AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am normally a CaptainCanary writer, and no one is more shocked than I to find myself having produced this story. I began writing it to work out why Rip would recruit a series of clones as a Time Agent. I wasn't satisfied with the way it was treated in the show, as I have been unsatisfied with much of this season.

I found myself becoming much more sympathetic to Ava Sharpe than the show has ever made me feel, and that feeling was echoed by my beta, Jael, who wisely prodded me to add even more emotional moments. As always, many thanks to her for her help!

I will repeat the warning: This is NOT a happy fluffy AvaLance story. Its main purpose is to explain where Ava came from. It's tagged "Major Character Death" for a reason. "Ever after" has an expiration date for all of us, some sooner than others.

If you are not up for that, then *please* read no further.

Rip grunted, rubbing his jaw where Ava and then Sara had each hit him. "Not quite the 'hello' I was expecting," he said. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what have I done to deserve this?"

"What do you think?" Sara snapped at him. "Every time I think you've learned your lesson about hiding things from us, we get another surprise!"

"What…" Rip's voice trailed off as he looked back and forth between the two women, and his expression became resigned. "Oh."

"Is that all you have to say for yourself? 'Oh?'" Ava demanded.

Rip put his hands up in a gesture of acquiescence. "Ava, Sara…" He looked around at the other Legends, who were watching curiously. "Ah… shall we take this somewhere more private?"

"Why? They already know what I am!" Ava pointed out. "A clone!"

Sara nodded in agreement. "I don't keep secrets from my crew, Rip. What we want to know is why you kept this one from Ava."

"And whether you're keeping any other secrets from the rest of us," Ray added.

Rip let out a harsh sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "All right, all right. I owe you that much."

"You owe us a hell of a lot more than that, English. Especially to Agent Hottie," Mick growled, getting a look from Ava that was somewhere between grateful and exasperated.

Rip nodded. "You're right, Mr. Rory. I owe this not just to Sara and to Ava, but to all of you, because you are all family. My family. I know I haven't acted much like it, but I do care about you, and… I kept this secret in an apparently misguided effort to protect you." He pointed to Sara and Ava. "Especially the two of you."

Sara cocked her head. "I don't understand."

"You will," Rip said heavily, moving to the console. "But I need to tell you this from the beginning, when Ava was first created."

"We already know about that, Rip," Ava said. "We've been to Vancouver 2213."

Rip shook his head and waved his hand over the screen. "That's not the beginning, Ava. It goes back further than that. In fact, it has its roots in the Legends' original mission."

A scowling image familiar to the three remaining original Legends was projected above the console. They exchanged puzzled glances. "Wiping out Vandal Savage?" Sara asked.

"Indeed," Rip replied. "Do any of you remember why the Time Masters supported Savage?"

"Because they were assholes?" Mick asked, prompting Rip to sigh and roll his eyes.

Ray looked thoughtful. "They thought he'd make the best leader against a Thanagarian invasion, didn't they?"

"Precisely, Dr. Palmer," Rip answered, pointing at him. The projection changed to show the three versions of Savage being killed. Mick grunted in satisfaction at the memory of burning the once-immortal warlord.

Rip continued, "But when we defeated Savage, that left a vacuum. Nature and time both abhor vacuums, and find ways to fill them. In the post-Oculus timeline, the original AVAs were part of Earth's response to the Thanagarian threat… but only after two years of global warfare brought the human race to the brink of extinction. Gideon?"

Now the console showed a large facility filled with the same cloning machinery Ray and Sara had seen in Vancouver, producing more clones. Gideon recited, "The Variants were created to replace humans on the battlefield, to keep the population from falling below a critical viability threshold."

Slowly, Ava said, "So… I was created to be… a soldier?"

"To be bluntly honest, the original AVAs were created to be cannon fodder," Rip said bitterly. "Along with the IVANs and EVANs, the EVEs, the JOVEs, the SHIVAs… Each Variant had his or her own physical characteristics and abilities. They were all… manufactured... to fight and die in place of natural-born humans."

The projection now showed rows of clone soldiers, the blond AVAs one of six varieties of different races, male and female.

"So, like real clone wars?" Wally asked. He huffed when Zari elbowed him, then visibly deflated when he saw Ava's expression.

"An apt, if awkward, analogy, Mr. West," Rip said. "But… yes. The clone soldiers were considered expendable."

Ava shook her head with a low growl, then turned her eyes back to the battle scenes now flashing above the console.

Gideon reported, "The Variants were used on the front lines, and in the most dangerous missions. They could also act as double agents, posing as human allies to the Thanagarians in order to get into sensitive areas and carry out suicide missions, much like the terrorist attacks of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The SHIVAs were designed specifically for that purpose and were able to inflict serious damage on the enemy on several occasions."

"Wait a second - there were humans who took the bad guys' side?" Wally asked.

"There have always been people willing to take the bad guys' side," Nate replied sardonically. "But… Why didn't the Thanagarians recognize the terrorist clones after the first time?"

Rip shrugged. "To them, all humans looked alike."

Wally grimaced, while Amaya snorted. "I know that feeling."

"In any event," Rip continued, "the clones served their purpose. The Thanagarians were fought to a standstill, and a peace treaty was eventually signed."

The projection showed scenes of celebration, and a parade of clone soldiers marching before cheering crowds. Gideon continued her narration. "More Variant soldiers were created to protect Earth and enforce the treaty, while other Variants were made to rebuild the Earth's cities and repair all the damage done by the Thanagarians," she said, while holograms of those activities were projected. "They were also assigned to clean up the hazardous and nuclear waste left behind by the war, and abandoned military ordnance."

Ray winced as the hologram showed a clone disappearing into the smoke and dust of a land mine explosion. "Seems to me the Variants got all the most dangerous jobs," he said, while Ava turned away from the projection, clenching her fists and shaking off Sara's comforting hand, moving to lean heavily against the bulkhead.

"You're not wrong," Rip told him. "They also got the most physically demanding ones, and sometimes the most tedious tasks no one else wanted. That continued even after the war ended."

The projection showed clone farm workers on their knees in the fields, clone garbagemen hauling trash, clone firefighters rushing into burning buildings. Gideon went on, "By the time three decades had passed, Variant technology had followed the same path as so many other military inventions: It became available to the consumer market."

"Seriously?" Wally asked in a surprised tone as the projections faded away.

Nate nodded. "Lots of things we use every day were created for or by the military. GPS, instant coffee, Super Glue, Silly Putty..."

Wally looked at him strangely. "Dude, you use Silly Putty every day?"

"Doesn't everybody?" Mick asked.

Ava slammed her hand against the bulkhead and turned to glare at the team. Sara huffed. "Quiet, or I'm gonna use Super Glue on your mouths!" When the others subsided, she said, "Vancouver had AVA clones doing everything from security to babysitting to crossing guards."

"Yes," Rip agreed. "The AVAs proved to be the most versatile of the Variants." He looked apologetically at Ava when she grunted in irritation at that description.

Sara frowned a little. " Versatile? The ad we saw claimed the AVA was the 'perfect woman' based on DNA samples from all over the world."

"That... was a bit of a sales pitch," Rip answered.

Sara's eyebrows went up. "So they were… selling clones?"

"That sounds awfully close to slavery," Zari observed darkly.

Rip shook his head. "The clones were not sold ," he said. "They were leased…"

"What's the difference?" Amaya demanded.

"I understand your point, Ms. Jiwe…"

Ava pushed away from the bulkhead and strode toward Rip. "So you leased me? Because I was… versatile?"

Rip waved that idea away. "You're more than that, Ava. You were… you are … special. Literally, because I placed the special order for you…"

"Not helping your argument!" Sara rapped out.

Rip disregarded the outburst as he continued, "... including specifications on what you needed to know and what you needed to be able to do. You are so much more than the original AVAs could ever have become!" He chuckled softly. "For example… you fight like Miss Lance because… her style, her technique, were programmed into your brain engrams."

Ava leaned against the console and stared at him. Her mouth opened, then closed as she considered how to respond to that. Then, in a whisper, "What else… who else… did you program into me?"

"More what than who , Ava," Rip said. "And what I had them give you was a deep understanding of the theories and rules of time travel."

"Why would you do that, Rip?" Sara asked softly.

Rip let out a long sigh. "Because I am not going to live forever, Sara, and I needed to leave the Time Bureau in the hands of someone I could trust utterly," he answered. He chuckled sardonically. "You don't think I'm so stupid that I don't realize I created an organization very similar to the one I first rebelled against?"

"Yes, you are," Mick interjected.

"Thank you, Mr. Rory. I can always count on you for a vote of 'no confidence,'" Rip said drily. Then he continued, "Without the right guidance, the Time Bureau could evolve into the Time Masters we destroyed."

Mick growled at that notion, clearly thinking of how his partner had sacrificed himself to eliminate the Time Masters.

Ray put a hand out as if to give Mick a calming pat, but dropped it when the other man glared, instead saying, "So you… designed … Ava to be the one to give that guidance?"

Another nod. "Yes."

"But Ava won't live forever either," Amaya pointed out. Then she tilted her head curiously. "Will she?"

Rip's shoulders sagged at the question. "Well, no… and yes."

"Can't be both, English," Mick said.

Another harsh sigh from the former Time Master. "This is the part I wanted to protect you from," he said. He met Sara's eyes. "But I can't do that, can I?"

Sara shook her head. "I said no to a life without pain or regret, Rip. I'll always take the nightmare that's real over any lie."

She looked over at Ava. "But it's not my call to make, is it? Ava? What do you want?"

Ava closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. Then she let it out. "Better for me to know. Better for all of us," she said, opening her eyes again. "What do you still have to tell us, Rip?"

"There was one additional… feature … I specified for you, Ava," he said. "The ability to transfer your knowledge electronically."

Ava frowned. "To what? A computer?"

Rip looked up at the ceiling and sighed again. "To… another clone body."

"Come again?" Sara asked, while Ava whispered, "Why would you need to do that?"

"I think… oh, no," Ray said, his eyes widening. "I just remembered. Years ago, I read some research on animal cloning and… The study was on cloned mice, and it said…" He hesitated, then sighed. "It said cloned mice didn't live as long as… as natural-born ones."

"Ava and the other Variants aren't mice !" Sara said sharply.

Rip shook his head sadly. "No, but they share the same… issue. The Variant soldiers weren't considered expendable simply because they were manufactured. They were also short-lived."

"How short-lived?" Ava asked, her voice trembling.

Rip's expression was grim as he answered, "Barring accidents or getting killed in action… six months."

Ava mouthed the words voicelessly, and this time she didn't shake off the hand Sara laid a hand on her shoulder.

"You said three decades had gone by since the end of the Thanagarian War," Sara said. "In all that time, no one worked on improving the Variants' lifespan?"

Rip sighed. "I'm afraid not, Sara, for a couple of reasons. People feared the Variants would… evolve... and eventually rebel against their assigned roles in society."

"Wouldn't blame them for it," Zari grumbled.

"Frankenstein complex," Mick said. When the others gave him a surprised look, he said, "What? I've read Asimov's robot books."

"That prejudice persists throughout future history," Rip added. "It's why I kept your origin a secret, Ava, even from the Time Bureau itself."

"You said a couple of reasons, Rip. What was the other one?" Amaya asked.

Rip shook his head, and in a bitter tone said, "There wasn't enough profit in it."

Ray looked sick. "Planned obsolescence," he murmured.

"That's even more obscene than the leasing," Zari muttered in disgust, getting a rumble of agreement from around the bridge.

Ava put a hand to her temple, rubbing it with a pained, puzzled expression as she turned the information over in her mind. She met Rip's eyes again. "But I've been with the Time Bureau for almost five years!"

Rip just looked at her sadly. After a moment, Ava sighed in understanding.

"It hasn't always been me, has it? Not… this me," Ava said softly, pointing to herself. When Rip shook his head, she pushed on. "How many have there been?"

Somehow Rip managed to slump standing up. "You're the twelfth in that nearly five years," he answered.

Sara's eyes widened. "Twelve? I thought you said they… the Variants… lived for six months?"

"They do, barring accidents or being killed in the line of duty," Rip repeated. "I think all of you know just how devoted Ava is to protecting time. Sometimes… well, four times... that protection… required the full measure of devotion."

Ava swayed a little. Sara guided her to one of the jump seats. Ava sank into it and stared at the deck, absorbing what Rip had said while the rest of the team exchanged uneasy glances.

Nate appeared to be counting on his fingers. He looked up at Rip and said, "If Variants live six months, then she isn't the first Ava we've met, is she?"

"She is right here!" Sara chided, but Ava put up a hand.

"It's okay. I want to hear this," she said. "Rip?"

He sighed, obviously reluctant. "You are the third 'Ava Sharpe' to meet the Legends. The tenth version of you is the one who came with me to Los Angeles. That- she is one of the ones who died before her time, in the line of duty, during the Legends' return to civilian life."

Ava considered that, then asked, "And the last me?"

"Your immediate predecessor met the Legends again when they broke into the Time Bureau. She was the one they encountered through the London incident."

"That explains a lot," Ray said in a low tone. When Ava and Sara both snapped their gazes to him, he faltered, "Well, the last version of you was…"

He looked at Nate for help. Nate stammered, "Um, she was…"

"A stone bitch," Mick finished firmly. He grinned. "It was hot as hell."

Ava's lips twitched slightly. Then she looked back at Rip. "My memories say I'm 35 and that my birthday is in March. But I know those memories are fake, so when was I really born? This version of me?"

Now it was Rip's turn to stare down at the deck for a moment, before lifting his head again, sorrow etched across his face. "November 9, 2017," he whispered.

There were gasps around the bridge as realization dawned on the team. "If she only had six months…" Ray breathed.

"And today is April ninth…" Zari murmured.

Sara's hand went to Ava's shoulder again. "One month? That's all she's got left? One month?"

"I'm sorry," Rip said, looking at both of them sadly.

Wally held his hands up. "Wait a minute. Rip, you said you can just transfer Ava's knowledge, right? So, you just do that, and give us Ava 13.0. No big deal, right?" he asked brightly.

"Actually, it is a big deal, Mr. West," Rip answered. "Knowledge is one thing. It can be transferred, whether it's the understanding of time travel… or the training to properly use a bo staff. But personality … well, as your teammates have already noted, the previous Ava had a very different personality than our Ava here."

"And the next version of me…" Ava said slowly, "She could be a very different person too. Could she still love Sara?"

Sara gasped at that admission, while Rip's face became even sadder. "I don't believe so. Three of your predecessors also… developed romantic attachments to others, but those feelings never survived the transfer. I had to erase the memories of those loved ones to keep the secret and protect you."

"I don't want those memories erased!" Sara exclaimed.

"Maybe it's better if they are," Ava replied, rising from the seat and beginning to pace.

Sara stepped toward her. "Better for who?"

"Better for you!" Ava said, turning on her heel to face Sara. "You've had enough loss and pain in your life, Sara. I… I don't want to be another scar on your heart," she said, her voice breaking.

Sara moved in front of Ava and laid a hand on her cheek. "Our scars are part of what makes us who we are. I meant what I said before; what I told Mallus. I don't want a life without pain and regret. If you don't ever feel the lows, you can't appreciate the highs."

She brushed at the tear that spilled over onto Ava's cheek. "And I intend to appreciate every moment I can with you."

Ava choked out, "Sara, I can't give you your happily ever after."

"I know. But I can give you yours. If you'll let me." Sara took both of Ava's hands. "Ava Sharpe, will you spend the rest of your life with me?"

Ava let out a sad little chuckle. "That would probably sound a lot more romantic if we didn't know how short the rest of my life is."

One side of Sara's mouth quirked up in a half-smile. "True. But the offer still stands."

That got a real smile, and Ava pulled Sara toward her for a kiss, both of them ignoring that they had an audience. When they parted, she answered, "All right. But we need to kick some demon ass first."

Sara smiled back. "Sounds like my kind of date."

June 1, 2018

To Sara's surprise, Mick greeted her with a long hug when she strode back on board the Waverider. He pulled back to regard her seriously. "You okay, boss?"

"Feel like I should be asking you that," she answered. "Who are you, and what have you done with the Mick Rory who doesn't do feelings?"

He just chuckled and fell into step beside her on the way back to the bridge, to be welcomed with more hugs. She felt a little pang at the empty spots where Amaya and Nate would have been standing before, and hoped they'd found their happy ending. But the bright smiles she got from Zari, Wally and Ray all made her feel lighter than she had since... since Ava...

"I thought you'd take more time off," Ray said, interrupting her musing. "Felicity said Oliver dragged you into the fight against Diaz after only a week?"

Sara smiled slightly. "Like I told Leo once, kicking butt is how we Legends heal."

Zari peered at the new necklace around Sara's neck. "That's pretty, Sara."

Sara put a hand to the pendant that now hung just below Laurel's necklace. It was a heart-shaped piece of seaglass, just the color of Ava's eyes. She blinked back sudden tears, remembering the morning they'd found it on the beach. "Just a little memory of Aruba. And Ava."

She inclined her head toward the other woman and said quietly, "You were right. It was worth the risk."

"Captain Lance, I'm sorry to interrupt," Gideon said, "but there is a call from the Time Bureau Director."

She looked around at her team. "What did you guys do now?"

"Nothing!" they chorused.

She rolled her eyes, then took a deep breath. "Guess I have to deal with this sometime. Go ahead and put it through, Gideon."

The image materialized above the console, and Sara took in a surprised breath. She'd been expecting what Wally had once called "Ava 13.0," but the new director was something… some one quite different.

"Hello, Captain Lance. I'm Director Evan Steele," the man in the hologram said. "And before you ask, yes, I am a Variant, although I ask that you keep the knowledge confidential. You know why."

"The damned Frankenstein complex," Sara replied.

Steele nodded and continued, "Director Hunter was quite insistent that this not be kept a secret from you, however. No more, he said."

"Took him long enough to learn that one," Mick rumbled.

Sara smirked at him, then turned her attention back to the hologram. "Don't take this the wrong way, but… why you?"

"Instead of a 13th AVA? Director Hunter decided to retire the AVAs. He said to tell you that he didn't want to cause you any more pain."

Sara hummed in acknowledgment, and there was an awkward silence for a moment. Then, just a bit eagerly, Ray changed the subject, asking, "So, is Evan another acronym?"

"It is. My name stands for Extreme Variant AutomatioN. Capitalize the 'n' at the end." Steele shrugged."The company gets a bit… obsessive… about its acronyms."

"So, what can we do for you, Director Steele?" Sara asked.

"First, I wanted to thank you personally for… taking care of Director Sharpe. I know it could not have been easy for you."

Sara's smile was bittersweet. "No, but… I've never been one for easy."

"That's good to hear, Captain, because we've got a problem that I think requires your team's… unique… skill sets. That is, if you're prepared to take to the field again?"

Sara's team looked at her. "We're ready if you are," Ray said, while Zari nodded in agreement.

"The ship's all ready too," Wally added.

"Systems are at 125 percent efficiency, Captain," Gideon reported.

"Been a while since I got to fry anything," Mick said. "But it's your call, boss."

Sara rubbed the heart-shaped glass between her fingers, and smiled wistfully at the thought of how the Ava she'd first met would have reacted to Steele's request. Then she asked, "You don't have a problem using a chainsaw?"

"Not when it gets the right results," Steele replied. "There are some time pirates who need… how would you put it? A beatdown?"

Sara laughed. "Well, if that's what you need, send us the data and we'll get right on it," she said, striding to the captain's chair and settling in. "Strap in, me hearties!"

She heard the chuckles of her team as they strapped in behind her, and smiled as she reached for the controls, ready to tackle a new challenge.

After all, kicking ass would help her heal.

ADDITIONAL AUTHOR'S NOTES: I started writing this before we got the news that Jes Macallan would be returning as a regular, and considered whether to make Ava 13.0 the new Director; an Ava who not only does not, but will not love Sara the way 12.0 did. I chose not to, because I think that would be incredibly cruel to Sara (though I do not put that idea past the showrunners). I do have an idea floating around for a way around that cruelty. That will also not be happy fluffy AvaLance; I'm afraid at the moment I see nothing but tragedy with these two.

Nate's observation about military developments moving to the consumer market is based on fact. Yes, you can thank the US Defense Department for Silly Putty.

The robot books Mick mentions were one of the influences for my explanation. In Asimov's works, most of the robots were far, far less advanced than the AVA clones ever were. Ava is more like R. Daneel, one of the main robot characters, who grows and evolves over thousands of years, changing robot bodies as the millennia pass. (I considered having Mick make that comparison but decided it was just a little too obscure.)

The original movie "Beaches" also influenced my thinking a bit, as far as where Ava and Sara spent that last month.