Chapter 2:
Our Shot:
Stark Tower
After the God A.I program had hacked the system, fled into the Internet and the attack by some old Separatist Droids and synths, probably from Boston, it was clear that another fight was brewing. Glasses of aged wine, the ice statues, and the counters were all overturned; a cluttered mess as a result of the attack. Bullet casings and bullet holes littered the penthouse of Stark Tower, shattered glass now on the streets, police and cleaners now arriving at the scene.
"So, that happened."
Sly said, his head peeking out of Stark's closet.
"Well, I never expected another age of Ultron. I'd honestly expect a company like Skynet to do that sort of shit."
Nathan Drake responded, entering Stark's room.
"Look, I was just on a vacation to Courscant, the last thing I need to hear is that twenty-year-old droids are attacking Earth. We don't need another Covenant-Human War."
Sly got up, looking back at him after putting his navy blue newsboy hat back on.
"You're right but, this "Sombra" fellow, I don't know if she's legitimately trying to drive another wedge. We don't need another Civil War am I right? So come on Sly, we need to get back downstairs."
The two of them sprung out from Tony's room, running down a spiral staircase back to the lobby of the penthouse, then jumping through shattered glass to see Rytlock, Captain America, Tony Stark and Professor Xavier, the latter having just arrived. Rytlock waved his fiery sword, embers floating diffusing from it but not burning anything it their grasp.
"Good, you're down here now. Don't know 'bout that attack though, got to inform the Black Citadel and the rest of Tyria notified so we can try and shut down some wires."
Rytlock informed, sheathing his sword.
"Tony, do you know where Reinhardt and Pliskin ar-"
"We're getting reports from London, Gibraltar, and San Francisco, they've been taken down as well; and our good ol' Professor here has something to say about this."
"Very well; When the Omnic Crisis ended six years ago and you were still working for your father's business and Azeroth's nations, realms, and kingdoms were in the midst of the second Burning Legion invasion, we locked up these "God A.I's. deep inside the deep web."
"We spread out these data codes, however this "Sombra," is intending to have us play a game. The clues are hidden far and wide, as far away as Corneria I suppose. However there is one clue in New York, that's why Pliskin and Reinhardt are down in the Park.
The duo was in the park near the castle, it was six o'clock in the morning, the sun barely rising over the skyline of New York City. The fallen leaves were now a bright orange, covering the castle grounds. The air, a bit chill with a few clouds hung up in the air.
"Say Reinhardt, what do you mean by "clue?"
"Vell, when I fought with the very first Overwatch strike team when we were not a full blown division, we imprisoned zhese "God A.I."
Reinhardt said, looking down at Pliskin.
"It vas spread throughout our galaxy, every possible fragment now in the hands of six locations three of them her on Earth, one in Tyria, one on the Eastern Kingdoms, and one on Coruscant."
Reinhardt scoured the castle's walls, Pliskin instead looking towards the Manhattan skyline. He appeared to be searching for something, a keyhole of sorts. This keyhole was indeed shaped into the Cooper Clan's infamous insignia, a golden question mark bent at angles, instead it was reversed, a brown variant that looked incredibly fake in able to dissuade people like Sombra. He placed his large hands against the wall, pressing against the great stone blocks.
As if on que, a great rumble shook the castle, as if an earthquake had just occurred.
"I think that vas it…"
Reinhardt said, wary of his surroundings.
Back at Stark Tower,
Three charr from the Blood Legion had arrived, among them the High Impeator of the Legion, Bagnar Ruinbringer. Bangar was on equal height and mass with Rytlock, his armor painted blood red to intimidate those who'd dare cross his path. He had a certain scowl to his face, always acting in that demeanor in comparison to Rytlock's wittier attitude. The other two charr were nothing more than lowly soldiers in service to Bangar, equipping only simple steel armor in plain grey color. The portal that the charr had arrived from closed, the mage who summoned it retreating through it.
"Tribune Brimstone, it's an honor to see you face to face again."
The impeator said, bowing his head slightly.
"As for you,"
Rytlock responded, unwrapping his temporary blindfold to shake Bangar's hand.
"Why the hell are you here? I'm here on business regarding the Burning Legion."
"I'm also here on my business. And you're coming with me on the orders of the Black Citadel."
Rytlock laughed, expecting something much worse.
"You gotta be kidding me; I'm confirmed to be missing in action Bangar."
"The Black Citadel never recorded you to be MIA, Rytlock. You're coming with us or you and these interlopers are going to have their guts gutted out."
Bangar replied, directly threatening everyone in the room.
"Now, what if I come with Rytlock?"
Stark said, rudely and humorously interrupting.
"Your guts would be gutted; before being put on trial for assisting a deserter."
"Now look! I'm no deserter, and I don't want to spill any blood here; I'd probably slicing the two of you before requiring any help from the rest of us."
Rytlock said, pointing at the two grunts; gulping in fear.
"I'll go,"
Rytlock added, sheathing Sohothin.
"Don't want any of my friends to get hurt."
"Be prepared to face the Black Citadel's judgement when you get there."
Bangar chuckled, handcuffing Rytlock.
"Rytlock, I hope you know what you're doing."
Laurens said.
"I know what I'm doin', tell Pliskin what happened; I need him at the Black Citadel as soon as possible. I have a plan to get me out of this mess.:
"Very well then, I'll open a portal to the Black Citadel then,"
Khadgar interrupted, casting a spell that opened a rift between Earth and Azeroth.
"We will see you again Rytlock, come back as quickly as possible, we need you for what happens next."
The four charr walked through the portal, dissipating into air as the portal collapsed. The room was silent again, Steve grabbing a broom and handing it to Nate. Everyone began to clean up the party in silence, Nate, Sly, Steve and Khadgar cleaning up the glass, the mage using arcane energy to create an arcane defender to defend the Tower. Chen, Xavier, and Tony discussed plans to head to Paris and San Francisco to investigate the hackings.
"What about the Doctor? He just ran inside the TARDIS only for it to dematerialize during the skirmish."
Chen asked.
"I believe he knows what he's doing. Once he saw the droids he knew exactly to head to Coruscant. He knows that the Galactic Senate has something to do with this; luckily we have the UNSC and UFP to help with what's going on over there."
Professor Xavier retorted.
"Where's Wolf London? I thought he was here earlier?"
Tony said, looking around the bar floor.
"He already left. He's flying his plane to Paris at this moment to meet up with Bond, O'Donnell, Arno, and Tracer."
"Should we activate the recall notice right now Professor?"
"No, not yet Tony, we need Logan to fix the transponder, then we can broadcast the message; anyways, I wonder how long Pliskin and Reinhardt are going to take…"
The castle's cellars were underexplored for a structure that has been standing for only a hundred and fifty years in Gregorian Years. Cobwebs were growing everywhere, the supports rotten as the duo descended through a secret passageway that only Reinhardt seem to remember.
Pliskin held a torch; taking a spare stick and ripping an old curtain then using a lighter set it on fire, the embers floating away gracefully; much to Reinhardt's dismay. The two of them progressed further into the castle, they saw old tapestries, battles that depicted vivid battles with dragons, wolves, lions, and a variety of mythical creatures.
"This seems to be the mead hall, so much liquor was stored here I suppose."
Pliskin quietly said, waving his torch to illuminate the Hall.
"Hmm, I suppose you're right; there's banners everyvhere…"
Reinhardt added.
The duo continued on; Reinhardt discovering or rediscovering a hidden passage to the cellar.
"Aha! I remember now… It's over here now…"
The cellar was in an incredibly ruined state, the casks once holding the most flavorful alcohol now containing only dust. A single skeleton was there to Pliskin's horror; as for Reinhardt, he simply picked it up and threw it away, the skeleton still clutching onto a cask.
"That vas the person who was supposed to guard what's stored here. He was a general in the Minutemen. Name was McGann."
"Now… it should be over here…"
Reinhardt muttered, rummaging through old, displaced casks and crates. He punched one cask, clear and through, the seal on it falling to the floor as aged alcohol spilled on the floor. He saw what laid ahead of the cask.
"Aha… I found it…"
He pulled out a black book. Its jet black cover resonating with dark magic, one that would seem familiar with a dark witch or wizard.
"What, what is this?"
Pliskin curiously asked, looking at what he had in his hands.
"I dunno my friend, once we sealed Sombra away all she left away was this book; it has nothing written in it, nor outside it."
"I hope that thing isn't what I think it is. A death note. If Sombra is an AI, she can hypothetically use the book to kill anyone and use that body as a host. That book needs to be burned right now."
Pliskin responded, gesturing his torch to the book.
"You're indeed right, but how would Sombra be able to use the book?"
"A servant of hers. Look, the Legion has servants of their own, wouldn't Sombra have some of her own? Now I think we need to decrypt the book; we can have a paladin coat the book with some holy magic so we can send it to Gibraltar…"
"Now I know what you're saying, come! I will ask the Doctor when he returns to purify this artifact."
The duo ran back upstairs, past the mead hall and outside into the fresh fall air. It was now around eight o'clock in the morning, people rushing to work, and people rushing to the park to enjoy the clean air. As the duo walked back to Stark Tower the two of them noticed the crashed vertibird and quinjet blocking East 45th Street. News reporters were on the scene, many of them syndicating at the moment.
Pliskin caught eye of Piper Wright, news reporter originally from Boston and supporter of the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. The duo only waved to her as she waved back, remembering the two of them after what transpired in Stuttgart and Berlin earlier that year. They showed their Overwatch IDs to enter the building, two officers cowering a bit as they reluctantly entered Stark Tower with the book in hand.
What they saw was a much more, less lively scene with everyone that had remained a breakfast cooked by Cap and Tony.
"So, you two have been busy I see. Where have you been?"
Steve asked, flipping a pancake over as Chen and Sly watched.
"We, erm, found an Artifact in the cellar of Belvedere Castle… Reinhardt, show them what we found."
Everyone in the room fell silent as they laid their eyes on the black book Reinhardt pulled out. Quotes ranging from disbelief to outright anger at Reinhardt.
"Did you really have to bring a demonic book into this building,"
Tony asked.
"Also, how did you manage to hide it for six and a half years?"
Reinhardt sighed deeply, he looked around at everyone, then eyeing Pliskin.
"Let me tell you. About the day we sealed Sombra away."
"It vas one of the last battles of the Omnic Crisis actually; it was in an Aztec ruin, on the Yucatan Peninsula on an October. The sky was hazy, the sun blood red as it set over the center temple."
"The weather vas humid; the climate making my fellow crusaders and I hot in their armor."
He recounted the events that day; how everything went down with Sombra. He was with a fireteam of Crusaders, him being the leader. The ground forces had directly landed on the beach, advancing through the gunfire and artillery barrages created by the ominics as Reinhardt put it.
"We treaded through the swamp on the southern end of the ruin, the mud soiling our armor, caking it in layers of mud and dirt and making us move entirely slow. We eventually made it to the ruin, we saw the fire fight unfold before us, planes and ships bombarded the ruins in an effort to destroy the omnics."
Reinhardt slowly said, retelling each event slowly with emotion.
"We didn't know why we were dispatched on that end of the Ruin. We expected to charge in head first with the rest of the army; instead we did what a rogue would do, sneak through mud quickly and quietly."
"It was only then what I saw what needed to be done, inside the magnificent pyramid housed an A.I. more powerful than anyone had imagined being charged with energy from a strange ritual at the top."
"Reinhardt, I don't remember this battle from six years ago. I wasn't told anything about this."
Steve Rogers responded, interrupting his story.
"They don't call zhis the, "Lost Battle of Mexico" for a reason Steve. Anyways, ve charged up the stairs of the temple, shells and gunfire landing everywhere as we pushed ourselves to the limit. There, we saw what was going on; a computer was hooked to this little girl who vas already dead unfortunately."
"I was already confused and horrified beyond belief on what was going on, they planned on transferring an A.I. to this empty body. I charged at the computer, destroying it as the ritual stopped. But that vas not all."
"I saw the person performing the ritual, a short man, shorter than Pliskin. His eyes had deep, black marks, his hair was a black mess in addition to his plain white shirt. He dropped that black book before turning into a shadow himself, and I picked it up. End of story."
Reinhardt concluded, sighing deeply at the end.
"Interesting, but why didn't you turn in that book to S.H.I.E.L.D, Overwatch or at least SI:7 or the UNSC?"
Alex asked, focusing deeply on the story.
"I couldn't trust them with power that could be as mystical or dark in that book. I traveled to that castle down in Central and hid it deep within it, burying as many casks and alcohol that I owned to dissuade people from stealing them."
"Zhat's why I am trusting you with the book Captain. Guard that book with all your life and never surrender that book to anyone, regardless of how much you trust or despise him or her."
"Now, let's eat!"
Reinhardt boomed, recovering from the dark story and returning to his usual, over the top attitude.
"Where's Rytlock, I'd thought he'd still be here."
Pliskin wondered, eyeing everyone at the bar table and in the lounge.
"Oh yes, I forgot, Pliskin; Rytlock is currently at the Black Citadel. He is currently waits for you to come and visit him. He erm, has plans."
Khadgar added.
Pliskin sighed, he didn't want to get involved with anything crazy involved, however, he still wanted to concentrate on Sombra and taking her down instead of hosting a backyard cook off that failed miserably with Rytlock, Rox and Canach.
"Fine. I'll go. Khadgar will you please open a portal to the Black Citadel? I still remember when you teleported me to the Citadel. Commander Shepard wasn't that happy with me dropping into her apartment unannounced."
Pliskin reluctantly said, slyly poking at Khadgar.
"Whatever you say Pliskin, now just walk through whenever you wish."
He hugged Reinhardt; Reinhardt hugging him even tighter.
"I'll see you soon Reinhardt, it won't take that long, and I won't take that long."
"Right on Pliskin! And remember, don't waste your shot!"
Reinhardt replied, waving at the boy as he walked through the portal.
The mage also disappeared through another portal, this time one to Stormwind as everyone watched Khadgar summon and walk through another portal, telling everyone that he had important business regarding King Varian Wrynn.
"So where to now? How are we gonna take her down now?"
Sly asked, Nathan and Chen nodding their heads in return.
"You, Nathan, Elena, Reinhardt, Snake, and the Cap will head to San Francisco to investigate the most recent hacking. We will enlist the help of that area's Assassin Brotherhood to assist you."
Professor Xavier responded, turning his wheelchair to face them.
"Me, Tony, Chen, and the Frye twins will meet up with James, O'Donnell, London, Q and Tracer in Paris, as I've told you, London is already flying his jet to Paris at the moment."
"As for you, Laurens, Alex, you will need to do research on computer science, persuade Herc, Lafayette, George, and Angelica to help study wi-"
"But we aren't computer science students Professor! We're Political Science students and I want to fight, not write!"
"I know, I know. But you two are the only ones who are at an actual college who can handle the task of researching and writing. So Hamilton, I am entrusting the ownership of this, "Death Note" to you."
Xavier addressed the two of them, taking the book from Steve with Reinhardt's approval and handing it to Alex.
"So whatever you do with that book, absolutely do not touch, misprint, or write inside that book. Do not even dare to open it even."
The two of them ran out of the room and into the elevator, desperate to catch a cab to Columbia. Everyone in the room looked at each other before everyone parted ways. Captain America's group down the stairs; Tony's remaining in the bar.
"Alright team. There is one thing I have in mind right now. We aren't going to waste our shot. This is our chance, perhaps our only one. Make it count everyone."
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