Lena had two names and both meant the same person. Lena Oxton was a kind young pilot, the best in her field. She was often seen laughing around her fellow pilots and soldiers or offering a smile or joke to one in need of it. Tracer just flew the plane. Lena and Tracer were one and the same, just in different places.

Lena and Tracer were lost in space and time. Every hour was a different timeline, a different world, a different horror. She saw wars break out, leaders assassinated, the destruction of the planet, towns blown to pieces, families split apart. She saw couples holding each other in their final moments, knowledge wiped away by treason and fire. And she could do nothing. She couldn't interact with anything, she just had to watch everything happen as she helplessly stood by and watched like a god without control. Every hour a different timeline, a different world, a different horror.

But one day she woke up next to her friends. Her real friends, Winston and Angela and Hana and Lucio and so many others she can't think to name right now. Winston gave her a long lecture about what the harness on her chest did but the only thing she remembered from it was that it kept her here. Without it, she would slip away again and this time, she won't return.

She recovered and started wandering around the new base. About a month in she realized that they all seemed...disappointed? But at what? What could had been different from the last time she saw them before the incident?

The nightmares were different. The screaming and Jack running to her door were different. Waking Winston up in the middle of the night to check if it's working was different. Panicking because it's the next hour on the clock. Putting herself in danger so that she makes a difference. Being impatient or never liking to just watch. To hate feeling powerless or out of control. To always feel weak or down when something bad happened in the world. To constantly check that she's still here. To need stimulation to not lose her grip on reality. That was all different.

Or maybe it's not just that. Maybe it's missing things from her past. Maybe it's not smiling or joking. Maybe it's not laughing. Maybe it's not being brave or strong. Maybe it's not trying new things. Maybe it's not staying calm. Maybe it's not being able to stay back. Maybe it's disobeying orders. Maybe it's not being herself.

But then again that wouldn't be herself. That wouldn't be Lena. That would be Tracer. They were expecting to see Tracer. Overwatch was expecting to see Tracer. The world was expecting to see Tracer.

Not Lena.

The world doesn't know Lena anymore. Overwatch doesn't know Lena anymore. Even her friends don't know Lena anymore.

Lena has to be hidden away, concealed from the world. She's too delicate, too broken, too ugly, too scared. So Lena hid herself behind a mask called Tracer.

Tracer was what the world needed and wanted. She was kind, brave, strong, responsible, cheerful, daring, calm, collected, funny, outgoing, loud, noisy, and above all…

A hero.

She became the new poster girl, the new face, of Overwatch.

Or maybe mask is a better term.