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(no subject)

WHO? jack “soldier 76” morrison (

mylawn), lena “tracer” oxton (

desynched), angela “mercy” ziegler (

heilt), genji “genji” shimada (

doublejumps)
WHAT? avengers assemble
WHEN? shortly after the return to BASE
ANYTHING ELSE? dirty laundry

Jack had, in recent weeks, sort of let himself get comfortable with the fact that this was only him and Angela—a little silly in hindsight, because nothing about COST’s recruitment practices would imply that they wouldn’t, eventually, be joined by other people from their world. He could think of worse company from home than Genji and Lena, but the fact of the matter is that he’d faked his own death a whole six years ago, and with their arrival had to answer to the both of them.

It hadn’t been the most ideal of circumstances. As much as he’d like to take his backpack and vanish into the forest for some good old-fashioned alone time, he’s going to have to own up to his actions sooner or later.

Preferably sooner—might as well rip the band-aid off. The four of them could all stand to meet anyway, if only to share what they know. Jack is particularly interested in news from back home, if Genji or Lena have been pulled here from further along the timeline. With that in mind, he invites the whole group into the rec room for a briefing, which is laughable because Jack hasn’t held a briefing in years, and doesn’t want any of them to think of him as their commander. He hasn’t been that for a very long time.

Jack trades his ANZAC uniform for his fatigues and leather jacket, but foregoes the visor for now. As tempting as it is to retreat behind it, they're his people, and they deserve better than international terrorist Soldier: 76. He sends them a message and waits, cleaning his rifle in the meantime. It’s a meditative task more than anything, and it keeps his mind off all the explaining he’s going to have to do.

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Genji has already met up with Angela and gone through the requisite medical check (she'd insisted, and he could hardly argue the point), which included removing the fake skin that COST had given him. It will have to be put back on the next time that they venture to a time where his cyborg appearance will draw too much attention, but Genji doesn't have to worry about it for now. He'll take it.

He's inspecting his capsule and getting to know his roommate when the message comes through the BCE, a quick text from Commander Morrison asking if all of them could meet at the rec room. While Genji technically owes no allegiance to the old strike commander, he can't deny that it would be a good idea for them to all compare notes and speak as a group, rather than the scattered conversations that he's had so far.

It's been a long while since he's been to any kind of briefing, and as he departs his capsule and makes for the rec room, he can't quite shake the sense of nostalgia that comes with it. As far removed as this is from Overwatch or Blackwatch, there's enough that's similar to invoke that feeling.

He reaches the rec room, and is slightly surprised that he's the first to arrive after Morrison. The man has a somewhat severe look to him, between what he's wearing and what he's doing, and Genji still finds it hard to reconcile the person he's looking at with his old commander. Spending more time around him will likely help the process, though. (Deep down, somewhere, both of them are still the same people they used to be... right? For better or for worse.)

Without saying anything at first, he moves over, nearly silent, and takes a seat across from where Morrison is sitting. He doesn't pay the rifle much attention, instead studying his face.

"This is a little more like it," he says eventually. It certainly beats the circumstances of their first meeting.

Angela isn't surprised when Jack calls the meeting. When it had been the two of them it had been easy to discuss events but now there were four of them and they had a lot to discuss. Angela didn't know what Genji and Lena knew. She'd spoken with the two of them on arrival but there had been a lot of ground to cover and Angela had tread lightly, knowing that whilst on base they could cover a lot.

But Jack had beaten them to it, wanting to get the whole thing done quickly. She imagined, no, Angela expected, that in addition to covering the situation with COST that there'd be a point dedicated to him, whether it was Jack that brought up the topic or not. She could still remember her own reaction to finding out that he still lived. It was not a situation she wished on any, finding out that the past few years had been a lie, even if she was glad that he was alive.

Stepping into the room, seeing Jack and Genji already there, she gave them both a smile before taking a seat close to Genji. It was Jack's meeting, and even if she'd been there as long as he had, he had more to say. He was their Commander (whether or not he wanted that to still be true).

"Have you heard from Lena?" To see if she was on her way.

It reminds her of old times, being called to a post-mission briefing. It's a spark of nostalgia that makes her heart ache a little. Because she's not back at Watchpoint: Gibraltar being called into the briefing room by Commander Morrison. She's on an alien... fish... being called to a meeting by her suddenly-not-dead ex-commander.

It's still a lot to take in.

Lena had left on time to make it to the meeting but, in true Lena fashion, got distracting helping this person or fixing that thing. So she's the last to arrive. Lena looks just a tad bashful when she opens the door.

"Sorry I'm late."

She stops dead the moment she gets a proper look at Jack. Her expression changes on a dime from an embarrassed smile to a mix of incredulity and outrage.

"That gun-- you're Soldier: 76?"

Everyone arrives one after the other fairly quickly, and when Lena appears in the doorway, he's about to invite her to sit, but she doesn't give him a chance. Any semblance of an introduction goes out the window with that look on her face.

Right. That.

It honestly hadn't occurred to him, at least not post-COST--that his ex-agents would be tracking the activities of a vigilante with a particular interest in Overwatch. Lena especially, having answered Winston's recall, would most certainly be on it. Perhaps Jack hadn't thought that she'd be angry to make this connection, though he can't deny that back home, he was sort of expecting for the recalled Overwatch to come after him eventually.

He fights the urge to hide the gun as quickly as possible. Kind of silly, given its size, but after a brief moment of looking bewildered, he sets it aside and stands. There's no hiding the jacket, either, but if the gun is the point of contention, well--

"I didn't take anything that wasn't already mine."

Though of course there's plenty more to be angry about--Soldier: 76's propensity towards violence, after all. He imagines that's going to come next, and shoots Angela a sort of look that he hopes inspires her to come to his defense.

"Pull up a chair, Oxton."

Despite the fact that he'll most certainly insist he's not their commander anymore, there's the barest hint of it in his voice, a well-practiced tone that indicates her pulling up a chair is not necessarily a suggestion.

As soon as Angela arrives, Genji turns to her as she sits. He's smiling behind the faceplate, and there's a warm enthusiasm as he nods to her in greeting. Even if they spoke not that long ago, he always will appreciate the chance to see her again.

It doesn't take long after that for Lena to arrive, but a wrench is thrown into their meeting before it even really begins. Genji glances between Lena and Morrison, confused for a moment before everything slides into place. He vaguely recalls talk of a Soldier: 76 on the news, a mysterious criminal who'd been breaking into old Overwatch facilities and creating chaos. He hadn't put it together, but Lena figures it out right away.

When Morrison stands, it's easier to see the jacket that he's wearing. There's a palpable tension in the room now, and somehow Genji doubts that this is how any of them wanted their reunion to go.

"So that's what you've been up to all this time," he says as he folds his arms on the table, his tone much more measured compared to Lena's. It's not like Genji can really judge someone for disappearing into solitude, or for undertaking a mission for revenge.

Then he glances to where Lena stands, making a small attempt to break through the awkwardness. "Lena! It's good to see you again."

It didn't take long. Angela knew that this would be coming. After the reveal of Jack being alive the next logical question was his activities in the intervening years. Whilst neither of them had actually said the name Soldier:76 Angela knew. They'd discussed his activities and she wasn't stupid.

She just wished that it hadn't come to this, or at least that it hadn't imploded before anything began. There's a soft sigh from beside Genji, Angela's gaze meeting Jack's before she looks to Lena.

"Lena..." She isn't certain what to say, exactly. This is Jack's corner but she's standing by him. He knows her feelings already, particularly her disapproval, but she would still back him. That had always been the gist of their relationship.

"Let him talk. Please." Whether or not they liked what was coming he needed to have his side.

Lena stares at Jack incredulously, like he just slapped her across the face. He just outed himself as Soldier: 76-- an internationally-wanted terrorist-- and then gave her an order. She opens her mouth as if she's about to say as much, but Genji interrupts. Lena glances at him with a look on her face that says 'sorry, not in the mood.'

Then Angela cuts in, just as she wheels around to face Jack again and, predictably takes his side. It does nothing to quell her anger and shock, but Angela has made it clear that she's not getting any support and Genji is a neutral party.

"Fine."

She pulls up a chair and sits-- pointedly-- next to Genji. Lena trains her eyes on a spot just past Jack's left shoulder, refusing to look at him properly.

Lena had, in many ways, been exactly what Overwatch always needed--the problem was that she came just a little too late. No one's fault, of course. It had all been entirely happenstance, but Jack remembers a time where her unbridled optimism and faith in the organization had afforded them a few last good moments in the public eye. To see her angry twists something inside him that he wishes wasn't still there. She has every right to be upset with him, and yet again he's gone and put his own ego in the way. He can't possibly expect her to understand because he hasn't given her a chance to.

Angela, of course, puts everyone in line in a way only she can, and then the floor is his. He was better prepared for this ten minutes ago, he thinks. Jack stands at the head of the table, looking at three of the people who would have, at one point, followed Overwatch into hell. He very nearly made them do it. Jack all at once feels his age, and then some.

"I owe all of you an apology."

More than that, but even saying this much sticks in his throat. This will have to be a start.

When Lena shoots him that look, Genji doesn't press the issue. He's been that upset and not in the mood many times before, and Lena herself has seen it. She has every reason to be angry; it's only that Genji himself can't muster up that emotion right now.

He was angry for so long. It seems better to focus on the good, which is that all of them are still alive and are here together, rather than stranded and alone. Not that he expects every interpersonal issue to be smoothed over so easily.

The apology seems sincere, and more than that, Morrison is clearly struggling to face all of them now. Genji studies his face for a few moments before he speaks.

"Apologies are all well and good, but you have to forgive yourself before you can start to heal from this." Strange, for him to be the one offering wisdom to a man who had once been his commanding officer, but it seems only right to try and pay it forward.

Genji's gentle words, the wisdom flowing through them catches Angela's attention and she tilts her head in his direction for a few moments. Hearing him so calm and peaceful-- though they'd already had a length conversation it was still such a contrast to the anger and pain that she'd once seen radiate through him.

Her eyes closed for a moment, a small nod at the sentiment. After their initial conversation on it Angela had kept a few steps away from discussing too much about Overwatch or even asking Jack for many details about what he'd been doing. She would claim that their current situation was more pressing but at the same time there was so much felt by the both of them -- anger, guilt from Jack, and sadness from Angela.

Eyes settling back on Jack again her words are soft, meant as an encouragement. She's already, she assumes, heard what he has to say. "Keep going."

An apology doesn't do much to quell the anger and disappointment she feels. She wants an explanation. Why he let them mourn him, why he let Overwatch be torn apart, why he's masquerading as Soldier: 76. When her eyes flicker to him, it's all written there-- hurt, anger, disappointment. She's uncharacteristically tense, almost to the point where she seems unapproachable.

She's just trying to hold it all back until he can explain. Because she wants to know why, and she wants to be able to forgive him.

Lena stays silent, which generally isn't a good sign, but lets him continue uninterrupted.

Those responses more-or-less say it all, but he finds himself a little taken aback by the way Genji reacts. This is not exactly the angry, vengeful character he used to know, and it's a stark reminder of just how long it's been since he's seen all of them, much less addressed them. Lena's silence speaks volumes, but Jack tries to fight down the frozen feeling that threatens to creep up into his throat. He can't help but feel like one wrong word is going to have her leaping across the table to strangle him herself.

But he has to tell them something. Apologizing is the first step--now he has to offer an explanation.

"When I. Left--"

Jack already stumbles over the choice of word. He didn't die, so he can't very well say that's what happened, and outright admitting that he faked his death is a little more than he wants to say out loud. He doubles down.

"When I left, it was because I thought it was the best way to keep everyone safe."

He still thinks that, but saying as much requires a full explanation of his varied conspiracy theories. Jack will wait for their reaction, first.

They're getting this in starts and stop, bits and pieces, and Genji can see that Lena expects so much more than that. They'd all looked up to Jack Morrison for their own reasons. They'd all agreed to follow him, and to operate under his banner. There's no way this wouldn't feel like a betrayal, and yet Genji would rather hear both sides of the story.

Instead of simply admitting that he hadn't had the strength to face all of them in the aftermath (which is an explanation that Genji would have been able to accept), Morrison turns it around on them. It was for their sake. It's true that separating himself from Overwatch is what Genji personally had needed to do, but maybe that hadn't been the case for everyone.

He expects Angela and Lena will have their own remarks to make about this, and so he only poses one question.

"How so?"

If they can understand his thought process, it might help everyone accept it a little better.

Jack waits a moment, as if he's expecting more response from the others, but then it dawns on him that they're waiting for him to finish. There's no real getting around it now--Jack is going to have to articulate what he did and why he did it. None of the three of them will accept anything less, at this point.

So he takes a second to compose himself, then continues.

"What happened to Overwatch...it went deeper than any of us knew."

That much might be obvious, and Jack has spoken a little about it with Genji already, but he hadn't exactly been in the mood to elaborate much in Gallipoli. Now is his chance to reiterate the point that despite what may have happened between him and Gabriel, he certainly didn't intend to blow himself up, too.

"With me gone, that was the end of it. If I survived, they'd just keep trying, and they'd drag all of you down with me."

Lena finally looks at him as he speaks, her anger quelled by the beginnings of an actual explanation. It's vague so far, but she doesn't intend to let it stay that way.

She doesn't immediately deny his claim-- he knew Overwatch better than anyone, and it never settled right with her that Reyes got himself blown up too. She's pretty sure other agents had the same misgivings, but they'd all swallowed it down. At least for the public and the UN.

"Who?"

'They' is far too vague. Overwatch had a lot enemies, from political detractors to actual terrorists like Talon. There are too many 'they's.

"Everyone."

Jack snarls that a little, the sting of what felt like the whole world turning on Overwatch still fresh, even all these years later. He understands, from having studied history, that the pendulum swings back and forth--that what they were doing certainly wasn't going to last forever, and eventually, the world wasn't going to need them anymore. He just wishes it hadn't ended so violently. That so many people hadn't died for it.

"Talon, the UN, the public. It was over. Me coming back wasn't going to change that, it was just gonna make it worse."

He already knows this isn't going to go over well, not in the face of Lena's idealism, but Jack feels strongly about Overwatch having run its course. Better to let it rest before it took more people down with it. He has enough blood on his hands.

"You needed to get on with your lives."

In some ways, Morrison's attempts to keep the rest of them safe could be seen as noble. The problem is that all of them are adults who are capable of making their own choices, and that includes putting themselves into danger if they believe it's worth whatever cause they're fighting for. They'd all chosen to sign up with Overwatch in the first place, hadn't they?

Genji can understand not wanting to throw more gasoline onto the fire. Part of the reason he'd left Overwatch is because he'd seen the writing on the wall, and hadn't been willing to stick around while yet another part of his life fell apart. Better to remove himself from it before he ended up blindsided, as he had when his brother had come at him with a blade and killing intent.

He's quiet for a few seconds before he heaves out a sigh. This is complicated and there are bound to be different opinions and viewpoints.

"I can understand not wanting word to get out publicly for fear of backlash, but could you not have informed a few people in secret?"

Genji doubts he would have made such a short list. But people like Reinhardt and Angela, didn't they deserve to know?

"To protect us."

The words are barely above a whisper. Angela still doesn't agree with the decision, she hadn't when they'd had this conversation months ago and time hadn't changed that. That didn't mean that Angela now didn't understand his reasoning. Seeing what the Regency could do had terrified her. Though Angela didn't believe that Talon, or anyone else of their world, could ever commit such atrocities it gave her a little more insight into why Jack believed it as strongly as he did.

"To save us from being a target." Even if they could simply be a target by having been affiliated with Overwatch in the past, should anyone make the connection between him and Overwatch.

As honourable as that thought was it was still their fight too -- Overwatch had been part of all of them. It wasn't solely his fight. Her gaze doesn't reach his. They'd had this conversation before and it wasn't any easier the second time around.

No, it doesn't go over well with Lena. The moment he said he couldn't save Overwatch and that they should've just moved on, Lena goes stiff and her eyes take on a fiery edge.

While she has no doubt that his intentions are to protect them, she's not letting it go. She glances at Genji and Angela in turn before looking at Jack.

"We're targets just by bein' Overwatch. Talon's been huntin' us down one by one even though we're retired. If not Talon, then who in the bloody hell were you saving us from?"

She juts out her chin, the expression of defiance.

"And we're all adults. You've no right to decide if we need to 'get on with our lives' or not."

She knows this isn't going to go over well, but she's not willing to give him an inch. Finding out that he's Soldier: 76 has made all of her restraint evaporate.

Edited (i need angery) 2018-04-25 02:10 (UTC)

Genji doesn't seem too bothered, and Angela has his back, albeit begrudgingly. She doesn't need to agree with him to understand why he's done something--the two of them have always had that kind of understanding in their relationship. Angela will be the first to tell him when he's done something she thinks is unwise, and that's the undertone in her voice right now, even as she ostensibly backs him up.

Lena, however, isn't going to be so easy to win over. He's been through all these counter-arguments in his head, over and over, but Jack is stubborn, and even though they're all adults, he'll maintain that they don't understand the real threat--the one that brought down Overwatch and the one that they're dealing with now.

Or were, before they were all dragged here.

"You had the chance to not be Overwatch." A luxury Jack was never able to afford. "You just couldn't leave well enough alone."

He stares directly at Lena when he says it. It's the first he's mentioned of the Recall since arriving here, even in passing, and it's clear by his voice that he's not exactly a fan of it. Everything he did to keep his people safe became moot when they picked up the mantle again.

"You think any good comes from you painting a bigger target on your back?"

Angela answers Genji's question on Morrison's behalf, it seems, though he would have preferred to hear it from him. He doesn't think it's unfair for them to want an explanation from him, though as the back-and-forth carries on, Genji feels that they're likely to keep going in circles.

More than that, Lena and Jack escalate things by bringing up the new Overwatch and the recall. Winston's message had made it to Genji, though he hadn't yet made up his mind on how to reply to it. Angela had been in the same boat as far as he's aware, based on some of the coded messages they'd sent in their letters to each other.

This really isn't going to help anything, though, and so Genji cuts in before Lena can respond with what he's sure will be righteous anger.

"Fighting amongst ourselves is not going to help anything right now," he points out. Much as they might hate to admit it, these questions of Overwatch are largely moot. They have bigger problems to deal with right now, like the fact that they've been recruited into a war that spans time and space. "We need to focus on the task at hand."

In other words, the question of how they're going to proceed with COST, along with sharing any pertinent information in order to be on the same page.

Jack is clearly ready to get into it—just from the look on his face, it’s apparent that he has a great deal of pent-up feelings and anger about the Overwatch recall, and the lid isn’t so easily put back on once it’s been uncovered. For a moment, it looks as though Jack is about to keep going, but Genji’s observation cuts through the tension and gives him pause. Despite obviously struggling to get back on the task at hand, Jack takes a breath, trying to compose himself to moderate success.

“None of you remember signing up for this.”

That’s what’s more important, and they’re never going to have this discussion if Jack lets his pent-up rage get in the way. It’s hard to take his eyes off Lena, but he fixes that by looking down at the table, instead.

“Is that right?”

Lena doesn't break eye contact with Jack. She's about to get into it-- how he has no say in Overwatch anymore, how his way of doing things isn't a solution, how the world needed them again.

Then Genji interrupts. She doesn't take her eyes off of Jack, but it does make her bite back what she was about to say. One word on the subject from Jack and she'd let it out. But he backs down. So she does too.

She looks away, not focusing on anyone in particular. She's restrained enough to answer, though her response is unusually dispassionate.

"One minute I was in London. The next, I was wakin' up in a tent. Not even a trace of a memory in between."

That was the same for us all.

( just with different starting locations. initially it had been simple to believe that the jump had temporarily affected the memory, something with their implant, but there were so many people and from such different times. it wasn't just the first batch of arrivals anymore )

Though Genji mentioned that he'd spoken to some who remembered their recruitment.

( she'd like to find more too, if only to reassure herself that it had actually taken place )

Genji's relieved when his attempt to stop the infighting works as planned. He's certain that Lena and Morrison will pick up that argument at another time, but it can wait until they've gotten the basics out of the way.

All four of them are without any memory of their recruitment. There's certainly reason to be concerned about that.

"A few, yes," he says with a glance toward Angela. "It seems to vary between all of us, and I'm unsure if there's any pattern to it." They could look into it in more depth, if they decide it's worth pursuing.

In light of this, there's something he wants to clear up, and he looks to Morrison as he poses the question. "Given that it's possible all of us were brought here against our will, do we still want to cooperate with COST's mission?" There's something underhanded about all of this, but Jack and Angela seem to agree with COST's ultimate goal.

Jack nods, indicating that he, too, has met recruits who remember signing up, and there is the fact that COST won’t keep an unwilling soldier. He imagines he could ask to end his conscription any time he wants—the problem is hoping they can get him back to his proper home and time.

Then there’s the problem of the Regency. Even if COST might not be the right answer, something like this regime needs to be investigated, at the very least.

“I think it’s worth seeing through for a little while.”

If only to figure out just what, exactly, is going on, and what their options might be.

“They haven’t made me do anything objectionable yet.”

Lena's already decided to commit to COST, but knowing everyone else is on board too is comforting. Even if something's not quite on the up-and-up about COST, they'll all be in it together.

That thought makes her expression soften, but isn't enough for her to stop being a little bit cold.

"Where are we gonna draw the line?"

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