Below Zero

Chapter 1: Rebuilding

This takes place two months after the "Rise and Shine" animated short

"Bái mù!" Mei yelled.

Winston turned around and chuckled.

"Having a bit of trouble, Mei?" he asked. Mei was writing down and solving formulas on a chalkboard. An average person couldn't possibly comprehend them, but they were relatively standard for experienced scientists like themselves. But in this situation, not even Mei could figure it out.

"I thought I was a better scientist than this." Mei said jokingly.

"It's fine, Mei." Winston said reassuringly. "Overwatch's survival doesn't solely rely on scientific equations." They both laughed at Winston's humor. After all, a little bit of light hearted behavior wouldn't kill them. They most likely needed it with the environment they were working in. They were a mere shadow of the once great organization they used to be; and the whole world against them, morale among their extremely limited numbers was low. Despite that, they made the most of moments like these. The road to rebuilding Overwatch was a long and stressful one; if there was anything Overwatch's agents needed, it was light-heartedness and positive attitudes.

"Glad we could have a good laugh." Winston said. "These last few weeks have been stressful." Winston sat down and dug into a jar of peanut butter. Mei merely shook her head at Winston's odd eating habits.

"So, what else is there to do?" Mei asked curiously.

"Well, the main problem right now is our lack of agents." Winston said. "I don't think we even have 100. If we're going to rebuild Overwatch, we need an increase in manpower." Winston stood up and walked over to his computer. He pressed a button on his keyboard, which made almost a hundred images flood onto the screen. Each one depicted a different person.

"These are our potential recruits." Winston explained. "Thing is, there's no guarantee any of them will want to work with us. Even trying to contact them is a gamble, because they could very well report us and get us shut down." Mei studied the screen closely, analyzing each face.

"Hmm..." Mei said quietly to herself. "Perhaps our numbers aren't the issue." Winston was confused by her words and was about to speak up, before she explained herself.

"It is true that our numbers are low." Mei said. "But another problem is location. Gibraltar is the only active Watchpoint. I think we would have a lot to gain if we made some of the other Watchpoints active again."

"Reactivating one of our watchpoints is too risky." Winston said. "Even having Gibraltar active is running a huge risk. Too much activity could compromise us; having multiple watchpoints active isn't something that can fly under the radar. The fact that watchpoints are technically military installations doesn't exactly help us stay hidden either." Mei stood silently, lost in thought.

"What about Overwatch's ecopoints?" Mei asked. "I think we could get away with reactivating them." Winston chuckled quietly.

"I knew you'd bring it up at some point." Winston said. "You always loved ecological studies."

"Ecopoints are perfect places to run Overwatch!" Mei said excitedly. "No military nonsense, just research. If we're careful, then there's no way anyone will find out about us!" Winston was unsure about her plan.

"I'm not so sure about that, Mei." Winston said. "In the state Overwatch is in, Ecopoints can only be so beneficial." Mei clasped her hands together and gave Winston puppy eyes.

"Please?" Mei said. Winston sighed, for he knew he had to give in. Ecology and nature was always Mei's passion, and although have ecopoints instead of watchpoints active may not be as beneficial as Winston would like it to be, he knew it would be the perfect opportunity for Mei. Plus, even if the puppy eyes didn't faze him, Mei wouldn't stop trying to get his approval any time soon.