Crystalline Universe: Team Fortress 2/ Overwatch

Chapter 39 - The fantastic dreamers and the lone wolf (part 1)

The cold wind of the winter blew small droplets of snow on Mike's dark coat. It's almost December, the young man walked without a direction on a wide boulevard where he was the only one marching. Mike just finished his tour at Finnmark and he's currently at Norway's capital, Oslo.

Dane and the rest looked for Kadyn in the African continent while Mike looked alone for his wife in Europe. Mike knew he needed more allies if he ever wants to win against Sniper's scheme. He knew that he's alone against the world and that if anyone were to know who he is, they will report him to the authority.

Suddenly, a barking dog yelped in the distance while the policemen checked every bypasser's papers.

Mike quickly slipped his way inside an abandoned factory where, because of the sealed windows, he couldn't see a single glimpse of light. The young man took a breath before pulling a small bottle of whiskey out of his pocket.

[Mike] (relieved) - "Bloody hell, I needed this... "

Mike pulled out the cap and swallowed the bottle's whole content in a single mouthful. While the alcohol burned his way down his throat, the young man looked around the place in search of a possible threat.

All of a sudden, to his surprise, a current of air flashed in front of him. Mike observed his surroundings while preparing for a possible enemy attack. In a flash, 6 pieces of sapphire crystals flew toward his head like bullets. Mike, in his defence, raised a shield around his body, blocking the attack instantly.

[Mike] - "Who are you? "

[voice] - "Less talking and die, you devil! "

The sapphire pieces returned to attack Mike once again but this time, Mike launched his offence. By raising the energy output toward the ceiling, Mike shifted the room's gravity toward the top. Every object flew toward the ceiling along with the mysterious crystal user who attacked him earlier. Mike clicked on the light switch and opened the place's lamps; a young girl with long, silky blue hair armed with an executioner armour was trapped on the ceiling. The girl must be around her twenties just like Mike.

[Mike] - "So you are the mosquito that's annoying me. On top of that, you are an executioner of class 01 judging from your badge... pretty low I gotta say. "

[Girl] - "Put me down, you bastard! "

[Mike] - "Don't tell me that's all your ability can do; just some sapphires pieces that serve as bullets? "

[Girl] (frustrated) - "Yes! That's all, I'm a piece of trash! If you want to kill me, just do it quick! "

[Mike] - "Why do you wanna kill me? "

[Girl] - "Asks a criminal like you. "

[Mike] - "What wrong did I do then? "

[Girl] - "You killed millions, you caused more death than Hitler, you should rot in hell! "

[Mike] - "Sniper told you that, right? "

[Girl] - "Lord Sniper knows your crimes, he knows everything about you! "

[Mike] - "Please, if he told you that the president of the US was a stripper, will you believe him? "

[Girl] - "He has evidence of the crimes you committed! "

[Mike] - "You think you know him better than me? "

[Girl] - "He's the hero of the people, you are the lord of the devils. "

[Mike] - "I was his nephew, I shared the same bloodline as him... What if I tell you that right now, I'm just looking for my wife. "

[Girl] - "Don't try to be smart with me! "

[Mike] - "I didn't, that's because you don't know who I am. You don't even know why I am here, you don't know what I want, you just called me a crime lord without knowing anything about me. "

[Girl] - "I have been told enough, kill me already! "

Mike released the girl from the ceiling and slowly dropped her body on the floor.

[Mike] - "I won't kill you because I know you are not a bad person. My heart and action are utterly unclouded. Will you believe if I told you I'm innocent? "

[Girl] - "I wanted to get this over with... Why did you let me live? "

[Mike] - "Where is your team? Why aren't you running away after I spared you? "

[Girl] - "I wanted to know who you are, I want to know why are you wanted? "

[Mike] - "My name is Mike Gioacchino Mundy, I'm 20 years old and I wanted nothing more than to live a quiet life with my wife. "

[Girl] - "My name is Azur, Azur Ameri, I'm at the same age as you and my team were assigned to hunt you down by Sniper. "

[Mike] - "Your team? So you are not alone. "

Azur looked down on the floor in shame and embarrassment.

[Azur] - "No, I'm alone... they rejected me because I was weak with my ability. "

[Mike] - "I never intended to become how I am today but Sniper... he betrayed me... "

[Azur] - "Oh... then why aren't you hiding instead of coming face to face against a world that wants you dead? "

[Mike] (emotionally) - "Sometime, to harm someone is to take away what's most precious to them. For me, it was my wife, Kadyn. "

[Azur] - "I get it now... I'm sorry... "

[Mike] - "Go now, I will let you go free, I won't harm you. "

The young girl rapidly moved toward the door but before opening the steel door to the exit, she stopped.

[Azur] - "So... you were just misunderstood... I hope that... "

[Mike] - "I believe that you are a kind person, I wish you good luck and don't waste this chance to live. Life's truly precious when you have the opportunity to live it to its fullest. "

Azur giggled and disappeared behind the rusty iron door without a sound while Mike stood emotionless in the middle of the room. The young man didn't understand why he spared that strange girl's life for no reason. Maybe it was his kind nature, maybe it was because of his drink, who knows why. Maybe it was just Azur's destiny. All he knew was that she is weak and powerless just like him and Kadyn.

After making sure that the cops aren't around anymore, Mike carefully made his exit out of the factory. Once more, he walked alone on the cold and snowy street without a direction.

*on a balcony afar from Mike

A young girl sat in front of a table where she watched through a binocular Mike's every move and direction with attention. She wrote down some notes on her computer and compared Mike's position with her calculation. She promptly took a communication device and pressed on the communication button.

[Mergiann, through the micro] (in hurried voice) - "Karson, I can't seem to contact Darlynn but get yourself ready, he's approaching your position! "

[Karson] - "I got it, blow that motherf.u.c.ker up! I'll get his corpse afterward, Mergiann. "

[Mergiann] - "You got it, steady... "

Mike stepped on a trap without noticing and all of sudden, a small red light blinked under the snow. Suddenly, a giant explosion detonated the under Mike's feet, pushing him several meters up in the air.

[Mergiann] (screming) - "EXPANSION! "

To Mike's surprise, the explosion's blast and flame tripled in size and mass, sending him higher up the sky with all the debris and smoke. Mike's body was hurt with blood spitting out of the wounds all around his arms and legs. Finally, Mike hit the ground like a dead bird while shielding himself from the impact.

Karson rushed out of a small alley and with a bodybag, tried to put Mike's unconscious body inside. But Mike abruptly woke up before Karson could seal the zipper to the bag. Seeing that his prey woke up, Karson took out a bottle of sleep agent armed with an injection needle and tried to stab Mike on the neck. Due to Mike's quick reaction speed, the young man was able to block the needle from penetrating his skin and with his ability, launched Karson backward.

Seeing that the situation wasn't in his favour, Karson hastily made a run away from Mike. Without losing a moment, Mike chased behind the man. Karson, through his helmet's visor, calculated the route to the closes metro station where he could confront Mike without much of a witness.

[Karson] (in a panic) - "Mergiann, get down from there and rejoin me at the closes metro station. "

[Mergiann] - "How come he didn't die to that explosion? "

[Karson] - "MIracle or something I don't know... just quickly! "

[Mergiann] - "Hold on, I'm coming! "

Karson quickly jumped through the stairs and the gate down to the train dock where he disappeared behind a pillar. Mike followed and jumped through the same obstacles before reaching the pillar where he lost track of the man. The young man looked around for Karson's trace but wasn't able to find where he was hiding. Mergiann soon arrived at the station but before making her descent to the dock, she met a homeless man asking for change. The young girl rapidly grabbed a hundred dollar bill and dropped the money inside the man's cup.

[Mergiann] - "Put that money into good use! "

[Homeless] (in a thankful manner) - "God bless you, young lady. "

Mergiann continued her way down to the train dock where she fell face to face with Mike. Mike quickly pointed his finger toward her head.

[Mike] - "Don't try anything funny and talk! "

[Mergiann, with her hands in the air] - "Alright, alright, you got me. What do you want? "

[Mike] - "Tell your friend that I'm not in the mood for a match of hiding and seek. "

[Mergiann] - "Alright mister, let me call him out right away. "

On the ceiling, Karson silently crawled toward Mike's position and quietly jumped on the floor. Using his ability, the man delivered a punch toward Mike's head. Mike promptly reacted to the attack with a defensive position before being pummeled by a barrage of fists. Mike didn't want to use his ability to avoid picking up attention from the others but right now, he was forced to defend with his crystals. Karson's attacks were both quick and precise; Mike felt a powerful blast of energy upon every hit from Karson's punch.

All of a sudden, Mike was blown toward the wall by a mysterious supernatural explosion of energy. The blast's force sent the young man crashing into the wall, leaving a huge crater behind his back.

Mike laid inside the crater, exhausted and injured from the damages he received.

[Mike, in his mind] - ("God damn it... he's pretty fast and... strong... ")

Karson and Mergiann advanced toward Mike and glanced down at him.

[Karson] (in a confident voice) - "I expect that you to have learned your lesson... "

Mike stared back in anger at Karson but didn't fight back because of his injuries.

[Mike, in his mind] - ("Learn my lesson my a.s.s, you little bloody c.o.c.ky fruit shop owner! ")

[Karson] - "Come with us peacefully and we promise to not harm you. "

Mike observed his surroundings and noticed that the debris and rocks from the crater he created floated beside him as if they were infused with magic.

[Mike, in his mind] - ("What is this ability... This is new... I need to be careful... I have no other choice but to expose myself... ")

[Karson] (sarcastically) - "Come on, come to daddy! "

Mike gradually stood up while covering his wound with his hands.

[Mike] (in pain) - "Daddy my asshole, you son of a bitch... I will make you beg so hard for your life that you will end up calling me your slavemaster. "

[Karson] (angered) - "So you want to do this the hard way then... "

[Mike] (in a calm voice) - "That's right! I'll shove my foot so deep up your a.s.s that you will be spitting blood, gut and shit for days! "

Karson instantaneously and furiously launched a strike toward Mike's head.

[Karson] (in anger) - "Take this, Mike Mundy! "

To be continued...

*EXTRA

Profile: Azur Ameri, CC-8235

Real name: Ari Ameri

Ability: "Sapphire Element". The ability can allow Azur to control 6 pieces of sapphire crystals to serve as bullets to attack people with.

Rôle: ???

Affiliation: Talon, Executioner

Backstory: Will be expanded later in the story