FADE IN: EXT. ABANDONED WATCHPOINT: GIBRALTAR BUILDING - NIGHT
INT. WINSTON'S LAB
Winston is working at a lab bench, humming a part of the Overwatch victory tune. An Athena terminal sits to his left. The words “BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS” appear briefly on screen.
ATHENA: Shield generator test ready to proceed.
Winston activates a small Barrier Projector. The barrier functions for a few seconds, pleasing him, before encountering an error and exploding. Winston is blasted to the floor and rises, frustrated.
ATHENA: Now, now. No need for that, Winston. Your heart rate is through the roof.
Winston climbs onto a tire swing and swings to a balcony above.
WINSTON: I told you to stop monitoring my vitals, Athena.
ATHENA: Very well.
Winston walks to a nearby computer and sits down, grabbing a banana and unscrewing a jar of peanut bu*ter with his mouth.
ATHENA: It has been 43 days, 7 hours, and 29 seconds since your last cardio workout. Remember, a healthy body is-
WINSTON: -a healthy mind. That's why I have this.
Winston holds up his now peeled banana and spits the peanut bu*ter jar's lid onto the desk. It rolls and falls next to a pile of lids. Winston cracks his feet knuckles and taps his keyboard. A news report appears on screen.
REPORTER: The Second Omnic Crisis continues to devastate Russia. The conflict between omnics and humans has now claimed over 15,000 lives. So far, the international community has been reluctant to join...
The news report fades out as Winston types on his keyboard, bringing up a screen that says “INITIATE OVERWATCH RECALL? Y/N”. Winston's hand hovers in front of the options.
ATHENA: Every time you see news of this sort we go through this. I remind you, recalling Overwatch agents to active duty comes with great risk.
Winston rolls his eyes as Athena brings up images on another monitor; one of the Petras Act and the other of an Overwatch agent being arrested.
ATHENA: The Petras Act clearly states any Overwatch activity is deemed illegal and punishable by prosecution.
WINSTON: [sighs] I know. You're right.
Winston slumps in his chair as Athena closes the images.
WINSTON: That's the way the world is. [sighs] But I do miss the old days...
Winston looks to his left at pictures of his friends from Overwatch. He lifts one of them, revealing underneath a picture of his younger self and Dr. Harold Winston.
FADE TO: HORIZON LUNAR COLONY - DAY
Winston flashbacks to his youth, where he hangs upside down in his dorm and looks through a pair of gla**es out a window. He sees a shooting star pa** by and examines the landscape near the Horizon Lunar Colony. Harold Winston opens the door and walks in. Winston falls from the ceiling and becomes defensive of the gla**es, attempting to hide them behind his back.
HAROLD: I think you have something that belongs to me.
Winston sits down and avoids eye contact. Harold extends his hand.
HAROLD: Hand them over.
Winston makes a sound that vaguely resembles the word “no”. Harold kneels in front of him.
HAROLD: Oh, it's okay. You're not in trouble. No! I'll trade ya.
Harold reveals a jar of peanut bu*ter. Winston gladly takes the jar and hands his gla**es to Harold.
HAROLD: There you go, buddy.
Winston begins gnawing at the jar's lid while Harold puts his gla**es on. Winston becomes distracted by the window, where the only thing that can be seen is the gray landscape and a starless sky.
HAROLD: Yeah, there's not much to see from in here, kiddo... But you know there's more out there, don't you?
Winston happily turns to Harold, clutching his peanut bu*ter jar. Harold stands up.
HAROLD: [extending his hand] Come on. It's time I showed you something.
Winston takes it. A beeping sound is heard as the flashback ends.
FADE TO: WINSTON'S LAB - CONTINUOUS
Winston wakes up to the words "INTRUDER ALERT" flashing on the screen. He turns away, startled.
EXT. STAIRWELL
Talon agents are entering the building.
INT. WINSTON'S LAB
ATHENA: I'm detecting intruders.
WINSTON: Talon.
Winston removes his gla**es.
WINSON: Athena... k** the lights.
Six Talon agents are entering Winston's laboratory as the lights go out. The agents look around, on guard. Winston watches them from a dark corner on the balcony, eating a banana. Winston drops the banana's peel in front of the Talon agents, who turn to look at it. He drops from the ceiling, landing on one. They begin to fire at Winston, who is unharmed as he throws two away, smashes another into the ground, and smashes the remaining two into each other. Reaper appears in a cloud of smoke and flies to a balcony above. Winston attempts to jump at him, but a Talon agent catches him with a taser. Three other agents regroup and do the same.
INT. WINSTON'S COMPUTER ROOM
Reaper enters Winston's computer room and attaches a device to one of his servers. Athena's screens begin to glitch, and the words "DATA BREACH" appear on one.
ATHENA: Security protocols failing. Winston, Reaper is extracting the Overwatch agent database!
Winston looks up at the room before immediately being tased again. One agent backs up, slipping on Winston's banana peel, leaving Winston's hand free. Winston laughs and enters Primal Rage, grabbing one agent's taser tether and swinging him into other agents.
INT. WINSTON'S COMPUTER ROOM
Reaper waits at the computers.
ATHENA: Extraction at-
A Talon agent is thrown through the window behind Reaper.
ATHENA: -32%.
Reaper sighs, cracks his neck, and drops out of the now broken window to the room below. As Winston is calming down, Reaper lands behind him and begins firing his Hellfire Shotguns. Winston backs up and collapses, the contents of his work table on the floor around him. Reaper shoots down a space capsule from the ceiling, which lands on Winston and knocks him out.
CUT TO: HORIZON LUNAR COLONY - CONTINUOUS
Harold is leading young Winston down a dimly lit room. There is a large telescope in the background. Winston approaches the door slowly, and Harold kneels beside him, removing his gla**es.
HAROLD: You took these because you wanted to see if there was more out there.
Harold places the gla**es on Winston's face. Winston smiles.
HAROLD: Well, see for yourself.
The door opens slowly, revealing a close view of Earth in the distance.
WINSTON: Wow...
Winston and Harold stand side to side, gazing at Earth. Winston takes Harold's hand.
HAROLD: Always remember: never accept the world as it appears to be. Dare to see it for what it could be.
FADE TO: WINSTON'S LAB - CONTINUOUS
ATHENA: Winston!
Winston wakes up to Reaper walking towards him.
ATHENA: Winston! He's going to have all agents' locations!
Reaper discards his shotguns, pulling out a new pair and pointing them at Winston.
REAPER: I'll be sure to send them your regards, monkey.
WINSTON: I'm not a monkey...
Winston activates the Barrier Projector that landed next to him and slides it next to Reaper. Like before, it encounters an error. Reaper laughs.
WINSTON: I'm a scientist.
The projector explodes, and Reaper is knocked into a table. Winston throws off the space capsule and picks up his Tesla Cannon, which he fires at Reaper. Reaper dissolves, leaving behind the two shotguns he was pulling out. Winston beats his chest proudly.
ATHENA: Extraction. 90. Percent.
Winston climbs to the computer room and removes Reaper's device, smashing it in his hand.
ATHENA: Failing. 98%.
Winston runs to the computer and begins typing.
WINSTON: Hang on, Athena.
All monitors shut off simultaneously. Winston is shocked.
WINSTON: Athena? A-Athena?
Athena reboots. Her logo appears onscreen.
ATHENA: Virus quarantined. I'm running diagnostics on the core database. Restoring systems.
All screens reactivate, returning to their state before the Talon agents arrived. The "INITIATE OVERWATCH RECALL?" prompt appears again before Winston. He stares at the prompt, then picks up his gla**es and stares at them. He remembers Harold Winston's advice.
HAROLD: [V.O.] Never accept the world as it appears to be. Dare to see it for what it could be.
Winston puts on the gla**es and proudly selects "Y". A globe appears, and several locations of Overwatch agents appear.
ATHENA: Establishing agent connections.
Winston is an awe as the screen flashes between several agent profiles; Genji, then Reinhardt, Mercy, Torbjörn, McCree, 15 agents with their name blurred, and finally Tracer, who opens a call first.
TRACER: [from computer] Winston? Is that you, love? A-ha! It's been too long!
Winston dons his armor and Jump Pack, smiling.
WINSTON: Yes. Yes it has.
CUT TO: OVERWATCH OUTRO
CUT TO: INT. RUINED LABORATORY - NIGHT
Reaper briefly flies through the room as smoke, laughing.