He was the wind.
He was a manifesting hurricane; he was a moving force led by anger, solitude and revenge.
From the moment he was thrown into his second life, his second state of existence, there wasn't a moment that went by when he didn't seethe with rage and hatred. He wanted to kill. He wanted destruction. In his second existence, he no longer feared the death of others, nor did he hesitate in facilitating the killing. Truly, he was death incarnate. How ironic, considering the woman who created such a monster had been an advocate for peace.
He wanted to make her regret every trying to save him. He wanted to see Overwatch permanently laid to rest, and he was the one who wanted to do it. It was all their fault that he ended up the way he did.
Jack's funeral left a sour taste in his mouth for years. There were kind words, tears, and erected statues for the memory of the dead leader. Everyone mourned Jack Morrison, and yet didn't seem to acknowledge Gabriel in the least. Just like every time before, he'd been thrown away in favor of his old friend; bitterness grew and festered within his cold heart. Even years later, Reyes couldn't let it go.
At first, he resolved to kill Angela while she was alone, after Overwatch disbanded.
She was always in a city, he noticed, and never too far away from a hospital. She didn't keep close company, nor did she interact too much with her (temporary) coworkers. There were times he swore that she could see him, but she always looked away, and that only made him more angry. It was as if she didn't want to think he could still be alive.
And then he remembered their last moments together. Him, scared and desperate to live. Her, shaking and desperate to save him.
He'd see her cry from time to time, and he deeply hoped that it was him she was crying over.
Months passed. There were countless opportunities to kill her- in her sleep, at night, walking alone, it didn't matter- there was always something stopping him from doing the thing he thought he wanted to do all along. Nonetheless, he continued to follow her, growing more and more used to having her as his unaware company, until Talon found him.
They offered him a position in their ranks, knowing full well who he was and what he had been turned into. They created a device for him to willingly control his form, which he hadn't been able to do before (having to adjust to random transitions between apparition and solidity was the most frustrating part of his second existence), and gave him two options:
He could wander the world as a ghost, or become a man yet again.
Leaving Angela was the only thing he had to do, and as attached as he had gotten to following her, he would never be able to bridge the gap between them. She was always in a world he was not a part of. Talon was within his reach. So he walked away with a high head, finally feeling the validation he had wanted all along. It was a place where his experience and skill was appreciated, as the former leader of Blackwatch.
Time went on with them. It had only been half a year before they started to feed him the lies that gave rise to his actions so many years later; the anti-Overwatch propaganda that was so spread within the community of Talon was almost overwhelming to him at first. Gabriel already had the hatred within his heart for what Overwatch had turned him into, but the negativity spread left and right molded him in all the wrong ways. His resolve before Talon had been to kill Angela; he couldn't bring himself to do it. Now, his resolve was to eliminate everyone else. The person he became in Talon would surely be more capable.
It had been roughly four years since he joined Talon, and he thought it would be best to visit the monkey and gain the information he'd need to complete his goal. It was because of this trip that Overwatch was recalled, and even though he had to retreat from Gibraltar without what he came for, he unintentionally made it easier for himself. Soon enough, he'd be able to track down every member.
Not long after their recall, he paid a trip to their HQ, taking notice of how the group grew, and with who. There were no doubt new faces, but he paid extra attention to the familiar ones- one of which had been Mercy herself. After so long being away from her, he thought he had no more pity for her regret towards what she'd done, but all it took was one look at her sleeping face and he was sent back to where he started.
She had subtle signs of aging across her face. He mostly noticed the newly forming wrinkles around her eyes and the discoloration that came from a lack of sleep, but he also saw the lack of peace in her sleeping expression.
A nightmare?
Whatever the case, he couldn't stick around. He had to be careful so as to not get caught doing what he was doing- everything would be done in due time. It had to be thought out first.
Of course, he was questioned upon his return to Talon. He told them where they were, who was there, and the intel he had gathered from his minimal search. And then the question came;
"Did you locate Angela Ziegler?"
Mercy had been wanted by Talon for various reasons, most of which being her inventions and medical expertise. Of all of the members of Overwatch, she was the one that had to be kept alive so that she could be used.
"Yes."
"When can she be moved?"
"When I've disposed of the others."
Gabriel's commander nodded and thanked him for the information, turning away to leave Gabriel by himself. Deep down, he knew that he wouldn't be able to do what they wanted him to, even if he was in denial about it. The subconscious part of himself knew that there was far too much love he still had for her; the real question would be what he would resolve to do about it.
He was at a point in his Talon career where there was no turning back, even if he wanted to. There was no chance of defecting or going M.I.A. He was stuck where he was and he had to be okay with it.
Not even the great team of Overwatch could save him now; not that he wanted them to, but he couldn't deny that the thought crossed his mind.
Meanwhile, Overwatch was conducting their own recon mission in search of Talon intel and information about the masked person that Winston had encountered. He described the situation to the gathered members of the task force, which now included a woman named Symmetra that came from the Vishkar Corporation, and the recently-arrived Mei, who hadn't aged a day since Angela last saw her.
"This person is highly dangerous. From what I've been able to gather so far, he's a lethal mercenary they call Reaper. He's cloaked, masked, and his victims have been found in conditions that suggest he isn't entirely human. On this mission, don't go off on your own, and if you see him, do not engage him, especially by yourself. Now get to the dropship, we'll be leaving in half an hour."
Lena, Jack, Angela, Reinhardt and Torbjörn all moved together as a group. They day after Jack came clean to Angela about his identity, he had decided to tell the older members of Overwatch as well. It gave him a deep relief that he could come clean to them.
"Does this mean you're gonna be strike commander again?" Lena asked, tilting her head.
"No," he responded, almost too quickly. "Not this time."
"Well, no matter! We've regained an old friend, and that's enough to celebrate!" Reinhardt laughed and plopped his hand down onto Jack's shoulder. Everyone laughed along; even Jack, for a moment.
The mission itself had started off without a problem. They arrived at the point and gathered into two groups of five.
Junkrat, Roadhog, Symmetra, Mei and Reinhardt covered the ground the the east. They were to secure the base floors and search for a database while also clearing out any people coming from the floors underground. Tracer, Winston, Torbjörn, Mercy and S76 scoped out the west ground of the area. It included a watchtower, an open field, the surrounding trees, and several single-story buildings that they predicted to be housing units for Talon forces. After combing their area, they were to meet up with the east group to explore the upper parts of the large building in front of them, as they thought their best luck would be found above the ground floors.
They left after sunset, and arrived when the sky was the deepest blue of the day. The surrounding area wasn't populated, so the stars above them were much brighter than they were in the city, and the territory was less visible than they thought it would be. It was a good thing for sneaking, but not a good thing for discovery.
It also proved to be tough for the west group to stick together, thanks to the darkness. On three separate occasions, they found themselves split up, and struggled to safely make the noise that was needed to bring them back together. They figured that Talon operatives had to be awake somewhere in the camp, and if the group was found out, it wouldn't be long before they'd have to retreat and leave empty handed.
The first separation lasted only a few seconds. Tracer found herself searching through the trees for guards in the opposite direction that the others had been going in. She realized this mistake herself, and was able to find the group again within moments. They hadn't even noticed they'd lost her.
The second separation was slightly more serious. As they began to climb the watchtower to incapacitate the guards positioned there, they realized that Torbjörn was nowhere near them, but they had gone too far to go back, so they took out the two guards and went back down to find him. In the dark, he revealed to have lost them as they moved from the trees along the perimeter to the watchtower, more willing to wait for them to find him than to call out and risk exposing his position to any other posted patrollers.
The third and final separation happened to Mercy as they staked out the few small houses in the clearing. Due to their size, two would go in at a time while the other three waited outside to keep watch in all directions. Just like they thought, they were dorms used to house Talon members- weapons and Talon tech was littered across the tables and floor, leaving little room to step where they wouldn't make noise. Tracer and S76 scoped out the first house; rather obviously, they were in and out in no time, finding nothing substantial except for the pictures and documents to observe the identities of the people in the houses.
The second house was covered by Mercy and Torbjörn.
They split up and looked through different parts of the small house. It was rather tidy and simple, with furniture that looked like it had barely been used. There was almost no trash, no dirty dishes, no stray clothing, and no personal items that would hint at who lived in the home. Mercy absentmindedly thought of the possibility that nobody actually lived there, and that was when a covered hand went over her mouth. She was suddenly dragged backwards before she could struggle against the grip.
Her captor opened a door through the back of the house towards the surrounding forest- the other three hadn't been facing the trees when she was taken. Whoever this was had been anticipating them, she realized. His timing was perfect.
As he continued to drag her, she attempted to bite his hand, but found that it was made up of metal and rough leather; she hurt her own teeth with the force. With the Valkyrie suit's wings pinned down, there was no flying away, and her pistol seemed so far out of reach that she cursed herself for not carrying it openly before.
Over 100 meters back into the trees, he released his hand but kept his grip on her body; she wouldn't be getting away from him, and if she knew what was for her own good, she wouldn't start screaming either. Instead, she was pinned against a fat oak tree, bark poking into the back of her head and tangling her hair. Now facing him, she noticed the mask on his face and the black cloak covering his whole body. Under the dim moonlight, she could make out the general shape of a skull on his mask, but nothing more.
Instantly, Angela knew that this person was Reaper, and he was very clearly one step ahead of the Overwatch team.
With the mask mere inches from her face, she struggled to keep her eyes to where she thought his were, fighting to stay brave and stay strong (in the more mental sense than a physical one). It felt like ages went by before he spoke, and with his body so close to hers, she thought she'd drown at any moment. They had to know by then that she had gone missing.
"If you know what's best for you, doc, you'll leave Overwatch- and stay away."
It was against his better judgement to be doing this, but as he realized before, he knew he wouldn't be able to drag her into Talon's grasp.
And that was the moment when he realized that it was the first time he'd touched her since the death of his first existence. Following her around for nearly a year hadn't gotten him any closer to her; it was with bitterness that he realized they were only able to meet after so much evil had grown within him.
"...I won't."
Angela really thought she was being brave, completely clueless to her captor's motives and what was truly going on. She didn't understand, and it was frustrating him beyond belief. He struggled to remain composed and threatening.
"You'd rather watch your friends die in front of your eyes?"
It made her angry for him to suggest such an idea. With a glare, she stopped struggling as she responded.
"Heroes never die."
That was enough of a taunt to make him push her to the ground, very quickly straddling her small body and revealing a large shotgun from inside of his robe, which he placed to her head. He spoke as he leaned forward, his face once again inches from her own. She was too scared to put two and two together, until what he said struck a cord down her spine.
"Maybe the heroes you saved would've rather died, Ziegler. Maybe you do nothing but curse everyone you touch."
Her eyes widened. Although it may have been a bad idea, she raised her free hand to the mask over his face, her expression becoming horrified as he let her see the monster she'd let loose. The shotguns, the voice, and the familiarity of his face all made sense now. She had almost completely forgotten that she was in an extremely dangerous position when she took in his eyes, which had gone from brown to red, and the numerous scars he had gained on his face since his second existence. His skin had gone from a deep tan to a sickly pale gray.
"Gabriel," she choked, knowing full well that she was going to cry. As she tried to stop herself, she began to hyperventilate. He pulled the gun away from her head, and just as soon as he was going to stand up, she reached for him.
Reyes was pulled down into an embrace and found himself speechless. Whatever validation he'd been seeking from Talon or from Blackwatch was forgotten for that single moment. He didn't know what to do with himself, and instantly regretted all he'd done for Talon. Angela was innocent, and she didn't deserve to be part of such an organization.
But just like he knew before, he had come too far to be able to stop.
"Leave Overwatch, Angela," he commanded. "You don't want to be around when they come."
She pushed him back to look at his face again, significantly less horrified than the initial moment. "When who comes?"
"Talon."
"Is that what you were…" she sighed, realizing that he must have been working within the organization.
"I don't have a choice," he mumbled.
"Come back with us," she put a hand on his face to cup his cheek. "Gabriel, we'll help you-"
He slipped through her fingers and the familiar black mist floated away from her before she could get up. "Gabriel!" she whispered loudly, but after receiving no reply, Angela stood and looked in the direction he had gone off in. The absence of weight on her body almost made her feel woozy, like she suddenly didn't have the energy to move.
"Angela?" she heard from nearby. It was only a whisper, but she instantly knew that it was her team looking for her. She stumbled off towards them, definitely feeling like she could fall down at any moment.
"She's there!" S76 came to her side almost immediately, catching her just as she was about to fall. Not having to support her own body weight was much more comfortable; after a quick assessment of her condition, he dropped a biotic field.
"You don't look so good, what happened to you?" The seconds that went by in the biotic field helped her regain her strength, and cleared her head. She struggled with the decision to tell them about Gabriel; on one hand, they could help him, but on the other, he was working for Talon. And if Jack were to discover that Gabriel were still alive, she could only guess what would happen after.
Still, she had loyalty to her team and to Overwatch.
"...I discovered what Talon is planning."