Second Chances: Legends - Rough Draft

Chapter 18

Back at the Vanishing Point, Rip Hunter was currently locked up in prison cell, where he was currently doing everything in his power not to break under the interrogation his former friends and bosses had put him through, though honestly, it hadn't been that hard, since their main questions were about the Waverider and Rip honestly had no idea how the ship had jumped on it's own or where it had gone, but it did give him some hope, since he couldn't help but feel curious about that himself, since he couldn't help but feel like Gideon was up to something since while most Time Masters would see that as crazy, since she was just an AI, Rip knew that after all the work he'd done on her over the years, she was practically a human, since unlike the other captains, he'd never felt comfortable with just a regular AI, so he'd continued upgrading Gideon until she was basically another person. It helped with the solitude when he was away from his wife and son.

However, he was pulled from his thoughts when he heard someone approach his cell and looked up in surprise to Captain Eve Baxter, captain of the timeship Acheron, walking up to him.

"Well, what brings you here Captain Baxter?" Rip asked.

"I'm just curious about why you would become an oath breaker? You swore an oath to protect the timeline and yet you compromised it to have a family." Eve said.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand something like that." Rip said.

"Try me." Eve said and Rip sighed.

"You and I both know that I never truly fit in among the ranks of the Time Masters. I was a loner because I didn't believe in their rules blindly like the others. Something Miranda taught me. I know I swore an oath to the time masters, but I swore another to her. And that oath is my highest priority. Because love is not a weakness. It gives me a reason to keep fighting, since I have people worth keeping the timeline intact for. And blindly following orders without asking questions like Druce and the others want, that is weakness." Rip said.

"We swore our loyalty to them." Eve said.

"We swore our loyalty to protect the timeline, not the time council. And you know, there is something that's been bothering me for a while. Vandal Savage. Why would the Time Masters allow such an evil to rise? It makes no sense." Rip said.

"I'm sure they have a reason." Eve said.

"And why won't they share that reason with us? Why would they imprison me and order the execution of my wife and son, two innocent people, just to prove a point? It's almost as if they know something we don't. If I didn't know better, I'd say they're manipulating the timeline somehow." Rip said.

"Watch your tongue. Ghareeb. We all know that you tried to kill Savage in Ancient Egypt." Eve said.

"You act like I'm supposed to be ashamed of that. History is better off without him." Rip said.

"Without him Hawkman and Hawkgirl are never created." Eve reminds him.

"I never said it was a perfect plan, but I was desperate. However, I can't help but wonder why Savage would take orders from the Time Masters or why they'd be giving him orders in the first place." Rip said, since he'd been summoned back to the Vanishing Point literally right after his attempt on Savage's life.

"You actually do have a point about that." Eve said.

"Look, Eve, I'm not asking you to let me out or even understand my motives. I'm just asking you to for once, think for yourself instead of just blindly believing whatever lies the Council is feeding you." Rip said, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he could get through to her and find an ally here to help him. And he couldn't help but smile, since even though Eve was walking away from him, he could tell by the look on her face that he'd definitely gotten her thinking. The only question was, had his words been enough to get through to her?