping the lights on. It was somewhat messy, her clothes lying around and empty Dorito bags strewn about. The left corner had a pyramid of empty Mountain Dew bottles in it, and a Sixpack of new ones besides it. Her bed, positioned in the right back corner, had more clothes lying on it, just as messy as the ones on the floor. Her table, however, was very orderly, her Laptop carefully placed on it, with it`s mouse besides it in the charging dock. Home Sweet Home. Well, more or less.
She started packing her clothes, and was surprised to see that they all fit into a rather big, rather pink wheeled suitcase. Her laptop, now carefully packed into a neopren sleeve, and her mouse stowed away in a little carboard box, were set ontop of her clothes, just barely fitting in without experiencing too much pressure. She may be messy, but she took care of her hardware.
She walked straight out of the living quarters. She didn`t want to say goodbye, the other pilots never seemed to really like her attitude. That, and the fact that she probably wouldn`t be able to keep from crying. But nobody has to know that.
As walked to the exit, Geoffrey came out of a side corridor, looking pleased.
"Ms. Song, your MEKA is currently being transferred to the Jet, and you are excused without further notice. It is good to see that the name Guerri still holds meaning. I have been meaning to ask, Ms. Song, do you have anything back at your home that you want to take with you? A proper PC, perhaps?"
Hana was surpised that he phrased it like that. Usually, only people with some insight on hardware spoke like that. "Well, no. I sold it to buy my Laptop, before i got so many sponsors." Geoffrey nodded. "My condolences. I am sure however, that you will be pleased with the Rig master Alessio put together for you."
Hana`s eyes were shining now. The Guerri`s were rich, and filthy rich. It had to be a retardetly overpowered rig, when one of the heads of the family put it together. So much potential. She started drooling at the tought, to Geoffrey`s amusement. "Now now, Ms. Song, no need to drool." he handed her a handkerchief "I`m sure master Alessio has put together something to your liking. Oh, have i mentioned the size of the screen yet? It`s over 40 inches, a sight to behold." She drooled more, but quickly wiped it away with the handkerchief.
Geoffrey was still chuckling when they left the premises of the MEKA hangars. He was now pulling her suitcase - 'A proper gentleman carryes the lady`s luggage' - while they walked towards the bus station in front of the base. They can`t be taking the bus, can they?
Her doubts quickly disappated as a limousine the lenght of a small truck drove up, and two butlers came out, taking the luggage off Geoffrey and stowing it away, while opening the door and gesturing them in. Geoffrey also gestured her to get in with a friendly smile.
She got in and was, again, taken aback by the luxury. Leather seats, white and redgold ornaments on the roof, a mini bar on the left side of the car, with the seats on the right. The engine was completely inaudible, and no vibrations came trough. Geoffrey got in behind her, tough with difficulty, and she was almost going to help him, if he didn`t smile at her, saying "Please don`t. It makes me feel old."
With that, he closed the door behind him, signaling the butlers that they were ready to go.
A few seconds later, the limousine drove off to the airport of Busan. "We have parked the jet there, saying we`re here to pick up a family relative. From now on until we are in switzerland, your name will be Jaqueline Guerri, gamer and hardware specialist. Before you ask, it is because of Talon. Seeing that you are the gamer with the fastest documented reactions, you can be incredibly useful to either side." Now he was spilling the reasons. " And pardon me for only saying this now. I just couldn`t risk to feed possible Talon moles free intel."
That... Actually made some kind of sense. But why didn`t he take the chance to feed wrong information? "Geoffrey, why didn`t you try to feed them wrong information?" Geoffrey seemed hesitant. "Well, i could, but i hate lying. And im really bad at it, to boot. They could probably see that im lying from kilometers away." He smiled, somewhat embarassed. The driver chuckled. "Yup, Geoffrey is almost stupidly good natured. Main reason that he`s the public face of the Guerri family."
Hana looked at him, studiying him. He was very good natured, enough for his friends and coworkers to call it stupid, he was the public face of the Guerri, he was middle-aged and liked to sneak up on people. So, somewhat mischievous. Tough, his attire seemed.. Old-school. People nowadays rarely dressed like - like that.
He looked outside the window, watching the buildings get more frequent as they drove to Busan, spacing out. Exhaustion slowly crept up in Hana, and she realised that she hadn`t slept in over 32 hours. She decided to get some rest and closed her eyes.
Translations from swiss to english:
"Hallo? Hey Mami, do händ es baar sieche ä Omnic beschädigt, kasch de Aliprando um hilf bitte?"
Translation:
"Hello? Hey mom, some wankers damaged an omnic here, can you ask Aliprando for help?"
And with that, ends the first chapter. I`m still a beginner, and non-native english speaker to boot. Nevertheless, any and all criticism is appreciated, and very much welcome.
I will try as much as i can to make it readable.
Disclaimer:
I OWN NOTHING BESIDES THE GUERRI FAMILY AND ITS SERVANTS!
ANY RIGHTS REGARDING OVERWATCH CHARACTERS BELONG TO BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT ONLY!