Giza National Air Base

Pharah

Fareeha brisk-walked towards the entrance of the air base. Sand crumpling under her feet, she stopped in front of the armed security officer stationed in front of a giant reinforced iron door. Upon seeing her, the officer staggered up from his chair in such a hurry that it fell over. He saluted her, body straight, before pushing a button.

The iron door slowly slid open, revealing a gigantic military facility where white-uniformed soldiers marched amok carrying missiles and bags. Every single detail was similar to what she had remembered years ago; sand beneath your feet, buildings lined towards the giant iron walls of the facility and an enormous head building placed perfectly in the middle of the base.

Fareeha, trying to focus amidst the loud roaring of jet engines above her, jogged towards a small group of soldiers at ease in a straight line. The highest-ranking general, General Brook, was walking to and fro, barking orders like the madman she always recognised.

Hearing footsteps behind him, the general turned around and saw the female soldier hurrying her way towards him. He smiled broadly before taking a few steps towards her.

"Amari! Great to see you here, back in your uniform," he commented.

Fareeha stopped in front of him before taking a glimpse of herself in her uniform. "Thanks sir, I - "

"I did not ask for an answer, soldier!" the general bellowed at the top of his lungs, his face suddenly serious. Fareeha immediately stiffened, her hands shifting behind her back.

"I do not give a single shit that you are a global hero outside this base, Amari. As long as you take a step into this facility, you are under my orders and no longer using the codename 'Pharah'. Do you understand?"

She looked forwards at no particular object and shouted "Yes sir!"

"Good." The general was smiling again. Fareeha was once a timid recruit under his orders many years ago, and he was glad that he managed to create a strong woman recognised globally for her anti-terrorism efforts. He stood in front of Amari, staring into her eyes.

"We got something for you, soldier." He turned around and gestured for her to follow him. "Recruits, proceed back to your bunkers."

In the corner of the facility lay a small building that looked as if it was created for no particular reason at all. General Brook stepped up to the door and placed his thumb on the handrail. A strange buzzing sound erupted out of no where, and Fareeha watched in amazement as the door slid open by itself. The general stepped inside, gesturing her to follow suit. The room was dark and looked almost empty, besides a shelf and a huge carpet laid onto the floor.

The general gestured her to close the door and she did just that. He approached the carpet on the floor and began rolling it up. Beneath it was a trapdoor with a hinge on it. Opening the trapdoor, the general jumped inside before slowly sliding down using the sides of the ladders. Fareeha hesitated before following the general.

She landed on a hard metal landing. The room was huge but dark. A thumbprint scanner lay on the wall. General Brooks scanned his thumbprint, and as if by magic, bright lights illuminated the room. She then realised that they were currently in a laboratory.

In the other end of the room lay a tall glass tube. Inside of it was a large brown combat suit, similar to her own combat suit given by the Helix Security International. She was shocked and could not even move.

"We created an aerial mechanical suit similar to yours. However, we tweaked it a bit here and there and we need someone to pilot it." The general continued walking slowly until he stopped in front of Fareeha. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "We need a favour from you. Are you up for it?"

She was afraid. Everything she knew before had erupted as if it was a cloud of mist. Anticipation choked her breathing as she stared behind his shoulder at the suit in the tube. If she answered either yes or no, how would that decision build her future? Was her future all decided on this one question?

"We need an answer, Amari," General Brooks pleaded, staring into her eyes. "Please."

In the midst of all her mental debate, she knew what she had to do.

"I will."

United Nations Headquarters, New York

Widowmaker

"Ladies and gentlemen, please take a seat."

In an instant, the boisterous noise of the huge meeting room fell silent. Many global leaders were there, each representing their own country. They all sat down without further hesitation.

The president stood on the stand in the middle of the room, smiling as he scanned the crowd beneath him. His name was Hakure Yuseko, a Japanese leader representing both Japan and the United Nations as a whole. The members of the UN decided to come together to discuss yet another heated topic, Overwatch.

"I would like to thank you all..." The voice was a mere whisper outside the gigantic tower, which still stood. Over 200 security guards sprawled the outside area, at high alert for any intruders. Most of them were Americans while some were "donated" by the other countries to help out with security. Thus, the guards were the strongest soldiers ever found globally, aside from the group of people many call the Elite.

Amélie was always a part of them. Being the most elite sniper ever known to mankind, it always broke the hearts of many that she was not sane enough to differentiate the right from wrong.

Leaping over the fence, she darted behind cover, slowly advancing towards the guards guarding the entrance. She had no intention of entering through there, for it would be too predictable. Furthermore, she would have to battle thousands of guards on the way to the meeting room near the top floor. Taking care of these guards could grant her an easy way out afterwards.

Turning on her Infra-Sight, she counted at least 20 guards. She whipped out her rifle, aiming it towards the furthest guard. Putain, there is some other guard talking to him. She had to take them both out quickly, and as the guards are shocked at their sudden ambush, unleash a venom mine. She took a breath – not that it would help her slow beating heart in any way – and fired the shot.

The guard fell to his knees, and before his partner could react, she shot him dead too. Each shot was loud enough for the 20 guards to hear, but no one else. She threw out the venom mine, shooting it mid-air to enclose every guard in the toxic.

"I'm sure you all know about the banishment of Overwatch via the Petras Act..."

With the guards dead and rotting, she whipped out her grappling hook and shot it towards the 2nd level of the building. She dropped her boots onto the soft glass, carefully ensuring that she did not make any ruckus before the kill.

"I am grateful for all of Overwatch's contributions to our society, and I am aware of the sudden drop of peace following their banishment."

She climbed upwards, slowly, using any support that can boost her up. She had to go to the 38th floor, where the meeting room was.

"As of today, ladies and gentlemen, we will create history."

Soon enough, she finally placed her boots on the glass of the 38th floor. She dropped onto the ledge, whipping out her rifle and positioning it facing the glass. She knew no one would see her; many barely turned around from the president. The president and the two guards next to him would be one of the first to see her, if they ever did. She had to do it fast.

"I finally announce..."

Aligning crosshairs to the head of the target, she fixed her finger to the trigger.

"Overwatch shall no longer bear the banishment of the-"

"Bonne nuit," she whispered, then pulled the trigger.

Screams erupted everywhere. The president fell backwards, blood spurting out from where his head should have been. The two guards caught him, whipping out every kinds of communication devices.

Smiling, Amélie dropped the grappling hook to the ledge before leaping backwards towards the ground floor. The air whipped around her, scorching her with cheers of victory. That was Talon's plan all along; to stop any way where Overwatch can be reorganized. She was meters away from the ground. She whipped towards her side, bracing impact.

Out of the blue, a sudden leg struck her on her arm. Her hook broke off the ledge and she rolled onto the ground. A figure landed gracefully in front of her, bearing a whiff of polished metal.

"You had to, didn't you?" a strong Japanese accent was present in his voice. Amélie whipped out her rifle, aiming it at the figure, but he struck it aside. The figure was none other than Genji, unsheathing his blade.

Genji lifted the blade high in the air, aiming for her neck, before he sensed something. He darted his arms to the right side of his head, merely blocking a sharp projectile shot at him at intense speed. He whipped his head towards the right, staring at the dark figure under the moonlight.

"Hanzo." Genji muttered, ignoring the Widowmaker who silently backed herself against the fence.

"Genji, stop this at once!" He dropped his arm slowly, the bow still in his hand.

"You do not know what she has done." He gestured his blade towards the woman in purple.

"I know." Hanzo dropped down to Genji's level. "What difference does it make if you kill her?"

"This is not her fucking first kill, brother." He placed his blade back in its sheath, then turned towards Hanzo. "Her plan is to stop Overwatch."

"Overwatch was made to kill Omnics, not assassins!" Hanzo neared his brother now, his glare staring at the scarred face behind the mask. "Her decision could possibly save your precious mentor."

Genji pushed Hanzo backwards with sheer force. "Do not insult my master that way."

"Our father was our initial master, and look what you did to him you-"

A sudden purple object burst into the air. Hanzo, as quick as lightning, whipped out an arrow and shot the object, sending the object through the holes of the fence. A purple toxic-like smoke engulfed the area, but not close enough to intoxicate the Shimada brothers. As the smoke cleared out, the assassin was no where to be seen.

"It is time for you to reflect on your mistakes." Genji repeated his master's words without even looking at his brother.

"Brother-" Hanzo took a step closer to Genji.

"Think of how you would change yourself before you try to change the world." With that, Genji disappeared into the moonlight.

Hanzo could only stare back at the moon, paying no heed to the sirens behind him growing louder and the police officers shouting at him to put his arms up.

Mount Everest, Himalayas

Mei

The temperatures dropped below 20 degrees Farenheit, yet Mei could barely feel anything. She continued climbing the mountain, carefully positioning each step such that she would not fall 3,000 feet down. Her trusty Snowball was always under her, ready to catch her weight lest she made any mistakes.

The harsh cold wind had no mercy on her either, blowing at its strongest when there seemed to be an oppurtunity to drop her. However, Mei continued holding on strong.

Mei had been notified of the strange yet sharp rise of temperatures on the mountain top. She volunteered herself, on behalf of the Global Ecosystem Authorities, to find out the cause of it. Sure enough, the temperatures were not as cold as other mountains which she had explored, though being the tallest mountain.

She paused on the mouth of a cave situated on the side of the mountain. She rummaged in her winter coat pocket and took out a brown notebook. She flipped it open, found a new page and started drawing. Not many of her colleagues knew of her amazing artistic talent, and she did not plan to tell them anytime soon. It would be one of the things, she thought, that a true friend could find out.

Her feet whisked to and fro as she looked at the scenery ahead of her and began to draw. The pencil glided smoothly on the rough paper, outlining every bump and every dent on the mountain silhouette. Her feet whisked left and right as she shaded the shadows of the mountain and drew little trees on the snow. After completing the drawing, she wrote a small note on the bottom-right of the page, "Mt. Everest – a place to be!".

Snowball peeked under her arm to look at the drawing. Mei giggled, then hugged the machine. She closed her journal and kept it in her coat pocket once again. She still had a lot more of discovering to do. After all, she never leaves any task incomplete.

Clinging onto the mountain with her ice axes, she made her way around the mountain ledge. There was another cave near the top of the mountain that could be the cause of the increase in temperature. In fact, the day before, she could have sworn she saw a bright light in that cave from far away. Scaling slowly on the slippery ice slope, she skillfully made it across a giant chasm about 7,000 feet deep and 30 feet wide.

Grabbing her Endothermic blaster, she effortlessly created a stiff ice bridge for her to cross a huge hole, finally leading her to the mouth of the illuminated cave. Snowball flew around behind her, peeking out every now and then to see what was going on in front of her.

The cave was gigantic, as if entering the mouth of a dragon. The cave dove deeper inside, glowing stronger as Mei went deeper. She slid down small slopes and carefully climbed down tall platforms, careful not to break any ice.

The illumination was at its brightest, and Mei noticed that it started getting warm too. Ice slowly melted around her, along with her melting heart upon seeing the current state of the modern ecosystem. To her surprise, as she dug deeper, she found something no one would even have predicted...

...a crate? What in the world is a crate doing here? Her voice in her head rang out in her ears. The brown wooden crate was placed against the wall of the cave. Several more wooden crates lined up further down the cave. Then, she sensed movement.

Mei dived behind the cover of the crates, peeking out the side of the crate. There were men dressed in black, from head to toe. Even their winter coat was black, finished with black mittens and a menacing black mask. Three of those men were carrying crates around the cave, heaving and grunting after every step. They dropped those crates on top of each other against the wall, then they all stopped for a moment and started chatting.

Mei held on to her Endothermic blaster tightly. They must have been the reason for the rise of temperatures in the mountain. She sprang out of her hiding spot, pointing her blaster at the men like a handgun. Before they could react, Mei shot a beam of ice around them, freezing them in place.

Without hesitating for another second, she sped ahead, her feet stomping on the snow beneath her. The frozen men were simply left standing next to the crates, powerless. She halted, as she could not comprehend the sight before her. She was standing on a high platform, overlooking a gigantic operation of men hammering away on the ice with red-tinted pickaxes. There, standing at the back of the mayhem, was Junkrat and Roadhog.

Stuttgart, Germany

Reinhardt

Reinhardt Wilhelm shifted his legs. He was in his quiet study, reading a book titled "Hasslehoff's Journey: A Road To Fame". His white hair and the circular reading glasses he has always gave him an old look, yet he never found any insult in that. He would merely state that "Life's been a journey, my friends.". His friends would then sit there, wondering if they should be happy for him or guilty for insulting him.

A sudden bell rang outside. Reinhardt looked up from his book. "Ah, she's here! Brigitte, help get the door, please!"

Brigitte came over from the kitchen, then opened the door. Outside the mansion stood a tall woman with a tough demeanour and pink hair to finish her look.

"Ah, Aleksandra! Welcome to my home!" Reinhardt lumbered towards her with open arms.

Aleksandra avoided the hug. Her face was full of anger. "Who is he?" she burst out, in a manner that left Reinhardt staggering backwards.

A moment later, Reinhardt and Aleksandra were both seated in the study. Brigitte had made tea for them, and Reinhardt was circling the rim of the tea cup with his finger. He rested his head on his other hand. Aleksandra, instead, was seated upright with her hands clamped together, clenched.

"Ulrick – that's his name – and I were best buddies since we were 12." He started talking slowly, pronouncing every word correctly in spite of his German accent.

"Then, there was an exchange program, the kinds that happened a long time ago. We went to Russia, Ulrick and I, to Krasnoyarsk."

Aleksandra stiffened; that was where she had lived her whole life. From the Omnic crisis to the joining of the Russian Forces, she was there the whole time.

"There, we met your mother. She had the same star on her forehead. More of a birthmark, really."

Aleksandra's hand flew to her right eye, where the dark 'X' stayed. She had always thought that it was a scar from somewhere in her lifetime. Her mom did a really good job of hiding hers with make-up.

"Elena was a kind girl back then. She showed us around Russia, every street and every corner. Ulrick had a great crush on her back then, but was too shy to admit it."

A burst of red flushed her face. She met a man that could have well been her father? No, it can't be. I know my father's face. Looked nothing like him. But yet... I never actually got to see his face...

"I went back to Germany, but Ulrick stayed with your mother. Until teen years, they finally went into a small relationship. All was going well, until she became pregnant.

"Ulrick was distraught. Elena's parents – your grandparents – hated him for doing that to their daughter. They made Elena marry another Russian man. With Ulrick now forgotten, Elena and her husband, Alek, got married and lived a life with only one child. It was you, Aleksandra."

She stood up, toppling over the tea cup. It lay sprawled on the ground, thankfully not broken. Her face then was full of confusion and more hatred. "Your letter said you had a mission for me to do. Let's get on with it."

Reinhardt was surprised at her suddenly dismissing the topic. "Oh, of course, let's get started then."

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