A/N
Hey everybody. Again, not much to say again. I do want to say thank you to everyone reading this story and those who are new to the story, welcome. Now for the disclaimer.
Disclaimer: Overwatch belongs to Blizzard Entertainment and its respective developer. I own nothing but a few characters and the plot of the story.
Now onto the story.
Indiana, United States of America
As the dropship's engines cycled down, Soldier: 76 and Ghost walked down the stairs in the main hold of the dropship and gathered their gear.
"Alright, we've landed." Winston said walking down the stairs toward the two men with Tracer closely following. "I would prefer if one of us went with you."
"One day, maybe, but for now, we can't afford to compromise our safe house locations." Ghost said as he spun his pistol on his index finger and holstered it. "Even if we're allies."
"Keep a low profile. The last thing we need is people questioning why there's an Overwatch dropship in the middle of nowhere." 76 said, strapping his Heavy Pulse Rifle to his back. "If we're not back by nightfall, take off without us and head back to base." As he finished the door opened with a hiss and the old soldier walked out without another word. As they watched him walk out, Ghost turned back toward Winston and Tracer.
"You know, I really think he's starting to warm up to you guys." Ghost said and with that, walked off to follow his partner. Once they were gone, the dropship door closed and the two Overwatch agents just sighed. Winston then turned to Tracer and spoke up.
"So what have you learned from about our new friends?"
"Not much. I learned James's name and that he's the last surviving member of his family. He's very nice once you get to know him, although he can be a bit sarcastic at times." Tracer said with a smile before frowning a bit. "As for Soldier, I learned next to nothing except that he's less cold once you get to know him, according to James." Winston just grunted. As much as he wanted to trust the two men they had brought along, he was having a hard time with the lack of information he had on both. He knew next to nothing about their goals and with the past news reports about Soldier breaking into several former Overwatch bases and bombing corporate building offices and financial institutions, he was starting to doubt the decision to accept them without having them on a short leash. It'll depend on what happens if they returned.
Outside, Soldier: 76 and Ghost were quickly making their way to their safe house. The travel was quiet for the two soldiers, which wasn't normal but this time, the silence between them now was different. It was more of an awkward silence between the two. As the silence got to a point of being almost unbearable, 76 spoke up.
"James, about what happened."
"If you're going to say your sorry, don't worry about it. I've already forgiven you." Ghost said turning toward the older soldier. "We're all entitled to a few nightmares, you especially considering what you've survived through. Just next time, try not to almost kill me when you wake up from one." 76 just looked at Ghost in disbelief for a few moment before nodding his head and kept moving, glad he wasn't losing a friend.
The trip went by a lot quicker as they found a vehicle that clearly hadn't seen seen any use in a awhile. After a few hours of travelling empty roads and passed what seemed like endless fields of gold cornstalks and green plants, they turned down an old dirt road to that lead to their home base. It was an old farm, having been abandoned for a few years before being purchased by James using a false ID and silver tongue to convince to them to accept cash as payment for the plot of land. It took a few hours and quite a bit of charm to avoid giving out too many details but in the end, James was successful and the farm was theirs. To Soldier: 76, the farm was more than base or hideout, but a place of old memories as well, both bitter and happy. At the moment, however, both were just happy to be home.
As they approached the farm house, they caught sight of someone sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair. It was a elderly woman with an eye patch and hood, her silver hair neatly braided over her shoulder. She seemed to be enjoying the sunny weather and quiet scenery with a cup of tea. Next to her on the small table was a letter and a rifle that leaned on the table, a prototype that never got fully developed due to Overwatch shutting down. As the vehicle came to halt and the two men stepped out, she opened her eyes to observe them.
"Hey, mama bear! I didn't know you were back." The younger of the two men called out with a smile as he stepped out of the truck and removed his mask.
"James, its good to see you too." She responded. " Jack, its good to see you as well. Its nice to see that you're able to handle a mission without getting yourself into trouble." She teased her old commander. James gave the older woman a hug before walking into the house to retrieve his gear. She had quickly taken to caring for the younger man as if he was family not long after they had met and James had started viewing her as motherly figure soon after.
"Glad to see you too, Ana. Did you find out what you needed?" Soldier: 76 asked as he removed his mask.
"I found out where my Fareeha is stationed and I got my hands on her last mission report." Ana said with a sigh. "A god A.I. breaking its quarantine is troubling. If I had known when we were still in Giza, I would have stepped in. Helix barely was able to quarantine Anubis. And With Hakim and Reyes working with Talon..." Ana paused for a moment. "I'm worried for my daughter, Jack." Jack could only sigh. He knew how much Fareeha meant to Ana. "This fight has become to big for just the three of us."
"Well then its a good thing its not just the three of us anymore." James said as he rejoined the conversation, his rifle strapped to his back.
"What are you talking about? What did you two get yourselves into?" Ana asked looking at James then over to Jack. Jack just looked at James and nodded for the younger man to explain.
"Well, we went on a supply run to Watchpoint Gibraltar to check if there were any supplies and well, we stumbled on the newly reformed Overwatch. We tried sneaking out of the base but they spotted the commander here and after me punching Genji in the faceplate and tripping McCree and Jack beating up a handful of agents that have been slacking on training, we were surrounded and forced to surrender." James said with a sigh. "So I brokered up a deal with Winston and got him to agree not to turn us in if we help Overwatch get back on its feet."
"So we're part of Overwatch again?" Ana asked, folding her arms across her chest.
"Not exactly. More like a temporary alliance. Overwatch doesn't trust us, as much as they like to say otherwise. Most of them see us as criminals and won't hesitate to turn us in if we make any wrong moves." Jack said. Ana sighed as uncrossed her arms.
"Give me a few minutes to pack a few things." Ana said as she turned to walk into the house.
"Ana, you don't have to come with us. They don't know about you." Jack said.
"I know, Jack, but someone has to watch your back when James can't." With that, Ana picked up her rifle and walked into the house to pack her things. James and Jack both looked at each other and shrugged and before following her inside to make sure they had everything they needed to make before making the return the trip.
After about 20 minutes, the three had everything they need and met up outside. Each had a bag that held equipment needed to maintain their gear as well as a bag that contain extra clothes. They knew it would be awhile before they could all go home again so they pack all the necessities and then some.
"Everyone ready?" Jack asked. James and Ana nodded. "Before we leave, I want you both to know that you're both free to take off your masks and tell the people in Overwatch who you are. There are a lot of old friends and familiar faces in Overwatch now." Jack said, more directed to Ana but it still had some meaning to James. James just nodded again while Ana looked over to the table and picked up the letter she had written earlier.
"Do you mind if we stop somewhere first. I have to send something to my daughter." Ana asked as she looked at the closed letter. Agreeing to the request, Jack reequipped his mask and once again donned the identity of Soldier: 76. James followed in suit and once again became Ghost. Ana watched the two men and with smile she put on her mask as well. Unlike the masks of Ghost and Soldier: 76, her mask covered her entire face and had the three blue lines that formed an upside down triangle in the center of it. With all their identities concealed, they quickly said goodbye to their home as they entered the truck and made their way to back.
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A few hours later
"Are they back yet?" Tracer asked as she laid on the couch. They've been gone for so long." The hyperactive British woman did not do well with sitting down in one spot for extended periods of time due to how easily she got bored.
"No. They've only been gone for about 5 hours. They still have quite awhile before nightfall." Winston said as he flipped to the next page of the book on theoretical physics. While he didn't agree with it, he had fully expected this to happen even before they landed. He had a feeling that they would have them land as far away from their safe house as possible but still be close enough to get there and back within reasonable time. "Why don't you run another system check on the ship?"
"I've done that three times already." Tracer said as she leaned against the table. "Can't I go off to the nearby town for a bit? I'll be back before they are."
"No, you're too recognizable. We were told to lay low and not get spotted." Winston replied as he read the next page. Tracer only groaned in boredom.
"Where are those wankers, anyways?" Tracer complained once more as she turned toward the open door. She had done nearly everything she possibly could on the ship. Basketball held her attention for a while but after succeeding in every trick shot she could come up with, she quickly lost interest. She had Athena run a system diagnostic multiple time in which the A.I. reported nothing new each time. She had even organized and straightened all of the containers and their contents. Twice.
"Well that's not a very nice thing to say." A voice said, causing both agents to jump. With a chuckle, Ghost reappeared in next to Tracer. A moment later, Soldier: 76 and another masked person came on board.
"We're ready to move." 76 nodded at the gorilla. Winston nodded back and closed his book. Once everyone was aboard, the ship's engines began spinning up as the door closed.
"So who may this be?" Winston asked as he got up to greet the masked woman. The three hesitated as Ana hadn't fully decided if she wanted to reveal herself so soon. The silence was quickly broken by Ghost in small panic once he noticed no one else was answering.
"This is..uh" He stopped for a use the first thing that popped into his head. "Shrike." Everyone turned to face him and Ghost quickly felt his face heat up in embarrassment. Wanting to get out of the spotlight as fast as possible, he quickly cloaked and escaped to cockpit, leaving 76 and Ana to deal with the aftermath.
"Well its nice to meet you, uh, Shrike. I'm sure you'll be a useful addition to the team." Winston held out his hand to her.
"Its nice to see you again, Winston. And please call me, Janina." The older woman said taking Winston's much larger hand and shaking it. Winston was confused by the statement and it showed on his face which caused her to chuckle. "I use to work for Overwatch, like you. You have grown so much since I last saw you. I remember when we first recruited you after you arrived on Earth." Under her mask, Ana smiled fondly at the memories and the gorilla. He was always so kind and innocent, never wanting to resort to bloodshed. While Ana didn't want to lie to the gorilla, she knew that if she were to reveal herself now then it would be easy to connect the dots and figure out Soldier's identity.
"O-oh! Well in that case it'll be great to work with you again." Winston said nervously. Tracer blinked over and greeted the woman as well and Ana chuckled ad commented about how little the young British woman had changed since they last met causing the younger woman to blush. With greetings out of the way, Ana and Soldier: 76 took their seats around the table and began checking over their gear while Winston took a seat and the continued reading. Tracer made her way to the cockpit and found Ghost strapped into the co-pilot seat talking to a holographic projection of Athena. When he noticed Tracer walking up the stairs, he ended the conversation and turned to face the young British woman.
"What were you two talking about?" Tracer asked with a smile.
"Nothing important. Just cross referencing your intel with ours. So how was waiting?" Ghost replied, closing a few windows on his tactical pad.
"Absolutely the worse. How far did you two go?"
"Oh not far. We just stopped off to eat, take in the sights, make a couple of crop circles, send some mail, you know, the sorts." Ghost chuckled while Tracer lightly shoved him and took a seat in the pilot seat.
"No really, where did you go?" Tracer asked. Ghost stopped to think for a moment before answering.
"Home. Its gonna be awhile until we can go back so we grabbed what we might need for this adventure." Ghost said grabbing his rifle and patted the side of it. The dark gray rifle was a custom standard issue Overwatch pulse rifle, much like the pulse rifle Strike-Commander Morrison use to use back in the Golden Age of Overwatch except it lacked the rocket launcher underbarrel attachment. It also sported a hexagonal pattern skin, something that was also visible on the Ghost's sidearm as well.
"Why do both of your guns have that pattern?" Tracer asked noticing the same pattern on both his weapons.
"Hm? Oh, hexagon skin of the weapons reacts to the cloaking field my armor uses and amplifies it so it affects the weapons as well. That way the weapon is invisible when I cloak. That and I think it looks cool." Ghost explained as he watch Tracer take the control of the dropship and guide them above the clouds. He had discovered earlier that day that he loved watching Tracer at the controls and how fluid her hands were as they moved about the console. Once they were at cruising attitude, she let auto pilot take control and she turned back to Ghost.
"So I have question for you."
"Alright, shoot."
"Does everyone who works with you wear a mask or something?" Tracer asked, referencing Ana. The question made Ghost laugh. "What? I'm being serious." His laugh quickly faded and he answered the question.
"No, as far as I know, we're the only ones who wear masks." James debated if he wanted to take off his mask and show her his face but ultimately decided it was still a little too early for that, even if she wouldn't recognize him.
"Do you ever plan on taking the masks off?"
"We take our masks off plenty."
"I meant around us."
"In that case, then we will eventually." He answered. His response was met with a small pout from Tracer, which got another laugh out of Ghost. "How about this, when I decide to take off my mask, you'll be the first to see. Deal?"
Tracer just stared at him and sighed in defeat. "Fine." Before they could talk about anything else, 76 called Ghost over to the holotable so they could talk about their next move. The pair made their way to the holotable where the rest of the occupants of the craft were gathered. He could already see images of King's Row and Ilios hovering over the table.
"So what are we discussing at the big kid's table?" Ghost asked as he leaned against the table.
"We're figure out what Talon could be planning at both of these locations." 76 said as he selected an image of King's Row and Ilios, Greece, and expanded them.
"King's Row is obvious. The location has always been a hotspot for tension between humans and Omnics, especially since the death of Tekhartha Mondatta, and its only getting worse. Constant protests, small scale riots, open clashes with the police, the place is a powder keg and all Talon has to do is light the match. The worse part is local authorities don't even seem slightly interested in trying to stop them. Our contact in King's Row said that Talon was using a dropship to insert and extract Widowmaker meaning they either have some amazing stealth tech or local authorities are letting them go unchallenged. So the real question here is when and how they plan on starting the war." Ghost said as he just laid out all the information they had gathered on the growing situation in King's Row. As he spoke, he brought up images to show his point. "As for Ilios, you got me there. Best guess 76 and I were able to come up with was either there's a HVT in the area that Talon is hoping to eliminate or there's something of some kind of value that they want." No one disagreed with the information and assumptions given to them by the younger soldier. The information was sound and the assumptions were right within Talon's MO.
"The next thing we have to worry about are these two." Winston said pulling up images of Reaper and Widowmaker. "These two are Talon's most effective operatives. They go by Reaper and Widowmaker. Tracer and I have had run ins with both. Tracer did her best to stop Widowmaker before she could assassinate Tekhartha Mondatta but unfortunately she was successful." Tracer seemed to look down a bit in shame when hearing about her failure to stop Widowmaker. "I had my first encounter with the mercenary Reaper when he and a squad of Talon soldiers tried raiding my network to get the names and locations of all the other Overwatch agents at Watchpoint Gibraltar." Everyone looked up in surprise upon hearing about Reaper's raid on location they are currently using as a base. "The next encounter we had with them was at the Overwatch museum where they tried to steal the Doomfist gauntlet but we were able to stop them."
"Yeah and from what I saw circulating the internet and media, the world is aware Overwatch is back." Ghost said. Ghost cleared off the images of King's Row and Ilios and brought up images of polls taken form multiple sources asking the public about how they felt about Overwatch being back. While there was some disapproval about the return of the once beloved organization, most of the public was unsure about how they felt about the issue.
"Public opinion aside for the moment, we need to find a way to deal with these two. Do you have knowledge that could help us combat them? Anything you know would be helpful." In truth, Winston had a fair bit of knowledge about the Reaper and way he operated from his two encounters with the man and had a general idea about Widowmaker and her MO from the recalled accounts from Tracer and his own personal experience. This was more of a test to see what kind of information the three vigilantes had on the two.
Ghost glance at Soldier: 76 and Ana, unsure how they wanted to proceed. He knew that the two of them knew both Reaper and Widowmaker before they were called that. While Ghost didn't want to leave his allies in the dark, especially when it concerned extremely dangerous enemies, he was willing to lie and just repeat the information Overwatch currently already had on them if neither of them spoke up. However when he saw 76 look over to Ana and saw her nod, he knew he wouldn't have to speak at all. With a heavy sigh, Soldier: 76 spoke.
"Reaper's real name is Gabriel Reyes." As he said that, an image of Reyes's agent profile came up over the table. "Somehow, he survived the destruction of the Swiss HQ and he's been hunting down and eliminating former Overwatch agents. We assume that's why he's working with Talon. He takes out anything that might pose a threat to Talon and they give him information, locations, operatives, and equipment to take out Overwatch agents. He's been actively hunting a few Overwatch agents in particular but who they are has yet to be seen." 76 knew that it wasn't all the information they had on Reyes but he couldn't afford to give away anything that might lead to his cover being compromised. Not yet, anyways. More importantly, he knew had to give them something if they were to start trusting them, especially with them bring Ana along now.
"Widowmaker was formerly known as Amelie Lacroix, before Talon got their hands on her." Ana said next. "We don't know what happened in the weeks she was gone but when Overwatch agents found her, they assumed she was fine. Two weeks later, we found her husband, Gerard, dead." Both her and 76 looked down out of sadness and regret as they recall how they found their old friend. "We assume she had died as well but unfortunately that wasn't the case. She ended up with Talon again." Winston could only sigh. Soldier: 76 stayed quiet. He remembered first meeting the young woman and how happy her and Gerard were. When he heard of the fate that had befallen her, he could only imagine the pain it would have caused her husband. The table went quiet after that. No one wanted to continue the conversation but unfortunately they had to.
"We need to gather information on the situation on both locations. What are our options?" Soldier: 76 asked. It was moments like this where he easily fell back into the command role and while he didn't initially like the position, he felt comfortable giving the orders.
"We have a contact in London that we can call to keep an eye on the situation." Ghost said. "He's the son of a former Overwatch agent. He's been observing the situation for awhile there. As for Ilios, if we can get someone in that area, I can send over the drones I 'borrowed' from HSI. What about Overwatch? What assets do you have in the area of both objectives."
"We have none in London. Lena was a resident agent there. Same thing goes for Ilios. However, I can have one of our agents reassigned to monitor the situation there. We just have to give them a few days to get there and set up." Winston answered.
"Alright then, in the mean time, I want eyes and ears on the ground in King's Row. Athena, will we have enough fuel to redirect to King's Row and get back to Watchpoint Gibraltar?"
"Affirmative, Soldier: 76."
"Redirect to London." Soldier ordered. "Lena, once we get close to the city, take over the controls and bring us in fast and low. Once we hit the outskirts of the city, slow the ship enough for one of us to get out then get the hell out of here."
"You got it." Tracer saluted. "Who are we dropping off?" Soldier was about to answer when someone beat him to it.
"Me." Everyone turned to look at the one who spoke, Ghost. "What? Besides Shrike, I'm the most qualified for this and Shrike has to be here to watch over 76. That's her purpose of being here."
"Are you sure about this?" 76 asked.
"Absolutely. Plus, I've been meaning to go back to London."
"Alright. Everyone else, once we get back, get ready to make a move on either location. Dismissed." Soldier: 76 authoritatively. With that the group quickly dispersed. No one questioned why he giving out orders. To everyone, including the two Overwatch agents, it just felt right. With the meeting over, everyone went back to doing what they were doing prior to the meeting.
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Hours later, Less than 5 minutes away from drop point
"Approaching the drop point." Athena announced. "Agent Ghost, are you ready?"
"No but its a little late to back down now." Ghost said as he got out of the co-pilot seat. Tracer, who was sitting in the pilot seat, glanced at him as he got up.
"James." She called out making him turn. "Stay safe, okay?"
"Of course. I'll see you soon." Ghost said with a smile and quickly went down to the main hold to get into position. As he got down there, Winston gave him a nod and went up to join Tracer in the cockpit. As Ghost was making sure his weapons and equipment were strapped down properly, 76 and Ana approached in him.
"James, are you sure about this?" 76 asked one last time.
"I'll be fine, 76. I've run solo ops before. I'll contact you once I've arrived at or established a safe house."
"Alright. Stay safe our there." 76 said.
"Always." Ghost said. "Ana, keep him safe. Don't want anything happening into our commander." He said in a voice low enough for only them to hear.
"Of course, James. We'll see you soon. Good luck." Ana said with a nod. As she said that, the door behind him opened.
"Arriving at drop point alpha." Athena announced.
"Show time." Ghost said turning on his heel and walking over to the end of the lowered door. Without a word, Ghost dropped down to the ground below, disappearing from sight before he hit the ground. "This is Ghost. Commencing recon operation." With that the door closed and the dropship picked up speed, heading back to Watchpoint Gibraltar.
A/N
And that's a wrap. I apologize for taking this long to update. Thank you so much for reading this chapter. Hope you guys are enjoying it. Things have been rather dull for the past couple of chapters so I'm hoping to get things moving soon. I'll to get the next chapter up sooner than this one but no promises.
So what did you guys think? Like it? Hate it? Somewhere in between? Leave a comment/review or shoot me a PM if that's more your thing.
Anyways, thanks again for reading and remember, have a great day.