Everyone blankly stared at the empty cable in Winston's hand. Their expressions of horror were indeed a sight to look at, but they knew from the beginning how utterly botched this plan was going to be anyway. Especially when they considered that they literally chained a man to a hunk of metal and threw him into the ocean. Or tried to, rather. Winston was still tending to his toes, much to everyone's delight.

Winston gazed at the cable, before laying it beside him. "Well, this will certainly throw a monkey wrench into our plans."

"No. There was no 'plan' Winston. We all came here completely on a whim; you just don't want to admit it." Angela's tone was harsh, and with each word she inched closer to Winston. He would have retreated a few steps back if it weren't for his shattered toe. "And instead of finding a solution to this problem, you instead find it appropriate to make a pun about it. A pun based on your own SPECIES no less."

"Alright Angela, that's enough venting for now." Fareeha dragged her by the elbows before she could start foaming. "Okay, all puns aside," she glared at Winston, "we need to figure out our next course of action."

"I'm guessing it's to pull out our local baldy," suggested McCree. "We got any ideas, or are we blank?"

Genji's prosthetic limb shot up. "I have an idea."

McCree grunted in annoyance. "If it involved disintegrating the sea with that arm cannon o'yours, then lower your hand."

"You are mistaken. I do not plan to disintegrate the ocean."

"Oh, thank go-"

"Not I alone. Instead, it will be a joint effort. If Genos and I combine our firepower, we could create a hole in the ocean large enough to reach Master Saitama."

Genji's ability to keep a stable mind was one of the many things the Overwatch team valued about the ninja. Something that seemingly vanished when he acquired his new 'addition'. Namely his cybernetic arm that Genos unfortunately made the mistake of loaning him. Everyone had been hopeful that he would eventually grow out of it, but their hopes, just like now, have been repeatedly dashed.

And a certain doctor had reached the boiling point of dashed hopes.

Angela's raised an arm. "Fareeha, hold him down. I'm sawing off that arm."

"With pleasure."

Genji flinched. "Wait what?"

Everyone else pretended not to notice the screams in the background. Nor did they assume to hear the sounds of a glowing blade sawing through Genji's shoulder. As Winston continued nursing his shattered toes, Genos inched over to McCree.

"Should… we do something about that?" he asked.

"Nah. Just let it be." He pulled out another cigar, nodding thankfully when Genos lit it for him. "Sides' shouldn't we be thinkin' 'bout that?" He tilted his head towards the moonpool.

"My master is strong. We need not worry. He is not the kind of person who can be so easily defeated by water."

McCree couldn't help but find that amusing, and so he let out a light chuckle. "Heh. Guess that's one way of lookin' at it." He tossed his cigarette butt to the side. No point polluting the deep blue. "Sorry. The mood's been… kinda weird ever since we pulled you two onboard. Truth be told I actually do enjoy moments like these. 'Specially when I have to think about that damn meeting."

Genos couldn't help but notice how McCree's metal fist tightened up. "Pardon?"

"That meeting we were supposed to have in New York. It was delayed for uh, obvious reasons." Then again, Demon-level threats were as obvious as 'reasons' could get. "Chances are, the components of that meeting are gonna become part of the Summit."

"...The Summit, you say?"

"Yup. The Summit." Just thinking about it made him internally wretch. But he might as well bring it up now instead of later. "It's basically a meeting involving the leaders of the world, in regards to large-scale events that have occurred over the past five years or so. That's coming in around two months or so."

"I see." The sounds of screaming became less relevant when compared to this. "So the assault on Caligo, and the destruction of New York…"

"Yup. Talk of the town. It won't be a stretch to say that it's all gonna be the talk of the town." His gaze shifted over to the moonpool. "That's gonna be a hell of a discussion, whether we like it or not. The tides have turned, and Overwatch is at the center. For better or for worse."

Genos opted to remain silent. As someone who worked diligently for the Hero Association, his task always remained simple. Find the monsters, and eliminate them. It was easy to discern the enemy when their goals were simple.

But Overwatch? Overwatch handled things differently. They were a peacekeeping organization. And that didn't necessarily translate to finding the bad guy and burning them into a fine crisp. There was a lot of politics involved, a lot of different perceptions regarding certain matters. Perceptions that sometimes could even earn his sympathy. And thus, there were a lot of different ways to handle those kinds of situations, and perhaps even more to botch them up.

McCree glanced at him. "Y'know, I know you aren't keen about that plan the others wanna put into action. The one where we basically give you all the credit and BS your backstory. That plan."

"You know about that?" Genos raised an eyebrow.

"Yup. I'm not exactly on the side of the law if you get my point. I think what Jack and Fareeha don't get is that… justice isn't always clear-cut. The law's not absolute; I'd know that for sure. I guess I couldn't stop you from going rogue, but that's if I wanted to in the first place."

"Going rogue? What do you mean? Why do you think I would go rogue?" Where was this all coming from?

"We were shut down for a reason. I want to know that reason, but no one's giving me answers. All I know is that there're people who want us to stay in the shadows. But I think I've found myself on the field, you know what I mean? It's where I belong. Not sure what you'd know about belonging but…" he spat onto the floor, "somehow I doubt you belong in the shadows, watching from the sidelines. That's just not you. Especially not you."

He did have a point. His intentions may not have been clear from the start, as he primarily put vengeance first. The results were the same, but not the intentions. But regardless of intentions, he did make it his duty to eliminate the monster threat.

"I suppose you're right. I can't imagine sitting idly while people need help," something his master helped teach him. "Is that what it was like for you, when Overwatch was shut down?"

"Yeah. Pretty much. Real bummer, I know." He grinned. "Just… be on your guard when the time comes. Someone's gonna twist what it means to be hero sooner or later. Or maybe they already have. I wouldn't know. But if they have a role model like, say, a teenage cyborg who can decimate entire rows of omnics with a flick of his finger, well, maybe there's a bit of hope. Just a bit."

Genos pondered his words. If he did accept the role, if he did accept the position he'd be in, would he be able to live up to that kind of expectation?

"I'll do my best." It was all he could offer. Something that McCree found all too amusing.

"Heh. I'm getting old for this kind of stuff." But not old enough to run out of cigarettes. "By the way, I think they're done over there. You can probably get your spare arm back if you want."

"Oh, right. Thanks."

"And that's the story. Of how everything went through hell." John Dough concluded his story by slamming his palms on the floor, like some kind of ritual. "You get all that, soldier?"

"Huh? Wha-?" Saitama forced his eyes open. How long was he asleep? And what was he doing again?

Oh, right. He was listening to this lame ass story about lizard-microwave hybrids or something like that. Boredom quickly seeped its way into his mind, and part of him began to believe that this place was indeed hell, and that hole he was dragged into was the gateway.

"Ever since the crew mutinied from a lack of food and ate those meatb- I mean, unlisted substances, they transformed into those… things." Mann shivered upon remembering it.

"You mean the blender-lizards," corrected John.

"Are you actually going to contribute anything useful to this conversation, or do I have to confiscate your frying pan?" Mann sneered.

John hugged his frying pan, as though his life depended on it, and angrily pointed at Mann. "You will never take my frying pan! Nor will you take my virginity!"

"...What?" Saitama tilted his head.

"Ah, yes. You're a newbie to that tale. It all started when-"

"I don't wanna know. Please stop talking."

"Okay, that's enough storytime for now. Or ever, for that matter." Mann pulled himself to his feet. The way he glared at John made Saitama think that John may have shoved that particular tale down his ear holes. "What are you gonna do now that you're here, Saitama?"

Saitama cupped his chin. "Hm, well, I guess the first thing I wanna get out of the way is getting that Australium back to base. Then um…"

"Back to base?" echoed Mann. "Are you enlisted in the army? You don't look enlisted."

"Er, I'm enlisted in Overwatch. Does it count as an army if it has a gorilla?" he wondered.

"You're with Overwatch?!" he exclaimed. His eyes widened with recognition. "Hoodie kid? Is that you?!"

...Wait what? "Hoodie kid?"

Mann glanced at him a moment, before calming down. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly "Er, sorry. There was someone in my past who… nevermind." Saitama blinked a few times. That was certainly weird, to say the least. "So… if you're with Overwatch… does that mean you're here to rescue us?"

"Well, I can if you want me to. But I actually came here to get some Australium so we can get the money to pay our electricity bill."

"The hell kind of financial crisis did they put themselves in to send one man into the depths of the ocean to find a rare material they're not even sure exists?" Even Mann had difficulty finding the legitimacy in his own statement.

Saitama scratched his nonexistent hair. "Well, I dunno. I'm just a part-timer after all."

"...No point searching for answers that don't exist, I guess. Australium in that corridor. Good luck getting past those monsters. There's only like, what? A hundred of 'em?" He jabbed his thumb at the metal door, the one John was previously hammering with his frying pan.

Saitama gave Mann a curious glance. "How'd you manage to trap them all in there anyway?"

He pointed at John. "He offered to act as bait. Probably the only good thing he had going for him."

"I have no idea what that means but I know it was an insult," John stated, though he mostly went ignored.

"So all the Australium's in there, huh?" Saitama tapped the viewing glass, aggravating the lizard-blender hybrids waiting inside. "Guess my job's finally become simple." He cocked his fist back.

Mann and John simultaneously fondled their chin hairs. What exactly was he planning?

They got their answer when a massive shockwave nearly threw them to the ground. They shielded their eyes, lest the wind impede their eyesight. Or Mann's eyesight, rather. For once, John's eye-covering headwear actually served a purpose. He made a mental reminder to tell Helen that she lost the bet and that she now had to eat a shoe.

Once the air pressure from the shockwave died down, Mann unshielded his eyes to pinpoint the cause of the shockwave, because no way was that one of those earthquakes from outside. All he saw was Saitama standing there with his fist outstretched. For some reason, his fist was smoking, and for some reason, the corridor they locked down was now a series of holes bending inwards. That was without mentioning the pile of guts and shattered pieces of blenders strewn about.

As a physician and a part-time teacher at one point, he could easily put two and two together, unlike a certain frying pan-obsessed moron.

"...Huh. Was not expecting that." Aizic D. Mann finally said. Right now being dumbfounded was Helen's job, as Saitama was now casually strolling through the gut infested hallway. He nudged John's elbow, awakening him from his temporary coma. "Get up, will you?"

"I have been trying to get up for the last ten seconds. However, I think my legs may be- oh, wait, nevermind. It was just the tortellini. It wasn't mixing well with that Atomic Punch."

Mann ignored him, and quietly followed Saitama into the formerly infested hallway. At first he was put off by the guts and blender shards for a total of two seconds, before concluding that they were just that; guts and blender shards. And not even the good model of blenders, no, these were clearly from the shelves of the dollar store.

The hallway continued for a bit, though it felt much longer since all three of them were making a simultaneous effort to not get guts on their soles. They were glad to finally reach the end of the hallway, but Saitama couldn't help but feel underwhelmed.

"This is all the Australium?" he asked with a bit of disappointment. There were a total of three shelves of Australium, most of which were in the form of various weapons. There were six weapons in total.

So obviously, the first person to have the biggest reaction would be none other than John Dough, who immediately hugged the first Australium weapon he got his hands on.

"Gotta admit, this is pretty shallow for a vault." Mann casually stated as he stepped over the torn vault door. "Maybe there's more in the other rooms. I wouldn't know."

"Dangit. I guess this'll have to do then." Hopefully it would suffice. John seemed pretty intent on keeping his frying pan. And if they couldn't get Gibraltar's wifi up and running, they were all going to be doomed.

KAPOOYAH

Thankfully, Mann happened to be standing behind Saitama. That meant he was completely shielded from the random explosion that riddled the wall.

Saitama, of course, was also fine. Except for the fact that his entire frontside was now covered in soot.

Mann peered over Saitama's shoulder and gave John the sternest glare he could muster.

"...Whoops. It was not on safety." he said meekly as he cradled the bazooka in his hands.

"I'm *cough* beginning to question how you all survived down here for so long," Saitama was said through gnashed teeth. He spat out some soot and flapped his arms to clear away the smoke.

None of them were expecting to see what was on the other side of John's bazooka-made hole.

Stacks upon stacks of Australium ingots lined every nook and cranny of the hidden room. On top of those stacks were small Australium statues, lined up neatly on each stack. Even the walls were coated with Australium. But it was what lied at the center of the room that really grabbed their attention.

A massive rocket sat on top of an Australium pedestal, with fins and a tip imbued with even more Australium. Metal cranes extended from the side to keep the rocket in place, and a shuttle door was fixed in the ceiling. All of which, of course, was made with Australium.

Saitama stared at the rocket. Then he stared at Mann. He stared at the rocket. He stared at Mann.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Mann.

"I think I'm thinking what you're thinking," he thought out loud.

"Just tell me what you're thinking, dammit. I wanna make sure we're actually thinking the same thing."

"It has to do with all this Australium, right?" John butted in.

"Keep your mouth shut, John. The grownups are talking."

Watchpoint Caligo was known, or not known, rather, for its discrete location. Built into the side of a massive hill, it projected the sense that it was none other than that; a hill. And that was thanks due to some clever use of cloaking technology; technology Sombra was very familiar with.

It made it all the easier to break in.

And now the hacker left the front door, a few hundred gigabytes heavier. She grinned as she ran her fingers across the hard drive. It was gonna take all night to go through the footage from this baby. But it was going to be so worth it.

Of course, credit was due where it was due. She couldn't have accomplished this without her 'friends'. No doubt they were waiting at the car. Now all she needed to do was go there and-

She froze when she saw him. The man with the blue hoodie. He was waiting there, leaning on the wall of the 'hill'.

"...Oh. It's you." Well, she certainly wasn't expecting HIM to be here.

"Hey Olivia." he greeted casually. "Wanted to stop by."

"Hah. Funny. You're funny." She found herself leaning on the hill, along with him. "And what about those goons at my ride?"

"They have names, you know. You really do need to try and make friends. Actual friends." There he goes again, lecturing her on what to do and not to do. Besides, what she did with Tracer and those weird pals of hers was her business and her business alone.

"Heh. Friends. You drew a fire emblem on your hoodie with a red crayon. If I'm going to look for friendship advice it won't be from you," she sneered.

"Come on. It looks cool. You just don't want to admit it."

"It looks stupid." She placed special emphasis the last word. "But I guess I don't care. I'm guessing you came here to pick up my 'friends'."

"Yeah. More or less."

"Then what's stopping you?" Her palm pressed against her hip. "Don't tell me you just wanted to chat, after all these years?"

"Is there anything wrong with that?" he asked.

"...I've already done what I came here to do. You can have Tracer and her friends if you want." She looked away. There wasn't much point going face to face with a man with such naive ideals.

"...Just answer me one thing, Olivia. Is this life… fulfilling?" Fulfilling? Well, it wasn't really a weird question. It was him who was asking, after all.

"Yeah. Every day." There was no hesitance in her tone. No regrets. No shame. "And you? How's that whole hero jig holding up?"

"Fun, but it can be boring at times, I have to admit." There was a pause. "Guess that's the price of power, huh?"

"Mm-hmm." There was another pause, this one longer than the last. "I should probably go now before I get spotted. I'll see you around, I guess."

"Yeah. Bye, Olivia." And just like that, he vanished in an instant.

Sombra let out a sigh and trudged her way to her car. This was a fulfilling life. Nothing else could bring more excitement.

If only she could believe her own words as much as he did.

"Are you all ready for this?" asked Mann.

"I- oof… beg to differ, Administrator. It's- ugh… kind of crowded in here."

Indeed, no one could argue with Wentworth. The rocket seemed big until they tried to shove everyone into it. It then occurred to Mann that much of rocket's mass was directed towards its adjacent segments, the ones that stretched vertically.

"Is this… seriously the best shot we have at escaping?" Helen somehow managed to ask, even in this claustrophobic nightmare.

"Probably not. Let's just hope for the best." Mann's tone was commanding yet confident. "If you can, grab anything that's nailed to the floor." The huge crowd of people did just that, grabbing whatever they could, whether it be a handlebar or a window frame.

"...John, why are you grabbing my thighs?" asked Helen. "Pretty sure Aizic said 'nailed objects' only."

"Oh. Well judging from their size I thought otherwise."

John earned the 35th boot to the face that week. Which was impressive since it not only was a new record but because Helen barely had any leg space yet somehow still managed to leave a fine imprint on John's face.

"...Hey, isn't he coming?" A hand pointed to the bald man standing outside of the rocket.

Mann hummed for a bit. "Yeah, the thing is, there's more than enough Australium to power this rocket, but with the way the launch sequence is set up, we're bound to fly straight into a huge appendix. So we improvised."

"...Improvised?" The crew member's voice went unheard as the doors to the rocket closed automatically.

"You all good in there?" Saitama hollered through the door. They all groaned something in response, presumably from the fact that they didn't like being clustered together like this. Which made Saitama a little concerned for what he was about to do next.

Because if they didn't like that, then they REALLY wouldn't like this.

Saitama hopped off the stairs and felt around the bottom of the rocket until he found the small piece of tape left by Mann. What were his directions again? 'Find the piece of tape, then apply enough force to achieve manual liftoff'?

That sounded about right.

He lowered his palms under the piece of tape. He never really had a reason to try this, but…

"Killer Moves: Serious Series…" With one thrust, both his palms shot up in an instant. A loud explosion followed, and for a moment the air ignited. "...Serious Liftoff!"

The force from his palms slammed against the bottom like a rampaging mammoth. The moment of unstoppable force passed, and the rocket vanished. Judging from the enormous hole in the corner of the ceiling, it wasn't hard to discern where it had gone.

"Well, I hope they're okay." He gazed at the hole, but right now it was impossible to tell where the rocket was at the moment. "Now, how do I get all this Australium out of here?"

◘ ︎ ︎ 📬︎ ⌧︎ ︎❒︎◆︎ ︎ ︎ ︎⧫︎ ︎■︎ ◘ ︎ ︎ 📬︎ ︎❖︎ 👌 ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎⧫︎ ︎■︎ ❄ 👌 ❒︎ ︎ ︎👎 □︎ ✌ □︎■︎ ❄ ︎❍︎

Huh? It was that voice again. Except… it was a lot clearer this time. Where was that voice coming from, though? And why did it sound… bothered?

◘❒︎ ︎❖︎ ︎■︎⧫︎💧 ✞💧 ❒︎□︎💣 ︎ ︎❖︎ ︎■︎ 📬︎ ︎ ︎ ︎❄ ︎💣📬︎ ❄ ︎ ︎ ✌❒︎ ❒︎ ︎ 📬︎

It… wanted him to fight something? But what, exactly?

😐■︎□︎⬥︎💧 ❄ ︎ ⬧︎ ︎ ︎◻︎ 📬︎ ︎ ︎ ︎❄ ︎💣📬︎ ︎●︎ ✌⬥︎ ︎🙵 ︎ ✟ ︎❒︎✡ 💧□︎□︎ 📬︎

...Okay, that made a little more sense. But first he needed to find a way out of here.

Angela firmly handed the hand to Genos. "I believe this is yours. Never loan it to anyone ever again."

"...Yes ma'am." Angela left without another word, leaving just the cyborg and his other Overwatch colleagues.

"I'm glad Winston isn't here." Fareeha stared at the water below. "He'd probably make a joke about how Genji is now disarmed."

McCree lifted his hand from the railing. "I could do it for him."

"I will order Genos to incinerate you." If Fareeha was joking (which she only did around people she liked) she did a good job of hiding it.

"Ooh. Ordering your underlings to handle your personal problems. Now that's character development right there." McCree raised his hands mockingly. "'Sides, last I checked, Genos here was a part-timer."

"Part-timer?" echoed Fareeha. "Field duty isn't something that's a part-time job. Or do things work differently in your so-called home dimension?" She looked at Genos for answers.

"Yes and no. I tend to save my incineration cannons for monsters and telemarketers." Genos elaborated.

"What's the difference between those two?" McCree wondered out loud.

"They both seek to destroy humanity through underhanded means, but one is of supernatural origin while the other is generally from a family of tax collectors."

"Ah. I see." He put another cigar in his mouth so he could properly intake his completely logical assessment.

"Reinhardt did mention something about monsters in your world. Are there really supernatural entities from where you come from?" Fareeha leaned her elbow against the railing. McCree couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her words.

"You actually believe that stuff?" he asked.

"Hey, I'm just curious." She shrugged. Genos pursed his lip. How exactly could he describe monsters in general?

"Well, I suppose it's kind of like-"

A loud splash caught their attention. They all looked with surprised expressions at the sudden cluster of foam rising from the ocean.

"Is it a dolphin?" McCree peered under his palm, but he could not find any dolphin whatsoever.

"What the… what's that?" Fareeha pointed to the sky. Genos' visor scanned the area until he spotted an object soaring into the distance. He zoomed onto the object, immediately performing a scan on its features.

"...A rocket?"

"It's a rocket? What?" McCree's expression was one of perplexion.

"It appears that way," replied Genos. What was a rocket doing all the way out here? More importantly, why was its composition so strange? It appeared to be made of gold, but his scans stated that the composition was something completely different.

Wait a minute. Could it be…?

Before he could ponder this further, something else caught his attention in the form of rising sea foam. The three Overwatch agents watched in perplexion as bubbles continued to rise to the surface of the water, right where the rocket exited. Then it mysteriously came to a stop.

The ocean's surface erupted once again, an even larger pillar of foam shooting into the high heavens. It lingered in the air for quite a bit, until it finally subsided by spreading out into a light drizzle that pattered against the three spectators.

"What the hell is going on?!" Angela rushed to the Overboat's roof along with the others. Everyone stopped in their tracks when they realized what was causing all the commotion.

A massive creature in the shape of a massive barnacle revealed itself from the curtain of water. From it sides sprouted an array of tentacles several miles wide, each one tipped with some kind of sharp tendril. At the very center rested three giant heads, with each head sporting a mask with a different expression. The first two seemed to have contorted happy and sad faces, whereas the third didn't seem to have a face at all.

All three heads focused on the small group aboard the Overboat, easily towering over them by at least ten stories. Then their masks began to glow eery colors, and a disgusting groaning sound echoed throughout the creature's expression before multiple veins popped on its various tentacles.

Was it happy? Was it sad? They had no idea. They did know one thing, however.

"We're screwed."

It was Hana who pointed out this obvious fact.

Ana took a sip of her tea and relaxed her arms on her lap. Her eyes remained focused on the monument before her.

︎🕯︎❒︎ □︎ ︎■︎ □︎❍︎ ︎📪︎ 💧□︎□︎■︎📪︎ ✌■︎✌📬︎ ◘●︎ ︎ ︎⬧︎ ❄ ︎●︎ ❄ ︎ ︎❄ 💣 ︎ ❄ ︎ ︎❄ ✌❒︎ ❄ ︎ ︎■︎🙵 ︎◆︎ □︎ ❖︎ ︎❒︎⍓︎⧫︎ ︎ ︎■︎ 📬︎

She looked up at the voice. "So it's finally time, hm?"

Alira stared at the cells in her silvery palm. These cells were the key to victory. This world would soon know chaos and strife beyond comprehending. And Akande was vital to her plans.

She watched Tulric unleash a torrent of lasers into the ocean, just barely missing the seaward vessel. Something large and fiery appeared on the side of the boat.

"Soon," she muttered with a clenched hand. Then she walked into a mirror, her reflection vanishing not long after.

On the shore of the beach, a certain rocket impaled the sand with its tip. Smoke drifted off of its thrusters, and char painted the entire underside of the rocket black. Few would come to understand that this marvelous piece of technology had recently become victim to the Serious Series.

Someone kicked the door off its hinges. It was none other than John Dough, who somehow managed to crawl his way out through the massive pile of crew members. He leaped out of the upside-down rocket and immediately started kissing the sand.

"Freedom! Sweet freedom at last!" His freedom was short-lived, however, when a bunch of other people accidentally landed on him, forming another cluster of bodies. Wentworth was smart enough to hop out of the rocket rather than leap.

"Well, that was certainly interesting." She did a few stretches to relieve herself of the cramps. "Is everyone alright?"

They all groaned in response.

"Is this a dream?" Helen wondered as she walked down the small hill of crewmates. "Are we actually outside?"

"Don't think it's a dream. But calling it heaven wouldn't be far fetched either," said Mann as he took a few steps across the beach. It had been so long since he had experienced actual sunlight, that seeing it across the ocean's horizon was such a relieving experience. Their escape was unorthodox for sure, and they'd have to contact someone eventually to integrate back into society.

But as they all gathered along the shore, right now they just wanted to watch the sunset with sand creeping between their toes. It was strange, missing sand of all things. But right they couldn't care less.

"INCOMING!"

And just like that, their peaceful tranquility was shattered when they saw something rushing towards the beach from the ocean. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be some kind of a hybrid between a boat and a submarine. But the last they checked, vehicles like those didn't move at breakneck speeds. That thing was splitting the water with how fast it was going.

Wait, what was up with that huge fire blasting from the back? Did they strap some kind of thruster to it?

Mann squinted. His eyesight hadn't improved at all over the years, but he could discern some kind of… teenage cyborg pushing the rear of the vessel?

"Genos! We're moving way too fast! We're gonna crash!" Fareeha desperately called out, as she grasped onto the railing for dear life. Everyone else did the same, except for Winston, who lying flat against the far end of the wall.

"What was that? I can't hear anything from back here." was his response.

"SLOW DOWN, DAMMIT!"

Whatever that creature was, it had unleashed a torrent of lasers upon them before they could even think. Genos had somehow used his thrusters to push the boat out of the way before the boat could get incinerated, and he obviously intended for them to get away as fast as possible.

What the cyborg didn't seem to get, however, was that the Overboat (or them, for that matter) were not equipped to handle moving at supersonic speeds.

"Don't worry! I have it handled!" Genos yelled back. Fareeha could only hope that he was right.

They all continued to hold on for dear life as the Overboat rocketed forward. Various items laid against the far wall along with Winston, like they had been glued there by some invisible force. Fareeha closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.

And just like that, the boat came to a halt. It slowed down enough so that the crew wouldn't become victim to inertia, something that they were grateful for.

Fareeha looked around at the messy Overboat, before asking, "Is everyone alright?"

"I think I broke something… again…" groaned Winston as he slid down the wall. No one could bring themselves to care about him right now.

They all jumped off the Overboat and onto the beach as soon as they could, save for Winston whose foot was still out of commission.

"Ugh. Not doing that again?" McCree spun his arm in a circle to see if he broke anything. When he was sure he didn't, he asked, "So now what?"

Hana looked at him weirdly. "What do you mean 'So now what?'"

He raised his arms in the air like it was obvious. "Well, in case you haven't noticed Cthulhu's probably coming for us right now. What's our plan of action?"

Angela hopped off the Overboat. She was the first person to recognize the figure coming toward her.

"...Helen?"

"...Angela?"

By now they all noticed the huge crowd of people coming from the other side of the sea vessel. They all muttered amongst each other as they recognized several people in the crowd. The scene turned rather awkward.

"...Y-You're all alive…" McCree couldn't believe it.

"Well, you better believe it cowboy," Mann replied.

As the crowd slowly broke the silence, Angela and Helen stared at each other. Neither of them expected to see each other. Not after so many years had passed. Not after that seaquake destroyed the Watchpoint, taking everyone inside with it.

"...Wow. You haven't changed a bit, Angela." Helen scratched her strands of hair. "I'm not just saying that either. You still look the same after all these years."

Angela glanced to the side, uncertain of how to absorb the sudden praise. "Th-Thanks Helen. I uh, I'd like to say the same, but-"

Helen's hands met her hips. "No point being lax about it, Angela. I'm one wrinkly bastard. No point trying to deny that."

They both shared a hearty laugh, one that was interrupted when someone suddenly called out,

"What is that thing?!"

By now they all spotted the multi-masked behemoth crawling towards them from the ocean. The sight was enough to drive most of the crew into a panic, save for several people.

For once, Helen actually looked concerned. "Um, Angela? What is-"

"I honestly have no idea," was her blunt response. Genos took this chance to leap from behind the boat, landing in the center of the crowd. His presence surprised many, as he left a small crater in the sand.

Fareeha was the first to run towards him. "What's the situation?"

Genos stared at the horizon, where the massive monster was seen and zoomed in on it. It was moving at a snail's pace, but with its massive size, it wouldn't be too long before it reached the coast. Who knows what kind of havoc it would wreak when it did.

He widened his eyes in surprise as a green line formed between two of its heads. Slime erupted from the tear, as the massive creature seemed to be ripping itself apart. What was it doing?

It yanked apart into two pieces, separating the part of its body with one mask. To his surprise, slime curled around the ripped parts, forming into new bits of flesh. Tentacles sprouted from those sides once they finished reforming, resulting in two massive tentacle creatures, one with a single mask and the other with two.

"It's bad. The Mysterious Being split," he announced, much to Fareeha's shock. "The larger one is staying put, but the other appears to be approaching the coast."

Fareeha's shocked demeanor vanished in place of a battle-hardened gaze. From the way Genos referred to it, it was obvious that he had experience dealing with creatures like this before; something she'd have to ask about later. But judging from the way he positioned himself, it was obvious that they shared the same goal.

Defend the city at all costs.

She rotated her wrist and slammed the button hidden under the strap of her watch. Genos watched the motion with a bit of curiosity.

"Torbjorn said it's for dire situations only," she elaborated. "I suppose now's a time as good as any. Reinhardt!"

"Yes ma'am!" he strolled over, towering over the other crew members.

"Initiate protocol 9999," was her order. Reinhardt's eyes widened, but he understood. Besides, he couldn't pass up an opportunity to be part of one his greatest battles yet.

"Angela, contact the local authorities. Have them get the evacuation up and running, then retrieve medical support for any incoming patients."

"Yes ma'am." She saluted before making herself scarce. Helen followed her.

"The rest of you get to safety. Hana, McCree, help with evac."

Hana raised her hand to protest. "But-"

"Not a good time, Hana." McCree interrupted. Hana wanted to say something in response, but instead she pouted and ran off with the rest of the crew members. McCree climbed his way back into the boat to grab Winston and McCree.

Mann approached them. His face was that of regret. "There isn't much I can do here, except wish you luck. Kinda wish our reunion could have gone a lot smoother, y'know?"

"Ha…! What are you talking about, Aizic? An epic battle is the perfect way to start off a reunion!" Reinhardt laughed. Mann frowned at his antics, before letting out a light chuckle. It seemed Angela wasn't the only one who didn't change much over the years.

"I'm gonna go help with evac. Don't die on me now." And like that, Mann ran off, leaving just Fareeha, Reinhardt, and Genos.

"Protocol 9999 has been initiated, Fareeha," said Reinhardt. Fareeha nodded in response, and placed a hand on Genos' metallic pauldron.

"Genos," she began. "Hold it off for the time being. We need a bit of time to set up. We're not going to stand on the sidelines like last time."

Genos nodded. It was remarkable how quickly Fareeha had managed to take control of the situation, despite the perilous danger present. But from the way her limbs slightly trembled, it was obvious that she was having a bit of difficulty handling the current situation. Not that he could blame her; this was the first time Overwatch was forced to deal with a Mysterious Being, one that was at least a Demon-level threat.

He silently praised Fareeha for forcing those feelings down and focusing on the bigger threat at hand. It was a testament to her leadership skills and a reminder that even in this world, despite not being nearly as powerful, there were still heroes who would rise up in the battle against evil.

Unfortunately, now was not the time for praise. He turned towards the ocean, where his opponent approached steadily.

"Understood. Do what you need to do; I will do everything in my power to halt its advance." Without another word, the metal panels on his shoulders unfolded. He leaped several feet into the air, his thrusters bursting to life. Then his core erupted with power, launching him forward like a rocket, his quarry coming closer and closer.

The ocean split in his wake, and the monster became clearer each second. When he felt that he was close enough, he changed the direction of his thrusters, launching him upward. The blast vaporized some water below him, causing the surrounding water to fizzle and sputter.

He stared at the masked monster, its larger half lurking miles behind it. It stared back with an eerie smile fixed on its bone-white mask, once that seemed to glow lightly. Though not as tremendous as its counterpart, its tentacles still boasted a massive size, one that rivaled skyscrapers.

But all appearances aside, it was a monster. And if the way it attacked them was an indication, it was bent on nothing less than destruction. Well, Genos would give it a taste of destruction.

He extended his arms forward, the metal unfolding to reveal the cannons underneath. Heat emanated off of their interior as they glowed bright orange. Once they were at full charge, Genos muttered a single word.

"Incinerate!"

The day he muttered that word would come to be known as the day that two sunsets dotted the skyline.

"This is Jonathan Young reporting in from Gibraltar. I-I don't know how else to say this, but there appears to be some kind of massive alien-like creature approaching the coast. Zoom in on it, will you Caleb? I've never seen anything like this!"

"It uh, it looks to be engaging in battle with… I don't know, really. It looks like someone's trying to fight the beast. Wait, are those lasers the creature is firing? Oh man, yeah, it looks like authorities are already evacuating citizens. That thing is at least ten stories high. There's a lot of stray fire going everywhere, as you can see. A lot of it's hitting the coast or Heaven forbid parts of the city. W-We'll try and keep everyone updated, but I really don't think we should fly any closer to that thing right now. Hey uh, Caleb, can you-" Jack's hand accidentally knocked the radio off the table, and it hit the floor with a thud. It didn't break, however, the land did hit the off button.

Jack craned his neck as he pulled himself off the chair. What was he doing again? Oh right. Their satellite. They lost it after a certain… accident, and he felt the need to sleep off all the stress after witnessing that particular event firsthand.

He walked outside, letting out a loud yawn. His eyes glazed around the area, the emptiness letting an imaginary tumbleweed rolling across the platform.

"Hello? Anyone home?" No reply. Where did everyone go? Maybe the laboratory?

He began making his way there. He wasn't exactly the leader of this group, per se, but he still had a job to do. And that involved coaxing Hana to pull another 'student loan' to pay for their electricity bill. Once they found a way to expand their operations, they could probably get some funding to pay her back. Probably. But right now they-

His hand reached for his Pulse Rifle, only to grab air. Stupid. Now how was he supposed to deal with the hooded figure standing before him?

"...Hello Jack." What? He knew who he was? Only then did he notice the slumped forms carried on the man's shoulders. He gently set them down, allowing him to recognize their forms.

Tracer, Hanzo, and Mei. They were supposed to be on a mission at Watchpoint Gelus. What exactly…?

"Who are you?" demanded Jack. But the hooded figure simply turned away. "Answer me!" The mysterious man glanced towards him. Much of his face was obscured with shadow, but he could see part of his mouth. He seemed…. Regretful.

"Sorry. I have to go now." He was leaving? How did he even get in here in the first place? "Tell Ana I said hello."

He vanished before he could get any answers. Just who was that man?

Something screeched in the distance, shaking him out of his stupor. He rushed towards the edge, eyes widening when he witnessed the battle taking place.

Genos grunted in annoyance as he weaved through another volley of lasers, his frame accelerating at supersonic speeds. As he blurred past the multicolored rays, he boosted towards the creature, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. He aimed his incineration cannon at the monster's head, but several tentacles rushed at him before he could fire.

"Machine Gun Blow!" He unleashed a volley of punches to blow back the charging tentacles. He managed to push them back, but there didn't appear to be any lasting damage.

"Tch." Time for something a bit more permanent. He aimed both his incineration cannons directly at its head. "Incinerate!"

Another blast of fire erupted towards the monster, but before it could reach it, a massive forcefield went up. His beam pushed against the forcefield, but it was futile. His beam died out, and he was forced to retreat a few leagues back.

This thing was definitely Demon-level, the way it managed to suppress his first incineration beam as well as his second. Why it was in this world of all places remained beyond him, but right now he and his master were the only ones capable of stopping it.

He did prove one thing, however. This thing was definitely trying to keep its head protected. He'd have to push through to get past its defenses, and aim for that weak spot.

Cracks erupted across the creature's tendrils, a bright light emanating from the seams. It appeared to be preparing another volley, this one bigger than the last. He boosted himself forward just above the water, once again weaving through the many lasers that blasted towards him. Their encompassing size made them difficult to dodge, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

Still, with this many lasers firing at him, going on the offensive would be difficult. He pursed his lip in frustration. He'd have to take care of those tendrils if he wanted to proceed.

Rapidly he launched small bursts of incineration beams at one tendril, while simultaneously boosting across the surface of the water to avoid getting vaporized. He grunted in frustration as he was forced to juggle between dodging and firing, but his scans revealed that his assault did indeed have an effect. Massive clumps of burnt flesh fell away from the charred tendril. With one final concentrated burst of his incineration cannons, his burnt off the tendril entirely. The monster screeched in pain as the tendril splashed into the water.

One tendril down. Fourteen to go.

Genos remained undaunted as the monster continued screeching, but then it suddenly stopped. Its face, or mask, rather, shifted to face Genos, as though it were assessing him as an actual threat. Good. As long as its attention was on him, he could analyze its movements and also give the city time to evacuate. Two birds with one stone.

Cracks spread across its many tentacles as it prepared another volley. He prepared himself to dodge but was surprised when the lasers shot inward instead of outward. He looked closer to see that the lasers were converging on one point, forming a small ball of condensed energy. The ball continued to grow and expand until it was the size of a meteorite.

Then, without warning, the monster launched the ball directly at him. Genos poured more power into his thrusters, shooting himself upward to avoid the condensed energy projectile. For such a large projectile, the creature launched it at such a breakneck speed, that even Genos had difficulty avoiding it. He felt his legs burn up just from being close to the energy projectile, but his systems stated that no severe damage was dealt.

He stopped in midair. This thing could dish out laser volleys, yet also gather its firepower and combine it into a single shot for more damage. That was something he would have to keep in mind while fighting it. As he kept himself airborne with his thrusters, he prepared his cannons once more, aiming them at-

"Shit!" He didn't consider where that projectile might be headed! He snapped his head around, and saw that the ball was heading straight for the coast! He put his thrusters into overdrive, desperate to get there as soon as possible, but it was too late.

The ball struck the coast, erupted into a massive flash of light. Genos could only watch in horror as a sphere of light expanded outward, engulfing everything in its path. After several seconds it vanished, leaving a massive crater in the ground. With trembling limbs, he activated his scanner.

...No casualties. He let out a sigh of relief. The evacuation was proceeding nicely. But if the creature launched another blast like that, they might not be so lucky this time.

And it appeared that the creature was intending to do just that. It already had another decently-sized ball of energy prepared between its tendrils. Genos didn't have any choice; if the creature was planning to attack the city again he'd have to take the attack head-on.

The creature launched the ball of energy once more, prompting Genos to fire off a massive beam of fire. The two forces of energy collided, the force enough to create ripples in the air and water.

Genos grunted. This thing was actually pushing him back a bit. He poured more energy into his cannons, until finally-

He dived to the side to avoid getting skewered by another volley of lasers. He didn't even notice the tendril stretching beside him! He looked back in dismay as the ball approached the coast, and Genos couldn't do anything about it.

No, he had to try something. He couldn't reach it fast enough, but maybe if he fired his incineration cannon right, he could deflect the projectile upwards. It was the best plan he had at the moment. Once more his boosters went into overdrive, and he kept the ball of energy in sight as he closed in on the shore within seconds. He aimed his cannon upwards, and-

He watched as a massive forcefield in the shape of a wall shot skywards, covering the entire beach. The ball collided with the giant forcefield with a large bang, erupting into another sphere of light. But when the sphere subsided, Genos watched in awe as the forcefield stood tall.

The Demon Cyborg rushed towards the beach, landing beside what he assumed to be Reinhardt in a massive coat of armor, except this one was quite different from the last. Rather than sporting a silver gleam, this set of armor was bronze through and through. Sharp blue spikes of energy extended through his knuckles and his boots, and his massive visor glowed a brilliant turquoise.

All in all, it was a feat of engineering that could be rivaled only by Dr. Kuseno.

"Reinhardt," called Genos. He hid his awe, if only for the sake of the city. "I assume that was your doing. You have my thanks."

"Ha…!" he laughed, as the massive shield shrunk into the circular protrusion fixed on the back of his hand. "What are you talking about? I LOVE doing this!"

"What armor is that?" wondered Genos. Reinhardt grinned and thumped his hand on his chest.

"Torb calls it the Hydra. It's a special piece of engineering I tell you! It was designed to stop entire warheads!"

"Entire warheads?" echoed Genos.

"You got that right, Genos, my friend! Unfortunately, as powerful as it was, he couldn't find a suitable power source for it. I thought I could run it for about five minutes, but it turns out, Wentworth from the Mariana team had with her a special material that could keep this baby fueled!"

Genos eyes widened. "The Australium?"

"Yup! Whoops." He put up the massive shield once more to stop the volley of lasers coming their way. "Guess Winston was right about all that stuff. I hope his toes are okay."

"He had it coming. We all knew he had it coming. Besides, there are more important matters we need to deal with right now." They turned in time to witness Fareeha land on the sand beside them, donning a set of armor with a color scheme similar to Reinhardt's. Genos didn't need his scanners to sense it; he could literally see the energy radiating off her armor. "The Dire Drake, if you're wondering. Torbjorn had this in his garage in case of Omnic Titans. I guess this is a bit different, but I doubt anyone'll complain." They nodded at that. "I'll have to thank Wentworth for that Australium frying pan. Not sure where she got it though."

Genos lowered his head in shame. "I apologize. I couldn't stop the Mysterious Being from-"

"Stop." Fareeha grabbed his shoulder before he could bow any further. "There was literally nothing you could do. You've done a remarkable job of defending the city." She lifted her visor and smiled at him. Genos nodded, appreciative of her support.

"Thank you Fareeha," he said.

"Call me Pharah for now. You can call me Fareeha once we're done with this mess."

"Hey, I'm not against the whole bonding experience, but I could use a bit of support here," Reinhardt remarked as he held off another volley of lasers.

"Right. Genos, what are we up against here?" Fareeha asked curtly.

"Demon-level Mysterious Being. That means it is capable of causing massive damage to or even destroying an entire city. It can fire multiple lasers and combine them for a powerful shot. It has repeatedly made attempts to defend its head, but so far I have only succeeded in taking out one tendril. Oh, and it can create forcefields to defend itself as well."

Fareeha nodded as she absorbed all of this information. "So the best way to deal with it is to take out the head, correct?"

"Yes. However, its tendrils are powerful. I doubt we can take out its head without weakening it first."

Fareeha- Pharah, rather, nodded once more. "That's going to be difficult if it's capable of conjuring forcefields. Do you have any suggestions?"

Genos cupped his chin. His battle of endurance against the monster was in vain; it easily managed to suppress most of his attacks. It still had many tendrils to make up for its lost appendage, compared to him, who spent a chunk of his core's power mostly dodging attacks and launching assaults that ultimately did little.

He couldn't take the creature head-on. He had to find a way to damage it otherwise. But how?

He glanced at the creature in the distance. He watched as it trudged through the water. An idea came to mind.

"There may be a way after all," he said as Pharah listened intently. "But I'll need you to slow down the monster's advance."

Angela carefully carted the patient to the ambulance, nodding to the nurse as they proceeding to lift him into the vehicle. Another patient down. Only countless more to go.

Angela wiped a sweat off her forehead. The evacuation was going nicely, but it was definitely taking a toll on her stamina. The constant rumblings and explosions she heard in the distance didn't ease her stress at all. She could only hope Genos was doing well to protect the city; she hadn't expected they would need his assistance again so soon.

As for her, she needed to do her part. Her fatigue she would deal with once this was all over.

"Yo! What's up with all the doom and gloom? Come on now, turn those frowns upside down!" Like a river breaking through a dam, she felt her stress get washed away upon seeing a familiar face approach in the distance.

"Lucio!" She greeted him with a hug. Just hearing his ambient music made her feel ten times better. "I'm so glad you're here! How'd you get here so quick?"

The upbeat musician grinned. "Didn't have to! I was already here." Angela seemed confused by this, so he elaborated. "Overwatch was involved in a lot of weird stuff lately. First, there was that Omnic Titan randomly exploding, then all of New York City teleports outside for some reason. I finished healing up most of those peeps down in NYC, so I thought I'd head to Gibraltar since that's where you guys were heading. So let me ask this. Why…" he grabbed her shoulders, "...are there two Cthulus approaching from the ocean?!"

Baldness was the first thing that came to mind. "Er… it's kind of a long story."

"Long story?!" Lucio reeled back. "Doc, this 'bout to be the biggest story in history! But nevermind that, guess we'll have to get all these patients out first. We'll somehow find a way to deal with… whatever the heck is coming towards the city."

"Thanks, Lucio, I really appreciate it," she said, before adding confidently, "But you needn't worry about that monster. We have it handled." Lucio gave her a baffled look.

"...'We have it handled'? There is a literal tentacle monster shooting lasers everywhere, and you're telling me that you've got that thing covered?" Angela simply nodded in response. Lucio, for one, felt a bit bewildered, but if Angela of all people managed to stay calm about this, then, "Okay. I believe you. Where's this sudden boost of confidence comin' from anyway?"

"Oh, nowhere in particular." She glanced to the side with a smile. "I suppose it's easier to say that we have friends in high places."

Pharah hovered far into the sky in her Dire Drake, observing the monster from above. She also observed how the other monster remained stationary, the one with two masks. Why it was doing that she didn't know, but she couldn't rely on it to stay motionless forever. She had no idea how these 'Mysterious Beings' behaved in general, but she had to assume the worst and think that it had something planned.

Meaning the best case scenario was to divert the smaller creature's attention. It was already getting dangerously close to the shore, and Reinhardt's enhanced Fire Strikes weren't nearly enough to put down the monster for good.

She deactivated her thrusters, activating her visor as she let herself dive down towards the ocean with breakneck speed.

Her visor turned turquoise as the multiple reticles locked onto its various tentacles, each one beeping to give confirmation.

"Targets locked. Alright, you ugly mug. Let's see if you can handle this volley." She slammed the button on her wrist, prompting multiple parts of her body to open up, revealing a series of cannons similar to those of her Raptora. However, the payload was a bit different.

She felt her descent slow as a series of missiles launch from her body, each one glowing white. The suit launched energy projectiles instead of standard missiles, something that would put aside the need to reload in exchange for having an extreme strain on power. Guess Torbjorn proved her wrong when he said he'd find a suitable power source for it eventually.

The creature screeched in surprise as it took the brunt of the missile barrage. It quickly responded by setting up a forcefield around its head. Genos was right; it was more focused on protecting its head than the rest of its body. Even when she deliberately targeted its tendrils. If anything, that just proved its hypothesis.

She let her missile barrage continue for a bit, then checked the gauge. 90% power. She stopped the barrage, letting the various missile compartments close. She didn't need to do any more damage right now; she had gotten the monster's attention.

Pharah altered her missile targeting sequence just as the monster unleashed a torrent of lasers. The missile compartments opened up once more, but instead of targeting the monster, it made the various lasers their priority. More missiles launched from her suit, colliding with the various lasers.

Multiple explosions littered her vision, the sight making her swallow. This suit wasn't nearly enough to put her on the same level as Genos; his reaction time and power were still far beyond anything they could achieve. However, she trusted in its ability to keep her protected, since her ability to dodge was based on her reaction time. And she wasn't sure how she'd fare against the speed of lasers.

"Warning: high energy spike detected." Shit. That was her cue to move. She flew to the side, just barely avoiding a condensed energy ball. Suddenly she felt herself being thrown towards the ocean as she heard the ball explode somewhere in the clouds. Damn! Could it detonate those projectiles remotely?

She spun around for a few seconds before autopilot managed to stabilize her. The monster had no intention of giving her time to relax, however, when she suddenly got blasted to the side by another laser.

"Ugh!" Her side suddenly felt sore. At best that had bruised her; without the armor, she definitely wouldn't have survived. But she had to keep flying, lest she gets shot again. Not something she wanted to go through.

Her missile cannons went to work again, launching more volleys to suppress the incoming lasers. However, the volley had decreased noticeably. It took her a second to realize that two of her missile compartments weren't working.

"Damage report?" she asked her AI, while more explosions took place in the background.

"Hull integrity compromised by 17%. Missile compartment A is slightly damaged. Missile compartments B and E heavily damaged and unable to operate." Damn. That blast took a lot more out of her than she initially thought. She really needed to keep her guard up.

"Fareeha! Watch out!" Reinhardt yelled through her communicator.

"Huh? Whoa!" She leaned left to avoid the green tendril. Unfortunately, she wasn't spared from the volley of lasers. She took a few to the chest, not able to fend them off at point-blank range, before flying backwards. As she flew her missile cannons fended off the lasers, though from this distance she could practically feel the explosions rattling her suit.

She breathed in a few times. That attack definitely broke something; Angela would have a fit when she saw her. The outstretched tendril prepared to fire off another volley, but not before several massive waves of fire crashed into the tendril, forcing it back. The creature dipped the flaming tentacle into the water, instantly easing the damage.

"Thanks, Reinhardt." She waved towards the beach, though she doubted if Reinhardt could actually see her.

"No problem Fareeha! I may be beached but that doesn't mean I can't be of assistance."

Pharah grinned. "Alright Rein, let's keep it up!" The two of them unleashed volley after volley, battering the monster with fire strikes and energy missiles. The creature reeled back in shock as explosions riddled its body.

It finally snapped, raising one tentacle into the air. Pharah prepared her targeting sequence to suppress another volley, but to her surprise, the cracks that formed along the tendril continued spreading. The tendril glowed brighter and brighter, eventually forcing Pharah to shield her visor with her arm.

"...Rein? What's it doing?"

"Pharah! Get out of there!"

His warning came too late, however, as the tendril exploded violently. A wave of light slammed into Pharah, causing her to retch. The world around her spun, and she felt something rise in her throat. Not a good sign.

Her fall was suddenly disrupted when her back hit something hard. Then something massive wrapped around her body, which she soon realized to be one of the monster's tendrils. She squirmed in its grasp to no avail, and soon she found herself staring at the eerie smile of the Mysterious Being, who was now two tendrils short.

To think that this creature would actually sacrifice one of its tentacles to take her out… it was definitely something else. There was little time to ponder this, however, when the tendril started to crush her body. She held back a scream as the metal started bending inward.

"FAREEHA!" Rein yelled.

But then the monster's grasp suddenly released, followed by a screech of pain. Pharah wasted no time in maximizing her thrusters' power, eager to put a few kilometers between herself and the creature. When she finally looked down, she couldn't help but smile.

The sea creature writhed in agony as the ocean bubbled around it. It's writhing did little to ease the pain, as the boiling hot water began to take its effect on its undersides. Genos' plan worked like a charm, though she was quite concerned with how quickly Genos' managed to boil the ENTIRE bay.

"Hot Sea Hell!" Huh? Was that Genos' voice?

"Pardon?" asked Pharah.

"...Sorry. I was trying to come up with a decent name for this particular attack." She heard Rein laughing over the mic. "How does it sound?"

"...Okay, I guess. But please tell me you aren't planning to boil more bodies of water. I'm pretty sure we're all gonna be in deep water with Gibraltar's marine center after this."

"Hah! I see what you did there!" Pharah ignored Rein and watched the creature intently. Just as Genos' predicted, the forcefield vanished from its head. Since it was impossible for it to avoid the damage to its underside, it had no choice but to divert its forcefield there. It seemed that Genos was also right about the creature having a limited forcefield.

"Its head is clear, Genos. We have a clear shot." Pharah grinned.

"Thanks, Pharah. I'll take it from here." She heard something heavy and metal on the other side of the mic. Was that his incineration cannon? It sounded a bit different. Then everything turned silent save for a quiet hum.

Pharah blinked twice. "So when are you-"

"Ultra Spiral Incinerate!"

Pharah's shock was well hidden by her visor, as she witnessed a massive beam of fire larger than every one she witnessed before erupt from the beach. Except, true to its name, it seemed to spiral at impossible speeds, to the point where trails of fire danced around the beam. The attack proved to be powerful enough to evaporate a huge segment of the ocean water just by being close to it, but its quarry stood no chance either.

The beam slammed into the creature's head at full force, enough to engulf it entirely. Its screeches were rendered completely mute by the sound of Genos' incineration cannon, and eventually, the screeches died out entirely. Finally, the beam subsided, a feat which by itself took more than minute. However, once it finally did, it revealed the monster completely headless. Char painted the area where its neck ended.

A few seconds passed before its barnacle-ridden body slumped forward, with all of its tentacles. Then it crashed into the boiling water hard enough to send a large wave towards the shore, one that Reinhardt easily blocked with his shield.

None of this stayed relevant, however, as their minds still lingered on the attack that evaporated part of the sea.

It was Reinhardt who broke the silence. "That. Was. AWESOME! You need to do that again sometime! You saw that right, Pharah? Pharah?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm here," she stammered. "That was certainly… different."

"HA…! Different you say? I think you could probably destroy the entire Atlantic Ocean with that attack! Does this suit have a camera installed? Please tell me it has a camera installed- actually, nevermind. Someone probably already recorded that. Dangit! I need that as my desktop background!" Pharah could practically hear Reinhardt shaking Genos' shoulder.

"Apologies for bringing the mood down, but there's still the bigger threat lingering in the distance," said Genos. Pharah shook herself out of her stupor, and gazed into the distance where the bigger Mysterious Being quietly floated.

"Genos is right, Rein. Although it hasn't made any attempt to attack, strange enough. Or even move for that matter." Somehow that put her even more on edge. "What do you think we should do Genos?"

"...Provoking it may not be the best option. Until it makes a move, maybe we should recuperate for the time being. Besides, my core power is pretty low. I'm not sure I can pull off that attack again, especially against a stronger opponent." It was a sound assessment. Not to mention her suit as well as she were pretty banged up. She saw the various dents and cracks in her armor, but she could feel that she had been bruised pretty badly. Great, this was really going to hit her once morning came.

She descended towards her colleagues, ready to patch herself up. The monster lingered far across on the horizon, unperturbed by the destruction of its sibling. As it lay there frozen, bits of magma and ice poured out of its many tendrils.

Saitama kept his breath held, as he stared at the massive floor of bouncy pads once again. It took him a bit to actually get here, and he was kind of peeved that his suit got wet again. But the sooner he got out of here the better.

Behind him, he carried a huge sack of Australium, one that was easily over a hundred times his size. Somehow he managed to find a cloth covering a huge alien spacecraft in one of the other rooms, which he managed to repurpose as a huge makeshift satchel. After that, he broke out of the facility and wandered around until he found the weird field of bouncy pads.

The water swished around him as he put his thinking cap on. Now, if he managed to recall what his physics professor said, a force was actually two forces, both of which were different but were actually the same in a way or uh…

Yeah. Something like that.

But basically, if he hit this quilt thing hard enough, it should theoretically bounce him hard enough to send him back to the surface.

So without further ado, he threw his fist against the purple pads, the impact creating cavitation bubbles. For a moment the water simply vanished, only for a massive cluster of fire to erupt from the small sphere of empty space.

Saitama flew. Or at the very least, he felt as though he were flying, because the moment after the quilt caved in, it immediately snapped back, slamming into his face. Not exactly painful per se, but still discomforting enough to make him shut his eyes. He kept a firm grip on his sack of Australium as he burst through the water like a swordfish strapped to a missile. He exited the soft glow emanating from the seafloor and plunged into the darkness of the water. But the darkness did not last long, because he soon found the light penetrating through the surface. And he could feel himself flying closer and closer to it, until…

He released his breath as he struck the border between the ocean and the air, finally glad to be free of his aquatic prison. Great, now all he had to do was deliver this sack of Australium before-

Huh? Why was there a huge octopus staring at him? And why was it wearing two masks?

❄ ︎ ︎⧫︎🕯︎💧 ❄ ︎ ◆︎ ︎❒︎ ︎ ︎ ︎■︎📪︎ ✡□︎✞ 👎◆︎❍︎ ︎ ︎⬧︎💧📬︎

...Oh, right. He almost forgot about that.

Much to his annoyance, the Guardian launched a volley of magma and ice directly at him, the two elements fusing into a spear that crashed into his stomach at full force. Before he knew it the world around him spun like crazy, yet despite his lack of aerial balance, he managed to stabilize himself just enough to see the target of his trajectory.

Which would be a city right off the coast. He let out a sigh.

This was REALLY gonna get his suit dirty.

Pharah seated herself on the seat, devoid of her armor which rested nearby. Genos had taken it upon himself to patch her up, since they needed Reinhardt to stay on guard if the other creature made any sudden movements.

There was one problem, however.

"Genos, have you actually done first aid before?" asked Pharah, as she looked at her arm. She was no medical expertise, but she was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to duct tape the bandage to the wound.

"I haven't," admitted Genos. "However, I did memorize the entirety of the wiki article about applying first aid."

"...Wiki article?" echoed Pharah, with disbelief in her eyes. It was strange how efficient Genos could be in battle and in the kitchen, yet remained completely clueless when it came to other matters.

She was about to tell him that she would apply the bandages herself, when a sudden explosion erupted in the distance. All three heads turned towards the ocean, just in time to see what appeared to be a giant bag fly in towards the city. They kept their gaze focused on the strange projectile, until it vanished somewhere in the city.

All three of them silently contemplated the strange sight, until Reinhardt finally said, "Erm, what was that?"

Saitama slammed into the ground at full force, his makeshift satchel landing right on top of him. Normally he wouldn't mind crashing into the pavement like this, but because his suit was soggy…

Ugh, gross. There's grime all over his suit. He felt disgusting.

He crawled out from under the satchel, ignoring the looks of bewilderment as he tried desperately to dust off his suit. Not exactly an easy feat when the dirt stuck to you like glue.

"...Saitama?"

He looked up. "...Oh, hi Angela." She was standing near an ambulance, carrying what appeared to be some medical supplies. Helping her was someone wearing headphones. Right now he was giving him the same bug-eyed look as everyone else.

"Er, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Oh yeah. I did that thing you guys asked me to do. The stuff's in the bag." He jabbed his thumb behind him, where his satchel rested nicely in a crater.

"Wait, are you referring to the Australium? That actually-"

"Yeah, uh, look I can't talk now," Saitama interrupted. "There's one more thing I need to take care of. Could you bring all that stuff back to the base or something? Thanks, bye." He vanished in a blur, kicking up a storm of dust in his wake. Lucio continued to watch him vanish into the distance along with the crowd.

"...Man, this day just keeps getting weirder and weirder," he finally said.

A slow rumbling echoed across the horizon. The three defenders from Overwatch looked up in surprise, staring past the charred corpse and towards the larger Mysterious Being. Their eyes widened, hardening as its tendrils lumbered around in a seemingly mindless manner.

Genos zoomed in on the creature. Oddly enough it was dipping several tendrils into the water below. A strange white mist rose from where the tendrils met the water. After a second of observation Genos noticed how the area around them rapidly crystallized.

The tendrils pulsated with energy before the area erupted into a fine mist. Genos peered across the massive cloud, lightly gasping in shock as a massive array of ice began to form over the water.

"It's freezing the ocean…" Genos muttered under his breath. The heat from the boiling water had subsided with time, but the bubbling vanished entirely when the crystals of ice expanded over the bay. Within seconds, the bay completely froze over, like an ice age suddenly felt aggravated by the ocean's presence.

The surprises didn't stop there, however. As the ice wrapped around the corpse, something strange occurred. The deceased monster began to evaporate at an alarming rate, its corpse transforming into some kind of green smoke. Eventually, the body vanished entirely, leaving nothing but a massive cloud of emerald smoke.

The cloud then drifted back toward its original body, pressing against its right half. Within a minute, the cloud transformed back into flesh, attaching itself to the main body. A new set of tendrils formed along its right half, a new head growing from the reformed clump of mass. The smoke drifted away, revealing a mask with the exact same smile as it had before.

Once again, the monster had three heads. Right now it was as large as it could ever be.

"Genos? What was that?" Pharah wondered with a worried countenance.

"It needed to cool the bay to safely retrieve its body. I don't think we can defeat it without destroying all three heads. That's probably why it just sent one," Genos explained. He grit his teeth in frustration. Dammit, were their efforts for nothing?!

...No. Their ultimate goal was to defend the city. It was impossible for them to predict the Mysterious Being's capabilities, but things hadn't escalated as far as they were concerned.

His scanners detected a massive energy spike. He froze, as he observed the monster from a distance. The way it weaved its tentacles around a ball of energy was very very reminiscent of its younger sibling. The condensed ball of energy continued to grow larger and larger…

Why wasn't it stopping?!

"Genos?! What is happening over there?!" yelled Reinhardt, but at this point, it was impossible not to see the skyscraper-sized energy ball in the distance. It grew rapidly, its size easily trumping that of its siblings. The ball continued to grow until it was larger than the monster itself, its tendrils no longer capable of wrapping around it. Just how powerful was this Mysterious Being?!

"Reinhardt! Are you capable of blocking a shot like that?!" He could hear the tint of desperation in his own voice.

He grunted in response. "Ugh, I'd like to say yes, but…!"

"Damn… get out of the way Reinhardt!" He did as he was told. Pharah watched in awe as he took off his shirt, revealing an interior that was purely mechanical. Metal adorned every bit of his body, she spotted not a single bit of flesh where his abdomen should be.

Her awe rose as a compartment on his upper body opened up, forcing her to peer through the cracks between her fingers at what appeared to be a glowing core centered in what appeared to be a chest-mounted cannon. But she clearly recalled what he said earlier about his core power.

"Genos!" she yelled through the loud humming. "If you launch another attack like that you'll…!"

"There's no other option right now!" he yelled through clenched teeth. Dammit, could she really argue right now? "Reinhardt, if this doesn't work, try and block the shot with your shield!"

"You got it!" The large man gave him a thumbs up. Genos grunted in acknowledgment and looked forward at their opponent.

The energy ball was now massive enough to make the monster look puny in comparison. There was no way they could dodge a shot like that. What other choice did they have but to take it head on?

The air bent apart as the monster threw the ball forward, its lower half dipping into the ocean. Water sizzled into nothing as the concentrated energy blasted towards the coast. As it grew closer and closer, Genos could only grunt in annoyance.

"Ultra Spiral Incinerate!"

Once again a massive beam of energy erupted from his chest, blasting forth unto the miniature sun. The two forces collided with a massive bang, followed by a loud screeching noise emanating from the point where they met. Pharah and Reinhardt braced themselves, as the wind pressure from Genos' attack threatened to throw them into the sand.

Pharah and Reinhardt both watched in awe as the two powerhouses met in a clash that would undoubtedly carve its way into history. Genos was indeed powerful, yet they could resonate with his determination to defend the city.

Reinhardt watched through tightened feet and an unwavering gaze. He didn't doubt Genos' strength one bit, but even he could tell that Genos' was losing this clash. Steadily the massive ball of energy pushed against his beam. If he kept this up, his core would…

"Genos! Move out of the way! I will take over!" yelled Reinhardt.

"Negative! Wait until the beam subsides!" Genos yelled back. He had to stall for as long as possible. Even if his core ran out of power, even if he shut down with no way of ever waking up again, he would never succumb to monsters. He had to defend this city, even if it cost him his life.

Then Reinhardt kicked him to the side.

He shut off his cannons, his cannon suddenly thrown off balance. As he landed on the sand with a thump, he gazed up in shock as Reinhardt stood in his place, his shield already up.

"REINHARDT!" Genos went unheard, however. Instead, he heard Reinhardt roar in laughter, like the massive orb of destruction lumbering towards him was the funniest thing he ever saw.

"Come at me you big ball!" Had the senile old man gone crazy? Genos didn't know. The orb was now inches away. All he could do was trust that he could stand his ground, and hope that-

A blur of yellow and red dashed in front of them, immediately shattering Reinhardt's shield. A crimson fist rushed forward, vaporizing the orb within an instant.

Red boots became an invisible blur as they rapidly tapped against the ice, leaving behind a trail of mist that drifted mindlessly. The guardian could only watch in surprise as baldness and a soggy suit that desperately needed some laundering entered its peripheral vision.

The guardian then heard the figure mutter these words.

"Killer Moves: Serious Series… Serious Punch!"

The monster… disappeared.

The clouds… disappeared.

And for a moment, the ocean split into two halves.

Genos could only watch with a small grin, as the innards of the monster vaporized into practically nothing. His gaze shifted towards the ocean, where the boiled remains of crustaceans and fish hovered for about a second until the water flowed back into place.

Then he saw his master swimming towards the shore, his face blank as usual.

"Oh, hey Genos. Hey Rein, Fareeha." he casually greeted. "Uh, are you okay Fareeha? You look pretty beat up."

Fareeha's jaw had separated from her mouth, but not so much that she lost her ability to process everything. She simply collapsed on her rear, and let out a sigh. It was strange, but somehow she felt herself slowly becoming accustomed to all the craziness that started taking place ever since they met Saitama and Genos.

It began with the Titan Omnic's assault. Then the earthquake generators in New York. They still hadn't managed to pinpoint the culprits, but at least no one was hurt. Then… this.

What would the world come to, now that these so-called "Mysterious Beings" were known to reside on Earth? How would the people react, knowing that dangerous threats like this existed? And above all, what would Overwatch's role be in all of this?

"What?! Oh come on, Saitama, I had that handled!" whined Reinhardt.

"What do you mean you had that handled? I'm a part-timer remember? I don't get paid minimum wage and a nice set of VR goggles just for slacking, you know."

"Fine, but you didn't have to make it so anticlimactic…"

"Hey, there's no helping it, okay? It's not like I want it to be anticlimactic. Do you even know how long it's been since I've had an actual legitimate battle?!"

Pharah watched as the two of them bickered. For some reason she was more surprised at their behavior than how easily Saitama dealt with the Mysterious Being.

"It's not that surprising when you really think about it." Pharah turned to find Genos slumped beside her. For the first time since meeting him, he seemed tired. Yet at the same time, he seemed content, the way the edges of his mouth curled upwards slightly. "Why do we choose to become heroes? Why do we choose to fight evil? Is it because of the purity in our hearts, or do we seek something greater?"

"...Is it wrong to embrace our inner good?" asked Fareeha.

"Not at all." Genos stared at the distance, where several waves began to form. "But I don't think my master troubles himself with that kind of thinking. Because I doubt any of us can help what we want."

Fareeha thought on what he said, and she found herself staring at her palm. Why did she become a hero in the first place? Why did she want to join Overwatch so badly? Her mother had inspired her greatly, but could she call that the source?

Or maybe… it just didn't matter in the end. The fact was that she sought to become a protector, someone who the people could look up to.

Jack gave her a stern glare. "Only Genos can fulfill this role. As for Saitama, well, we'll have to figure that out another time."

She felt a pang of guilt. There was no way they actually saw Saitama finish off the monster. Could they really…?

Her thoughts were interrupted when a steady rumbling shook the beach. Immediately she shot to her feet, despite the constant aches yelling throughout her body.

"What's going on? Is it another Mysterious Being?!" Fareeha ran a hand across her bandages, while Saitama stared blankly at the horizon.

"No, it's not that. I just freed them," he elaborated, much to the others' confusion.

"Freed them?" Genos repeated. "Freed what?"

"It was that guardian. It was keeping them imprisoned. They wanted me to free them, and now that it's gone…" Fareeha tried to wrap her mind around what he said. None of this was making any sense. That monster imprisoned something? Imprisoned what exactly?

The small tides that crashed against the shore increased in size, as something massive rose in the distance. It rose higher and higher into the air, its form large enough to blot out the sun. Its body was dark blue, and a large silver jaw appeared to be very reminiscent of a massive whale.

But what really separated it from regular whales was how numerous its many fins were. In fact, they had to count at least a dozen fins from this side. Massive purple crystals glistened across its entire body, but most of them culminated at its head, where two beady eyes gazed across the horizon. It continued to fly upwards, towards the sky and past the clouds.

Then more of them followed after it, though significantly smaller, they still boasted a size massive enough to match the cityscape. They followed after what appeared to be their leader, vanishing into the sky. The trio watched the bizarre migration with awe and wonder.

📬︎📬︎📬︎❄ ︎ ︎■︎😐 ✡□︎◆︎📪︎ ︎❒︎ 📬︎

Saitama nodded. "Yeah, no problem."

Pharah looked at him weirdly. "Huh?"

"Oh, nothing. It was just being polite." Pharah had no idea what he meant, but did it really matter?

This was one day she was never going to forget.

Lucio, Angela, and Helen all stood in the crowd, their jaws having long filed the divorce papers for their mouths after witnessing the migration take place.

Angela's phone rang. "Uh, hello?"

"Doc?" It was Hana who called. "You are seeing this, right?"

"...Yes. Yes I am."

As the people of Overwatch, the Mariana crew members, and the entire world watched what could be described as the most bizarre series of events to take place in history, things remained much quieter elsewhere.

Ana hummed peacefully. This garden really was nice. The birds never stopped humming, the bees enjoyed the company of the flowers…

It reminded her just how much heroes strove for this. Especially him.

Her eyes lingered towards the sky, observing in silent wonder as the Wanderers left their prison, and headed towards the vast horizon. Her bewilderment turned to nostalgic, as she remembered the story he told her all those years ago…

Ana sat silently in the corner. She really didn't like how crowded this place was. She got that the Mariana crew was having their departure ceremony, but did they have to be so loud about it? She gazed across the room, where some bald guy was speaking with a… viking?

Why did she feel like these people weren't actually getting work done?

Curiosity soon replaced her annoyance, as a small kid wearing a hoodie did a terrible job of espionage. He was peering from behind a sign, making his legs painfully obvious. She suppressed a chuckle.

"C-Can I help you?" she asked, unable to contain her mirth. The kid's eyes widened when he realized he had been compromised, but he made his way towards her with trembling legs.

He held out his comic book. "U-Um, hi. C-Can I have your autograph?"

Ana blinked. Oh, that was what he was here for. She thought he might be spying him. Kids were kids, after all. They did weird stuff. But this one just seemed to be a bit shy.

Still, it begged the question, "My autograph? How come?"

The kid swallowed a lump in his throat, but managed to swallow his anxiety. "B-Because you're a hero! I-I'm a big fan of Overwatch, and… and I really love how cool everyone is!"

Ana was a bit taken aback by his words. She recalled her times on the battlefield. She remembered the atrocities she committed during those times of war, and the comrades she couldn't save

She forced a smile. "That's flattering, it really is. But… I don't think I'm a hero. You're probably better off speaking with McCree, or maybe Angela."

"Whaaaaat?" he whined. "But those guys are boring. Their costumes are so generic. And besides, why should other people decide who is a hero and who isn't? It's not like heroes are perfect."

There it was, that childlike naivety. She'd tell him to let go of those ideals, but it wasn't like he was her child. In fact, Fareeha might get along with this kid should she ever meet him. The thought terrified her.

"Well, if you really insist on it, then…" She gently took the comic book and pen out of his hand, and summoned her cursive lessons to the front of her mind to make her signature look as neat as possible.

As she handed it back to the child, she asked, "What's 'The Agulreb Wanderers'? I don't think I've heard of a comic book with that name."

"I-It's not a comic book, it's a manga!" he countered.

Ana tilted her head. "Aren't they the same thing?"

"No! There are several definitive reasons why manga is different from comic books!" He shook his head in denial. Ana could only let out an amused huff.

"You youth and your comic books. You should try indulging yourself in actual literature."

"Wh- manga IS literature!" He pouted. Ana knew he wasn't going to back down on this argument, so she decided not to press on it.

"Fine, fine." She waved her hand. "So what's it about?"

"I-It's about an underwater prison where an evil warden keeps exotic species as trophies! But then the hero, Mittle Man comes along and beats up the warden and frees them all!" Yup, that definitely sounded like something this kid would read. "I wanna be like Mittle Man someday!"

"A hero you mean?" Now she was certain he would get along with Fareeha. "It's not exactly easy you know. You need to work hard, and you need to stay determined."

"I know, I know! I'm gonna come up with some exercise routine so I can get super strong! I even have my hero outfit all set up!" He tugged on his hoodie, where a crudely drawn flame pattern adorned the zipper. Ana raised an eyebrow.

"...Did you draw on it with a crayon?" she asked like it wasn't obvious.

"...N-No." He glanced to the side, whistling a tune. "Um… oh yeah! My hero name. I still need to come up with one."

"Hero name?" repeated Ana.

"Yeah! Every good hero needs to have a cool hero name. Um, I haven't come up with one yet. Do you have any suggestions?"

Ana thought for a moment. "Hm, no, sorry. I'm drawing a blank here."

"Oh, " he said, dejectedly. "That's okay! I'll just ask Aizic! Bye Ana! Thanks for the signature!" She waved him goodbye, watching as he approached the bald man. Children could be so innocent. She could only hope he wouldn't have to suffer the same experiences she went through.

She only saw him once after that. It amazed her, just how strong he had become. And it pained her to know that she hadn't gotten the chance to even say sorry yet.

Once more her eyes lingered towards the monument. It depicted three people standing next to each other. Jack and Gabriel stood next to each other. Gabriel looked so happy back then. And it was a shame that Jack never actually had the chance to meet the man standing in the center.

If one looked closely, they could discern a flame pattern adorning the man's suit, right down the center where his zipper was. He stood proudly with his arms on his hips. And quite the epithet he had chosen.

"You always were quite aloof, weren't you, Blast?" That was the name he chose. That was the name they knew him by. It meant much to her, that he decided to tell her his real name. "I hope one day we can see each other again."

Ana left the garden, as memories of the golden age began to resurface.

Next Time: The Summit