Chapter 8

Battle at the Homefront

What should have been another suburban in the quiet cul-de-sac neighborhood the Morrison's have lived in for the past decade, turning into anything but. The glow and shimmer of bright red and orange of explosions illuminated the night's sky, the echoes of motor shells and collisions rocked the once peaceful neighborhood. Residents scrambled to witness the destruction of their homes and to flee the onslaught of carnage that rained upon them. Screams now littered the night sky to join the vibrant and powerful blasts of fire and meal colliding with homes. Ana sheltered herself behind a crushed station wagon, tucking herself as low as possible as she laid in prone position, sniper rifle armed at the ready for the Talon soldiers who ziplined down from their helicopter transport. One by one, her finger pulled the trigger with no remorse or hesitation, her bullet's soaring through the barrel and released into the air as they landed at their appropriate targets one by one. The soldiers in black attire scrambled for cover once their allies slumped to the floor lifeless, to their disadvantage, they never made it to cover themselves as they all fell lifeless to the ground thanks to Ana's expert skills. The sniper huffed as she rose to her knee as the soldier surveyed her surroundings. Another house on the left collapsed from the strength of the foundation giving out, another unfortunate family caught in the sudden bombardment. The Egyptian sniper rose to her feet, sighing heavily as she made another mad dash down the street to Jack and Angela's home. It took everything the solider had in her to run past the cries of agony and please for assistance, but right now, the sniper needed to get to her family and daughter.

Radio transmission was cut off before the attack started. Winston tried to relay their message about getting hacked as quickly as he discovered, but as their current situation shows, it wasn't fast enough. That's when this hellish nightmare began for everyone involved, and for those caught in the crossfire. From what they could gather, Talon's interest in the Shimada siblings' bounty seemed insignificant at first. The funds would go towards their terrorist organization most likely; once they found out Soldier 76 and Mercy were sheltered together, they had discovered one of the most highly protected safe houses to ever be funded by Overwatch. Ana's feet moved like lightning as she tried to bob and weave the debris that flew onto the street. Now packed with cars and frantic families trying to escape the destruction of their homes, the sniper's heart bled with pain knowing she couldn't assist with her own worries going into overdrive. Ana's ear piece sprang to life, hearing muffles through the other end, thankfully, it was a voice she was most concerned with now. Placing her fingers on her ear piece, the sniper listened as closely as she could to make out the words. On the other line, more firefighting could be heard, Ana knew the caliber of rounds being fired with her years of experience. That's when the chatter began…

"…Jack, I cannot move from this position without compromising your safety, can you move?" Reinhardt shouted over what seemed to be another round of gunfire volley from their attackers. Jack continued to mow down the Talon agents that tried to enter through the front door, quickly reloading his rifle before continuing his assault before the last one dropped to the ground. Jack noticed his visor on the ground in the kitchen, quickly, the soldier quickly barrel rolled to Reinhardt's side, quickly equipping his customary visor helmet. The familiar buzzing sound of the visor coming to life as the red optical mask slowly lit up, the internal computer coming to life as the systems booted up and began scanning the area. Turning to crouch at the once sturdy kitchen wall, Jack faced the front door to see three more Talon agents make a dash towards the entrance. The veteran quickly stood and aimed his rifle at the entrance, cocking his weapon before firing, three mini rockets rushed from their compartments and zipped past the front door, colliding with the attackers. The three men were met with a concussive and sudden explosion; killing the trio instantly as they flew backwards in whole or in pieces. Jack cocked his rifle once more before standing proudly.

"Get off my lawn." Jack growled, looking over his shoulder at his comrade Reinhardt. "I'm going upstairs, I hear gunfire…" Jack paused his words when glass shattered upstairs followed by his baby girl Hana scream a banshee's scream, loud banging to follow soon after as if a tussle was ensuing. Reinhardt charged his back-rocket booster before shouting to his ally, his own worry rising but his duties still needed tending to.

"Go my friend, I shall take care of these punks." With that, the German tank sped forward as his booster pushed his charge towards the assaulting group firing from the back yard. Soldier 76 wasted no time as he dashed with great speed, his enhanced abilities making it possible to rush to his destination. Looking up from the bottom of the steps, Soldier 76's visors scanned two Talon soldiers with guns at the ready heading towards his bedroom where Mercy was. As the veteran raised his rifle to fire, both men were shot down before he could pull the trigger. More shots fired down the hall at an unknown target in Soldier's line of sight, but it made no difference. The man dashed upwards until he reached the top, turning right to look down the hall to see another assailant collapsed in front of Lena's room. Before the man could counter, he felt the butt of someone's pistol at the back of his head. Soldier 76 turned with lightning speed, taking the pistol with his right hand and shoving his elbow into the mystery figure in the sternum, in turn, the assailant spun on her heels and delivered a swift kick with her heel behind Soldier's knee before taking control again and aiming her pistol once more at his head.

"Soldier 76?" Angela gasped once she saw the well-lit red visor, breathing heavily from the strike he delivered.

"Angela!" Jack looked up, behind his visor, his eyes were open wide with horror that he struck his wife under such circumstances. The man stood up and hugged his wife deeply, but they broke their embrace when their house rattled from an explosion that erupted from next door. "Where are the boys? Are the girls alright?" The man asked with great worry, Angela finally caught her breath to reply.

"The boys are in my room, they're huddles in the closet. I was about to check on the girls when I heard…" Her words were cut off when another shriek echoed from Lena's room as it did before, both adults instantly moved with great haste, Soldier 76 leading the charge as he kicked down Lena's door to see a sight he never would have wanted to see in his lifetime. A talon soldier held Satya by the hair; controlling her movements as she struggled for release, little Fereeah tucked under the man's arm by her waist. The girl kicked and hit their attacker with all her might. Hana curled in the corner, holding a pillow above her head as she wailed in fright. Lena herself, sporting a deep red mark on the side of her face held onto the man's leg, wiggling with all her might to make their attacker lose balance. Time slowed in Soldier 76's mind; his babies were under attack, under his roof, now there was someone trying to steal his babies. Angela moved past her husband to see the same scene, the Talon soldier looked up to see both Soldier 76 and Mercy of Overwatch raise and point their weapons. No words were spoken as both parents open fired, making clean head shots and chest shots together as the Talon soldier flew back to the broken window, blood splattered all over Lena's colored walls. Fereeah dropped to the ground with a soft thud, she was used to harder falls thanks to her father accidentally dropping her several times without their mother knowing. Satya grunted as her hair was released, falling to her knee's as Lena ran to her side. Soldier stepped to the corpse in the room, he would not be getting back up any time soon, the man turned and went to Hana. The young girls shook and sniffled, holding onto her pillow tightly as more explosions could be heard outside. Soldier 76 scooped up his youngest daughter and held her tight to his chest.

"It's ok Hana, shh baby it's ok. Daddy's here…" Jack tried to coo and coddle his daughter, she latched herself tight to his dirty shirt. Her words were in a mumble at this point, keeping her eyes closed. Angela checked on the other girls, Lena having a visible mark on her cheek, probably from their attacker. She kissed her cheek lightly, hugging the little girl.

"My brave baby, I'm so sorry…" Angela whispered, she then hugged Satya after checking her over. "You're staying with us until we're safe, understood?" Satya simply nodded, wiping tears from her eyes, the field medic stood and scooped Fereeah in her arms, checking her over before turning to her husband. "We leave, now!" Angela shouted, everyone made haste to their way out of the room and back to the master bedroom, seeing the boys peeking out from the walk-in closet. "Boys, let's go!" Angela shouted, Jesse and Lucio knew their mother was serious with her tone and the sharpness of her words. Angela grabbed her healing staff as she turned to Soldier 76. "What's the plan?" She asked.

"We're pinned down, but I think Reinhardt gave us a way out. However, it's a war zone outside Mercy, I don't feel like we would get very far without being spotted. This is Talon we're talking about, look at what they've done to this neighborhood." Soldier lifted his rifle with his free hand, holding Hana close as the two adults peered outside their window. Fire and explosions continued flare up, the once quiet and somber neighborhood was lit up like a well-furnished Christmas tree. The sight was something from a horror film, Mercy shook her head in disbelief, but it was their current reality. As much carnage and dismay they both have seen on the field of battle, they would have never thought the fight would be coming to their space of peace and security. Jack received a call on his visor, thankful someone could communicate since this whole thing started. Quickly, the veteran answered the incoming call. "Talk, quickly."

"Solider 76, this is Zarya. We have pinpointed your location for evacuation. Zenyatta and Reinhardt have cleared your escape. Please make way to back yard." The bodybuilder's thick Russian accent was a relief to hear to the veteran. Soldier simply glared at Mercy before the group followed his steps out the room and down the steps. As they descended the stairs, gunfire seemed to increase as the twirling sound of helicopter blades now zoomed past their house one by one. Mercy could only figure it was Overwatch and Blackwatch together coming to their aid during this emergency. The children stayed close, Hanzo still carrying his scared brother on his back while Lucio covered his ears from the disturbing noises. Jesse placing his arm over his brothers shoulder and keeping him close, using his free hand to lift his cowboy hat in the air lightly to provide slight light protection. Mercy stayed close in the back, her staff already coming to life as a blue stream shot at Soldier 76, amplifying his abilities in case further combat was needed. The girls saw the destruction downstairs, but they couldn't marvel at the destruction of their kitchen as they were herded out to the back yard. Soldier rushed ahead, but there was no sight of an evacuation carrier, just attack carriers of their organization.

"I don't understand…Zarya said she would be here already." Soldier whispered to himself, aiming his rifle to match his visors line of sight, gripping tightly to check the perimeter. Still, no sight of their ride.

"Buena noche Soldier 76." A smooth Latina sounding voice spoke, but could not be seen. Soldier 76 tightened his stance, continuing to scan the area. While Mercy could not hear the voice, she did study her husband's body language and readied her own stance, aiming her pistol to cover her husband. "Relajarse old man, I'm not going to hurt you. I'd go after los ninos first, especially the ones with the bounties on their head. But, even I'm not cruel muchaco. So, let's talk." It was then the visor finally picked up on a disturbance, a feminine figure revealed itself in a black and purple leather outfit. Her tan skin making it apparent with her accent of her nationality. Soldier wasted no time aiming his rifle swiftly. The woman simply walked around the man nonchalantly, as if he was holding nothing at all in his hands. With a smile on her lips, she simply chuckled before speaking again. "Listen, I don't want a lot of innocent people getting hurt…well, more innocent people. But I do want something from you, and I'll let you go. Deal?" Her question was met with a cock of Soldier 76's weapon, the woman rolled her eyes and dropped her shoulders.

"Who are you and who do you work for? Don't try my patience little girl." Soldier 76 stated firmly, never blinking to watch this intruder. The young woman raised here eyebrow at the question, but remained calm as she answered. If her plan were to work, she needed their trust, and the trust from a veteran Overwatch member and founder, she needed to be honest and up front.

"My name is Sombra, I was hired by Talon to do some hacking for them, for those boys back there." Sombra pointed to Hanzo and Genji in the huddle behind Mercy. "However, I found more information than I was expecting. The famous 'Soldier 76' settled down with Mercy, Overwatch's lead medical officer…and they settled down hard." Sombra gave a side grin, continuing to pace back and forth in Soldier's sights. "That piece of information, I didn't mention to my employer, so there's no need to worry. As far as they know, they don't even know which house was holding the twin brothers. This was just to eliminate them and bring proof of their death, but, now that the party has been crashed by your back up, I doubt this raid will be fruitful." The words she spoke made Soldier angrier and angrier as the seconds passed, more Overwatch and Blackwatch helicopters flew over their head. Their headlights slightly illuminating the back yard, making Sombra's features clearer to Jack as the light temporarily shined down. Jack's visor instantly took multiple photo shots to save and store in his memory banks.

"This whole thing is your fault. My family was in danger and they tried to take my girls!" Soldier 76 roared behind his visor, voice raw with emotion and fury. "Innocent people have died tonight, good people who were just cattle to a senseless slaughter that you brought on! It'll be some closure to bring you in dead." The veteran wasted no time to fire his helix rockets, even at close range, Soldier 76 could be healed by his wife if need be. However, the mini rockets never left their chamber. Sombra smiled as she lifted her hands in the "surrender" pose, but her fingertips on her right glove glowed a bright neon purple color.

"Don't think I'm stupid Soldier 76, I've read your file and have a good understanding of you. Listen Amigo, your friends are calling for you and I don't want them to worry too much, so let's make a deal. I'll enable communication, real communication to evacuate you and your family out of here safely. The party sounds like its dying down anyway." Sombra thwittled her fingers, sending radio transmissions to echo in Soldier's visor. Already all the agents on the ground and Gabriel were calling in a panic to the veteran. Soldier relaxed slightly, lowering his weapon as he stood tall over towering the Latina woman.

"What do you want from me then Sombra?" Having to make a deal was not Jack's custom, but under these circumstances, he would have to comply. Sombra simply smiled with a laugh, stepping close to the veteran with such bravado it surprised the man a little himself.

"I'll be in contact for a favor, and you'll answer when I call to assist me with said favor. Comprende?" Sombra stared at the glowing red visor, she knew she had the man's attention.

"Fine." Sombra simply lifted her finger to tap onto Soldier's visor.

"Boop!" With that, the hacker extraordinaire simply vanished from their sight with a smile, before Soldier 76 could react, a headlight shinned down onto the backyard from above. A Blackwatch helicopter swiftly landed as the sides opened, Gabriel and more Blackwatch soldiers instantly conveyed on the land. Armed to the teeth as they secured their landing, some soldiers rushing to Mercy and the children to check on their status. Gabriel went to Soldier 76's side, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"We've been calling for an hour, the line was cut off and no response after your neighbor's house exploded. We thought the worse." Gabriel raised his custom reaper mask to speak clearly, Soldier doing the same as he removed his visor.

"How many survivors escaped?" Jack spoke, trying to keep his nerves collected after all that's happened. Gabriel sighed, grimly shaking his head.

"Some, but not many. This attack caught a lot of innocent people off guard, and they paid the price for it. We've captured several Talon agents, but I doubt their information would be useful. But, we'll go through the motions none the less. We're taking everyone back to Gibralta, hide in plain sight while we work things out." Jack nodded at Gabriel's word, seeing some of the children get lifted from the ground and escorted to the helicopter. Jesse instantly dashed to Gabriel, the man saw the southern boy and dropped to his knee, entrapping the child in a tight hug once they collided.

"Hey there six-shooter, I'm so glad you're safe." The man said as he squeezed tight, kissing the top of the boys dirty mopped hair. Jesse sniffed several times and simply nodded, seeing his rescuer again always brought him happiness, now it was just a relief for Gabriel to be here during their time of need. Everyone began to pile into the helicopter, Jack once again holding onto Hana in his lap while Mercy held Genji in her lap, Hanzo sitting in between the two adults. The rest of the children were silent as they traveled. Nodding off here and there, but staying close to one another. Hanzo looked at his hands resting on his lap, feeling regretful for putting such kind people in danger by being alive.

"Please forgive me…" Hanzo spoke lightly, Jack looked down at the boy, seeing water droplets fall from his face. His hair covering his features, but his tears flowed freely. Jack simply wrapped a free arm around the young teenager, letting Hanzo lay his weight on Jack's side as he silently wept into his shirt. The boy drew no attention from the others, Jack hooked his arm to bring his hand to stroke the boys dust covered hair.

"Shh Hanzo, don't blame yourself. Rest now, you're not going anywhere kiddo, you're staying with us through thick and thin. I promise you that." Jack whispered, he could feel Hanzo shake slightly harder, but still weep silently. Their helicopter traveled smoothly through the sky, Jack and Gabriel stayed silent as the veteran dealt with two children while Gabriel let Jesse rest against his frame as they traveled. Angela joined Jack and Gabriel to discuss the events that took place, Gabriel informed that Ana, Reinhardt, Torbjorn and Zenyatta were picked up prior to Blackwatch finding the Morrison's. Jack shared what he knew about the hacker Sombra, it seemed the name was infamous, especially with Blackwatch. Gabriel raised his eyebrow when the named was mentioned, but he would fill the others in more when they arrived at Watchpoint Gibralta. Jack rested his head on the uncomfortable seat cushion lightly, hoping to grab a couple minutes of sleep. He was out like a light the instant his head touched, holding tight onto his children with a death grip.