AN: Hey there! Sorry I took so long, but something came up in my personal life and I've been a bit busy.
Special thanks to "thecharmedones27" for leaving nice comments on this and therefore leaving me with a smile on my face :)
Hope you enjoy this!
Ava wakes up startled with her body covered in a thin layer of sweat. She looks around and tries to remember where she is. She calms down when she realizes she's in her bed sleeping next to Sara.
A smile takes over her lips while she admires her girlfriend's peaceful face. This means no nightmares for her this time then. Great.
She grabs her smartphone from the bedside table to check the time. It tells her it's only 8 o'clock in the morning; it's still too early. She puts the phone down again and turns on her side, facing the woman next to her.
Ava extends her right arm and circles Sara's waist. The Legend stirs slightly, but doesn't open her eyes. The taller woman lets out a sigh of relief.
"Did no one ever tell you that it's rude to stare?" her girlfriend suddenly asks with a lazy smirk on her face, slowly opening her eyes, "And kinda creepy as well," she yawns and takes her time stretching her whole body.
The Agent chuckles and shakes her head, "I couldn't resist. You look so adorable while you're asleep," she admits, booping her freckled nose.
Sara gives her a small pout, "Only when I'm asleep?" she asks, pulling her lover closer.
Ava laughs lightly at that, "Sara Lance, Captain of the Legends and former Assassin, afraid of not being cute enough?" she states with a raised eyebrow.
"What can I say?" she presses her lips against Ava's for a quick chaste kiss, "You have that effect on me."
They smile at each other and share another kiss, this time lasting a few more seconds. When they part Ava decides to speak, "Hey Sara…" she starts, playing with her girlfriend's left hand.
"Yes Ava?" the other woman asks smirking.
"I was thinking that maybe we could go to 2213 today?"
Sara puts on a more serious face and seems to ponder her answer, "Okay," she nods in agreement.
"Really? You don't mind?"
The Legend shrugs her shoulders and gives her a small smile, "Of course not, let's do it. I just have to let my team know that I'll be busy today before we go, alright?"
Ava smiles happily, "Yes, of course!" she kisses her excitedly, "Thanks! I'll take the chance to let the Time Bureau know that I'm taking the day off as well. Good thing I had some vacation days saved off."
EARTH – YEAR 2213
Sara looks up at the woman next to her, "We're finally here Aves."
Ava looks back at her and grabs her hand, "This is it. There's no turning back now. Right?"
Her girlfriend squeezes her hand softly and smiles at her, "This is it. I'm here for you though."
"I know," the Agent says, leaning down to give her a small peck on the lips. After that, she straightens her back, exhales deeply and tries to swallow the wave of anxiety she's feeling, "Okay, let's go to the Company that created… Me, I guess."
An AVA Clone passes through them and greets them, wishing them a great day.
Both women turn to each other, "That was so not weird at all…" Ava adds, making Sara chuckle.
"Yeah, that was kinda how I felt the first time I was here. Especially since my stupid ass had just broken up with you," the Agent can't help but grimace at that, which doesn't go unnoticed by Sara.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up Ava," the Legend apologizes, cupping her girlfriend's cheek with her hand.
"It's okay Sara, I know you had good intentions at the time. Even though it sucked a lot to be apart from you," she confesses, resting her hand on top of Sara's.
"I couldn't agree more. But you're stuck with me now, I'm never gonna leave," the smaller woman admits, kissing her girlfriend softly on the lips. Ava smiles into the kiss.
"Good. Now let's get going, I really don't wanna deal with more copies of myself greeting us."
"Agreed," Sara says, nodding.
After around fifteen minutes they were in front of the building that spelled out "AVA Corporation".
Both women stare at the door for a while, until Ava breaks the silence, "So… Do you have any idea about how can we go in without causing trouble?"
Sara looks around, trying to come up with something. Her face lights up and she looks at the entrance door confidently. Ava takes it as a positive answer; she turns to her girlfriend waiting for an answer.
Sara's grin falters a bit and now she looks reticent, "Well I do, but you're not gonna like it."
"Whatever it is, I trust you."
"Great! Let's just hope that this outfit Gideon made me will do the trick," the Legend perks up, grabbing her arm and dragging her to the building with her, "Don't forget, you agreed to the plan," she mutters that last part only for Ava to hear.
When they approach the door, the security guard is already turning his attention to them.
"Good evening Miss, may I see some ID please?" he asks Sara. She's glad she was smart enough to think of also asking Gideon for a fake ID card. She reaches into her lab coat's pocket and places it on the man's extended hand. He checks it carefully and then eyes Sara curiously.
"I've never seen your face around here. Are you new?" he asks her with a deep voice that makes her skin crawl.
"Yes actually, I am! I can tell you're attentive," she smiles at him, "Can I go through now please? I really have to get back to work."
He puts his hand in front of her, "Actually, not so fast. May I know what do you do?"
Even though she is a trained fighter, she knows going against some security guy in the middle of the street in broad day light would screw their plan entirely. Instead she decides to endure through his questions for a bit.
"What do you mean exactly?" she asks, still maintaining a charming smile.
"I mean inside of the Lab. You see, I always had the curiosity to find out but I never had the patience to ask those nerds what they do all day over there."
"Well it depends," she swallows her nerves down and turns to Ava, "For instance, just recently a client acquired this AVA Clone model a few months ago and it's already showing some signs of trouble. It's having some kind of malfunction I think and since it's still on the warranty period the client decided to send it back here for us nerds to check if anything can be done to fix it."
She hates herself for having used the word "clone" and all she wants is to grab Ava's hand to try to comfort her but she knows she has to keep herself in character. Instead she pushes the bad feelings down and keeps showing the guy her most charming smile.
He narrows her eyes at her and crosses his arms in front of his chest making his already big frame seem even bigger, "Ah I see, interesting. You know Miss Lance, usually the nerds I meet don't look exactly like you…" he smirks at her with a flirtatious tone.
Sara counts to five in her head to keep her anger from coming out. She can't believe he's actually flirting with her right now. She looks at Ava, who simply has a blank expression on her face.
The security guard shrugs his shoulders, "Alright well, I won't keep you here anymore. Just go ahead and try not to cause any trouble," he says with a chuckle, laughing at his own joke, "As if such a tiny and adorable lady like you could ever."
Sara thanks him and forces a smile on her face, dropping it once she is inside the building, "What a jerk! Assuming I'm some kind of weak damsel."
"Sara! Lower your voice please." Ava pleads with her, suddenly very aware of their surroundings and the number of security on each corner, "Gosh, this almost seems more guarded than the Buckingham Palace."
The Legend chuckles at that, only Ava could make her laugh at such a moment. She turns to the Agent, "Okay, the first bit is done. Now comes the harder part; remember, you agreed to this."
Ava nods, "I know babe, let's get it done already. People might get suspicious."
"Okay, I love you. Don't forget about that." Sara whispers and motions for them to make their way to the front desk. Once they get there, Sara puts on her best smirk, "Good evening," she greets, her voice filled with a flirtatious tone. The young woman in front of her blushes, "Good evening and welcome to the AVA Corporation, Miss. What can I do for you today?" she asks Sara, a shy smile on her face.
"Well you see, it's my first day here as a Lab Technician and I was thinking if you could indicate me to the way there?" Sara says, her voice huskier than usual. She will definitely have to apologize to Ava later for all of this, properly, in bed. Not that she minds, on the contrary. She smiles to herself at the thought of Ava lying naked in bed under her. The voice of the young woman brings her back, "Miss?" she asks, trying to catch Sara's attention. When she's sure she has it, she continues, "If you could just come with me, it's right at the end of that hallway and then you just have to turn left."
"Thank you! That's very kind of you, but you don't have to take me there. I don't want to keep you from your work."
"It's no problem at all, part of my job," she replies, getting up and making her way to Sara's side when the phone suddenly rings. She gets back to her desk to pick up the phone, "Yes?"
Sara waits for her, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently. Ava takes the chance to signal at her girlfriend to do something while the secretary is distracted by the phone call.
The Legend shrugs her shoulders at her girlfriend, she doesn't know what she's supposed to do. She can't exactly make a run for the Lab out of the blue, it would raise too many suspicions. Instead she decides to turn to the secretary and press her luck, "I'm sorry but I'm already late. I have to get going, I'll find the way don't worry," she approaches with a low voice, trying not to disrupt whatever conversation she's having over the phone.
The young woman puts her right hand over the speaker and tells her in a hushed tone, "Okay go right ahead," she turns her attention back to the phone.
Sara thanks her with a big smile and a wink, making the poor woman blush profusely this time.
Once she and Ava get to the end of the hallway and make sure that no one can see or hear them from that distance, they drop the act, "I'm sorry you had to see all of that, flirting," Sara apologizes.
Ava steps closer to her, "I understand," she murmurs, letting her gaze fall to the floor, "I mean, it was only for the mission. Besides, I agreed to it, so… Don't worry about it."
"Ava…" Sara tries to get her to look up at her, "Please look at me." It's proving to be very difficult to not be able to comfort Ava physically through this situation, but she knows she has to stick to the mission.
Her girlfriend eventually lifts her face and she can finally see the beautiful eyes she loves so much, "I would never, ever, do something to hurt you intentionally. This is as hard on me as it is on you. Don't forget that okay?"
Ava smiles softly at her. It doesn't quite reach her eyes, but at least it's something.
"God I so wish I could hold you right now," Sara confesses, earning a chuckle from Ava. Music to her ears.
"Tell me about it!" the Agent adds, "I love you."
The Legend smirks at that, "I know Aves, I love you too."
"Great! Now what?" Ava asks, pointing at the door behind them. It reads the word Lab in black bold letters.
"Now let's see if this ID card works properly," Sara tells her, grabbing the card from her pocket and pressing it on the digital reader next to the metal door. The few seconds of waiting seem like an eternity and both women sigh with relief when the reader flashes a small green light and the door opens.
"All clear!" Sara claims excitedly once she checks if it's safe for them to come in.
Ava steps in after her and looks around, trying to take it all in. Sara decides it's best to give her a moment. She stays by the door, in case any staff appears.
Ava goes through the left side of the room, looking at the equipment and all the papers scattered around some desks. It's mostly just calculations and daily annotations. On the other side of the room the desks are messier, mostly occupied by loose pieces, like tiny screws and some kind of computer chips. She picks one up and it amazes her how something even smaller than the palm of her hand can hold so much power. She then remembers that an exact same chip is probably inside of her and instinctively clenches her jaw at the thought.
She drops the piece to the place where she found it and keeps looking around. On a desk further into the room, she notices that there's a pile of much more tidy papers and decides to take a look.
"Sara?" she calls, trying not to raise her voice too much.
Sara turns to her, "Yeah? Did you find something?"
"I think so," she gestures to the file on her right hand, "This file here says Clone XII… According to what Rip told me, that's me."
The upset look on Ava's face doesn't go unnoticed by the Legend, and she steps closer to her, "Okay, let's grab it and go then? Before anyone comes in," she says, preparing to leave.
Ava stops her by grabbing her forearm, "No, wait! We can't do that, it might create an anachronism."
Sara's features soften and she places her hand on top of Ava's, "I'm sure it won't be a problem. It's just a file Aves, they probably have backup copies of it," she turns her head to look at the door, "Let's just hurry up before someone shows up."
Ava sighs, "You're right," she agrees and hands the file over to Sara, "Can you hide it in your lab coat please? I don't want to raise suspicions in case we bump into someone."
Sara accepts it and hides it away, "Okay! Now let's go."
They were about to step outside the door when suddenly a man in a lab coat similar to Sara's bumps into them, "Oh sorry!" he says, before taking a good look at them. His expression goes from apologetic to puzzled, "What is that thing doing here?"
"Sorry?" Sara asks confused. Ava decides to go back into character, trying to stay with a blank expression on her face.
The man points to Ava, "The Clone, lady! What is it doing here in the middle of the Lab?"
"Oh, right! Well it had a minor malfunction so I decided to see if I could fix it, which I did by the way, successfully," she states with fake pride on her voice.
"Hm…" he narrows her eyes at her, not looking very convinced, "Who are you again? I don't recall seeing you around here."
She points to her ID card, "Sara Lance, Sir. I just started today," she extends her hand for him to shake, "Delighted to make your acquaintance."
He accepts her hand, reluctantly at first, but ends up giving it a firm shake, "Likewise, Miss Lance. Welcome to the AVA Corporation."
Sara thanks him and prepares to leave with Ava trailing behind her, but turns on her tracks when she hears his voice again, "Oh before you go Miss Lance, may I know what the problem was? With the machine."
This time the Legend starts to panic, not being able to come up with anything so suddenly. She tries to open her mouth a few times but nothing comes out.
Thankfully someone comes to her rescue; she hears a voice calling from the front desk, "Mr. James!" the young secretary waves at him, "Mr. James!" she's making her way over to them in a hurry. She stops to catch her breath for a few seconds when she reaches them, "I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation, but there's something going on on Lab 12 that needs your attention."
"I see," he says nodding, "Thank you Miss Stevens, I'll be right there," he then turns to Sara, "And you Miss Lance, hopefully we'll get the chance to catch up on the subject at matter later."
"Of course," she says, smiling at him. Once he and the secretary are finally gone she drops her smile and Ava relaxes her body, "Damn, that was close Sara."
The Legend sighs, "I know! I'm just glad that Miss Stevens showed up at exactly the right time."
Ava scoffs at that and Sara bumps her hip to hers playfully, "Miss Sharpe, jealousy is not a good colour on you," she states with a grin on her face.
"God you're insufferable," she says shaking her head, "I should kiss that smile out of your face."
Sara chuckles at hearing her admitting it out loud, "Later Aves, save it for later," she adds with a wink, "First we have to focus on the next phase of the plan, which means, how to get the hell out of this place."
"Actually…" Ava turns to look Sara in the eyes. She is biting her bottom lip nervously and Sara looks knowingly at her.
"What is it Ava? We already have the file, let's just get out of here before it's too late," the Legend tries to plead with her.
The Agent sighs and tries to keep her voice low, "I noticed other files over there were mine was. Files about the previous… Versions of myself. If I could just take a look –"
Sara's expression softens and her voice is gentle, even when cutting her girlfriend off, "Ava… I don't think that's a good idea." She steps closer and runs her hands slowly up and down Ava's arms.
"Why? I came here to find out more about all of this remember? To learn further things about other… Clones," her voice wavers at the word.
Sara seems to ponder on that for a couple of seconds, before giving in, "Fine," Sara adds, "I promise I would be by your side no matter what. Get the files and let's get going before that annoying man comes back."
Ava nods at her before entering the room again to grab the pile of files on the desk, "Okay I've got them Sara!"
"Great!" Sara says and prepares to open a portal through the time currier that's around her wrist. The portal leads them directly to her room at the Waverider and she motions for Ava to go ahead of her, before she looks around one last time to check that no one's following them.