Summary: How do you live in a world you don't belong to?
Rip does his best to survive while running the Time Bureau, while Sara does her best to make sure he doesn't disappear into his work.
Danger however is on the horizon and Rip's life is about to be torn apart once more.
A Season 3 rewrite.
Author’s Note: Rip Week Day 2: Perfect Episode – Rip left the show too soon, so give us the ideal episode that we never got. Alternatively, you can fix something to make it better, or give us that perfect scene that we never had. Canon compliance optional.
I chose to rewrite the beginning of Season 3, this may be continued but until then, enjoy.
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Sara stared at the man who appeared through the portal before them. He was wearing the same blue suit as all the people who suddenly surrounded them, his hair was shorter than she’d ever seen it and he was clean shaven, which frankly Sara thought just looked odd on him.
“Well,” he stated as he removed his sunglasses, “You really buggered things up this time.”
“Rip?” was all she could manage to say as she stared at the scene around her.
Ray however demanded, “What’s going on?”
“Crossing our timeline fractured time forming anachronisms,” Rip stated, “I created The Time Bureau to deal with them.”
“Time Bureau,” several voices echoed in confusion.
Sara frowned, “You left the ship fifteen minutes ago.”
Rip shrugged, “To you maybe but building the Bureau has been the focus of the last five years of my life.”
Not sure how to reply, Sara worried because knowing the man before her the fact he had been alone without the team, but especially without Gideon, for that long was not a good thing for him.
“I suppose it’s only fitting, since I created the team,” Rip continued, “That I dissolve it. Your services are no longer required.”
“What?” several voices around her yelled while Sara stared at him.
With that said Rip turned to leave. He paused, turned back and added, “That means you’ll all be looking for jobs. Can I interest you in positions within a time travel organisation?”
Sara rolled her eyes, “How long did you work on that for?”
Rip shrugged, “Longer than I care to admit.”
Six Months Later
Sara walked through the Bureau’s main building towards the offices, it had been a long day and she wanted something to eat but had to do one thing first. Reaching the office, Sara walked in without knocking.
“Gideon,” Rip said, not looking up as Sara entered, “I thought we agreed no one has access to my office without my say so?”
“Miss Lance has an appointment to meet you for dinner,” Gideon replied, with that smugness she got at times which Sara loved, when it wasn’t directed at her.
Rip frowned and looked at Sara, “Since when?”
Sara shrugged, “Since Gideon feels you’re not eating properly or taking time off work. So, put whatever you’re doing down for two hours and come have pizza with me.”
He continued to stare at her.
“I’ll tell you all the gossip,” Sara grinned before adding, “And if you don’t you know Gideon will start doing the passive aggressive thing you hate.”
“Director,” Gideon spoke up, “You have not eaten anything substantial since early this morning.”
Rip rolled his eyes, “I’m not going to get any peace if I don’t join you for dinner, am I?”
“You are smart,” Sara teased.
With a long sigh, Rip rubbed his eyes and stood, motioning Sara to lead the way knowing Gideon would lock down his office while he wasn’t there. Sara watched Rip as they walked through the corridors to the carpark. He looked tired but these days he always did. His decision to create a replacement for the Time Masters, one that was better than his former masters, put a lot of pressure on his shoulders.
Sara did her best, along with Jax and Ray to get him out of his office every so often, just to remind him there was a world outside of it.
Officially he lived in one of the apartments at the top of the Bureau’s main building but, in reality, was living on the Waverider again which was berthed in the lower levels. Gideon did her best to look after him in their new circumstances. Ensuring that Rip was forced out of his office every so often for dinner with one of them and on occasion persuaded him to take the ship out on a mission.
Rip sat on the armchair in Sara’s living room stretching his legs out and closing his eyes. He knew he fought against it but, it was nice to get out of the office for a while.
Gideon worried about him, he knew this. She was concerned that he was isolating himself from the world, but Rip couldn’t get too involved or he could accidentally change time more than he already had.
He didn’t belong in this century.
He didn’t belong anywhere.
Other than on the Waverider or at the Vanishing Point.
“Pizza is on its way,” Sara announced as she appeared and handed him a bottle of beer.
Taking the bottle, Rip nodded.
“You know,” Sara said, dropping onto her couch and curling her legs beneath her, “Friends talk to one another, tell each other how they’re doing, how their day has been and other things.”
Rip took a quick drink before replying, “I’m doing fine, and my day has been busy.”
“Master conversationalist as always,” Sara rolled her eyes.
He shrugged, taking a long drink before asking, “And you?”
She chuckled, “Mission went well, but I’m sure once Agent ‘Dull and Boring’ gets through with the report she’ll give you the lowlights.”
“I really wish this feud you have going with Ava would fizzle out,” Rip sighed, “It is…” he paused before settling on, “Irritating.”
“Sharpe is the one who started it,” Sara said innocently, “I believe she took offence to my style of training agents.”
Rip sighed again, he’d had this discussion with them both far too many times in the past few months, “Well you were trying to train them for the League of Assassins.”
Sara laughed, “Just wanted them to know how hard their job will be.”
Shaking his head Rip finished his beer, “Did anything happen today that I should know about?”
“No, it was pretty standard,” she assured him before changing the subject, “You know Martin has invited us all to Lily’s baby shower on Saturday.”
“Gideon told me,” Rip replied, becoming very interested in the bottle he was still holding, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to go.”
Sara didn’t say anything for a minute before sighing, “It’s a get together with your friends, Rip. Time away from work which will be good for you.”
“Sara…”
“I know,” she interrupted him, “That the whole baby thing is hard for you but, it’s going to happen more and more. Especially since you ensured the Bureau didn’t follow the Time Master’s policy on agents not marrying.”
Sadness filled him, the pain tugging against his heart reminding him of the hole that would always be there.
“You can’t avoid it forever,” Sara continued softly, “And Martin has been asking after you. This is just an excuse he’s found to get you there for a few hours. You have to start living in the world at some point.”
“Sara,” he sighed, “This isn’t my world. I survive here because I must. My home is gone, along with my family.”
“But you have friends,” she reminded him, “We’re here for you. You need to remember that. You’re not alone.”
Rip bade Sara goodnight, accepting the cookies she handed him and opened the portal to the Waverider. Stepping through he felt relief fill him to be back on board.
“Did you have a good night, Captain?” Gideon asked as he made his way to the galley and stored the cookies in the cupboard.
She had taken to calling him Director within the Bureau but here on the Waverider, he was always Captain.
He shrugged dropping into a chair, “It was nice to spend time with Sara, but could you stop scheduling things without talking to me first?”
“Since you continue to ignore everyone’s attempt to socialise with you,” Gideon noted, “Then in order to follow my directive to protect, and keep you healthy, I sometimes need to push.”
Rip couldn’t stop the smile that touched his lips, “Is that what you call it?”
“You require sleep, Captain,” Gideon reminded him, “You have an early meeting tomorrow morning.”
Nodding Rip headed to his room, he knew he would have to take the ship out soon, it wasn’t fair on Gideon to be trapped down here but he needed her to be with him. Gideon was all he had left and losing her was something he could never contemplate.
Readying himself for bed, Rip slid under the covers and closed his eyes. He fell asleep becoming aware of another presence at his side. Gideon wrapped her arm around his waist and rested her head against his shoulder.
“Sara is right,” she said after a few minutes, “You should spend more time with the others, you shouldn’t be alone.”
“I’m not alone,” Rip sighed, his fingers tangling with her hair, “I have you.”
“Rip,” she reminded gently, “I’m not human, I can’t be with you physically outside your dreams.”
He hugged her tighter, “I don’t need that. I just need your support.”
“You always have it, my dear Captain,” she told him, “But you also need people you can interact with in the real world. Going to Lily Stein’s baby shower will be a good thing.”
Rip nodded, “And I’m betting you already ordered a gift from us?”
“It is a lovely gift with all the necessities Lily will require,” Gideon replied, making him smile.
Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Rip sighed and closed his eyes, “I need to sleep properly.”
“I know,” Gideon murmured, “Rest, Captain I am watching over you. Always.”
*********************************************
“Well, this is a sight I did not expect,” Martin laughed as Rip stood in the doorway, “Welcome to my home, Captain Hunter. Sorry, Director Hunter.”
Rolling his eyes, he suggested, “How about just Rip?”
Martin nodded, “Come on in, Rip.”
Walking into the house Martin had moved to in Star City only a few months before so he could consult with the Bureau, Rip smiled to see Sara, Ray and Jax were already there.
“I’m guessing Gideon has something to do with you being here?” Sara asked as she handed him a glass filled with what appeared to be fresh orange juice.
Rip shrugged, “She bought a gift. I had to deliver it.”
Jax and Ray began to chuckle while Sara grinned, “Of course you did.”
Shaking his head Rip sipped his drink as he looked around the cheerfully decorated room, suddenly realising there was no one else there.
“Am I early?” he asked.
“I thought we could all have an hour to catch up before the rest of the guests arrived,” Martin told him.
Rip enjoyed catching up with his former team. He knew what Ray, Jax and Sara were doing within the Bureau but rarely got the chance to talk to them. Even when they dragged him out his office for dinner, they mostly talked about work.
Martin looked happy, being at home with his wife and seeing his daughter engaged with a baby on the way. Jax was working part-time within the Bureau’s engineering department while taking college courses. Ray was looking for a way to separate them from the Firestorm matrix, so they didn’t have to meet up so frequently while also helping in the Bureau’s labs.
He sat and listened to the others talking, joining in the laughter as he caught up on his friend’s lives.
The guests for the baby shower began to arrive and as the others mixed with the guests Rip took the tea Clarissa had made for him, sliding out the back door into the garden.
“You know the party is inside,” Lily’s voice made him turn.
Quickly moving to help her to the nearest seat, Rip shrugged, “I’m not a party person.”
“Me neither,” Lily confessed, “But my mom wanted to do this. She’s so excited about the baby. Personally, I just can’t wait to not get kicked in the kidneys every time I lie down.”
Rip smiled slightly, “As long as you put the baby in the crib. Because trust me, babies tend to know instinctively where to hit you.”
“It was nice that you came today,” Lily said, “My dad misses talking to you. He says you have an interesting way of looking at problems.”
Rip shrugged, “Your father is a brilliant man. And from what I hear you are making waves in the scientific community as well.”
Lily smiled, “I had a great teacher.”
They sat in silence for a few moments before Lily sighed, “I suppose I should go back inside since this is my party. Help me up?”
Rip offered his hand to pull her to her feet before letting her take his arm escorting her back inside.
“And tell Gideon thank you for the present,” Lily told him, “It was beautiful.”
“She’ll be pleased you liked it, but I warn you now, she will want you to visit with the baby.”
Ray and Jax intercepted Rip as he was about to leave escorting him back to the living room after the other guests had left.
“You’re not going back to work,” Ray told him, “Sara has already called Gideon who won’t let you into your office until tomorrow morning.”
With a sigh, knowing he was defeated before he even tried, Rip accepted the bottle of beer Sara handed him and took a seat. He listened to them chatting, speaking every so often so they didn’t try to entice him into a full conversation.
About an hour later, Martin was in the middle of a story about some of his new students when the doorbell rang, Clarissa slipped away to answer it.
“Martin,” Clarissa called, making them all turn to see several cops following her inside along with a familiar man.
“Dad?” Sara jumped to her feet, “What are you doing here?”
Quentin Lance gave her a quick frown before turning, “Rip Hunter?”
Rip stood confused and nodded, surprised when he was seized and handcuffed.
“What the hell are you doing, Dad?” Sara demanded.
Her father shook his head before he looked at Rip again, “You’re under arrest, Mr Hunter.”
Rip Hunter Appreciation Week - Day 2: Perfect Episode
Legends of Tomorrow: Season2 Episode:17 Aruba Booster Gold
My perfect episode would be in a season where we never lost the original group Leonard Snart is still alive and well. In this episode we get more of that sweet sweet backstory we all craved for Rip. Where we learn about a certain on the rise superhero named Booster Gold who just so happens to have the birth name as a favorite Captain of ours. Coincidence I think not! Over the course of the episode we learn that Booster Gold didn’t steal the Time Sphere but instead was given it by a much older Rip Hunter, what is more Rip learns that Booster Gold is in fact his Father. The general plot is that Booster causes a time rift which gets the attention of younger Rip and the Legends, which is just what older Rip wants. (Confused? No problem this is par for the course in the comics.) As to why Older Rip wants younger Rip to know about Booster, well so he can keep an eye on him sooner and guide him to lay just low enough that he never pops up on the radar to cause either him or Rip to be eliminated out of existence. (Again par for the course of the comics.) This gives Rip’s character something to actually do that he can feel he is a part of and Rip is able to also put Gideon on line as the AI of the Time Sphere so he and the Legends both have a Gideon connection.... Either way I feel this would be an amazing episode that could have been and would have allowed for the show to maintain a bit more focus on the character (Rip) that they seem to have decided they don’t know how to write for so they just dropped him in an easy write off. I realize this could be used as a write off but at least it isn’t a sad hopeless one like Aruba gave him or even worse the end and character assassination of season 3.
Rip Hunter Appreciation Week - Day 5: Infinite Earths
AU Where the Show has episodes that are more like the Classic Rip Hunter Comics Which are pretty much Rip being like the Crocodile Hunter going, “come on! Come on! Were gonna go on an Adventure! Let’s go back in time and punch a dinosaur!” (Only he keeps the core team from Season One and gets the additions that come along!)
