*London: King's Row*
"I don't think the scanners were supposed to vibrate this much right?" Lena asked, feeling them rattle against her bones.
"That's odd, Tau, do you have another set?" Iggy asked.
"Those are from my personal inventory, if they say they're vibrating, then they're vibrating"
As soon as Tau finished the sentence, the vibrations began to subside, and they looked at each other with the same thought in mind. Without wasting another second, Lena and Winston moved up to the roofs, impressing onlookers with their mobility.
Dashing to the other side, Lena cursed when they saw that there were not only large crowds, but the special service lines for the authorities and supply trucks that travelled endlessly within King's Row in almost all directions, were brimming with vehicles. With the vibrations around their wrists growing fainter with each passing second, they ran opposite directions.
"Common… Common..." Lena thought desperately when the vibrations subsided, but thankfully Winston picked up the trail.
"Over here!" he yelled, leaping through the roofs, making the vibrations fluctuate every time he leapt across the roofs, which raises the chance that their target is in a moving vehicle.
Problem was, there was a fleet of them.
"I'll scout ahead" Tracer said, reading his mind and Blinked forwards until the vibrations decreased.
"Behind me!" she yelled.
Grunting, Winston picked up the pace and quickly looked down. Between him and Lena, there were two ambulances and three police cars, all of them seemingly just doing their rounds and nothing out of the ordinary.
Normally they would've just jumped down in front of the leading car to stop all of the vehicles in one go, but frustratingly the cars were right next to the busy street. If what Lena's friends and their own suspicions were true, these Omnics were more than willing to take catastrophic actions, either by plowing through the crowds or taking a hostage.
Using each other as a reference point, they adjusted themselves accordingly until they were both running in parallel to an ambulance and a police car, where the vibrations became constant.
"Ready?" Lena asked, checking the power in her Chronal Accelerator.
"Ready"
In a blur, she rushed to the front of the leading car, skimming and running down the walls, before appearing in front of them with her hand stretched out. As the traffic screeched to a halt, Winston remained on the roof, catching his breath and primed himself to jump, anxiously hoping that no one would do anything stupid.
Predictably, the policemen exited the vehicle, demanding to know what was going on, while the ambulance remained silent. At least for a time until the back doors creaked open and a human and an Omnic crept out, neither wearing the paramedic uniform nor looking damaged, and it looked like it was carrying a…
"Sorry Officers! Just doin' a spot check ya know? It'll be over in a jiffy" Lena said loudly, Blinking around the police car and opening its booth, ignoring their protest.
Everyone who saw what was going on started to gather and moved closer to the scene, and just when the ones closest to the ambulance came forward, the ambulance doors burst open. People screamed when both the Omnic and man jumped out, slashing their knives at the closest onlooker.
Winston acted immediately, roaring loudly which caught both attacker's attention, knocking them off their feet when he landed directly in front of them. The Omnic rose first and took an aggressive stance, crouching lower to the ground and the tip of the blade pointed directly at Winston's eyes.
"Drop the knife!" the police officers shouted, pointing their weapons at it.
Winston gasped in pain when a sharp pain shot up his leg. Looking down, he saw the man had already pulled the bloodied knife out of his foot and was already attempting another blow. He winced when the flash of steel flashed, but sighed in relief when a blue blur kicked the knife away from the man's hands.
"That's quite enough" Lena said angrily.
"For the Iris!" the man shouted and clambered up to his feet.
Lena waited for him to throw the first punch, ready to counter the extremely projected and feral attack where the man literally pulled his hand back over his head. A sharp 'pop' sound cracked in the air and the man convulsing to the ground, dropping the hidden knife he had pulled out from the back of his shirt, a sight that made her shiver.
Was the knife intended for her or the crowd?
Seeing the police have moved to detain him, Lena and Winston return their attention back to the Omnic.
"Now are you gonna come quietly or- Where did it go?"
They looked around but any trace of the Omnic was long gone, even the onlookers who were around them realized too late that it had given them the slip. Lena was about to Blink when a sudden thudding came from the ambulance. Signalling Winston, who also heard it, they stood on either side of the door and, with weapons ready, they pulled it open.
"Angie!" Lena gasped.
On the bed was a half conscious Angela, bound and gagged by ropes. Both agents trembled with fear and anger when they tended to her, especially when they saw her pale skin had been cruelly marked and purpled by her bonds.
"Hey, get out of there! We have to talk- Bloody Mary and Joseph! Is that-?" an officer stammered from behind them.
"We can't let anyone see her like this, you got that? Set up a perimeter and give us a way out of here!" Lena demanded.
The stunned officer thought for a moment and nodded. After they made sure that Angela is covered by a blanket, he ferried them to a corner in pretense to inquire them about what happened, and before the few stalking journalists could catch up, he pressed his thumb on the door and ushered them in.
Now in the clear, the officer took off his cap and wiped the sweat off his forehead. This has been an insanely busy day.
Not only was he called back to work overtime and conduct crowd control procedures, he had just dropped off a woman accused of stealing by the Helix Security and the gorilla at the station, he now had to file a report that he just tased a madman who clambered out of an ambulance, and now the very same gorilla is in his apartment with two other Overwatch heroes, one of them was shockingly injured.
All he wanted to do was to go home to his cats and lie down before his shift resumes in the next hour...
"Note to self, stay away from the gorilla" he thought before leading them to an elevator "Our perimeter is around the building, so you're gonna need to take the roof. I've seen y'all jumping around on the telly, so hope all that ain't just special effects"
"Can it hold us?" Winston asks, obviously not recognizing him and is unnerved by the small lift.
"Yes, all of these have been upgraded with Hardlight material, it'll pull up a tank if we can fit one in"
"Thanks, you're a great help luv" Lena smiled.
"Yeah… Here's my card, let me know if you need any help" he said, pulling it out of his pocket and handing it over.
"Got it, see ya!"
When the elevator doors shut, the officer kicked himself.
"A card? Not an autograph or a picture? Stupid!" he scolded himself, but he knew deep down he couldn't ask for those even if he wanted to.
He had dreamed of meeting the heroes of Overwatch, but Tracer has been the one he wished to meet the most. To have a fellow countryman to be recognized as one of the world's primary heroes has always been a great inspiration for him.
Plus. She's hot.
"A card? Never thought I'd see those" Winston said as he checked on Angela.
"Some things don't change, how is she?"
"Unfocused eyes, extremely weak, whatever drug they used, it is strong"
Unbearable frustrations filled Lena. It was bad enough that they allowed Angie to be abducted, but they just lost their best lead to whoever did this, and to add to their troubles, if in such a short time they were able to incapacitate someone with Angie's anatomy, they were either brutal and ruthless in their methods, or had done a study on them and knew exactly what to do.
Once they reached the roof, they looked and only when everyone was looking the other way did they start their journey back towards the Meridian about ten blocks away.
"Captain, we've found her" Lena called and heard Ana sighed in relief.
"Let me speak to her"
"No can do Cap, we're coming to you now, where are you now?"
"Meet me here" Ana said, sending her coordinates.
By the time they burst through the doors, Ana had already set up a makeshift medical bay at the back of the church. Quickly she instructed them to set Angela down on the bed and she pricked various needles into her, administering the usual golden, healing contents that they always see in her darts.
"How is she?" Lena asked nervously after Ana had finished her inspection.
"Her condition is stable but I cannot say for sure unless we go back to base" she admitted.
"Should we take her back now? There's still some time to call in a shuttle" Winston suggested.
"We can't. The base is now full of the people who had consumed food from the Shambali, that is the last place we could send her"
"What about a normal hospital?"
"We can't. Overwatch cannot show weakness now" Ana said, shaking her head.
"Show weakness? Her life's in danger! We cannot be worried about some stupid PR problem now!" Lena shouted, her voice echoing around them.
"Think it through Lena. Angela's advance body can only be properly treated in Overwatch. If the UN loses their confidence in us, they will confiscated everything before we could do anything for her"
"Then what can we-"
"All we can do is wait. Her condition is stable and my medicine should counteract anything harmful that's inside her. Now we do our jobs to keep the peace and only after tonight we send for a transport, I promise"
"We can call one now and pretend she just needs to go back to the base!" Lena countered.
They continue to argue between one another and while the diplomatic Winston tried to guide them to a compromise, an Omnic looked on with interest, deactivating his cloaking device to conserve energy for the event later. Perched high above on a scaffolding, it made itself comfortable and glanced out the window, looking at the statue of Mondatta and the girl that held its hand, an image that it found distasteful.
It should have been an image of Mother guiding these humans, not a simple martyr.
Looking back down, it saw that the Overwatch agents have redirected their attention back on the human. It'll be so easy to just jump down and kill them all right now, its calculations showed an overwhelming possibility of success, however, that would also likely call the event off, thus ruining Mother's plans, so it stayed its blade.
"Report: I have eyes on the sniper, the gorilla and the time manipulator, they're in the cathedral"
"Received. Standby until Zenyatta takes the stage, that is when we strike. Meanwhile, review priority list should the assigned fail to execute their targets"
Priority for Elimination - Assignment
1. Tekhartha Zenyatta
2. Winston
3. Ana Amari
4. Genji Shimada
5. Jesse McCree
6. Pharah (Real Name: Fareeha Amari)
7. Brigitte Lindholm
8. Tracer (Real Name: Lena Oxton)
9. Mercy (Real Name: Angela Ziegler)
10. Zhou Mei Ling
11. Torbjorn Lindholm
"How about the pilot of the Mech? She's a veteran of the Korean-Omnic War, she would be trouble" it asked.
"Capture her at all costs, Mother plans to use her influence over the youths in the planet"
With that said and without the watchful eye of Ana nor Winston, Alpha 1 put down the communicator and began its approach to The Meridian with two others. It had made several attempts to infiltrate the building before, but security has been unusually disciplined, far exceeding the projected vigilance, as if someone with strict military experience was leading them. Combine that under Ana's watchful eye, the building has proved impregnable.
Until now…
"We have a few hours to find where Zenyatta is located" it transmitted to the other two as they climbed the stairway at the back of the street, which leads to a platform.
"We will find him" they replied.
"Remember, he must only be eliminated when he returns"
"Understood"
With a whip of their cloak, they leapt across the gap and entered the building.
*Space*
So different was this compared to their training, Quillion could not help but be reminded that he was riding in a 4D Ride that he enjoyed during his younger years in theme parks. Not only do they have to endure the length of the ride and Moira's motion sickness, but they are faced with an almost impossible obstacle to navigate through with no control over their actions.
Everyone was already strapped back into their seats, their eyes glued to the huge net of rocks that were spiraling towards them like a fog. If anyone was afraid, they did not show it, and the whole room was quiet saved for Sombra, whose fingers danced endlessly over the keyboard. According to her, the God Program would not just shoot rocks towards them without calculating every single projectile's trajectory, and their only hope to pass through this was to key in the rock's positions with the sonar and find patterns to add to a formula.
The shuttle groaned with strain as it swerved with great effort, obeying Sombra's instructions as she bypassed the safety restrictions, using all manner of fuel, air, and other means to increase their speed, so much so that one of their engines suddenly made a crunching noise.
"We're losing Engine 3" Quillion said, looking over to the dashboard.
"Shut up and let me work" Sombra shot back, wiping the sweat off her eyes hastily before immediately resuming her hacks.
Lurching to the side, they narrowly avoided a building sized rock at the cost of smashing into another, cracking the glass. Everyone held their breath when they hit a rock that she did not see, shaking the shuttle so violently that Reinhardt tore off the armrest off his seat, and to make matters worse, Moira was forced to tear off her helm to throw up.
Unfortunately they felt themselves thrown forwards against their restraints as Engine 3 finally gave out in a ball of fire. Cursing endlessly, Sombra pulled her keyboard back up and with one hand, assessed the damages while the other pilots the shuttle.
"We've got a fire back there. Quillion, go take care of it" she ordered.
Before anyone could move, they were thrown around again when they grinded loudly with a particularly long rock that they did not weave clear due to the decrease of speed, inevitably colliding with the one that they tried to avoid, leading to alarms and a loud hissing noise.
"Moira, get your helmet back up! We're losing pressure and air!" Sombra shouted as she slammed hers on "Sigma, can't you put up a shield or suck those rocks with your vortex or something?!"
"I do not create vortexes, I merely take in the kinetic energy of incoming projectiles and harvest their velocity to create-"
"Shut up!"
"Watch out!" Quillion yelled.
It wasn't even supposed to hit them, but a huge explosion behind the boulder changed its trajectory at them. Thousands of pebbles peppered their windshield and blinded them temporarily before the boulder came and cracked the glass further. Before they could regain visuals, their world was torn apart quite literally. None of them saw it coming, whether it was by another change of trajectory, random event, or because they couldn't see, it was a fatalistic error, as their entire cockpit was torn away by a particularly large projectile.
Immediately they were peppered by the smaller debris and the sound was deafening, sending the less battle hardened into a state of panic. Reaper himself was forced to hold Sigma down as he tried to take his helmet off, shouting something about no longer hearing the music, and Quillion had to tend to Sombra.
"Hey you gotta drive this thing!" he yelled over the thunderous thudding against their helms.
"Just be quiet! I just need a moment so just stop the noise!" she yelled, her hands over the side of helmet where her ears are in an attempt to cover them.
Hearing this, Quillion tried to shield her by throwing himself in front of her, but his efforts were wasted when a sharp object sliced through his sleeve and the escaping air almost sent him spiraling out into space if Reaper haven't grab him.
"Everyone! Get behind me!" Reinhardt roared into their ears.
Hooking the head of his hammer where the windshield once was in between some steel bars, Reinhardt braved the incoming rocks, and once he was sure everyone was behind him, he activated his Barrier, giving them a much needed, albeit brief, relief. Not wasting any time, Reaper threw Quillion back onto the floor, and tied Sigma up before moving to Sombra.
"Reinhardt, that's too dangerous!" Quillion shouted, worried for his safety, but the joyful reply bloomed proved that he didn't need to worry.
"Bring! It! On! I LIVE for this!" Reinhardt yelled.
Despite his heroics, they saw that his shield had already begun to crack as they flew forward into another set of rocks. They must take back control of the shuttle.
"Now's not the time to rest, get up" Reaper growled
"We lost the sonar and I can't read the pattern, I don't know what to do!"
"Then just fly this thing, we've got your back"
His words sparked something in her and when she looked up, Reaper was already issuing orders.
"I don't want to see a single rock pass through Reinhardt! If they do, I'll throw you off this ship myself!" he yelled, his weapons forming into his hands.
Soon anything that came heading for the shuttle exploded in a brilliant but complex shower of light and shadow, Reaper's Shadow Launchers barked savagely against the rocks, blasting everything apart with every pull of the trigger. Encouraged by the actions of both Reinhardt and Reaper, Quillion quickly slapped a duct tape over his sleeve, threw open the lid of his case, and pulled out his weapon. Taking aim, he fired a shot and whooped with joy when the beam tore apart a boulder the size of a car.
Encouraged by the destructive power of the weapon and the amount of cartridges that came with the case, he began blasting rocks apart with wild, but disciplined abandon when he realized that the weapon needed exactly a full second to fire a beam with consistent destructive power.
"Say hello to my little friend!" he laughed.
"Haha! I love that movie!" Reinhardt shouted.
Sombra soon collected herself and sat back up on the pilot seat. She knew deep down that all their actions would barely make any more difference than what the windshield had, but their actions drove her hands back to the dance, back to the root of why she became the hacker that she is. Her country needs them to succeed, to be free from the grasp of the God Program that had enslaved them for generations, and like everyone on this shuttle, defiant as they may be, needs her to succeed.
"Brace yourself, we're turning right" she yelled, reading an opening in the net.
But it was a trap as another loud explosion tore the rocks around them apart, requiring the combined efforts of Reaper's Death Blossom and Quillion's Battle Rage to survive through it.
"Read that damn thing properly!" Reaper shouted.
"Easier said than done" Sombra thought morbidly as numbers, patterns, and graphs flashed before her eyes.
"Where did they get so many rocks?" Quillion yelled, destroying yet another considerably large one that took four shots to disperse.
"Haha! We shall ask them when we get there!" Reinhardt said, dropping his shield momentarily to recharge it, whilst anchoring himself further by wrapping belts around his legs.
Another reading came out and Sombra was about to turn to what appears to be the safest route when Moira intervened by clasping a hand over her shoulder.
"What?"
"That reading is similar to the trap just now, we need to go right" Moira groaned, pointing towards a cloud of dust.
"We don't know what's behind that!"
"Trust me"
On any other day, Sombra would rather lose another set of fingers than to trust her, but with Moira's own life on the line, and that she had also understood the same data that she read despite not being a hacker, she gulped and decided to give it a shot.
"Hang on everyone!" she shouted.
Reinhardt grunted and tightened his grip, instinctively squinting his eyes when they charged into the cloud, braving the blindness without his shield, which was still recharging. The rest primed their weapons, braced themselves for any sort of impact, and looked hard, using all of their experience and training to spot the very possible emergence of a shadow or movement though the thickness.
"What's that?" Sombra muttered, her voice just loud enough for the microphone to pick up.
"What do you see?" Reaper asked, not taking his eyes off the horizon.
"The formulas… It just… I don't know…"
"Ends" Moira finished for her, also trying to make sense of it.
Their questions were answered after they cleared the dust and a wall of grey greeted them. Wasting no time, Reaper and Quillion immediately fired upon it, adjusting their aim constantly as Sombra sent the shuttle into a dive in hopes that they would be able to escape by going under it, but it was clear that the maneuver came too late.
"I feel it… I hear it… The music!" Sigma laughed, his eyes glued to the mountain that came at them.
Sensing an opportunity, Reaper shocked everyone when he threw away his launchers and pointed a freshly formed pistol at Sigma. With a pull of the trigger, he shot and let loose the mad scientist free from his bonds, and watched as he flew immediately towards the incoming projectile, his arms wide open as if he wanted to give it a hug.
Either it was his own raw power, or his understanding of gravitational manipulation, or it was the very hand of God at work, Reaper's gamble worked when they saw that the mountain lifted up, revealing clear space behind it.
"We're gonna make it!" Quillion shouted.
They couldn't hear the explosion that ripped the engine part and none were prepared for the sudden decrease in speed. Even Reaper couldn't maintain his balance and everyone hung on for dear life, all except for Reinhardt, who remained standing thanks to the belts around his leg. When everyone stood back up, they saw that though their dive had cleared enough of the distance, there was one more thing that stood in their way.
"Give us more speed!" Reaper shouted.
"I can't! All engines are dead!"
"More speed or we die!"
"Brace!"
*Gibraltar: Overwatch HQ*
With only an hour left before the ceremony starts, McCree paced uncomfortably around the hangar, wishing that Lox would just hurry up. If he didn't order everyone (in the pretense of permitting them to treat the event like a party) to stay in the Mess Hall, he didn't need to be here, but from what Lox said, someone with some combat experience is a must.
"Athena, are they drinkin' the booze I brought out?"
"Yes, I calculate many of the soldiers and staff have already drunk much of your booze"
"Hope they enjoyed it, that's my personal stock" he said disheartedly. He had spent quite a considerable amount of money and time to smuggle all his favorite drinks into the base, and to think that most of it had been diluted into the punch that he had the cooks brew up is indeed a sad day for him.
"I must ask again, how did you manage to smuggle so much alcohol without any of us knowing?"
"Now now, if I told you, I'd die of thirst here"
"Think of it as a potential security breach that I need to know about"
"Aww you don't need to worry about that"
"It is precisely because you saying that is why we should worry"
"Well that's a story for another time, looks like Lox's finally home"
With skill and precision, Lox landed the shuttle quickly and ran out. McCree saw that the man was nervous and because he did not spot him yet, he remained in the shadows to observe why he was so jittery. He didn't need to wait long, as after a few seconds of pacing, Lox pulled open the cargo hold and a man rolled out of it.
"You get me back there! Get me back there!" he shouted.
"L-lets just calm down, I'm sure someone is coming" Lox replied, looking around frantically.
"Get me back there! I can't just let them do this without me!"
"And why exactly do you want to do that?" McCree asked, revealing himself.
"Oh thank goodness, McCree, we need to take him to a place where he could… Calm down?"
"I don't need to calm down! I need to get back!"
"Alright sonny, answer the question, why'd you even wanna go back?"
"Just let me go!"
"Yup, I know exactly what's wrong here" McCree said, putting out his cigar in the palm of his metallic hand.
"What? Why then?" Lox asked.
"He's just bein' a man, aren't ya? Just followin' what comes into your mind first and think about it later"
Without waiting for a reply, McCree just bent over and flung Baptiste over his shoulder, and beckoned Lox to follow as he walked back into the base. Ignoring Baptiste's incessant struggling, they walked until they reached the Barracks, where the Control Team was getting ready.
All of them have been equipped with armor that has been a near perfect blend of flexibility and durability, as Torbjorn's armor technology is flexible enough to mold itself over the padded armor, hardening only when velocities that are equivalent to a light kick meet its surface. Alongside this already formidable equipment, they had access to some of Overwatch's new, non-lethal, response for crowd control.
For the more defensive natured fighters, they were given shields that were fitted with self-balancing measures, so much so that should the wielder be killed or discard the shield in any way, it will act as a solid pillar or obstacle, so long as it touches the ground upright, therefore giving them an option to create a makeshift wall should the need arises.
Their aggressive counterparts, which made up four members of the Control Team, were provided with what Winston called 'Electro Staffs', and worked exactly how anyone would expect. Long metal staffs with high voltage tips that will, in theory, incapacitate anyone with nothing more than a glance against the skin, and for extra security measures, only those whose biometrics have been installed into the handles will be able to use them. Furthermore, in the worst case scenario that they should lose their staves, they were also further equipped with gloves that were equally effective, though each only has a single shock charge.
When McCree walked in, they were testing the equipment out by hitting one another, laughing as they did so.
"Don't that look fun" he commented and they stopped immediately.
"Sir! We're ready for orders" the Sergeant said, raising an eyebrow when he saw that McCree was carrying someone.
"Good, I just need a good lad to take him to the holding cells" he said, indicating Baptiste "The rest of you just stay here until the party starts"
"When would that be sir?" a younger, more enthusiastic man asked.
"Don't worry, you'll know when it happens"
Throwing Baptiste to the ground, McCree left with a worried Lox, who couldn't help but feel that he had gotten to the bad side of the Haitian. He tried to voice his concern to McCree, but only received a laugh in return.
"Common now Lox, he ain't the type that holds a grudge"
"Really?"
"I dunno, I ain't his buddy" McCree said, lighting another cigar "Speaking of buddies, could you do me a favor and stay in the Mess Hall with everyone else? Drinks all around"
"No, I think I'll go to my room, I'm tired from all the flights" Lox said, his eyelids suddenly heavy "And I haven't forgotten what you did to me the last time you got me drunk"
"Hmm? What happened?"
"You signed me up to some arranged marriage! I'm already married!"
"Huh? I don't remember, but alright alright" he said, waving off Lox's attempt to retort "Go to your room, I'm sure you won't be much trouble"
"Excuse me?!" Lox asked angrily at the supposed insult.
"Never mind, I'll see ya in the morning, I hope" McCree said, walking away.
*Space*
Everyone ducked, hoping by some miracle Sigma would lift the massive wall of rock higher, to give them just enough space to squeeze through, but such hopes are forlorn. Sigma wouldn't care enough about them to lift it higher, he would be too busy loving whatever gravitational shifts that he was experiencing. It is true that Sigma's enthusiasm has paved the way for them, however the path was still blocked just by a pillar of stone that is poking out of the bottom. One does not need to calculate to realize that they are going to crash straight into it, and with the current state of the shuttle, it will not survive this collision.
All they needed was a few soul crushing meters… Was it too much to ask after all they've been through? Sombra and Moira laid low on the ground, both silently lamenting at the situation. Reaper was at a loss for words and bravado, dropping his weapons and stared as death finally came to reclaim its long delayed soul. However, none were as frustrated as Quillion, who just sat on the floor and sighed.
Normally he would be happy to go out like this, to be killed by the most dangerous foe that the world's ever seen, to have history remember him as the vanguard who struck first, who gave it his all to ensure peace in the world. This though, was too cruel, and now fully regretting not saying a proper goodbye to Amelie...
Reinhardt however, bore no such thoughts, nor did he cower in the face of overwhelming odds. He was not a fool, knowing full well that he would not be able to withstand this foe alone, so with a flick of his wrist, a blue needle that he had the Russians installed under his suit pierced his skin.
With both hands, he lifted his hammer from the bars, its engines giving birth to the flames that gave light to the shadows like a torch of defiance in the darkness. With overwhelming courage, Reinhardt stood tall before them, a pillar of strength, bravery, and defiance that fully embodies the legacy of the Crusaders. With discipline, he readied his attack that he had perfected from decades of servitude. When the target came into range, he forced courage back into the hearts of everyone as he roared his battlecry, clearly, loudly, and free from any traces of doubt.
Hammer Down!
Everyone's jaw dropped when his hammer struck the pillar, the force so terrifying that everyone, even those on the floor, were forced flat down by the shockwave. From their peripheral vision, the pillar snapped clean when they flew into it with a loud crunch. But they survived! And directly in front of them was Horizon Lunar Colony.
"Thank you Ana" Reinhardt said to himself, looking back towards the direction of London and rolling his shoulders.
"You… You…" Moira gasped, in total disbelief at what just happened.
"Haha! I told you that I will be your shield!" Reinhardt laughed.
Immediately everyone jumped up and gave the Crusader a hug, thanking him profusely for saving them, saved for Reaper, who remained silent.
"Come come Reaper, don't you have something to say to me?" Reinhardt asked gleefully.
"With our engines gone, we cannot land, so what do you plan to do?" Reaper asked Sombra, ignoring him.
His words brought them back to reality and after she accessed the shuttle's mainframe, it didn't take long for her to realize the inevitable.
"Sigma can you hear us?" she called, but received nothing but humming in response.
"Sigma!" she tried again.
"Sigma, I have received permission from Tracer that she will allow you to study her if you help Sombra now" Moira said, which earned an immediate response.
"I am on my way!"
"How did you-? Never mind. Sigma, we need you to control the shuttle, can you do that?"
"No" after a brief pause "I admit that I have used too much focus trying to decipher the orchestra that just occurred, and though the space craft is small, I could barely make sense of the songs surrounding it"
"Fine… Can you slow us down then?"
"Perhaps, given enough time"
"You have 2 minutes" Sombra said, adding the final code into the shuttle.
"Wait, what are you trying to do?" Moira asked.
"The only thing left to do. We are going to crash into the Colony" Reaper said in a matter of fact tone.
"Wait what? You mean landing next to it right? Or land into the Colony?" Quillion asked hurriedly.
"You saw what that God Program could do. Those rocks were the first line of defense, we won't even get in in time if we land next or on it. No, we are forcing our way in" Reaper answered.
Looking at Sombra in hopes that she was not also thinking about doing what Reaper just revealed, they were dismayed when she sat back and looked at the Colony ahead, the nose of the shuttle pointing directly at it.
"Hahaha! Forward my friends, to victory!" Reinhardt laughed as all of them quickly strapped themselves in, pointing his hammer towards the Colony.
It has been a long time since IT has registered this emotion. Could it have been labeled as frustration? Anger? Annoyance? All of the above? IT does not know.
This was a serious miscalculation. If their catapults had not been misplaced, they would not have survived, and even so, by all probability, they should've died. But these humans have once again proved to be a pestilence, and now Her own children will have to meet the invaders, and She took no joy at the prospect that they would have to sully their hands with filth.
She had already predicted where Sombra would land and She had already set Calvin and his horde already waiting for them. In some ways, She had hopes that the invaders would help cull at least 70% of the hamsters, as their numbers have been a concerning factor when it came to their food source.
Peering back to London, She was pleased to learn that Her Omnics have successfully converted Dr Ziegler.
Now the fires of war and Her ultimate victory are absolute.