Ch. 9
Present Day
Angela Ziegler
When Angela, Genji, and Fareeha managed to finally return to Gibraltar things were pretty chaotic. Chaotic in the sense that Angela's first words were, "I knew things would fall apart without me." She was surprised things literally weren't falling apart. "At least the rafters are hanging together."
Athena was offline, and by the dimmed lights it was clear the base was running on emergency power. The shuttle had to land outside of the hanger bay because they were unable to get the doors open. Angela would've been panicked that Talon had invaded the base, but being met by Torbjörns grimacing face was enough to assure her all was well.
"Before you ask, no I didn't short the power trying to do an upgrade," he yelled as the trio stepped out.
"I wasn't going to suggest that," Angela said innocently.
"I was," Genji inserted. Torbjörn growled. He waved for the group to follow and spun around, marching off towards the hanger bay.
"What exactly has happened?" Fareeha asked with concern in her tone.
"Something bad," he called back to them.
"Is it… I'm going to need my wings bad or Tobjörn is overreacting bad?" Angela asked. Genji snickered.
"Neither. It is all our systems are currently down bad."
"That is bad," Genji said. "Is there any word on McCree and my brother? Have they returned?"
"None that I know of! That would be a question for Winston. My problem is getting our base up and running. Reinhardt wanted to have a debriefing meeting as soon as you returned, and well… you've returned…"
"It seems we've missed a lot," Fareeha murmured.
"While you were off playing tourist we were here dealing with all the shit."
"It wasn't by choice."
"Don't pretend like you didn't enjoy it!" Angela glanced between Genji and Fareeha. She smiled lightly. She did enjoy it.
"Did Talon attack us?" Genji asked. Torbjörn spun around. He jabbed his finger up at the ninja's helmet and squared off.
"Save yer questions for the meeting! What do I look like, a tour guide?" He shouted. Genji huffed, crossing his arms. He turned back, stomping off towards the meeting room.
They rounded a corner. Torbjörn dodged around a large metal figure that was standing up against the wall. He said something to it as he kept moving towards his location. Angela, who was leading the trio, skidded to a halt suddenly startled by the Bastion unit towering over her. She leapt away, slamming her back into Fareeha.
"A Bastion," she gasped while Pharah pushed Angela back behind her. Genji leapt forward, tossing a triad of shurikens at the large omnic. They thunked into its chest plate, imbedding metal into metal. The Bastion didn't retaliate, however. It just stood there, staring down at the offensive cyborg ninja. Instead, it raised its right hand and made a slight waving gesture while beeping twice.
"Now why did you have to go and do that?!" Tobjörn yelled, rushing back towards the group. He pushed past the Bastion and stood between it and Genji. He motioned up to the shurikens. "Now I'm goin' to have to fix it too!"
"It's a Bastion unit," Genji defended. Torbjörn didn't listen.
"Yer lucky it didn't perceive you as a threat or you wouldn't be standin' er right now." He looked Genji up and down. "Hmph. Maybe it's cause you look like a bot." He glanced at the Bastion who was staring down at the ninja. "Careful. It may grow an attachment to you, and you probably won't want that." Genji glanced up at the omnic slowly.
Angela watched the Bastion in horror. She didn't mistrust omnics at all. However, Bastion units were very different from omnics like Zenyatta and the Shambali. It was omnics like the Bastions that had terrorized her as a young child and that left her an orphan.
She could still remember being pressed against her mother's chest as they crouched in the shell of a bullet blown house. She could see a turreted Bastion unit through a small bullet hole just in her line of sight. It was still – almost non-sentient looking – dead. She wondered if it had powered down or perhaps glitched? However, she was not naïve enough to believe that it was safe. She tried to mimic the omnic, staying as absolutely still as was possible. Her mother had told her that the slightest movement would attract them. Her cheeks were damp, but her tears were silent. They'd been bunkered in that house for weeks, and during that time she'd known nothing but utter fear. The omnic units marched through endlessly, tearing apart the city like a monsoon tearing apart the coast. She'd already lost her father… She had watched him get torn apart by the very same turret she could see through her little peep hole. Watching the dead omnic suddenly full of life and violence – she'd screamed. Her mother grabbed the young girl and forced her to the floor while the bullets ripped the little wooden home apart, filling her father full of small red pin holes. That was a day prior and she and her mother hadn't moved from the spot. The turrets barrel remained focused in on them, keeping them pinned in the very uncomfortable position. Angela rarely slept and there was no eating or drinking. They stayed like that for two days before a group of soldiers cleared out the Bastion and saved them.
It was easy for Mercy to be skeptical of the oddly docile Bastion that stood before them, waving, and beeping cheerfully at the group.
"Don't mind him!" Torbjörn yelled at them.
"I'm sorry, Torbjörn, but I am confused," Angela started. "The last Bastions were deactivated outside of Eichenwalde after the omnic crisis, a few were restarted during the Null Sector Uprising in King's Row, but I'm very unsure as to why there is one in our base."
"It's my… new friend… best way to put it."
"You have friends?" Genji joked, skeptically.
"Shut up ninja boy! I have plenty of friends!"
"Reinhardt is a large man, but he does not count as plenty." Fareeha snickered.
"I'm tired of you sassing me! One more remark and I'm telling my friend here that you kick puppies! It won't be so nice then!"
Angela was getting fed up with the lack of answers. A childhood nightmare of hers was staring her in the face and she wanted to know why.
"Enough bickering!" she yelled. The Bastion's attention seemed to snap to her, and she slunk back almost reflexively. Fareeha noticed her demeanor and put her hand on Angela's shoulder. "Where did the Bastion come from, Tobjörn?" she asked seriously. "Why is it passive?"
"It was behind those Bastion sightings back in Sweden. I went to check it out – decide if it was a real threat and to put it down if it was. I planned on disabling it and takin' it out. Don't need another loose omnic running about. Clearly, though, this Bastion's different. It didn't attack me or anyone else. It ran instead of fightin'. From what I've seen it likes nature and cute little animals." Almost on cue a small little yellow bird flew down and landed on the Bastion's shoulder. It beeped happily. "Oh yeah… that bird is its friend. Started calling the little thing Ganymede – couldn't shoo it away. Anyway, I was interested so I brought it back with me." He chuckled. "Should've seen everyone's faces when I got off a shuttle with a Bastion. Kind of like yours when you almost walked into it. This Bastion is different. Somehow its core programming was disabled, so now it's as friendly as that little bird. Well, so long as it don't think you're a threat. If I were you I'd start getting chummy with the thing. Wouldn't want it accidently gunning you down during a fight."
Angela swallowed hard. She didn't like the idea of that.
"Is it safe to have it here?" Fareeha asked.
"Perfectly! So long as you don't threaten it…" He patted the Bastion on the leg to which it responded with some beeping noises.
"Maybe warn us next time?" she suggested. Torbjörn laughed.
"It isn't as entertaining that way." He waved for them to follow him. "C'mon now the others are waitin' on us." He continued on. Cautiously, Mercy side-stepped the Bastion, who chirped and waved 'goodbye' as they moved on to the meeting room.
"You're back!" Tracer yelled, blinking in suddenly. Torbjörn grunted.
"I said I'd get them, rookie," he grumbled.
"Reinhardt said you were taking too long," she said with a big smile.
"He can only walk so fast, Lena," Genji said, "he has short legs." Torbjörn glared at him.
"What did I say about sassing me?!" Genji simply snickered from under his helmet, clearly unafraid of the engineer's threats.
Upon entering the dim meeting room they were greeted by large smiles and words of relief to see their return by their present teammates.
"I am glad to see you have safely returned, my student," Zenyatta told Genji as he placed his hand on the ninja's shoulder.
"I've missed you, master. France was… not exactly welcoming."
"Many places are not. I hope you made the best of it." Genji glanced over to Angela. She couldn't see his expression through his face plate.
"I did," he said.
"That is good to here. Come, come sit next to me." Zenyatta ushered Genji to a chair where he sat cross-legged.
"I am sure you would be happy to hear, Dr. Ziegler, that before my connection went down I was able to confirm that all your refugees were safely admitted to hospitals or returned to their homes," a synthetic voice announced from a speaker.
"Athena?" Angela questioned. "I thought you were offline."
"Winston was able to rewire minimal functionality to emergency power systems."
"She's with us, but doesn't have as much oversight of the base as I want," Winston added from across the table.
"I have been monitoring all base sensors for sign of attack."
"With everything down like this that's probably a good idea," Fareeha said, sitting down. Angela sat beside her. "A Talon attack seems very opportune."
"That's why we're glad to have you all back!" Reinhardt announced. He smiled wide at the two women.
"What exactly happened?" Angela questioned.
"At approximately 11:27 pm on Friday night I detected traces of a virus attached to a file being manually uploaded to us from a private server," Athena started. "I was unable to pinpoint where the file was uploaded from and the virus corrupted it too badly to actually open. I would have pieced it back together, but the virus took down everything before I had the chance."
"Torbjörn has been working on getting our power back, but the virus is still embedded in our terminals," Winston took over. "Until I can get Athena back to full functionality we will be unable to scrub the servers. That means no coms."
"What about McCree and my brother?" Genji asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
"They're on their own!" Torbjörn answered.
"What if they get into trouble? There's no way they can contact us – not with Talon keeping such a tight monitor on King's Row." Angela asked.
"There's nothing we can do," Winston said, looking down.
"They knew going in they would have to go dark!" Torbjörn added.
"But they still had the 'in case of emergency' option," Angela said. "With no communication…"
"If they get into any trouble they are going to try and contact us and receive no answer. They will not have any idea what's going on!" Genji said, standing up urgently.
"Be still, Genji," Zenyatta said gently, coaxing his student back into his seat.
"Sorry, master. I just worry about my brother… and McCree…" he added quietly. "I want to go to London."
"Genji…" Reinhardt said slowly.
Angela sympathized with Genji. She wanted to help the boys too, but she understood the needs of the many outweighing those of the few. As tough as it was to accept it was the only logical way to go about the situation. They had to keep the Overwatch base safe under any circumstances. If it was overrun then Hanzo and McCree would be targeted next. There was no indication that they were in any danger, and while at risk they were at least in a safe place.
"Genji," she said gently. She looked at him compassionately, feeling a pit in her stomach. "I think we need to stay here… until the base is secured and Athena is back online."
"Angela, you of all people should want to make sure they are safe." He sounded disappointed.
"I do, but… If Talon attacks Gibraltar we will need everyone possible to defend the base."
"We can spare one person."
"Not you, Genji." He huffed and murmured solemnly in Japanese. It sounded apologetic.
"How long until everything will be back online?" Angela asked, looking around the room. Winston and Torbjörn exchanged a glance.
"A few days," the gorilla said.
"That seems accep-"
"Intruders detected," Athena announced loudly.
"What?" Reinhardt questioned.
"Two intruders detected," a pause, "heading to the front gate."
"Talon?" Tracer questioned.
"Unknown. Sensors are currently limited. Two intruders are approaching the main gate."
"Could be Talon spies," Winston said. "They may not know that Athena is back up."
"Who else could it be?" Reinhardt asked.
"In that case we don't want to alert them," Fareeha contemplated. "Tracer… Genji… you two should go scout ahead. The rest of us will armor up in case it's a full scale attack."
"Aye, aye," Tracer saluted and blinked out the door. Genji leapt from his seat.
"Right away." He sprinted out the door after her.
Mercy felt uneasy as she marched behind Pharah clutching her caduceus staff close. The base was far too quiet and too dark for her comfort. Though she would be busy soon enough darting between comrades and offering healing aid she couldn't find comfort in her moment of peace before potential battle. Something deep inside her felt like everything was about to shift. Nothing would be the same. She couldn't figure if it would be for the better or worse.
She was unsure how Fareeha kept so calm, marching the medic towards the front gate where Tracer and Genji were waiting. She held her rocket launcher in a straight diagonal angle across her armored chest. She held her head high – her face void of emotion. It was impressive how well she'd handled the situation. She'd taken charge immediately. It was a fearless display that Angela admired. She would've been a good addition back in the golden era of Overwatch. It was a shame she was there having to pick of the pieces of her predecessors mess.
The Bastion unit that had been following behind them made a beeping noise. Angela tensed.
"Must we bring it with us?" she questioned. Fareeha chuckled lightly.
"Canon fodder. If it's a true attack he'll draw fire while we escape."
"Does Torbjörn know your plan for his new… pet?"
"No and I didn't ask."
"Hm… I hope is not too angry with us."
"Would you rather it be me or Genji?" Pharah's brown eyes gleamed with mischievous undertones that Angela elected to ignore. She shrugged the question off nonchalantly.
"I would rather we avoid injury or casualties altogether if we can help it… even this Bastion." She motioned to the omnic behind them. It beeped cheerfully once more. "Do you think it knows our intentions?" Her question was quiet – meant only for the Egyptian. She shrugged.
"I don't know – doubt it."
Oddly, Angela felt guilty thinking of the Bastion that way. It was a sentient creature and it seemed to feel. How could she think that it was any less than she just because it could not speak and display its intelligence verbally? It made her nervous. It was natural after everything she'd been through, but her role as a doctor dictated that she take care of all those that she could.
She glanced back at the Bastion who seemed to look at her, most likely looking her over with its sensors. It beeped a friendly beep and waved, taking note of her attention.
She decided then that she would take great care to assure that this Bastion stayed safe as long as it was in her power to do so.
As the group approached the gates they could see Genji perched on the lookout spot that was high above the main gate. He was peering over with his back to them, balanced in a crouched position. He seemed focused on something in the distance that was blocked by the large solid metal gate. Genji glanced back at them, making a gesture.
Suddenly, Tracer blinked up. It was always jarring when she seemingly appeared out of nowhere. She saluted Pharah like she would a commanding officer.
"Report Tracer," the Egyptian said.
"As Athena said… two intruders. They're not in Talon amour, though!"
"They're not?"
"Nope."
"Do they look affiliated with anyone?"
"No. But… I think I recognize one of them!"
"You do? Who? Who?"
"Well… he's wearing a mask, but I've seen him on the news. A vigilante… Soldier 76."
"And the other?"
"Don't know."
"Where are they?"
"Walking up the road. They're nearly here."
"Ok, Lena, report back to Winston and see if Athena has detected any further possible hostiles. Quickly. If it's all clear then… perhaps we'll have a talk with our… guests…"
"Aye aye!" She blinked away, vanishing instantly from sight. Pharah looked at Mercy.
"Let's climb the watch tower and have a look for ourselves." She turned to the Bastion. "Sit tight, keep a look out." She directed. It made a 'bwee' noise and slowly rocked backwards, squatting slightly. It fell back, plopping with a loud thud on its metal bottom, sitting down on the ground with its hands flat behind it and its feet propped apart. It was sprawled out like a child wait for his mother to read him a story. It looked very innocent that way. "I didn't mean that quite literally, but good job, Bastion." It beeped.
Fareeha Amari
When they reached the top of the tower Genji greeted them.
"They are almost here," he said. "You can see them from here, but I would suggest caution… one is a sniper."
Both intruders were dressed in dark colors. One was a man in a leather jacket carrying an automatic rifle slung over his shoulder. The other was a woman with, as Genji said, a sniper rifle hanging behind her back by a strap. Both were masked, barring identification.
"Tracer said she recognized the man… I recognize the woman," Fareeha said.
"You do?" Angela questioned. The odds seemed too unbelievable. It was no coincidence that two notorious crime stoppers were suddenly making an appearance at Overwatch HQ.
"Yes. She goes by… Shrike, I think. She's wanted for espionage, assault, and theft in Egypt. I've seen wanted posters of her likeness."
"So Soldier 76 and Shrike, hm…" Angela mused. "Two people known for taking the law in their own hands knocking on our front door? That can't be good."
"Are they going to shoot us or join us?" Genji asked rhetorically.
"No way of knowing until we speak to them," Fareeha said before pausing, "or until they open fire." She looked between the ninja and medic. "Be prepared for a fight." She popped a piece of her armor up, pressed a button and said "Raptora systems ready… if need be." She looked at Angela. "Can you keep up with me?" Mercy half smiled and spread her wings in a bright flare. So beautiful.
"Of course I can," she hummed. Fareeha smirked, looking back to the approaching pair.
"I wish the others would hurry." She moved to the other side of the lookout, leaning over the railing and looking at the Bastion they'd left behind. "Bastion!" she called down to it. It looked at her with a questioning beep. "Turret mode. Guard the door!" It chirped in understanding, climbing clunkily to its feet and then spinning as it transformed into a turret.
"Angela, Fareeha," Genji beckoned from his vigilant position watching the intruders. They were standing at the base of the front gate now, staring up at the ninja – their masks pointed in their direction.
"We know who you are!" Pharah called down at the two.
"Oh?" the female, Fareeha knew as Shrike, asked.
"Vigilantes like you hardly go unnoticed. You think you're some kind of masked crusaders? Some kind of super heroes?" The man chuckled almost bitterly.
"Maybe once, kid, not anymore," he said in a gruff voice that prickled with age and a hint of familiarity.
"Soldier 76, right? That's what you call yourself."
"Hm. Sure, if that's how you choose to address me."
"You have another name?" Angela asked. 76's red visor turned in her direction. He ran a hand through his white hair.
"Once," was his simple answer, but she could hear the sadness laced in the single word.
"What do you want?" Fareeha called down.
"Only to talk."
"How do we know you aren't going to attack?"
"You don't." Lena appeared then, blinking in from somewhere. She reeled, visibly steadying herself as she took in the situation. Her arms flailed slightly as she rocked back on the balls of her feet. Soldier 76 focused in on her.
"Tracer," Pharah gasped, jarred slightly by her appearance. She grabbed her arm to help steady the woman and keep her from toppling over the railing of the lookout stand. "Report," she whispered, trying so that the possible enemies below could not hear their strategy.
"The others are down below. Ready for battle," she said. Fareeha released her, turning her attention back to the two to continue their parlay.
"You don't," 76 repeated. "But it'd be pretty damn dumb for us to attack. Out numbered: two versus whatever number you have behind that gate. Out gunned: my rifle against that big rocket launcher you have there. Tactical idiocy."
"Maybe you're not very bright then," Fareeha tested. Shrike chuckled, looking over at her companion. He glanced back at her and grunted. They seemed to exchange thoughts non verbally. "What would we be talking about?"
"We have information that may help you."
"In exchange for?"
"Let us in and we will discuss it." Fareeha seemed to think it over, her eyes focusing on the two hard as she went over her options.
In that moment she was the voice of Overwatch and the decision was hers to make. If she made the wrong one then things could end poorly. It was a small thing – a decision that could end in a few deaths or injuries. It would be a tragedy, but it was nothing compared to what her mother had dealt with back during her days as Overwatch's Captain. She wondered if her mother had ever struggled with decision making.
She could remember walking into her mother's room late at night and seeing her leaning over paperwork. Fareeha could still see the bags under her eyes – not from the lack of sleep – but from the burden of command. Overwatch was a voice that shaped millions of lives, and sometimes it seemed the reigns of the beast slipped away from Captain Amari.
For a few agonizing seconds Fareeha reflected on the decisions that led to the destruction of the original Overwatch. She wondered what Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes had done that allowed everything they'd spent their lives building to crumble beneath them. It was a mistake she would never want to repeat. How badly could one little mistake in judgment tear down everything in a ripple effect?
With the upmost cation Pharah said, "Eject your clips and I'll see you through the gate." Soldier 76 gave a single nod. A hatch on the top of his rifle popped and a glowing clip of pulse ammunition fell to the ground. It popped back into place, empty, and useless.
"Fareeha," Angela said gently, laying her hand on her shoulder, "are you sure about this?"
"Aren't you curious, Angela?"
"They could be spies or have ill intent."
"Or they could help us. Like he," she motioned to the side, "said, they're out numbered and out gunned. What can they do?"
"Alright… I support your decision."
The rest of Overwatch was assembled next to the gate when the two returned from their conversation with the intruders. Genji stayed back to assure that the vigilantes didn't rearm themselves.
"Pharah!" Reinhardt yelled when they reached them. "What did you find out?"
"They say they want to offer us assistance. I've accepted to hear them out."
"You're goin soft of me Pharah!" Torbjörn yelled. "It's a trap!"
"If it is then we'll deal with it." She moved in front of the gate with Angela at her side. "Lena open it up." She held her rocket launcher vertically in front of her chest, pointed up as to not appear threatening, but still at the ready if its use was needed. As the gate slid open the two intruders stepped inside. It closed behind them – cutting off any kind of escape.
"You can call me Pharah," Fareeha addressed the two. She motioned to her companion who was still firmly beside her. "This is Mercy. Behind us is-"
"We know who you are," Soldier 76 cut her off.
"Oh?"
"You're not exactly discreet," he huffed. His masked face turned towards Winston then over at Tracer who was still standing by the gate button. "Like you two dueling Talon in public. Pretty hard to escape public eye, don't you think." Winston laughed nervously drawing 76's attention.
"Uhhh yeah… Gorillas stand out," he joked, a smile on his face.
"Obviously."
"We were trying to protect the Doomfist Gauntlet!" Tracer defended, blinking forward to stand beside Winston protectively. She placed her hands defiantly on her hips.
"Sure, you were and you did. But you all are operating illegally. You're criminals."
"Uhhh, so are you," Winston pointed out.
"I'm not a large organization of people strictly prevented to operate worldwide by an act placed specifically on him." Winston laughed again.
"He has a point."
"My actual point," he said the words harshly, "is that you've attracted more than just attention from those wanting to enforce legal action against you. Talon is after you."
"You don't say?!" Torbjörn yelled.
"Uh yeah, we know that already!" Lena said a little more polite.
"I'm actually referring to a specific member of Talon…"
"Reaper?" Genji asked from where he was perched above them. 76 glanced up at the ninja, taking note of his stealthy observation. "We've fought him before."
"He crushed my glasses!" Winston added, sadly.
"It's ok, big guy," Lena comforted, patting the gorilla's arm.
"Then clearly you've noticed he shows up around you all a lot."
"Clearly," Fareeha said, her eye brows narrowing. She was losing her patience with this pointless drabble about things they already knew. She felt like she had made a mistake.
"There's a reason why and it makes the danger you're in all the more-"
"Is that my gun?!" Torbjörn yelled cutting off whatever vital information he was going to dispose.
He shoved past the group, pushing Angela into Fareeha in his steaming stomping rush to the female vigilante. He shoved his rivet gun up at her.
"That's my gun!" he yelled again, motioning to the rifle on her back with his claw arm. She stepped back, raising her hands slightly in start. 76 moved to stop the engineer, but Pharah aimed her weapon. He paused, looking at her.
"Call him off," he hissed.
"Torbjörn, what are you doing?!" Fareeha demanded. He looked at her.
"That is my weapon! The biotic rifle I designed using Angela's nanobot tech!"
"Uck, that thing…" Angela mumbled. "Wait… wasn't that…"
"Where did you get that?!" Torbjörn shouted, cutting Angela off.
"Why don't you take a few steps back, Ikea gnome," Shrike growled lowly.
"What did you call me?!"
"Torbjörn! Enough! Enough!" Reinhardt shouted. He shoved Torbjörn back with an easy push of a single hand causing the small man to slide behind the large German like he was nothing. He looked down at the woman blocking the Swede's view of her, his head tilted so he was looking her in the mask. "Sorry, m'lady, he… gets a little angry." She put her hands on her hips.
"So much rage for such a little man," she said. Reinhardt chuckled.
"That's our Torbjörn!"
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" The dwarf yelled up from behind the large German, his voice slightly muffled.
"Hush down there!" Shrike laughed.
"My knight in shining armor… literally…" she said, almost flirtingly. Reinhardt paused, looking at her in question and caution.
"Ok that is enough!" Fareeha yelled, finally having enough of the train she was conducting wreck repeatedly.
The two vigilantes exchanged glances. The woman sighed.
"You knew we couldn't keep this up," she told the man. He nodded.
"I told you we shouldn't have come," he replied.
"You wanted to be here as much as I."
"What are you two talking about?!" she demanded. Fareeha was level headed and didn't get angry often. She just wanted answers, and none were coming.
Shrike nodded at Soldier 76 who returned the gesture. She looked at Fareeha. Though, it was clear there was meant to be emotion in the exchange of glances the mask obscured what could have been.
"Is that anyway to talk to your mother?" she asked Pharah. That caused more confusion.
"What?" Her voice had turned to a whimper, having lost all its power. She couldn't quite wrap her head around what was going on. Angela's fingers raked gently through Pharah's hair, knowing instantly what was about to happen.
Reinhardt was the one to break the endless moment of silence. "Ana?" he whispered, staring down at the masked woman.
She pulled her hood down and dug her fingers under the edge of her helmet. It popped out of place and as it was removed a braid of sleek white hair fell around her shoulder. She tossed it on the ground, revealing truly that the vigilante Shrike was the thought deceased former Overwatch Captain and mother to Fareeha, Ana Amari. She smiled solemnly up at her old friend.
"Ana!" he exclaimed at the conformation.
He scooped her up in his arms – she was a small woman compared to his large size and fit snuggly against his armored chest. He held her tight squeezing her in a way that it was worrying he might harm her. However, she returned the gesture, wrapping her arms around his neck and cuddling up to him.
"Oh, Reinhardt," she hummed.
After a moment he sat her down and took a step back to look her over. He seemed conflicted.
"How can this be?! We thought you were dead…" His tone was relieved, astonished, and touched with the memory of heartbreak. She looked away.
"I'm sorry… After everything that happened? I just needed time."
"Mom…" Fareeha uttered. Ana's attention drew to her. Sadness painted her countenance.
"My darling Fareeha," she hummed. Pharah took a few steps forward.
"I thought… You were dead… Y-you…"
"I'm very much alive, Fareeha." She opened her arms, beckoning embrace from her daughter.
Inside Fareeha felt so many different emotions it was hard for her to juggle which ones were the most prominent. Disbelief, for sure. Joy. Anger. Sadness. She wasn't sure what the protocol for finding out your long dead mother is actually alive was. She would have to write a book on it when everything was over.
Right then, though, all she could do was run into her mother's arms. The hug was lovelier and more bittersweet than anything Fareeha had ever dreamed of experiencing before. Ana still smelt like she did when Fareeha was a child and her skin was still as warm. It was like a flashback from her childhood and for a few moments she couldn't decide if she was dreaming or not. Everything was too real though, too detailed. If it was a dream… Pharah never wanted to wake up.
Her mother was alive… She was alive and in her arms. She was here.
"I wrote you a letter… explaining everything, but I never sent it," Ana said, combing her daughter's tear stained hair. "I thought your life would be easier if you thought I was dead." Pharah pulled away.
"No, not easier!" she objected. "Never easier…" Ana looked away.
"I know, I'm sorry. I failed you all… and couldn't do it any longer."
"But you're back!" Reinhardt yelled.
"I never was one to stand by while the world went up in flames," she hummed, looking back at him. She kept her grip on her daughter.
"Old habits die hard," a forgotten voice grumbled, pulling the attention of all of Overwatch to the remaining masked vigilante. Fareeha wondered if there would be another big reveal. She braced herself half expecting Soldier 76 to be that goldfish she'd forgotten to feed - back when she was twelve back from the dead and ready to go to war. She still blamed Jesse for not helping her take care of that thing – he had promised, after all. The true reveal was just as surprising.
"You know they're waiting," Ana told her companion, still holding Fareeha.
"I doubt I'll receive a welcome as warm."
"You won't know until you try."
Everyone was staring at Soldier 76 as he popped the mouth guard and visor from its mount.
Everyone was silent as they realized who it was.
"Jack Morrison."
Soldier 76
Angela had been the first one to speak in a tone of total shock. The utterance of his name on her lips sent chills up his spine. He felt so misplaced – so strange – in a place his leadership had once shaped, in front of people he once called friends. They stared at him like he was an alien in complete opposite of Ana's warm embrace.
That was until Lena Oxton blinked towards him and wordlessly wrapped her arms around him. She buried her cheek against his chest. He was surprised at first – as unsure how to react to her as she had been to him. He hadn't expected that – a hug. But Lena… she always surprised him. It was good to see she hadn't lost her optimistic outlook on the world. He wrapped her arms around her, cautiously returning the gesture. Angela joined in then, folding her arms around both he and Lena. He extended the hug to include the young woman. She hadn't aged a day in six years. The others stared in wordless astonishment.
He understood. Their once great leader who had fallen so hard. He had failed them all. He never expected to be accepted.
"Jack?" Fareeha asked, taking his existence into question. He looked at her, still standing close to her mother. He hadn't seen Ana that happy since they'd partnered up.
Fareeha or Pharah, as she had called herself, on the other hand, stood out greatly from the rest of the reformed Overwatch. She'd really taken initiative leading the whole situation. She certainly took after her mother. It seemed naturally that she would inherit a leadership ethic.
"How?" she asked.
"When the HQ exploded…" Angela whispered, looking up at him with tears filling her blue eyes. "Y-you were gone… we… we thought you were dead…" She untangled herself from the hug. 76 released Lena, who rubbed Angela's back comforting her as the tears streaked down her cheeks. "I searched for you… we all searched for you… We mourned you. The whole world mourned you."
Jack always hated seeing Angela cry. She was a woman driven by emotion and good intentions, and that had always weighed heavily on her. The worst he had seen her was the span of a few days when Genji's body was rejecting one of his implants. She thought he was going to die, and she blamed herself for it. She wouldn't leave his side – saying that if he died she wanted to be the last one he would see. She did everything she could to assure his robotic body functioned and anytime he had any bit of intense pain she would hold his hand and soothe him in a comforting voice. When she allowed herself to step away from his side, however, she would just cry. She didn't want him to see how dire his situation was, but she felt the brunt of it. Jack had held her during one of those break downs, just letting her cry on his chest.
He saw that same grief on her face that he saw then. He could tell that she blamed herself for not saving Jack – for not doing all she could. Jack didn't blame her though. It was his burden to bare – his fault. Never hers.
"I'm sorry, Angela," he said as gently as he could manage. He touched her arm briefly with a gloved hand. "The world was done with me and I was done with it. I apologize that it hurt you." He looked at the faces of the people he'd once led so proudly. "All of you. What happened was my fault… But you all are the ones shaping the future. That's why we're here… If you think this is a shock," he motioned to himself and Ana, "… there's one more coming."
The party moved to the meeting room. Jack hadn't been there in such a long time it was almost nostalgic. He could still remember sitting around the round table with Ana, Reinhardt, Torbjörn, and Gabe… Before the world had beaten them and cast them aside. It was surreal to be sitting once more with the original members of Overwatch around that same table: Ana, Reinhardt, and Torbjörn… one short. He had to swallow the lump in his throat, looking at Ana as she talked cheerfully with Winston. She was glad to be there. At least one of them was. He felt wrong – out of place. This wasn't his Overwatch anymore.
"I know you've had run ins with Reaper before," Jack said, cutting off whatever Ana was idly saying.
"Jack," she said with disapproval, "do we have to do this already. I'm catching up!"
"We didn't come here to catch up, Ana," he replied. "How many?" he asked, returning to his topic. He looked at Winston. Winston glanced around at the others.
"Three?" he questioned, scratching his head thoughtfully. The others nodded in assurance.
"Once at the museum," Tracer said cheerfully. "We stopped him from stealing the Doomfist Gauntlet!"
"Then he attacked me here at Gibraltar," Winston added. "He was trying to steal the recall roster."
"He would've known every members location," 76 said. He nodded to himself knowingly. "He didn't?"
"Nope."
"The big guy 'er kicked his butt!" Tracer announced with a grin, pointing at Winston with her thumb.
"And the last time?" Jack asked.
"At a science lab in the middle east," Angela said sadly. "He was after me."
"Angela and I managed to force a retreat," Genji said from behind her chair. He put a mechanical hand on Angela's shoulder.
"Don't you see the trend?" Jack asked.
"Clearly he's targeting Overwatch officials, but most of Talon is," Winston said.
"No, don't undersell his motivation."
76 pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and slapped it onto the table. It was wrinkled and torn in a few places. A few dark drops of crimson speckled the page. Written on the paper in dark pen was a list of names. Among them was the name of every single person in that room minus Fareeha. Winston's was at the top in bold and Ana's was at the bottom. Jack's was circled multiple times in what appeared to be anger. A few names were crossed out in red ink… or perhaps blood…
"What is this?" Angela squeaked. Genji's grip on her shoulder tightened.
"This is Reaper's list… His goal is to kill every single one of you."
"Why?" Winston questioned.
"Revenge."
"Revenge for what?" Angela asked. "What did we do to him?"
"Nothing," Jack said surely. "But he blames you all for my… sins…" He looked away. "For the things I've done that may or may not have led to this point."
"You know who he is?" Lena asked. Jack nodded solemnly.
"Yes," he said, standing from his chair. He paced around the others, circling the table. He paused on the other side, resting his hand on an empty chair. He closed his eyes, feeling the pain of the truth he was about to reveal. Then he desolately murmured, "Reaper… is Gabriel Reyes."
A/N: I am so hyped for this chapter. So much happens in it! We got 3 new present day characters, a new POV, and the first 3 person POV chapter. Plus, all the reveals. Honestly, I never intended for Pharah to have a POV in my story. I love Pharah, and I think logically she has a very bright future in Overwatch. *hint hint* Especially, with the guidance of her mother and Jack. It's also quite possible that the ship dynamics may shift... We shall see! Rewrites on chapter 1 are have been completed so I suggest if you've been with the story from before this point then you might want to go back and go over it again. They pretty majorly shift the dynamic between Reyes and Morrison just like the new comic did.
Thanks for reading and don't forget to review! It would make me extra super happy!