Cleaning House

Watchpoint Gibraltar- Widowmaker's quarters- The next morning

Sombra gently began opening her eyes, blinking a few times and focusing on the clock on the nearby table, which currently read 10:48. She gently sat herself up and looked around the room, her eyes resting on Widow, who was currently sat next to the table, reading the same book from last night.

"Good morning." Widow said, looking up from her book and giving Sombra a warm smile. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did thanks." The hacker replied, running a hand through her hair. "I'll be honest. I didn't actually intend to fall asleep in here."

Widow let out a soft chuckle, finding her bookmark before placing her book down. "Of course you didn't."

There was a hint of sarcasm in Widow's reply, yet Sombra knew she wasn't being serious. She watched as the assassin stood up and picked up a tray, before walking over and sitting on the bed next to her. She gently passed the tray over, which had a knife and fork, a covered plate and a glass of orange juice on it.

"I brought you some breakfast. It should still be warm."

Sombra removed the covering over the plate, revealing two croissants, along with some butter and jam.

"Mmm. I should sleep here more often."

There was another chuckle from Widow, this time a more playful one. "I certainly wouldn't mind."

Sombra took note of Widow's seductive tone of voice, as she picked up one of the croissants, along with the knife and began cutting it in half.

"Where's yours?" The hacker asked, not seeing any other food. "You're not planning on stealing mine, are you?"

"Non, I've already eaten."

"Without me?"

"You looked too peaceful to wake up. Besides, I thought you deserved a little extra sleep."

"Well, I suppose breakfast in bed is a good alternative."

The hacker placed a quick kiss on Widow's cheek, before she returned to her food, spreading the butter and then the jam over the two halves of the croissant.

"So." Sombra began, pausing to take a bite from one of the two halves. "Anything happened while I was out of it?"

"Not really." Widow replied, leaning herself back against the bed. "The base is still on lockdown and the Talon agents haven't been found. Apparently Morrison has been interrogating the captured agent but he hasn't found anything out yet."

"That's if they know anything at all. How many Talon agents are we looking for?" The hacker asked, taking another bite from her breakfast.

"At least two, though there could easily be more."

Before Sombra could reply, Athena suddenly spoke up.

"Please forgive the intrusion but could you two come to Winston's lab as soon as possible?"

Widow and Sombra briefly looked at each other, both slightly confused by this sudden request.

"Sure. We shouldn't be too long." Sombra answered for the both of them, taking another bite of her food afterwards. She ate the remainded of her breakfast relatively quickly and then took a quick shower, Widow kindly letting the hacker use hers. She'd put on clean clothes last night before she visited Widow, so once she was dressed, the two agents made their way over to Winston's lab.

When they arrived, they found out that Winston wasn't the only person in the lab. Both Lena and Emily were present, with Snowball floating around the two of them. The two were standing with Winston, looking over his shoulders while he worked at his computer.

"Winston, Amelie and Sombra have just arrived." Athena announced, as the two agents made their way up to the office.

"Thank you Athena."

Before Winston could turn to speak to the two agents, Lena had already blinked away, stopping just outside the door to the office.

"Morning you two."

"Good morning Lena." Widow replied, smiling at the Brit, who appeared to be full of energy. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Lena blinked back into the office, stopping next to Emily. "Well, I've been ordered to stick to Emily like glue until we find these Talon agents. Not bad orders if you ask me."

Lena wrapped an arm around Emily, placing a kiss on her cheek. Widow simply chuckled at the pair, before focusing on Winston.

"Thanks for coming so quickly you two ."

"No problem."

"Does this have something to do with the Talon agents?" Sombra asked, having an idea what this meeting was about.

"It does." Winston replied, turning back to his computer.

After pressing a few buttons, the image on the screen changed to show a small number of Overwatch personnel files.

"One of our small squads were found dead after the battle last night. There were seven of them, each stripped of their uniforms and equipment. We've found five of them since, four on the dead Talon agents and one on the agent Amelie captured."

"So that leaves at least two Talon agents unaccounted for."

"Correct. Me and Athena have been checking through the personnel, cross checking them with our files and the files Sombra provided from Talon."

"Had any luck?" Widow asked, as both her and Sombra moved over to the computer.

"Yes and no. We've managed to narrow down our search but we haven't made much progress after that. It's almost like they've managed to hide themselves within our ranks."

"So, you want me to take a look and see if there's anything you've missed?" Sombra said, already beginning to read over the information in front of her.

"Actually, I was hoping you could take over for a bit, while I look into another matter. Athena will help out but you know how Talon operates, so you might see something we wouldn't normally look for."

"Yeah, I can do that." Sombra replied, moving a chair over and sitting down.

"Athena, can you fill Sombra in on what we know so far."

"Yes Winston."

"I'm hoping you don't want me working on that too?" Widow lightheartedly commented, as the gorilla turned to face her.

"No, nothing like that. I don't know if you already know this but Morrison's been interrogating the captured Talon agent. However, he hasn't managed to find out much. He's said he won't talk to anyone except you."

Widow raised her eyebrows. "Really? Considering I broke his arm, that's surprising."

Winston simply shrugged, not quite understanding himself. "I wouldn't normally ask but you might be able to learn something..."

"I'll head down there and have a word with him."

"Thanks Amelie. I'll have Athena inform you if we learn anything that might help."

After a nod from Widow, Winston headed out of the office, walking down the stairs to the main lab. Just before she left, Widow moved over to Sombra, gently placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Try not to have too much fun while I'm away."

Sombra let out a laugh. "I'll try not too."

Watchpoint cell block- Five minutes later

When Widow arrived at the cell block she was quickly directed towards the captured Talon agent's location, the soldiers standing guard pointing her the correct way.

As she made her way though the cell block, she passed by McCree, who was leaning against the wall next to one of the cells. McCree had been one of the agents that had been assigned the night duty, which explained why he looked completely drained. However, he still had enough energy to acknowledge Widow, tipping his hat as she walked past.

Inside the cell was Ashe, along with a small group of Overwatch engineer and an Omnic. The engineers were all busy working on the Omnic, replacing various parts and repairing damaged armour, while Ashe appeared to be overseeing it all. Since she was heading somewhere already, Widow decided to not interrupt and leave them to it.

Once she arrived at her destination, Widow gently knocked on the door and waited for a response, which came moments later.

"Come in."

When she entered, she found Morrison leaning against a table, while looking through a one way glass window. On the other side of the glass was an interrogation room, where Sojourn was currently sat questioning the captured Talon agent. Both were at opposite sides of a table and the Talon agents arm was in a sling, still broken after Widow captured him.

"Amelie, thanks for coming."

"Have you managed to find out anything?" Widow asked, getting straight to the point.

"Other than he's a Talon agent, nothing." Morrison replied, as Widow moved next to him and folded her arms, watching Sojourn as she asked the Talon agent another question. "The only thing he's actually said is that he'll only talk to you."

Widow hummed in acknowledgment, watching as the Talon soldier ignored Sojourn's questions and just looked at the wall. After trying once more and still getting no reply, Sojourn turned her head towards the window, shaking it at her lack of progress.

Knowing she wouldn't get anything out of him, Morrison contacted Sojourn, her earpiece keeping what he said private.

"Get out of there. He isn't going to talk."

Sojourn didn't respond, instead she stood up and left the interrogation room, reappearing in the observation room a few moments later

"Let's get this over with." Widow said, once Sojourn had joined them.

After putting an earpiece in that Morrison passed her, Widow entered the interrogation room. The Talon agent had his back to the door, though he didn't turn to see who had entered. Instead, he continued looking at the wall, only moving when Widow slowly walked into view, sitting down in the same chair Sojourn did.

"I didn't think they'd actually send you in." The Talon agent said, not appearing to be affected by the assassin's sudden appearance. If anything, he seemed to be more confident all of a sudden, like he'd just won an argument.

"You said you wouldn't talk to anyone but me." Widow replied, matter of factly. "Well here I am, so you better talk."

The Talon agent grinned at the comment. "Only if you ask the right questions."

Widow raised an eyebrow, not expecting the agent to be so bold. "You're awfully confident for someone who's been captured."

The Talon agent chuckled. "What can I say. I'm in pretty safe hands."

It was clear that he believed he had more power than he actually did. For now though, Widow decided to play along, considering she'd learn more from him that way.

"Why me?" She asked, beginning her line of questions. "Why speak to no one but me?"

The agent shrugged. "I'm just following orders."

"You have orders to talk to no one but me?"

"Correct."

This surprised Widow, though she made sure not to show it.

"Who gave you that order?"

"Doomfist."

"Do you know the reason why he gave you that order?"

The Talon agent remained silent, not answering the question. Widow wasn't sure if this meant the agent wouldn't willingly answer or if he simply didn't know. Instead of pushing it though, she decided to move on, having other questions she wanted answered.

"Okay, lets try something else. You were part of an infiltration squad. What was your mission?"

"To kill the primary target and then other high value Overwatch targets."

"The primary target was Tracer's girlfriend, correct?" Widow continued, watching the Talon agent carefully as she spoke.

"Correct."

"Why was she considered such a high value target?"

The agent smirked again. "Your smart Widow. Work it out."

Widow leaned back into her seat, staring daggers into the Talon agent as she thought it over. Emily wasn't exactly critical to the everyday running of Overwatch, so that wasn't the reason.

"Who were the other high value targets?" Widow asked, after a short delay.

"Mostly staff needed to run the base. No one critical to Overwatch."

"Any agents?"

"No."

"None? Not even Morrison?"

"No. No agents were specific targets. We could take some out if needed but we were told to avoid it where possible."

Now Widow was interested. Why would Doomfist order Talon soldiers to avoid killing Overwatch agents but target Emily instead. Killing her wouldn't really help Talon. It would devastate Lena but if anything it would likely make Overwatch fight even harder...

Her train of thought stopped dead in its tracks. Suddenly it all made sense. Talon didn't want Overwatch out of the picture. They wanted a reaction from them.

Widow knew she needed to speak to Morrison immediately. Before she stood to leave though, she had one more question to try.

"One more question, for now at least. How many Talon agents are here?"

The captured agent chuckled. "Enough to get the job done."

Widow glared at the agent, staring straight at him for a moment, before suddenly standing up. This finally made the Talon agent flinch, his confidence slipping for a moment as Widow stepped towards him.

"I don't know for sure. There's was at least one here before the attack, that much I know. Otherwise, I don't know."

Now it was Widow's turn to smirk, watching as the Talon agent shuffled uncomfortably in his chair. She gently strode towards the door and left the interrogation room, walking the short distance to the observation room, where Morrison and Sojourn were watching.

"Nice work." Morrison said, as Widow stepped inside. "That's the most he's said since he's been in there."

"You weren't going to attack him in there, right?" Sojourn asked, surprised how quickly the Talon agent changed his tune.

"Of course not... but he didn't know that." Widow paused for a moment, her tone turning more serious. "I believe I've worked out why Talon targeted Emily specifically during the attack."

"I think I have too." Morrison admitted. "I hate that we're doing exactly what they want..."

"I don't follow." Sojourn said, slightly confused. "How are we doing what Talon want?"

"Talon targeted Emily because they wanted a reaction." Widow explained, turning to face Sojourn. "It doesn't matter that they failed, they made their point."

"And by making that point, we're forced to react to it." Sojourn continued, realising where Widow was going.

"It doesn't help that Talon wanted the Petra's Act revoked too." Morrison added, still watching the prisoner through the window. "They want Overwatch back. They're playing everyone and getting exactly what they want."

"What exactly is their goal?" Sojourn asked. "Why would they want Overwatch back?"

The three fell silent, while they considered the question. It was Widow who broke it, the pieces finally falling into place.

"That's been Doomfist's plan all along..."

The two other agents turned to her, prompting her to continue.

"Doomfist believes the only way humanity can evolve is through conflict. Until now I thought he meant a second Omnic crisis... but now... now I think he means Overwatch."

"He wants Overwatch fighting him." Morrison realised. "He's made the world take Talon seriously and now he's using Talon to create another conflict. I thought Talon wanted a second Omnic Crisis but this..."

"What about Null Sector?" Sojourn asked. "Where do they fit in all this?"

"I don't know." Widow admitted. "Maybe they're just a means to an end, or maybe Doomfist has plans for them too."

The room fell silent again, the three agents considering this revelation carefully.

"We need to know what Talon's planning." Morrison said after a few moments. "You've managed to make the most progress Amelie, so get back in there and find out what you can."

"On it."

Winston's lab

While Sombra worked with Athena in the office, Winston was on the lower level, sitting next to the holotable with a file in front of him. The file in question contained information on their newest recruit, Wrecking Ball.

Even though he could manage this himself, Lena had blinked down and insisted she help, while Emily had stayed up in the office, deciding to help Sombra and Athena where she could. Since he knew Emily was safe in the office, Winston didn't mind the extra hand, considering Lena's presence would be of help.

He explained to Lena how much they currently knew about Wrecking Ball, which admittedly wasn't too much and that he would be arriving in a few minutes, so that they could find out more.

"Seems simple enough." Lena commented, briefly flicking through the file Winston had. "Strange Athena couldn't find much else though. Almost like he just appeared overnight."

"Whoever they are, they've done a good job of hiding their identity. Understandable considering Junkertown's not the safest place in the world. Hopefully they'll be willing to tell us more about them."

"Winston." Athena suddenly said. "Wrecking Ball is approaching the lab."

"Ah, perfect timing. Let him in but keep an eye on him Athena."

"Yes Winston."

The two agents waited for a few moments, before Wrecking Ball entered, stopping just outside the door and walking inside instead of rolling.

"Hello Wrecking Ball." Winston began, as the large metal ball moved over to them. "I hope you are doing well."

"I am, thank you." Wrecking Ball replied, in his usual synthetic voice.

"Good to hear. Now, on to the matter at hand. I asked you here today because we don't know much about you. So, I'd like you to answer a few questions for me, so that we can create a file on you, if that's alright with you?"

"Of course."

"Great." Winston said, opening the file to the first page. "So, first question. I assume Wrecking Ball isn't your original name?"

"Correct. My real name is Hammond. I do not mind which you prefer to call me."

Lena noticed Winston pause for a moment, almost like he was deep in thought. After a few moments, he shook himself out of his trance, returning to his questions.

"Sorry. Next question. From what I found, you've been fighting in the Junkertown arena for some time now but I couldn't find anything before that. Are you originally from Australia?"

"No." The metal ball replied. "I originally lived somewhere much further away, called Horizon."

"Horizon? Only Horizon I know is the one on the moon, where Winston came from." Lena commented. "Where is it?"

The large ball turned slightly, so that it's front was facing towards Lena. "That was the Horizon I was referring to."

Lena went to speak again, wanting an explanation, yet before she could say anything, Winston interrupted her.

"Wait... Hammond? Is that you?"

Wrecking Ball turned to face the gorilla. "Hello Winston. It's been a long time."

The large ball seemed to power down, before a hatch suddenly opened on the top of the metal ball. A moment later, a hamster popped out, briefly waving at Lena before facing Winston and smiling.

"Hammond!" The gorilla shouted, still in disbelief. "How... how did you escape Horizon?"

The hamster replied with a number of squeaks, which Lena couldn't understand since the large ball had stopped speaking. Winston though seemed to have no trouble at all, nodding his head as the hamster squeaked.

"Really? Well that explains the drag when I lifted off. I was sure my calculations were correct. How did you end up in Australia then?"

The hamster began squeaking again, leaving Lena with only half of the conversation. Before Hammond could finish, she gently gained both the hamster's and gorilla's attention with a cough.

"So, for those of us who can't understand hamster..."

Hammond reached down into his mech to flick a switch, activating the translator again

"My apologies." The large ball said, directly translating a number of squeaks. "How much has Winston told you about his escape from Horizon?"

"He's told me a bit about what happened up there, though I probably don't know everything."

"That's possibly for the best. To summarise though, I suspected that Winston was planning to escape Horizon. So I constructed an escape capsule and attached it to his craft. Unfortunately, when the craft entered the Earth's atmosphere, we were separated and I ended up in the Australian outback."

"Ah okay, I see now." Lena said, nodding her head. "So you ended up stuck out there and became Wrecking Ball to blend in, right?"

"Partly. I also became Wrecking Ball so I could upgrade my mech to survive more dangerous conditions. I had recently completed my final upgrades and was planning to travel to join Overwatch as soon as I could. However, before I could begin travelling, a team arrived at Junkertown instead."

"Lucky timing." Lena commented, giggling slightly. "You know, the others probably need to be told about the whole hamster thing. Might be a bit surprising if they find out in the middle of a mission."

"I agree." Winston added. "Assuming you're okay with that Hammond?"

"I am. It would be beneficial for the other agents to know."

A short silence followed, before Lena decided that the two needed some time to catch up.

"Anyway, I'll give you two some space. I bet you have plenty to catch up on."

She patted Winston on his back before heading up the stairs to the office, leaving the gorilla and hamster alone. When she entered the office, she found Sombra sitting in front of the main computer, flicking between that computer screen and her own.

Next to her sat Emily, who was helping where she could, though seemed to be relying on the hackers judgement. Snowball floated above the desk, watching the door to the office. Upon seeing Lena, the small robot lit up, alerting Emily to her presence.

"Hey babe." Emily said, pausing as Lena blinked over and kissed her. "How's the new recruit?"

"He's... he's a bit different, to say the least."

"Different? How so?"

"Well... he's a hamster."

"I'm sorry..." Sombra suddenly said, stopping what she was doing and turning to face the two women. "I must have misheard you. Did you say he's a hamster?"

"Yeah, I did. Take a look if you don't believe me."

Sombra didn't waste any time, standing and walking over to the window, keeping her computer open as she did so.

"Qué?"

Emily appeared at the window a few moments later, noticing the hamster just as quickly. However, she seemed far less surprised than Sombra.

"Huh. So he is."

"You don't seem very surprised by this." Sombra commented.

"Well, I'm in a relationship with someone who can literally control her own time and we're both good friends with a talking gorilla. When it comes to Overwatch, not much really surprises me anymore."

Before Sombra could say anything else, he computer pinged, indicating that it had found a match. She moved back over to the office computer and sat down, reading over the notification.

"Well, that explains a bit."

"What ya found?" Lena asked, blinking over and looking at the data on the two screens.

"Amelie managed to find out that there was at least one other Talon agent here before the attack and I think I've found them. One of the Overwatch technicians has details very similar to a Talon agents profile. They're currently working in the command centre..."

"Which means they likely have access to the personnel files." Lena concluded, Emily nodding in agreement. "That explains why we're having trouble finding the other two agents."

"If you think he's a Talon agent, why not check what files he's looked at or edited recently?" Emily suggested. "Might help identify the other agents."

"I have begun this process already." Athena replied, her logo appearing at the side of the labs computer screen. "However, it appears that they are covering their tracks, as multiple personnel files have been edited recently."

"Will that be a problem?" Lena asked, watching as the hacker began looking over the files in question.

"It shouldn't be." Sombra answered, beginning to type away on her computer. "It'll slow us down slightly but me and Athena should be able to work it out."

"In the meantime, I have informed Captain Amari of the situation and she has taken appropriate action." The AI explained. "The individual is being taken into custody as we speak."

Talon facility- Unknown location

Moria was sat at one of the many workstations, a computer to her left while several vials sat to her right. Inside the vials were nanotech, each vial containing a slightly different version. Moria was still working on perfecting her project, yet she knew she was on the verge of not only replicating Mercy's powers but improving them.

As Moria picked up one of the many vials and placed it in the appropriate slot, connecting it to the computer, she found herself smirking. Despite the achievement Mercy had made, she could never take the extra steps that were needed to truly master them. She had a false sense of morality that held her back. Fortunately, Moria had no such weakness.

It wasn't just Mercy that had this weakness though. When she worked at Overwatch, she found herself constantly held back by countless restrictions. Sure Blackwatch gave her greater freedom, yet that only went so far.

Talon on the other hand were far more welcoming of someone with her talents. Moria had been given an entire facility to work in, along with a number of Talon scientists to assist her and almost limitless resources. At this point, if she asked for it, Doomfist seemed to provide it, no questions asked. It was something she could easily get used to.

Moria continued on with her work, typing commands on her computer and watching as the results returned. Once again, she didn't get the intended result, though this was something she expected. It was simply another step closer to completing her project.

As she removed the vial and reached for another, a Talon soldier entered the room. He was the base commander and walked over Moria with a sense of urgency. However, instead of disturbing her, he stopped once he reached her, waiting for her to acknowledge him.

"What is it?" Moria asked, not paying the commander much mind as she slotted another vial into place.

"Doomfist is attempting to contact you ma'am."

"Can't it wait?"

"I'm afraid he was insistent ma'am. It's a video link, so I can have it patched down here if you wish."

Moria turned to face the rest of the room, where a number of Talon scientists were busy at work. Each one was working on the same project she was, yet each had a different task. After a moment of thought, she considered they could do with a break.

"Very well. I'll take the call here."

"Yes ma'am."

The commander saluted her, before walking back the way he came. Once he'd left. Moria stood and clapped her hands, gaining the attention of the scientists in the room.

"You're all doing good work but I believe you could do with a break. So take fifteen minutes away to grab something to eat and then begin working again."

The scientists all nodded, engaging in various conversations as they headed off towards the canteen. With the rest of the scientists now gone, Moria stepped over to a large screen and waited for the video link to appear. After a short few moments, the image of Doomfist appeared.

"Moria. I do hope you're doing well."

"I am, thank you." Moira answered, speaking again before Doomfist could continue. "I assume that this isn't a social call."

"I'm afraid it isn't." Doomfist said, getting straight to the point. "I wanted to check on your progress. Do you have any updates on your work."

"I've made some progress on the resurrection tech, yet it will still take some time before it is functioning properly. I'm confident that I will be able to crack it soon though and once I've made that breakthrough, it will not take long to create functioning resurrection tech for use in the field."

"That is good news. How about your other project? I remember you said you'd almost perfected it."

Moira smirked as she began speaking again. "I did and I'm happy to report that it's basically complete. I just need to run a few more tests and it will be ready for use."

"Excellent. After our recent setback, this will once again give Talon an edge against Overwatch."

"By setback, I assume you're talking about Reyes?"

"I will admit that sending Junkrat and Roadhog to eliminate him was a mistake. Evidently, eliminating Reyes will need a different approach and it's a mistake that I don't intend to make again. However, it was a surprise to learn that Overwatch were also there."

"Indeed. I don't suppose we have any intel on his current whereabouts?" Moria asked.

"Unfortunately not. All we know is that he isn't with Overwatch... In any case, I don't want to keep you from your work. Keep me updated when there are any major developments."

The image of Doomfist disappeared before Moria could even nod her head in acknowledgment. He didn't need her to reply to know she would do exactly that. However, as Moria moved back to her workstation, she began chuckling to herself.

She didn't do any of this due to loyalty to Talon or its cause. On the contrary, she would just as quickly abandon them if their usefulness ran out or if she needed to. No, what they had was more of a mutual agreement. Talon provided her with the resources, manpower and facilities needed for her research and in return, she would give them new tools and enhancements for the field. It was an arrangement that benefited them both, though Moria considered that it was something Doomfist sometimes forgot.

Moria had a large amount of influence at Talon and being a part of the council meant she had a very good idea of what exactly was going on. As of late though, she'd almost become Doomfist's second in command, with the two of them discussing various different matters on a semi regular basis now.

She didn't know if any of the other council members were concerned by this, or if they objected to her methods. She knew there were reservations, yet no objections were ever brought up during their meetings. Perhaps it was because they simply couldn't deny the fact that she got results.

In any case, Moria wasn't concerned by such matters. As long as the arrangement continued to be beneficial, Moria would continue working with Talon.

So she returned to her work, picking up yet another vial and placing it in the appropriate slot, before running yet another test. The result was similar to the last one. Just another step forward until her goal was complete.

She was close. That much she was sure of. It was simply just a matter of time

Watchpoint Gibraltar- Winston's lab- Later that evening

It was much later when Widow managed to escape from the cell block. She'd been down there interrogating the two captured Talon agents for most of the day, stopping to grab some lunch and for breaks, so she could discuss her findings with Morrison and Sojourn.

Despite the length of time she'd spent questioning the captured agents, she felt like very little progress had actually been made. Even after Ana captured the second Talon agent and Echo moved him into a cell, he turned out to be just as uncooperative as the other prisoner. So, with no new information on who the other Talon spies could be, Morrison had called it a day, hoping they'd have more luck tomorrow.

With nothing else to do, Widow made her way back to the lab, considering she'd be able to help Sombra with her investigation. Once she reached the lab, she took the short journey up to the office, finding Sombra and Winston but no sign of Lena or Emily. Both the hacker and gorilla were staring at the main computer, Winston looking very concerned by the information he was reading.

"This can't be right. No one could do that without Athena realising." Winston's said, worry filling his voice.

"Unless someone found a way to bypass her." Sombra replied, flicking the screen on her own computer. "Who knows what happened when the power went off during the attack."

"I do not consider I could be bypassed that easily." Athena stated, running various scans in the background. "However, it is possible that a malicious programme could have been directly installed into the watchpoint's systems. Also, Amelie is currently standing at the door to the office."

Both the gorilla and hacker turned to Widow, surprised that neither of them had noticed her until now. Winston wasted no time though, immediately speaking to her.

"Amelie, was there anyone else in the lab when you entered?"

"No." She answered, now slightly worried. Winston was unusually nervous, which meant they'd found something serious during their investigation. "Why? What have you found?"

The gorilla and hacker turned back to the computer screen, while Widow quickly moved over, standing behind them as Winston began to explain.

"That agent that Sombra identified changed a number of personnel files before Ana caught him. He managed to change the access level of various different soldiers to agent level, meaning they had total access to the entire base. What's worse is that they managed it without the correct security level themselves or Athena even knowing."

Widow went wide eyed, the implication of what Winston said hitting her full force.

"How could they do that? There's no way that captured agent is that good a hacker."

"I don't believe there has been a recent attempt to compromise the watchpoint's systems." Athena explained. "However, the attack lead by Reaper before Winston's initial recall may have left a back door for any Talon infiltrators."

"Or a virus." Widow added, looking at Winston to see if he agreed.

"Reaper did managed to escape with a portion of the Overwatch database, it's entirely possible that a virus was uploaded too." The gorilla admitted, knowing how big a problem that could be. A virus could take Athena down at any moment, not to mention the amount of Overwatch data that could be at risk.

"If there is a virus in the system, I should be able to find it." Sombra stated. "But like everything, it'll take a bit of time."

"Winston, we have another problem!" Athena suddenly announced. "I have lost control of base functions inside the agents barracks."

"What?!"

"Where are Lena and Emily?" Widow quickly asked, hoping Athena didn't give the answer she suspected.

"Lena's quarters."

Widow didn't wait around. She sprinted out of the office and was out of the lab seconds later. Thanks to her earlier interrogations, she knew exactly what was happening.

"Athena, warn Lena!" Winston ordered the AI, only to be met with silence. "ATHENA!"

"I... Cannot comply. Winston... I..."

Winston and Sombra shared a worried glance, as the screen showed a number of error messages. They didn't know how but Athena had been compromised.

"Athena, emergency shutdown, now!"

"Confirmed... Shut... Shutting down..."

As the AI fell silent, Winston typed a command into his computer, activating a base wide alarm, all while he desperately tried to contact Lena, trying to warn her of what was happening.

Lena's quarters

Lena and Emily had both made their way back to Lena's room a short while ago, wanting to get out of Winston and Sombra's hair while they worked. They were planning to grab something to eat from the mess hall and we're waiting for the rest of the soldiers to finish before heading over.

That was the plan anyway. However, while they waited, the two had begun listening to some music, Emily picking from her selection of tracks from the 80's that Lena had brought over from their apartment and the two ended up completely distracted. Even Snowball had gotten involved, floating about and bouncing along to the beat.

Right now the two were part way through Jump for my love by The Pointer Sisters, both busy dancing and singing along to the track, while Snowball simply floated nearby, watching with interest while still bouncing along to the tune.

After the track had finished, the two lovers found themselves staring into each other's eyes, Lena gently placing her hands in Emily's before leaning forward and giving her a quick kiss.

"So, I think we may have gotten slightly distracted." Emily joked, wrapping her arms around Lena.

"Maybe a little." Lena replied, grinning before glancing over to the clock in her room. "Everyone should have finished up in the mess hall by now. That is, if you want to head over now? I don't mind staying here and dancing a bit more."

"While I don't mind that either..." Emily said, giggling at Lena's comment. "I am feeling a bit hungry. So why don't we go over and grab some dinner and then come back and continue?"

"Sounds good to me. What about you Snowball?"

The small robot nodded enthusiastically, before it floated over to Emily, hovering around her as it followed the two women out of the room. The small group wasn't able to make it far though, only managing a few steps before an alarm suddenly rang through the base.

Lena's reaction was instant, raising both her pulse pistols and checking the immediate area. Even though they were in the agents barracks and access was restricted, she wasn't going to take any chances.

"Em, back in my room, now." Lena said, managing to keep herself calm. However, when Emily tried the door, it didn't budge.

"It won't open."

"What?" Lena tried it herself, the door once again not moving. "Okay, that's not good. Athena, what's going on?"

Lena's question was met with silence from the AI, all but confirming something was wrong. Just when she thought things couldn't get worse, the lights in the barracks suddenly went out, leaving them with only the emergency lighting.

With very few options left, Lena stood aiming her two pulse pistols in opposite directions, keeping both ends of the corridor covered. Emily kept close to the door, while Snowball floated in front of her, making sure he was watching the opposite way Lena was.

Thankfully, this was a situation that Winston had thought of long ago. The agents quarters each had an emergency lockdown on the doors and if the main power was lost, the doors wouldn't open. However each one still had a small amount of backup power available and if they needed to be opened, each door had an individual code, which could be inputted on a panel next to it. Winston had every agent learn the code for their own quarters, something Lena was very glad about right now.

"Em, see that panel next to the door?"

"Yeah."

"There's a code that'll open it. Lean in."

Emily leaned towards Lena and titled her head, letting her whisper the code. After a quick nod, Emily typed the code in and the door unlocked, letting her push it to one side and slip inside. Snowball floated inside next, while Lena was last, walking backwards and watching the corridor as she retreated inside. She quickly slid the door back closed and imputed the code again, making sure it locked again afterwards.

It was a few moments later when Lena's phone suddenly rang, breaking the silence that had filled the barracks. Lena passed one of her pulse pistols to Emily and reached into her jacket pocket, retrieving the device as quickly as possible. Upon looking at the caller ID, she saw that it was Winston. Clearly something had happened with her comms as well.

"Winston. What the hell's going on?" Lena asked, keeping her voice down as best as she could.

"Athena's been compromised. We've lost control of security and comms in the agents barracks and it's likely there's Talon agents in there looking for you and Emily."

"What? How..?"

"I don't know for sure but it's probably a virus. Listen, Amelie is already on her way and I've contacted more agents to help. Where are you currently?"

"We're inside my room. The door locked us out after we left so we had to use the code to get back in." Lena explained, keeping her eyes on the door and her single weapon raised. Next to her, Emily had the other pulse pistol aimed at the door, though she had taken cover as best she could.

"Okay, that's good. That'll hold back anyone trying to get in for a bit. Just stay alert. That door isn't like a safe room door and it won't keep them out if they want to get in."

Just before Lena was able to reply, the panel next to the door suddenly turned green, indicating that the door had been unlocked.

"Winston, the door just unlocked itself..."

"What?! It's on a completely different system, how did they manage that? Try the code again."

Lena did just that, typing it in quickly only for the panel to remain the same. She tried again, this time slightly slower but the panel still didn't respond.

"It's not working Winston. I can't lock the door."

"Okay Lena, don't panic." Winston paused, considering what their next move should be. "There are a few agents already in the barracks. When the alarm went off, did you see any of them?"

"No. It was just me and Em."

"So it's possible that they're stuck too... Alright, I think you have two choices. You could stay in your room, or you could move to the safe room not too far away."

Lena knew which room Winston was referring to, having to pass by it quite often. However, with Athena compromised, she couldn't help but be concerned.

"Is that a good idea? If they've gotten around the security on the doors..." Lena began, only for Winston to interrupt.

"No, the safe rooms were designed with that in mind. Their systems are self confined and you can't access them without being in the room itself. The only person who even has a chance of breaching them that quick is Sombra and she's on our side."

Lena looked over to Emily, who'd overheard most of the conversation and silently asked her opinion.

"If Winston's sure then the safe room might not be a bad idea. It's your call though."

Lena nodded, biting her lower lip as she thought over the situation. She knew moving to the safe room was risky, especially if there were Talon forces inside the barracks looking for them. Yet if they managed to reach it, those Talon agents wouldn't be able to get in.

"I'm not sure... I think it's a better idea to stay here." Lena eventually concluded. "Security's clearly been compromised, so getting to the safe room might be an issue and I don't want to risk running into any Talon agents either."

"Okay then." Winston replied, beginning to type on his computer. "I'll send you the code for it, just in case. For now, try to stay as quiet as you can and keep out of sight. We're on our way."

Lena ended the call soon after, placing her phone back into her jacket. Emily moved over and kissed her cheek, before handing her other pulse pistol back.

"I trust you Lena." Emily told her, seeing how unsure she was.

"Thanks." Lena gave Emily a quick kiss of her own, followed by a small smile, before she returned to the issue at hand. She looked around her room and quickly formed a plan of action.

She quickly moved over to her wardrobe and opened it. Each room in the agents barracks had a built in wardrobe, one of the many benefits the agents had and there was easily enough room to hide someone inside. She reached for her blue hoodie and wrapped it around her accelerator, hiding the blue glow as best she could, before turning back to Emily.

"Okay, it's a bit basic but I think you should hide in here. I'll stay out here and keep watch."

"Basic works." Emily reassured her, moving inside the wardrobe but stopping just before to give Lena another kiss. "Stay safe."

"And you." Lena looked over to Snowball, who had floated over next to Emily. "Keep my girl safe."

The robot nodded, keeping itself close to Emily. After a nod from Emily, Lena quietly shut the wardrobe and then moved into position. She made sure to keep herself out of view and kept her weapons aimed at the door, ready in case anyone she didn't know tried to enter.

Authors note

Hey everyone

Sorry for how long this chapter took to get out. I decided to take a bit of a break away from writing after the last chapter, since I was having a bit of writers block and didn't really know where I was taking this chapter.

Then an idea came to me and here we are :D

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and see you next time :)