The One Calling the Shots
Shawn POV:
I sat outside an office of the building that Overwatch was using as a headquarters at the moment, with S3bastian at my side. Although the hallways were busy, my mind was elsewhere.
Namely, all the memories that were given to me from what Evil Shawn had done. The way he handled the situation made it look like a mild inconvenience rather than life or death like it was for me.
Looking back, I could see that I vastly underestimated the difference between us. He used the powers in ways I didn't even think of. He even somehow managed to fly. I think back to his words when I was in the Zazen state, about me not understanding all that I could do and that I should focus on myself.
As much as I hated to admit it, without him, I wouldn't be sitting here right now thinking about this, much less admit that he was probably right. I thought that after everything I'd done so far, that I probably didn't need to improve anymore, that everything would be fine throughout the war. But this was a rough reality check, Anubis was always learning and evolving, I needed to as well.
The door opens and a group of men walks out the office looking downhearted. Behind them, a woman with blonde hair in a formal Overwatch uniform holding a clipboard comes out.
"Shawn Rose."
S3bastian and I rose up, determined to get this debriefing with Gabriel over with and get assigned elsewhere. His shivel chair wasn't facing us, so as I took my seat at a chair facing his desk, I admire his office for a bit.
"Nice office, do you even get to use it as Strike Commander?" I ask.
"He does not. It's inspired by my own which is why I'm using it while I'm here." A female voice responds which shocks me for a second.
The chair turns around to reveal a tall African- American woman with neck length black hair. Seeing her, I immediately recognize her as the Under Secretary General Gabrielle Adawe. The woman calling the shots.
"Do you know who I am?" She asks, her face revealing nothing.
"I have an idea as to who you are. I would assume that you're Reap... ahem.. Strike Commander Gabriel's boss." I respond. At that moment I was too busy trying to remember if it was common knowledge that she was the UN appointed leader behind the founding of Overwatch that I almost slipped up and called him Reaper like I was used to calling him. Looking at her, I don't know if she caught my slip up or not, but it's not like she can do anything with that information anyway.
"Hmm." She responds, making me wonder if I should even know that, but I realize that this was a good guess given the circumstances provided, so I don't doubt my answer.
"Well, let's get to the matter at hand, shall we." She says as her blonde assistant hands her a tablet. She doesn't wait for my response as she continues on, scrolling through the information on the tablet.
"It's a shame what happened to Staff Sergeant Fisher in your last mission. His name, along with everyone else who perishes in this dreadful war, will be recorded, and his story told." She pauses, to which I give a brief nod, acknowledging her words.
"I'd also like to take this time to commend you for stepping up to take his place, even inspiring the new recruits to continue the mission. Without your leadership and decision-making, we wouldn't have saved over 400 people. It's nice having brilliant minds in these troubling times." She says to me.
"Thank you, Miss Adawe, but I would be amiss to take all the credit. Without Reinhardt, I wouldn't be here." I respond, opting to go the humble route.
Looking up from the tablet, "Yes, well, he is indeed quite the asset to have as a teammate. Providing valuable leadership when needed, although his decision-making leaves much to be desired.
Howbeit, as the case with any mission, things didn't quite go right, and your backs were against the wall. When all seemed lost, something happened. Want to elaborate on that?" She asks, finally looking up at me.
I know that she's asking me to explain the whole Evil Shawn situation. If I wanted to, I would explain everything to her. But, I know that whatever I tell her would be put on my profile. A profile that Talon could get their hands on in a couple of years. Which is why, even though I revealed some of my powers to the government to get some equipment and weapons from them, I didn't reveal everything. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I don't even know all of what I could do.
So right now, her file on me was provided by the government. All they knew was that I could manipulate electricity, which clearly is a portion of the whole truth. Since I knew, she eventually was going to ask about it, I decided to take it a bit further.
Sitting up, I reach behind my back and pull out the battery I use that helps me recharge the Galvanic State more. Showing it to her, I begin my explanation.
"Before when I was with the government officials, I didn't quite trust them, so I never revealed the true premise behind my abilities. But I think you are trustworthy, so I will be completely honest with you. As far as manipulating electricity, that part is true, but I rely on this battery as a means of producing it. That doesn't mean that I myself can't produce it. When I do so myself, the electricity is fiercer, more uncontrollable. In turn, I too grow more aggressive, which is why I rely on the battery to avoid this." I put the battery back in its holster and the room goes silent as both the assistant and Adawe ponder on my words.
Sitting back in her chair, leaving the tablet flat on the table, she continues on,
"It has been reported to me that you possess healing capabilities. Thus, instead of immediately returning to Canada, you are being reassigned to assist our operatives in Europe. If that is all, you're dismissed."
Figuring that I gave a suitable answer to her question, I decide to get out while I can before she changes her mind and be more direct with her questioning. Standing and giving a polite nod to the assistant, me and S3bastian leave.
General POV:
As Shawn leaves, Adawe sits back in Gabriel's chair. She found it not as comfortable as her own, but it was acceptable. Already having her own opinions on the situation, she decided to test her assistant.
"So, what are your thoughts?" Adawe asks her.
The assistant contemplates for a moment. She was paying attention to the subtle cues in the conversation, trying to see whether Shawn was lying or not.
"I don't recall you introducing yourself." The assistant finally says.
"You are correct, I didn't, and he addressed me directly. Only designated leaders in Overwatch know how I am. So, what does that tell us?" She questions her further.
She takes even longer to think about it. So long that Adawe decides to intervene.
"What was reported about him?" She says, trying to provide a helpful push.
"Oh, are you referring to the foresight ability that Strike Commander Reyes added after his interrogation? Yeah, that could verify it." She says.
Adawe shakes her head, "It does not."
"Oh." The assistant says, not understanding how it didn't.
Adawe sighs, sitting up, resting her head on her hands as she explains it to her.
"While it does show that he knows things not privy to everyone else, it doesn't imply that he can see the future. If he could, how would he get outmaneuvered by the omnics." She enlightens to her assistant.
This does help her understand more, but she has more questions.
"So do you not believe he can see the future?" The assistant needs to clarify.
"There are too many unknowns with Rose to dismiss the ability entirely. That being said, what would you do with him" Adawe asks.
The assistant looks over the report on Rose. Especially the part on when he showcased his power and how many recalled him being an entirely different person altogether. The reports and Shawn's testimony didn't add up, showing that Shawn not only downplayed how uncontrollable it was, but just what he could do.
"Remove him from Overwatch?" The assistant says that sounds more like a question.
"Why?" Adawe responds.
"Well because he is currently unpredictable, and by his own testimony, wielding powers that he can't control. Coupled with the fact that he harbors too many secrets from us, he could eventually either get himself or his teammates killed." The assistant concludes.
"Normally you would be right, but Mr. Rose has proven to be an asset that Overwatch could use. There is too much at stake for us to let such a person get killed or let go. We'll need to keep him under surveillance, possibly find out what his goal is, what he knows.
But, he can't be our main focus as the project in Canada is at a standstill. Once that gets dealt with, we can worry about Rose." Adawe orders, and the assistant can't help but smile at how her boss had everything figured out. UN didn't make a mistake in appointing her over Overwatch and it shows.