Overwatch: The Lost Soldier

Once they had landed, everyone suited back up in the cold weather tactical gear that they had brought with them. Jack walked up to everyone, handing each of them a solid looking, cobalt colored helmet. All three women looked at the helmet questioningly, as Jack was busy fitting his on.

"If Talon is out there right now, I don't want to leave anything to chance. Better to have those on and keep your heads right where they should be, rather than lose them to a stray shot, or a sniper's bullet," the white haired commander said seriously.

Nodding resolutely, both Zarya and Mei placed their helmets on, knowing the seriousness of this impromptu mission. Lena looked at hers for a moment, before donning it. Once it sat upon her head, the helmet began to shrink down in size, molding itself to her head shape. The sensation was weird and oddly disconcerting, but once it was done, Tracer no longer felt like she had a bucket on her head. It felt like something that was designed specifically for her, and her alone.

"Winston had these made just last week. He felt that generic tactical helmets just weren't doing the job. He also notes how it's been a miracle that we haven't taken a bullet between the eyes as of yet. These will keep our heads in once piece while conforming to our individual needs," he looked accusingly at Tracer, who had the sense to smile sheepishly.

Indeed, the helmets had formed to each one of them, scanning their base bone structure and shifting their forms accordingly. It went a step further and had their combat profiles uploaded to them, so each helmet would be calibrated to their own weapons, abilities and combat styles. Once the onboard HUD had finished calibrating, it came up as a full digital display on the inside of the tactical visors.

"Wish we had these back in the old days!" Tracer exclaimed excitedly. She couldn't wait to take it out for a spin and put it through its paces! Jack grunted in assent before opening the hatch of the transport. He turned back to the team assembled before him, continuing on with his briefing.

"All right. I want everyone to stay alert and on point. We have no idea what exactly is going on, or what sort of system that the Sergeant has on his perimeter. It could simply be a warning sensor array, or a full grid of defensive turrets, we don't know. I don't want to have to zip anyone up today, so be careful out there," the grizzled soldier stated to the team.

All three ladies nodded their head, the gravity of Jack's statement not lost on them. As one, they walked out into the forest, weapons at the ready.

"Any idea what we're looking for?" Mei asked tentatively.

"A small cabin, hidden by the tree cover. The intel went on about how it was in a very secluded part of this forest. It checks out with what I remember of the man. He liked his privacy," Jack said matter-of-factly. "We need to move fast, but remember, be mindful of any traps."

With that, the Overwatch soldiers moved deeper into the forest, unsure of what they'd find in its depths.

*******************************

Michael Perun sat in a squashy and cozy armchair, a steaming cup of coffee in his right hand, while holding a book in his left. He was bundled up in a heavy gray wool sweater, with a simple white t-shirt and a pair of black pants, that fit his legs perfectly. He had his bare feet propped up on a small stool as he continued to read his novel.

Though they were getting rare, Mike loved books. Though many tablets and readers afforded him the luxury of storing hundreds, if not thousands of titles on a small device, he liked physical books better. The feel, the look and smell of an actual book, reminded him of simpler days. Better days, before all this craziness that had blanketed the world in conflict, had happened.

He'd only been three years old when the Omnic Crisis had hit humanity hard. Many people were displaced refugees. Everyone fleeing the homes that they'd known all their lives, in an effort to evade the rampaging machines. Mike had been among those people and he recalled the horrific, bitter memories that had surfaced.

Quickly brushing them away, Mike refocused on his novel. It was an older copy of Robert Jordan's first novel; The Eye of the World. Though he had read the whole series several times over, it was always good to pick it up again. It felt like going on an adventure, every time he picked it up. He stretched out comfortably, as the fire he had crackling on his hearth permeated a heavy warmth throughout the cabin.

He had just finished the chapter he was reading, when the perimeter sensors went off, sounding a quiet alarm in his home. Putting down his coffee and book, the cranky Canadian man hurried to his computer. Grumbling the whole while, he booted up the screen and in seconds, he watching a live video feed.

Initially, Mike thought it was another small grouping of deer, looking to pick away at what meager food they could find. Clusters of them, especially does with fawns, had been ranging through the area, but he always got up to check what set off his sensors. This time, he was glad that he had maintained such discipline.

The miniature cameras that he had placed within a one-kilometer radius of his home, displayed something that he never expected to ever see again. A team of what appeared to be mercenaries, and well-armed ones at that. Their lead was a man in a large black cloak and a stylized horror mask, armed to the teeth. The other two were also of interest to him, especially the red headed woman.

Moira O'Deorian! I swore that should I ever get the chance; I would kill you myself! The big man thought to himself. What she had done to him, was monstrous, subjecting him to what was tantamount to torture. Mike never gave up that one day, he'd get his chance for revenge. It had finally arrived and he would seize it!

The other woman was also of interest, as she was quite gorgeous to look at. But, she had the look of someone who was more at home with technology around her. No tech around here to help you out, girlie! He smirked to himself as he thought her an easy target. Until he saw the way that the machine pistol hung at her waist, like it was a part of her.

Mike growled to himself, angry and frustrated that this was happening, but he figured that it had to happen sooner or later. Someone, somewhere, would have found him and come looking. He was at least glad that it was here, on his home soil, where he had the advantage. With the hard looks on their faces, he knew that they had come looking to either kill him, or take him.

Michael had no interest in becoming a corpse or someone's lab rat. Setting his jaw, he bolted to his room, which was a small, walled in space, containing a simple wooden bed and a nightstand. Reaching under the bed, he pulled out a locked chest that he kept under there. As it came out, he noted the thick layer of dust that lay upon it, not having opened it since he locked and sealed it years ago.

Sighing, he entered the pin code on the digital locking mechanism, then brought his face close, so the built in computer could scan his eye. Once completed, the locks clicked open and the lid rose, revealing the contents within. Inside, lay his old armor jacket and boots, still emblazoned with the Overwatch crest. They looked just as they had when he stowed them all those years ago.

Shrugging out of his sweater, Mike assembled the armor, fitting all of the relevant plates and catches where they needed to go. Once armed up, he stepped into his boots, before they snapped together, fitting and molding to the contours of his lower legs. The fit was a bit tight, as he wasn't the same shape as he was all those years ago, but it would do.

Kneeling before the chest again, he fished out a sidearm, that went into the holster at his right hip and several clips for it. He then pulled out his signature weapon: Eternal Rest. It was a scout rifle, designed and modified per his specifications. First off, it carried a large clip for such a weapon, a total of fifteen rounds. Each one was a high caliber bullet, capable of dropping a deer at five hundred meters, with no power lost in its firing.

It was also highly accurate, though not as much as most sniper rifles, due to the lack of a scope, but he didn't need one. It also featured the capacity to fire at full automatic, emptying the clip in a span of six seconds. The bullets were also designed maintain their shape whenever they hit a hard surface, making what he called, 'skip shots', basically ricochets, possible.

There was one final addition that he'd had placed into his rifle. It was a type of launcher, which would superheat a special set of caseless ammunition, made from titanium. Using a small rail system built into the mechanism, which formed a second barrel on its underside, the heated slug would be catapulted out at high velocity.

Effectively, it would shred anything that was in its way, but the distance on such an experimental device was abysmally low. Although the hitting power was phenomenal, the effective range was hindered to maybe twenty feet, before the heat melted the slug and it turned into little more than titanium Jello.

Satisfied that he had everything he needed, Mike sealed the footlocker, before kicking it back under his bed. He stepped out into the main room of the cabin and made for the back door. Since the merc group hadn't come close and no other perimeter alarms were triggered, he took a beat and chugged down what remained of his coffee.

Placing his mug back on the small side table by his chair, Sergeant Michael Perun, cocked his rifle. Ramming a clip into the magazine slot, he hopped out the rear entrance, setting his mind into the focus of a hunter.

*******************************

Sombra held her position behind Reaper, scanning for any sort of tech that could be out here. So far, she'd found nothing, which was quite odd, considering that this man had gone to great lengths to hide himself and his friend. It was then that she'd noticed some of the birds that sat upon their perches in the trees, which seemed to be looking at the group rather oddly.

The odd part was that they seemed to be sitting there. They didn't chirp, tweet or even ruffle their feathers as the Talon group passed by them. Squinting at them, she decided to look a bit closer at them and found that they were staring right at her. Sombra sent out a hacking signal, directed right at the birds and found that her instinct on them was correct.

The one bird she sent the signal to, dropped right out of the spruce it was perched on, falling to the ground several meters ahead of them. Both Reaper and Moira noticed the falling creature and hurried forward to investigate.

"What is it?" Reaper asked in his grating, hoarse voice.

"Some sort of sophisticated spy camera, disguised as a bird," the Latin woman stated seriously, after a brief examination of the bird like camera. "Our cover has been blown. They know that we're here."

The three of them had their weapons pulled and at the ready in span of several seconds. The looked about the area, searching for any discernable threat, but found nothing. They continued moving, listening and waiting for anything that would indicate an attack.

As the Talon strike team continued on, a clearing was evident through the trees ahead, but they stayed just behind the treeline. As they approached the clearing's edge, a clicking/thumping sound could be heard. In a split second, Reaper recognized the sound of a particle cannon firing.

"Get down!" he shouted, as mere seconds later, the explosive charge detonated against the tress. The blast shattered a great many of trees into splinters, which peppered the group. Reaper got up and was glad to see both Moira and Sombra relatively unharmed. He looked up and was both surprised and angry at what he saw.

On the far side of the clearing, Gabe saw two women, both of which he recognized. Alexandra Zaryanova had her particle cannon pointed their way, which she could obviously put to good use. He knew that she was the one responsible for the current devastation that he stood in.

The other woman he knew of, but was of little interest to him, until now. Mei-Ling Zhou was busy putting her endothermic blaster to use, crafting ice fortifications that both she and Zarya hid behind. He would have gone straight for them, to deal with them immediately, except that he had more pressing concerns. Both Lena Oxton and Jack Morrison charged towards him, weapons blazing and grim looks on their faces.

Cursing, he dove for cover behind the trees, with both Moira and Sombra merely a heartbeat behind him. He managed to get down behind some trees, away from the newly formed crater, as he called out to Widowmaker.

"We need some fire support, now!" Reaper shouted into the comms.

*******************************

Widowmaker couldn't see a damn thing, due to the extensive tree cover, that blocked her line of sight. Setting her visor to thermal, Amelie lined up her shot, ready to drop the troublesome Russian. She took the shot, but the soldier still stood, unflinching.

"Bon sang!" she cursed as she refocused her fire. It was evident that Zarya was wearing a helmet of some unknown design, which made any headshots useless. Homing in on any exposed areas, she made three shots in rapid succession. Each one connected, hitting the brawny woman in the left shoulder, abdomen and right knee.

Though she couldn't hear her screams of pain, the French born woman contented herself with the fact that she saw Zarya drop like a sack of potatoes. She made to take another shot, intending to end her life, but then saw her thermal signature get much cooler, as though masked. Widowmaker growled as she managed to guess that the other woman with the soldier, had erected some sort of barrier, to block her shots.

Knowing that there was nothing for it, Amelie shifted her aim, searching out new targets.

*******************************

Seeing Zarya go down in a spray of blood, Mei had hastily erected the ice wall higher, to keep any further sniper shots away from her friend. Having lost their supporting fire, both Jack and Tracer fell back to the additional barriers that Mei had constructed earlier. They continued to move about though, dipping and rolling, to keep the sniper from finding her target.

At this point, the Talon strike team counter attacked, Reaper with his shotguns blazing, while Sombra dashed in, machine pistol spitting fire and thunder. Moira hung back, using her biotic abilities to give both her compatriots whatever aid she could. Jack and Reaper engaged each other in close quarters combat, the two of them quite evenly matched.

Sombra engaged Tracer, trying to pin her down long enough to hack, but the pesky Brit kept dancing in and out of reality, pulse pistols flaring each time. She kept firing at the reality hopping woman, keeping her distracted, as she then threw something. It arced upwards, going over and behind the ice wall that Mei had built, unnoticed by anyone.

*******************************

Mike had heard the ruckus, not far from the position where he had hoped to engage his hunters, but it seems that someone else had beat him to it. He humped it, following the sounds of automatic gunfire and was surprised by what he found. An Overwatch strike team had landed in the area, and was currently engaged in battle against the unknown mercs.

Not knowing what exactly had transpired for Overwatch to have shown up, Mike seized this opportunity and jumped into the firefight. Roaring as he charged in, he first focused his fire on the man in black, emptying his clip at the wraith like apparition. Most of the shots bounced off of Reapers armor, but a few found their way past those defenses, stinging the man.

Sombra, saw that this new addition to the fight, would turn the tide against them. Focusing on where Tracer would likely appear next, she kicked out with a roundhouse, her leg whistling through the air. Her guess was correct and she managed to catch Lena off guard, the kick hitting her in the lower abdomen, knocking the wind from her. As the British woman flew away, sprawling, the Latina wasted no time and hacked the newcomers weapon.

*******************************

Michael had managed to get a Hellfire Slug off at the man in black, after Jack had shoved him away, but then his weapon stopped working. He looked about and saw that the dusky skinned woman had been busy entering a sequence into her arm pad. Figuring out that she was the source of the hack, he began to charge towards her, until a bullet stopped him cold.

Crying in surprise and pain, Mike dropped to his knees, the shot having caught him in a weak point in his armor. It hit him below his collarbone, just missing his lung. The force of it was enough to drive the air from his lungs and he tried to regain his footing, but failed.

He saw that Jack had fired several bursts at Sombra, driving her back, as he went to help up Lena. Just as he brought the brunette to her feet, a purple orb of energy shot out from behind the trees, catching them both in its wake. Jack turned and saw it coming, but it was too late, as it was already on top of both him and Lena. They both dropped down, the orb sapping their strength to stand and fight.

*******************************

Moira plodded out from behind the treeline, heading towards the downed heroes, a ghastly smile on her face. Though she had wanted to see what exactly her abilities could do to such unique specimens, she kept the draining effect of her to a minimum. She saw that Reaper had gotten up and was moving over to where she stood, his guns ready to kill both his longstanding nemesis and the hard to hit Brit.

"Keep watch over them, as I interrogate our new....guest," she said to Reaper with disdain. The black clad man growled, but nodded, knowing that disobedience would not be looked well upon, as Moira had operational command of this mission. At this point, she dispersed the orb, allowing the two Overwatch agents to breathe again. Moira looked over to Sombra and saw her wave, before she disappeared.

*******************************

Mei had done what she could to staunch Zarya's bleeding. The bullets that hit the brawny Russian woman had also nicked a couple of arteries, and she was bleeding profusely. The Chinese climatologist had done what she could, using her blaster in minute amounts, to freeze the wounds. It wasn't ideal but it was enough, so at least the soldier would stand a chance of finding proper medical aid.

The shock and loss of blood had knocked Zarya unconscious, despite her stubbornness to stay awake. Though she was out cold, she was alive, thanks to Mei's quick thinking. Mei had then turned to further encase the two of them, so they would be shielded from the fight and instead, found herself looking down the barrel of Sombra's pistol.

As she was tending her teammate, Mei didn't notice the small device that had flown through the air and buried itself in the snow. Sombra's translocator had activated and stayed online, despite the extreme cold. Now, here she stood, having gotten the drop on her.

The Latina then gestured with her pistol, indicating that Mei should move. Mei glanced down at Zarya, hoping that she'd pull though, but fearful that she wouldn't. Sombra looked down at the unconscious soldier and tsked.

"You know, Amiga, you really need to be careful of who you choose as your friends. Some of them might just get you killed one day," the purple haired woman said casually. While keeping her pistol trained on the climatologist, she grabbed the particle cannon that lay in the snow and dragged it along with her.

Passing into the sight of everyone else, Mei was prodded over to where Jack and Lena kneeled in front of Reaper, their hands on their heads. Seeing as how she had little choice, Mei walked over and took position beside her friends. Moira had started questioning the new arrival, which Mei could only guess was Sergeant Michael Perun.