The Flame-Sara Lance

2147...

"I trust you're comfortable Mr. Rory." I said as I entered the brig alone. He only turned his head back. "Or do you answer to Chronos these days?"

"I don't take orders from you. I can't believe I ever did."

"Well, that's debatable. I'm calling on you for two reasons. First, we could use your help." He turned around to face me.

"What's the second reason?"

"We're headed to 2147 to engage Savage."

"Is that the second reason or the first?" He paused. "Ah, forget it." He retracted his question.

"I owe you an apology Mr. Rory. I failed you." He paced around the brig cell. "We brought you along on this mission under false pretences, in denial of your true nature. And when that nature took its course, my uncle asked Mr. Snart to..." My voice trailed off. "Deal with you." I finished. He stared at me with bewildered eyes. "My point being, your quarrel should be with me and my uncle. Not with him."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I want to kill all of you."

"Captain, we have arrived in 2147."

"Thank you Gideon."

XXX

"150 years in the future and people are still wearing wool?" Jax asked as he and Sara walked into the cargo bay where Rip and I were looking for a certain pair of contact lenses. "Man, I hate wool."

"Be grateful, Mr. Jackson. Those living outside the Conglomerate are dressed in rags." I told him.

"Conglomerate?" Sara asked.

"Yes, in the year 2080, governments started to give way to corporations." I explained further as Rip and I kept searching for them.

"More like 2008." Jax corrected.

"According to Gideon, in two hours' time, our favorite immortal psychopath is scheduled to attend a meeting of the Conglomerate's shareholders." Rip told them.

"Ooh, sounds exciting." Sara said sarcastically.

"You think Savage takes over the world by trading stocks?" Jax asked.

"What we do know is that in 20 years time, Kasnia is the foothold from which Savage takes over the world, so we hardly want to take him on there, but if we can figure out how his actions here lead to his rise to power, then we won't need to." Rip held up the contacts in success.

"Copy that, captain, but if we're going to the future..." Jax started.

"We should probably invite the nerd twins." Sara finished.

"You know, I can already hear what Stein's going to say about 2147."

XXX

"The future, it's-"

Sara and Jax answered simultaneously, saying two different things. "Fascinating."

"Astonishing."

They laughed. "It was a 50/50 chance which one he was going to say."

"Actually, I was going to say-" I zoned out. A man in the near distance caught my attention. Next to him was a six year old girl. Me.

"We've got incoming." I looked at them with tears in my eyes.

"What? What's wrong?" Sara asked.

"Rip!" My father approached him and hugged him. "It's so good to see you again. I didn't know you were in town."

"Yes, well, me and my friends here just got back into town." We all waved at him.

"Hi. My name's Jessica." I extended my hand and he shook it. I missed his touch. I don't even know how long it's been.

"That's my daughter's name too. Say hi Jessica." Mini me waved. "Well, I have to get Jessica down for her nap. If I don't get home on time, Isabel will kill me. Tell Miranda I said hello." He walked off with the younger me.

"Was that-" Jax started dumbfounded, but I cut him off.

"That was my father."

"Jessica." Rip grabbed my shoulder. "You must return to the waverider. I know I don't have to remind you of the cataclysmic effects of interacting with your former self."

"No, Rip. That is my father. I can't just leave him out like a lamb to slaughter."

"I'm afraid you have to. You know Robert wouldn't have wanted this-"

"Do not talk about what my father would have wanted!" I stormed off, but not in the direction of the waverider. I went to the direction of my old house.

XXX

I knocked at the door. I was nervous, but excited in the same breath. My father answered the door.

"You were traveling with Rip, weren't you? Come in, come in." He welcomed me with open arms. I stared into the kitchen where my mother was baking. "Would you like anything to drink? Water? Coffee?"

"No, thank you." I finally had the courage to speak.

"Isabel." He called into the kitchen. "This is one of Rip's friends."

"Pleasure to meet you." I shook her hand.

"I'm not one of Rip's friends." I told them. They both stopped in their tracks. "My name is Jessica Hunter. Rip is my uncle." Their eyes widened with realization.

"You're a time master?" My father asked me.

"Former."

"You wouldn't have come here unless..." My mother's voice trailed off with realization.

"Something terrible happens. I want to stop it so badly, but I can't. I- I wasn't planning on doing this. Not until I saw you and me." I said to my father. "And then, I held your hand for the first time in forever. I just needed to see you both again." I let the tears escape out of my eyes and fall down my cheeks. "I don't have long until Rip finds me, but I need you to know that I'm going to be okay. As much as it hurts, I'm okay." I held each of their hands.

"Did you ever find love?" My father asked. I laughed. It was so like my father to ask that.

"Yeah. And she's the best thing that ever happened to me."

"How long?" My mother asked.

"A little over 2 years. She makes things suck less." At this point, tears streamed down my face. I didn't care. It was them. My parents. They exchanged a look before looking back at me.

"Jessica," My father told me. "You need to let us go."

"What? What are you talking about? I- I can't do that."

"Yes." My mother reassured me. "Yes you can. We are your parents. We know that you love us. And we also know that you're afraid. You're afraid to let us go. But we need you to do it, okay?"

I didn't want to accept this. They both wrapped their arms around me tightly as I sobbed into their arms. I couldn't let go. I just couldn't do it.