Shattered Harmony
There is still no clear decision on the future of the Petras Act after several meetings of the United Nations. The UK and US lead calls for the act to be revoked, with many nations agreeing that only Overwatch can deal with the threat the terrorist group Talon pose. However, many nations still remain sceptical that restoring Overwatch is the only solution.
While discussions continue in New York, thousands have gathered in front of the UN headquarters, demanding that the Petras Act be scrapped and Overwatch be restored.
"Overwatch are heroes, not criminals. They need to be allowed to do what they need to."
"It's time we came together and stopped this terror group once and for all!"
Polls across several countries also show a change in public opinion regarding the Petras Act. Combining surveys from 25 countries, 87% of people believed that the Petras Act should now be revoked and Overwatch be returned to active duty.
We will continue to update you on this story as it develops.
Numbani- 10:30- Three days later
It was a normal day in city of Numbani. Humans and omnics went about their business, some stopping to say hello and engage in conversation. This was something that fascinated Zenyatta, as he made his way through the city towards the museum. Here, humans and omnics lived together in peace. If only the rest of the world could unite in such a way, to move past their hatred and distrust of omnics and find a better way to live.
Zen knew this was possible, yet it was still a long way away. The scars from the Omnic Crisis were still present all over the world. London was a good example of a wound that was not allowed to heal. Tensions between humans and omnics were at an all time high. To try and improve relations, the UK government built King's Row, only for Null Sector to come and undo the progress that had been made. Mondatta went to King's Row to try and ease the tensions, to begin the process of healing this wound and it was actually working. Until Talon stepped in.
His time in Numbani had given Zen chance to think over this entire situation and one thing stuck out to him. Whatever Talon's ultimate goal was, London was clearly important in some way. The question was why? Why was King's Row being targeted so much? The most likely answer was to cause another Omnic Crisis. With tensions so high, another war was becoming more and more likely.
Then there was the attack on Washington. With that, Talon had managed to unite the world in finding a solution to deal with them, yet this must have been counter productive. There were no targets hit that increased tensions between humans and omnics and had furthered the debate on the future of the Petras Act. So how did this further Talon's goal to cause a second Omnic Crisis? Unless that wasn't Talon's ultimate goal.
Zen was unable to continue his train of thought, as he arrived at the museum. The building was not yet open to the public, as the event inside was still being set up. Fortunately for Zen, he didn't need to get inside, as outside stood Orisa. She was watching the area, keeping an eye out for trouble while also greeting the various number of event staff and security who entered the building behind her. There was no sign of Efi, though that was understandable due to the time.
Zen did a check of the area around him, making sure that there was no one suspicious in the area. While he couldn't see anyone upon his initial observation, it was also very likely that Talon agents could be disguised as event staff. With time working against him, Zen headed over to Orisa.
"Greetings." Orisa said to Zen. "Can I be of assistance?"
"I hope you can. Is there any chance we can talk privately."
Orisa's eyes changed to a more serious look. "Why do you wish to speak privately?"
Zen leaned forward slightly, making sure that he kept his voice down. "I bring urgent information from Overwatch."
Upon hearing this, Orisa knew this was a serious matter. She looked over the area in front of her, checking for anyone who looked out of the ordinary. When nothing jumped out at her, Orisa's eyes returned to a happy look.
"Of course. Please follow me."
Orisa turned and headed inside the museum, Zen following close behind. A few people inside looked at Zen, wondering who he was for a brief moment, before returning to what they were doing. They knew that Orisa wouldn't take any risks with security, so they let them be. Once they were in a quiet area, Orisa turned back around and faced Zenyatta, her eyes becoming serious once again.
"What is the situation?" She asked Zen.
"Overwatch has discovered a plot by Talon to kidnap Efi Oladele and they plan to attack the city during the event today. A response team is on its way, however it is vital that miss Oladele does not attend this event."
Orisa looked away from Zen slightly, deeply concerned about what she'd just been told. Her primary purpose was to protect Efi as well as the city of Numbani. She could easily warn Efi and keep her away, yet it was the city and the innocent people that would be caught up in any fighting.
"I will warn her of the danger and make sure she keeps away. What about the incoming attack? Would it be best to cancel the event?"
"Perhaps, though Talon would likely seek out miss Oladele in the main city instead. The best course of action may be to try and limit Talon's ability to act in the city and give the people the chance to get clear of the danger."
"You mean luring them here and containing them in the local area?" Orisa asked, clarifying what Zen meant.
"Indeed. If Talon were focused in one area, containing the situation would be far easier."
Orisa thought over the idea. The event was due to start at 12:00, giving them under an hour and fifteen minutes from now to warn people and prepare for a fight. On top of that, the museum was due to open very soon. The available options were limited to say the least.
"With the limited time available, containment would be the most logical course of action." Orisa finally said, not fully happy with her conclusion.
"Very well. I shall go and warn people to leave the area and then I will return here to offer assistance. I trust I will be able to gain entry upon my return?"
"I will inform security to let you in. In the meantime, I will contact Efi."
Overwatch dropship- 30 minutes later
Overwatch were currently speeding towards Numbani, keeping to a tight timeline to maximise their effectiveness. Zenyatta had been keeping in contact with Morrison throughout the day, informing him of what was happening on the ground as well as the formulated plan with Orisa. Zen also had a suspicion that Talon already had agents inside the museum staff, which limited what they could do before they attacked. For that reason, the agents had been split up into multiple teams.
On top of that though, Morrison had received word that Zarya was injured in Russia, all thanks to Reaper. How she was still alive amazed him but that didn't matter right now. While Zarya was now out of hospital, she was still protecting Katya Volskaya, meaning they were an agent down. Due to this, Morrison had to adapt his original plan, thought something told him he would be adapting it again very soon.
The plan right now was to have Talon believe that Efi was at the museum. Once Talon begun their attack, team one would move in, if they hadn't already arrived by then. Team one was made up of Genji, Hanzo and the Bastion. They would link up with Zen as quickly as possible and defend the museum.
Team two would then take over the operation, attacking the main Talon force and either forcing them to surrender or taking them all out. This team was being lead by Morrison and was made up from the bulk of the Overwatch agents. However, there was also the chance that Talon would try to destroy key areas of the city, like they did in Washington. That was where team three came in.
Team three was more of a fancy name for whoever wasn't in team one or two, as their objective was to take care of any Talon soldiers who weren't involved in the main fight at the museum. This team was being lead by Tracer and included DVa, Mei, Lucio and Widow.
Morrison thought it was best to have Widow in team three for two main reasons. The first was so Tracer could keep an eye on her and make sure she was okay. After all, this was her first mission as an Overwatch agent instead of a Talon agent. The second reason was due to the structure of the area. Widow couldn't exactly stay on the rooftops here and so she was very visible. Morrison didn't want Talon knowing where she was at all times.
There was one person that wasn't part of a team. Sombra. She had a separate objective, to keep Morrison up to date with enemy movements and hit the enemy when she could, without breaking her cover.
Right now though, Sombra was speaking to Morrison about another matter. Her computer had deciphered the messages that she'd intercepted a few days ago and they were a bit concerning. They were communications to various criminal organisations across the globe. However, there were two gangs that stood out. Los Muertos and the Deadlock Gang.
Talon's involvement with Los Muertos was simply a business arrangement. Talon supplied them with weapons and funding and in return, they did a few things from time to time. At least, that was what the messages seemed to say. It was concerning but no where near as concerning as the messages to the Deadlock Gang.
Those messages were about cargo that they were supposed to collect and then deliver to another location, that hadn't been included in the messages. The pickup location was a dock in Boston. That was all Morrison needed to read to know exactly what cargo the message was on about. Project Indigo.
"Reyes should have cleared out the Deadlock Gang long ago." Morrison said aloud, as he finished reading over the messages Sombra showed him. He looked to his left and signalled McCree. "Jesse. Come here a second."
McCree stepped away from the small group he was in and towards Morrison and Sombra.
"What's up?"
"What do you make of this?"
Sombra flipped her computer screen so McCree could read it. Once he did that, he couldn't help but look slightly confused.
"People trafficking..? Deadlock's moved weapons and military hardware in the past but moving people is a completely different game. Maybe they didn't know?" McCree suggested,
"Perhaps, though given their reputation..."
"Yeah, I don't need to be reminded." McCree said, a slight hint of regret in his voice. "This is a personal matter to me. I want to look into it."
"Fine by me. We'll discuss it more after this mission. Till then, dismissed."
Both Sombra and McCree nodded, before stepping away towards opposite ends of the dropship. While McCree headed back to his original conversation, Sombra headed towards the back of the ship, where Tracer and Widow were sat.
Just before Morrison dismissed Sombra, Tracer and Widow had been talking, keeping their voices down so no one could overhear them, especially Sombra.
"Just ask her Amelie." Lena said, nudging Widow's arm.
"I don't know. What if she says no?"
"What if she says yes?"
Widow let out a breath, as Sombra walked over and sat down next to her. Lena pulled out her phone and stood up.
"I'm just going to make a call. Be right back."
Lena had two reasons for doing this. One was because she did want to speak to Emily before the next mission, as she did with every mission she went on. The other was to give Widow some privacy.
"Sombra..." She began, gaining the hackers attention.
"What's up?"
Widow took another quick breath. "I was wondering if... if you'd like to get a drink after this mission?"
Sombra was slightly surprised, though she didn't show it. Thanks to an earlier conversation with Lena, she knew what Widow was really asking. Slowly, Sombra placed a hand over Widow's, which she was resting on her knee and looked towards her.
"Sure. I'd love to."
Widow couldn't help but smile. This was a big step forward, yet she felt more than ready to take it. Nothing else needed to be said, yet Widow felt like she had to say one more thing.
"Sombra... promise me you'll be careful."
"I will. I promise."
Numbani Heritage Museum- 12:03
Zen had stationed himself near the back of the seated crowd, while Orisa was to the left of the stage, both watching as the event began. They had just finished an initial speech and were currently playing a video that showed everyone what Efi had accomplished. Zen had to admit that her accomplishments were impressive, especially for someone her age.
Thankfully, Orisa has managed to contact Efi and her family before they arrived and had practically ordered them to keep away. It was quite unusual seeing her speak that way, since she seemed naturally very polite. These were very unique circumstances though.
As the video continued and the time ticked away. Zen wondered how Talon would attack. It was clear they were going to, since everyone believed Efi was here. At least, he hoped that Talon believed that. He had asked as many people as possible to leave the area discreetly, warning them of the incoming danger. Many had listened and began to move away, perhaps a little too easily if Zen was honest. Maybe it was because he dropped Overwatch's name. Despite this, there was still some who remained in the area. It saddened Zen that they could end up injured but there was very little more he could do without alerting Talon.
Once the video finished, a man walked onto the stage and began to introduce Efi. However, before he could finish, two things happened. The first was someone walking onto the stage and whispering into his ear. He seemed quite worried by whatever he was told but this was soon forgotten, as the entire building shook.
It went silent for a few moments, before Orisa stepped forward, arming her weapon for combat.
"Everyone, please make your way towards the stage."
Just as Orisa finished speaking, the wall behind the crowd exploded. The event wasn't too far inside the building, so the explosion exposed the room to the outside world. Armed Talon soldiers stormed into the building, firing wildly into the crowd. Luckily, as Orisa threw down a barrier, Zen quickly reacted to this threat.
"EXPERIENCE TRANQUILITY."
The Talon agents kept firing but soon stopped and just looked at the monk. Whatever he was doing was stopping them killing anyone, so why bother wasting ammo. Once everyone was clear, Orisa placed a new barrier and Zen returned to normal, floating in place behind the deployable cover.
"I must say, that was quite the impressive display."
Doomfist walked in through the destroyed wall, wearing a suit of combat armour. He was clearly expecting trouble and, as he stepped forward, a few of the soldiers moved out of his way. He came to a stop a short distance in front of the barrier, speaking to the Omnic monk once again. "Now, if memory serves me, you must be Zenyatta."
"You know me?" Zen asked, knowing he needed to stall to give the civilians time to escape.
"Indeed I do. I'm surprised to see you working with Overwatch."
"I am not with Overwatch. I simply came here to..."
"I know that isn't true." Doomfist said, interrupting the monk. A Talon dropship now hovered into view, which explained how the wall was destroyed so easily.
"Tell me, how did you managed to fly this deep into the city?" Zen asked. Surely someone must have noticed them approaching the city.
"We have agents everywhere. Now, I suppose you already know why we're here, since you're clearly stalling for time, so I'll make it easy. Give us the girl and no one gets hurt."
"You're not getting her." Orisa replied, aiming her weapon straight towards Doomfist.
Doomfist simply chuckled. "I hope the girl gave you more than just a new coat of paint."
"You'd be surprised. I've received a number of upgrades since that battle."
"I doubt they will do you much good. Final chance. Hand over the girl and we leave peacefully."
Orisa and Zen didn't reply.
"Very well. Dispose of these two, then find me the girl."
The Talon soldiers opened fire, hitting the barrier with everything they had. Orisa and Zen began walking backwards, firing at the enemy troopers as they slowly advanced. There were at least 20 soldiers, most taking cover to avoiding being hit. They both knew they would struggle to stop this many alone. Fortunately for them, the Talon forces stopped dead in their tracks, as the dropship behind them suddenly exploded.
The ship stayed hovering for a moment, before the pilot lost control and crashed down to the ground. A couple of Talon soldiers clambered out of the wreckage, clearly dazed and not expecting to be shot down. As the troopers looked back to the downed dropship, trying to work or what happened, another ship arrived, hovering above the area before dropping down one single unit.
The Bastion.
It transformed into its turret configuration and began firing at anything that belonged to Talon. Some of the Talon troopers were too surprised at the sudden appearance of a Bastion to react in time and ended up mowed down by the barrage of bullets. Doomfist however was well aware what it could do and ran straight for cover. He was soon joined by a couple of other troopers, who were smart enough to follow his lead. He grabbed his radio, seeing that the easy option was now long gone.
"All units. Begin phase two."
Genji and Hanzo now leaped down from the dropship, slowing their descent on the wall of the museum and taking out some of the remaining enemies. Doomfist knew that he'd lost this fight and charged up his gauntlet, obliterating the weakened wall he was behind. He ran straight towards Genji and Hanzo, charging up his gauntlet once again. The two brothers both jumped out of his way, knowing full well that they could not take him on without backup. With Doomfist out of the picture, they moved into the building, linking up with Zenyatta and Orisa and clearing out the rest of the Talon troopers.
With the immediate threat removed, Genji contacted Morrison, while the Bastion moved into the building and behind Orisa's barrier.
"We have secured the museum, though it is likely that Talon will try to attack again."
"Understood. Any idea how large the enemy force is?"
Genji didn't know the answer but as a number of Talon dropship's flew over, he took an educated guess.
"Large."
"Roger that."
Within a few minutes, two dropships landed and the second team unloaded. Everyone fanned out, taking up defensive positions until ordered otherwise. Sombra was the only exception, immediately going invisible and running off to find the Talon forces. Once everyone was out, the dropships took off again, heading off to unload team three.
"Is the girl safe?" Morrison asked, once he and Mercy had jogged over to Genji's team.
"Yes." Orisa answered, as Mercy repaired any damage she took with her healing staff.
"I assume you've been filled in on the plan?"
"Affirmative."
"Excellent. Remain here with Genji and his team to defend this location. The rest of us will move forward and push Talon back."
The team confirmed they understood, allowing both Morrison and Mercy to walk back outside, joining up with rest of team two.
"Sombra, have anything?"
"Lots of enemies grouping up a short distance away. They're clearly preparing to counter attack." Sombra replied, watching the Talon forces from a safe distance. It wasn't long until Doomfist appeared, ordering the commanding officers around.
"Any idea on numbers?"
"Too many to tell. At a guess, at least fifty."
Just as she said this, another dropship landed and deployed two squads of soldiers. They were instantly given orders, before running off in the opposite direction of the museum.
"Wait, two squads are heading away from the fight." Sombra reported.
"Understood. Stay with the main force and keep me informed of what's happening." Morrison now contacted Lena. "Tracer, Talon's got squads heading away from the fight. Have your team land further back and engage them."
"You got it."
Morrsion went silent for a few moments, clearly thinking over the situation. Ana, who was standing nearby, noticed this unusual silence.
"What's wrong?"
"Something's not right." Then it hit him. "Sombra, any sign of Reaper or Moira?"
"Nope, haven't seen either of them. Doomfist is the only major player here."
Morrison turned to Ana. "Think about it. Two former Talon agents are working with us. So where's Reaper? Or Moira? Both would be very helpful in a fight agaisnt us."
"You think something else is going on?"
"Maybe..." It was an uneasy thought but Morrison considered there might have been another reason for this attack. "Everyone listen up. Talon may have an ulterior motive for being here, so keep your guard up."
With that warning given, Morrison checked the status of team two. Everyone was ready to go.
"Heads up, Talon's moving towards you." Sombra reported.
"Understood. Stay with them." Morrsion now spoke to the agents in front of him. "Ana, stay back and cover us. Pharah, get into the air and give us support. Mercy, stay with her and amplify her damage. Everyone else, stay behind Reinhardt's barrier and prepare to engage."
Numbani Airport
While the main Overwatch force moved to engage, team three had landed at the airport and were now making their way through the city. It was extremely quiet, with most of the civilians now out of the area. They came across the odd one here or there but they also quickly left, not wanting to get caught up in the upcoming fight.
"What do you think Talon are up to?" Mei asked, taking note of Morrison's warning.
"I dunno. Any ideas Widow?" Tracer asked, making sure she used Amelie's codename while they were on the mission.
"No." Widow replied, as she looked around the area using her thermal goggles. "If they're looking for me and Sombra, then they're doing everything wrong. There has to be something else."
Just then, Widow saw a small group of people approaching the area. She placed her hand up, signalling everyone behind her to stop moving. She also reached forward and grabbed Tracer, pulling her back gently so that she wasn't seen. They made sure to keep out of sight, DVa hiding herself around a corner so that her Meka wasn't spotted.
Once the small squad of Talon soldiers moved into the area in front of them, the team could see that one was carrying a metal case. They placed the case down and proceeded to open it, while the rest of the soldiers watched the area. Widow took the opportunity to grapple to a ledge above her, keeping herself low as she moved to see what they were doing.
As she looked through the scope of her sniper, the one soldier began handing out packages to the other troopers. Widow soon she realised what was inside and what Talon's ulterior motive was.
"They have explosives. Plan must be to cause as much damage as possible."
"What is it with Talon and explosions recently?" DVa said.
"They cause a lot of damage. It's a good way to get a message across." Widow replied, remembering Reaper saying that exact line to another Talon grunt. How times had changed.
"Tracer to 76, Talon's trying to place explosives around the area. We're about to engage."
"Of course they are." Morrison replied, sighing at the development. "Take out as many enemies as you can but those explosives are your primary objective."
"Understood." Tracer signalled the team to move into position. "On your go Widow."
Widow lined up her scope with the head of the Talon soldier handing out the explosives. Just as they turned to hand one over to another trooper, she pulled the trigger. The bullet went straight through the soldiers head and ended up hitting another in the leg. The trooper collecting the explosive could only jump back in shock.
"WHAT THE?!" He looked over to where the shot came from, seeing a sniper aiming straight at him.
"ENEMY CONT..!" He was never allowed to finish, as Widow killed him with another perfect headshot.
The rest of the team now moved in, Tracer leading the way. She fired her pulse pistols and took out the closest enemy to her. DVa was not far behind her, using her defence matrix to keep Tracer covered. With the enemy distracted trying to hit Tracer, Widow took the opportunity to hit the troopers towards the back, taking each one out with clean headshots.
A couple of the troopers attempted to flee the battle but were stopped by a wall of ice appearing in their way. They could do nothing as Mei, speed boosted by Lucio, fired two ice shards at them. She then reached for Snowball, throwing him at the remaining troopers and freezing them in place. Widow made short work of the now helpless targets, before jumping down to the rest of the team.
"Sombra said there were two squads." She reminded Tracer.
"Then we deal with them too. Everyone split up. Find them and call for backup if you need it. We'll meet up back here once the area's clear."
Numbani Heritage Museum
While team three dealt with the new threat, team two had walked forward and met the main Talon force. The two forces stopped just in front of each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. It was an uneasy standoff, with everyone waiting for orders from their commanding officers. In the end, it was Talon who made the first move, Doomfist giving them the order to attack.
"Kill them all."
The Talon force opened fire, hitting Reinhardt's barrier with a barrage of firepower. Morrison reacted quickly, giving an order in response.
"MCCREE!"
"IT'S HIGH NOON!"
Within seconds, the Talon soldiers had stopped shooting, many scrambling for cover after hearing McCree's infamous catchphrase. Reinhardt couldn't help but laugh, as the cowboy fired, taking out six random targets and then reloading. While Doomfist would have been his first target, he was far quicker than the other Talon troopers and had used his gauntlet to move into cover.
While the Talon forces recovered and began shooting Reinhardt's barrier once again, Pharah and Mercy had taken the opportunity to fly behind the enemy. Once she was close enough, Pharah unleashed a barrage of rockets, taking out a large number of Talon soldiers in the process. Some of the troopers were able to avoid the barrage and returned fire at Pharah. Fortunately, Mercy was able to heal her up, keeping herself out of the line of fire so that she didn't become a target herself.
The barrage came just in time, as Reinhardt's barrier was heavily damaged. Winston moved forward and placed down his bubble, allowing Reinhardt to lower his shield and give it chance to recover. The rest of the team continued to fire, taking out most of the remaining troopers.
As this happened, Doomfist, who was still in cover, smashed his gauntlet agaisnt the nearby wall, leaving behind a large amount of damage. He was starting to see why Reaper was the way he was. The troopers weren't able to last agaisnt the Overwatch agents.
"Must I do everything myself?"
He charged his gauntlet up, aiming straight towards Reinhardt. Once the large bubble broke and Reinhardt raised his barrier up again, Doomfist struck. No one knew what had happened until they saw Reinhardt impact with the nearby wall.
"Focus fire on Doomfist!" Morrison ordered, as Reinhardt slowly stood back up. His armour had taken most of the impact, leaving a very visible dent. Yet this wasn't going to stop him.
Doomfist now focused on his next target, who was someone he recognised from Maximilian's casino. He intended to hit Brigitte with a low changed rocket punch and allow the remaining troops to finish her off. However, Brigitte reacted to this, raising her shield and boosting herself forward. The two impacted and both fell to the floor.
Doomfist was the first to recover, turning to focus on another target. Brigitte on the other hand was not as fast and the Talon troopers took the opportunity to aim at her. She instinctively went to raise her barrier, yet it failed to activate, the mechanism damaged thanks to the impact of the gauntlet. Her eyes went wide and she swore she heard her father shout her name, as the troopers fired.
Thankfully, Reinhardt boosted in front of her with his barrier raised, stopping the incoming shots from hitting her. Brigitte quickly stood up, picking her mace back up and then patting Reinhardt's back.
"Thanks Reinhardt."
"Don't mention it."
At the same time, Doomfist attempted to attack his third target, McCree. He lunged forward and attempted to grab him, only for McCree to roll back out of the way. All the Overwatch agents backed up slightly, as they heard a roar from Winston. Doomfist looked up to see him in primal rage.
He powered up his gauntlet once again, preparing to start a long fight with the gorilla, wanting to settle the score between them. As they both advanced towards the other, the gauntlet suddenly powered down. Doomfist looked to his right, seeing Sombra waving at him before teleporting away. He could do nothing as Winston hit him, sending him flying backwards.
As he crashed back down and the gauntlet came back online, Doomfist decided that now was a good time to fall back. He gave the order to what remained of the initial Talon force, before using his gauntlet to escape from combat.
"They're falling back." Reinhardt announced, just as two more Talon dropships flew over them.
"No, they're just regrouping." McCree corrected, spinning his revolver around and then reloading it.
"Everyone get ready for another attack." Morrison ordered, as Pharah and Mercy landed next to them.
Mercy took the opportunity to check everyone over, placing her healing beam over each agent. Reinhardt checked over his armour, concluding that the damage wasn't too bad, while Brigitte pulled out a screwdriver, quickly repairing the damage to her shield. She saw Torb giving her a worried look and mouthed a silent 'sorry' his way. She saw him shake his head, before her shield began working again.
While everyone prepared, Morrison took the opportunity to check in with team one.
"Genji, status report."
"Some Talon squads attempted to gain entry to the museum but we managed to hold them off." Genji reported.
"Keep up the good work."
While the Overwatch forces recovered, Doomfist began commanding the remaining Talon troops, considering his next move. The whole original plan had gone up in smoke thanks to Overwatch's arrival. He expected to see some Overwatch agents here and he had planned to draw them away from the museum, allowing a few other squads to sneak inside and find Efi.
Instead, it appeared that the entire of Overwatch were here and Talon simply hadn't set their forces up to deal with them. He had overheard the squads struggling to gain entrance to the museum due to a Bastion sitting right in the way. In fact, he was beginning to question if Efi was even at the museum to begin with. After all, Zenyatta and Orisa seemed to be prepared for Talon's arrival. With the odds stacked so heavily against him, Doomfist had to admit that this operation was a failure.
"Should have brought Reyes along." He thought to himself, wondering how much difference he would have made.
If there was one positive from this, it was that he now knew that Sombra was still in Talon's systems and that security needed to be overhauled. How else would they have known about this plan as well as the plan involving Katya Volskaya.
Thankfully, despite the situation, Doomfist still had his backup plan. By now, the Talon squads sent away from the battle should have completed their objective and the nearby area should be armed with explosives, ready to blow on his signal.
"Demolition team, status report."
There was no answer. After a short wait, he tried again.
"Demolition team, report!"
Still nothing. It didn't take a genius to work out what had happened. Overwatch had taken them out. Now he had another problem. Talon's escape route was through the airport and it was now likely that there were Overwatch agents in their way.
"Have your best two squads come with me. Send the rest to attack Overwatch." Doomfist's orders gained a confused look from the commanding officer.
"But that's suicide..."
Doomfist didn't bother replying, leaving the commander to pick out which squads would be lucky enough to survive. Once he'd selected, the main force was sent forward, distracting the Overwatch agents, while the commander and the remaining squads followed Doomfist. The sounds of gunfire could be heard as they quietly moved out.
It wasn't long till they ended up stumbling into DVa, who was chasing after two of the demolition team. Doomfist signalled his squad to take cover, keeping out of sight as they watched the two unfortunate soldiers attempt to attack DVa. They stopped running and began firing at DVa, only for their shots to be eaten by her defence matrix and then finished off by a couple of shots from her Meka.
Once she'd eliminated the immediate threat, DVa turned around and activated her thrusters, flying off back the way she came. Doomfist suspected that more Overwatch agents were around, so he decided to try and sneak up on them and take them by surprise.
"Stay here. Move in when I start my attack." He told the commander, who acknowledged the order with a small nod.
Meanwhile, team three were regrouping after dealing with the last of the Talon demolition team. DVa was first back, with Lucio joining her a few moments later. Tracer was next, blinking over to the group before Mei appeared. Widow was the last to return, grappling over to the small group of agents.
"Area's clear." Tracer informed Morrison.
"Good work." Morrison replied, talking over the sound of gunfire. "Heads up. We're finishing off what's left of Talon's forces but we think some have peeled off, including Doomfist. Stay alert."
As soon as his name was mentioned, team three heard the sound of the Doomfist gauntlet. They turned to see Doomfist in the air, heading straight towards the small group. Everyone dived out of the way, sucessfully avoiding the incoming threat. However, this split the team apart and Mei ended up alone. Doomfist didn't give her the chance to react, powering up his gauntlet and hitting her straight into the wall behind. She fell to the floor, lifeless.
"MEI!"
Doomfist now turned to Tracer, who ran forward firing her pulse pistols. She used her mobility to her advantage and kept blinking around him, avoiding any attacks he attempted and keeping enough distance between them to avoid a repeat of their last battle. Widow also began firing at her former leader, only to be forced to turn her attention in the opposite direction, as a squad of Talon soldiers came to Doomfist's aid.
DVa activated her defence matrix, absorbing as many shots as she could while Widow and Lucio returned fire, eliminating some of the incoming targets. As the defence matrix ran out of power, Widow and Lucio took cover behind the Meka, while DVa launched her micro missiles, taking out a couple more enemies.
Confident that DVa and Lucio could handle the other troops, Widow grappled up to a nearby ledge and aimed her sniper towards Doomfist. Tracer was doing a good job at keeping him busy, avoiding his attacks time and again but she was also making him more and more angry. As he turned his back to her, Widow quickly identified a weak point and fired a shot into Doomfist's armour. If anything, it only seemed to enraged him further.
Eventually, Doomfist aimed his weapon and fired a shot, perfectly anticipating Tracer's movements and scoring a direct hit. In response, Tracer activated her recall, undoing the damage the shot caused. However, Doomfist wasn't finished yet and raised his gauntlet once again. He knew he didn't have time to charge it up and so swung the gauntlet through the air, predicting perfectly where Tracer would reappear and hitting her to the ground. He made sure not to give her he time to recover, landing a second punch with his other hand and knocking her out.
Widow fired another shot at Doomfist, aiming for his head. However, he anticipated this and raised his gauntlet to block the shot. DVa now changed targets, boosting towards Doomfist and firing her weapons at him. This was a move she came to regret, as Doomfist powered up his gauntlet once again and landed a punch on the incoming Meka. DVa was sent flying backwards, impacting the wall behind her and ending up embedded in it. The impact knocked out the Meka's power and left it damaged to the point that Hana couldn't even eject.
"LUCIO, GET OUT OF HERE!" Hana shouted, being unable to do anything else.
Lucio heeded her words, jumping onto the wall and riding past the Talon troopers, who were too focused on Widow to even care about him. Once he was away, he moved quickly, trying to contact the rest of the team for help.
Widow used the distraction DVa caused to run over and pick up Tracer, throwing her over her shoulder before activating her grapple. Doomfist was basically on top of her as the grapple impacted its target, pulling her away from immediate danger. Yet, the remaining Talon troopers had other ideas, firing at the grappling point and scoring a hit. The cable was cut and Widow ended up falling back to the ground, impacting hard with the floor below.
Her rifle ended up some distance away and the Talon grunts moved quickly to make sure she couldn't retrieve it. Instead, she moved to Lena, who had landed next to her and checked her pulse. She was relieved to know that Lena was still alive.
"It seems today wasn't a total failure after all."
Widow looked up to see Doomfist, who was holding Snowball in his gauntlet, obviously collected from Mei. He wasted no time crushing the small bot, throwing it away afterwards. He walked forward and tried to grab Widow, yet she was quicker, avoiding him and then landing her own hits on his head. He flinched slightly, yet this didn't stop him. As she attacked again, he caught the punch before head butting Widow, causing her to fall to the ground. She tried to stand back up but was not able to, as another trooper ran over and injected her with something. Within a few moments, she was out cold.
"Two for the price of one. Moira's going to love this." Doomfist said, picking up both unconscious agents in front of him. "Bring that body. Kill the Meka pilot."
The commander nodded, moving to collect Mei while some of the other troopers ran over to DVa. She was still stuck inside her Meka and was powerless to stop them taking Tracer, Widow or Mei. As one trooper stepped forward and pulled out a pistol, she knew what was coming. The glass covering the Meka's cockpit had been cracked and it wouldn't take much to break it completly. So, when the barrel of the pistol was pointed straight at her, Hana closed her eyes, accepting her fate.
"HAMMER DOWN!"
Hana's eyes shot back open, seeing the troopers near her now flat on the floor. Seconds later, Brigitte ran forward, activating her shied and protecting DVa, while Reinhardt dealt with the enemy soldiers. As he did this, Sombra suddenly appeared behind the Talon troops and fired her SMG. Between them, it didn't take long to finish them off. Once the threat was eliminated, Reinhardt walked over to DVa, pulling the Meka away from the wall and then forcing the hatch open.
"Thanks." Hana said, as Brigitte helped her out of the destroyed Meka.
"Thank Lucio. He got to us just in time." Reinhardt replied, as he came into view. "What happened here?"
Hana looked around, tying to find the other agents in her team. Other than Lucio, she couldn't find anyone.
"Talon took us off guard." She finally said. "Doomfist came out of nowhere... I think he killed Mei..."
"What about Lena and Amelie?" Sombra pressed. "Where are they?"
"They took them." Hana muttered. "Talon took them."
"No. No they can't have!"
As she said that, a single Talon dropship could be seen flying away. As they watched Talon leave, Reinhardt contacted Morrison, knowing he needed to explain the situation.
"Commander, we have a problem."
Talon base- Unknown location- Several hours later
Widow slowly began to wake up, blinking as her vision returned to normal. She was trapped in a dark room, obviously a cell, with her arms restrained above her. She was back in this nightmare, this hell that turned her into Widowmaker. Even before they started, she was determined to fight off Talon's influence. She'd die before working for Talon again.
"Hey luv."
Widow looked to her right and saw Lena, secured against the wall in a similar fashion. Her accelerator was against the opposite wall, inside a glass box so that she could see it but not use it. This sight was both a blessing and a curse. In a way, she was glad to see Lena, to see someone she knew. At the same time though, she hated the fact that she was here. She knew Talon would try to use them to break the other. That's why they were in the same cell. If Widow had to guess, they were going to try the same thing they did with Mercy and Pharah.
"Hey." Widow said, putting on a brave face. "Any idea where we are?"
"No. All I know is that we're in trouble."
"You can say that again."
Before either could say another word, their restraints came to life, powering up and electrocuting both of them. They held out as long as they could before finally screaming out in pain. The electrocution stopped as suddenly as it began and both were left breathing heavily.
A few moments passed before they heard the cell door unlock. The door slid open and in stepped Moira, an evil grin plastered on her face. She stepped over to Lena's accelerator, taping on the glass box and turning to face Lena.
"This is a fascinating piece of technology. Imagine if we could harness your abilities so that anyone could use them."
Lena didn't reply, staring at the Talon scientist. Moira found herself chuckling at her silence.
"Not as talkative as usual I see. No matter, that'll change." Moira stood up and walked to Widow, kneeling down in front of her. "Now, I suppose you're both wondering why you're here?"
"Your planning to break us and turn us into Talon agents. After all, it worked so well the first time, didn't it?" Widow answered in a sarcastic tone of voice. Clearly Lena's attitude had rubbed off a little.
"You're partly correct miss Lacroix. Our operation in Numbani didn't quite go to plan. Despite this setback, there appears to be an opportunity to fill a void in our ranks. However, I've been reading through your files recently and I've realised that our conditioning doesn't work as well as we first thought. After all, that's why we're having this conversation. Your conditioning broke down and you escaped. So this time, I seek to do things differently. I seek to persuade both of you to willingly work with us."
"Fuck off."
"Yes I thought you might say something along those lines. Perhaps this will change your mind."
Lena suddenly screamed it in pain, her restraints electrocuting her again. Widow tried to break free from her restraints, hoping she could strangle Moira and make her stop, yet she couldn't break free. After a short moment, the restraints powered down and Moira stepped over to the breathless Lena.
"And what about you miss Oxton? All of this stops if you agree to work with us. You don't want to see poor Amelie suffer any more, do you?"
Lena looked over to Widow, who gave her a defiant nod. She could take it.
"Piss off Moira. We will never work for you."
It was Widow's turn to scream out in pain, as her restraints powered up and administered an electric shock. Once the electrocution stopped, Moira turned around and walked to the centre of the room.
"I know you will come around to my way of thinking. After all, I know your weakness miss Oxton. How is Emily doing?"
Lena went wide eyed. "What?"
Moira chuckled before pulling out Lena's phone from her pocket. "I'm surprised you kept this on you instead of leaving it away from the fight. You made it rather easy for us."
"Don't you dare!"
Moira stepped back to Lena, kneeling down to face her directly. "You won't work with us willingly. Not unless we give you a reason to. Thanks to your phone, we know how much this Emily means to you. So what if we brought her here and subjected her to the same things as you? Maybe then, you'd be more willing to co-operate."
"Leave her alone!"
Moira threw Lena's phone into her lap. "You might as well keep this. We've made sure you can't contact anyone with it. Can't have you warning Emily now can we?"
After giving Lena a smirk, Moira stood up and walked to the door. As she stepped out, she heard Lena shout out once more, confirming that she'd hit a nerve.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!"
The door to the cell slammed shut and the restraints holding Lena and Widow released. Widow rubbed her wrists and looked over to Lena, who was just sitting still, staring at her accelerator. Slowly, Widow moved herself over and sat next to Lena, placing an arm around her.
"I'm scared Amelie." Lena finally admitted, instinctively cuddling her.
"I know. I'm scared too."
"If they get Emily..."
"They won't."
"But what if..."
"They won't. Overwatch won't let that happen."
Lena slowly nodded, hoping that Widow was right. She didn't care what they did to her, so long as Emily was safe. She dreaded the sight of Emily being dragged into the cell and being tortured. If that happened, then she would do anything to make it stop. She could only hope that Overwatch would get to her first.