Prologue: Akande Ogundimu
"Those Who Fall..."
Open your eyes.
They opened, but they registered nothing. Black, and a foggy, pulsating red. They couldn't stay open for long, either. He only got them open a third of the way before they shut again.
---
He was sitting at a table now. Smooth black marble, the only modern thing in an ancient room built floor-to-ceiling with stone. He, too, dressed in the ancient clothing of Venice: rich purple Reanaissance costuming, and a ivory mask over his eyes. Ironically, this put him out of place compared to the more mordern outfits of the others here. Four sat around the table, amplifying how empty it was; there were enough seats for at least twice this number.
He broke the silence, drumming his fingers on the table.
"My, my. I don't know about you all, but this is the sparcest I've seen this council. Will it only be the five of us?"
"Six." A ghoulish voice spoke from behind a skull-like mask and black cowl.
"Vialli is-"
"-Is no longer with us." From her place to his left, the only woman here folded her hands on the table.
"So yes. Five."
The wraith across from him seethed below the mask, but that only made him smile.
"It seems Vialli forgot the true purpose of our organization," he continued.
"I trust the rest of us have not made the same mistake?"
"But of course not." The robot in the finely-tailored suit to his right replied coolly, and the businessman to his right nodded.
"Good. Then we can get started." He spoke professionally, as if he had never left. It was hard to believe he had been gone for eight years, with the way he commanded the room.
"Our first order of business will be to fill these empty seats. The smaller the council, the less voices in control. And that would be very dangerous."
His eyes fixed on the wraith.
"Don't you agree, Reaper?"
And with just those four words, the air was sucked out of the room. The elephant in the room had officially been acknowledged, and Reaper was now the one all four pairs of eyes were on. He was sure under the skull, Reaper was giving him a look that could kill.
"...right."
"Good! Now, I want us all to start throwing names around. As I've been gone, I trust you all know these people better than I do. I want only the best on this council. With what Talon plans to accomplish, we need all the help we can get."
---
Wake up.
He tried opening his eyes again. His vision was still blurred, but less so. Not that there was much to see, considering he was looking up at some sort of ceiling...?
He brought his left hand up to rub his eyes. Ah. He was no longer dressed in purple, he no longer had a mask. But he did have some kind of...bracelet? He couldn't get a good look at it; his eyes closed again.
---
He was outside now, overlooking a beautiful scene. A dazzling sunset, the sky painted pink and blue, reflected in the shimmering waters of the canal before him. Venice. What a lovely place it was. He took a derp breath, hungrily inhaling that maritime smell he'd taken for granted. He had never anticipated he would miss it after being locked away so long.
"Reaper needs to go," the woman said, looking out over the water herself.
"We have enough people now, he can have an accident just like his dear friend Vialli."
"No." He shook his head.
"You can feel it too, can't you, Moira? Reyes is a cult of personality, even now. He has people on his side, you can feel it just walking through headquarters any given day."
"People that were also added to the council."
"A necessary step to earn his trust and give him a false sense of security. Once he's gone, those loyal to him will either follow, of be freed from his spell. But we need to take a few steps first. For one thing..." He looked down at his right hand. An artificial limb, one that changed his life forever. But it was awfully bare...
"I need my gauntlet back."
Moira nodded.
"You have a chance next week. Some little inventor girl in Numbani returned after going missing for months."
"Efi Oladele? I've seen her work. She has a bright future as an engineer ahead of her."
"That, and a museum exhibit to celebrate in the next month. Your gauntlet is going to be transported to a Helix facility while they prepare the exhibit, which is the perfect time to take it back."
"Then we can do that, then. But in the meantime...refresh my memory. Lacroix and Reyes..."
"They have ties to something called The Order. It was enough to make Lacroix a deserter. And on top of that, Reyes got gis new toys from The Shareholders. And I don't know what he's planning...but I do know this. Whatever it is...it must be stopped."
---
Come on now.
Third time's the charm. Now he was alnost there. But yet, he was still not at his best. Senses were still dull...maybe lifting his head would help? Try and get moving.
"Ugh..."
Never mind. He needed a little more time. Eyes closed yet again.
---
He was now in a very familiar state of being. The gauntlet, his gauntlet, now was in its proper place on his arm. And he stood now behind a podium, before a crowd of Talon operatives. Finally, things were back in track. His prized possession returned, new members to not only replace those killed by the Cyberdemon, but that number and a half on top of it...and now, to give his speech.
"Humanity has never known peace." His voice commanded the room on its own, the microphone only enhancing his raw power.
"Humanity has never known peace, and humanity never WILL know peace, no matter how many strive for it. War. Famine. Plague. Natural disaster. These all exist to challenge mankind, to push us to our limits...and above all else, to aid us in our evolution. Humanity will always grow, always evolve, and we here at Talon have committed ourselves to furthering our own kind."
His gaze wandered out among the people staring up at him.
"I am sure you have seen how the world receives us. They call us villains. Terrorists. Monsters. And many, many other things. But I do not want you to see yourselves that way. What we are...are catalysts. We are the driving force behind the evolution of humanity. Look at the Omnic Crisis. Did people perish? Yes, of course they did! But those who did not...all of us! We may hace suffered, but we survived! We prospered! We won! Look at me, if you will. I lost my arm in that crisis, and with that, I had to give up martial arts...my one true passion. Did I let that stop me? No." He raised his gauntlet with a grin.
"I just found myself a better arm."
He paused, letting them chuckle if they found that funny, and continued.
"Humanity did the same. Technology evolved, security improved...and organizations that hindered humanity with petty infighting and hypocritical morals? They were cast aside because we as a species knew we could do better. And we have done better. Talon has done more than Overwatch ever could. And we will do more, so much more. Once the next war begins, humanity will evolve like never before!"
"The world needs us now, more than it ever has. So I ask you all: Are you with us?"
The overwhelming applause spoke volumes. As a standing ovation broke out, he could only smile, feeling himself swelling with pride. Yes.
Yes! His people! They were going to rise up, like never before! And he would lead them all.
He was the catalyst.
He was The Successor.
He was Doomfist.
---
WAKE. UP!
His eyes shot open. Good. He was finally awake.
Akande Ogundimu slowly sat up, careful to keep himself from going too fast and wiping out again. So...that had been his last memory, then. A victorious speech, and then...this. Odd. The sight of bars before him certainly killed any high that last reverie had left him. Out of prison for only a short time, only to end up right back in. But this was nothing like the Helix facility he had been in. In fact, it was something new entirely.
Akande got up, looking at his surroundings properly. Some man with a yellow circle on his head was looking around, and someone to his left (a girl, judging by her voice) asked a question. And judging from the garbled chatter further to his right, there were far more of them here.
Walking forward, he gripped the cell bars with his left hand,
glancing at his right to see if they had confiscated his gauntlet. He tested the strength of this bar by merely gripping it. Strong, very strong. Trying to break out would do no good. So, he would take another route: gaining as much information as we can.
"I cannot say I'm aware of how we got here, no," he replied, answering the girl beside him.
"I also have no idea how we got these bracelets, or where we even are. But I can only assume we have some reason for being locked up. Either a criminal record, or we are too powerful to be let out." Knowing himself, though...probably the former.
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