This is my first LoT work so I hope I managed to keep the characters in character, I tried quite a bit to remain true to that. There are a number of main character OC's in this and they are of my own creation, so I hope they can match up quite well in terms of quality of development and story.
"So Ava is a clone," Sara stated dryly staring not to happily at Rip.
"That she is," He agreed from his position sitting opposite Sara. Sara had requested his presence for a drink on the Waverider to which he obliged hesitantly, well aware of the recent events that had unfolded.
"Why did you never say anything?" Sara wondered. He purposefully made sure she wasn't aware of it. He deleted the file and he avoided anything concerning Ava in the personal manner.
Rip sighed as he swirled his whiskey slowly, his eyes never moving from the glass in his hands. He opened his mouth and closed it several times but nothing came out. He couldn't find the words. What was he supposed to say? There were reasons he kept everything under wraps, reasons he shielded them from the truth. Ah. The truth. The truth is slippery and always changing in the world of time travel. It's unreliable. It was dangerous to know sometimes. Most times really. Yet knowing was unfortunately often times essential. Even if you have nothing, the only thing you will have is the truth.
Rip licked his lips and began to speak all the while eyes not straying from their fixed gaze on the glass. "There are many ramifications that come with knowing any truth. This one however…" Rip paused grimly. "I made the decision to keep you all unaware to preserve the future."
"I don't care why you kept everyone unaware, I care why you kept me unaware!" Sara burst out angrily. She began pacing the area behind the circle table and in front of the embedded wall screen.
Rip slammed his glass down on the table beside the chair so hard it was a miracle that it didn't shatter as he stood. "The reasons are one in the same. Would knowing have changed how you saw Agent Sharpe?" Rip demanded now suddenly filled with energy to argue his point.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Sara remarked bitingly. She was certainly not in the mood for Rip's decision making nor his cryptic reasonings.
"Everything. Miss Lance. Everything. Tell me, would you have?" Rip pressed watching with a raised eyebrow.
Silence filled the room. Their gazes stayed locked for what felt like forever before Sara lowered hers and drew in a deep breath.
"I don't know," Sara admitted quietly. It was not an easy admission to make, especially given the fact that she would also be able to admit that she truly loved Ava at this point. To think about the possibility of how things would've happened had she known was nearly impossible. She couldn't imagine how things could've truly gone given her original dislike of Ava in the first place. Would they have still moved past that and developed into more? Sara couldn't say for sure and that was what bothered her the most.
"And that is exactly why I didn't say. Because to many things hinge on it."
They were in silence for a few seconds before a time courier portal opened in the main area drawing both of their attentions from each other and their own thoughts. Turning towards it, they watched Ava ran out in a slight panic as they could hear alarms blare from the other side of the portal and see people hurrying around.
"Sara, we need the Legends help," Ava rushed out approaching Sara and Rip in the study as the portal closed behind her.
"With what?" Sara could hear the urgency in her voice and picked up on it.
"There are major parts of time that are flickering."
"Flickering?" Rip cut in with worry clouding his features.
"It's like there are two versions of history for some events. Some remember it one way while the other are explaining it another," Ava explained eyes darting between Rip and Sara. Sara's eyebrows were furrowed in thought and confusion.
"Gideon. Think you can explain?" Sara wondered, asking the AI.
"It seems the origin point of the change is not currently in time." Gideon offered.
"So it's a time traveler?" Sara tried to make sense of what Gideon was implying.
"Correct Captain. Time is, as you say flickering, because the person or origins in question has had a hand in altering much of time. With their existence strained, so is their effect on time. But as they are in the time stream and not stationary in time, they will continue to exist for however long they remain in the stream."
"Who is this person Gideon?" Ava questioned, arms crossed.
"I'm afraid I can not provide that information Director Sharpe. I can however tell you the time period they originate from," Gideon offered.
"Please continue Gideon."
"Year of birth, 2024. A specific date is unable to be provided at this time. They disappeared from the timeline in 2044. But can be found in the time stream."
"And you can't give us a name?" Sara clarified.
"Unfortunately not Captain."
"Thank you Gideon. Set a course for wherever this person is in the time stream."
"Sara I urge you not to do that," Rip interjected to deter her. Sara crossed her arms and set her steely gaze on him.
"And why is that Rip?"
"Because it is detrimental to the future. I beg of you, do not do this."
"All the more reason to do it. Now if you would, please leave."
Rip looked at Sara tired. He was tired of trying to stop her. There really was no point. He had to trust that he knew the type of person that Sara was and that all would be okay. While not an easy feat, Rip nodded reluctantly and opened a portal before walking through it briskly with it closing behind him.
"You're on board right?" Sara asked Ava once the two were alone. Once Ava nodded she asked Gideon to alert the rest of the team and inform them they were all needed in the bridge.
It was less than five minutes later that everyone had been informed of the latest and the Waverider was in route to its destination further in the time stream. Because they weren't traveling to another time period all together, they arrived at the origin point fairly quickly. Everyone stood at the front windows, looking out as they approached what looked like the Waverider to their own shock. In all of their time travelling, they had never run across another Waverider. The site in itself was a curious one as they all exchanged looks before Sara, Ava, Amaya, and Nate boarded the jump ship after electing to leave their own ship in the care of Zari, Ray and Mick which may or may not have been a questionable decision. The jump ship piloted by Sara, aligned to the cargo doors of the other waverider.
"There's a jump ship waiting for connection extension to the cargo bay Captain," The female AI Gideon's voice rang out throughout the bridge and open study of the Waverider.
"Who occupies it?" A female voice questioned from the study.
"It would be three members from the Legends of 2018 and the Director of the Time Bureau."
"Allow the connection. Tentatively. And alert the rest of the team of the matter but inform them that there is no need for them to join us in the bridge- on second thought. Have Zoe and Zane returned from their mission?"
"No Captain. Would you like them informed?"
"Yes but this doesn't require their return. They are to precede as planned. Can you inform Cassie to greet our unexpected guests in the cargo hold."
"As you wish."
Sighing, the woman pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index and middle fingers before she looked up and sighed, shaking her head. This was certainly not how she expected this day to go. Truthfully, they were all living day to day trying to find what went wrong. Well the rest of the team was, she herself couldn't since too long spent in a solid time as it would result in her ceasing to exist, and even more of the time that she worked to restore and put back in place would be reverted to its damaged and destroyed state. She trusted her team with every fiber in her being, they were the people she trusted most. The other five occupants of the ship had been there since she began her tenure as captain. She had grown up knowing and being basically family with three of them. The other two she met along the way to get to where she was now but that didn't mean they were any less impactful in her life and each other's. All together they were a team, and they always would be no matter what happened.
Looking through the glass windows of the Captains study, she spotted Cassie exit the left hall and enter the bridge, followed closely by three women and one man.
Recognizing exactly who they were, she mentally prepared herself before she strode out of the study and into the main bridge as all eyes turned to her.
Once they were aligned, all they could do was simply wait until the connection was made, if it was made. It wasn't up to them so they had to hope that the occupants of the other Waverider would be receptive to there appearance.
They found they were in luck when the jump ship shook as the connection latched on and pulled it closer to line up with the cargo hold doors as they slowly split to each side to open.
The four shared one last series of significant looks before Sara hit the button causing the jump ship back hatch to open allowing the four of them to exit it and step foot onto the Waverider.
"Welcome aboard Legends," they were greeted by a woman around five eight with dark brown hair and steely blue grey eyes, dressed in black skin tight jeans and a form black fitting tank top completed by a pair of nearly knee high boots. She couldn't be older than mid twenties.
"Are you the Captain?" Sara took lead. That was who they needed to find and be talking to.
"I'm afraid not. Follow me," the unnamed woman directed as she turned on her heel and made her way up the steps quickly clearly expecting the group of four to follow her.
It wasn't long before they were directed straight to the main bridge where they all turned their attention to a woman that was around five seven with dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes, that was wearing black skin tight jeans, a to form black long sleeved shirt that was coupled with a open navy overcoat with black leather sleeves and a short grey stand up collar. She also couldn't have been older than mid twenties.
"Looking for me?" The new woman questioned looking between the four of them and the first woman they met.
"If you happen to be the Captain," Sara answered.
"That would be me. What can I do for you… Miss Lance?" The now known Captain wondered after a brief pause between you and Miss as if she had to rethink her next words, like it didn't feel like a natural sentence for her to use judging by the hesitation in her face and words.
Sara shared a discreet look with Ava who was standing right beside her. This woman knew her name yet she hadn't introduced herself. Sure Gideon could've informed her when she announced the incoming ship but something about the way she said it felt off.
"I never said my name," Sara pointed out as her guard rose even more when the seemingly natural smile in the identified Captains face faded as she glanced at the woman that greeted them who returned the look.
"Now you didn't," the small grin returned as she continued, "but you are my predecessor. It would be a bit rude if I were to not recognize or know your name."
"So you've met before?" Amaya spoke up for the first time since leaving their own ship. She had been watching and thinking quietly before, but she much like Sara had felt that something was off with the way these two woman were acting. They seemed to tense and grow hesitant regarding the questions.
"You could say that," the captain answered with a vague answer that did nothing to quell the groups thoughts.
"Nic! We have a big problem!" A black haired, bright greened eyed, nearly six foot man exclaimed as he rushed into the bridge from hall to the right of the study with the automatic doors closing behind him.
"I need more to go on Liam," the captain, apparently known as Nic, replied before quickly moving past everyone to he center island console where the man, Liam, had already began pulling things up.
"It's Zoe and Zane. There was a distress signal sent from the jump ship they took to 2018," Liam informed causing Nic to pause.
"2018?" She repeated looking at their four guests. "What was the possibility of difference there?"
"I'm not a historian but, it looks like there was a heavy influence that was there but has also left a mark in numerous other times we've been to looking for the cause. A mark this distinct and powerful with this much influence…" Liam trailed off narrowing his eyes as he continued to read one of the screens.
"Mallus," the still unknown woman the Legends had first met finished as grim looks were exchanged by the three and startled looks were exchanged by the four.
"You know about Mallus?" Nate wondered confused.
"My parents told stories," Nic, the Captain, explained but didn't go much further into detail.
"Maybe introductions would be helpful?" Amaya suggested causing yet again another series of looks to pass between the first woman, the Captain and Liam.
"William Luthor," the man bit the bullet first being the easiest out of the three currently in the room. The four nodded and waited for the other two to follow suit.
"Cassandra Palmer," the woman they met in the cargo bay introduced. Four sets of eyes went wide as looks of surprise were exchanged. They hadn't even considered the possibility of any of their children being on the ship. When their reactions settled, they turned to the last remaining person in the room that they didn't know the first and last name of.
Nic however reluctantly gave in, "Nicole-" was as far as she got before she was cut off.
"Captain Lance," Gideon interrupted.
"Yes Gideon?" "Yes Gideon?" Two voices replied simultaneously. Both Sara and Nic answered on reflex, neither even thinking about the revelations that would follow. Nic closed her eyes and groaned, shaking her head while awaiting Gideon's information. While Sara's mouth dropped as she stared wide eyed at Nic, the other person to respond to the title of 'Captain Lance'. To say Ava, Nate and Amaya weren't shocked as well was far from accurate. They all had very similar expressions to Sara's.
"The Heywood's have returned in the jump ship and have been helped to the med bay by Mister Knight." Gideon announced creating a whole new round of surprise and realization of exactly who was on this ship between the four.
"I thought you said the jump ship sent a distress call?" Cassie recalled. Liam shrugged.
"It did. I didn't know they were own their way back though."
"Then lets go find out exactly what happened," Nic strode quickly to the med bay with Liam, Cassie and eventually Sara, Ava, Nate and Amaya following quickly behind.
"Gideon report," Cassandra ordered as the doors of the med bay slid open to reveal a man and woman lying unconscious on the two reclined chairs. They both had the same hair color as Nate. The woman was around five five while the man was only an inch shorter than Nate, his hair was also shorter being styled in a short two inch flicked up front.
"Of course Miss Palmer. Mister Heywood is suffering from major blood loss and a broken arm. Miss Heywood is suffering from a minor concussion and… well that's interesting," The AI paused before continuing. "It would seem Miss Heywood is much like Captain Lance in the manner that she is currently flickering from existence."
A grave undertone carried throughout the AI's voice. The feeling extended to the air surrounding them as everyone in the med bay felt the tension and grimness to the situation. Two people on this ship were on flickering from existence and none of them had any real idea as to why.
"Why is this happening to them Gideon?" Sara asked. Nate's eyes were locked on the unconscious forms of his future children while Amaya's eyes darted between Nate and the two peoples in the chairs. He had a future. He had future children that clearly weren't hers.
"Miss Heywood's case is easier to pinpoint. The alteration can be traced back to 2021, originally the elder Mister Heywood left the Legends in 2019 after the fallout of Mallus and travelled the world on his own. In his journeys he met a woman known as Davina Trinity in New Zealand in 2021, Zoe Amaya Heywood was born. In this altered version of time, these events do not take place. They appear to have been deliberately changed. Soon Mister Heywood will also experience the same fate as events the led to Mister Heywood's departure will no longer come to pass," Gideon explained without even any warnings about know to much about the future.
"I thought we weren't supposed to know to much about our futures?" Amaya wondered, asking the question that the rest of the Legends were thinking.
"This is not the current Legends future but rather their past. Whether or not it affects the past Legends is not the priority concern. Besides you are already aware of their existence, you must wonder how they came to be?"
"Is it just me or is this Gideon more of a smart ass?" Ava wondered looking at Sara.
"She has her moments," Sara agreed with only part of her attention on Ava. The majority of it was focused on Nic who now had her arms crossed as she stood silently in thought, staring at the two unconscious Heywood's.
Nic knew the story of why Nate had left the Legends in the first place. All of the Legends children knew. It was a sad one, it was sad mainly because it showed exactly how time travel could dictate your life. Protecting and fixing time came first in this business, and sometimes the sacrifices you had to make were hard. Sometimes they were nearly impossible. She herself knew that better than anyone because of her family history and her own choices were anything to go by.
The knowledge of who else was in the room did nothing to help her mood. If anything it made it worse. Deciding she didn't particularly want to be in the room anymore, Nic turned on her heel and slipped past the others, exiting the room swiftly. Sara's gaze followed her and seconds later she too slipped out silently following behind Nic.
"Seems the title of Captain runs in the family." Sara spoke up as she stepped up the two steps into the open study slowly after seeing Nic had her back to the door while she looked down at a glass in her hand. This was her first guess as to where she was going once she decided to follow. It was always where she herself would go to think or to be alone.
"I've been Captain for the past four years. And you know the one thing I can truly say I've learned?" Nic paused as she turned around to face Sara and leaned back against the table she had just been facing. "I know just how much being Captain sucks sometimes. The hard calls are so much harder. The sacrifices are sometimes almost unbearable. But when it doesn't suck, you realize that without all of this?" She gestured at the area around them. "You would be so bored with life. I was many things before I got on this ship, but none of them can compare to this."
"All very true," Sara agreed wholeheartedly. Being a Legend and Captain was not an easy job, but she couldn't imagine giving it up.
"But that's only part of what I learned. Learning all of that only made me understand something I never was able to. It was something that because I couldn't understand it, I resented it," Nic licked her lips and walked over to far right of the study and picked up something from the table, staring at it. "I resented it and you for a long time. But in the end, it still hurt."
Sara took a sharp intake of breath at the words as the pieces began falling into place. Her future becoming just the slightest bit more clear. "I'm not back in Star City am I? I never handed off Captain, did I?" The words were bitter to her. She had accepted death many times in her life, but to know that it happened and that she had left so much behind was different. Even without knowing the full story, somehow, just true reality of it was more painful.
Nic finally turned from looking down at the item on the desk to face Sara. She shook her head, "No, you didn't," The words didn't just answer the question asked but also the unasked one. The words were like a sword cutting into Sara's very soul. The revelation had more affect on her than she was expecting.
It was only the sound of alarms blaring throughout the ship that drew both of them out of the moment and into action.
Should I continue this? This is the only chapter I have written at this time because I would like to know if anyone would actually like to see this plot continue. If so, drop a review with your thoughts on the matter, it would be much appreciated and I hope you enjoyed!
My OC's (Just to make life easier for you)
Zoe Amaya Heywood(27), Zane Samson Heywood(25), Cassandra Jacqueline Palmer(25), Val Draco Knight(28), and William Luthor(24), Nicolette Laurel Lance(24)
They've all been on the ship for four years.
And yes Liam(William) Luthor is from Earth-38 for anyone that was wondering. Should this continue, backstory will be explained more along with how the team came to be.