Note: This story is based on the movie The One, as such, it deals with death, violence, and murder. Please do not read if those topics bother you.
This story is a stalled work-in-progress. Any possible updates will be slow and sporadic.
The AU in this part is one of my favorites and I hope to do more with it at some point.
Even though it's been a while and multiple different worlds since he's found out that Ana may have survived, it's been a thought constantly on Soldier: 76's mind.
It's hardened his resolve, not only to stop Talon for good, but for him to finally get back to his world so he could find some answers. Somebody had to know what happened to her or her body after that mission.
But, judging by the number of Soldier: 76es still left on the device, his return was going to be a long time coming. He's thinned their numbers out, but there had been a large amount to begin with.
He's thankful that he's had a streak of relatively normal kills, it was easy when he had the drop on other versions of himself, most of them never saw him coming. It helped take his mind off Ana, at least for a little while.
However, something feels off about the next world. Everything seems similar, but there's something different about it that he just can't put his finger on.
He doesn't dwell on that thought for long, as it's clear that he's back in the past, smack dab in the middle of Overwatch's glory days. Those days were the hardest to revisit, both in his memories and in the here and now.
With a sigh, he strikes out to find out what he's been up to.
Soldier: 76 finds an observation point close to an Overwatch base and settles in to keep an eye on things.
It takes a while for him to find his past self, some days, he hadn't been able to get out much because of all his various responsibilities.
As soon as he spots this world's version of himself, the vague off-ness about the place suddenly becomes clear.
The Strike Commander striding through the base is a woman.
She's definitely this world's version of him, her face nearly matches his own, though younger, more feminine, and scar-less. She appears to be of the exact same height and build, everything is the same, except her gender.
With this in mind, he looks around at the rest of the crew, now identifying people left and right. Everyone looked nearly how they did in his world, their genders were just scrambled here.
Soldier: 76 sighs softly, this was a complication he hadn't expected, but he couldn't let it get in his way. She was still him, and as such, he had to eliminate her, too.
He brings his attention back to where he had last seen her, but even after looking around, he can't pick up her tracks again. While he had been looking at everyone else, she had vanished.
Grumbling to himself, he sits back at ease. He'll have to keep a better eye on her when she resurfaces.
He didn't have to wait long.
A shot rang out, and he felt a bullet speed by dangerously close to his face. Whipping around, he spotted the Strike Commander running across the next building and easily jumping over to the one he was on.
She held her rifle ready, but didn't seem like she was going to shoot at him again. Yet.
"If you wanted to see our base, you could've dropped by for a visit."
He'd been found out. Soldier: 76 responded roughly, "I'm not exactly here for a social visit. You're not going to like why I'm here."
With him revealing that fact, he fires at her. However, she'd been ready for it, and easily dodges out of the way.
"Sorry to hear that, but whatever your mission is, it's over now." She fires back at him, this time using the Helix Rockets.
Soldier: 76 manages to avoid getting hit, though he notes that he's just slightly slower than she is. She's got the advantages of youth and confidence on her side, and it shows. He remembers those days, how easily everything seemed to come to him.
However, he's got his own advantages as well. Experience can trump a lot of things, and he's also got the element of surprise. He knows who she is, she has no idea that he's an older version of herself.
For now, he's got to get out of the open, darting past to build up speed, he leaps to another rooftop, knowing she'll follow. After all, he would've done the same.
They travel across the city, trading shots, but neither hitting the other. He's leading her further and further away from Overwatch and any support she could call. This has to end soon, he knows that her endurance is greater than his, it might not be by much, but it'd be more than enough to make up the distance between life and death.
Finally he lands on an industrial building that had plenty of places for him to duck behind and hide.
He knew she was hot on his trail, so he turned around to fire at her, trying to hit her mid-jump and send her falling below.
His shot hits, but it wasn't enough to stop her. She lands awkwardly, rolling to right herself and lifting her gun to fire another round of Helix Rockets.
Her aim was true and one of the rockets strikes Soldier: 76 in the chest, the other two spiraling off past him.
He falls to the ground with a heavy thud. He hears her dart behind something, and he lies still. He had thought about standing up, however, he had a feeling she had chose her shot carefully. If she had hit him with all three rockets, he would've been a mess. One rocket would be enough to kill someone and leave them intact.
However, he wasn't a normal person. Being a super soldier had its perks, he was able to survive things most people couldn't. And, as far as he knew, she had no idea that he was as genetically enhanced as she was.
So, he waits. If he had been in her position, he'd come over to investigate.
Soldier: 76 hears her moving, her footsteps stop and start as she darts around. She's circling him cautiously, a tactical move that makes sense. If he happened to still be alive, he could kick and punch and gain the upper hand.
But, even with her careful maneuvering, she didn't account for his speed.
The Strike Commander approaches him from what would be the behind if he was standing. She walks towards his head, never easing her grip on her gun.
She nudges Soldier: 76's shoulder, and upon seeing or feeling no reaction, she takes one hand off her gun and starts to lean over to reach down and pull off his mask, to see the identity of her mysterious enemy.
This was her mistake.
As soon as she leans close enough in range, he rapidly lifts his gun, positioning it beneath her head and lifting up her chin slightly, then firing straight through her.
His shot was true and he only barely takes the time to check the device as he scrambles to his feet. He feels the surge of power that comes from destroying a version of yourself, but doesn't pay any notice.
All of Overwatch likely heard that shot through her headset and would come running to assist their Strike Commander, he couldn't waste any time.
Once on his feet, he presses the button to take him to another world. He travels through and ends up in another city.
Soldier: 76 leans an arm against the wall and takes a breather, he'd need some time to rest and recover, physically and emotionally.
It was rough killing any past version of himself, especially when they were still in the glory days of Overwatch. There was still so much good she could've done, so many people's lives she should've touched.
But, she was dead, and in the end, just a number that he counted down. Just like any other Soldier: 76 or Jack Morrison.
That world would morn her, mourn her as his had mourned him. Except, she was dead in her prime, and he was secretly alive past his. He had risen and fell with Overwatch, perhaps now her Overwatch would outlive his.
That was the only comfort he could derive from the situation, with someone else at the helm, maybe they wouldn't make the mistakes that Morrisons were prone to.
With his adrenaline fading, he finally starts noticing the pain from the Helix Rocket that had struck him. She had made her mark, both in her world and on him.
Sitting down, Soldier: 76 activates a Biotic Field to heal himself. It couldn't fix everything, but he didn't want it to.
Her mark on her own world would persist, and so would the one she left on him. He had plenty of scars already, he didn't mind adding one more.
Note: This AU Strike Commander is named Jacqueline Morrison.