(Scenes from Legends of Tomorrow Season 3, Episode 10)

Captain Lance's friend—a Mr. John Constantine— is a mystifying character. This is established when they enter the bridge, where she introduces him to Dr. Heywood, Miss Jiwe, Mr. Snart, and Mr. Rory. Mistaking the visitor for Director Hunter, the latter indicates they are both slim Englishmen who wear a trench coat. The similarities end there: Mr. Constantine is an accomplished warlock, an experienced occultist, and a master in exorcism. "I'm also a Taurus, for those of you taking notes," he discloses, casting a wink at Mr. Snart. He should add "flirt" to his formality. He recognizes Miss Jiwe's totem and extends his charm in meeting someone bearing the family name. She takes his pleasantry with sincere grace. He quickly returns to hitting on Mr. Snart; the unfazed migrant answers, "I'm from another Earth, and I'm spoken for."

"Yeah, his girlfriend's a guy," a smug Mr. Rory clarifies. His attitude changes quickly after he hears himself. "Anyway, this is too much for me." He leaves to watch some television; Miss Jiwe sneaks out at the same time. The entertained captain shakes her head.

Mr. Constantine notifies her and Dr. Heywood about his whereabouts in the parlor. He has eluded a mental institution to perform an exorcism on a young girl named Emily. Her demon attested that Captain Lance'd "soon be slipping into the dark". If he knows her on a full name basis, the spellcaster figures coming here may be the clue to save both her and Emily. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

"I don't need saving," the captain objects, "and I'm done fighting demons."

Dr. Heywood entreats, "You think this has something to do with the demon we're fighting?" Mr. Constantine gives her a look that implores her to explain.

She clocks this. "I was speaking of them metaphorically, but yes, I did recently visit the spirit world. It's a long story, but it's probably how the demon knows my name. And the demon's name is Mallus." For someone who was transferred to the other world, she's being cavalier about it.

"Mallus," her friend repeats. "Smashing. Very handy, demon names. Just what I need to cast this Mallus wanker out. Now, I don't know what you and your, uh, dishy lot have gotten themselves into, but I suggest you leave it to the experts." That's what almost everyone says before the Legends are needed in action. "So, nice one for the tip. I've got a girl to save."

The captain stops him from leaving. "Oh, not so fast. You said it yourself. This is not just any demon, and we've been fighting it before you even knew its name. And if this girl's connected to Mallus, she might be able to help us destroy him."

"You wanna tag along for an exorcism?"

"Yep."

He drops his jesting for seriousness. "That's out of the bloody question, love."

"Well, we gave you its name, so you owe us."

"Well, I gave you your soul, so you owe me indefinitely."

Still resolute, she stands, "All the more reason for me to help you." Her persuasion turns out well because he relents, and she inquires me to plot a course to 2017 Star City. The ship lands behind Sumner Asylum at nightfall.

"If we're lucky," Mr. Constantine remarks, "Mallus hasn't cemented his control over the girl yet."

"Well, if you're looking for luck, you're on the wrong time ship."

He flings a cigarette in his mouth. "How's about a light, then?" I don't approve of smoking on board.

"Ask Mick if you want your face burned off."

"I'm doomed either way." The banter between those two is very cheeky. Speaking of bantering, a particular someone from the Time Bureau is phoning the ship. It's Agent Sharpe. I tease the captain, "Or should I call her Ava?" I haven't forgotten their previous exchange in the medbay.

"Just put her on, Gideon." A hologram of the caller appears as Captain Lance stands in front of the console. She has kept her new style all this time; however, she retains her usual posture. "Ava, hi. Any progress on Rip?"

"Ugh, not yet," she sighs, crossing her arms. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm still waiting to meet with Director Bennett. Unfortunately, no one here believes that Rip was right about Mallus being real. I'm even barred from visiting him while he's incarcerated. It's a total mess of red tape."

Captain Lance assures, "If anyone can get through it, it's you."

"Thanks, I could use a little encouragement."

"Well, I think what we could use both is a glass of wine." Is the captain being flirtatious right now? She has that charm about herself. Believe me, I know.

The federal agent laughs, "Yeah." She brushes her hair back and glances at her. Is she blushing? "Uh, well, I... I'd better go. I'll let you know how things progress. Bye." She disconnects right after this.

Mr. Snart, who has watched the entire conversation, makes his presence known to the captain. "Aww."

"What?"

"First, I apologize for interrupting," he expresses, approaching her. "Second, that woman clearly has a crush on you."

"Just don't," she denies.

"Come, come, Captain. She called you for absolutely no reason. That discussion was just an excuse to talk to you." A partial fact, but a fact nonetheless.

"Mm-hmm." Still in denial.

"Gideon, play that last bit, please." Gladly. The captain tries to override the request but fails. I replay the footage of Agent Sharpe laughing and pause to see her body language for them. "Head down, eyes up, cheeks flushed. Classic courtship signals."

"Even if it was, and it isn't," Captain Lance justifies. "We're completely different people."

"I don't know; you're both strong women obsessed with repairing time, and you're both super hot." The last noted commonality addles her, mostly because he pointed it out. "Gay, not blind."

"Look, Ava's the kind of girl you take home to your parents, and I'm the kind you take to an exorcism." Literally... and figuratively. The captain and Mr. Constantine go undercover along with Dr. Heywood, Miss Jiwe, and Mr. Snart. "All right, we've landed," she informs, "Where did they move her?"

Miss Tomaz is on standby with Dr. Palmer. She conveys in a perplexed tone, "Can't find anyone named Emily in the admissions record."

"Guys, be careful," he warns. "You're in an asylum with a demon. It's a twofer of terror." The search for the girl is conveniently short. "All right now, where to perform an exorcism?"

Dr. Palmer scans the security footage in the building. "There's a vacant room in the east wing, room 237." Not long after that, he and Miss Tomaz discover the girl's records with a surprising detail. Her name isn't Emily; it's Nora Darhk. Oh crap.

Captain Lance's voice is riddled in shock. "This is Damien Darhk's daughter? How is that even possible?"

"They changed her name," Miss Tomaz replies. After Damien's death at the Green Arrow's hand, Miss Darhk was placed under Child Protective Services. As a result of the double losses of her identity and family, her soul became an easy target for predatory demons. Despite the younger Miss Darhk's origins being public knowledge, they move forward with the exorcism. The field team is required to go dark (no pun intended) because of electricity.

Sometime later, Miss Tomaz and Dr. Palmer enquired Mr. Rory if he had heard an update from the captain, Mr. Constantine, and Mr. Snart. He doesn't seem to care as he's relishing the peace and quiet as well as engrossed in the televised football (soccer) game. Dr. Heywood and Miss Jiwe enter the parlour, arguing over the latter's latest confrontation with her granddaughter, the hydrokinetic metahuman who is in a frozen state in the brig. With Dr. Palmer beckoning the captain as well as Dr. Heywood and Miss Jiwe clashing about engaging further contact, the ensuing commotion aggravates Mr. Rory. "Quiet!" He instructs, "Haircut, take the new girl. Find Blondie, Fake Snart, and Trenchcoat. Amaya, the medbay. Pretty, the library. Water Witch stays in the freezer." It's interesting how Miss Jiwe is the only one without a nickname. Everyone promptly dispels to their respective tracks, only for Dr. Palmer to return to commend him on his management potential. Ever so sunny. "Get out," he growls, sending the astrophysicist away.

Dr. Heywood and I receive word from Dr. Palmer and Miss Tomaz in room 237. They haven't found Captain Lance, but they have found a strange symbol chalked on the floor. Miss Tomaz transmits the photo via her cell phone. I show it to Dr. Heywood and match it to an engraving on an obsidian stone. It is an ancient rune used by occultic professionals for temporal manipulation. In simpler terms, it can cause time travel without the use of a timeship. This means Captain Lance and company are somewhere in the timeline. While Dr. Heywood and I do more research to pinpoint their location, Miss Tomaz mediates she and Dr. Palmer question the person behind the spell: younger Miss Darhk.

In the lab, Miss Jiwe defiantly disables the containment barrier. She thaws her granddaughter to converse with her. Kuasa—the latter's name—calls her "nana baa" a coward for not exploiting the access of time travel to save their village in 1992 Zambesi. She recounts being left alone in the ruins whilst her mother (Miss Jiwe's daughter) took off with her sister, Mari (the eventual Vixen). Miss Jiwe persists that her eldest granddaughter was assumed dead, but it fell on deaf ears. Her uninterrupted pain and resentment were channeled into an alliance with the Darhks. In return, they'd promised to grant her a chance to save the village and the elder Miss Jiwe's life.

On the flip side, I track Dr. Palmer and Miss Tomaz to 2017 Central City. They've taken younger Miss Darhk out from the institution to CC Jitters, a café. Things started out calmly until something triggered Mallus to resurface in her. Miss Tomaz calls in for backup, but Mr. Rory is too absorbed in the football game to assist them. Dr. Heywood joins him, only to rush out upon hearing about Miss Jiwe's whereabouts.

Speaking of whom, she has relayed to her granddaughter about her vision quest. Miss Jiwe originally thought that her ancestor was advising her to protect Miss Tomaz. Now, she believes the totem bearer she was referring to is Kuasa. She willingly steps into the brig, saying she wants to help her because she's her family despite their conflicting loyalties. However, Dr. Heywood charges in and swiftly rushes to Miss Jiwe's side. "Get away from her," he barks at Kuasa, ready to fire with Mr. Snart's gun.

"Put the gun down, Nathaniel." This distracts him enough for Kuasa to attack him. She marches towards him and drowns him with water up his nose. Afraid of her endangering his life, Miss Jiwe girds herself with the gun and considers detonating it. Kuasa flat-out tells her to pull the trigger immediately if she wants her dead. "At least you'll have done something to change my fate," she carries on in a sardonic tone. Her grandmother demits as she doesn't want to do that. The latter instead convinces her that Dr. Heywood can help save the former and get her home. Kuasa spares him and warns her tearful nana baa not to disappoint her before she floats away.

In the bridge, Mr. Constantine splashes holy water on Captain Lance, who had returned to Mallus' dimension. She managed to withhold from yielding to his control. Miss Jiwe addresses her as "the strongest person [she knows]". Miss Tomaz recollects Mallus being fearful of her totem, calling her "one of the six". Mr. Constantine suspects that the totems may be the key to the demon's defeat. This dismays Dr. Palmer, who's working on an anti-magic nanite gun. Miss Jiwe lists the five totems she knows of: her Spirit, her granddaughter's Water, Miss Tomaz's Air, Earth, and Fire. Mr. Constantine intends to do some digging on the sixth; he has some contacts that can be of use. As he makes his leave, the captain thanks him for his help with Mallus. He reciprocates, beckoning her to give him a call if she needs more of his help. She also (flirtatiously) thanks him for the great shag.

Mr. Constantine seeks Dr. Palmer's help opening the cargo bay door. In truth, the spellcaster wants the details on the anti-magic gun. The latter declares on placing it in storage. He warns against it; though he asserts the totems' high potential in overcoming Mallus, Dr. Palmer's gun could be advantageous if and/or when the captain does succumb to the demon's power inside her. Mr. Constantine strikes another match against a weapon trunk. "As always, this is a non-smoking aircraft," I remind him sternly.

"Uh, don't worry, Gideon, sweetheart," he disregards, lighting his cigarette. He bids to the space scientist, "I'll see you around, squire." Just like that, he strides out. Dr. Palmer calls him cool, while coughing from the secondhand smoke. This is why there's no smoking on board.

Mr. Rory is still watching the game in the parlour. He reluctantly mutes it when Mr. Snart walks in, wanting to talk to him. He's grateful that he and the Legends let him tag along, calling it an experience and an education. He's also proud to have known Mr. Rory, which makes it hard for him to say goodbye. It goes without saying that the game-obsessed arsonist feels the same as he hugs him. Captain Lance rolls up, overhearing the conversation. Anyway, Mr. Snart intends to return to Earth-X and propose to Ray. His Ray, not Dr. Palmer. Cute. The captain commends him on making a "bold move". Mr. Rory tells Leo, as he addresses him, "I'll see you around."

"Likewise," he says and departs from the ship. Captain Lance leaves Mr. Rory to finish watching the game. In the corridors, she requests, "Gideon, can you get me a line on Ava, please?"

"Yes, Captain," I grant, closing one pathway. "Would you like some privacy as well?" She turns left and stops in time for a hologram of Agent Sharpe to emerge.

"Cheeky bot," she mutters.

"Captain Lance, I was just about to call you," the cadet remarks.

"Really? I mean, cool. 'Cause I, uh, wanted to compare notes." Or to flirt some more. "And I thought maybe you'd like to come to the ship."

"There's no time," Agent Sharpe deviates. "I finally got through the Bureau's red tape, and it seems that Director Hunter has escaped."

"What, where is he?"

"We have no idea." Oh Rip, what did you do now?

A/N: Fair warning—this is my only fanfic that will have a heavy focus on AvaLance. I understand that they are Legends of Tomorrow's supreme OTP. However, there are many fanfic writers more inclined to revolve their stories around them. I will complete this one because I made a promise to the person who requested it. After that, I won't take any AvaLance-centered requests.