Thirty-six hours earlier...
It was necessary, but that didn't mean it couldn't be enjoyable.
Watching newsfeeds was an integral part of Winston's daily routine; Every day he'd sit down in his tire-chair at the console in the control room of Watchpoint: Gibraltar with a jar of peanut butter on the desk, a banana in one hand, and scroll through the day's events. He'd liked doing this ever since he was an infant back on the Moon, where he would intake the goings-on of the blue ball outside his window as part of his daily schooling; He'd enjoyed it so much that he would even do it on his own time. Dr. Harold had once told him that the best way to change the world is to know just what exactly it was you are changing so you can make a plan of action that will work out. Winston had always tried to put the advice of his late mentor and surrogate father to good use, but nowadays it had even more meaning to him.
When he had re-initiated Overwatch, the gorilla scientist knew he'd have to take on a leadership role and shoulder more responsibility than just the scientific part he had played in the Golden Age. In the two years that had passed since the fateful day that he had sent out his broadcast on the emergency comms feed only an hour after having fended off Reaper's attack on his home and the agent database, watching the newsfeeds had become less the hobby it had been and more of a job, an obligation, especially since he hadn't been able to get Overwatch's old spy satellites up and running just yet. With the information from the news, he and the other agents, both new and old, could learn about crucial events and crises and formulate a plan on how to respond to them, even stop something or someone terrible before innocents could get hurt. It wasn't perfect, but it had been working well to this point. This responsibility didn't dampen Winston's enjoyment of the task, however. If anything, he liked it more now because unlike before, he could actually act on what he saw and change the world for the better, even if every government in the world wanted to arrest him for breaking the terms of the Petras Act.
The news and its significance, like the wind and the weather outside, varied greatly from day to day. This week had been rather slow: A new shopping district added onto Higher New York, a celebrity scandal, and the recall of the latest piece of integration software for self-piloting hovercars had been the most major things over the last few days. However, today was different in a very big way. Today, the newsfeeds were practically stumbling over themselves with what they were calling the biggest story since Omnics were first created. Winston pushed his glasses up his nose as they went past the screen one at a time.
"In celebration of the success of the Omnic peace negotiations, a massive gala is being held at the palace of Versailles in Paris-"
"Jubilant throngs of humans and Omnics celebrate in front of the negotiations office, and even more are expected tomorrow night at Versailles for the party-"
"While the representatives for both the human and Omnic sides were unavailable for comment, it is all but guaranteed they will be on hand to celebrate their efforts-"
"Dignitaries from over two hundred countries and representatives of countless international organizations such as the Red Cross, the Shambali, and even the U.N. are expected to be present at tomorrow night's soiree in Versailles-"
Watching countless anchor-people and Omnics cover the story, he felt a swell of joy inside himself; The original Overwatch had been founded to bring peace to the Omnic Crisis that had ravaged the world over thirty years ago. They were successful in ending the war, but the battle to keep the peace had been an endless one. From the East China Sea's periodic bouts with the so-called "Kaiju Omnic" to the constant fighting in Russia to the tensions in King's Row, it almost seemed like successes in Omnic equality were few and far between. This accord however, he knew, was going to be different. He'd been following its progress over the past few months and knew that practically every country in the world had participated in the negotiations and made their concerns heard before others, and unlike other treaties, cooler heads had finally prevailed. He was elated that the day had finally come, but his feelings of pride and joy were interrupted by another feeling, one that cut through him like a searing knife. It was a distinct feeling of concern, rushing into the places that his hope and happiness had blanketed. Quickly realizing what had caused this unsettling feeling, he said to his computer:
"Athena, when was the last reported major Talon activity?"
"Three months, twelve days, four hours, and thirty-five minutes ago as of today. Since then, sightings of major Talon operatives and movements of known assets have been virtually nonexistent." was the reply.
Athena had been one of Winston's first creations, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence program whose one-of-a-kind software was based off of human brain patterns, allowing her to be faster, smarter, and process more information than any non-Omnic A.I ever built. She was specifically designed to be integrated into Overwatch's mainframes and perform almost any duty, be it security surveillance, communications, or any of the myriad goings-on of an Overwatch base back in the day. After Overwatch's disbanding, she was shut down and removed from their systems, but Winston reactivated her when he moved into Gibraltar. Since then, she had been his assistant, his confidant, and an invaluable help in reorganizing Overwatch, helping them to save lives, and keeping their locations a secret from Talon and the authorities, even if Winston did think she was a little overprotective at times.
He took a moment to ponder his concerns and her reply. It was strange, he thought, that Talon hadn't tried to intervene in the peace talks. If the past two years had shown anything, it was that the terrorist organization had been going to great lengths to disrupt, discourage, and destroy Omnic peace. The current hotbed of violence and upheaval that had warranted the peace talks had been started after Widowmaker assassinated Tekartha Mondatta, the Omnic leader of the Shambali and a being some had called a modern-day Gandhi. Since then, riots, hate crimes, and even all-out war had been seen and discussed in international politics, and Talon had always had their hand in it, making sure that the sparks of conflict were fed and grown into raging fires and snuffing out anything or anyone that wished to alleviate the destruction. Overwatch had taken them on where they found them, but for every plan deduced and every skirmish won, it seemed like there was something, some detail they had missed that rendered their actions moot and allowed for their enemies' escape. Perhaps, the gorilla figured, Talon was going to make a move here; They had to or this summit stood to wipe clean every single mark they had made on the world.
"Combining the look on your face, the inspiration for your question, and recent news events, I believe I have deduced what you are thinking about doing," Athena said. "And I must tell you that if Talon has plans to disrupt the summit, Overwatch intervention will come at great risk. There is a possibility that they will anticipate our attempts to stop them, not to mention that an organized operation in a place full of people who wish to see Overwatch imprisoned could prove disastrous if we are recognized."
"I know." Winston replied with slight exasperation; the A.I. was being overprotective again. "But if we don't stop them, who else will? We'll figure this out and make sure that everything goes smoothly." His voice, by this point, had taken a reassuring tone.
"Very well. I only ask that you take care at all times." Athena answered after a short pause.
"I'll try. Call up all active members, visual feed if possible."
"Already doing so."
On the holoscreen, the newsfeeds were minimized in an instant, their talking heads and urgent stories going with them. In their place appeared the Overwatch Personnel Database, an immense archival record of every single Overwatch agent and employee over its existence. Pictures of people and Omnics, past and present, that had worked and associated with the organization were sifted through at lightning speed, with hundreds of names, pictures, and bios being called up to the screen and removed so fast that the naked eye almost couldn't keep up with them. After about five seconds of sorting, the database had found eight particular pictures and spread them across the screen like a deck of cards in a game of solitaire.
"Sending transmission requests." Athena announced. At this point, a sound line appeared underneath each of the eight pictures, while the pictures themselves changed to a small, blank square with the Overwatch logo in the middle that vibrated intermittently, similar to that of a telephone. The first screen to pick up was on the bottom row, the sound line making high, mountain-like peaks to indicate that the built-in microphone was working and the blank square disappearing in favour of a clear image. In the background was the living room of a mid-sized apartment, while in the foreground was the answerer of Winston's call, a blue-eyed woman with auburn hair wearing a bright red t-shirt and a jean jacket.
"Hello? Oh hello Winston! It's been a little while since you called. How're you doing? I hope that old base is still cozy enough for you." Her voice was a friendly alto with an Edinburgh accent.
"I'm doing well. I might have to fix the roof after the last rainstorm that went through here, but I'm doing well." This comment prompted a snicker from both ends of the feed.
Winston continued: "Is Lena home? I need to talk to her about something."
"Yeah, she's here. Just give me a moment to get her." It hadn't been even so much as a second after Emily had called out and said that Winston was on the phone when Tracer appeared in front of the screen in a flash of blue.
"Winston! Good to see you again, love! You caught me at just the right time." She said cheerfully as she blew a lock of her short but messy brunette hair off of her face. "I just got home from shopping for the groceries. I haven't even had the time to take off this thing!"
She pointed at her chronal accelerator, the white and blue device that she had to have strapped to her chest every time she left the house. The price had always been well worth it, though. Ever since the malfunction of a prototype teleporter on a fighter jet that she had been test-piloting, the accelerator that Winston had built to save her life had granted her total control over her own time. Tracer was able to "blink" in any direction with incredible speed and "rewind" herself out of danger in an instant. When she had first been inducted into Overwatch's active field rotation, some people had said it was the closest thing to genuine superpowers that they had ever seen.
Winston chuckled; he'd always enjoyed Tracer's bubbly energy and boundless optimism. "You know, you don't actually have to wear the accelerator everywhere you go. You can set it on area-of-effect mode, activate the miniaturize function, and carry it around in a purse."
"Sounds like a good idea, but I'll think I'll stick with this. I didn't know what half the buttons on here did even after I read the manual." Tracer laughed. "Besides, this makes going around London a sinch, even in rush hour."
"Believe it or not, it actually does. We've had the weekly shopping done in a little under twenty minutes before." Emily added in.
"Wow!" Winston exclaimed in near slack-jawed amazement. "To get around that fast, you must have been pushing the waveform replicator to over three thousand five hundred chronal divisions per-" Before he could continue, another one of the blank squares on the screen began showing an image. This one showed another apartment building, but it appeared to be in Numbani, judging by the buildings in the background. In the foreground was Lucio dos Santos, legendary Brazilian freedom fighter, music star, and recent joinee of the new Overwatch.
"He-hey, what's up guys? Been too long since I've seen you 'round! Tracer, ya speed demon, we still gotta have that rematch! I totally coulda beaten you from Greenwich to Stratford!" Lucio said with his usual showmanship-influenced upbeat tone.
"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you next time." Tracer bantered back. "Say, what's the fancy outfit for? You look like you're going off to the big party in Paris tomorrow night."
"Oh this?" the DJ said, gesturing to the tuxedo he had on in place of his usual jersey. "You just about got it right. Dunno if they said it on the news, but you're looking at the Master of Ceremonies for the whole thing! I've even been working on a special presentation that they're gonna do halfway through."
Winston and Tracer both offered their congratulations and applause for Lucio before another screen turned on, this time from inside what looked to be the cab of a large van.
"HELLO MY FRIENDS! I am overjoyed to see you all again! Lucio, I heard on the TV that you would be at the party! I am so happy for you! I have wanted to see peace like this for YEARS!" Reinhardt Wilhelm boomed from his end of the feed. The great German was so loud that Winston had to almost turn off the volume in order to get the sound to that of a normal talking voice. Just after, a woman's voice could be heard on Reinhardt's end and his head rotated to his left for a moment. Once his focus was back on the screen, he bellowed "Brigitte says hello as well!"
Tracer chuckled. "Good to see you too, big guy." she said while massaging her ears lightly.
Over the next half an hour, the rest of the calls were answered one by one and all the members of the new Overwatch were sharing stories and catching up with each other. Fareeha Amari had been at home tuning the small collection of guitars she'd played as a hobby from her army days; she answered the call while in the middle of a jam session that Lucio promptly joined in with using his hard-light DJ set. Torbjorn Lindholm answered his call from his workshop at home and immediately went into a grouchy rant directed at no one in particular about how he didn't like to be interrupted. Mei-Ling Zhou was at the summit of K2 gathering data for a paper she was writing on shifting wind patterns. The others asked if she would be attending the gala; While her data had been used by the climatology panel as part of the discussions, Mei herself hadn't been present for it, so she told them that she had declined. Jesse McCree was just getting off a twelve-hour flight that he'd spent stowed away in a commercial jet airliner in order to avoid being caught by the air marshal. The last one to join the conversation was Genji Shimada.
When the Japanese cyborg ninja's call was finally answered, showing himself inside his quarters at the Shambali monastery in Nepal, he didn't even have the time to breathe a single word before he was met with a chorus of cheers, applause, and whistles.
"You're the real hero here! Mondatta would be proud to see you now." Tracer said earnestly.
"Thank you, Lena. My master Zenyatta said the same thing to me earlier today." replied Genji.
"Congratulations. If I were there, I'd give you a medal." Fareeha said.
"You done good back there." McCree added in.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you didn't do half bad talkin' with those Omnics, Genji." said Torbjorn gruffly.
"Hold the phone; Did Torbjorn just give a compliment?" Tracer asked, her eyes widening and her face taking an expression that combined surprise and laughter at once.
"I've never heard him do that." Mei said, bewildered.
"Dude, who are you and what've you done with the real Torbs? You like a Life-Model Decoy over there? I dunno guys, he sounds a bit Finnish to be the real deal." Lucio joked.
"For the last time, I'm SWEDISH!" Torbjorn shouted back. "And I wouldn't let it go to your head if I were you."
"It is alright. I am comfortable knowing I have acted on behalf of peace and that my actions honour those who care most about me." Genji replied solemnly.
"Speaking of which," Winston interjected. "Would you be able to get in touch with Angela? I heard she was representing the Red Cross at the gala."
"YA! She deserves our congratulations as much as you do!" Reinhardt declared.
"I actually have an announcement to tell you all." Genji replied. His voice was less clear than usual, now coloured somewhat by nervousness, but he adopted a confident stance and continued onward. "I recently asked Dr. Zeigler if she would be my date to the gala and..."
Genji paused for a moment, his eyes showing his nervousness again. The rest of Overwatch looked on with growing anticipation. Tracer in particular was on the edge of her seat; she'd been trying to talk Genji into asking Angela out for years, knowing their history together and having been a confidant for both of them during the Golden Age, when Angela could only keep her feelings to herself due to the Hippocratic Oath and he had seen himself as too damaged to ever find happiness. Now, with Genji having found his peace and him being Angela's patient no longer, Tracer had hoped that they'd give each other a chance as something more.
Genji took a prosthetic hand to his forehead and wiped a bead of sweat off. Taking a deep breath, he continued on. "...she accepted."
The revelation was met with another chorus of cheers and applause.
"I knew you could do it!" Tracer congratulated, giving Genji a thumbs-up.
"Thank you, Lena. We have also been preparing a speech together that we will give during the ceremonies." he replied.
"That sounds great! I'm beginning to wish I had accepted my invitation after all." Mei said.
"I'd actually like to see you two there as well." Fareeha added.
"Actually, that's kind of the reason why I asked about Angela." Winston cut in. "In fact, it's the reason why I called all of you today."
The gorilla scientist's serious tone caught the attention of all the cast present. Their elation at the recent developments was paused like a film and their looks of joy turned to ones of concern.
Winston continued on. "We haven't seen or heard anything from Talon in over three months now. They haven't been this quiet since, well, ever. Athena and I assume that they're planning something huge to have gone this covert, but we don't know what; it could be a bomb or an EMP or a hostage situation or something else entirely. I know it's something we've never really tried before, but I propose that we do an undercover mission into the gala at Versailles, discover Talon's plan, and put a stop to it before they can undermine the peace treaty."
The de facto leader of the motley group's words held resonance among them. Though his inexperience was evident, his resolve was as true as anything Jack Morrison had said in a speech during the Golden Age.
"Makes sense." McCree chimed in first. "With Genji and the doc at the party, Reyes'll be itching to show up and crash it."
"Sounds like something Widowmaker would try to get into as well." added Tracer.
"We can't go in unprepared; there's too much at stake. I've got an idea on what we could do, but I was hoping to hear your ideas as well." urged Winston.
"Of course! I will make sure that Talon's dastardly hands are not laid on anyone ever again!" Reinhardt exclaimed.
"Actually, not everyone will be able to go; too large a group would attract too much attention."
"Oh... alright then." Reinhardt frowned, his enthusiasm dampening slightly. It wasn't too long before he was back to his old self again, however. "But we will still defeat those despicable enemies with HONOUR and GLORY!"
"I'm going to need you all to do an emergency transport here as soon as possible so we can go over the details. I'll see you all soon." Winston said. His words were met with approval and one by one, the images all turned to black again and the sound lines cut from their high peaks to perfectly flat once again. All of them, except one.
"Genji, before you go, are you sure that you can get Angela to help out? I don't think we can do this without her." Winston stated.
"I am not sure." the cyborg ninja answered. "She is still bitter about the frustrations of the old days. After the last negotiations ended, she said to me that 'the barbaric peace of Overwatch's time is dead and buried'."
"I need you to try, please. This could mean saving thousands of lives. I'll even help you if you'd like me to."
"Your generous offer is accepted, my friend. I will contact you again soon." After that, Genji's image disappeared.
Winston sat back on the tire that served as his chair and sighed. As he stretched out his arms and legs, he looked up at the headboard just above the screen to the row of pictures that were held onto the edge with thumbtacks. His eyes were drawn to the picture in the very middle, one that showed an infant Winston alongside Dr. Harold, both smiling happily.
Fond memories raced through Winston's mind of his time with the lunar scientist before coming to a stop on a familiar one. He could still hear his father's voice on the day that the then-young ape was first shown the colony's observatory. "Never accept the world as it appears to be." Dr. Harold had said. "Dare to see it for what it could be."
The words echoed through Winston's mind as he reached up and grasped the picture with his index finger and thumb. He said softly to the image "Thank you." before heading off to his workshop in the main room below to await the arrival of his friends.
Author's Note: In this chapter, I took the opportunity to do a bit of world-crafting. It never made sense to me to see stories where Overwatch has most of the characters from the game on its roster so soon after the Recall; I always figured that a few characters would join immediately and others would join over the course of time. I also thought it didn't make sense that the Overwatch members always be in the same place since it would make it easy for the U.N. or Talon to find them. This chapter shows Overwatch as I think it would be a couple years into its reformation: Still small, discreet, and a bit inexperienced under new leadership, but growing and dedicated.
As always, I hope you enjoy my story and if you have any criticism, feel free to share it constructively.