The reason I haven't been working on this at a fast pace is that I've just noticed how popular the gen: LOCK fanfiction is right now. No pressure, please.

Anyway, here's chapter 2 of gen: WATCH.

Enjoy!

The Anvil

"This mission has been designated Operation Coyote," Colonel Raquel Marin addressed the assembled Vanguard. "With the Union accelerating their push west in recent months, there's been an increase in the number of refugees heading our way. Recon has confirmed a new stop on the Underground Railroad, closer to us than ever before. Nearly 30 men, women, and children are just a few miles the other side of the 88th. They've taken great risks, sacrificed much in order to make their exodus from Union territory. We're going to get them the rest of the way home."

Miranda listened to the briefing with Leon August and Jodie Brennan. It had been four years since the battle of New York. By then, she had gotten past the death of her boyfriend, but it didn't help with the situation. The Vanguard has been put onto the defensive, and despite their best efforts, it doesn't get better.

"One last thing," The Colonel gestured to Doctor Rufus Weller, who waved as everyone turned their attention to him. "We've got guests watching today, so be on your best behavior."

Then her face hardened.

"Also, I know that there are rumors going around so let me be clear: Overwatch isn't back. Their charter remains revoked. Are we clear?"

Now that is a word that she had been hearing around the Anvil. She heard Migas gush over that every time they talked. It's not just him, but everyone has been talking about it. Every time a mission became to tough for the Vanguard, they would get help from this "Overwatch".

"Be safe, but not too safe Vanguard. Get it done Vanguard."

Operation Coyote

Inside the cockpits of their striders, Miranda and her team are being transported to the rendezvous point with the ground forces.

"Another border run," Jodie sighed. "This'll go well."

"Try to stay positive," Miranda told him.

"Okay. With the border getting closer every day, at least it's shorter to commute?"

"This area's as good as it gets. No cities, just an empty space in the middle of nowhere."

"Yeah, they will literally see us coming miles away."

"Do you have any idea what it took for these people to make it this far?"

"Oh for the love of- Shut up, both of you," Leon broke up the argument before it could escalate. "It's game on."

"Whatever," Jodie scoffed. "Hey, what's this deal with Overwatch? Why's it got the Colonel so uptight?"

"You would know if you studied history instead of watching football, Jodie," Leon snapped, making his teammate turn off the screen. "It goes back to the Omnic Crisis when the Omnics have rebelled against humanity."

"Omnics?" Miranda asked. "Aren't they those robots that have a conscience of their own?"

"Yep, that's them," Leon confirmed. "Anyway, the UN got together an elite international task force to end the war. It's made up of soldiers, scientists, oddities, and guardians dedicated to protecting world peace. Together, they became Overwatch. Their mission continued on even after they ended the crisis."

"So why aren't they around anymore?" Jodie asked. "What happened?"

"An accident occurred at their headquarters at Switzerland," Leon's voice darkened. "At least that's what they say. Before the blast, their reputation was headed down the drain from serious allegations. Then there are reports that there was infighting in the organization. Long after that, Overwatch disbanded."

"Infighting?" Miranda asked. "What was the infighting about?"

Before Leon could answer, their comms blared to life.

"LZ is hot! We're under heavy fire!"

"One is down. Razor Two is moving in to engage."

On the screen, they watched as Union troops emerged from the forest and fired upon the ground forces and civilians. Razor Two began a sweep with its chin-mounted machine guns. Then a shell hits one of its wings as a Union Spidertank fired upon it.

"Tanks! They brought-"

Those were the last words they heard from Razor Two before another Spidertank fired upon it, sending it crashing."

"All right, they're mechanized," Leon declared. "Hornbill's bringing us around. Strider's stand by for drop."

"I hate it when I'm right," Jodie snarkily said.

Miranda rolled her eyes but didn't say anything as the Hornbill began to land. A shell struck the side of their transport, but it held. As it lowered, another Spidertank turned its attention towards them and open fired. Leon's mech took the brunt of the barrage while his Strider is descending, but he pressed a button to release it early and start firing upon the Union tanks. The others joined in soon after.

A Razor landed behind them as they began to advance. Their shots connected with the Spider Tanks, but their armor is too strong. The same could be said for them, except for one weakness.

It was Jodie who pointed it out.

"All right, here we go!" He charged at a Spider Tank. Then the Spider Tank fired a shell at his Striders left leg. Due to its weak armor, it came off easily. His strider fell forward and crashed into the ground.

"Okay, lucky shot." Jodie chuckled nervously.

Leon groaned and he moved towards Jodie to provide support as a Spider Tank advanced on them. The other one advances toward Miranda, firing at her. Her Strider began to suffer heavy damage, sparks and alarms are sounding in her cockpit. She turned to one of the screens, that is not showing the alarm sign, and saw civilians boarding the Razor.

Right now, she is the only thing keeping them away from death.

The Spider Tank shot another shell at her, this time striking the cockpit. The lights turned red as alarms began to blare.

"Screw it," she grunted. "You only live once."

"Let the good times roll. Am I right?"

"What?" Miranda gasped in shock.

That voice...it can't be…

Then overhead, another aircraft lowered itself toward the battle. But it wasn't Vanguard aircraft, it's snow white and it had hover jets for a vertical landing. It's cockpit its amber, leaving no way to see who it's being piloted.

The side doors opened and two figures sprinted out. One figure wore blue armor and wore a helmet with an azure visor. The other one is a female with spikey brown hair with a strange harness and orange gloves.

Somehow, she blinked out of existence and appeared on top of her Strider. She gave a cheery smile as she waved.

"Cheers Luv! Cavalry's here!"

Then she blinked again and she joined her companion as they charged toward the Spider Tank. The tank focused its fire on them, but their shots failed to connect as for the first time, it failed to kill ground troops. The female blinked out of the path of bullets as she closed the distance between them.

Her compatriot, on the other hand, seemed to be a ghost. His body became blue mist as he literally flew toward the tank, a blue trail behind him. Shots flew through him as if he was never there.

As he approached the tank, he completely broke into thousands of flying nanomachines and engaged the enemy. The swarm seemed to eat the armor of the tank, some of them even began to eat the weapons. Eventually, it ate enough to expose the cockpit and one very surprised looking pilot.

"Tracer!" Her compatriot yelled. "Hail Mary time!"

"You got it Chaser!" Tracer replied as she blinked on top of the tank. She leaned forward and waved at the pilot. "Hello, Gent! Care for a little fun?"

She then pulled out a small device and threw it through the wound Chaser made into the armor. It blinked as it latched onto the pilot, who struggled to get it off. They both sped away as a bright pulse of energy erupted within the tank, destroying it.

"Good one Tracer!" Chaser said as bullets flew by him. He materialized two SMG into his hands. "Care for a game of 52-card pickup?"

"Game on, Luv!" Tracer whipped out her pulse pistols and they charged at the line of Union soldiers trying to kill them. Keyword trying because they avoided them with ease. Chaser shot out bullets that became a small swarm of nanotech that began to eat away at the soldiers. Tracer performed hit and run tactics as she zipped around the battle, firing her pulse pistols at them.

Meanwhile, the other Spider Tank is still attacking Leon. He stood in front of Jodie's strider, taking the damage to protect his comrade.

"Can you at least kill it before it kills me?" Leon yelled.

"I'm trying man," Leon grunted under fire. "I can't get the angle."

"We've got movement from above!"

Something heavy landed on top of Leon's strider. Then, a blue bubble of energy encompassed him and Jodie. Leon looked up to see who put up the barrier, then got the shock of his life when he saw the biggest Gorilla he had ever seen.

"Enjoying the sights?" He jokingly asked as he adjusted his glasses, surprising Leon even more. Then the barrier began to crack as it took the barrage of fire from the Spider Tank. "Okay, no more jokes. Get your friend and get to your Hornbill! We'll provide cover!"

He didn't wait for a reply as the Gorilla used his jump pack to fly off the Strider and out of the barrier. Landing on top of the tank, he proceeded to rip the main gun of the mount. Then he jumped again, this time landing behind the tank. The part where the armor is the weakest.

He rammed the barrel of the gun into the back until it stuck. Then he proceeded to use a cannon to fire electricity, using the barrel as a lightning rod. The electricity coursed through the system of the tank, overloading it. Eventually, the systems became fried, and the tank ceased being operational.

Winston stopped to admire his work before a bullet flew past his face. Which unfortunately for him, it broke his glasses.

Chaser stopped firing and glanced at Winston.

"Oooh, they're in for it now…" He said in a tone as he knew that the Soldiers had just signed their death warrant.

Winston roared as he tapped into his animal instincts. His eyes became red with rage as he charged toward the Union soldiers. The Soldier couldn't back away in time as the Primate closed the distance and smashed his fist into their head, breaking the helmet. The other soldiers fired their weapons in a panic as Winston sets his eyes on new targets for his rage.

The Strider pilots could only look on in shock and awe as the newcomers made short work of the Unions forces.

"All right, refugees are aboard, and we've got multiple bogies inbound," A Vanguard soldier said over the comms. "ETA two minutes. It's now or never folks."

"Winston!" Chase shouted to his primate friend, who is still using a soldier as a human bat to smash several Union soldiers. The former-vanguard pilot picked up Winstons broken glasses and repaired them with the nanotech in his body. "Athena is picking up multiple hostiles inbound in two minutes! We've got to go!"

"He's right, big guy!" Tracer yelled as she blinked over to them. "The civilians have made it onboard and are leaving the area. The mission is over!"

Winstons' eyes returned to normal as his mind became clear again. Chase held out his glasses to him, which he took.

"Apologies," Winston amended. "I got a little carried away. Chaser, do you have the chip?"

"Got it," Chase replied as he held up a chip. "You won't believe how gross it was to get this out."

"I promise that it will be worth it," Winston grabbed hold of each of them with his hands. "Anyway, let's get back to the Orca!"

He flew over the field with his jump pack with his friend in tow. He landed directly through the opened hatch. Tracer scrambled to the cockpit while Chase looked out toward the striders as they were being lifted into the Hornbill. He gazed at the one where he knew Miranda is piloting and zoomed in. Miranda was pressing against the glass, looking at him.

He gave a two finger salute and ran to the cockpit to join Tracer to get back to Gibraltar.

The Anvil

Miranda entered the briefing room with Jodie and Leon. She had an intense look on her face as she walked down the steps. All around her, everyone is talking in a low tone about the mysterious interlopers. Several of them were talking about the gorilla who rampaged through the battlefield.

Migas, on the other hand…

"It was them! It was definitely them!" Migas excitedly spoke incoherently.

Colonel Marin and Doctor Weller were conversing with each other when Miranda came forward.

"Who were those people?" Miranda demanded.

"Lieutenant if you would please-"

"It was them, wasn't it?" Leon asked. "It was Overwatch. They're really back, aren't they."

Everyone became silent as Marin's gaze hardened at the mention of the long-disbanded organization. Then she sighed.

"As much as I hate to admit, yes it was Overwatch."

"I KNEW IT!" Migas shouted, drawing everyone's attention. He clasped his hands over his mouth as he tried to shrink out of sight.

"Anyway," Marin kept glaring at Migas. "While their assistance is helpful at the Union ambush, I think it's time to announce our investigation."

"Investigation?" Miranda asked. "What investigation."

"Perhaps I can explain," Doctor Weller stepped forward. "We have reason to believe that they have something to do with Lieutenant Julian Chase's disappearance."

Thanks for reading, see you all next time!

As said, they're going to discuss Chase's so-called "disappearance".