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May 27, 2073
02:35 GMT
Talon HQ, Rome

The Widowmaker stared blankly into empty space as Dr. Oberholster examined her brain, meticulously scrutinizing any activity that would spell any adverse effects from the device implanted inside her head. Preliminary scans indicated no disturbances of any sort, and considering the conditions the Talon operative went through, the mission could be counted as a success.

"Good work out there today, 175." She said, making some small talk while not at all expecting any reply from the assassin.

"Thank you, ma'am." Amélie replied.

"You look tired. Are you tired?"

"No ma'am. Always ready to serve."

Oberholster smiled, proud of her creation, proud of her little monster. She prepared to dismiss Widowmaker for the night, but was interrupted by the muffled screams in the facility next door. It was a woman's scream. Amélie heard it too and her emotionless façade faltered as her suppressed memories resurfaced for a brief moment. Her face betrayed a look of fear, then vanished as soon as the doctor turned to look at her.

"Hear that, my dear?" Oberholster asked, "That's the sound of progress. Soon, you will have someone to accompany you in your missions."

Amélie understood what that meant, and the faintest feeling of unease slipped through the cracks of her caged mind as she realized that Talon was creating another Widowmaker. Following the success of her first operation, it was only logical for the organization to proceed with producing more of her kind. An army of assassins to strike from the shadows wherever and whenever they needed, the prospect was too tempting to ignore.

"Ça c'est bon."

"Indeed. That is good."

Councilman Trevisani entered the room just as the Widowmaker was about to leave. He stopped her in her tracks with a firm gesture of the hand, and Amélie stood at attention, waiting for him to speak. "Widowmaker, I've reviewed your post-mission evaluation. Congratulations on setting a high bar for your future sisters. We expect more from you in the months to come."

"Thank you, sir."

"Rest up, then. You've earned it."

Once she was out of earshot, Trevisani took a moment to discuss with Oberholster about their present situation regarding a paramilitary organization seemingly dedicated to fighting Talon and dismantling its operations. "Your initial successes with the Widowmaker program has turned a lot of heads. Talon thanks you for your contribution, doctor. However, I must confess, we will be relying heavily on these operatives before long. It seems we've come across an enemy whose memory goes a long way. I suspect we won't be seeing the last of them any time soon."

"Talon can rely on me and my weapons, I assure you." Oberholster declared confidently. "The challenge will make us strong."

"Good." Trevisani turned his head to watch Amélie as she walked down the long corridor to her personal quarters. "And see to it that you keep this one in good condition. I like her."

Bath City, Somerset UK

Tracer fire and pulse rounds filled the air as the Royal Army Reserve and Null Sector fought on the streets of Bath City.

It was just like the dark days of the Omnic Crisis. Back then, it all started because some rebel androids decided they were better than their creators and launched a full scale attack on the world to rid themselves of mankind forever. Now, the fault lay with mankind itself and it was paying the price for its foolishness.

"Take a good look, Hazard." Ember grumbled as he watched from the transporter window, "This is what happens when we forget the past. Fucking hippies and peace-loving bureaucrats who think humans and omnics will ever coexist- they'll mean the death of us all!"

Hazard remained silent. While she didn't quite agree with her commander, she had her share of omnic extremists in her time as a UN peacekeeper. It was hard to love the machines for what the minority was doing in their name, and it was equally hard to hate them considering all the good they managed to do following the war. Omnics were the children of mankind, and like children they mirrored the actions of their parents. In more ways than one, they reflected both mankind's greatest traits and flaws so well that it was hard to dispute the fact that they were a sentient subspecies of human.

For some, their perspective was irreversibly colored by the horrors of the Omnic Crisis. And no one knew this better than those who experienced the cruelty of the machines firsthand.

"You'll have your hands full with omnics soon enough, boss." Chameleon piped up, "But cheer up, tonight we get to play heroes for once."

"Fuck that." Ember grinned under his mask, "Heroes never get shit done."

The heavy transporter slipped through Bath's airspace relatively undetected. Null Sector had its hands full trying to keep the army from breaching its defenses. The government was still deciding on whether or not to attempt a negotiation with the terrorists, but the omnics were making it rather clear that there would be no room for such talks. That only meant that their intentions were solely based on sending a message to the world, that their violent means to ensure omnic/human equality would not stop until they achieved their goal.

If there was something the omnics did not learn from their creators, it was that terrorizing the world to get what you wanted never ends well.

"Alright, we'll maintain radio silence from here." Ember declared, "Never know if the omnics are listening in on comm chatter."

"Copy. Let's get this party started." Chameleon acknowledged.

It was touch-and-go for Fio and the Fireflies. As soon as the ground team disembarked from the transporter, the pilot returned to the skies. With a three-man team and having to move through a city crawling with omnics, the Fireflies would have to rely heavily on stealth to see them to their goal. Fio dropped them off three blocks away from the Triumvirate power plant, which was the closest she could get them without being seen.

"Chameleon, take point." Ember said.

The man mimicked the colors of his surroundings and covertly scanned the area for omnic patrols. Thankfully, because Null Sector was focusing on blockading the Royal Army, most of their ground forces have been allocated to holding the main bridges connecting Bath to the outside world. Many more were tasked with keeping the hostages inside the abbey. It was a perfect chance as any to slip past their defenses and infiltrate the power plant.

More explosions rocked the city as stray ordnance blasted buildings into rubble. Omnic resistance was bordering on fanatical. The longer the fight dragged on, the more dangerous it was getting for the civilians trapped in the crossfire.

There were some of them still wandering the streets, prey for the omnic nulltroopers patrolling the city. They weren't even looking to drag them off to the abbey, they were just gunning them down.

Chameleon heard the shots from down the cobblestone aisle leading to a bridge that extended over one of the city canals. For a moment, he forgot his mission and moved to investigate.

A young woman was running across the bridge, with an omnic attempting to shield her from the nulltroopers' fire. She wore the dress of a flower shopkeeper, so did the omnic. Probably coworkers, probably friends. Didn't matter to Null Sector, they all wanted her dead.

"Cameron!" Ember hissed as he grabbed his friend by the shoulder, "What the fuck?!"

"They need our help!" Chameleon said, "Let me go!"

"They're not our mission!" The Firefly commander insisted, "Keep your head in the game, we're not here to play heroes!"

The woman screamed as a bullet tore through her right calf and sent her tumbling into the cobblestones. Her omnic friend, with little regard for his own safety, dove in after her and covered her with his body. The nulltroopers stopped shooting, but they surrounded the pair. A Nullifier, which was the second generation nulltrooper and acting officer of the bunch, stepped up to pry the omnic away.

"There's only six of them!" Chameleon argued, "We can help them without compromising the mission!"

"Commander, he's right." Hazard agreed, "We take them out quickly, we'll be on our way soon."

Ember glared at both of them, then glanced up to see the nullifier plant its foot onto the woman's stomach and press the barrel of its weapon to her head. His reply to his team was simple, he shouldered the stock of his laser-rifle and fired. The moment he killed the omnic terrorist, they were committed to the skirmish.

It was a very short skirmish, owing to the exceptional training the Fireflies had beforehand. Their shots were accurate, precise and systematically cut down the Null Sector patrol in seconds.

When the civilian pair dared to lift their heads, their would-be killers were all lying on the ground dead. The omnic shopkeeper looked up to see three figures emerge from a nearby alley. Two men and a woman piloting a mech.

Their saviors took a moment to inspect the remains of the nulltroopers, then prepared to move on. The leader was glowering sullenly at his teammates, but mostly at the omnic shopkeeper. Nevertheless, the android felt grateful for their help. He extended a hand to touch the one standing closest to him, "You saved us! Thank you so much-"

"Don't touch me." Ember said coldly, his response taking the omnic aback. "Hazard, how does the girl's leg look to you?"

"Not too bad. Here, little miss, let me take care of that." The MEC-Trooper bent down to apply some medical paste to seal the wound. The girl whimpered as the hot sealant slowly cauterized her wound and hardened to effectively stop the bleeding. "There, try now to stay out of sight. We'll handle the terrorists and give the city back to you."

"Thank you." The omnic said, "We'll never forget what you've done for us. Good luck."

When the team moved on, Hazard took a moment to address her commander's unwarranted hostility towards the omnic civilian. She turned to Chameleon, "What the hell's his problem?"

"Not the time, not the place." He replied. "I'll tell you when we get back."

"You will tell her nothing, Cam!" Ember snapped, whirling around suddenly. "You will not jeopardize this mission any further. And you, Hazard, you will mind your own fucking business, is that clear?"

Chameleon, unfazed by his commander's outburst, nodded but held his tongue. Hazard only stared at him blankly. Silently, the team crossed the vast city and avoided the omnic patrols sweeping the area where they lost contact with their dead comrades. Soon, they reached the power plant. The Triumvirate company employed the use of state-of-the-art automatic defenses, courtesy of Eurocorp. Defenses that, unfortunately, were now under Null Sector control. A large force had garrisoned itself within the plant grounds, there were simply too many of them to allow a stealthy entrance. The team would have to fight their way in, and it was rather clear that as soon as they engaged, everyone will know they were there.

The team stacked up at the perimeter wall. Ember broke radio silence to request a strafing run from Fio, then transmitted the coordinates for the pilot to follow. He turned to the MEC-Trooper, "Hazard, get ready to breach. We're gonna have to leg it from here. You move as soon as Fio's cleared a path for us."

"Got it."

The Fireflies waited impatiently for the transporter to make a pass for the power plant entrance. In the darkness of that early morning, it was hard for the naked eye to distinguish the large dark shape moving through the sky from the clouds. To the omnic eye, it was possible. To the average nulltrooper's infrared eye, it was fairly easy.

"On my ass and stay there." Hazard hissed.

Before Fio could light up the ground troops holding the power plant, the nulltroopers were lighting up the sky with ordnance and tracer fire. None of them could penetrate the heavy transporter's armor, but Fio had a little upgrade installed on the Big Bird that could dish out some considerable damage. A four-barreled 40mm autocannon on the fuselage, which was more than enough to penetrate most omnic armor.

Even if it didn't, it made for a good distraction.

The Big Bird made a dull chattering noise as it let out a loud burst from its autocannon. It chewed up whole clusters of nulltroopers into pieces, disabled four B72 Bastions, then quickly left the scene to leave the rest for the Fireflies on the ground.

"Have fun down there, kids." Fio said.

"Let's go!" Hazard yelled as she put her rig to full throttle, shattering the ancient cobblestones beneath her as her powerful MEC suit burst through the solid concrete wall and into the Null Sector killzone. There were eight nullifiers and three lumbering behemoths still operational, so the Fireflies moved to reunite them with their fellow omnics in the scrap heap. Ember and Chameleon followed Hazard closely, using the MEC-Trooper as cover. Bright red laser-fire filled the air, cutting easily through omnic armor as they would with paper. And those that proved too tough for lasers found themselves getting their robotic innards fried with Hazard's Arc-Thrower.

The team couldn't stop to savor every kill, for all they knew the omnic terrorists could've already finished priming the bomb. The power plant was a large facility, too large for the team to completely cover in time. Ember had to make a quick decision to which route they would take, while at the same time dodging fire from the resisting nulltroopers inside.

"Boils down to left or right, boss!" Chameleon said as they entered a narrow corridor with enemy enfilading fire coming from the other end.

"Or boils down to where the enemy resistance is thickest!" Ember replied over the noise of gunfire. He pointed to the nulltroopers shoring up the impromptu barrier they set up in the middle of the hallway. He leaned out from Hazard's shoulder, aimed at the omnic suicide-bomber drone hovering in dangerously close proximity to its own kin, then fired.

The resulting explosion knocked everyone to their knees, and the team paused to take a breather while there was a lull in the exchange.

"We can't stop now." Ember said breathlessly, "Keep moving!"

Eventually, the team reached the power plant center which had access to Bath City's geothermal hotspot. It was relatively well known that the city had been built atop a dormant volcano, which was why they had access to so many hot springs that paved the way for the Triumvirate plant to be built in the first place. Ember already had a semblance of an idea why they chose that particular spot to plant a bomb.

"Clear!" Chameleon announced as the last omnic was killed.

"Clear!" Ember acknowledged, then prepared to contact HQ for further instructions.

Hazard, who was equipped with a disarming module, moved over to the bomb to disarm it. The Firefly commander got the director on the line and showed HQ what they found. "Enemy forces have been neutralized at the bomb site, sir. We're now working to disarm the device."

"Hold on a minute." Hazard said, analyzing the device further when she realized it didn't look anything like a bomb to her. "I know what this is, I've seen this thing before. This isn't a bomb."

"What're you talking about?" Ember asked, moving over to closely inspect the thing. The device was counting down, by all accounts that alone should speak for itself.

"I dunno about you, but if it's got a timer and it looks like that- it definitely is a bomb." Chameleon insisted.

"It isn't a bomb." Hazard repeated, "It's a seismic resonator. It uses electromagnetic pulses to trigger earthquakes, the Russians use it all the time to demolish buildings or loosen up hard ground. This one's huge, though. With that much bulk rigged up to it, this thing's powerful enough to tear a second San Andreas Fault. I think they're trying to trigger a volcanic eruption here in the city."

"Okay, it's a bomb." Ember decided, "Can you disarm it?"

"I'm trying to." Hazard glanced at the timer showing less than five minutes till detonation. Try as she might, she and the disarming module were getting nowhere.

The director stepped in, "You still got three minutes on that thing. Ember, can you move the resonator?"

"Looks screwed all solid into place." Ember said, "Hazard, forget disarming the damn thing. Help us take this down and put it..."

His voice trailed away. They had nowhere to dispose of the bomb, it was still going off. "Fuck it. Hazard, you and Chameleon take cover. I'm gonna smash this thing."

"Commander, I don't think that's a good idea." Chameleon countered.

"You want this city to turn into the next Mt. Vesuvius? No? Then do as I say." Ember closed his fist and lit it on fire with a flick of the wrist, "If it blows up, I've got a 50 percent chance to surviving the blast anyway."

Reluctantly, the other Fireflies backed away. Ember heated up the flames until it was hot enough to melt steel, then plunged his hand into the resonator.

Suddenly, the device emitted an ear-splitting screech and let out a palpable wave of energy that set everyone's hairs on end and fried every electronic device within a thirty kilometer radius. There was no earthquake that followed, nor some violent volcanic eruption. It was suddenly all too quiet in the city, as though a switch somewhere was flipped and the fighting outside had stopped.

And yet, there too was a tense feeling of regret on the Fireflies' part. Almost as if they killed something in the city that they weren't supposed to kill.

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