Trouble At Home- Part 2
Watchpoint Gibraltar- Secondary entrance
Ana fired round after round from her biotic rifle, healing anyone she saw who appeared to be injured. Null Sector had shifted its focus onto the disused secondary entrance, which Winston had sealed up long before the recall. The only thing of note was a small garage, which stored a few old and currently unused vehicles. Null Sector had since forced their way through, creating an opening through the fence and forcing the defenders to respond.
The defending forces here had a similar setup to Reinhardt's team. The crusaders were at the front, using their barriers to absorb as much damage as possible, while the rest of the Meka pilots performed hit and run attacks on the enemy. The main difference in this force were the agents. Lucio was up front with the crusaders, keeping the troopers and crusaders healed up as best he could, while also pushing back any Omnics that got too close.
Pharah was flying above the battlefield, raining down rockets on any Omnic she saw. Ana made sure to keep her healed up, periodically aiming her rifle up and firing a healing round, before focusing her aim back to the other defenders. Winston meanwhile was helping the Meka pilots with their hit and run attacks, jumping in and taking out as many enemy Omnics as possible, while using his barrier as cover.
The Null Sector forces had attacked as one large force, not once retreating to regroup. Thankfully, they hadn't used any Bastion's in this attack group, which had kept the Overwatch casualties low. The defenders were gradually pushing the Omnics back, not wanting to rush forward into a potential trap.
Despite how well the battle appeared to be going, Ana's gut instinct was telling her that something wasn't right. Even when Zarya appeared with a squad of soldiers and the battle began turning further into their favour, Ana's concerns remained.
After a long battle, the Omnics finally began retreating, the Overwatch forces pushing forwards and capitalising on the advantage to take out a few more enemies before they lost sight of them.
Once the Null Sector forces were out of range, the defenders regrouped at the fence. Ana fired a few more rounds, hitting the crusaders and healing up the few shots they had taken, before activating her earpiece.
"Jack, the Null Sector forces have fallen back. How are things your end?"
"Quiet." Morrison replied. "If I had to guess, Null Sector will try at least one final attack."
"I was thinking the same."
Ana paused, as pharah landed nearby and walked over. The two Amari's silently nodded to each other, before Ana continued.
"Any news on the power?" Ana asked Morrison.
"Yes and it's not good. The team that went down there got attacked. I've sent Reinhardt, Widowmaker and Mercy down there to sort it out."
"That's a small team..." Ana commented.
"That's because we have another problem. Just before I sent her down there, I had Widow check the rooftops. She found two Talon agents and discovered that there are more disguised as Overwatch soldiers."
Ana quietly cursed to herself, though still loud enough for Pharah to hear it.
"How many?"
"Unknown."
"Okay. What's our next move then?"
"Nothing much we can do about it right now, so focus on driving back this attack. Just keep an eye on the other troopers for now and only send agents to do critical tasks."
"Understood."
Ana deactivated her earpiece, looking over to Pharah, who had an eyebrow raised.
"That doesn't sound good. Anything I should be worried about?"
Ana placed an arm around her daughter, pulling her closer and turning slightly away from the rest of the defenders.
"Talon's infiltrated Overwatch." Ana explained, making sure to keep her voice low. "Jack says there are Talon forces disguised as our own troops and we don't know how many there are."
"Which means any one of them could be Talon." Pharah muttered, briefly looked over to the defending force, taking note of how many soldiers there were.
"Exactly... I'll quietly inform the rest of the agents, so just keep an eye on the soldiers... and be careful Fareeha."
"I will mum. Don't worry."
Safe room under Winston's lab
Considering the situation she was in, Emily was surprisingly calm.
Both Emily and Zenyatta were currently inside the safe room under Winston's lab, which was the same room that contained the chamber that was used to rescued Lena.
At first Emily was worried, constantly checking her phone or having to walk around the room to take her mind off everything. The base was under attack. At least, that's what her and Zenyatta had concluded from the sounds they could hear. As the sounds continued, Emily couldn't help but become more concerned.
Her worries were not for herself though. This was the first time Lena had been in a combat zone since she'd been taken off active duty and Emily couldn't help but be worried about her.
Fortunately, Zen had noticed and had acted accordingly. When he saw Emily check her phone yet again, he asked her to move over and sit with him. It didn't take Zenyatta long to discover what was worrying Emily so much, taking time to address her concerns.
Right now, the two were sat meditating, while Snowball gently floated around them. Emily's eyes were closed, yet she could tell when Snowball floated next to her, opening her eyes and briefly petting the small robot, before returning to her meditation.
Meditation was something Emily had never thought about doing before. Back in London, she was usually too busy to mediate and considered that it wouldn't really suit her. However, she was finding it quite relaxing and it had certainly taken her mind off everything that was going on.
That was until someone hammered on the door to the safe room. The sudden noise startled Emily and Snowball, who quickly flew over to the redhead. Zen on the other hand didn't appear to react, simply turning his head towards the door while floating up from his sitting position.
"Ma'am, Winston sent us. We need to move you to another safe room, this one's been compromised."
Emily gut was telling her that something wasn't right. Only herself, Zenyatta and Snowball were in this safe room and very few people knew they were here. Winston had also given Emily a short range radio, that he confirmed would work even without the bases power online. If Winston had really sent those troopers, then he would have contacted her first to say so.
With this in mind, Emily looked over to Zenyatta, who silently motioned to keep quiet. He was apparently thinking the same as she was and wasn't convinced these were actual Overwatch soldiers.
"Ma'am, you're in danger, we need to get moving." The soldier on the other side of the door said, this time sounding a little more on edge. Still Emily and Zen weren't convinced. Something was definitely wrong.
Thankfully they were in one of, if not the most secure safe room in the base. The main way inside was the panel in Winston's lab, though the room did have two hidden emergency exits just in case. The panel could only be opened in one of two ways. Firstly by anyone currently occupying the safe room, or by inputting a code, which was know only by Winston and a few other agents.
After a painfully silent few moments, they heard the soldier sigh, before he began talking to someone else.
"Are you sure she's in here?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
"Well, if anyones in there they ain't buying it. Contact our inside man and see if he knows the access code to get inside. Failing that, force the door open. We don't have all day."
"Hey fellas! What ya doing here?"
The soldiers all spun around, the one standing up after knocking on the panel to the safe room and saw Tracer standing nearby. The Brit walked forward, the glow from her accelerator illuminating the lab, thanks to the lack of power. She stopped just in front of door to the safe room, turning to face the squad of soldiers.
There were only four soldiers in the lab and Tracer made sure to glance between them, noticing how a couple of them seemed on edge since she arrived.
"We've had reports that the enemy know about this safe room." The one soldier began. "So Winston sent us to move the occupants to another one."
"Strange, Winston sent me to do just that." Lena replied, knowing full well that the soldier was lying. "Don't worry, I can handle this. You lot will be needed elsewhere."
"I'm afraid Winston was very insistent, ma'am."
"I'm sure he was but like I said, I can handle it."
Before the soldier could reply, another one let out a groan of frustration, before raising his rifle and pointing it at Tracer.
"Forget it. She clearly knows."
"Knows what exactly? That you're all Talon agents pretending to be Overwatch soldiers?"
The Talon imposters all raised their weapons, though Lena wasn't phased by them. Instead, she raised her hands in a mock surrender.
"Oh, guess you caught me. Before you do anything though, I have one question... Do you know what time it is?"
"IT'S HIGH NOON!"
Two voices echoed the words through the lab, causing the imposters to turn around in a panic. They'd been too distracted by Tracer to notice both McCree and Ashe enter the lab and take position on the upper level. The troopers stood no chance, both agents firing before they could finish turning around, each taking out two enemies with two bullets.
"You know, I'm starting to see why you like saying that."
Lena chuckled at Ashe's lighthearted comment. "Thanks for not taking my head off you two."
"Please, we're professionals." McCree replied.
"Well, I am. Don't really know about you Jesse."
McCree turned to Ashe, pretending to look offended as he reloaded his revolver. Once he'd finished, he began walking towards the office.
"Ashe, keep Lena covered. I'll keep an eye out for any hostiles."
"Got it."
Ashe reloaded her rifle, replacing the two bullets she'd just used. While she did this, Lena knelt down and knocked on the entrance to the safe room.
"Hey, you two okay?"
"Indeed we are." Zenyatta answered. "Your timing was most opportune."
"Lena! Are you okay?" Emily asked, glad to hear Lena's voice.
"Don't worry Em, I'm fine. Listen, it's not safe out here yet. Talon's here and they're disguised as Overwatch soldiers. So don't open this door to anyone except me and Winston."
"We understand." Zen replied, just before McCree walked out of the office.
"We have a problem. There's Null Sector grouping up outside."
"Sounds like trouble. Gotta go."
"Stay safe Lena."
Lena blinked up to McCree, running into the office and looking out the window. Sure enough, a small group of Omnics were there, preparing their weapons as a few more arrived.
"Where'd this lot come from?" Lena asked aloud, wondering how they'd slipped past the other defending forces.
"No idea." McCree replied. "However they did, we need to deal with them."
"Agreed." Lena thought for a few seconds, coming up with a plan of attack. "Well, there's not too many of them, so I'm thinking we have Ashe on the high ground, while me and you hit them head on. Ashe fires the first shot to get their attention, then I'll blink around them while you help Ashe pick them off."
"Sounds like a plan. We better move before they decide to attack. You hear that Ashe?"
"Yeah, I heard you. I'll move into position, you two say when you want me to attack."
Lena and McCree ran down the stairs, deciding to use the side entrance to the lab to remain hidden before attacking. Ashe meanwhile moved to the vantage point, lying herself down on the small platform connected to the lab. She aimed her rifle over one of the Omnics heads and prepared to pull the trigger.
"If only I had some dynamite right now." Ashe muttered, as she activated her comm. "You two ready?"
"Yeah." McCree answered. "We'll move on your mark."
Ashe focused on the Omnic in her scope, waiting for the perfect moment before squeezing the trigger. The Omnic remained standing for a few seconds after the impact, before falling over. The other Null Sector forces aimed their weapon towards Ashe and fired, the cowgirl being forced to roll back and stay down to avoid being hit.
With the Null Sector forces distracted, Tracer and McCree moved to attack. Lena blinked up to the largest cluster of Omnics and threw a pulse bomb, recalling before any that had seen her could react.
The explosion took out a good amount of the Omnic squad and damaged a couple more. Pressing her advantage, Tracer blinked forwards, firing her pulse pistols as she blinked around them. McCree made sure to cover her with his revolver, jumping into cover whenever he needed to.
With the Omnics now focused on Tracer and McCree, Ashe had the opportunity to reposition, aiming her rifle once again and hitting the Omnics from her vantage point.
The battle didn't take long, with the three agents overwhelming the Omnics and making short work of the Null Sector squad. Once the last Omnic fell, Lena and McCree regrouped at the entrance to the lab, while Ashe scanned the area for any stragglers.
"We're clear."
"So, where did they come from?" Lena asked aloud, keeping ahold of her pulse pistols as she began scanning the area. It was seconds later when an answer came to mind. "You don't think they came from the lower levels, do ya?"
"Maybe..." McCree said, trailing off as he considered the question himself. "If that's the case, then there could be more on their way. Head back inside and keep out of sight. I'll go up with Ashe and keep an eye out for anyone tryin to get inside.
Lena nodded, blinking back inside and up towards the office. She then sat herself on the upper level, watching the entrance to the safe room. McCree wasn't far behind, walking at a quick pace up to Ashe's position. The sounds of battle had died down once again, yet Lena considered the battle was not yet over. She could only hope that Null Sector didn't gain the upper hand.
Watchpoint lower levels
Reinhardt, Widow and Mercy hadn't wasted any time, moving as quickly as they could while remaining cautious. Reinhardt was leading the way towards the main generator room, his barrier ready in case it was needed. Widow and Mercy were just behind him, Widow keeping her thermal goggles active and checking every corner as they moved. Even with the emergency lighting on, it would still be difficult to see any potential ambushes before it was too late, so Widow's thermal vision was proving invaluable.
Thankfully, they didn't run into any trouble and if they didn't know any better, they'd assume there weren't any hostiles down here. However, the signs of battle became apparent when they reached the main generator room.
All around the room were the bodies of the fallen Overwatch soldiers, along with the remains of the destroyed Null Sector Omnics. In the middle of it all was the ruined generator, far too damaged to attempt any repairs while the base was under attack.
Reinhardt moved into the room, raising his barrier to provide some cover, while Widow checked for any hostiles, making sure to scan over all the possible ways in.
"Clear."
"It must have been a bloodbath down here." Mercy said, keeping her voice low as she knelt down next to one of the fallen soldiers, confirming what she already knew. "We shouldn't leave these troops here like this."
"We'll send someone down when we can." Reinhardt replied. "Right now, we need to focus on finding Brigitte and Sombra."
"Where do you think they are?"
"If I had to guess, they're probably at the backup generator..."
Reinhardt was interrupted by the sudden sound of gunfire, coming from somewhere further into the lower levels.
"And from the sounds of that, they need our help. Let's move!"
The three began running towards the backup generator room, following the sounds of fighting. As they ran, Widow began sprinting, moving faster then Reinhardt and Mercy.
"Widow..." Reinhardt began, only to be cut off before he could continue.
"They need help now and I can move faster than you two." Widow said, now running ahead of Reinhardt.
"She's right." Mercy admitted. "They need help and Amelie can reach them before we can."
Reinhardt didn't attempt to argue. "Okay. Go on ahead and give them support."
Widow didn't need to be told twice, breaking back into a full sprint. She quickly created some distance between herself and the other two agents, following the sounds of gunfire towards their source and hoping that she wasn't too late.
Backup generator room
Even without turning around, Brigitte knew the situation was bad. She was almost done with the repairs, now only doing some final adjustments. It was a task that normally would have taken minutes, yet right now it was taking much longer. She was constantly having to stop, either to take cover or to fight off a Null Sector attack.
Their attacks were almost constant, giving neither her or Sombra much of a break between them. Sombra had been doing a good job of holding Null Sector back for now, yet she suspected that they were holding back, wanting to get an idea of what they were up against before fully attacking.
Right now, Brig heard Sombra unload another magazine from her SMG, before the distinct sound of metal crashing to the floor. The hacker let out a breath, before she checked on her translocator, which thankfully hadn't been found. She'd placed the device behind a large box not too long ago, ready to use if she was hit or needed to get to cover. So far she hadn't needed to use it, yet that could easily change.
"How much longer?"
"Almost there." Brig replied, moving to the last few adjustments that were needed. "Just keep them off me a little longer."
A sudden sound made Sombra turn back toward the door, raising her weapon. Unlike the main generator room, there were two entrances to this one, both on opposite sides of the room. Null Sector were only using the one, making the job of defending against their attacks easier.
However, it appeared that Null Sector were done holding back. This time, a much larger group of twelve troopers rushed into the room, accompanied by eight Slicers. Sombra opened fired on the troopers, taking down one before jumping into cover. She managed to hack one of he Slicers and wasted no time destroying it, yet the rest continued towards the generator, threatening to undo the work Brigitte had done.
The engineer was not prepared to allow that to happen though, standing and raising her barrier, silently thanking it for activating. She began attacking the Slicers, hitting them time again with her mace. Sombra provided support where she could, managing to hack one of the Slicers, before being forced to focus back on the rest of the attackers.
By some miracle, Brigitte's barrier didn't malfunction, giving her the protection she needed as she took down the Slicers one by one. To Brig's surprise, the small Omnics didn't aim for the generator and instead turned their lasers on her. This worked to Brig's advantage though, since their lasers took time before doing any major damage. This meant her armour easily withheld their attacks, only sustaining minor levels of damage as she attacked.
With the last Slicer destroyed, Brig turned her attention to the rest of the room, seeing that Sombra was struggling. She'd managed to take down three more Omnics, yet she'd been forced to use her translocator and was currently pinned down behind the large box it was hidden behind. The Omnics were firing at the edges of the box, seemingly aware of the hackers stealth abilities and not giving her the chance to slip away unnoticed.
Seeing that Sombra needed help, Brig raised her arm and activated her barrier. This time though, the device didn't immediately work, only deploying half way before becoming stuck, forcing her to take cover. She watched the device struggle for a couple of seconds, before it finally activated correctly, this time fully deploying.
"HEY!"
The engineer raised her shield and stepped out of cover, gaining the attention of the enemy Omnics. Five turned their weapons on Brig, her barrier absorbing the damage, while three refocused on their original target. However, Brig's distraction had worked and had given Sombra the chance to move.
Dropping a new translocator, she turned herself invisible and moved out of cover, using the brief few moments to move closer and aim at her target. Just as Brig's barrier began to break, Sombra became visible again, appearing right next to one of the Omnics. She gave it no chance to react, firing straight into its head and then changing targets before it could even fall to the floor.
Some of the Omnics focused on Brig now changed targets, aiming towards the hacker as she took down her second target. However, this simply took the pressure off Brig, who used her chance to boost forward and engage the enemies.
She lowered her barrier as she attacked, using her whip shot to knock one back into the wall, before attacking two more with her mace. The two agents appeared to have gained the upper hand in the fight, dropping the number of Null Sector troopers to three.
"AHH!"
The advantage they had though quickly disappeared when Brig heard Sombra yell out in pain. She looked over to where she thought the hacker was, seeing instead three new Omnics, which had arrived to reinforce the Null Sector troopers.
As the Omnics raised their weapons, Brig knew she was too exposed and needed to fall back. She raised her barrier, the device thankfully activating correctly and walked back towards the large box, guessing that was where Sombra was.
However, just before she reached it, her barrier malfunctioned again, deactivating at the worst possible time. The engineer was forced to dive into cover, her armour holding as she was hit by multiple weapons.
Her guess was proven correct, as she found the hacker sat behind it, clutching her left shoulder. The engineer crouched down behind the box, giving her barrier time to recharge.
"How bad?"
"I'll be fine." Sombra answered, hissing in pain as she let go of her shoulder briefly to reload her weapon. "How's your barrier?"
Brigitte tried her shield again, shaking her head as the device attempted to activate, yet ultimately failed.
"It won't work, possibly for good this time."
The situation was bad to say the least. Five of the six Null Sector troopers had decided to focus on the two agents, aiming at the box and waiting for one of them to move.
The last one was aiming at the generator, preparing to fire to lure out the two agents. Brig didn't give it the chance to though, quickly standing up and using her whip shot against the trooper. The Omnic was thrown backwards, impacting the wall, yet not destroying it. The other five opened fire, scoring hits against the engineers armour and forcing her back into cover.
"We're in trouble." Brig commented, trying her barrier again but having no luck. "Have any ideas?"
"One." Sombra replied, keeping her voice low. "My cloak is still working, so I'll..."
Before Sombra could continue, she was interrupted by a loud shot, which sounded like it came from a high powered rifle. The two agents looked at each other, before peeking out of cover, being met with a welcome sight.
One of the Omnics was on the floor, with a hole in its head where a bullet had passed through. The other five were aiming at the other side of the room, where Widow was currently standing.
The assassin fired again, taking down another trooper before taking cover. After a brief second, she sprinted out of cover, using her rifles SMG setting to take down another target, before rolling to the side to avoid the Omnics returning fire.
"Sombra! Weapon!"
The hacker passed her gun to Brigitte, who threw it towards Widow. The sniper used the remaining ammo in Widow's Kiss, before dropping it to the ground and firing her grappling hook, pulling Sombra's weapon towards her.
With the weapon in hand, Widow made short work of the two remaining Omnics, gunning both down without a second thought. Once they were clear, Widow deactivated her thermal goggles and moved back towards the other two agents, making sure to pick up her own rifle before joining them behind cover.
"Are you okay?" Widow asked Sombra, the concern clear in her voice.
"Yeah." The hacker replied, wincing slightly at the pain. "I've been injured worse than this before."
"Let me see."
Sombra gently removed her hand, letting Widow look over the injury. Even in the low light, Widow could see a large burn, where the shot had impacted and the clothing around the wound was also slightly burnt. Thankfully, it wasn't too serious, yet it needed medical attention and until then, it would be painful for the hacker to fight.
"Okay. How long until that generator is fixed?" She asked Brig.
"Not long. I was almost finished when we were attacked."
Widow nodded. "Finish your repairs. I'll keep you covered."
"What about me?"
Widow turned to face Sombra. "Stay here and make sure nothing sneaks up behind us."
"But..."
"Sombra, you're injured. stay here."
The hacker gently nodded, not wanting to argue with Widow. The sniper had been more forceful this time, yet she knew that was because she was worried and was looking out for her.
"Okay. I'll watch your backs."
"Thank you."
Brig stood and moved back to the generator, beginning to work on it again. Widow wasn't far behind, stopping to give Sombra back her weapon, before placing a kiss on her forehead.
"Stay safe chérie."
Sombra couldn't help but smile. "I will."
After giving the hacker a smile in return, Widow stood and activated her thermal goggles, making sure to reload her rifle as she moved to cover Brig.
She kept watch of both doors into the room and kept her rifle raised, not taking any chances. Eventually, her goggles picked up someone entering the door to her right and the sniper quickly snapped into position. However, upon seeing Reinhardt and Mercy, Widow lowered her weapon, turning back to watch the other entrance.
"Good work Widow." The crusader said, moving over to cover Brig and Widow with his barrier.
"Sombra needs medical attention." Widow said to Mercy, who immediately moved over to Sombra and began treating her wound. She activated her staff's healing beam, quickly healing up the burns on the hackers shoulder.
While Mercy did this, Brig finished the remaining adjustments she had to do, a task made far simpler now that she had a barrier protecting her. It proved to be unnecessary though, as no further attacks came. No one relaxed fully though, suspecting that Null Sector were still lurking nearby.
It only took Brig a few minutes to finish her adjustments, standing up and sealing up the generator once she was done. After pressing a few buttons, the generator began humming, gradually powering up. Once it reached full power, the lights returned to normal and several defensive turrets suddenly appeared from the ceiling.
"Power restored. Hostiles detected, activating Watchpoint defences. Alert! Hostiles detected near backup generator room. Commencing security lockdown."
The two entrances were sealed shut and the turrets turned to watch the doors. The agents heard turrets firing outside, indicating that Null Sector were in the process of making another attack. With the doors sealed, Reinhardt lowered his barrier and Widow deactivated her thermal goggles, both not currently needed.
After a few moments, the turrets fell silent and Athena's logo appeared on the screen for the generator.
"Threat neutralised. Thank you for restoring power Brigitte."
"My pleasure." Brigitte said, before turning to Reinhardt, her tone turning serious. "Rein... how's Papa..?"
The crusader placed a reassuring hand on the engineers shoulder. "He's alright Brig. Angela looked over him before we came down here and we left him with a number of medics."
The engineer looked over to Angela, who had just finished tending to Sombra's arm. The hacker gently moved it, confirming there was no pain, before standing
"That should do it. It wasn't a serious injury, so you should be alright. If you feel any pain though, come straight back to see me."
"Got it. Thanks doc."
Overhearing part of the conversation with Reinhardt, Angela walked over to Brigitte.
"I won't lie to you Brigitte, your father suffered some serious injuries but I'm certain that he'll make a full recovery. Having the troopers bring him back up was definitely the right call. I was able to heal those injuries up before I came down here and I had the medics move him to the medical bay."
Brig let out a deep breath, relaxing slightly upon hearing the news. "Thanks Angela. Hearing you say that is a big relief."
Angela gave Brig a smile, before continuing. "Are you feeling okay Brig? Your armour looks like it's taken a beating."
Brig looked down at her armour, only now realising how much damage it had taken. Along with her damaged shield, there were numerous dents, a number of scorch marks and some missing paintwork. Part of her left shoulder was also beginning to detach from the rest of the armour. Despite the damage though, the armour had done its job. It had held up and Brig was still in one piece.
"I think I'm okay." The engineer answered. "I have a few aches, a slight headache and I feel a bit tired but otherwise I'm okay."
Angela nodded. "You might not feel anything right now because of the adrenaline, so I'd like you to come to the medical bay afterwards so I can make sure."
"Sure. Can I see papa while I'm there?"
"Of course you can."
Meanwhile, Widow had walked over to one of the destroyed Omnics, noticing something strange on the floor next to it. She knelt down and picked up a small cylinder shaped item, which had a number of buttons on it. As she analysed the object, Sombra knelt down next to her, the sniper turning to face her.
"What do you make of this?" She asked, passing the object over to the hacker.
"I think you found the jamming device." Sombra replied, hacking the small object and deactivating it. "It isn't Null Sector tech though. In fact, it looks like Talon tech..."
"That makes sense. Talon are here too." Widow said, knowing where Sombra's train on thought was leading . "I found two Talon agents on the roof and one of them said there were more."
"Which means they're probably working together..."
The two stood back up, Sombra placing the jamming device in her pocket, intending to look over it later. Widow meanwhile glanced over to Reinhardt, seeing the crusader informing Athena of the situation, before focusing back on Sombra. The two locked eyes for a brief moment, before Widow gently cupped Sombra's face and kissed her.
"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked, gently placing a hand over the burnt area of her clothing.
"Yeah, I'm okay." Sombra replied, placing her own hand on the side of Widow's face. Even though she was trying to hide it, she could tell something was bothering her. "Hey. What's wrong?"
Widow let out a breath, placing her rifle down and moving her arms around Sombra, pulling her into a hug. They stood there for a few moments, neither saying anything to the other, until Widow spoke up.
"I... I was worried about you. When I found out you were down here and no one could contact you... Don't scare me like that again."
Sombra pulled away from the hug, leaning back so that she was facing Widow. "Hey, it's okay. I'm sorry I scared you like that."
"Just... promise me you'll be careful. You're too important..."
Sombra found herself smiling at the comment. "I will. I promise you."
Winston's lab
Lena was pacing back and forth on the upper level, unable to stay still with the deathly silence and low amount of light putting her on edge. No Talon or Null Sector forces had attempted to attack the lab and the sounds of fighting had died down, yet she knew the enemy were still out there.
So when the lights suddenly came back on, Lena couldn't help but jump, instinctively raising her pulse pistols, before lowering them seconds later. She blinked into the office and upon seeing the base outside lit up, sat herself down at the main computer, waiting for it to finish powering up.
"Athena? You there?"
There was a short pause, before Athena's logo appeared on the screen.
"Hello Tracer. How can I be of assistance?"
Lena let out a deep breath. "You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice. What's the situation out there?"
"I am detecting a large group of Null Sector Omnics just outside the perimeter, which appear to be holding position. There are also a smaller number remaining in the lower levels, approximately twenty two, though defensive systems are slowly reducing this figure. I have also been made aware of Talon forces disguised as Overwatch soldiers and I am running the necessary security checks. However, due to the situation, this will take time."
Various images and diagnostics appeared on the computer, reinforcing what Athena was saying. Lena glanced over them, not fully understanding everything she was reading, though nodding anyway.
"So, on a scale of one to ten, how bad is it?"
"Currently, I would rate it a three."
"That's manageable." Lena said, just as McCree entered the lab, walking over to the small office, his revolver still in his hand.
"I see Athena's back online." The cowboy commented, as he placed his revolver back into its holster.
"Yeah, it'll definitely be a big help. Any sign of trouble out there?"
"Me and Ashe haven't seen anyone..."
"I can confirm there are no hostile forces nearby." Athena said, showing a scan of the area around the lab on the computer screen.
"Good. Em's in the safe room here with Zen and Talon's already tried to get to her once." Lena explained, turning fully to the computer.
"Don't worry Lena. I can assure you that the safe room will not be breached. The labs defences are online and I have restricted access so only agents can enter the lab. Furthermore, If you are not present and anyone attempts an unauthorised entry, I will immediately contact you."
Lena managed to relax slightly, no longer on edge like she was a few minutes ago. "Thanks Athena..."
Before Lena could continue, a new alert appeared on the computer screen.
"Athena, what's wrong?"
"I am detecting movement outside the base. Remaining Null Sector forces appear to be converging on the main entrance."
"Alert Morrison!" McCree quickly said.
"I've already done so." Athena replied, the image on the computer changing to show the defending forces.
"We need to get down there." Lena commented, blinking out of the chair she was sat in.
"Maybe one of us should stay here? Just in case."
"You might have a point." Lena admitted. "Athena?"
"I do not believe it is necessary. Lab defences should be sufficient to hold back any hostile forces. However, it is up to you."
McCree shrugged. "Your call Lena."
The Brit considered the point, weighing up the risk of leaving the lab. After a brief moment, she came to a decision.
"I don't think we should. I trust Athena's judgement and an extra agent down there could make all the difference."
Watchpoint main entrance
Morrison was fully aware of the situation, Athena informing him as soon as she came back online. She'd been keeping him up to date regarding the team in the lower levels, which she was currently guiding safely back to the surface, along with the status of the team at the lab.
When Athena alerted him of the incoming attack, Morrison had ordered everyone to prepare. The Overwatch forces had done well so far, sustaining minimal loses compared to the enemy, yet he didn't expect Null Sector to hold back this time. Since they appeared to be sending everything they had his way, Ana had sent a portion of her team to reinforce Morrison's position, yet they weren't able to beat Null Sector there.
It wasn't long after the Crusaders barriers went up when Null Sector revealed themselves, the troopers emerging from the trees. This time the attack was different though, with no OR-14's or Bastion's appearing. Instead, the troopers were defending a number of large devices, which were slowly making their way towards the defensive line.
"Detonators!" Morrison shouted, making sure he could be heard over the fighting. "Don't let them get close!"
The Overwatch soldiers that could focused on the Detonators, while the Meka pilots boosted forward, taking out a few enemy troopers before firing their micro-missiles into the Detonators. Despite this, the defenders still had trouble causing enough damage.
"Those things have tough armour!" Fox loudly grumbled, as the Detonators edged closer to the front line.
By now, the first group of reinforcements had arrived, containing Tracer, with McCree and Ashe not far behind. The Brit blinked to the nearest Detonator, unloading her pulse pistols into her target, yet was unable to crack its armour.
She was joined by two more agents, Echo and Genji, who'd returned to the fight after securing Widow's captured Talon agent. The three of them focused on the one target, finally managing to break through its armour. Two pieces detached from the device, giving the defenders a weak point to target.
"Focus on that exposed core!"
With the core exposed, the Detonator was like any other target. It quickly began taking critical damage, Echo finishing it off with her focusing beam, melting through whatever armour it had left.
"These things have more armour than I remember." Lena commented, as the three agents changed targets, focusing on the next closest Detonator.
"They've clearly armoured them up so they can take more punishment." McCree added, while he and Ashe continued to fire at the enemy forces.
"Tracer, Genji, Echo. You three keep punching holes in those Detonator's armour. Everyone else, focus on the exposed cores."
The defenders acknowledged, just as Ana's reinforcements arrived. This team contained a good chunk of soldiers from Ana's force, along with Winston and Pharah. Unlike the rest of her team, Pharah had taken a different route and had managed to fly behind the Null Sector forces. She flew into position as quietly as possible, before unleashing a rocket barrage.
"JUSTICE RAINS FROM ABOVE!"
Pharah focused on one of the Detonators, the device's armour falling away as it was pummelled by rockets. A few Null Sector troopers were also destroyed by the barrage, simply too close to the device to escape.
Once her barrage ended, Pharah finished off the Detonator, firing two further rockets into the crippled device. She then flew towards the defensive line, dropping down behind the Crusaders barriers before Null Sector could focus their fire on her.
"Nice work." Morrison said, not turning away from the battle in front.
"Thanks."
Pharah reloaded her weapon, while Morrison continued to analyse the unfolding battle. There were now ten Detonators left, along with numerous Null Sector troopers, some of which were still hidden in the trees. Morrison was confident about their chances, yet he knew the number of troopers needed thinning.
"Winston, Wrecking Ball, focus on their troopers, thin them down! Everyone else, keep hitting those Detonators!"
The two agents in question dived into the enemy forces, both focusing on the Null Sector troopers and giving the rest of the defenders some breathing space. Baptiste made sure to keep his healing grenades on them, as well as periodically healing up the other agents and Meka pilots out there.
Behind the Crusader's barriers, the Overwatch forces focused on the Detonators as much as possible, slowly weakening their armour. Hanzo and Sojourn moved over to McCree and Ashe, who were further back from the other soldiers and had far clearer shots.
One by one the Detonators fell, the defenders making sure to focus on the one closest to them. However, they simply couldn't stop them all and after destroying four more, one managed to get too close. It moved right up to one of the Crusaders, who's barrier was already damaged and began its detonation sequence.
The Crusader shouted at those behind him to take cover, knowing his barrier wouldn't hold. Just before the explosion, Baptiste reached for his immortality field, throwing it over to the Crusaders position and moving his aim, ready to fire his healing grenades.
Moments later, the large device exploded and the Crusaders barrier collapsed. Baptiste began firing a volley of healing grenades, keeping them focused on the Crusader, who turned away from the battle but remained in place, trying to protect the other defenders.
Fortunately, the hole in the defences didn't remain for long, as Reinhardt suddenly charged forward. He stopped just behind the defensive line, running over and raising his barrier, taking the place of the other Crusader.
"Hold fast my friends!"
Before his arrival, the Crusaders were going to have to lower their barriers at some point, to allow them to recharge. With Reinhardt now in the fight, the Crusaders now had an extra barrier, meaning they could swap positions when needed, giving each of them the chance to recharge their shields.
Further back, Widow had her scope focused on the Detonators, firing at their weak points as often as she could. Her weapon became an invaluable asset thanks to Mercy, who boosted the damage of her sniper with her staff. Behind them were Brigitte, who was sitting out of this fight due to the damage to her armour and Sombra, who was protecting her.
With the added damage, the odds were tipped fully into Overwatch's favour. One after another the Detonators fell, their armour being chipped away before the defenders focused on the exposed cores.
Once the last Detonator was destroyed, the defenders quickly focused on the remaining Null Sector troopers. The Omnics held their positions, trying their best to breach the wall of barriers. However, without the Detonators, they had no real way of breaching the Crusaders barriers. Even if they managed to damage one enough, the Crusader was simply swapped out with another.
The Omnics were slowly whittled down, all while making little to no progress against the defenders. In the end, after taking heavy losses and having very few Omnics left, The Null Sector forces began to fall back, this time intending to retreat fully. However, now Overwatch had the advantage and it was something Morrison was fully intending to use.
"They're falling back! Push forward! Don't let any of them escape!"
The Crusaders were the first to move, all keeping their barriers up as they walked forward. The soldiers and agents weren't far behind, firing from behind the barriers at the Null Sector forces. A few stopped and returned fire, yet were cut down almost instantly.
With no more threats now engaging, a few Crusaders dropped their barriers, running after the last few Omnics while the other defenders continued firing. It didn't take long for the last enemies to fall, not managing to make much distance between themselves and the base.
With the threat now eliminated, Morrison ordered everyone back to the main entrance, contacting Athena as the defenders walked back.
"Athena, status report."
"I am not detecting any more Null Sector forces in the area, apart from a small amount remaining in the lower levels. However, active defensive systems should be sufficient to eliminate these remaining troopers. I am also continuing to run security checks on all Overwatch personnel, in order to identify the Talon infiltrators. However, this will take time."
"Understood. Update me if you find anything. Also, I need you to run a background check on Wrecking Ball. We picked him up in Junkertown, after he helped us out and expressed interest in joining."
"Yes Commander, I will begin immediately. However, due to the current situation, the background check may take longer than usual."
Medical bay- Ten minutes later
With the fighting now over, Angela headed over to the medical bay as soon as she could, being held up by Morrison, who wanted to check in with her briefly. Brigitte was not far behind, still needing to be checked over and wanting to see her father.
When they arrived, they found number of medical staff, all tending to injured solders. Much to Angela's relief, the number of injured was lower than she'd expected. At the other end of the medic bay, sat on one of the beds was Torbjorn, who had a doctor and a nurse around him. He was too occupied speaking with the doctor to notice Angela or Brigitte enter.
"Papa!"
Brig ran over to her father, wrapping her arms around and tightly hugging him. The nurse gave them some privacy, moving to check up on another patient, while the doctor began speaking with Angela, updating her of Torb's status.
"I was so worried about you..." Brig trailed off, feeling a tear run down her cheek.
"Don't worry. It'll take more than that to take your old man down."
Torb managed to pull himself away from the hug, despite Brig's tight grip. He briefly looked over her armour, his expression changing and becoming more worried upon seeing the damage.
"I'm more worried about you. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine papa. Just some bumps and bruises, nothing serious."
Brig pulled her father in for another hug, not wanting to let him go, yet reluctantly doing so after a few moments longer. She looked over to Angela, seeing that she'd finished her conversation and was waiting for the right moment to speak.
"You've recovered from your injuries well Torbjorn." Angela began, once the two looked over towards her. "However, I'd still like you to stay here overnight, just to be safe."
"No arguments from me. I'd be wasting my breath if I tried."
The medic rolled her eyes, before speaking to Brig.
"When you're ready Brigitte, I'll check you over for any injuries."
Brig nodded, gently standing up and walking to the medical bed opposite, which had been prepared for the check up. She then slowly began removing her armour, placing it on the floor nearby, while Angela drew a privacy curtain around them. Normally, Brig could get her armour off quite easily, yet this time it took a little longer thanks to the damage it had taken.
Once her armour was off, Brig sat herself on the edge of the medical bed, watching as Angela brought her Caduceus staff over and leaned it against the wall. Torbjorn also moved over, silently waiting for a nod from Brig before he stepped over to her armour and began checking it over, keeping himself occupied.
""How are you feeling Brigitte?" Angela asked.
"About the same as before. I feel a bit tired, a bit sore and I still have a headache."
"Did you hit your head at any point while you were down there?"
"I don't know. Maybe. I was knocked to the ground by a Bastion, so I might have hit it then."
"The same Bastion that injured me..." Torb muttered, loud enough for the other two agents to hear.
Angela paid no mind to the comment, instead focusing on Brig's head. She gently ran her hand over the back of the engineers head, looking for any injuries that might be causing Brig pain.
"Would you mind untying your hair for me Brig?" Angela eventually asked. "It'll just make things a little easier."
The engineer reached behind her head and undid her ponytail, letting her hair flow freely and making it easier for Angela to find any injuries. The medic returned to her task, gently searching for any cuts or bumps. It wasn't long before Angela found something, Brig hissing slightly in pain as she checked the back of her head.
"Is it painful around here?" Angela asked, double checking.
"Yeah, little bit."
After checking the area more thoroughly, Angela gently placed her hand against the back of Brig's head, her hand glowing as she began healing the injury.
"How does that feel now?" The medic asked, as she removed her hand after a few moments.
"A bit better actually." Brig replied. "The headache's eased up."
"That's good. I'm fairly sure you did hit your head, though I didn't see anything to suggest it was a bad injury. However, I'd still like to do a scan, just to be safe."
"Sure thing."
Angela lead Brigitte towards another room, which co rained equipment for the scan she wanted to perform. She also took her staff with her, intending to heal any other injuries she found. After about ten minutes, Brigitte walked back into the main area, finding her father sat anxiously on the medical bed. He had the part of her armour with her barrier connected in his lap, which she guessed he'd looked over while she was gone.
"Anything I should know?" Torb asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.
"Just some bruises that Angela healed up. She said she'd be over with the scan results in a few minutes."
Torb silently nodded, as Brig sat down next to him. There was a short silence between them, until Torb spoke up again.
"What happened to that Bastion?"
"Sombra destroyed it... It was too focused on me, so she was able to hack it and take it out... She saved my life."
"Then you owe her, a lot..." Torb fell silent again, almost like he was considering his next words. "This is why I didn't want you involved. It's dangerous."
"I know what I signed up for papa and I can't just sit back while you fight."
Torb sighed. "I know and I'm not going to waste my breath trying to convince you otherwise. Just... be careful. I don't want you hurt like I was, or worse... and your mother would kill me if anything happened to you."
Brig found herself chuckling as she hugged her father. "I will papa."
"Do you want some help repairing your armour?"
"Yeah. Maybe you'll come up with some improvements."
After a few minutes passed, Angela walked over, holding a touchpad in her hand. Torb seemed to tense up for a moment, though he relaxed when the medic smiled softly at them.
"I have good news Brigitte. Your scan results don't show any injuries and I haven't seen anything that's concerned me."
"That's a relief." Brig said, noticing her father relax some more. "Do you need me to stay here overnight?"
"No, it shouldn't be necessary. You only had minor injuries and my staff has healed those up. However, if you feel any pain, come straight back here."
"Got it. Thanks Angela."
The medic smiled again, briefly looking over to the pile of armour. "I must say, the main reason I think your injuries were so minor was because of your armour. It's clearly been put together very well."
Brig grinned at the compliment. "What can I say. I'm a Lindholm. I learnt from the best."
Widowmaker's quarters- Two hour later
Widow was currently lay on her bed, reading a book she'd found from her old belongings. It had taken half an hour after the last attack for Athena to clear the lower levels of Null Sector and a further hour before Morrison lowered the alert level.
Right now, the Watchpoint was in lockdown. There was still the threat of another attack, though that was looking less likely as the night went on, as well as the Talon agents that they'd yet to find. For that reason, some of the agents had been assigned night duty, giving the others the chance to get some rest.
Widow was one of the lucky agents that hadn't been assigned night duty and she was planning to get some sleep after reaching the end of her current chapter. She was a few pages away from finishing when her attention was drawn away from her book.
She looked over to the table next to her, where a touchscreen tablet was sitting. The device had made a quiet ping, alerting her of a received message. She gently reached over and picked up the device, reading over the short message.
Hey. You still awake?
At the end of the message was a purple skull, indicating that it was Sombra who'd sent it. Placing her book face down, Widow quickly replied to the message.
Oui.
Hot chocolate?
Sounds lovely
Give me a few :)
Widow placed the tablet back down, continuing to read her book until there was a knock at the door a few minutes later. Once again placing her book down, she walked over and opened the door, closing it again once Sombra was inside.
"Trouble sleeping?" Widow asked, as the hacker handed her one of the two cups she was carrying.
"Yeah, little bit." Sombra replied, placing her drink down briefly to take her jacket off, placing it over a chair. "We never got chance to talk much when you got back. How was Gabe?"
"He's alright, or at least I think he is. Talon attacked while we were there and Gabriel was injured, though he seemed to shrug it off."
"That sounds like him... He isn't holding a grudge against me, right?"
Widow chuckled, sitting herself back in her original position on her bed. "No, he told me he wouldn't hurt you. I think he was just angry and said something he didn't mean."
"Well, it wouldn't be the first time." Sombra said, sitting herself next to Widow. "Who did Talon send after Gabe then?"
"Junkrat, Roadhog and Sigma, along with a Heavy, an Assassin and a small squad of troopers. Me and Morrison ended up dealing with the Heavy, while Gabriel dealt with the rest of them. Only Sigma survived the attack. He took out everyone else."
"Wait. Junkrat and Roadhog are dead?"
"Oui."
Sombra leaned back against the headboard. "Well... Talon just lost two of their best mercenaries... I'm guessing Gabe didn't agree to helping us?"
"Non. It was a long shot... but I hoped he might have listened to me... I did manage to work something out though."
"What's that?"
"Gabriel is searching for answers about the fall of Overwatch, just like we are."
The hacker nodded, taking a gulp of her drink while Widow reached for her book, continuing to read from where she left off while sipping at her own drink.
"What you reading?" Sombra eventually asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"One of the books from my old belongings." Widow answered, flipping the front cover into view so Sombra could see the name. "I can't remember it, so I don't think I've read it."
"You seem to be enjoying it." Sombra commented, pointing to the number of read pages. "What's it about?"
"It's a spy novel. The main characters are married and work together to investigate a plot to destroy the world's economy. I think you'd like it actually, one of the spies is a hacker."
"Sounds interesting. I'll have to read it sometime."
Sombra opened her computer, strolling through various pages and sipping her drink, while Widow finished her last few pages of her chapter. When she reached the end, she placed a bookmark between the pages and then put the book down on the table next to her.
Once the two had finished their drinks, Widow took the two empty cups and placed them next to her book. As she leaned back, she felt Sombra wrap an arm wrap around her waist. Widow returned the gesture, wrapping her own arm around Sombra and letting the hacker cuddle closer to her.
The two remained like this for a short while, until Widow realised that Sombra had fallen asleep. She quietly chuckled to herself, before she gently moved the hacker under the covers, turning off the lights and placing a kiss on her head afterwards.
"bonne nuit chérie. Sweet dreams."
Authors note
Well, this took way longer to get out then I would have hoped. I had a couple of weeks when I couldn't write as much, so that delayed me a bit.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter and see you in the next one :)