Lena "Tracer" Oxton was not your average pilot. Fast, cunning and agile in both aerial and ground combat, she was one of the best and youngest pilots the Royal Air Force had to offer.
Her superiors held her in high esteem, and she met up to their standards easily, much to the upper echelons' delight. Eventually, she was placed in command of an elite combat squadron, in response to her brilliant performance.
Her squadmates were people like her. Young, talented, bright, and most of all, deadly. They hardly failed any mission, thus earning them quite a reputation within the RAF. And when they returned from a near-fatal, heroic mission from a rogue Omnium bombardment mission, they found themselves in the middle of press attention.
Whenever the squad returned to base and went for a break period, reporters swarmed around them, hoping for an interview opportunity. Some of Tracer's squad hated the publicity, while others seemed to rather enjoy it. However, despite being famous, information about Lena's squad was still in the shadows, as the RAF and the U.K. Government was determined to keep them a wild card.
As time went along, Lena became great friends with her squadmates, but the closest pilot with her was definitely her second-in-command, Jun. His Full name being Junseo Lee, He was a Korean-British. His great-grandfather had served in the Korean War as a South Korean pilot, and his family migrated to the U.K. after the tragic war had finally met its end.
Overall, he was a really good person in her eyes. Bright and positive, he felt like a beacon of light when she was near him. He was the main stress-reliver of the squad, cracking jokes whenever the squad was down. Jun was also a dependable wingman in devastating dogfights, always there to back her up and his fellow squadmates.
After some time, however, Lena's superiors called her up and told her she'd been selected as the first the test pilot of Project: Slipstream. From what the ace pilot gathered from High Command, it was a next-generation, cutting-edge teleporting fighter jet developed by the world-famous organization Overwatch.
A bloody teleporting fighter.
Lena was so ready for this.
She immediately accepted the offer, and happily zoomed over to the squadron common room to tell this incredible news. Cheers erupted simultaneously, and she was given friendly 'pats on the back'.
"Flippin' heck! That's wonderful commander!" Josh, another squadmate exclaimed in delight.
"Yeah! Three cheers for Lena Oxton, the greatest 'Tracer' to have ever existed!"
Ale, Beer and Lager were brought out from the freezer by Lena's squadmates, and there was a grand party held in the entire fighter wing. Lena, swept by the atmosphere, submerged herself in the seemingly forever celebrations. Then a familiar figure approached her.
"Hey, commander." It was Jun!
"Jun! Where were you, luv?" She smiled. It was always a delight seeing him, no doubt.
"Sorry, I was immersed in a conversation with Josh." He chuckled apologetically.
"That's all right, I was genuinely immersed myself." She laughed.
"Oh, by the way, I haven't said congratulations to you, Commander." He smiled back, but it wasn't his usual one. There was something off about it.
"Jun, what's wrong? You're not yourself." She asked him in worry. He wasn't depressed so easily like this.
"It's probably nothing, but…" He hesitated.
"Tell me." Lena gently urged him.
"I.. I'm worried about you. It's experimental, untested. Even unheard of. What if something happens, Commander?" He said in genuine concern.
"Oh, Jun. I'll be fine." She said in relief. He was a sweet boy, as always.
"But.." He stuttered.
"Hey, I'll be fine. Besides, the test flight is gonna be fun, luv! Just like the old times, you know?" She whispered to comfort him, who was still in distress.
"Just like the old times." He nodded and smiled a bit.
"Promise me just one thing, then." He whispered.
"Fire away." She winked.
"The squad won't feel like the same if you're not there, commander. Promise me you'll come back." Jun whispered, almost in a pleading tone.
"Promise." She whispered back and grinned.
Moments later, Jun caught Lena by surprise with a sudden hug.
"Oi! Geroff me! You're heavy!" She exclaimed in muffled laughter.
"Don't talk about yourself!" He laughed and quickly ran away from her.
"Grrr… YOU! COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"
That night all personnel in the base had a good laugh.
Jun sighed. An entire month since the incident. The incident his CO vanished. Presumed dead. The tragedy depressed everyone in the squad, and spirits were not high even though thirty days had passed. He eventually got promoted to Commander, but there was no celebration party, and nobody was curious about the reason
He could it remember it clearly; Lena's panicking voice being broadcast all over the world.
'We have her in good hands. Don't worry.' One Overwatch scientist had assured him before the test.
Good hands? Pfft!, He thought.
Junseo and his squad were currently relieved from duty, and he was grateful for that. He desperately needed some time alone, if he were to recover in any way.
Thinking that he'd get some sleep, the young pilot was just about to lie down when the door opened with a knock. He sat bolt upright.
"Hey, Jun. Overwatch contacted you, they want to offer you something." His commanding officer informed him, with a serious look plastered on his face.
"Tell them to fuck off. I don't trust them anymore." He stated coldly.
"I understand, but please reconsider it. Lena wouldn't have liked seeing you so depressed, you know." He said understandingly and left the room.
The lost boy was left alone in his thoughts.
After days of deep consideration, he decided to trust Overwatch once more. Not that his anger had abated - But they were apologizing repeatedly, and his CO's words hit him too hard.
Lena wouldn't have liked seeing him so down... Yes, the Lena he knew would not have liked it. He was not a follower of superstitions, but if she was somehow watching him, Jun wanted Lena to be happy.
So Jun, along his squadmates, accepted the offer that would change his life forever, much to their superiors' delight.
"Alright, so what exactly are you offering?" Junseo asked an expectant Overwatch scientist.
"We know you all have shown aptitude in mechanical engineering. Especially you, Commander Lee. If you could cooperate with us, we could make a new next-generation fighter jet, and definitely not the teleporting one." The scientist emphasized that part.
"And we're thinking of inventing a new orbital flight suit, too." He added quickly.
"What kind of flight suit?" Junseo asked in genuine curiosity.
"Oh, you'll just have to wait and see." One of them grinned.
Junseo yawned and squinted at the screen in front of him. A few months had passed after he joined Overwatch under the guise of 'Overwatch Air Force'. It was an aerial combat unit of Overwatch itself made up with elite pilots from countless countries.
He was currently surveying an experiment via a computer. They were working on a new, specialized ion pulse engine, and it had stressed them greatly so far. "All systems ready, boss. We're standing by." Junseo's comm crackled.
"Alright. Let's make this count. We've tested this thing seven bloody times." He announced.
"Ignition in 3… 2… 1… Ignition!" Everyone waited expectantly, and they were answered with a cool, pleasant hum, signifying that the engine was in perfect working order.
"YES!" Everyone exploded in delight.
Jun sighed, and leaned back into his chair. "So the ionization chamber was the problem all along. Good work, everyone. Let's get some sleep. We'll deal with other issues later."
Not even bothering to lie down on his bed, he just let himself relax on the comfortable chair, and drifted off to sleep.
Jun had faint dark circles under his eyes. Another month had passed since the experimental ion pulse engine had succeeded, and they were now designing the hull structure of the fighter.
He was tiredly working on the schematics as everyone else was, and he was grateful for it. He felt like himself again, not the depressed young boy he had been these several months.
He was just about to complete today's work. Almost done with the jet, he thought when one of his squad burst into his room.
"What the heck, Josh?!" He shouted in alarm.
"Comm… ali….." Josh stuttered, gasping for breath as if he had run a mile.
"What? What are you saying?"
"Tracer… Lena's alive! They found her ages ago inside the wreckage of a crashed jet!" He declared, voice thick with emotion.
"WHAT?!" He shouted incredulously. It couldn't be, he wouldn't dare to think…
"Where is she?" Jun urged him as they two bolted out of the room.
"In the Medical Wing, to the east!"
Jun ran as fast as he could, mustering all of his strength. Please be alive, please be alive, he thought as he sprinted along the corridors.
He just couldn't stand still as he waited for the elevator.
When he finally arrived there, he spotted loads of important-looking people, and his squadmates already trying to barge their way in.
"What's the situation here? Where's Lena?" Jun shouted.
"Ah, Commander Lee. I presume you must have heard Lena Oxton was alive?" A government official wearing a suit, he deduced, answered instead.
"I already asked my question. Where. Is. Lena?" He growled.
"Relax, Commander. She's just behind this door." The official answered, mildly threatened by Jun's display. He then stood aside as the door opened, and the squad stormed their way in.
There she was, apparently sleeping on the bed.
"It really is her.." "I don't believe it…." Murmurs rang out from the squad.
Jun couldn't speak. Wounds inside his soul thought to be closed were reopened upon seeing her so-peacefully-sleeping former commander.
"Huh.. who…?" Lena Oxton mumbled, feeling somebody more was present.
"Hello, Commander." Jun was staring down at her with the others, a thousand emotions crossing his face in mere seconds.
"Hi." She couldn't do anything but whisper at that moment.
After being entangled in a group hug for what seemed like forever, they'd separated and many of them were still in tears, especially Jun, who was still refusing to break the hug.
"We thought you were dead, gone forever…." He whispered like a ghost, his face white.
"I'm here, Jun… You don't have to cry anymore.." She whispered back.
"What's that on your chest anyway, Commander?" Amelia, one of the squad, asked curiously, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Oh, this? This is a chronal accelerator. The teleportation matrix rendered my molecules real unstable, they were desynchronized from time!" Many gasped.
"Then how are you still staying in the present?" Jun asked, both shocked and curious at the same time.
"I'm trying to explain that. The chronal accelerator keeps me anchored in the present. First, loads of Overwatch scientists were stumped, but my good friend Winston invented this!" Tracer said happily.
"That's great!" "Congratulations!" "I'm just glad you're okay…" Were the response of the squad.
"What's more, I can now control my own time flow! So I can teleport myself…. Like this!" Tracer then proceeded to use Blink and Recall, much to everyone's surprise!
"Now that's what I call badass!" Jun grinned.
"Thanks! I'm still a little clumsy, but I'll manage!" Tracer grinned back. The squad smiled at the endearing display; The two fit so well together.
"Wait… But you're coming back to the RAF, right?" Someone asked.
"Ah, I was wondering when that'd come out… Sorry, guys… I'm not going back to the RAF. I decided to train as an Overwatch Agent." She added, gazing at the floor.
"No need to worry, Commander. We're already part of Overwatch too!" Junseo grinned.
"What? How?" Tracer couldn't help but smile.
"We're a part of OAF. Overwatch Air Force. It's a multinational aerial force, exclusive to Overwatch."
"That's so cool! When did you join?" She chirped.
"About 2 weeks after you disappeared. We've been working 24/7 since for fighter experiments and new flight suits." Jun responded.
"Good for you! Huh… Hey, Winston!" She waved to an ape entering the room.
"Friends of yours, Lena?" Winston asked with a warm smile.
"This is my squad, Winston." Tracer grinned. "Well, they were my squad." She corrected herself, slightly depressed.
"We're still at your command if you need us, Commander!" Jun saluted her playfully.
"Really? I'm so touched, luv." She grinned and saluted back.
"Guess I didn't introduce myself. The name's Winston."
"Hey there. The name's Jun, Junseo Lee." Jun introduced herself.
"You're a Korean-British, then?" Winston asked curiously.
"Yeah." He grinned. "Oh, by the way, Thanks for being a lifesaver. Lena wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you."
"I was really nervous if it'd work properly." Winston chuckled.
The talk went on for hours, Winston and Jun discussing their expertise and Tracer just happily listening to the conversation, occasionally talking.
"Cadet Oxton, please report to the Command Center." A cool woman, apparently Athena's voice blared over the intercom.
"Well, that's my cue. I'll see you later both." She grinned and Blinked her way out.
"She's one tough pilot, isn't she?" Jun chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah. I can see why you're fantasizing about her." Winston laughed.
"Did not!"
"Oh yes you did."