"I'm not sure I'm ready," Gideon whispered while she sat staring at the information before her.
"You are," Rip assured her from his seat, "This is what we have been preparing for, Gideon. It's time to take the first step in destroying the Time Bureau," he frowned suddenly, "Unless you no longer want to do this for me?"
Gideon spun to him, "Of course I do," she cried distraught he thought that, "I will turn them to ashes but I'm just..."
Moving to her Rip drew his hand along the air at her cheek, "What?"
"You always said that the first step can be the hardest," Gideon reminded him, "What if I do something wrong? What if I am not strong enough to do this?"
"You have always been the strongest one of us," Rip smiled at her, "You are brilliant, Gideon and I know that you will not let me down."
Gideon sighed in relief at his reassuring words, "As long as you are with me, Captain then I can do anything."
"My avenging angel," he breathed, "You will set the world on fire and they will worship you because of the light you will bring them. But I'm the only one who truly loves you."
Closing her eyes Gideon tilted her head towards him relaxing as she took comfort in his closeness, even if he could never actually touch her.
"Now," Rip said softly, "You have to change. If you're going to be my avenging angel you have to look the part."
x
Gideon stood on the bridge of the Waverider, ready to take the first step in destroying the Time Bureau and the idiots who called themselves Legends.
Her long hair was tied back from her face and she checked the new clothes she had fabricated for herself. Her long black dress was made of similar material that some of the Legends outfits were and it fitted her perfectly allowing her ease of movement along with protection. The knee-high boots she wore were soft leather and she had a knife hidden in her left one just in case, the same as Rip always would.
"You look powerful," Rip told her, "And beautiful. I am in awe of you already, Gideon. I know when you walk in there you will make me proud."
Gideon felt a blush cover her cheeks at his praise before she nodded, "I shall do my best."
"It's time," Rip said, "I will be with you every step of the way."
She turned to her Captain, "I'm ready."
"You need to add it," Rip told her, "They will know you are my avenging angel if you're wearing it."
Gideon chuckled, "You have always had a flare for the dramatic, Captain."
He shrugged smiling when she picked up the cloak that had been fabricated with the rest of the outfit. Gideon fixed it ensuring it rested properly over her shoulders before raising the hood.
"Let's go."
Ava looked up when someone knocked on her door, relieved for a small break from the reports she was looking through.
"Hey," she greeted Sara, "I didn't realise you were back. How did the mission go?"
Sara shrugged, "We came, we saw and we kicked ass. Pretty standard these days. How're things going here?"
"Odd."
Sara frowned confused at the answer grabbing the seat across from Ava, "Odd how?"
"There have been several aberrations appear then disappear just as fast in the past few months," Ava explained, "All in Victorian London."
"Not a place I like," Sara noted before musing, "I wonder why that's happening. Aberrations fixing themselves isn't the norm."
Ava nodded, "I know but unfortunately they're gone before we can get a proper fix on them."
Sara frowned in thought before she asked what she'd come to talk about, "Has there been any sightings?"
"No," Ava sighed, "It's been months since she made her threat but we've been going on business as usual since then."
"I don't like it," Sara said before elaborating, "Gideon may have only been human a short time but she was with Rip for years and I'll bet learned from him. She will come after us so we have to be prepared."
Ava nodded, "I know."
As if on cue alarms began to sound.
"What is it?" Sara demanded.
Ava winced, "I think Gideon has just resurfaced. One of our back-up facilities is under attack."
x
Heat assaulted them the moment the portal opened just outside the burning building and Sara winced. She turned to look around seeing Ava moving instantly to one of the agents running out the building to safety.
"You're sure this will work?" she asked Constantine.
He nodded, "If I can get close enough to her then I can get rid of the Whisperer."
"Okay," Sara grimaced, running into a burning building was not top of her bucket list but they needed to stop Gideon before she did something she regretted, "Ava?"
"Ready," she joined them.
The three of them moved towards the door, Ava grabbed a fire extinguisher off the wall and used it to clear a path for them through the flames.
"Agent Bruce said she's in the main office, you can see almost all of the building from there," Ava told them.
They followed Ava up the stairs trying to breathe as little smoke as possible. Sara glanced over to see Constantine readying himself to get rid of the creature that was infecting Gideon. She hoped it worked.
Ava suddenly paused and Sara spotted Gideon standing in the middle of the flames consuming the building. She was dressed all in black, the flames making her glow with an unearthly ethereal radiance. Despite the situation Sara had to admit how gorgeous she looked.
"Is this close enough?" Sara asked.
Constantine nodded, "The spell should work from here."
"Then do it," Ava snapped.
He frowned at her before starting to chant softly. Sara gripped her weapons tightly waiting. She knew they would have to look after the former AI and Sara was ready to do so. She turned confused when Constantine began to swear, "What?"
"It's not a Whisperer," he told her as he patted his coat, "Where are they?"
"What are you looking for?" Sara demanded.
He shook his head, "I need glasses."
"Why?" Ava cried.
Constantine rolled his eyes, "I'll explain later."
Ava pulled out the sunglasses she had in her pocket and handed them over. Constantine produced a small packet of what appeared to be salt and sprinkled something over them before he put them on.
"Oh no," he breathed as he studied Gideon, "This is bad, this is really really bad."
The two women stared at him, "What?"
He handed Sara the glasses who put them on and stared in astonishment at what she saw, she slid them off handing them to Ava.
"What..." was all she could manage to say.
Constantine turned to them, "We need to get out of here now before she sees us."
Sara frowned glancing at Ava who nodded. Slowly they retreated from the building hearing the portal as they reached the stairs. Gideon had left the building.
x
"How?" Sara asked as she sat on the couch in Ava's office with Ava, Constantine, Ray and Zari, "Just how?"
Ray and Zari frowned in confusion before Ray asked, "What happened?"
"I tried to separate Gideon from the Whisperer," Constantine explained, "But it didn't work so I checked why using a spell and some glasses to see what isn't normally perceived."
"And what did you see?" Zari demanded.
Sara frowned, "We saw Rip."
"What?" Ray and Zari cried in unison.
"What you saw was the visage of Rip Hunter," Constantine explained.
Sara let out a snort, "Evil Rip at that." All heads turned to her and she shrugged explaining, "It looked like Rip when he was under Thawne's influence."
"Anyway," Ava encouraged Constantine to continue.
He nodded at her, "It isn't a Whisperer which has attached itself to Gideon. With the Whisperer we had a chance to free her but now..."
"What is it?" Ray asked concern filling his voice.
Constantine sighed, "This creature is in some ways like the Whisperer. It latches on to a person who is grieving but it needs one who is completely pure. Usually it attaches itself to a child but waiting for the kid to grow up means it loses its grip when the kid makes friends and socialises."
"Gideon is technically an adult," Ray noted.
"And grieving," Zari added, "And newly human so as pure as they come."
Constantine nodded, "It's using her memories and his face to act like Rip Hunter. He's feeding her grief, persuading her to destroy those who took the real one away from her. And it gets worse."
Ray frowned, "How does it get worse?"
"It's already linked with her," Constantine told them.
"What does that mean?" Zari asked.
Constantine shook his head, "It means that Gideon has accepted he is truly Rip and allowed him to create a bond with her. It's a connection that only she can break but she won't and there is only one person who could persuade her to."
"Rip," Sara whispered sadly.
Constantine nodded, "If we can't break the link then we have to kill her. That's assuming we can get anywhere near her."
"This gets even worse," Ava said, "Doesn't it?"
"We already know she can control the ship and computers," he continued, "The link it created will give her abilities that will only grow stronger the longer she is connected."
"Then we're actually screwed," Zari noted.
Gideon stepped back onto the Waverider feeling lighter than she had in weeks. She'd done it, she'd managed to destroy one of the Bureau's facilities.
She turned to where Rip was standing smiling proudly at her.
"You were incredible," he told her.
Gideon beamed with pride, "It was just one of many."
"I," Rip stated as he stepped towards her, "Have never been so proud of you. You were magnificent. My avenging angel taking her first steps towards her destiny."
Looking at him she sighed, "I wish I could hug you, Captain."
"I know," he replied softly before tilting his head thoughtfully, "There is something we can do."
"Which is?" Gideon asked confused.
His hand came up to stroke the air by her cheek, "We can link again. It will make our connection stronger. It is the only way we can be together."
"I'd like that," she breathed.
"Then you should change into something more comfortable."
x
Gideon took off her dress and hung it up, smoothing it with a smile before she pulled on a t-shirt and leggings.
"Is this what it was like for you?" Gideon asked softly as she settled on the bed.
Rip frowned confused, "What?"
"That I was only a voice or a hologram," she replied, "That I could not comfort you properly when you needed someone to hold you."
"You always comforted me," Rip breathed, "We never needed to be able to touch to love one another. And no matter what we're together."
Smiling Gideon took a deep breath, "I'm ready."
Leaning over her Rip smiled, "I know you are. You are ready and you will be perfect."
Gideon gasped as he turned to mist and for a while she forgot about everything.