I Have Come Quite a Long Way to Meet You
Disclaimer: All characters do not belong to me but to their respective creators. None of the events are canon, they are merely my take on what could happen or what could have happened behind the scenes.
"Miss Lance, join me for a drink? I have come quite a long way to meet you," Rip Hunter quipped as he pointed the stun device at her. Her face registered the slightest change in expression. But before she could fully act, a flash of light had her crashing on the floor, unconscious.
Rip quickly moved toward her prone body and gently picked her up. As he turned to the bar room's exit, he noticed the other bar patrons gaping at him.
"Does anyone object to my taking the lady away from here?" he asked in the Tibetan language. Ancient languages were among of his fields of expertise. His question was met with frightened silence from most and slow shaking of heads from the rest.
"I didn't think so," he whispered as he carried his unmoving burden out the door to the camouflaged Waverider.
"Was it wise to take Miss Lance in front of so many witnesses, Captain?" Gideon's voice asked as he carried the subject of their conversation toward the Medbay.
"I couldn't very well kidnap her when she's alone and hyperaware of her surroundings, I wouldn't have a chance of getting out alive," he explained as he gently laid Sara Lance on the medical bed. "Taking her while she was distracted by that mountain of a man and his friend was the best alternative. Besides, I doubt if half those people even understood what was going on."
He attached the medical device on her wrist. "Gideon, please scan her for any damage or injury from the effects of the stun gun."
"Yes, Captain," said the AI. A green light passed through Sara Lance's body. "No injuries, Captain. Should I do the same to Dr. Palmer?"
Rip turned to the armored man he had unceremoniously dumped on the other bed a little over an hour ago. He had forgotten about him.
"Ah. Yes, Gideon," he said. "Thank you."
His attention was back on the blond assassin.
"Dr. Palmer is likewise unharmed save for some contusions," said Gideon. Rip nodded distractedly.
"Captain, is everything alright?"
"Hm? Why do you ask?" Rip looked up as he registered the worried tone in the AI's voice.
"Your heart rate is 20% above your baseline, and there is an increase in your adrenaline levels," Gideon explained.
Rip cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"Well, I did just come from kidnapping Miss Lance," he reasoned. "It should not be surprising for my heart rate to increase from exertion."
"I have taken that into account, Captain," the AI said. "No such change was noted when you kidnapped Dr. Palmer. And I have also compared your post-exertion heart rate from previous activities of a similar nature to this one. Your body is reacting differently, Captain. I shall measure your troponin and CK-MB levels right now, Sir."
"Damn your health monitoring protocols," Rip muttered under his breath. "I am not having a heart attack, Gideon!"
"Indeed, Captain, your electrocardiogram, and troponin and CK-MB levels are showing no evidence of myocardial damage," Gideon agreed. "However, I detect significant increase in neurotransmitters."
"Yes, well, I am quite annoyed with you right now, Gideon," he grumbled. "It should not surprise you that my neurotransmitters are all over the place."
"Captain, the neurotransmitters in question are serotonin and dopamine. The so called 'happy hormones' to use lay terms. Your brain scan also shows evidence of stimulation of your pleasure centers," Gideon said. "In short, Sir, these findings are associated with biological sexual attraction. Are you becoming sexually aroused, Captain?"
"That is ridiculous!" Rip exclaimed. "I am not sexually—"
Rip took a deep breath and relented.
"Alright, I admit, I am a little excited to finally meet her," he said quietly.
"Miss Lance, Captain?"
"Taer Al-Sahfer," his eyes looked at Sara's sleeping form.
"That is Miss Lance's League of Assassins name," the AI observed. Rip Hunter nodded.
"As you know, I did my graduate thesis in the Academy on their history," Rip began. "I came across her name while studying the Shadow Records. It was a curious name, you see. Taer al-Sahfer roughly translates to yellow bird or canary. Such a docile and even melodious name for an assassin. And I wondered why someone with such a sinister profession would chose such a beautiful name. While her counterparts chose names that were sure to strike fear in the hearts of their targets, she chose a name that represented tranquility and harmony.
"It stimulated my curiosity and so I searched the records for more information about the assassin with the peculiar name," he continued. "Her origin was shadowy at best. She was found floating in the middle of the sea by the then heir to Ras al Ghul, it was actually not even recorded what sort of errand the Daughter of the Demon was attending to when they found her. They found her and trained her to become one of their most proficient members. And then she left them, and as their laws dictate, there was a hunt to bring her back. The whole quest was shrouded in mystery. Long story short, the more I read about her, the more I wanted to delve deeper and deeper into her history. But the Academy had limited resources for such in depth study and so I had to be content with wondering about what had happened to her."
Rip laughed softly. "Miranda said I was obsessed with her and even joked about how she was starting to become jealous of a long-dead assassin," his lips curved in a half smile. "When I became a time master, I was given a mission in the vicinity of her timeline, I couldn't help myself and thus I made side-quest of looking up her true identity and the story that surrounded her name.
"Oh, Gideon, what a story it was! Sara Lance, a young girl who just happened to be in the wrong place, or boat, in the wrong time. The things she had to go through would make even an artificially intelligent computer like you shudder. You have it all in your records now, of course. But can you imagine dying in the hands of a trusted friend and being magically resurrected by the Lazarus Pit?"
He moved closer to Sara and watched her face closely.
"All of that happened to her, and she survived," he whispered. "I just never imagined her to be so … small."
"Are you disappointed in her size, Captain?" the computer wondered. "Do you disbelieve the stories that are attributed to her and her abilities?"
"Oh, no, no, Gideon," he replied. "Far from it. I saw her in action tonight. And assure you, I believe that the records may have even under estimated her prowess. She is truly an extraordinary woman."
The AI made no reply but recorded the microexpressions on Captain Hunter's face and the persistently elevated neurotransmitter levels into her database for future reference. If her calculations are accurate, the captain was not being completely truthful about his biological reaction to their newest passenger. More data is required for an accurate conclusion.
Captain Hunter tore his eyes away from Miss Lance's sleeping face and marched out of the Medbay with determined steps toward the bridge. "Alright then, Gideon," he rubbed his hands together as he said, "Where can I find my next quarry?"
"Pittsburgh, Captain," Gideon answered.
"Ah, yes. Firestorm, the merged superform of one Jefferson Jackson and Professor Martin Stein," he said as he strapped himself onto his chair. "Set a course, Gideon."
"Right away, Captain."