"Me?!" Alessandro half yelled, quite surprised. He couldn't be serious. No way, not at all! That was madness.
"Calm down." Tracer said, gently pulling him back onto his seat. "I, for one, think that's a brilliant idea."
"The best teacher is experience." Pharah agreed.
"I second that." Dva said, looking up from her game for one second to speak before returning to it.
"You're ready." McCree said, giving him a rare smile.
Alessandro wanted to complain some more, but there was no point if everyone agreed with this.
What had happened? Winston had gathered everyone into the conference room for an emergency meeting, including Alessandro. He began explaining how Talon had recently attacked another town (which made Alessandro boil with anger) and had claimed countless lives. The terrorist group was now growing into a public national threat. Overwatch could wait no more, they needed to recruit more people and they had to do it fast, or else Talon would keep reaping havoc across the world and killing innocent people. Genji, very interested in the subject, had volunteered Alessandro to go on the first mission despite his lack of skill.
"You won't be alone." Mei said kindly. "If anyone too strong for you appears then we'll take care of them."
"Plus, you took down four Talon soldiers without training so imagine how good you'll do with training." Tracer said, mustering much more excitement than Alessandro would've liked. "We can go together, yeah? Besides this is a recruiting mission. Talon shouldn't be around."
"Like last time?" McCree asked. Pharah grimaced and rubbed her abdomen, where she had been shot.
"It will still be dangerous." Reinhardt said. "But it is the mission of least danger we can assign to him. Remember to fight with honor!"
"Are you sure he is ready? Mercy asked. Everyone turned to her, quite surprised, but to her credit she held their gazes and patiently waited for an answer.
"He wouldn't be able to defeat me in a sword fight, or in hand to hand combat, but he is stronger than the average soldier." Genji informed.
"He has never been stronger!" Reinhardt roared, chuckling and giving him a slap on the back so hard he nearly yelled out.
"He's not a sniper, but his aim is brilliant." Tracer said with a grin. "And his focus is stupendous! If I needed cover he would be my choice."
"His reflexes have gotten way better." Dva said, pausing her game and looking up. "He almost got a point in our last match, meaning he's better than the average gamer." Some people around the room seemed confused by this comment (particularly Reinhardt and Genji who knew nothing of videogames) but nobody disagreed.
"Very well, if you all believe in him then so do I." Mercy said, giving him a smile as well. "We'll continue class when you get back."
The group seemed to take that as the ending. Everyone started getting up and leaving to either do what they pleased or complete their assigned task. Tracer informed him that she would be at the hangar in ten minutes then sped off to prepare. Soon the only people left in the room were Dva, Mercy, Winston and of course the boy himself. He sighed and stood up, about to head out, when he felt a big hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Winston looking at him with a rather sorry face.
"Listen, I…I always had my doubts about you." He said.
"Gee, thanks Winston." Alessandro replied sarcastically.
"No no! Not in that way! I mean, I never liked the idea of someone as young as you turning into a soldier. Going out to fight, I still don't like it." Winston said, taking off his glasses and rubbing them clean. "But…it's something that we need to do. And so I wanted to help you as much as possible. Follow me." Alessandro felt confused, but Winston walked out and he followed his simian friend without hesitating. Dva (who was STILL playing her game) and Mercy weren't far behind. He followed Winston into a section of the base he hadn't really explored before, mainly because he never had a reason to come here. The four entered a room which was obviously Winston's workshop. Mechanic pieces and tools littered the ground, a giant tire tied to a rope hung from the roof and in one corner there was a pile of peanut butter jar covers. His garbage was almost full with banana peels and a computer was on the left wall, an A on the screen. "Athena, open it up." Almost immediately the computer flashed in response and a hiss sounded from the opposite wall. Alessandro turned to see the wall had opened up revealing at least a dozen shelves with various weapons, armor and contraptions that Winston must've built.
"You've been busy." Mercy commented.
"I made this awhile back, took some trail and error but I finally got it right." Winston said, grabbing a hunk of dark metal which looked somewhat similar to Tracer's chronal accelerator. He tossed it to Alessandro who caught it in both hands. The device was double the size of his hand. "The original prototype failed, and was bigger, but I managed this. It's a personal shield which can be activated whenever you want."
"And you're giving it to me?" Alessandro asked. He must've sounded more surprised than he thought because Winston laughed loudly and gave him a nod.
"All our Heroes must have an arsenal. I think I have just what you need." Winston said. He walked side to side apparently looking for something. He grabbed a few bits of armor, a couple little gadgets and with a happy sigh he grabbed a rifle. "This rifle is like Tracer's pulse pistols. It fires the same projectiles and doesn't need to be reloaded, but it fires slower and packs more of a punch. This armor here," Winston said, his smile growing proudly at his work. "is my latest creation! And it's made especially for you. It's light and won't bother your agility, but it can get hit by a rocket and still be wearable. It also can make you invisible!"
"No way." Alessandro said in awe, setting down his shield generator to grab the armor. "How did you even manage that?"
"It wasn't easy." Winston said with a chuckle. "You can be invisible for five minutes at a time before it has to recharge." He couldn't help but laugh again as Alessandro began putting the armor on. To be honest, it wasn't much. It was made of the same dark metal as the shield generator. It covered his legs, chest and it went from his shoulders to his elbows. As promised the armor was made so he could easily move around in it, even if he was flipping rapidly. In the middle of the chest piece was a small opening where Alessandro was pleased to see he could fit the shield generator in. It took only a few minutes to put all this on and afterwards he smiled widely and slung the rifle over his back.
"How do I look?" He asked cheerfully. His smile was ear to ear and Winston felt proud of his work.
"Like a true hero." Mercy said. "But all true heroes need something else. Here." She grabbed a pistol that was much like hers, just made of the same dark metal of his attire, and gave it to him. "Winston made this at my request, it only has three bullets but it is incredibly strong. Use it only when you need to."
"Mercy…" He took the pistol and put it in his empty holster, which was attached to his waist. "Thank you."
"I also got you one thing." Dva said, sounding a little shy which was unlike her. Alessandro turned to see she was holding up a pink, razor blade military-grade knife for him. "When I joined the Meka unit we all were given the pistols and knives just in case we had to exit our mechs. I was never one for knives, so I want you to have it."
"Thank you, I'll make sure to use it." Alessandro said, taking it from her and giving her a smile. He grabbed a sheath (which was also made of the dark metal of course) and put the knife in it, strapping it to his leg. Then he turned to Winston and gave his friend a big hug. "And thank you especially; this is probably the best birthday ever."
"Birthday?" Winston asked, confused.
"Heh, I'm eighteen today. Legal fighting age." Alessandro said sheepishly.
"Why didn't you tell us? We would've celebrated!" Dva complained. Mercy seemed to agree with Dva.
"We're all busy with more important things, and to be honest I had forgotten until I saw my calendar yesterday. Now before someone gives me my birthday punches I need to go to the hangar!" And with that he dashed off, ready to enter the fray.
"I like the outfit." Torbjorn said, wiping his weapon with a rag. "Although I wish Winston had asked for my help."
"Do you think he isn't capable?" Alessandro asked, although he didn't say it in any wrong way.
"It ain't that, he just knows I love to build 'em up." Torbjorn said with a chuckle. "You ok? You seem a bit sick."
"I feel like I'm having an anxiety attack." Alessandro said with a nervous smile. "It is my first real time in a fight, if you don't count when Talon invaded my town."
"Let's hope we won't have to fight." Mei said. Mei was next to Torbjorn playing with her little mechanized friend, Snowball. Alessandro hadn't had much interaction with Mei, but she seemed nice enough. "And if we do end up fighting, do not worry. We'll be right there by your side."
"Thanks Mei." Alessandro said, his smile going a bit more relaxed. "Where are we headed anyway and who are we getting?"
"We're heading to the Krasnoyarsk front, in Russia." Tracer yelled from the pilot's seat. "Sorry Mei, that place is where the second Omnic Crisis is currently happening. We'll probably be fighting."
"It's ok, I'll be happy to help the Russians with this problem. It's about time someone did." Mei said, sounding much calmer than Alessandro would've sounded. He wondered how they could be so calm while entering a literal warzone.
"So we'll be fighting military robots? Better than Talon I guess." Alessandro said. Just as he said that the aircraft shook and he banged his head hard against the seat. He groaned and looked out the window to see several explosions all around them.
"Looks like we've arrived. Buckle up loves! This is going to be a bumpy ride!" Tracer giggled and put the jet into a steep dive, dropping down hundreds of feet in a few seconds, leaving the boys stomach and most of his internal organs high above. A sense of vertigo passed over Alessandro as the jet spun several times before leveling out. An insistent beep sounded from the cockpit.
"Are those missiles?" Alessandro yelled.
"Yes, quite a few of them!" Tracer answered cheerfully. Alessandro groaned and Tracer pulled the jet upwards. He felt himself pressing against the chair as they went faster and faster, higher and higher, until Tracer shut the engines and let then fall back down. Unknown to her passengers she had shut the engines and let the aircraft fall between the missiles, barely missing them. The explosives, now sensing no target, exploded harmlessly in the air and falling down with no power Tracer could easily see the situation that awaited them down below. A small cluster of ant-sized buildings spread in the snowy environment down below. Flashes of light came from even smaller dots in the ground which Tracer assumed were Omnic combatants and the people in the buildings returned fire. She also saw three jet-like figures a few hundred feet below them, racing upwards. Flying Omnics. She smiled widely and pressed the trigger on her control stick, the rapid fire of the jet quickly cutting through the three of them.
"Are we crashing, falling or flying?" Alessandro yelled from the passenger's seat.
"Perhaps all three?" Mei suggested, which did not help. He let out a string of curses as Tracer powered up the engines and sped off towards the village down below. As they got closer she could easily see the fight that was raging between them, the Russians were certainly out numbered and were losing ground fast…unless some heroes racing towards the ground could help turn the tide.
"I'm landing behind the Omnics! If we can get in their lines and reach their artillery we can use it against them and the village may stand a chance!" Tracer yelled, receiving only another string of curses from the boy followed by the sound of Torbjorn smacking him over the head. Mei answered but now Tracer couldn't hear a thing. They were closing in on the Omnic's artillery which, unlike normal military artillery, consisted of canons the size of six story buildings and fired superheated bolts of plasma. The only reason the Russians hadn't lost yet is because they were spread out, and thanks to fact that these canons fired once every ten minutes. Tracer flew in and fired down at the Omnics below, but she didn't wait for them to respond. She suddenly stopped and let the jet hover over the first canon. "Go go go! Hurry up!"
"You heard her, boy, time to break 'em down!" Torbjorn cheered, jumping out the side of the aircraft. Mei quickly followed and after a moments hesitation Alessandro followed them both. Tracer immediately sped off to find a safer place to land. She found herself worrying for Alessandro as she sped off, but she had nothing but trust that the boy would be fine. Especially with Torbjorn and Mei by his side.
Yeah, he'll be fine. Just fine. She thought to herself. I should hurry up, can't let them have all the fun now can I?
"Ok then!" Alessandro yelled, ducking behind a metal beam as bullets flew around him. 'That is a lot of Omnics!"
"Where did they all come from anyway?!" Torbjorn asked, hammering a hunk of metal which in a few seconds turned into a turret. Alessandro stared it, half amazed, and as it began to fire he laughed. That was so cool.
"Maybe we can ask them if we get the chance!" Mei called, shooting a couple icicles down below. "For now let's shut this weapon down."
"I suppose that's why we have you two, the scientist and engineer?" Alessandro asked. He turned around the beam and looked down below, seeing several Bastion units, he pulled the trigger and much to his surprise blew up.
He literally blew up.
He flew off the gun and began falling, but now his instincts took over. He spun midair and landed on his feet without much trouble. A nervous smile appeared on his face as several Bastion units went into canon form and aimed at him.
"Hey guys…so what about this weather? Pretty cold am I right? Maybe we can go somewhere else and get your circuits warmed up?" He chuckled nervously and sighed. "Ok let's just fight." The robots seemed to like that suggestion better and opened fire. In a second Alessandro jumped against the wall then kicked himself off of it, going above the Omnics and landed behind them. He smiled widely and pulled the trigger before they could turn around. One by the one they burst into flames. He was about to congratulate himself when he heard heavy steps behind him and turned. "You have got to be kidding me." He murmured. Behind him at least fifty Bastion units were coming, along with dozens of regular Omnics wielding old war rifles.
"There is a service panel under the main support beam down there!" Torbjorn yelled, rapidly building a turret to cover the boy. "Get inside! Head to the center of the canon and destroy the main conduits! Mei and I shall handle these pieces of scrap!"
"Five minutes, that's all I need!" Alessandro replied, running towards the access panel and kicking it open. He turned around and fired in short bursts, taking out a few bots before climbing inside and slamming the access panel shut. As soon as he shut it all light disappeared and he sighed. "Um…shield activate? Shield on! Please?" Just now he realizes Winston never taught him how to use the damn thing. If only it could turn on.
As soon as he thought this a shield much like Reinhardt's formed around his body. It was like a second layer of blue skin just a few inches away from his body. But it did what he wanted it to, it provided light. He noticed that the inside of the machine wasn't nearly as impressive as the outside. It was huge, but so riddled with support beams, catwalks and consoles that it felt very closed in and small. Some of the catwalks had broken and fallen down, along with just a few support beams. The consoles were rusted and had broken or dusty screens. The canon fired and a deafening blast resonated throughout the structure, much to Alessandro's horror this also meant the whole thing shook and he was surprised it didn't collapse on top of him. How was this thing even working?
He heard gunshots outside and remembered that he needed to hurry. His friends were strong, but not invincible. An army would take them out soon. He began making his way through the trash that was this place, climbing over broken beams and crouching under fallen catwalks. He didn't make it far before he heard a buzzing noise somewhere above. A frown appeared on his face. Those sounded mechanical and small…like drones?
As soon as he had this thought several security drones appeared from the darkness above and opened fire on Alessandro. The bullets pinged harmlessly on his shield and he aimed upwards, opening fire. One of the drones sparked and burst into flames, the others scattered but continued firing. Alessandro ducked behind a support beam and took a deep breath. The firing stopped but he could hear the drones, five or six of them, moving around to get a better angle. Before they could re-position he spun out and fired in short bursts. One, two, three drones burst into plumes of fire and rained onto the floor. The last two drones opened fire but Alessandro quickly climbed up the support beams and jumped on one, ripping its camera off and throwing the rest at the second drone. He landed on the floor and turned just in time to see the drones crash in a small explosion of metal. Sadly, he didn't have time to admire his handiwork. The structure rumbled violently as it fired another shot. That had been much less than ten minutes. It was firing faster.
"Alessandro! We need this canon in our control NOW!" Torbjorn yelled through the comms. Alessandro heard gunfire and cursing on Torbjorn's side. Something exploded. "Hurry up!"
"I got held up, there are security bots in here. I'm on my way to the control room. Just hang on." Alessandro said. He slung the rifle over his back and with the agility and skill of a ninja he began climbing a mix of support beams and downed catwalks. He was now grateful for Genji's classes, which not only taught him how to fight but also how to do this. Any professional parkour trainer would be impressed by Alessandro's skill in the area. In a few moments he made it to the second floor, but that wasn't the end. Looking up he saw that the canon had at least six floors. "Just great." He muttered, but he didn't wait a second more thinking and continued his climb. He was making good time, the canon hadn't fired again so it had been less than ten minutes. Assuming, of course, that it was still supposed to fire every ten minutes as they had thought. He made it to the fifth floor and continued to the sixth, to the part which seemed like the "cockpit" of the entire machine. He paused because he heard the unmistakable noise of a person there. He waited a few seconds and indeed heard a light chuckle then some whistling, as if he were hanging out with a friend in the coffee shop rather than blowing up half of Russia. This last thought filled Alessandro with anger and he silently climbed up and took out his pink knife. Five feet in front of him, sitting in a metal chair and hunched over the controls was a man in a Talon uniform.
So this is Talon's doing… Alessandro thought. He quietly began walking to the man until he was right behind him. He quietly took a deep breath and suddenly put the man in a headlock, his knife against the man's neck.
"Shut it down now or I'll slit your throat." Alessandro whispered.
"How did you pass the drones?" The man asked. He tried to take a step back but Alessandro held him still and pressed his blade a bit tighter. "Ok ok!"
Something's not right…he gave up way to easily. Alessandro thought. On cue he heard the audible click of a pistol's safety going off and felt a cold barrel pressed against his head.
"Let go of him before I blow your brains out." A female voice said.
"Why are you doing this? It makes no sense." Alessandro said, turning slightly to the woman.
"Let go of him, now." The woman demanded.
"Ok ok…fine. You win." Alessandro said. He slowly pulled his hand away and dropped the knife, letting go of the man. The soldier chuckled evilly and walked to his companion's side.
Or he would have had Alessandro not sprung into action. As the man walked to her Alessandro spun behind him and ran forward, pushing the man into his partner. The three toppled to the ground and the pistol clattered out of the woman's hand. Alessandro lunged for it but the man grabbed him and slammed him into a wall. Alessandro groaned and headed-butted the man, pushing him back down. The woman scrambled for the pistol and Alessandro jumped for his knife, rolling back onto his feet and throwing it towards the woman. She yelled out as the knife went through her hand. The man was practically on him now but Alessandro immediately un-holstered his super pistol (he decided to call Mercy's gift the "super pistol") and aimed it at the man's head. He froze, and then took a few steps back, raising his hands in a non-threatening gesture. The woman grabbed the pistol with her good hand but Alessandro simply kicked the chair towards her and as she turned to shoot him it hit her in the head, knocking her out.
"You have five seconds to stop firing this thing or I'll shoot your friend in the head. After another five minutes I'll shoot you in the leg. Then the other, then your good arm, then the back, then I'll grab my knife and get creative." Alessandro threatened, using his most menacing voice. Some small part of his mind was thinking about how wrong it was to use fear this way, but most of that was covered in anger. These were the people who attacked his home. These were the people that hunted his friends. These were the people that murdered Overwatch agents. These were the people who probably began the second Omnic crisis and had gotten over fifty thousand people killed in this country alone. These were the people that killed his mother, and his sisters. They deserved no mercy.
"Ok…just keep calm and I'll do that." The soldier said.
"Five." Was Alessandro's reply. "Four."
"Ok ok!" The soldier said as he quickly walked over to the control console. As he began fiddling with it Alessandro walked over to his unconscious partner and took her pistol, aiming at the man with that instead of his "Super Pistol".
"Mei, Torbjorn, Tracer, I found a Talon soldier operating the canon. He's deactivating it. What's your status?" Alessandro asked.
"This Omnics are not giving up! They're still attacking the Russians and us. The other canons are still firing. In two minutes we'll see if your new friend shuts this one down!" Torbjorn answered rapidly. "Tracer landed near the one opposite of you, do not fire there! Tracer is taking that!"
"Understood." Alessandro said, turning back towards the man. "Aim the canon to the middle artillery emplacement."
"My partner is in there!" The man complained, turning defiantly to Alessandro. He responded by pressing the barrel of the pistol to the man's forehead.
"Do it now, or I'll kill you. Then your friend." Alessandro said, his voice barely a whisper. The man glared at him angrily and Alessandro sighed. "I don't have time for this." He shot the man in the leg and left him crying out in pain on the floor as he walked over to the controls. It was a wide array of buttons, switches and even a lever. But in the center was a joystick with a big red button on top. Alessandro had played enough games to know how this worked. He grabbed the joystick and turned the canon to its partner in the center. "Mei, Torbjorn, brace yourselves! I'm firing!" He warned, pressing the red button on the joystick.
One second…
Two seconds…
Three seconds…
A bolt of pure plasma sailed directly to the other canon and in the one blow teared it to shreds. Alessandro sighed, quite tired already, and turned around to leave. But as luck would have it, that wasn't the end. A second after his blast hit, Tracer's canon fired. It was also aimed for the center canon, meaning Tracer had taken control. That would've been spectacular if Tracer's shot had anything to hit. But instead it flew undeterred over the wreckage of the former canon and hit Alessandro's canon with him, Torbjorn and Mei on it.
Due to some miracle, maybe the canon was aimed too low, or it hit part of the other's wreckage and got too small, the bolt of plasma hit the top of the canon and destroyed solely the gun. The entire building shook massively and some debris fell around Alessandro.
That was all it took.
Suddenly the roomed flashed in his eyes. One moment it was the inside of the canon, the other he was back home during the attack. He dropped his gun and spun around wildly, hyperventilating now. He felt panic rise in his chest as the roof caved in. Wait, no, not roof the canon. No no not canon the roof. He couldn't tell one apart from the other. He spun to the corner of the room, hearing Rebecca's voice. She was pleading to him; she needed him to save her. He yelled out to his sister, running to the corner only to see nothing was there. What was real? Was he back home or was he in the canon? Was he with his sisters or was he with the enemy? An explosion sounded outside and he screamed, falling to his knees. Shaking his head wildly. Someone was yelling at him. Tracer through his comms? No, Rebecca in his ear. Rebecca, Jasmine and Ruby screaming for help, begging him. He sobbed and went into fetal position, unable to process it. Unable to process this. Another explosion outside, another terrible flashback and the feeling that his heart was being ripped out. The terrible feeling of anxiety, of hopelessness, of fear. He screamed at the top of his lungs and covered his ears as if he could stop hearing his sister's voices. As if they would cease to exist.
Then everything went black.