Brigitte was frozen in fear. Never before had she seen such a hulking figure that intimidated her. For most of her life, she and Reinhardt stuck together and he was a monster of a man. Hell, the omnic in Paris didn't strike her with the fear and intimidation she was feeling right now. The 'thing' blended into the shadows well, with its void-like black coating. Its only discernable feature was its menacing blood red eyes that stared back at her. 'What kind of omnic model was this? Is it Null Sector? Talon?' So many questions rushed through her head like rapids in a river but no answers to satisfy them. The 'omnic's' head slowly peered around, taking in its environment. Its arms strained as it lifted a large object in its hands. Brigitte had been so shocked that she didn't even notice that thing was armed. The weapon looked similar to Winston's Tesla Cannon but it wasn't white like her friend's, instead, the weapon had a robust shape with a thick barrel surrounded by a metal frame. It let out a low hum as the omnic gripped it with its cold hands and aimed it away from the ground. She was about to call out before two shots rang through the air. Cassidy had pulled a fast one on the omnic and was able to knick the bullets in between the joints on the arm.
"It's armed! Everyone, take it down!" The cowboy gruffly ordered. As the order left his mouth, everyone had begun attacking the omnic from all directions. Tracer blinked around, confusing the omnic as its head swiveled trying to keep its eyes on her but was quickly interrupted by Reinhardt and Brigitte tag-teaming it. The German Crusader charged from its left with his suit's afterburner while she charged with her shield from the left. What resulted was the godfather and goddaughter duo crashing into each other as the omnic was barely able to avoid the incoming attack by dashing backward. Winston charged his Tesla Cannon to its maximum output before unleashing a wave of electricity into the shadow omnic. The surge of energy crashed into the omnic but to the scientist's surprise, it did not affect the omnic when usually that amount of power would short-circuit. It hunkered over, trying to shield itself from the oncoming assault. Cassidy and Fareeha regrouped with each other and began to lay waste. The Egyptian woman activated the thrusters in her Raptora suit, launching herself into the air. Her missile launcher launched a barrage of explosives that didn't even dent the armor as she flew around, hitting it from every angle when she was shortly joined by Echo, as the Overwatch robot did the same.
Their cowboy teammate took a more thorough approach, he took his time with his shots and tried to aim between the linings and joints. He'd hope that one of his shots would land in a wire or knick something that would shut it off but to no avail. Mercy hung back with Genji, frantically yelling at him to wake up while trying to reboot his systems. Underneath his cybernetics, the ninja could do nothing but watch in frustration as his friends fought the intruder while he sat on the sidelines, being utterly useless. He could try to talk to the doctor - maybe scream - but without his mask's voice modulator, no sound would make it beyond his helmet. Mei and Baptiste were smart enough to stay well away from the fight, opting for a ranged attack. The Climatologist was lucky that she had a backup of her backpack and reconnected it with her ice launcher. Shards of icicles flew through the air before landing on the omnic's head. Kneeling on the ground and her weapon propped on top of a chair, Mei took the role of the marksman as she landed icicle after icicle on the eyes of the omnic. The intruder had just about enough of the attacks before slamming its foot, creating a shockwave that knocked everyone back, except for Fareeha and Echo, who were still in the air when it happened. Without warning, it lifted its weapon at Tracer who had the unfortunate luck of being the closest person it could find before the weapon let out a high-pitched whirring noise. Brigitte's eyes widened in horror as she saw what was about to happen, and was just able to tackle her British friend to the ground before a thick red laser flew over them both, disintegrating the wall behind them, which left a large hole. The Swedish brunette activated her shield and moved back with Tracer behind her.
"Everyone, find cover!" She yelled before another beam sliced through the air in an attempt to hit Echo who had garnered its attention. The roof split open as a result, exposing now-broken wires with sparks flying out. The New Overwatch members began moving on the defensive, using anything they could find as cover. Reinhardt saw to protect Genji and Mercy who were still on the ground. He was just able to activate his shield before a barrage of lasers shot out in their direction. To his surprise, his shield was already at half health and was rapidly decreasing. Whatever this weapon was, it was powerful and dangerous. The assault continued until Winston came from behind while it was preoccupied and barged into the omnic, knocking it forward but not to the point of it falling over. With it distracted, Reinhardt was able to recharge his shields while Mercy successfully rebooted Genji's body. She let out a sigh of relief as the all-too-familiar green glow returned and shined brighter than ever. The cyborg gave the swiss medic a quick thanks before leaping headfirst into battle yet again. He maneuvered himself around the omnic, similar to Tracer, and was able to confuse it as well, thanks to his slim physique and unpredictable acrobatics. His shurikens were unexpectedly able to dent the armor by just a bit, some even getting stuck. In retaliation, the omnic began to focus on the silver and green nuisance which resulted in various missed shots. While distracted, Fareeha smirked in confidence as her suit expanded in excitement, which meant one thing to her and her teammates. The Raptora's shoulder panels flipped open, and two launchers slid out. Numerous missiles were contained on both sides. Her gauntlets followed suit, both under her wrists and on top of her forearms; more launchers revealed themselves.
"Clear the area! Rocket Barrage incoming!" Fareeha announced. Dozens upon dozens of missiles were launched in quick succession toward the omnic. Afterward, a mountain of explosions erupted where their opponent stood, as missile after missile landed on target or in close proximity to it. The attack lasted a full minute until Fareeha exhausted her suit's supply. As the smoke settled, they had thought the omnic would be reduced to a pile of scrap. Oh, how wrong they were. The omnic stood, unfazed by the unrelenting assault, seemingly shrugging off the missiles shot at it. Its red eyes menacingly turned towards the blue-suit woman, staring at her. In a last-ditch attempt, Fareeha shot another missile at her adversary from her launcher but to her – and everyone's – surprise; it caught the rocket. The Egyptian stared awestruck by the act while the omnic inspected the projectile before crushing it in its palms like a piece of paper. In the blink of an eye, another laser was shot from its weapon. With no time to react, Fareeha tried to dodge but it was futile as the red beam made contact with one of her thrusters. Her suit let out a blaring siren, notifying her of the damage and informing her that she must land or continued use would result in an explosion. Thankfully, she landed next to Winston, who was covering Mei and Baptiste. The omnic's attention was then drawn to Cassidy, Reinhardt, and Brigitte.
"My thrusters sustained too much damage. I'm afraid I've been grounded." She informed the gorilla. Winston hastily nodded before charging in again with his Tesla Cannon. Thinking he caught it off guard, Winston fired another surge of energy into its back. Unfortunately, this did nothing. The omnic's hand grasped Winston's weapon in a snap while still looking at his other teammates before flinging Winston and his weapon into a wall with ease. Reinhardt huffed in frustration, he had just about enough of this. Deactivating his shields – against Brigitte's protests – the German Crusader initiated his suit's thruster and launched himself into the omnic, pinning it against himself. The old man laughed in victory as he slammed the omnic against the wall with such force that it made a crater around them. His eyes met its and the two froze in place for a few seconds. Reinhardt was about to commend himself on his victory before the omnic lifted its right leg and forcefully spartan kicked the crusader off which sent him crashing into an opposite wall. A purple beam struck the omnic from behind, it turned to be met with Zarya, wielding an equally humungous weapon. Hers may even be bigger than the omnic's weapon. It slowly turned to the Russian, ignoring the rest of its opponents but unlike Brigitte, Zarya didn't waver. She stared down the dark figure before charging up her weapon again for another attack. Realizing what was about to happen, the red-eye menace unleashed its beam first but Zarya still refused to move. Her teammates yelled at her to move but instead, she pushed a button on the side of her weapon and a purple shield instantly encased her. The red beam slammed into the shield, pushing against it in an attempt to break its integrity. Zarya's stone-cold face soon morphed into concern as she noticed the thickness of her shield slowly withering away. She couldn't hold out much longer.
"I could use some assistance!" She yelled, trying to keep her balance. Winston was growing frustrated and exhausted by the minute. They needed to end this now before anything fatal could happen. He looked to Genji and then Reinhardt, giving both men a nod. While its attention was yet again diverted, the gorilla took off his glasses before tucking them in his pocket. Zarya had shut her eyes, focusing all her strength on her stand, until she heard an ear-shattering roar followed by the sound of metal violently slamming against the wall. Her attacker was not in front of her anymore but instead stuck in the wall. Where it once stood was Winston but he was looking significantly angrier… and red. The now wild Winston leaped into the air before slamming both fists into the chest of the omnic driving it deeper into the wall before yanking its leg and hurling it into the center of the room. It wasn't able to compose itself before the German Crusader took his swing at their opponent.
"Hammer down!" He the man cried out before the floor cracked beneath the omnic. The hammer strike sent a shockwave that forced the intruder onto its back but it wasn't over. Just like before, Reinhardt activated his thruster and charged into the omnic, this time without any resistance. The result had the omnic pinned against the wall again but before it could strike back, Reinhardt's hammer slammed against its face. This caused it to go flying across the room and land in a corner. Winston returned to the fight, still as angry as ever, and began to wildly swing at his enemy while it was trapped in the corner. Thankfully its weapon had been lost in all the confusion and had been retrieved by Brigitte who had begun trying to dismantle it. As Winston continued his barrage of punches, something changed. His primal rage gave him extreme tunnel vision but his conscious still noticed an amber glow originating from the omnic's right hand. When he glanced over to hit, he was met with a fist full of metal which flung him back. By now, he had exhausted his rage and returned to his normal state. Now he could clearly see that the omnic's right hand had changed into something else. It looked like a rectangular hunk of metal but it looked similar to a Doomfist's hand. Several pipes and servos ran across the surface with steam hissing out. On top of the knuckles was a slab of metal that connected to a pair of hydraulics. It extended outwards before swiftly retracting settling against the mold of the fist. 'Where did it get that?' Winston thought to himself, confused. Reinhardt confidently went in for another swing, commenting on how small and fragile the weapon was, only to be uppercut by said fragile weapon. Tracer blinked toward it, effortlessly dodging its punches. Her movements landed her next to the omnic before she let out a concentrated fire on the fist. It did not do such much as a scratch. Frustrated by her failure, the Brit reluctantly chucked her Pulse Bomb. It successfully stuck to the hand and promptly exploded. She was able to Recall just in time, appearing next to Mei and Baptiste. The explosion didn't damage the hull or the arm but did manage to break the fist. With no eyes on him, Genji ran across the wall, thanks to his cybernetic body and years of training. He leaped off the wall before unsheathing his blade, a green dragon paired with it.
"Ryūjin no ken wo kurae!" His blade sliced against the shoulder pieces, cutting them off in one swift move. He then aimed for the legs, cutting through the armor with great difficulty. Never before had something resisted his blade this much. The green cyborg ninja jumped around, confusing the omnic. Expertly dodging its punches, Genji was able to get behind it. He noticed a panel of metal that looked to be covering something and without hesitation, sliced it before sheathing his blade. Throwing a few more shurikens, he returned to Reinhardt who was now recovering from his attack. All thirteen members of New Overwatch observe the omnic drop to one knee, sparks and steam escaping the damage. Cassidy took a step closer to the intruder, pointing the barrel of his revolver at one of its eyes.
"Now, I'm going to ask you two questions, and you're going to comply. What the hell kind of omnic are you and who sent you?"
"What is an omnic?"
"Great, it's sentient," Cassidy sarcastically remarked before motioning his teammates to join him, "Now who's your maker? Null Sector? Talon? Or someone else?"
"I serve no one."
"Well, clearly you must. Omnic's ain't born, they're made in omniums to serve themselves or someone else."
"You think… I'm a robot?" Its garbled voice filled with confusion. Cassidy raised an eyebrow before the omnic stood up with its arms lifted diagonally to its side. Everyone immediately jumped back and raised their weapons. The back side of the omnic began opening up. Its arms, legs, and torso all revealing to be a suit of armor. The members of New Overwatch surrounded the suit and were shocked to see a figure step out of the suit. The pilot was a man tall, standing around 6ft 4. He wore a long brown trenchcoat with fitted dark green reinforced shoulder plates, recoil-compensating armor woven into the forearms, and armored knee guards. Underneath was what looked like to be old riot gear armor. There was also a canteen attached to the belt and a bandolier that spans across the chest plate, along with a strap of pouches. The helmet was intimidating, to say the least. It seemed to be a combination of an old police riot helmet combined with a gas mask. It had additional green tubes on its gas filter as well as an antenna connected to the flashlight on the right side of the helmet. Just like the suit of armor, the eyes glowed a menacing blood red that showed no hint of emotion from its wearer. Strapped to his back were a large sniper rifle and an old M16 rifle. Holstered on each side were a revolver and a pistol. 'Such odd weapons.' Cassidy commented to himself. Seizing the opportunity, Fareeha and Zarya pointed their weapons at the mysterious person to which he responded by arming himself with his sniper rifle in one hand and his assault rifle in the other. The rest of New Overwatch responded in kind by drawing their weapons.
"This doesn't have to end in a shootout." Cassidy calmly said.
"Says the man who shot first." He responded, their voice equally distorted and low as it was in the suit. Winston took a step forward which caught the intruder's attention.
"Drop your weapons and we can talk this out. We have you thirteen to one."
"I like those odds," He stated neutrally. The air was still. No one moved or said anything. In his head, Cassidy couldn't help but relate the situation to those old western movies with the cowboy standoff in the middle of town. All they needed now was a tumbleweed to roll past them and a guitar riff. The cowboy's eyes squinted at the red eyes with his thumb brushing over the trigger. He was about to squeeze said trigger when the figure spoke again, "Where am I?"
"You're at an Overwatch watchpoint in Gibraltar, Greece."
"What year is it?"
"2077."
The intruder's shoulders slumped upon hearing the date. Tracer seemed to notice that there was a change in him. Even with the helmet on, she could tell he was confused and maybe even shocked. His body language was also a dead giveaway. The slight shifting of weight from his back foot, to the loosened grip of his weapons. But that all changed in the blink of an eye as all those changes reverted and aimed his weapons. Genji managed to break the intruder's line of sight and snuck behind him. He gave a nod to Winston asking for the scientist's approval. Darting his eyes back and forth between the two, Winston gave Genji a subtle nod.
"Who are you peo-" Was all he could say before Genji knocked him out with the blunt end of his wakizashi. The figure fell face-first onto the ground and so did his weapons. Unfortunately, the resulting force of the drop indirectly activated the trigger of the sniper rifle which shot a large bullet that flew between Mercy and Brigitte before hitting the chair behind them which broke into pieces.
"Well, now that's over; what now, Winston?" Asked the Egyptian.
"Angela, take him to the medical bay and sedate him, then do a check. After that, put him in a vacant cell. Athena will seal the doors and windows then… we'll get answers."
…
The Courier opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, trying to adjust to the room's lights. As he sits up, a rough groan leaves his lips as he feels a throbbing pain at the back of his head. His right hand shot up to the area on his head that hurt and rubbed it, trying to numb the pain. It was then he noticed how light his body felt and panicked at the realization that he was no longer wearing his Elite Riot Gear armor. He now wore a dark grey long-sleeved shirt with a mysterious symbol on the top right, black pants, and grey boots. His equipment, clothing, weapons, or Power Armor were nowhere to be seen in the room. Looking at his left arm, The Courier let out a sigh of relief as he was still wearing his Pip-Boy. This once again proved how stubborn the Vault-Tec device was which put his mind at ease, for the time being. He checked the Pip-Boy, looking over his vital signs, and was surprised to see that he was in peak condition. No bleeding, bruises, or bullet holes.
The Courier looked around his room and the first thing he noticed was that it was clean, too clean for what he was used to. The walls seemed to be made out of a combination of metal panels but they weren't in ruins or broken like he's seen a thousand times before in the wasteland. The bed that he woke up in actually felt comfortable contrastingly to the firm mattresses that remained in the Mojave. There was another room across from his bed with a closed door. As he got up and stepped closer, it opened on its own. The door revealed a bathroom with a shower, toilet, sink, and mirror. And like the outer room, all of them were clean. It made The Courier feel uneasy, how sterile the environment was. It was all alien to him. He left the bathroom to look for an exit but unsurprisingly, there was no door except for a wall of glass. He briefly pressed his fingers against it, noting how similar it felt to the Lucky 38's windows; thin but tough as hell. There were sections of dark grey metal across the walls that he could only assume blocked off the windows so he couldn't escape. 'Great, I'm in the cleanest room I've ever seen, and it's my prison.' He irritatedly sighed at his predicament. First, the Transportalponder Mk II fucks up and he's somehow in the past. Second, his equipment is missing – save for the stuff he has in his Pip-Boy – including said Transportalponder Mk II. Third, he was being held by people who could do things beyond human capability, oh and a talking monkey. That last one did perplex the wastelander but his main concern was escaping. He turned back and entered the bathroom yet again, curious to see how clean the water was. After removing his clothes, he stepped into the shower and twisted the knobs and the faucet ran. The Courier touched the water and let it run over his hands. The water was warm. It was comforting, relaxing, and radiation-free. He embraced this new feeling as the water trickled over him. He spent the next few minutes washing the dirt and grime off his body. Drying off with one of the towels that hung next to the shower, The Courier for the first time in a long time, felt clean. He rubbed his hands over his face, briefly forgetting how his skin felt with all the gunk washed away. But no matter how good The Courier felt, it was still wrong. It was a strange battle within himself. One side tells him to seize the opportunity to enjoy this level of comfort while the other so the improvement in his quality of life was something that could make him soft and weak. The Courier was anything but. Uncomfortable with his new clothing, The Courier summoned his Veteran Ranger Armor that he 'gifted' himself from Camp Golf. The red lenses covered his eyes as he put the helmet on. The hefty weight of the duster felt familiar to him, which gave The Courier comfort.
He sat on the bed yet again, conflicted about his next course of action. He could leave right now, with the Q-35 Matter Modulator being able to melt the glass door away just sitting in his inventory, but deep down he knew this required a more diplomatic approach. Reluctantly, he resisted the urge to shoot first and ask questions later and decided to wait until his hosts decided to interrogate him. Then, he'll get some answers himself.
…
Dr. Angela Ziegler looked over the x-ray for the fifth time in the last half an hour. The doctor was awestruck by the number of anomalies in the intruder's body. With the amount of bullet and stab wounds this man had, he should've been dead ages ago. She ran her hand through her hair in confusion and frustration, trying to contemplate the state of her latest patient. 'Who was he?' Deciding the rest of the team needed to see her report, she left her office in search of them with her holopad in hand. Her heels clopped against the concrete floor, echoing throughout the hallway. She entered Winston's laboratory and luckily everyone was present. The suit of armor the intruder had used was planted against the window of Winston's laboratory and stood up. It was being looked over by Reinhardt, Hana, Echo, Fareeha, and Birgitte. The rest were gathered around the gorilla's desk, staring at whatever was on display. Moving closer she sees what had her teammates so interested: weapons. The sniper rifle, assault rifle, revolver, and pistol all lay on the desk disassembled, thanks to Cassidy.
"What are you all doing?" She inquired with a hint of curiosity.
"Having a look at our mystery man's weapons. Gotta say these are really old school, even for me," Cassidy chuckled to himself, hand firmly placed on his revolver. His eyes then shifted to the laser weapon that the intruder wielded in the suit, "But this thing is a real conundrum, even Winston hasn't seen anything like this before. We can't even pull it apart."
The gorilla adjusted his glasses before leaning in for a closer inspection. "Cassidy is correct. This design almost seems out of this world. I had Athena scan it but she couldn't find anything."
"Maybe he made it himself?" The swiss doctor suggested. This only made Winston's brows furrow.
"Even if that were the case, we'd still be able to identify some parts of the weapon, namely the power core. His other weapons however seem… ancient."
Angela turned her attention back to the other firearms on the table. She had to agree with her colleague. She was not one to indulge with firearms herself but she knew that the designs before her were something an antique collector would have. The assault rifle with a wooden finish had a design that had since been phased out decades ago, maybe even centuries. She didn't doubt their lethality mind you, but it wasn't a weapon Talon would use. Her attention was drawn to the fist-looking weapon to the side. Upon further inspection, she could gaze at the meticulous outer workings of the object. With its two cylindrical tubes that connected to the metal plate that extended outwards. This had been the weapon used when the laser firearm was dropped. Picking it up, she slipped her hand into it and immediately noticed how much free room there was for her slender arms.
"Whatever you do, don't punch something. That metal plate on the knuckles extends out pretty quickly with enough force to destroy a training bot," Cassidy warned her before she put it down, "Trust me, Winston and I tested it." He pointed out the window which had a view of the bottom floor. Sitting there was a pile of scrap metal that looked vaguely similar to the training bots they used. She then walked past the two and looked over the suit that stood well above everyone. Getting a closer look, Angela could make out the scratches and marks that her friends inflicted in their battle but she could discern that some of the damage had been dealt with well before their fight. The ominous red eyes of the helmet stared lifelessly at her which made the doctor uneasy, which she rarely was. Brigitte and Hana, however, were anything but. They moved around the armor fascinated by its unique design.
"It's just so… intimidating. And our weapons barely made a dent in its hull. I wonder what materials he used?" Brigitte spoke aloud. She grazed her fingers against the torso. The surface was smooth and cold against her touch. When she and Reinhardt carried it over, it didn't feel too heavy given its size. Reinhardt's Crusader armor was heavier yet it didn't have the durability of the suit that stood before them. Her eyes wandered to the helmet and took it. She inspected it closely, soaking in every detail, every scratch, every mark. Peeking inside, Brigitte could tell that it was a highly advanced technology that rivaled New Overwatch and talon. But such technology would've been known to them by now. 'Where did this man come from?' Out of curiosity, she put on the helmet and it immediately dipped to the side under its weight. Luckily, she was able to keep herself upward. The world around her became much different, namely the red filter. What was most interesting was that Brigitte's teammates were all highlighted in amber. At the top of the screen was the word, 'Danger' flashing in red. She figured out that this was some sort of targeting matrix used to determine friend from foe.
"I don't know what it's made of but it's nothing compared to my Meka. Bet this thing can't even fly." Hana stated, confidently. The 19-year-old looked over the back of the suit, trying to determine where the power source was but to no avail. This is what frustrated her about the armor's design; the fact that it was simply impenetrable. Everything was covered and despite the guy exiting the suit, no one could find a way to make the suit open up. Fareeha was still utterly embarrassed about her performance in the battle. Her missiles did nothing to the armor. Nothing! Not even her Rocket Barrage could stagger him. She needed to make improvements on her suit and launcher so something like this could never happen again. 'And on my first day with New Overwatch as well.' She glumly thought to herself. Reinhardt was more focused on the sheer strength the suit gave its user. He had to admit that this man was the only person in the last eight years that truly challenged him with a suit that rivaled his Crusader armor. Glancing over at the helmet, he noted that even a strong swing from his hammer wasn't able to crush the helmet. If he got the chance, he'd like to speak with this man. Brigitte, Fareeha, and Hana thought the same.
The man's clothing hung against a wall. Mei, Baptiste, Echo, Zarya, and Genji gravitated toward it, all keeping watch of it. Baptiste was more interested than the others. He could tell by the style of the armor that it was military or mercenary-grade, but he was yet to determine who it belonged to. Mei was rather intimidated by the red eyes of the helmet. Now that she thought about it, the armored suit he wore also had red eyes. 'I wonder why that is?' She thought to herself. Echo and Genji were more intrigued by the markings on the armor, namely the white star on the side of the helmet. What did it mean? They were yet to determine what it represented.
"It is such an odd design. Maybe Talon is diversifying its armor designs. Baptiste, what are your thoughts, given your past with them?" The cyborg asked his Haitian teammate.
"This is nothing like what I've seen. I was active in an elite task force so we were given pretty advanced armor. But this… it's beyond my level of knowledge within Talon," He then pointed to the white star that was situated on the left side of the helmet, "This symbol. I have never seen it before. It may very likely be military or special forces. Which one it is, I couldn't tell you."
Mei took the helmet in her hands. The first thing she noticed was how heavy it was. She tapped her fingers against it to check its density. Little to no noise was produced. That meant that the helmet's coverings were thick. Despite its wear-and-tear aesthetic, the surface was surprisingly smooth and cool to the touch although, the red lenses were quite warm when activated. The antenna on the right side of the helmet caught the climatologist's interest, having worked on antennas at Ecopoint: Antarctica. Due to its compact design, Mei concluded that it was meant for shortwave use, reliant on local networks rather than worldwide use.
"Whoever this guy is, he sure knows how to keep himself safe. This helmet is tough. Nothing's ever getting through this." Mei commented.
"Well," Dr. Ziegler started, turning to Winston. "Have you been able to use this equipment to identify who he is?"
"Unfortunately, no," Winston responded honestly. "What baffles me is how this man's gear is outdated and has long since been made redundant, but the suit of armor. If Athena's scans are correct, then it's more advanced than any omnic or mech suit currently known. What about you? Have you been able to determine anything about him during your evaluation?"
"Yes, I have," The doctor stated as she placed her holopad on the desk and opened a set of images. "Athena, can you please project the images on my pad?"
"Of course, Dr. Ziegler." Athena complied, and a series of images of what seemed to be x-rays appeared before everyone. It was a full-body scan of him. Each image presented a different aspect of his body. One displayed his skeleton, another was his nervous system, another which showed his organs, and the final image depicted his skin tissue. Everyone noticed some irregularities in each image, which Angela noticed before she explained.
"I conducted a full-body scan on him to determine if he had any injuries to treat. He had none though," This irked a few people, particularly Fareeha and Tracer who were frustrated about the one-sidedness of the fight, "But I did find some interesting things about him," The screen then flicked to a display of the man's body with certain areas highlighted in various colors, "Well...where do you want me to begin?" Angela asked, taking off her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose, letting out a heavy sigh before she slipped them back on "Physically? Twenty-five percent of his body is at least covered in scar tissue, at least! Gunshot wounds, lacerations from knives and other sharp objects, burns that would give an ordinary person third-degree burns, and what looked like teeth marks from a large reptile." She sent a look to Winston who looked the most surprised out of everyone, "Beyond that? The blood tests show he's actually got a very powerful immune system, it would take something quite potent for him to show symptoms of an ailment. So I doubt our sedation had any effect on him."
"Did he wake up during your tests?" Genji asked.
"Thankfully not. I assume he was asleep when I was conducting my scans. However, I did find something else." She zoomed in on the projection of the image that displayed his organs, which brought into detail some out-of-place objects that seemed to be embedded deep within his arms and chest. Everyone noticed that even his heart looked odd. None of his organs looked to be organic, instead, they resembled machinery.
"Are those… implants?" Winstons asked in a horrified manner, taking a closer look at the image.
"Yes, but I've never seen anything like them. They may even be more advanced than what we have. From what I can gather there are five parts of the body that he has implants in," She commented before the image was separated into six images. The first one was a close-up of his brain, "The first is his brain, which I've determined must have four implants. What their purpose is, I have yet to fully deduce but I believe they have something to do with his perception and other logical functions," She explained before swiping to the next image in the center of the screen, displaying an organ above his kidney, "The second is the implant in his adrenaline glands. I was able to find its purpose after numerous tests. It seems the implant was designed to enhance the adrenaline output of the body and also the muscle mass of the person. When it's installed it acts as an automatic version of steroids, forcing the body to make a large amount of muscle mass," Again, she presented the next scan, "The third implant affects his cardiovascular system. I've yet to figure it out but the implant somehow increases his endurance far beyond human capabilities, " The next image highlighted various lines throughout his body, "This implant affects his reflexes. It is designed to boost the reflex action of the recipient by conducting the electric current in the nervous system and sending it to the area where it needs to go to," Winston and Angela shared a concerned look on their faces at her explanation, wondering why someone would do this to themselves, "His skin cells have also been altered by implants. One of them is designed to provide improved protection from damage by bolstering the user's skin cells with iron while the other gradually heals damage over time by speeding up the user's cell regeneration." The final two images outlined the specific layers of skin that the implants affected. She adjusted the image so that it would only show the man's head. Angela then revealed three more images, displaying each side of the man's skull. The frontal lobe image zoomed in until it reached the brain, giving her audience the view of a very noticeable wound.
"What the hell? Are those bloody bullet wounds?" Tracer exclaimed, horrified. Everyone recoiled at Tracer's words. A bullet to the head was already lethal, but two? The New Overwatch members looked at each other trying to find out who was the person who nicked him in the head. Angela cleared her throat, grabbing their attention.
"Unfortunately, you're correct, Tracer," The doctor confirmed, "Scans of the trauma indicate that it's been there for a while. So that means none of you did this to him and is instead the result of ballistic weaponry," Each member breathed out a sigh of relief knowing they didn't cause the wound, "But it also indicates that he was shot in the head, twice!"
"Oh my god! How the hell is he still alive?" Hana yelled in disbelief. Surely, two bullets to the head would end someone's life in an instant? Apparently not, as their intruder is living proof.
"While strong enough trauma to the Cerebral Cortex and Cerebrum can be fatal, there's always the chance of survival; albeit, a very minuscule chance. If that wasn't enough, however," The scan changed to display color as well, revealing his brain, heart, spine, and skeleton to be a completely different color, "His brain is artificial, including his spine and heart. His skeleton was also quite resistant to the x-rays. That is until I was able to get a clear enough picture; he was metal grafted into his bones."
"T-That's impossible! There's no technology on Earth capable of such a feat." Mei stated, staring in disbelief at the image. Yet, the image before them said otherwise. Angela's scans only provided more questions than answers for the heroes. They needed to find out who he was and get some answers. Thankfully, Angela was already a step ahead and pulled out a vial of blood. She then placed it on her holopad.
"Athena, can you process this DNA sample a cross-reference it with known matches in all available government databases?"
"Affirmative, doctor," Her screen switched to a bar from zero to a hundred percent. Angela's holopad began to glow as Athen began analyzing the blood sample. The bar began to fill and millions of profiles began flying across the screens and were crossed out with red x's. As the minutes went by, everyone was hoping that Athena would find a match. The bar continued to fill until it reached 100% completion, "Search complete: zero results or matches found."
"What!?"
…
After Angela's report, everyone went their separate ways to dwell on the new information presented to them. Brigitte and Tracer were the unfortunate two that were assigned to provide lunch for their prisoner. Walking down the hallway, the mechanic couldn't help but feel nervous about interacting with the man who had essentially kicked all their asses but thankfully Tracer was the opposite, being her usually bright and cheery self as she blinked won the hallway and recalled occasionally.
"You don't have anything to worry about, Brigitte. He's locked inside and all we have to do is give him his lunch." The British pilot said with a carefree attitude, sensing her friend's uneasiness. Their walk took a short amount of time until they stopped just before his 'room.' They could see his shadow. By the way, it was positioned, the man was most likely standing still. The girls looked at each other in confusion before shrugging their shoulders and stepping in front of the glass wall and looking inside the room. What they found was him standing there staring at the wall, motionless. Somehow he was dressed in a completely different set of clothes. His outfit was similar to the one they collected off of him, but this set of armor didn't have green pieces of armor over the duster. The helmet was more simplified but still had the same menacingly red glow to them. His duster was a defined brown without the weird mix of dark green. Tracer leaned into her friend's ear, keeping a close eye on the man.
"H-how did he get changed? Where did he get those clothes?"
"I have no idea."
The man sensed that he was being watched and turned to the two girls on the other side of the cell. Walking toward the glass, the two female agents noticed just how tall he was compared to them, although Brigitte was only short by a few inches. He stood there without a word, his head slightly angled down to meet their eyes.
"Um, here's your lunch." The mechanic presented, trying to keep her composure. Brigitte bent down and grabbed a knob located at the base of the door, she opened it and gently slid the tray of food inside, and quickly closed the door. The man only continued staring at the tray as it sat there in the little pocket of space that separated each side of the glass wall. Tracer stared at the man and he stared back, not wavering. They could hear his breathing. It was faint but the sound came out fuzzy and distorted.
"There's a knob on your side, you know." The Brit chuckled nervously while scratching the back of her head. The man gave no response as he stood there unwavering. A few minutes passed until the pilot and the mechanic gave up and awkwardly shuffled away, hoping he would eat if they weren't watching him. Brigitte's mind wandered, trying to determine the man's tell, though it was difficult. Every move he made, or little of it, didn't indicate him as a person. That was the man that almost killed them just a few hours ago. Both times she saw him, it was like staring into a void. She didn't know what was inside but she didn't dare try to peak. Tracer seemed shaken by the interaction. Everyone she'd been around was happy or cheery to some capacity but this man seemed more robotic than human. It briefly made her conclude that he was an omnic but with what she had just seen confirmed that he was human. The two walked in comfortable silence until they reached the training room, where Cassidy was teaching Hana how to handle her plasma pistol.
"What'd you think that was about?" Tracer asked. Brigitte's brows furrowed in deep thought.
"Well, if you were captured by Talon, you wouldn't say anything to them. The same goes for him."
"Duh. But I'd at least say 'thank you' for the meal!"
Brigitte did find it odd. She had a feeling that the man behind the mask was sizing the two up without letting them do the same. A flurry of theories raced through her head as she tried to decipher the enigma of a man that was currently locked in that cell. She wanted to turn back, to take a peek at him, to indulge in her curiosity but she knew that she and the others would get answers later.
"Do you think he'll talk to Angela - no scratch that - do you think he'll talk to anyone at all?" Tracer asked sarcastically.
"I don't know but we'll find out tomorrow."
The cowboy and mech pilot stopped their training as soon as they saw the two women walk in. Cassidy and Hana both holstered their weapons before meeting the two women.
"So, what happened? You two seem a little out of it. Did he say anything useful?" The man asked with a concerned glint in his eyes. The two eyed each other with hesitation before the mechanic spoke.
"That's the thing, Cassidy. He didn't say anything or do anything." Brigitte said, surprising the cowboy.
"Really?"
"Nothing. He just… stared at us until we left."
"This guy gets weirder by the second." Cassidy scowled, resting his hands on his hips.
"What a creep. I can't believe that guy beat us yesterday," Hana huffed in annoyance while crossing her arms, "If I had been able to get my Meka, I would've ended the fight like a casual match."
"Sure kid, whatever helps you sleep at night." Cassidy remarked.
Unbeknownst to them, the man had finished the meal he was given and had placed the tray back in the glass box. He faced the glass wall and stared at the wall parallel to his room and waited for his next visitors.
…
The Courier awoke the next day to the sound of knocking on the glass wall. Still in his Veteran Ranger armor, he leaned up to see the gorilla and the cowboy on the other side of the door. As he got up, he noticed that the man had a metal contraption in his right hand. The Courier noted the odd-looking revolver on the right side of the cowboy's hip. The muffled sound of his heavy boots was throughout the room as he eyed the two suspiciously from under his helmet. No one said anything. The gorilla's eyes bounced between his colleague and The Courier, visibly uncomfortable with the atmosphere. The cowboy, however, hardened his glare at The Courier. The wastelander thought it was cute to see someone try and intimidate him, not when he's faced deathclaws, Lanius, and other monstrosities that infested the Mojave. The gorilla was the first to blink.
"We, uh, came here to bring you somewhere." The animal spoke.
"Interrogation?" The Courier asked. The cowboy nodded as he pushed a button on the wall, just out of The Courier's view which lowered the glass door until the top of the door was flush with the ground. He then displayed the metal contraption in his hands; two hollow cylinders with a bunch of glowing lights that ran across the side. The top half of both cylinders opened.
"That's the plan. Now arms in. No funny business." The man gruffly ordered. The Courier complied seeing no other way to escape at the moment. He had his questions as well. He placed his arms into the device, making sure that his Pip-Boy didn't get caught. The top half shut, letting out a whirring sound as it did and the lights switched from light blue to red. The Courier was then escorted down a series of hallways. He caught glimpses of other people during his walk. Such as a tall and muscular elderly man with a thick white beard, arm wrestling an equally tall and muscular woman with pink hair. The two saw The Courier before he rounded a corner and got up to follow him and his escort. Walking down another hallway, he spotted a silver and green individual sitting in their room and one of the women who gave him his lunch walking around the room, animatedly talking as she did. The woman noticed him as well and elbowed the sitting figure before whispering something in their ear. Before they went out of view, the last thing he saw was the girl tapping a small rectangular object in her hand. They continued walking, passing by various labs and windows. There, The Courier caught glimpses of the outside. The sun shined brightly, the water was crystal clear and the grass was a healthy green. It was nothing like the wasteland desert he was used to. It felt uncanny to him, seeing the world in such a peaceful state made him wonder what he and the Enclave could be doing to fix the wasteland. 'One step at a time. Interrogation will be unpredictable. Must be prepared.'
Moving down a flight of stairs, The Courier was met with a large vehicle. It looked like a spaceship he'd seen in those pre-war comic books, although this one was very much real. Three figures walked out of the sci-fi ship. A woman of Asian descent, a dark-skinned man, and the other woman that brought him lunch yesterday. The woman froze midway down the ramp as her eyes met his. The other two noticed their teammate's change in attitude and eyed The Courier with suspicious looks. It didn't phase him, the look in their eyes. Many NCR soldiers shared the same expression whenever he'd visit their embassy in the Strip. By now he and his escorts had amassed a sizeable group that followed the three. They abruptly stopped at a room he was assuming their destination. The door slid open and the cowboy motioned him to step inside. It was a simple room, only containing a couple of monitors, two seats, and a table. Though adjacent to the table was a one-way mirror, most likely for the people that followed him here. The Courier sat in the chair facing the mirror before he felt a hand on his ankles. He turned to see the cowboy clamp the same device he used on The Courier's arms onto his legs. The cowboy glanced at The Courier, knowing he got his attention, and gave him a cheeky smile.
"Just making sure you ain't going to try and run."
The device on his arm suddenly slammed against the table, jerking The Courier forwards. It seemed the device had a magnet within it that attached itself to the table to decrease his mobility. 'Clever trick.' And with that, the door closed and The Courier was alone in the room, occupied with his thoughts. His eyes, and subsequently helmet, drifted to the mirror wall to his left. No doubt people were watching his movements, trying to read him but The Courier wouldn't have it. He sat motionless, awaiting his interrogator. After twenty minutes or so, the door slid open and a blonde woman in a lab coat entered the room and took her seat. He had a slim rectangular device in her hand, roughly the size of a clipboard but the side that faced her glowed a light blue. She promptly put the device down and looked at The Courier.
"Good day. How was your sleep?" She asked.
"Your drug didn't work on me. Was filtered out. Strong immune system. Was awake when you scanned me. Didn't want to be rude. Waited until I was in my cell." The Courier bluntly said.
"Well… I'm going to ask you some questions and you're going to answer them honestly. Then you'll be able to ask your questions. Do you understand?"
"Why do you think I would answer dishonestly?" The Courier asked with genuine confusion. The woman was taken aback by the question, not expecting it. She quickly readjusted her glasses and fixed her composure.
"To be completely honest, you're a stranger to us. We can't exactly trust you. But we can alleviate that. You can call me Dr. Ziegler." Angela introduced himself to The Courier. For a moment, he sat motionless, taking in the strange name until he remembered something.
"Your name… it's German?"
"Ja, Richtig," The doctor confirmed in her native language. She was a bit puzzled as to why he would ask such a question but it allowed her to segue into another question, "Have you visited Germany before?"
"No." The Courier curtly responded. The doctor noted how The Courier spoke in short sentences and seemed to have a mindset focused on logical answers. To her, this either meant he was very good at hiding his true intentions or they genuinely don't matter to him. In actuality, it was both. She adjusted her pad and took out a silver pen and began writing on it until she stopped and addressed The Courier again.
"First and foremost," She began, "What is your name?"
"The Courier."
Angela smiled nervously, waving his answer off like it was a joke, "That's not a name, that's a title."
"It is my name. Also go by Courier Six."
"Ok… where are you from?"
"Nevada."
The doctor's ears perked up at the answer, "So you're American?"
The Courier tilted his head at Dr. Zielger's evaluation. Why was that a surprise to her? America, as far as he knew, contained the last survivors of the Great War. 'Something was off.' He thought to himself. The people he fought yesterday were strangely colorful, not to mention the talking gorilla or the fact the gorillas had been dead for a couple of centuries. Another cue was what the gorilla had told him yesterday. Greece, 2077. None of the architecture or technology he had seen so far match any pictures or iterations of the old world which further fueled his suspicion. The final nail in the coffin was that The Courier was currently speaking to a German person when he had thought Europe and been obliterated from the face of the Earth. Various theories raced through his head, each sounding more ridiculous than the last. Hallucination? No, there was no drug in the wasteland capable of such real visuals. Virtual Reality? No such technology existed in the Mojave, although The Courier had heard there were remnants of those devices on the West Coast but hadn't been able to confirm his suspicions. The most obvious answer had something to do with the Transportalponder Mk II but where exactly did it take him? Time travel was out of the question, nothing he had seen matched up to the pre-war aesthetic. He couldn't be somewhere else on Earth. The water was too clean and the air wasn't irradiated. This only left one possibility but The Courier had to wait before he fully embraced the theory, especially one as improbable as that.
"Correct." The Courier responded.
"How old are you?" Dr. Ziegler asked. The Courier sensed that these questions were more for formality rather than genuine interest. Her concentration on her pad didn't help contrast his thought.
"25." He watched the blonde doctor as she continued to write on her pad. Finishing, she reverts her attention to The Courier and lets out a deep exhale, as she prepared herself for a more difficult question.
"Now for more important questions," She said, her voice shifting into a lower and more serious tone, "These questions will determine what my friends and I will… do with you."
"Dispose of me?"
That question made Anglea visibly disgusted and horrified at the prospect. Her eyes became as wide as plates with how unexpected that question asked was.
"Mein Gott!" Dr. Ziegler exclaimed, shocked. "No! No, Overwatch would never drop to such levels of depravity!" The Courier's red lenses of his helmet didn't move off the doctor. To her, he didn't seem surprised by her reaction, "No, it's just… with the fight that took place yesterday, we have to be cautious," She explained, calming down. Angela paused for a few seconds for her statement to fully settle, The Courier then gave her a brief nod, "Well, with how you fought and the items you brought with you; you've garnered interest among my colleagues and I. All we want is to have the full picture before we commit to anything. Do you understand?" She says while feigning a smile.
"Do you want my stuff?"
"No. We just want to know where you got them. They're quite… old weapons by today's standards." She said, emphasizing the age.
"Found most. Purchased some." The Courier simply answered.
"Really?" She said, raising her eyebrow in suspicion.
"Travelled great distances. Many items collected were left behind or lost."
"When I scanned you, I found some very interesting details about your body." She flipped her pad and showed The Courier an image of his person, with certain parts highlighted and annotated. He simply shrugged.
"Multiple implants. Accelerates thought process, improves hand-eye coordination among other enhancements."
"Can they be susceptible to electromagnetic attacks?"
"No. Were designed to avoid such situations. Coated in resistant materials. Suspected conductive metal mesh used."
"Their power supply?"
"Will greatly exceed my own lifespan." The Courier said indifferently. Angela was amazed by the technologies housed within The Courier. This would greatly interest Winston who was no doubt in shock behind the glass.
"What about that suit of armor you were in? That technology is far beyond what my colleagues and I could understand."
"Custom made. Standard models are mass-produced. Friend made a special variant as a gift. Very thankful for it."
This only exacerbated Angela's worries. A suit like his being mass-produced without anyone's knowledge could lead to devastating results. She noted that it would be a top priority to find the location of this facility and question how they developed such technology.
"Ok then… with how you fought, you must've had some form of training. Where were you taught?"
"Survival is key. Kill or be killed. Experience is best teacher. Can't afford to be weak."
"In what place in Nevada would warrant such a violent lifestyle?" She asked in disbelief, with a growing hint of concern and intrigue.
"Mojave Wasteland is filled with creatures that kill on sight."
"Don't you mean 'desert' and not 'wasteland'?"
"Not much of a desert after the bombs fell." The Courier said nonchalantly. This sparked a reaction from the blonde doctor as her eyebrows raised and her eyes widened at the statement.
"I'm sorry, could you repeat what you just said?" She said, somewhat confused by his explanation.
"Nuclear holocaust ravaged the Mojave. Radiation still prevalent in certain places. Altered the wildlife and fauna. Result of nuclear war."
"There's no nuclear war, not in America. The only thing close to what you're describing is what happened in Australia," She explained when something in her head clicked. The sphere that they found yesterday. Then this man appeared right where it was. It was all starting to come together for her, "When you appeared, you came out of a ball of electricity. Was that your doing?"
"Correct. Teleported here. Device malfunctioned. Used experimental energy as fuel." He answered giving her more insight into yesterday's events.
"How do you know it was teleportation?"
"Device's purpose. Usually used to teleport to a single location. New model meant to teleport anywhere. Experimental energy caused malfunction. Ended up here."
"And where do you think you are, or where did it send you?" The blonde doctor said, steering the conversation back to her questions.
"Gorilla told me Greece, 2077. Can't be right. Great War should have happened already. Technology is strange. Your cluelessness about nuclear wasteland. Conclusion: alternate reality."
The Courier could hear the slight muffle behind the one-way mirror next to him. There was nothing but silence between the two within the interrogation room. The Courier sat still, waiting for her response. After several awkward moments of silence, Dr. Ziegler shifted in her seat as she recomposed herself and put down her tablet.
Clearing her throat, the woman in white then says, "Let's assume that you're correct and that you're from another reality, as unbelievable and unfortunate as that explanation is," He stayed silent, his red lenses still fixated on her, "What can you tell me about your home?" She began, unable to comprehend the fact that she was asking this question, "What is your Earth like?" The Courier's head dipped a little, his eyes now focused on the table instead of the doctor. He really had to explain history to her? The brutality of the bombs? The savagery the wasteland became? He let out an exasperated sigh and addressed the blonde doctor, again.
"October 23, 2077…" He started, remembering the books and military files he read along his journey. This was going to be a long story.