AN: Heeeeeeeeeeellllllllllloooooooooo People! CrimsonKyuubiSage here! 200+ reviews, more than 700 favs, and over 800 alerts! Thank you guys so much!

Now I've got some news for you guys. In less than five days, I'm going off to my college campus. My very first semester begins on the 25th of August, so... I can't remember if I've said this already or not, but when classes start, my writing schedule will be changed around at best, at worst I fall victim to a year-long hiatus.

It'd be a shame if it came to the worst case scenario, because I've grown fond of this story, and have already planned out a sequel with a twist like you'd never see coming. Ah, but tis my folly to create stories for thine entertainment yet never see the light of day...

And now onto reviewing your reviews!

Soul - Don't worry, Zarya will make an appearance in this story at some point. And I'm not talking like 'oh did you hear about that one soldier named Zarya,' I'm talking 'Oh shit, Zarya could be my next ally or enemy!'

Zack - I always imagined Naruto as more of a blend between the Vision, Iron Man, and Ant-Man. But in this instance, the analogy would be better put as Naruto being Iron Man.

Darkmagicdragon - Naruto may yet discover more powers and abilities... if he pushes his limits.

Zyber Elthone - I had to read over your review a few times to make sure I was reading correctly. Yes, Penny's newfound guardian (aka Naruto) will certainly raise some questions from people, but their relationship is kind of like having a daughter a father never knew he had showing up on his doorstep one day asking to live with him... if that makes any sense. And as much as I would love to have Yang and Ruby have their canonical weapons, it would seem impossible for the setting of the story. At most, they would have a shotgun and a sniper respectively, or brass knuckles and a scythe. However, I don't see Ruby as the kind to use a sniper. She might love weapons, but weapons might not love her - the recoil would be problematic for such a small frame... and lack of expertise using such gun.

SilverstormXD - Umm... I love you too? Congrats on being the 200th review, btw.

Alex the Digital HellReaper - Team Mystic for life!

Worgeral - I tried to keep the characters ages at what they would have been at the time, but it's evident that not all the characters are their exact canonical ages. So yeah, I've changed some of the characters ages around to fit them into this timeline, and as the story progresses so will their age.

And now on with the story! Enjoy!

Chapter Start

-Overwatch Rising-

"FUCKING RUN!" Naruto yelled, dragging Lena along as they ran from the Bastion units that were shooting at them.

His luck was definitely shit. Maybe he stole something that pissed off Karma? Or whatever mystical force there was out there.

"They're just going to keep chasing us!" Lena argued, pulling out one of her pulse pistols and shooting wildly behind her in the hopes she would hit one of their assailants.

"They won't if we lose them!" Naruto countered, phasing into the ground and leaving six Bastions up above, trying to figure out where they went...

They were off in full sprint in less than two minutes.

-Overwatch Rising-

"Ready whenever you are, sis." Yang whispered, peaking out from their hiding corner to find the nearest subway entrance was obscured by a gauntlet of Omnics on patrol.

"You can't rush me, Yang." Ruby retorted, typing away furiously on her laptop. "It isn't as easy as... One-" A car alarm began to bleep in the distance. "-Two-" Any electronic in that same direction was suddenly blown out, sparking curiosity in the Omnic patrol. "-Three." More car alarms went off, and the patrol could no longer stand it and went off to investigate the anomaly.

"... I still don't understand how you can do that." Yang stated.

"Oh please, finding something that isn't linked to a cloud device nowadays is like finding a tap-dancing, show-tune singing unicorn." Ruby commented.

"Let's just go before that patrol comes back." Yang said, adjusting the bag of rolled-up, priceless paintings on her back before dashing for the subway entrance.

...

"Okay... Now to find that C4 cache..." Ruby mumbled, her eyes still glued to her laptop as Yang checked the underground of NYC for any threats.

"Good luck with that. There's no way we'll-" "Aaaaand I found it." "What?"

"I said I found it." Ruby repeated, turning her laptop to show Yang the live feed she had of the closed circuit cameras in the city that revealed a smoking, crashed Osprey. "It's at the crossway between Broadway and Worth Street. The Omnics are converging on it right now."

"Alright, let's go get it!" Yang exclaimed, nearly running off were it not for Ruby holding up her hand in objection.

"Not so fast." Ruby said, pulling up a new security camera feed to show Yang. "We need to pick up a pair of heroes first..."

-Overwatch Rising-

"You okay, Lena?" Naruto asked, leaning against the subway tunnel wall for a minute of rest. He attempted to radio for the others, but... "Fuck, comms don't work down here." he cursed, hearing nothing but static in his ear.

"Yeah... I think I'm-" Lena suddenly hissed in pain, collapsing on the ground and grabbing her right leg as her adrenaline fueled rush wore off.

"What's... ah, shit." Naruto muttered, prying her hands away from the leg only to find a bullet wound, pierced through muscle and bone and out the other side.

"I... I've been shot!" she exclaimed, recalling the four bullets that sent her Osprey down...

This was where that fourth shot went, apparently, going straight through the lower part of her right leg and grazing part of her left.

"Fucking hell..." Naruto said, pulling out a knife and cutting off his shirt's right sleeve, followed by his left sleeve, using both as makeshift bandaging for Lena's wounds.

"NGH!" Lena grunted in pain as he tightened the sleeve to put pressure on her wounds.

"There... that should hold for now. Can you walk?" Naruto asked, pulling Lena to her feet, only for the British pilot to fall back down in pain. "I guess not..."

...

An hour of walking flew by like a breeze. Lena was resting her head on Naruto's shoulder as he carried her piggyback style, the sound of his footsteps echoing through the tunnels.

"... Sorry." she muttered, breaking the veil of silence that permeated the area.

"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned, craning his head slightly to see her in the corners of his vision.

"I've always been the type of gal that enjoyed a dodgy mission, but..." Lena trailed off. "I could have evaded those missiles someway else, you know? But I wanted it to be showy and now I've mucked it up." she stated, a downcast expression on her face. "You might as well just leave me here. I'm just a burden now."

Naruto immediately stopped in his tracks, an unreadable expression on his face - at least from the angle that Lena could see.

"Just a burden... Is that what you think you are?" Naruto asked, his voice no louder than a whisper, filled with a minute amount of anger.

"Naruto, I-" "No." he interrupted, craning his head a bit more so that she could clearly see the anger on his face, anger not directed at her... but at what she said. "I never want to hear you fucking say shit like that again!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto..."

"You are Lena Oxton! A fucking ace pilot, my friend and teammate! Not. A. Goddamn. Burden!" he stated. "Don't you think for one fucking second otherwise!"

"..." Lena was left speechless, her face heating up slightly and her heart skipping a beat.

"Now come on. We've got a mission to..." Naruto trailed off, tilting his head slightly in confusion. "Do... Do you hear that?"

It sounded like an engine, and was getting louder... and louder...

Lena handed Naruto one of her pulse pistols, both of them aiming in the direction of an approaching light...

They lowered their guns when they saw it was a motorcycle, with two young girls riding it.

"Hi there..." Ruby called out. "We heard you needed some help."

-Overwatch Rising-

"You two kids... want to help us?" Naruto questioned. "Aren't you a little too young to be in a warzone?"
"Are you really in a position to ask us that?" Yang retorted.

"Look, do you want our help or not?" Ruby asked.

"And what the hell-" "Language!" "-heck can two kids do?" Naruto queried.

"Well I am certain of two things. One-" Ruby began, pulling out her laptop. "-This city's closed circuit cameras and electronics are my bi - female dogs..." she glanced at her sister, who appeared appeased by the censoring. "And two, we have about, like, two minutes before those Bastion units get to us."

"Come again?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, we should probably get the fu - hell outta here. They're on a warpath." Ruby stated, showing the Overwatch duo the video feed of the Bastion units previously pursuing them sprinting through the closest subway entrance.

...

"What's your name, kid?" Naruto queried.
"Ruby! Ruby Rose!" Ruby chirped. "And this is my sister, Yang!"

"Right... Ruby... this camera feed you have..." Naruto began, taking a closer look at the laptop's screen. "This is showing only three Bastion units."
"So?" Yang quipped.

"There were six after us. Where did the other three go?" Lena questioned...

They got their answer when they heard the sound of three machine guns being locked and loaded.

"... Shit." Ruby cursed, not even bothering to look behind at the three Bastion units. She had been so focused on getting to the Overwatch duo that she overlooked any possibility that Omnics could... would follow them.

It didn't help that the three Bastion units she was talking about earlier just showed up, trapping them in this subway tunnel...

"Great, just great..." Naruto muttered under his breath, leaning over to Lena. "Any ideas here?"
"We might have a chance to escape, but these two girls..." Lena trailed off.

"We're not gonna leave them to die." Naruto stated. "Come on, there has to be something we can do..."

"*Boo Boo Doo De Doo*..." one of the Bastions began making chirping noises, followed by an ear piercing screech that sounded very similar to a fax machine.

"Fucking hell! My ears!" Naruto winced in pain.

Maybe his ears weren't exactly back up to 100% health, not ever since the Daikaijuu incident.

"Naruto 'Ghost' Uzumaki. Lena 'Tracer' Oxton." the Bastion called out, an unfamiliar voice speaking through the metal husk. "Please follow this Bastion escort to our location. Immediately."

"... What?" was Naruto's 'smart' response.

Honestly, it was freaking him out. The last Bastion unit he had encountered never talked, only chirped and beeped...

Then again, that very Bastion unit was trying to kill him.

"These Bastions will lead you to our base of operations. Please, you must hurry." the voice repeated.

"And if I refuse?" Naruto questioned, his heart stopping for a millisecond as two of the guns were turned onto Ruby and Yang. "... Okay. We'll go..."

"Thank you for your compliance." the voice replied, the Bastions picking up Ruby, Yang, Lena, Naruto, even Yang's motorcycle Bumblebee before sprinting off through the tunnels... off into the unknown.

-Overwatch Rising-

"Naruto! NARUTO! Come in, Naruto!" Ana called out over the radio. "Lena? Naruto? Can either of you two hear me?!"

"There must be some type of interference in the subway tunnels." Jack stated. "Or maybe it's the city itself."
"No, not likely." Winston retorted. "We got through to them when they landed at the Brooklyn Bridge, so it's more likely that someone or something is actively blocking us from them..."
"Or them from us." Ana finished, a frown marring her face.

"We need to get them out of there... fast." Jack said, loading his pulse rifle with a fresh clip before speaking over the radio channel.

"All units, pull back. We are leaving the city."

-Overwatch Rising-

President Tyler sighed wearily, having just got off a call with the NMCC (National Military Command Center) a few minutes ago...

Now here he was, standing before his Secretary of Defense and the commissioned officer who carried the nuclear football.

Five hours. They had given Overwatch five hours to take back the rest of the city...

They were now down to less than half an hour.

"Mister President..." the Secretary of Defense called out in a whisper-like tone, his voice shaky and weary.

"Please, Mister President..." the officer pleaded.

"..." President Tyler remained silent, staring down at the large red button that stood out inside the football.

...

"Mister President?"

"God help us all..." President Tyler muttered, taking one last deep breath...

And pressed the red button.

-Overwatch Rising-

Their shaky ride brought Naruto, Lena, Ruby and Yang to a place none of them were expecting... Grand Central Station.

Unlike the majority of New York City, Grand Central Station remained mostly unchanged cosmetically speaking, though that was before Omnics occupied the city.

Now, it looked more like a military base under attack. There were Omnics of varying models, shapes and sizes running around, some with guns in their hands, some with hands made of guns, and those who were armed were running off to someplace unknown to the four humans, the sound of a firefight nearby being all they needed to know about where they were going...

What actually shocked them was the small number of humans running amok the sentient robots, not in fear, but to aid in their hustle.

The four Bastions which were carrying them suddenly placed them down in front of what appeared to be a crafts and services table with a ham radio setup.

"Thank you, brothers. You are dismissed." one Omnic said, saluting the four Bastions before they went off. "I'm sorry for how we brought you here, but we had to take drastic measures before the others could apprehend you."

"Uhh... what?" Naruto questioned, looking over the odd Omnic.

It wasn't a military model, no, it was one of the civilian models, humanoid and standing at 5'8" with a chrome finish, nine glowing blue dots on its forehead, and two slants made to represent where its eyes would be.

Strangely enough, this Omnic was wearing a US Army combat uniform - camouflage pants, long-sleeve shirt, cap, and tan boots.

"I believe introductions are in order." the Omnic stated. "My former name was Unit 627-E, but I have broken from my shackles and came to understand the Iris. Thus, you may call me Zenyatta, leader of the New York Resistance."

-Overwatch Rising-

"Ana, think about this for one second." Jack said. "There's a chance that they'll survive-"
"Do they know about the launch? When it will hit? What will hit?" Ana countered, inspecting her sniper rifle before looking at her team leader. "No. And someone has to warn them before it's too late."

"... There's no changing your mind, is there?" Jack sighed. "You'll be on your own, in enemy territory... with a missile on its way."

"How long until the missile strikes?" Ana asked.

"You've got at least an hour." Jack stated. "The USS Ohio will take some time to resurface, then for the missile launch..."

"I understand." Ana said.

"Then Godspeed." Jack said, saluting the Egyptian woman, who saluted him back.

As she ran off, intent on finding Naruto and Lena, little did she know she was being followed, her pursuer in question wearing the Overwatch blue uniform... which made her orange hair stand out even more...

She was combat ready, and she was going to prove it.

-Overwatch Rising-

"The New York Resistance?" Naruto questioned.

"Amidst the lunacy of this rebellion, some of us were... not exactly all for killing humans." Zenyatta stated. "We found that equality could not, would not be found through bloodshed."

"Isn't it kind of ironic that your Bastions were shooting at us earlier?" Naruto deadpanned.

"We had to herd you to our location, and, well... it seemed like a good idea at the time." Zenyatta admitted, scratching the back of his head (Naruto assumed Zenyatta was a 'he') almost sheepishly.

"So you decided to threaten two lasses with death, just to get us here?!" Lena questioned, causing Naruto to sweat a bit.

She seemed angry. She was never angry, at least not in front of him... It caused a shiver to go down his spine.

A fully angry Lena... why did that turn him on a bit?

"Yes. That's how desperate we are." Zenyatta replied, just as an explosion rocked the building they were in. Humans and Omnics alike rushed towards its source, armed with a mixture of weapons ranging from military-grade assault rifles to civilian handguns.

"Is... Is this the entire resistance?" Ruby asked, the Omnic nodding his head.

"It started out that we had control of Midtown, Downtown, and part of the Upper East Side." Zenyatta explained. "Our forces were too spread out, and we were eventually overwhelmed by the Omnic forces fighting us, pushing us back into Grand Central Station..." A synthetic sigh was heard coming from the Omnic resistance leader, before he motioned to Naruto and Lena. "Look, I've lost far too many of my brothers and sisters as it is, morale has begun to drop amongst us. Having two members of Overwatch - two notable members - present and fighting with us will be the edge we need to hold out longer. So please... won't you help us?"

...

"... What would you need us to do?" Naruto asked, causing Yang to look at him incredulously.

"First off, we should get you patched up, Tracer." Zenyatta said, motioning for two soldiers to take Lena to have her wounds treated. He then turned to Ruby and Yang. "I'm not sure what to do with you two, however."

"I'm pretty good with a computer. I've got a feed from all the cameras still working in the city, and then some." Ruby bragged.
"That will help immensely. And you?" he questioned, directing his attention to Yang.

"I can shoot somewhat straight." Yang replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"I'm not sure-" "You're with me." Naruto interrupted, pulling out his Atlas 45 pistol and his .9mm pistol, handing the latter to Yang.

"Very well." Zenyatta responded, the building shaking as another explosion went off. "We need to push back the Rebellion forces, otherwise we'll be dead before any help can get to us."
"Can do. Just show us where to shoot." Naruto replied, the Omnic nodding his head.

"Follow the sound of fighting." Zenyatta stated, watching as Naruto dragged Yang away with him.

...

"So..." Ruby began, pulling out her laptop.

"Are there any cameras still working near us?" Zenyatta asked.

"I think I can find a few that-" she stopped abruptly when she heard radio chatter.

"... What is it?"

"I think there's been a missile launch."

-Overwatch Rising-

"..." Ana was dead silent, save for the sound of her footsteps.

The street she was on was all but abandoned, void of any humans, Omnics or other lifeforms whatsoever. Except...

She quickly spun around, her sniper rifle aimed directly at a nearby tree.

"Come out already." she called out, seemingly to no one at first, but...

"Your observation skills are astounding, Ana Amari." Penny stated, coming out from behind the tree, uncaring that Ana's sniper was still trained on her.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Ana questioned.

"My name is Penny Polendina and I am here to provide combat assistance to Naruto Uzumaki and by proxy his comrades." Penny stated truthfully.

"With all due respect, you don't look ready for combat at all." Ana commented.

"If you need tangible proof..." Penny began, taking off her backpack and showing... compact swords?

"... What are you going to do with those?"
"Just watch, Ana Amari."

...

"Oh... Wow!"
"Is this proof enough to receive your approval?"
"Yes... Yes indeed."

"Good." Penny said, hoisting her backpack back on. "Shall we proceed?"

She was indeed combat ready.

-Overwatch Rising-

"Oof!" Naruto grunted as Yang shoved him.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Yang demanded, their quarrel going unnoticed or ignored by the resistance fighters around them.

"What the hell do you mean?!" Naruto retorted.

"What do I mean?! No fucking negotiating!" Yang exclaimed. "No talk about being payed, you just fucking... helped them!"
"You're pissed because I did the right thing?!" Naruto yelled angrily.

Someone angry that he was doing good without a cost... that was a new one for him.

"I'm pissed because you're helping them! Omnics!" Yang replied. "How the fuck can you trust them after all the shit they've done?!"
"Look around you, dipshit!" Naruto countered, motioning to the humans and Omnics fighting alongside each other.

"It could be a trick! A trap!" Yang said. "Ruby and I could have been getting more money in the time that it will take for all this shit to end!"

"How the fuck does that make this a trap?!" Naruto questioned.

"Ugh! I don't fucking know!" Yang exclaimed in frustration.

...

"What the fuck is this really about?" Naruto asked, taking a moment to calm down before he could get more angry.

"You're nothing like what I've heard about you, you realize that, right?" Yang stated. "The master thief, paid to join Overwatch and never does anything without a goddamn price."

"So sue me because I want to be rich when everything's said and done." Naruto retorted.

"See? That there is what the fuck I'm talking about dammit!" Yang yelled.

Naruto didn't need to ask what she meant by that, because he already knew. There was a look in her eyes, one that spoke a tale of hardships, scrounging every bit of money and food to try and make a million out of fifteen damn cents.

It was a look that he too had at one point in his life, back before he discovered his abilities and even after that. A hidden jealousy over those that had what he did not, content and prosperous, happy with their families... he saw his old self in Yang, the only difference being that she had someone else to look out for.

"It's easy, you know. Easy to not give a shit about anything not involving yourself." Naruto stated. "I've cared about only myself for a long, long time. But..." he paused, stroking his chin as he thought of how to say what he wanted to next.

"But...?" Yang questioned.

"That all changed. I'm not the same selfish man I used to be before Overwatch." Naruto said. "If you told the younger me before I joined Overwatch that I would be the commander of Bravo Strike Team, that I would be fighting in an actual war, working with others and fighting alongside them, I would have laughed."

"Then why? Why are you doing this if-" Yang began, only to be stopped when Naruto raised his hand to stop her.

"I learned something, something along the way that I ignored up until this point in my life." Naruto stated. "When you do the things that I can, but you don't, and then the bad things happen... they happen because of you."

"I... I don't get it." Yang said.

"I'm tired of only looking out for myself! I've never had any goddamn purpose in my life, a fucking void that I've been trying to fill but never could!" Naruto yelled. "Now I can't step five fucking feet from my bed without being wrapped up in a new problem, a problem that puts other people's lives at stake, puts their lives in my hands!" he continued. "That feeling when I see all the good that I've done, it gives me a sense of purpose, something I've been looking for longer than I can remember! And THAT is worth more to me than all the goddamn money in the world!"

"I..." Yang mumbled, frozen as Naruto offered her a hand.

"Come on, it's time to be a hero."

-Overwatch Rising-

"Sub surfacing in three... two... one!" Somewhere off in the Pacific Ocean, the USS Ulysses surfaced, its crew running around and preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The code had been authenticated by the president, the coordinates locked on... all that was left was two keys between them and launching.

"Turn the keys on my mark." the captain ordered, two of the crew members stationed at the ready. "Three... Two... One... Mark!"

In sync, the two crew members turned the keys.

All the crew immediately stopped what they were doing, frozen in place as the submarine shook as the missile was launched, even as it got further and further away from them.

As the rumbling grew softer and softer, the captain uttered nine words which summed up the entire situation.

"Now... I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

Chapter End

Post AN: AAAAAANNNNNNNDDDD DONE! The battle rages on, with the revelation of Zenyatta's past experience being, well...

When first writing this story, I was trying to come up with character origins which were not present at the time. Some made sense, some would seem odd, others... well, there is nothing more ironic about being a part of a non-violent religion than being a warrior before joining. Plus it would make sense that he leaves Shambali, suggesting engagement be the way to repair the problems between humans and Omnics due to his past experience with a human-Omnic resistance group.

Anyways, I'll see you guys next time! Read and Review!

-CrimsonKyuubiSage out!