*Watchpoint Gibraltar*
Genji and Reinhardt stood outside the door, fighting the mounting pressure that had weighed on them for days now and they decided to do this together. Both have rehearsed their words multiple times together and decided now is the time to do it.
Reinhardt reached out to the door first, only to recoil when his hand touched the bronze knob, his courage vanishing in an instant. Genji tried to do the same, only to have similar reactions, he himself had not faced a challenge this monumental in years, if his hands were not mechanical, there is no doubt he would be sweating.
"You know" Athena said, making them both jump "It would be easier if I tell her what you both came for"
"Shh!" both of them hissed, trying to shush the AI.
"If you tell her like that, she might say no!" Genji said as forcefully but quietly as he could.
"We only have one chance to do this so we have to do this ourselves!" Reinhardt continued, equally quietly and looking around nervously.
"I do not understand, but very well, I shall assist you regardless"
Before they knew it, they heard muffled voices from the inside the room and were horrified to hear footsteps approaching the door.
"Athena what have you done?" Reinhardt gasped, summoning every fibre of his willpower to stand his ground.
Genji said nothing, fear clumped in his throat as he did his very best not to dash away around the corridor when the door slid open.
"Oh hello, can I help you?"
Both of them stood with their mouths agape, their mind and body paralyzed.
Before them is none other than THE Hana Song, who looked just as cute as the posters, movies or live streams, even if she looked like she just climbed out of bed.
Her eyes grew wide when she saw who they were and quickly hid most of herself behind the door, embarrassed that these great heroes of Overwatch would see her with messy hair and wearing Jim Raynor pajamas.
Oddly enough, she felt that they were even more nervous than her, seeing that both men were struggling to find words and were not looking at her directly. In fact, she had seen this behavior before, but she brushed it off as wishful imagination.
There is no way that they are here for what she guessed they are here for, even if both of them are hiding something behind their backs with both arms, which looked quite adorable.
"We… We are here to…" Reinhardt finally stuttered but paused.
"What my friend was trying to say is…"
Hana felt her mouth drop when both men moved in unison and revealed what they were hiding.
"May we have your autograph?" they said in perfect sync, both holding a picture of her and a pen each.
Taken aback, she could feel herself reddening in the face and she fought the urge to pinch herself. They are asking for her autograph? Hers?! She was the one who wished that she could have theirs! Who was she compared to these heroes of not one, but two Omnic Crisises! Who fought and sacrificed their literal bodies despite how the world views them whilst she fought within the safety of her Mech and was loved by all undeservingly.
"Then again that's an unfair comparison" she thought, Korea had always had a unique fighting style compared to the rest of the world, focusing on fame and technology to protect their soldiers.
Regardless, she had always held anyone who fought without a Mecha in high regards, having read countless articles that painted heroic and romantic pictures of soldiers who risked everything on the line to protect the people.
"Under one condition" she said, finally found her voice.
"Anything" they said.
*20 minutes later*
"REINHARDT! I NEED HEALING!"
"THEN STOP CHARGING IN AND PROTECT THE TEAM!"
They had not played a video game in years, let alone heard of UnderClock. Reinhardt managed to adapt quickly through the basic tutorials and Genji was confident in his gaming skills from his earlier years.
Still, against someone as skilled as Hana was supremely difficult for both of them, especially when Hana purposefully made them choose characters whose combat styles are alien to them.
Genji was assigned a Tank Class while Reinhardt the Support Class.
As expected, Genji was playing his melee character like a DPS, speeding into the enemy ranks with no regards to protect his team, which resulted in quick deaths. Reinhardt did surprisingly well as a support, having taught Brigitte the finer points of being a Support himself, he did his best to keep the team topped up.
Hana laughed as she decimated them, showing no mercy and took full advantage of Genji's absence to cover his team and deleted Reinhardt's character from the match again and again.
"Common now, if you don't win at least one, you'll never get my autograph" she giggled.
Hearing this, they huddled at the corner of the room during the game's time out to re-strategize.
"This is bad, we must win at least one!" Reinhardt said in a panic.
"If you have healed better, we would've won!"
"Me? If you charge into the enemy team like that, no amount of healing would ever save you!"
This was an unexpected result, they accepted this challenge because they were confident in their teamwork and adaptability, never once expecting that their strengths would not carry over to a video game.
"Fine, tell me, what should I do?" Genji asked.
"Be the team's shield, attack what you can hit, and always be close to the team! And stop touching the charge button!"
"Very well… Then I'd expect you to keep me alive"
"10 seconds boys!" Hana called, grabbing the controls.
This is their last chance and both men knew it. They nodded to one another and shook hands before returning to their controls, their morale and trust to one another reforged.
*One Intense Match Later*
"No… How did this happen?" Genji asked, dumbfounded.
"I… I don't know…" Reinhardt groaned, also staring at the screen.
They did everything right. They moved together as a unit and played so well that Hana stopped eating her chips. They've even pushed the car to the point with less than a metre left to push.
"Both of you stepped off the car before it reached the point" Hana said, pointing to the screen.
Defeated, they hung their heads, ready to uphold the terms that they had agreed upon. However, before they could agree to their loss, Hana pushed the photos they brought back into their hands, each bearing the words 'Love Dva'.
"What? But we lost" Reinhardt said in grateful disbelief.
"This is for giving me a good time, it has been a while since I was so into a match!" she laughed.
Her words lifted their heads and a sense of pride resonated through their souls. Never in their wildest dreams did they think they could give a superstar a good time, let alone actually be able to entertain her in her field of specialty.
Already grateful with her generosity, they nearly cried happy tears when she asked for their autograph. Who were they compared to a celebrity like her? She is a famous movie, gaming, and poster star and was still able to serve in combat, while they could only serve in combat.
Agreeing enthusiastically, they were waiting for her to choose a picture when a knock came from the door.
"Yes?" she called.
"It is Commander Morrison, I would like to have a word"
"Err…" she said, looking at Reinhardt and Genji, who immediately looked nervous.
"I know that who are in there with you, they are part of the discussion too"
With no other choice, they cleaned up the best they could before nodding to Hana. She opened the door and there stood Morrison, who looked even older now, exhaustion laced across his face and eyebags that were becoming more noticeable by the day.
He did not show it, but he was envious at what he saw.
It must be so peaceful to just be able to have your own space without fear of anyone barging in to seek your guidance constantly, free from the brunt of responsibility of a massive organization. To have time to play some games whilst eating snacks, though a waste of time and unhealthy, is a luxury that he wished he could partake in.
"How can I help?" Hana asked.
"You're pretty casual for military" he chuckled, glancing at Reinhardt and Genji, who stood in attention.
"They've always encouraged the Mobile Exo-Force to be casual, keeps us nimble" she smiled.
"If that's the case, permit me to be casual as well"
To Reinhardt and Genji's shock, Morrison reached down and picked up one of the many snacks on the floor and ate a chip before reaching over to the stack of soft drinks on the table and drinking from it.
"Hmm… This is good, I should include this into the Mess Hall" he commented, reading the brand.
"Can I record you saying that? The sales for that brand would shoot right up!" Hana exclaimed, whipping out her phone.
"I don't think so"
"Aww! But they give a portion of their profits to charity! Pretty please with cherry on top?"
His first reaction was to deny the request, but her innocent eagerness moved something in him. It was for a good cause and all he needs to do is to say a few words, to give something good back to the people… Lord knows that he is lacking in that department.
"Very well… One take"
"Yay! Here Genji you hold this, Reinhardt you hold this" she instructed excitedly, passing the phone and lamp into their numb hands.
"Both of you better get this right" Morrison ordered.
After a few uncomfortable minutes, Genji held the phone steadily and Reinhardt remained still as a statue whilst holding the light, they recorded the footage, and with Morrison's explicit permission recorded, she posted it up on social media.
"Look at the numbers go!" she shouted happily, cheering as the view count skyrocketed.
"This is exciting" Genji commented, also looking at the numbers with her.
"Err… Why did you agree to do this?" Reinhardt asked him quietly.
"Overwatch needs to reconnect with the people, with the UN tying up most of our accounts, this is a good way to do it, plus-" he said, making sure to lower his voice "The Koreans are still looking for her, might as well reveal her location now"
"They haven't told them she's here?"
"Nope, they're still thinking of a 'story' and I fear that if it keeps delaying, our reputation will suffer a serious blow"
"But won't they be mad anyway? It's been a few months"
"Which is why we are going to have a talk now"
He allowed Hana and Genji's excitement to die down before asking them to sit at the table. Pushing aside the chips and drinks, he placed a holovid in the middle and a blank script hovered over them.
"As you know, you have left Korea without telling anyone, which means the country is still looking for you and probably will call for punishment for the person who abducted you, aka Lena" he started, key words appearing on the script.
"The difficult thing now is to satisfy the big question. Why are you in Overwatch? Why would we suddenly recruit you into our ranks in such a secretive manner? So secret that you've even left your Mech, Tokki, behind"
"I guess I did go off too suddenly" Hana admitted, remembering how she disappeared right after a major StarCraft Tournament.
"Which is why, what we need right now is a story to work with"
"Wait, whoa, you want me to lie?" she asked, suddenly tense.
"No, not exactly"
*Undisclosed Location*
It did not take long before the news spreaded across the entire structure and everyone quickly verified the DNA that had been sent to them. Normally if it were anyone else, they would just write it off as another insignificant event that they had to crawl out of bed for.
But this time it's different.
"Are you sure it is THE Widowmaker?" the Captain asked.
"Yes ma'am, along with a Jean Baptiste"
"I don't care about him! Are you sure that we finally got her?"
"Yes, the DNA matches with the strand of hair that found in King's Row"
Standing up to her full height, the Captain laughed for the first time in years, her subordinates glancing at her uncomfortably.
This was the day she had waited for since that terrible night. All the pain and suffering she endured finally coming to a close as memories of the past came rushing back.
She was in the crowd, filled with naïve, innocent hope for the peace that Mondatta promised, the union between both humans and Omnics, in the arms of her Omnic lover. He was only able to give a few minutes speech before his bodyguards suddenly cut his speech short and escorted him to the limo.
It all happened so fast.
In one second she was begging for Mondatta to continue his speech, then there was an explosion from one of the rooftops behind them and they saw two people were falling out from it…
Then the impossible happened…
A blink of an eye. That was all it took to destroy the symbol of peace.
The crowd. The world. Watched in despair when Mondatta fell backwards into the limo, his beautiful lights fizzing out as he succumbed to the bullet.
Since that day, she lost everything.
First it was her joy and ambitions to open a car repair shop, all of it burned into ashes by the fires of the Uprising, the violence and the screams that she witnessed that night had affected her horrendously.
Next were her friends, who all refused to accept her relationship with an Omnic, trying their best to break them apart. She remembered that despite her anger that time, deep down she could not truly blame them. The whole country fears the machines and it was only natural that they would buy into the fear.
The constant need to resist the continuous beratement from the public drove her into the false comfort of alcohol.
Finally, the worst loss was her lover. He tried his best to encourage her out of the despair, but even he too cut himself away from her, unable to withstand the pressure from the crowds and her at the same time. Disastrously, he too became one of the radical Omnics hidden underground.
From what she had heard, he was destroyed in one of the many riots that followed in response to the hate.
Then it happened. It was the last of the many months that she wasted away when the news revealed a name. A name that dragged her out from her drunken stupor.
Widowmaker…
That name became the burning drive that had helped her focus over these years. It was this very name that led her to this soul crushing place.
She knew she could never hope to match the famous Talon Assassin, she could only pray that one day, perhaps within her lifetime, Widowmaker would be brought to justice. However, she could not allow herself to be a passive observer of fate, rather she must be its active participant.
She started locally first, speeding through the ranks as a police officer with almost perfect records and surpassing her seniors with an amazing pace. As the war in Russia escalated, so did the opportunities and obstacles that stood in her way, and she took them all in with rage.
There were many times she wondered why the Iris had prepared this path for her, to lead her to this place where even her most ambitious rivals denied to participate. Now she understands why…
This is the place where the Iris has prepared, the reward and blessing for all her hard work, the answer to her prayers. The Iris has granted her to become its judge, jury, and executioner for the death of one of Her greatest children. Mondatta will be avenged under her watchful eye.
She will finally know the answers to all her question.
Why?
Why did Widowmaker have to pull the trigger? Was it for the money? Thrill? Power?
Soon she will know the answers to all her questions… Then… And only then… Will Widowmaker be executed for her crimes.
"Show me"
The holovid streamed a sight that she had dreamt of since that night. Inside an impenetrable box, housed two people, and her eyes immediately locked themselves onto the woman.
She had read reports that differed, some state that her skin was blue, others reported that it was purple. Now she understood why they differ.
"Very well, when your pilot is near, we will send the coordinates" she said.
"Good" Morrison said before cutting off.
"Prepare the cells and warm up the engine" she ordered and made sure it was passed down to the rest.
"Captain, do we prepare the failsafe in case they try something again?"
"Yes, they must know that they will never leave this place for the rest of their miserable lives" she said without hesitation.
*Over the Pacific Ocean*
The trip has been mostly quiet, saved for Sombra who kept humming and studying her new fingers. This annoyed Lena, as she had hoped to talk to Quillion during the trip, but she could only talk about very shallow topics, knowing that Sombra was and will listen to everything they say.
Quillion however, did not have time to be annoyed, nor does he realize that Lena wanted to speak to him. Throughout the flight he was being cautious and alert to any of Sombra's movements, dreading the possibility, however unlikely, that an EMP would go off suddenly that would send them crashing into the ocean, an image that struck fear into him, especially when Amelie is in a glass box.
Besides that, he was also pondering over the details that Morrion gave them.
The mission is simple.
They are to go to a place codenamed Hades. Amelie would carry a tracker on her at all times and when this pace accepts her into their confinement, once she is in the main holding cells, she will activate it and that's when they will spring into action to break them out..
When he asked for the who, where and whys, he was only told that Overwatch needs these prisoners to attack Horizon Lunar Colony.
However, the revelation that Sombra is going to be the head of this operation made him extremely uncomfortable. Why would Morrison send someone like her to lead a secret Overwatch mission?
To add more to the stress, they would occasionally pass various military patrols in the area, both sea and air. Though they have the documentation needed to fly over these areas, it was provided by Sombra, whom they doubted that she had acquired them legally.
Whoever they are breaking out, they are under heavy guard by a well funded operation which seems to have assistance from the local military.
"Alright, this is boring… Quillion, how was life since Venice?" Sombra yawned.
"None of your business" he replied.
"Hey, I'm in charge, so I order you to talk"
"Life was fine" he replied lamely.
"That's it? Thought a guy like you would struggle to find a job or something, given that you're decades too late"
"Lucky me that people still hire cashiers"
"With that hair? I'm surprised anyone would wanna hire you" she laughed.
At her words he unconsciously ran his hand across his hair to try to tidy it up. He was just trying to follow the latest fashion and from what he observed, men with ponytails are the 'in' thing now.
Does it really look that strange on him?
"How about you? Heard you had a little joy ride around the world" she continued, now asking Lena.
"Let's just try to go through this quietly" Lena muttered, staring straight ahead.
"Why? We're still waiting for a call and there's nothing in the sky, I'm sure you can spare a minute, especially since you can control time"
"I don't control time"
"I guess that's true, all you can do is just go back and forth a few seconds as long as that thing works eh? Heard a fair share of people had damaged it too" Sombra said, eyeing the chest piece.
Quillion flinched at those words. Just to be part of the 'fair share' still haunts him, so much so that Sombra noticed.
"Oh no… Don't tell me…" she laughed, looking between them and clapping her hands in glee when both looked away.
"Don't be shy now, how'd you do it and why? I know it must've been hard to catch this slippery one" she asked, placing a hand on Quillion's shoulder.
"I used my knife, I had to find a way to stop Lena from ruining her life- What?" Quillion asked himself, shocked that he replied so casually, even Lena looked at him in shock.
"Oooo, interesting… You think her taking revenge would ruin her?"
"Yes, she is respected and loved by the people, including me, I cannot allow someone so beautiful to- STOP IT!" he shouted, jumping away from Sombra.
"Beautiful? Sounds like you got an admirer" she laughed, looking at Lena, whose face became red "Didn't she tell you that she prefers the ladies?"
"Yes, but she reminded me too much of-"
With a loud slap, Quillion clasped both hands over his mouth, horrified that he was replying so callously and automatically.
Then it dawned on him. His memory storage must've restarted somehow after his near death experience and filled itself with memories once more. Since she is a hacker, it makes sense that she has access to all of it.
Quillion's mind raced, what if she can control more than just words? Is he a liability in this mission? Would she control him like a puppet if things do not go her way? Could he even stop himself if that happened? How much control does she have over him now?
Angered by this, Lena locked Sombra into a headlock.
"You stop what you're doing or else…" she demanded, threatening to squeeze.
"Aren't you a charmer"
"How long have you been in control of him?" Lena asked angrily.
"Would you prefer the truth or the lie?"
When Lena's grip tightened, Sombra relented.
"Okay okay, I never had alright? I can only access that memory bank in his brain, which I guess is connected to his mouth"
"That doesn't even make any sense!" Quillion shouted, muffled by his own hands.
"To be fair, it's this new tech" she said, brandishing her fingers for them to see "But that's the most I can do, I can't control you more than that"
"Let's put that to the test, shall we?" Lena asked and tightened her grip.
"Lena!" Quillion shouted as Sombra started to choke.
"Stay where you are!" she ordered before turning back to Sombra "Common then, make him save you"
Quillion watched, horrified at the lengths Lena is willing to risk. It is true that they had to test if Sombra's words are true, but this would be the last thing he had in mind. Regardless, the need to know rooted him on the spot, ignoring the burning rage to stop this almost inhumane interrogation.
"I think that's enough" he said as Sombra's face turned purple.
"Just a little more..." Lena grunted.
He waited until Sombra's was on the verge of passing out before dashing forward and prying Lena's arms open. He pushed her to the corner while Sombra collapsed to the ground and gasped for air.
"Enough" he said, looking her in the eye.
"Is this you? Or her?"
"It's me"
Satisfied, she turned her face away from him, ashamed of her impulsive actions and started to cry when the full realization of what she had just done sinked in.
"Huh? Hey common-" he began, confused at this reaction.
"Aren't… You two cute…" Sombra choked, massaging her neck, and when she tried to get up, Quillion stood over her with fire in his eyes.
"Can you do it? Can you control me like a machine?"
It is rare that Sombra felt genuine fear. For a moment, she thought she saw the shadow of Soldier 76 flash across his face. Whether that is because he was the foundation of the Super Soldier Program or because she was nearly choked out, she does not know, only that she must convince them of the truth now.
Problem was, she don't know how.
"Hades calling Tracer, Hades calling Tracer, do you read us?"
Wiping away her tears, Lena quickly answered the call.
"Tracer here, y'all ready for the package luvs?"
"Sending coordinates now" the caller said, sounding annoyed at her choice of words.
Thankfully, it is just another short trip further South, so they sped towards it, eager to get there quickly so they can stay away from one another. Quillion grabbed a pair of binoculars to assist Lena but he was puzzled at what he saw, even triple checking the coordinates to make sure.
They were told that they will be 'delivering' to one of the most secure locations in the world, so he imagined towering walls or an island with impassable oceans battering it.
All they saw however, was a calm ocean and…
More ocean.
"No islands, fortress, ships, nothing" he commented, rubbing his eyes to clear the flare from the sun's reflection.
"Odd… You. You know anything?" Lena asked Sombra with no hint of remorse.
"Maybe you flew at the wrong direction"
This was a cheap jab, even by her own standards. She knew that there were no errors in the flight path, and even if they were, Athena would have informed them.
Excitement began to rise when they reached the area (still just ocean). She had seen snippets of references to this place and her efforts to study more about it were frustrated because these people had wisely used word of mouth instead of digital methods when referring to this place.
Now she wondered if that was a response to her after she went public with her global security hacks, as that was when the trail went cold.
Truly this is unexplored territory.
Quillion and Lena were the opposite, regretting to even accept a mission like this. They had thought that they would be breaking out an old Overwatch member who had been captured by some random terrorist group, but that had become extremely unlikely.
There were too many unanswered questions to predict the outcome nor who they were up against in this mission. What they know so far is the rendezvous point is in the middle of a well patrolled ocean.
"I think your coordinates were wrong, there's nothing around here 'cept the Mariana Trench" Lena called.
"Standby"
Hovering in the area, they were looking around for any evidence of land when they realized the waters started to behave differently.
Adjusting their position, what they saw inspired awe.
Like a sleeping giant of legends, the waters parted as it ascended from the depths, its mighty hulls exposed to air for the first time in months, the construct so large that waves were born from its presence.
When it stopped moving, an opening groaned open at the back, so loud that even they could hear it in the shuttle. Finally a platform rose up and they received permission to land.
It's no wonder why it is a secure prison. Nothing can be more secure than a submarine that hovers over the Mariana Trench.
"Ready?" Quillion asked Lena, hoping for an encouraging word from her.
She did not say anything, rather she looked nervous. He does not blame her, not only that being in confined spaces would severely limit their combat capabilities, they must be extra careful to do anything that would spark an explosion underwater..
Sombra wasted no time to walk down to their personal storage area just behind the seats and pulled out an advanced looking suit. Quillion followed to collect his own gear, but not before glancing at the suit and realized whatever that is written on it was Russian.
"You do like what you see" she said when she noticed him looking at her.
Rolling his eyes, he quickly rethinks about what he could bring, wondering why Morrison would ever say that they are perfect for this mission.
Because he was convinced that this is a prison break, he brought plenty of explosive rounds and explosives. Now that they are going into an oxygen filled submarine, these are absolutely not an option. He would need to use more oxygen friendly munitions, which practically only leaves him his knife.
However, the biggest surprise was when they landed and saw the people who would greet them marching onto the deck.
They were all wearing United Nations helms and uniforms.
"UN? We're breaking someone out from a UN facility?" Lena asked worryingly.
"We are breaking a few out of the UN facility" Sombra corrected.
Things were getting out of hand fast, but before they had time to rethink their plan, the shuttle landed and someone was already knocking on the door.
After turning invisible, Sombra opened the door and a squad of armed men marched in.
"Lieutenant Oxton? The Captain has requested for your immediate presence- Who is this?" the Sergeant asked, surprised to see that there was another passenger.
"He is my Corporal, lead the way" Lena said quickly, Blinking between them.
"This way Lieutenant"
"What's the plan?" Quillion whispered.
"I don't know"
"Oh and Lieutenant?" the Sergeant said, pausing at the door "Welcome to Hades"
Hey all, just thought that I should explain a few things here to hopefully make this chapter more entertaining.
1. Yes. UnderClock is a word play on the game Overwatch (pls don't sue me)
2. The Captain is the blonde woman who screamed "No" in Overwatch - Alive Animated Short (Timestamps: 1:28, 4:41), thought I'd give her some additional roles.