Hey everybody. This is probably a terrible idea considering I have three other stories also in progress but that's my problem.

I'm going to apologize a head of time for any mistakes. Halfway through typing this, the Surface laptop I've been using to type all my stories decided to update itself to Windows 10 and now I have to get use to some of the new features as well as the features that have been removed, i.e. the auto correct and the auto capitalization at the start of a new sentence. So bear with me.

I should probably mention some things about this story and how this story is going to work. Based on information that holds together in an odd way and my own healthy speculation, I like to believe that Soldier: 76 is somewhere in his mid to late 40s and Reaper is in his late 40s to early 50s since they're the only two that don't have set ages.

I'm also going to do my best to keep to the lore of the series and the personalities of the heroes included into the story so basically we're going to have some rogue elements in this story due to how they act in canon or their allegiances.

Anyways welcome to the story. Hope you guys enjoy this. Now disclaimer.

Disclaimer: Overwatch belongs Blizzard Entertainment and its respective developers. Only the plot of this story and a few characters belong to me.

Now onto the story.

Alaska, United States, Five years since the shutdown of Overwatch and the Petra Acts

The night was quiet as Soldier: 76 made his way through the woods. On normal occasions, 76 would never have made the trip out here unless it was following a lead on the downfall of Overwatch but this was an exception. He had received word from a old friend from his days when he was still called Jack Morrison. The man went by the codename Wraith and was part of the Enhanced Soldier Program as well as an Overwatch agent after the Omnic Crisis. When Overwatch was shut down, he stopped his work as a soldier and stayed home with his family. After reports of former Overwatch agent being executed, the family went into hiding, which was the last time he heard from him. As he made he continued on his way, he looked toward the main road and saw the headlights of a truck. Getting down, he watched the truck pass without slowing but as it passed, he noticed something that concerned him. On the side of the truck was the Talon insignia. Talon was a terrorist organization that Overwatch opposed before it was disbanded. According to reports he's come across, they've gotten bolder and powerful since the collapse of Overwatch. Them being here in such a remote location so close to a former Overwatch agent couldn't be a coincidence and it couldn't mean anything good. While he knows Wraith can handle himself, 76 didn't want to take the chance that. Getting up and running, 76 did his best to get catch up with the truck, regretting the choice to abandon the motorcycle he stole earlier. By the time the house came into view, he could see the flashes of gunfire in the windows and hear the distinct sound of a pulse rifle firing. As he got to the edge of the clearing, the firefight inside had already ended. Taking cover behind a nearby tree, the former commander of Overwatch stopped to observe what would happen next. After a few minutes of nothing happening, 76 moved up to the truck, only to find it empty, then house and quietly crept in.

The inside of the house was a mess. Bullet holes littered the walls and spent cartridge casings laid on the floor, next to several dead Talon operatives. Following the trial of destruction down a short hallway, more dead Talon operatives were laying about, making the total of 7 dead Talon soldiers. The door at the end of the hall was badly shot up. Pushing through the door, he checked his corners and when he saw it was clear.

"Jack." 76 turned to see his old friend laid against the wall. His breathing was labored and he was bleeding. Reacting on instinct, 76 grabbing his biotic field generator and was about to put it down when he was stopped. "Don't. I'll bleed out before the nanites can fix the damage." Observing the state his brother in arms was in, he hesitantly but understood that the man before him was right.

"I'm sorry, Darren." 76 said putting away the device and placing his pulse rifle next to Darren while Darren just chuckled and waved it off. At that moment, a young man that looked like he was in mid to late 20s ran in. He had the build of a soldier with a head of short jet black hair, styled much like his was back when he was Strike Commander, and a pair of the brown had on a plain black tee shirt and cargo pants. In his hands was an semi-auto pulse pistol very similar to the one Soldier: 76 carried in the holster on his thigh.

"Dad!" the young man said when he saw the two older men. His speed was similar to that of an enhanced soldier. "Shit. Alright, we got to stop the bleeding. Oh, man. Don't you dare die on me, dad, or mom's ghost will haunt the both of us." The young man grabbed a piece of cloth from the bed and tore it to use to stop the bleeding all while cursing under his breath. Darren just grabbed his son's arm and shook his head.

"James, stop. It's too late. Not even a shot of nanites can fix me now. Trust me, I tried." Darren said to his son before turning to Soldier: 76. "Jack, you remember my son, James." 76 just nodded toward the younger man. "James, go grab my old gear. It's your now. It's down in the basement behind a wall. Remember what I showed you?" James nodded. "Go, son." Hesitantly, James left the room to do what his father had told him.

"Is he...?" 76 began.

"Enhanced? Yeah but he's not completely like us since he never went through the enhancement program. All of his enhancements were passed down genetically from me and and his mother since we were both enhanced." Darren explained before coughing up some blood. "Oh god, dying suck." He mumbled to himself. "Jack, can you promise me something? Watch over him for me. James could use your guidance. He'll want pay back for what happened here and I know you're after the people who shutdown Overwatch, Talon being one of them."

"Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure Emma will understand. I'd rather he be off fighting gangs and terrorists as a vigilante with someone I trust than off doing the same thing on his own and getting himself killed. He doesn't have the combat experience you do. I'm worried he'll make a mistake that'll cost him his life." Darren said reaching over with one hand into his pocket and pulled out a flash drive. "Here, this is all the data I gathered about, well, everything. Classified mission reports, Blackwatch connections in the criminal underground, organizations and persons of interest that opposed Overwatch. Everything." Darren lifted a shaky hand to give the device to Soldier: 76. "Make good use of it, Commander." He said before coughing out more blood. It was at that moment that James walked back in, wearing darkened armor that seen some wear and tear but overall was well maintained. It was light combat armor that gave him meant for recon units that provided protection from both ballistic and pulse munitions with a belt that had multiple pouches for storing ammunition and other equipment. Over his face was a tactical visor and mask similar to the one Soldier: 76 had except the visor was blue instead of red and a hood was pulled over his head. He had some armor on his arm and legs which were shoulder armor, elbow pads, forearm guards with a tactical pad installed into the left one, knee pads, a drop holster on his right thigh, and armor covering his shins and the top of his combat boots.

"Are you sure there isn't anything I can do, dad?" James asked kneeling next to his father and taking off his mask and visor and pulling off the hood.

"Yeah. Don't worry about me, James. We both knew that I was going to die eventually. I'm just glad I got to see you grow up into such a fine young man. Your mother would be proud of you." Darren said as he pulled his son into a hug. Releasing him but keeping a hand on his shoulder, he looked back at his son. "I want you go with Jack. He's an old friend and I trust him more than anyone. He'll watch your back and you'll watch his. Am I clear?"

"Yessir." James answered sternly.

"Good." Darren said, releasing the young man's shoulder. Reaching over Darren grabbed his pulse rifle and handed it to his son. "Take it. It'll do you more good than it will me. I trust you grabbed all the ammo and supplies from downstairs." James nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment. "Attaboy. Now go on, you two. Talon probably has a second team inbound since they lost contact with the first."

"Everything that is good in me began in you, father." James said, giving his dad one last hug, his voice cracking slightly. His father just chuckled and returned the hug. As he released his son, James and 76 made their way out, Darren called out to them one last time.

"Jack, that's my son you got there, me and Emma's pride and joy. Keep him safe." 76 nodded in response. It wasn't the first time he had lost someone close to him but this one made him feel guiltier than normal as he felt he might have been able to stop it if he was faster or tried to stop the truck before he got there. "James, I'm proud of you and so would your mother. You've turned into a fine young man but you'll always be my boy. I love you, son."

"I love you too, dad." James said. He felt a gloved hand on his shoulder looked back to face Soldier: 76. The two walked out of the room, James putting his visor and mask back onto his face and pulled his hood back over his head to cover his watering eyes. He told himself he won't cry, that he would be strong but it didn't work. The two walked outside and out into the wildness, James stopping to take one last look at the house. As he looked back, he felt 76 pat him on the shoulder and point toward road. Coming down the road were two trucks. The two soldiers quickly ran deeper into the woods to avoid being seen. After a few minutes of running, a huge explosion ripped through the silence of the wood. Neither looked back. They just kept moving. After awhile, the two stopped running so they could catch their breath. Resting for a minutes, 76 looked back at the younger soldier. He was quiet. Had been since they left the house which made sense considering the events that just passed. He knew from his time spent with Dr. Ziegler that he would have to talk to the younger man about the death of his father sooner or later but he was never good at this kind of thing. Sure, he could inspire hope in people who practically hopeless and turn a group of very different people with very different abilities into a force to be reckoned with but he always left this kind of thing to the professionals. Still, he had to see where his new partner's mindset was at before he could start planning anything. With a sigh, he approached James who was kneeling behind a tree with his fingers on the side of his visor. He surveying the area with the zoom feature added into his visors.

"How's it looking?" 76 asked him, standing behind the tree next to him.

"No sign of Talon or any traps. None of the wildlife is spooked either. I'd say we're all clear for now." James replied taking his fingers off the zoom button which snapped the zoom back down to zero. Looking back at the former Overwatch commander, he knew that he wasn't there to ask him of the situation. "I'm fine, sir. You have nothing to worry about. I knew I was going to lose him one way or another. Dad knew it too and he tried his best to prepare me for it. It's just hard losing the only family you have left." 76 knew that feeling all too well. Overwatch was his family after his parents passed. He watch as Overwatch was torn apart from the inside and did his best to keep them all together but in the end, fail. Overwatch collapsed and it's agents scattered across the globe. That's why he was doing what he was doing now. To find the people who had gotten Overwatch shut down.

"Your father was a good man." 76 said placing a hand on his shoulder to comfort him to the best of his abilities. "Has he told you about me?"

"Not much. He only ever said that you two were old friends from his Overwatch day. He also said mom trusted you. Why?" Soldier: 76 sighed. When Darren makes a promise, he always keeps it.

"I know exactly how you feel about losing the only family you have left. When we get back, I'll tell everything. You might as well know if we're going to be working together for now on." James nodded and the two set off.

By the time they arrived back at 76's hideout, it was already morning. Once getting settled, 76 called over James and when he settled in a seat, 76 began the tale of Jack Morrison, the man he use to be. He told him of his role in end of the Omnic Crisis with the original Overwatch strike team. Of how he was promoted to Strike Commander and the beginning of the rift between him and Gabriel Reyes. Of the way he tried to hold everything together as Overwatch became victim to false allegations and bad media. The conflict that broke out in the Overwatch Headquarters between the two former friends and the explosion that resulted in the death of both. Then began the story of Soldier: 76, the vigilante who will stop at nothing to bring the people who brought Overwatch down to justice. He told him of his work against the gangs and terrorist as well as how he came into the possession of his current by infiltrating old Overwatch outposts. By the time he had finished, James was amazed how one many can cause so much damage to not only know hostile factions but also security teams. He remembered bringing up the reports of Soldier: 76's exploits with his father during one of their talks and his father just laughing, saying not to believe everything they say on TV and that 76 was one of the good guys. After he finished, 76 gave the young man time to think over the information. When James looked at back at him after a minute of thinking, he could tell that the James had made a connection.

"You're him, aren't you? You're Jack Morrison." James said quietly. 76 just gave a small smile from behind his mask and reach his up to remove it. While he had a gained a couple of wrinkles and a few scars, it was still him underneath it all, Overwatch's golden boy.

"You're definitely Darren's son. You're father was one of the first ones to figure it out and got in contact with me. He's the one who's been feeding me all of my information as well as throwing authorities off my trial for the past couple of years." James chuckled at this.

"Loyalty until the end." James said with a sad chuckle. "He always spoke so highly of you whenever I visited, how you turned Overwatch from a crew of oddballs into a fighting force. That you were the reason that Overwatch was a successful as it was." Morrison smile at the memories but he knew that's all they were now. Memories. Overwatch was gone and to the world, he was dead. A beep from the tactical pad on James's wrist drew both their attention. It was a news update talking about the explosion at James's parent's house. Looking through it, James saw that he and his father were both listed as dead in the explosion. How the news knew that he and his father were at the site of the explosion bothered him but he chalked it up to Talon using whatever contacts they have in the media to spread the news of the death of another Overwatch agent. The news traveled to quick to be anything else. What concerned him the most was the fact that they knew that he and his father were related. It was information that only a handful of people knew. "Well, sir, you're not the only one who's a ghost now. News update just popped up talking about the death of me and my father. My guess is Talon tipped them off to spread the news of another Overwatch agent death. Don't know how they knew about me though."

"Agreed but your death was unconfirmed. Better come up with a cover in case Talon is keeping an ear and eye out for you." James nodded and thought for a moment for a new name to go by.

"Well, sir, I'd say for someone who is 'officially' dead, Ghost sounds like a suitable codename." 76 just nodded in agreement. He never really thought of a nickname for himself when he donned his mask and became Soldier: 76. The name was created by the media from the 76 on the back of his jacket and the way he operated and it just stuck. "So what's our next move?" James asked placing his mask on his face, itching for something to do and get some pay back for his father. Jack smile at the young man's determination as he placed he own mask on.

"We make Talon pay for taking one of our own." Jack said as he held up the flash drive Darren had given him.

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Indiana, United States, Six years since the collapse of Overwatch

76 and Ghost had been working together now for almost a year now. 76 was now 48 years old while Ghost had recently become 28. Traveling back to 76's main hideout near his hometown in rural Indiana, the pair had recently taken down a Talon supply warehouse in the area. Ever since the pair had teamed up, the two have been systematically wiping out gangs and other groups of interest. Talon had lost a large amount of resources and assets trying to take the duo down. While there have been a couple of close calls, they were always able to get out of the situations intact. As they entered the small cabin, they sat down and uploaded the data they had stolen from the Talon. It was simple things for the most part, inventory manifests of the warehouse and reports. The one thing that caught their eye was a shipping manifest. It had on it the location the shipment was sent from which meant that they had another warehouse to raid soon. For now, they wanted to rest. The two were unpacking their gear and supplies when beeps caught both of their attentions. For 76, the notification appeared on his visor while for Ghost, who had already removed his tactical visor and mask, the notification appeared on his wrist mounted tactical pad. The contents of the notification surprised both of them. It was the Overwatch Recall Beacon asking former Overwatch agents to take up arms once more and return to active duty. Ghost had no past with the organization and only received the signal due the armor and the equipment previously belonging to his father and it was patched into Overwatch's network but he knew that 76 had an extensive history with them. Looking at the older soldier, he could see 76 considering the pros and cons of the answering the call. The pros were working with people he had previously worked with and trusted but con was they had no idea who he was. All they knew was that he was vigilante that had raided multiple Overwatch facilities, wounded the security teams, and stole some prototype weapons and equipment. Would they even accept him if he went back? How will they react if when saw him again or if they found out who he really was?

"Sir?" Ghost asked, pulling 76 from his thoughts. "What do we do, sir? I have no history with them so I'll follow your lead. If you want to go back, I'll be right behind you, sir." 76 thought it over once more for a few more moments.

"Ignore it for now. We'll go back eventually but for there are still gangs and small scale terrorist groups that need to be dealt with and we can't do that if we're playing by Overwatch's rules." 76 decided. Ghost just nodded and closed the notification before walking off to his room. 76 stared at the message for a little bit longer before doing the same. There will come a time where he'll rejoin his former comrades but for now, he need some sleep.

A/N

And that's a wrap. Thanks a lot for reading my first attempt at a Overwatch story. Man, I have an issue. The word 'Ghost' is constantly popping up in my stories. I really need to find a better word or just stop using it. Also I'm starting up another story. Why I do this to myself, I have no idea but hey it's for all of your entertainment so who cares. I enjoy writing for you guys.

Anyways not much else to say. I'd love to hear what you guys think. Like it? Hate it? Somewhere in between? Comment/Review or send me a PM if that's more your style.

Anyways thanks again and have a great day.

Edit: This is just a quick fix of a few things that I got wrong when I first started this story that didn't match up with the lore of Overwatch. Namely, the time since Overwatch was shut down to the age of Soldier: 76 as well as some edits to better fit with things later on in the story.