Sniper sat in the branches of a tree, looking down at the three blue-clad soldiers walking through the forest near him. They had not noticed him nor the sniper rifle in his hands. He aimed at the head of one, squinting. Just as he began to apply pressure to the trigger, a hand appeared on his chest.
"No, not yet. We will need the others." Came the voice of the Spy.
"I have a clear shot, mate. If I pop one, I can shoot another before they know where I am. Doubt it'd be too hard to get the third, too." Sniper said.
"I understand, but that is no guarantee and we don't know who these people are." Spy said.
"They're BLUs, fairly obvious from the colour they're wearing." Sniper pointed out. Spy sighed.
"Do they look like mercenaries to you? They wear blue armour, but that symbol on the breastplate, you see? Look at it through your scope." Spy said. Sniper complied and closed his left eye as he got a close look with his right one. There was a circle of sorts on the breastplate with an upward pointing arrowhead inside the circle.
"Alright, fair enough. That's not the BLU team symbol, but still... Better safe than sorry." Sniper said.
"I would not recommend we attack. They don't know we are here yet, they might just move on without discovering anybody." Spy stated. Sniper shrugged. He lowered his rifle. Suddenly, a shrill scream that was not unlike the cry that Soldier made before a fight split the air. Sure enough, Soldier burst from the trees, shotgun trained on one of the soldiers. They looked just as surprised as Sniper felt and when Soldier shot one of them down, Sniper raised his rifle again and put a bullet through the brain of a second.
"For f..." Spy growled, opening his butterfly knife. "Idiots." He said, cloaking. Sniper did not know where the Spy went next.
"Oi, wanker! Hold on for a minute!" Sniper yelled at Soldier.
"We can not let the BLU escape!" Soldier said as the remaining soldier dived behind a tree, out of Snipers' line of sight. Sniper's attention was drawn to the sound of the remaining enemy soldier yelling frantically.
"This is Johnson, I am under fire, repeat, I am under fire! Richards and Washington are dead, requesting immediate evac!" The man yelled.
"Who the fuck is this lad talking to?" Sniper muttered as he climbed down the tree. He reached the base but then was shocked to hear the sound of return fire. He dived to the ground as bullets whizzed by, ripping into the tree and sending splinters flying.
"Do not worry, Sniper! I have this under control!" Soldier yelled, running at the tree and sending a spray of shotgun pellets at the one called Johnson. Most of the pellets missed entirely, the rest hit the tree. It didn't matter, however, as there was a cry of pain and the enemy fell to the ground with a knife embedded in his back. Spy emerged from behind the tree, scowling at Soldier.
"You didn't have to attack, you know. They didn't know we're here." Spy said. Soldier frowned from under his oversized helmet.
"They were BLUs, we kill BLUs." Soldier reasoned. Sniper scowled as he walked up to him, thinking along the same lines as Spy.
"We don't know that, imbecile." Spy said. "We don't even know where we are, what makes you think everyone wearing blue is an enemy on every part of the planet?" At this, Soldier frowned, stroking his chin and resting his shotgun on his shoulder.
"Well... Uh... They wore blue." He said. Spy groaned and Sniper joined him. Sniper, though initially jumpy, had come to the same conclusion as Spy and now they had potentially made an enemy they did not need to make.
"Good job, mate. Weren't you supposed to find shelter rather than pick fights with people we know nothing about?" Sniper asked. "I mean, did we really have to kill them?" Soldier's back stiffened and he took a step towards Sniper, standing uncomfortably close.
"If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight! Sun Tzu said that. And I'd say he knows a little more about fighting than you do pal, because he invented it! And then he perfected it so that no living man could best him in the ring of honour!" Soldier declared, pacing back and forth in front of Sniper and making several powerful hand gestures as he spoke. Sniper rubbed his forehead, scowling.
"Mate, this isn't one of your military strategy seminars. Spy, how many times has he said this to us?" Sniper asked. Spy looked up from the cigarette he was about to light, slightly surprised to hear his name.
"Oh, what? I stopped paying attention to the idiot." Spy said, lighting up and taking a long drag. He put his lighter and cigarette case back in his suit jacket.
"You know, I've half a mind to follow your example. Sucks being the only sane ones in the team, eh?" Sniper asked. Soldier had stopped listening and was giggling to himself incessantly about something.
"The engineer is also sane. Comparatively speaking." Spy pointed out. Sniper nodded, conceding that point to him.
"Scout also kind of sane, I suppose." Sniper mused. Spy scoffed as he let a large puff of smoke fill the air.
"If having an ego as large as his can be called sanity, then I suppose you are right, Sniper, he is... Soldier, what the fuck are you still giggling about?" Spy snapped, glaring at the older man. Soldier grinned and walked over to one of the deceased enemy soldiers, taking his rather advanced looking gun.
"The spoils of war..." Soldier said, giggling all the while.
"Spy, if we find a place, it'd better have some alcohol in it." Sniper said.
"Agreed. Let's split up again, still a day to go before we're due back." Spy said.
"Yeah, but it'll take the better part of a day just to get back. Might as well start heading there now." Sniper point out.
"You misunderstand me. I did not suggest splitting up for practical purposes. My sanity must be preserved at all costs. Walk with Soldier if you like, I'm going." Spy said, cloaking. Sniper shrugged, not begrudging Spy his choice.
"Alright, mate, let's head off." Sniper said. "Leave the bodies, animals have gotta eat too."
Watchpoint: Marion, 28 August 2076
Charles sat in his command chair, listening to the final message sent by the team ten minutes ago.
"This is Johnson, I am under fire, repeat, I am under fire! Richards and Washington are dead, requesting immediate evac!" As the message played again, he gripped the hand-rests on his chair tightly, fury written across his face.
"Sir?" Sarah Peters asked.
"Yes, Peters?" He asked.
"Is everything alright?" She said.
"Oh, it's fine. So, no further messages from the team?" Charles asked.
"None at all. Johnson is probably..." She trailed off.
"Probably dead, yes. Somebody out there murdered my men. I don't care who it was, they should be brought to justice. How many troops do we have?" He asked.
"Sixteen. Sir, I wouldn't advise sending all of them for this. We don't know what we're up against." Sarah reminded him. He sighed, rubbing his temples.
"You're right. We're going to need more than just grunts for this, we'll need a special operative. Get me a line to Winston, see if he isn't willing to provide one or two." Charles instructed. She nodded and pulled out her tablet, tapping the holographic screen repeatedly. She looked up, nodding again.
"Winston is free to speak with you. Patching you to Watchpoint: Gibraltar now." She said. A holographic screen appeared in front of Charles and after a moment of static, it cleared to show the simian leader of Overwatch.
"Oh, uh... Hello, Sir Charles." Winston said. "Is there something you wish to speak with me about? I don't mean to be rude but running this organization and making sure orders get carried out is busy work."
"Yes. I've been running Watchpoint: Marion, as you instructed. The other day we picked up a radio message coming from the same area as three large, unidentified energy spikes. We sent men out to investigate, somebody killed them." Charles explained. Winston frowned and briefly moved his head out of frame. When it returned, he was chewing on something. He swallowed before he spoke.
"That is curious. What did you want from me about it?" Winston asked. Charles frowned.
"I wanted... Are you eating a banana?" Charles asked. Winston shook his head frantically and then quickly glanced to the side. He looked like he had just thrown something.
"No, I am not. Continue, Charles." Winston said. Charles rolled his eyes.
"No shame in getting nutrition... Anyway, yes, I wanted to ask you for help. I have sixteen soldiers stationed in this base. I also have no idea what I am up against and I want to beat it. I am requesting you transfer a special operative among the organization to Watchpoint: Marion, if only temporarily. I don't care who, anybody with some kind of advantage over our normal troops. Tracer, McCree, Reinhardt, somebody like that." Charles said. Winston frowned.
"Hmm... I am not sure if I can transfer any such agents. Let me check to see if any are on call, I know McCree is in that area of the US at the moment. But I don't think he's even answered the recall..." Winston murmured as his eyes moved along something out of frame.
"Well?" Charles said after a moment. Winston looked back at him and smiled.
"You're in luck. One such agent is in the area at present and is available. I'll give her the order to go to Watchpoint: Marion, it shouldn't take too long." Winston said. Charles nodded.
"Thank you, Winston. Which agent is it? Have I heard of her?" He asked.
"You probably have. I'll let you guess. Take care, Charles." Winston said. The screen vanished, indicating Winston had disconnected. Charles forced a smile.
"Wonderful, we don't know who it is so we can't make plans yet. Peters, make sure a room is prepared for our new mystery agent." Charles said. Sarah nodded and began tapping the screen on her tablet. Charles looked around, wondering if there was work to do. Then, a siren rang briefly and he sighed with relief.
"Alright, lads, that's lunch!" He yelled. The staff in the command center gave a collective cheer and began clearing out. When everybody had left, Charles grabbed his cane and limped out to get his own lunch.
Scout stood on the hill, tapping his baseball bat against his right calf as he waited. Nobody had returned yet. He wondered where the rest of the team was. Then, his doubts were put at ease when Heavy emerged from the trees.
"Small man, where is rest of team?" Heavy said when he reached Scout. Scout shrugged.
"Your guess is as good as mine, big guy. Could be anywhere. None of them should be too long, though." Scout said. As if on cue, red smoke in the shape of a man filled the air next to them and a moment later, Spy emerged from it. Scout jumped in shock.
"Aw, Christ, Spy, you gotta warn us when you do that!" Scout complained. Spy took a long drag on his cigarette, removed it from his mouth and let a huge puff of smoke blow directly into Scout's face. Scout coughed, staggering blindly for a moment before he regained his senses.
"No, I do not." Spy said.
"Asshole." Scout said, rubbing his eyes. Spy said nothing, continuing to smoke in silence. After a minute, Scout turned to scan the trees for signs of movement before he heard the Spy murmur something.
"That'll be the part of your mother I go for next..." Spy said. Scout whipped around, raising his baseball bat.
"The fuck did you just say?" Scout snarled. Spy raised his hands defensively.
"I said, you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Spy said innocently around his cigarette. Scout scowled as he lowered his bat. He hadn't quite heard what Spy said but he definitely heard the word 'mother' mentioned, so he supposed Spy must have been telling the truth.
"French man and small man, the doctor is back." Heavy interjected, pointing at the trees. Scout turned and saw the telltale white of the Medic's coat in the trees. Sure enough, the medic stepped out a moment later.
"Hello, friends!" Medic called.
"Hey, how's it goin', doc?" Scout called back. When Medic reached the top of the hill, he shrugged.
"Same old, same old. I did not find anything, did any of you?" Medic asked.
"Yes." Spy and Scout said at the same time. Scout glared at Spy, who glared right back.
"Well, you can tell us when the rest of the team arrives." Medic said. The next person to arrive was the Demoman, who arrived ten minutes later. He had not found anything. Next came the Engineer and finally, Sniper and Soldier emerged from the trees an hour after Demo did.
"Hello, comrades! We got lost!" Soldier yelled.
"He got lost, I didn't give a fuck. Nobody leave me alone with this man again." Sniper said when they reached the top of the hill.
"No promises, pal. So, what now?" Scout said.
"Y'all tell us if your search was any more useful than mine, that's what." Dell said. "Because I didn't find squat."
"I found a place for us to stay." Scout said. Every head turned his way and he grinned, resting his baseball bat on his shoulder. "Yeah, that's right, I am amazing. Take the sight in, I'm here all week, fellas."
"What was this place?" Spy asked.
"A roadhouse, other end of the forest. There's a highway not far from here, the roadhouse has booze and rooms. It's abandoned, so yeah, nobody's gonna mind us moving in for a while. I have a question, Engi, but it can wait until everybody else is done." Scout said.
"Good work, Scout." Dell said. "If there ain't any power, I can probably hook some up. So, what did the rest of you find?"
"Nothing." Demo said.
"I found no home or Pyro." Heavy said.
"Not a thing, I'm afraid." Medic said.
"We found some people who were wearing blue and we killed them all!" Soldier proudly proclaimed.
"Because you thought they were BLUs. We still don't know if they were, by the way." Sniper said.
"Hold up a sec... You found some people in blue and killed them?" Dell asked. Soldier nodded. "And you didn't mention this until now... Because?"
"Didn't think it was important." Soldier said.
"And you, Sniper? Your excuse?" Dell asked.
"I have just sent the better part of a day alone with this psycho cunt, mate. Give me a fucking break." Sniper said.
"I was also there. Did none of you hear gunshots?" Spy asked.
"I did." Scout said. "I thought you guys were just having a party or something." He explained.
"Wonderful. Well, it's done. If we've made an enemy, so be it. If they turned out to be BLUs, then good for us. This roadhouse, Scout, please lead us there." Spy said.
"Hold up there for a minute, Napoleon. Engi, my question." Scout said.
"What's your question, buddy?" Dell asked.
"The modification to the teleporter, yeah? Uh..." Scout stood on his tiptoes for a moment as he pondered how to word it. "Could it have maybe... Sent us forward in time?" Scout asked. Dell shot him a quizzical look.
"What? What gave you that idea?" He asked.
"Well, at the roadhouse, I found a newspaper and... The date on it was 2046." Scout said.
"Aw, hell... I could've, yeah, if the..." He then started speaking technological jargon of which Scout understood none. Scout held up his hand in the middle.
"So it's possible?" Scout asked. Dell removed his hard hat, breathing heavily. His bald scalp was shining with sweat.
"Possible? I'm beginning to think that's exactly what happened. Aw, hell, man." He said.
"That's puttin' it lightly, brother." Scout said.
"Is there any way to send us back?" Spy asked. Dell shrugged.
"I don't know. Let's just confirm that it's what happened, alright? Then we can figure out how to fix it." Dell said.
"Right, see if we really fucked up before we try and fix the fuck-up. Scout, mate, lead on to the roadhouse." Sniper said. Scout nodded and began walking down the hill. The rest of the team followed him.
Sully's Roadhouse, Iowa, 29 August 2076
Scout stepped out of the trees. The roadhouse had not unexpectedly vanished while he had been gone.
"Boys, I present to you Sully's Roadhouse." Scout said. As the rest of the team emerged from the forest, they took in the view.
"She don't look like much, but it'll do while we figure things out." Dell said, putting his hands on his hips and admiring the building. "Just the type of place we like."
"Yeah, I thought so too. It's red and... Well, yeah." Scout said.
"Yes, truly captivating. Let's stop standing around, shall we?" Spy said, leading the way to the house. They went in and entered through the front double-doors. Everything was just the way Scout remembered. The team began spreading out through the large room. Scout walked over to the pool table and poked one of the balls into a pocket.
"What in sam hill is an omnic?" Came the voice of the engineer. Scout turned around to see him reading the same newspaper Scout had read earlier.
"Beats me. Best I can figure, some kind of robot. Like on uh... Like on Doctor Who." Scout said.
"Doctor Who, that show with the time traveling alien? Didn't they recast that guy?" Sniper said as he began fiddling with the jukebox.
"I think so, a couple times. Hey, Demo, you're British, you watch that show, right? Who's the current guy?" Scout said.
"I am Scottish, lad, not British. And yes, I watch that show. The current doctor is Jon Pertwee. William Hartnell was better." Demo said, climbing over the counter to get at the fridge. "Hey, lads, there's no power, the beer is gonna be warm."
"If there's a generator around I can tinker with it, get some power going. If not, no power." Dell said. "I'll go down into that cellar there, might find a generator. Y'all just make yourselves at home while I'm down there." At this, he walked past Demo and down the staircase, disappearing into the cellar.
"How can I be expected to make myself at home without a cold beer?" Demo complained.
"Have a warm one. Hey, Demo, ain't you more of a whiskey person?" Scout asked.
"Beer is fine, too. I dinnae bring any of my whiskey with me." Demo replied.
"Alright, that's... Interesting." Scout said. He turned and noticed that in the corner, there was a gumball machine he had not noticed when he first arrived. Soldier was currently fiddling with it at the moment. As Scout observed, Sniper joined him in watching.
"You have any idea what he's doing?" Sniper asked.
"He is stealing candy." Scout said. "Smart man."
"It's getting a little dark out, hopefully the engineer gets power on before we're blind in here." Sniper commented.
"Hopefully. Who wants to wind down with a warm beer, fellas?" Scout said. A collective half-hearted cheer rose up from the team as they all headed for the bar. Demo, being the only one behind it, took it upon himself to act as the bartender.
"Alright, lads, who wants what?" Demo asked.
"Just give us all beer, Demo." Spy said. "It's the only drink in there."
"There's probably more stuff down in the cellar." Scout said.
"If there is vodka, I will have that. If not, I want nothing." Heavy said.
"Suit yourself, lad. Beers for the rest of us comin' right up." Demo said. He grabbed five bottles from the fridge and handed one to each person sitting. After that, he grabbed one for himself and sat down with them.
"Here's to us. Time traveling idiots." Scout said, raising his beer.
"Hear, hear." Demo said, tapping his bottle against Scout's. They all joined in the toast, opened their beers and drank deeply.
"Ah, like Oktoberfest already." Medic said. "Only the beer is warm and in a bottle. And there are no beautiful German women in traditional dress." As he said this, the lights flickered on and Scout heard cheering from below them. The fridge began humming and lit up while the jukebox began playing a folk song that none of them knew. A minute later, Dell emerged from the cellar.
"There was a generator and it didn't take too much effort to turn on. Oh, we're having beers." He said. He grabbed one from the fridge and sat with Demo, opening it and drinking.
"Dell, tell us what you think about this time traveling idea." Spy said as he drank.
"I think it's pretty likely. The newspapers seem legit and all the tech I've seen so far in this building is more advanced than anything from the 20th century. Say, those boys in blue that y'all killed, did their guns seem particularly advanced?" Dell replied.
"I stole one, you can have a look, son." Soldier said.
"That'd be good, I can look at it later. So, these newspapers say 2046, but this place has been abandoned for a while. I'd like to figure out an exact date." Dell said, shifting in his seat.
"What about where we are?" Scout asked.
"Didn't you read that paper? We're in Iowa, off the I-29. I saw a map downstairs, the closest city is Marion. Pretty far from RED Bread, but I'd say the geography don't matter all that much until we find a way to get back to 1971. It'd be easier to figure out how to do that if we know what year we're in." Dell continued.
"It's good that Scout found this place, we may need to stay a while." Spy said. "Was there any food down in that cellar?"
"Oh, plenty. Most of it is inedible now but I saw quite a bit of canned food and plenty more booze, we shouldn't need to worry." Dell said.
"Good. Since we'll be here around, we should arrange some routines. Relax today, gentlemen. Tomorrow, we work." Spy said.
"I'll drink to that." Scout said, draining his bottle.
Watchpoint: Marion, 29 August 2076
Charles sat in the command center, twiddling his thumbs. Suddenly, Sarah walked up to him.
"Sir, we just got a call. The new agent is nearly here." She said.
"Bollocks, I need to... Any idea who it is yet?" Charles said as he stood, wincing in pain. "Damn leg..."
"Not a clue, we'll find out when she steps through the elevator. She's British, that's all I got from listening to her speak." Sarah replied.
"Oh, that narrows it down. Alright, let's go." He said. They walked out of the command center, down the flight of stairs and into the corridor leading past the mess hall and into the main hall. The command center was visible above through a glass wall. Charles and Sarah walked over to the lift on the far wall and waited. The light above it suddenly went on, indicating it was in use. Charles tightened his grip on his cane. There was a dinging noise and the light went out as the doors to the lift slid open. From the lift stepped a thin, brown-haired and pale woman wearing a brown flight jacket, orange leggings and white shoes. Between her breasts was a strange contraption that glowed bright blue. She smiled at Charles from her orange goggles.
"Hullo, loves. The cavalry is 'ere. Why is your entrance in a toilet?" She said.
"I honestly couldn't tell you. Lena Oxton, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've read your file." Charles said as he stepped forward to shake her hand. She took it and shook firmly, grinning. "My name is-"
"Charles Chaplin, I've heard of you. Read your file, too. Is it true you earned a Victoria Cross before you joined Overwatch?" She said.
"I did. Two years in the British Army before the Omnic Crisis, earning that medal is my proudest achievement. Well, that and joining Overwatch. This is Sarah Peters, my head of communications. She doesn't talk much, ironically enough." Charles said. Lena smiled and shook Sarah's hand.
"Good to meet you, love. Say, that's a nice coat. Really well fitted, where'd you get it?" She asked. Sarah looked a little uncomfortable.
"Shop in Brooklyn. It was on sale." Sarah replied. Lena gasped.
"No way! So, anyway, what am I here for?" She asked.
"Combat operation. Walk with me, please. You too, Peters." Charles said. He began walking slowly through the room with the two women beside him. "The other day, we picked up three large unidentified energy spikes and a radio message from a man by the name of Scout. At least, I assume that's his name. Or some kind of call sign, not unlike yours. Anyway, we sent three men to investigate. We received a message from them, saying they were under attack. We haven't heard from them since. Somebody killed my men. I want you to lead a small task-force to find out who did it and, if possible, to kill them."
"Seems easy enough. Any reason why you needed somebody like me for it and couldn't just use your own men?" She asked.
"Because I don't know what we're up against. It could just be criminals that my men could easily put down. With those energy spikes though, I'm not inclined to believe it is. I suspect Talon might be involved. I believe you're familiar with that group?" Charles asked. Lena's face darkened and she nodded.
"I was there when one of their operatives murdered Tekhartha Mondatta, yes. I see why you called Winston, now. When am I off?" She asked.
"Tomorrow. You'll have six men under your command. Try not to get them killed." Charles responded.
"Not to worry, mate. With any luck I won't even need them. I'll acquaint myself with the base, if you don't mind." She said.
"Of course. Peters, show Miss Oxton around." Charles said. Sarah nodded.
"Come on, Tracer." When they began walking off and undoubtedly when Sarah thought he could not hear, he heard her say: "He called you Miss Oxton. He never calls me Miss Peters, just Peters."
"If you'd like, I can call you in for disciplining." Charles called, whacking his cane against the wall twice in rapid succession. Tracer burst out laughing and Charles smirked, limping for the command center.
Author's Note: Hey, people. Chapter 2 here and what you might notice is it's been uploaded the day after chapter 1. Don't expect chapters being released in such quick succession to be a regular thing, I'm releasing the first three chapters within a couple days of each-other to get some foundations laid for the story and to get people interested. After chapter 3 is out, the update schedule will be biweekly. Thanks for reading and to the people who left reviews, thanks a bunch for the feedback. All feedback is useful so be sure to let me know what you think and how I can improve.
