Chapter One
-Talon Secret Headquarters-
Reaper slammed his fist on to the holotable, glaring at the simulation with a flashing red ‘FAILURE’ over it. “Damnit… There is not enough power for this to work.” His masked gaze went to the long haired Indian woman, wearing a white and purple scientist uniform, with a glowing orange visor. Her hair had been done up in a clean, and tight, bun with a single bane draping over her right eye. “The Vishkar Corporation promised that the weapon would be ready by now… What is the hold up, Ms. Vaswani?”
The woman flinched at the harsness within Reaper’s voice. “I apologize in advance, for Vishkar’s failure to achieve success with this operation, but there are far too many untested variables to consider.” Satya Vaswani stated, the Vishkar Corporation representative to Talon. “We require more time to research the needed energy required to power what you wish for.”
“Time is not a luxury we can afford… Overwatch has gone active again, and searching for us!” Reaper argued, staring at Satya, allowing her to feel the rage within his masked eyes. “It is taking Widowmaker and those two buffoons everything they have just to keep them off our scent.” He pointed a clawed finger at her, the Talon Leader’s voice filled with malice. “Either get it working, or we will level everything the Vishkar Corporation has built!”
Before Satya could say anything against his threat, a flash of light caught their attention, as a door of pure light appeared. Slowly, a gray hooded man walked out, wearing a silver key around his neck. The man started to clap his hands together, even as Reaper drew both of his Hellfire Shotguns. “A threat well given, Mr. Reaper, but I am afraid that the Vishkar Corporation cannot achieve what it is you want them to.”
“Who are you and how did you get in here?” Reaper demanded, keeping both weapons trained on the intruder.
“Heh, who am I? Simple. Someone that can get you exactly what your weapon is missing.” He answered, causing the Talon Leader to lower his weapons, before using a thumb to present the silver key more. “As for how I got in here? The same way we will get what you require.” The hooded man released the key, walking over to the holotable, waving his hand over the holographic image of an orb-like reactor. “What you need, is six specific elements with unbelievable amounts of pure, uncorrupted energy.” Six colorful lights of magenta, red, orange, purple, pink, and light blue; appeared within the reactor. “I know where to find these six elements, however… They have taken mortal form, one being the level of a goddess. Think you can handle capturing them, and then using them as a power source?”
Six images of colorful humanoid equines suddenly appeared in front of Reaper. At first, these cartoonish images made him believe the intruder was completely mad, insane. That is, until he heard a ping and saw the word ‘SUCCESS’ flashing in green on the simulation. A low, dark, laugh escaped from the Talon Leader’s mask. “Where do I find these six girls, Stranger?”
-Equestria, Canterlot Castle-
Seven individuals walked into the castle’s throne room, causing the Royal Guard present to snap to attention. One of them being the regal Sun Goddess, Princess Celestia, herself. Those of her company being the honored Elements of Harmony, with Princess Twilight Sparkle at their lead. “It is always good to be visited by you, and your friends, Twilight.” Celestia started, smiling down at the younger princess. “I always enjoy the time we spend together, and the fun we have.”
“We are just happy to be able to see you, Princess! I know how busy your schedule can be.” Twilight answered, smiling up at her mentor. But, they all froze when a door of light opened up behind them. “Uh… What is that, P-Princess?”
Celestia narrowed her eyes at the door. “I do not know, Twilight.” She stepped between them and the door, making a quick hand motion to cause the nearby Royal Guards to surround them. “But, whomever it is, should know better than to-?”
“Gentlemen! Start your Engines!” A voice yelled out, before something revved up and a spiked tire sped through the door!
Three of the Royal Guards rushed forward, attempting to stop the battering ram-like weapon… Only for it to explode, sending them flying with their armor and bodies torn to shreds! The group had to shield their eyes, when the explosion had gone off at such a short range, but went wide eyed, as a metal peg leg slammed down on to the tire’s remains.
The man was half naked, wearing torn yellowish shorts and some sort of wastelander’s equipment, eight cylinders attached to his vest straps. His metal arm held some sort of box and barrel weapon, strange orbs sitting in the box, and held it over his shoulder, allowing them to also see the burnt tips of his hair. “Everything is coming up all explodey!” He laughed, rather madly, as several black armored soldiers, with red markings, rushed through the door behind him. “You boys know the drill, boss wants the six young ones… So go get’em!” Junkrat ordered.
“Stallions! Do not let them get close to the Element Bearers!” Celestia ordered, the Royal Guards creating a shield wall… But the Talon Soldiers open fired on to them, their assault rifles tearing through the shield and armor. “What!?” The princess yelled, quickly creating a golden barrier between them and the attackers.
“Awwwwh, shelia didn’t know what she’s up against.” Junkrat laughed, aiming his Frag Launcher at the shield. “Heh… Let’s see if you like my little party favors!” He quickly pulled the wepaon’s trigger, sending three frag bombs crashing into Celestia’s barrier!
The eldest princess struggled against the first two bombs, but the third actually caused her barrier to crack down the center. Her concentration started to strain, when the Talon Soldiers added their gunfire to the attack, making it even harder to fend off Junkrat’s bombardment of explosives. A bead of sweat slowly fell from her forehead, the princess pushing more of her magic into the barrier. The cracks slowly started to mend themselves, but there would not be enough time for it to fully recover and hold them off until reinforcements arrive. So, Celestia went with the only option open to her right now, and forced the protective barrier forward! Creating a small burst of magical backlash when it got close to the Talon Operatives.
The attack did its job, sending Junkrat and the Talon Soldiers flying back to the wall… But, she could not celebrate, her eyes widening at the fearful whimper and a menacing voice echoing from behind her. “Impressive display.” Celestia whipped around, seeing a black cloaked figure, wearing a skull mask, holding Twilight by the back of her neck and a weapon pressed against the young princess’ head. “But not good enough.” His laughs sent a chill down their spines.
Celestia waved her hand, forcing the Royal Guard to stand down. “What do you want, Invader?” She asked, not wanting to risk Twilight’s life.
“The Elements will be coming with me.” Reaper stated, flatly, as he stared at the regal princess. Before Celestia could protest, he pressed the Hellfire Shotgun’s barrel more into Twilight’s head, making her wince in pain. “Or would you prefer the girl to have less weight on her shoulders?”
“Kill her, and the Elements of Harmony will be useless to you.” Celestia narrowed her eyes, trying to call his bluff and keep Twilight alive.
Reaper’s dark, low, chuckle echoed around the throne room, as his grip tightened. “I can find another one, to replace her, or simply wait for it to be reincarnate.” His hold on Twilight made her cry out in pain, the claws digging into her flesh, Celestia’s eyes going wide. “So, what is it going to be, ‘Princess’?”
Celestia lowered her arms, in defeat, hands gripped tightly and kept her narrowed gaze on him. “I… I agree to your terms, Invader.”
“P-Princess! Don’t!” Twilight cried out, as Talon Soldiers grabbed the other Elements, cuffing them. Though, for some odd reason, Pinkie Pie practically leaped into Junkrat’s arms, with the biggest smile on her face… Completely confusing the Junker.
“A good choice, Princess. I commend you.” Reaper laughed, suddenly pointing his weapon at her. “And to make sure your word is kept?” To the horror of the Equestrians, the Hellfire Shotgun went off and tore through the Sun Goddess’ left side! Knocking her to the ground.
“Pirncess! Princess, no!” Twilight screamed, her mentor now laying in a pool of her own blood, Reaper dragging her away. Celestia could only, weakly, watch as her beloved student is pulled towards the door of light. “N-No! CELESTIA!!!”
The door closed, Royal Guards rushing over to try and save their princess. “P-Please… If anyone can hear my prayer, save them.” Celestia thought, before blacking out. Not knowing, that such prayers were heard by an ancient dark entity.
-Talon Headquarters Laboratory-
Screams echoed from within the reactor, as a beam of white energy shot out through a hole within the wall. Not far off, a massive Omnic Guardian was hit by the blast, tearing through its chest and knocking the titan down to the earth. Reaper simply laughed at the weapon’s destructive power, looking at his hooded associate. “I must say, you have really entered my good graces, stranger.” He placed a hand on to the man’s shoulder. “Might I have the name of who I must thank for this wonderful gift?”
“I have many names and faces, so I will go with an easy to remember one, and a familiar face to you.” He pulled the hood back, revealing a dark skinned Hispanic man, with a full beard connecting to his mustache, a black fleece cap over his head. The face was, indeed, familiar to Reaper, only an eye patch over their left eye being different from the original. “Call me ‘Mr. Hood’.”
“Well then, Mr. Hood, welcome to Talon.” The two turned their attention back to the weapon’s destruction, observing what fruit it now bears for them.
Not far off, Satya hid behind the wall, a hand over her mouth and leaned over. The six screaming in sheer agony, within the reactor, as every bit of life is drained from their young bodies by each attack… It horrified her. “Oh, god, what have I done?”
-Two Months Later-
The UN, Omnics, and Overwatch; did everything within their power to stop Talon’s new weapon… But failed horribly. They were met with defeat after defeat, forced to retreat from its destructive wake each time. Now, with many cities all across Europe destroyed, they prepare to defend London, England, from Talon’s attack. Though, the mobile platform housing the weapon has strangely stopped moving, fallen silent, those of Talon’s forces now swarm the city’s streets, engaging the Heroes of Overwatch and what defense forces the country managed to muster from both human and omnic.
Not far from the battle, a stealth transport flew towards the city, bearing only a white raven skull and wings as its symbol. With its size, one would think a full platoon of Special Operations Troopers would be on board… Yet, the automated transport only had two passengers.
One was a decently sized man, matching that of an actual Super Soldier. He wore a black carbon fiber armor suit, the chest plate designed to look like a ribcage and sternum, even his arms and legs had whitened areas to resemble his bones. He wore a matching black, hooded, trench coat with large, bleached, raven skulls over both shoulders. The belt around his waist bore a matching large raven skull as its belt buckle, several small grenades and strange casings attached to the belt. On both sides of the strange figure’s hips, sat a pitch black peacemaker, with red glowing lines across them, for each hand. His left clawed hand fiddled with the raven skull belt buckle, while the matching right hand held on to an onyx raven skull amulet around his neck. His white raven mask staring down at it, the pin point, glowing, red eyes within the sockets locked on to the amulet’s own blank ones.
The other occupant seemed like an abnormally thin man, his body almost lanky in shape. He wore a black vest, a maroon collared shirt, black dress pants, chestnut combat boots, and a dirtied white colored trench coat. Around the figure’s neck, a red and orange scarf wrapped itself around him and hand down their back. Upon their head, sat a worn black plague doctor’s hat, slanted only just a little, but one could still see those hazy emerald orbs that acted as their eyes. Their skin looked more like some kind of cloth from a brown flour sack, his stitched mouth spelling ‘IN VAIN’ with a wide grin.
Both were the best agents Lord Death could possibly send, executioners that had mastered their craft of killing. The gunslinger, ‘Shadow Raven’, and the string artist, ‘Zargos’. Neither of the two seemed rather pleased about working alongside the other, but their mission required both killers to achieve it.
“Shadow Raven…” The Scarecrow-like man spoke up, earning a silent ‘mmm’ from his counterpart. “You often say that you’re Death… Might I know the secret as to how you built the Spirit Realm?” He teased, poking at the raven skulled individual across from him.
Shadow Raven just looked at him, releasing the amulet from his grasp, crossing both arms and leaning against the transport’s haul. “It is a persona, Scarecrow. Not literal.” He held up a single bone clawed finger. “I serve as Death’s left hand, the hand that takes life. Therefore, I am ‘Death’. Understand?”
Zargos, unhappy with the response, stared at him with dimmed eyes. “Doesn’t answer my question.” He pointed a boney finger at Shadow Raven’s head. “And don’t call me Scarecrow, Shitbird.”
Noticing the change, in mood, Shadow Raven grinned behind his mask. “Oh, Scarecrow, don’t tell me a bit of fun between associates upsets you?” He teased, giving a light shrug. “Besides, I have no idea what our Master does, or the why. All I know is, when he makes something for death? I take it out.”
Zargos rolled the glowing orbs in his sockets, mimicking the other’s stance. It would seem to be difficult to tell if he were angry or annoyed. “You do not call him ‘Master’, only ‘Father’.” He side glanced towards Shadow Raven, the stitched smile growing wider than before. “But that last part is right. He invades our dreams and looks like a black void of hell, fun times indeed.” He chuckled madly at the very thought of it, as such a thing seemed to be a regular occurrence to him.
A red light appeared, signifying it was close to the deployment time. “E.T.A three minutes to the King’s Row landing zone, heavy fighting detected.” An automated voice announced.
“I was not born of him, unlike you, Scarecrow. Only taken in by the Angel of Darkness. He gave me what I needed, to live and become what I am now, so I signed the dotted line.” His pin point red eyes went to the deployment door, Shadow Raven quickly drawing one of his peacemakers and checking it. “Though, I can understand why calling him ‘Father’ would make sense… But, there is another one out there with that title.” He looked to Zargos. “He is the reason why we are able to work together, so don’t forget that… Piss him off, and you could cease to exist.”
The glow in Zargos’ eye sockets faded, as a moment of deathly silence appeared. Then, suddenly, Zargos let out a wail of laughter, as he gripped his left eye socket. “So that’s what you mortals think of him as!? A merciless defiler of life?!” He wheezed and let out a sigh that mixed with the remnants of his laughter. He pulled out strands of green strings, fingers fiddling with them. “Death was the first to exist and enter your messily universe, and I want you to think on this…” He pondered for a moment, placing the tethers on both sides of his head, creating an inhuman look. “He is a God that cares for nothing. Though, that is perhaps a flaw of your own. To think, just because something looks dark, mortals instantly assume it is evil.”
Shadow Raven snapped the peacemaker’s fully charged cartridge back in. “I didn’t say that… I’m the very thing you speak about, Scarecrow.” He looked towards Zargos, a grin appearing on the raven mask’s beak. “Do I truly look like a good guy to you? If anything, I look like a textbook villain from some dark super hero comic.” He turned towards the deployment door, removing his other peacemaker and checking it. “I kill who needs to be killed, I slay whomever disrupts the balance of life and death. That was my deal with the Master, in exchange I gain such inhuman abilities. No other God will accept me, for I am the Cursed One who walks the line of Life and Death. A soul damned for all eternity.” He gave a slight glance back to Zargos. “The one I call ‘Father’ helped create this Path for me, one of the fabled ones. One that ensures that beings, like us, can truly exist in these worlds. A being that doesn’t’ fight with blade or gun, but with pen and paper.” He looked back to the deployment door, his thumbs caressing the hammers of both peacemakers affectionately. “He allows me to dispense justice, in Death’s Name, yet takes none of the credit for himself. That is a true father… Whether you believe such entities exists, matters little, Scarecrow. All that truly does matter, to me, right now.” He took a stance, crossing his arms in an X, both black revolvers glowing with red lines. “Is my objective.” When the doors fully opened, Shadow Raven disappeared in a burst of shadowed raven feathers.
Zargos just stared just stared at Shadow Raven, even after he had left the transport to go out and fight. But, he remained there, hands tangled in string, with what looked to be confusion on his features. “The fucks a super hero comic?” He spoke out in the empty room, rather curious but also annoyed. He did not know what things mortals did to pass the time, in their short life spans. He quickly untangled his hands, with great ease, and walked towards the opened door. “Eh, regardless, can’t let him have all the fun.” Zargos fixed his collar for a second, then pressed a hand on to his head, keeping his favored hat secured. In a cartoonish manner, the Scarecrow-like being leapt out of the transport, yelling. “Alonze!”
