Solar ; 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘸

twenty-seven: so much more to learn

"From killing Per Degaton."

"Killing Per Degaton," Elle repeated, bafflement inching out with her words. "Do we think Rip's really gonna do that?"

"Okay, let's just think about this," invited Ray. "Where could Rip be taking Per Degaton?

Jax sighed, shaking his head. "Jumpship's got a range of eight thousand miles, so... anywhere."

"It doesn't matter where he's taking him. All that matters is what he's going to do to him when he gets there," deduced Sara with crossed arms.

The teenager blew a breath before quietly saying, "And if that's killing Per Degaton—"

"Wait, hold on. Rip is not a murderer," adamantly stated Ray.

"To Captain Hunter, this isn't about killing. It's about saving," contended the Professor, and when Jefferson questioned it, he continued. "His son's life for Per Degaton's. It's a rather simple cold-blooded calculus for a father to undertake."

Ohh. It clicked in Elle's mind. Rip was doing the exact same thing she had been doing before Snart knocked some sense into her juvenile mind. The captain saw the situation with horse blinders on, but unlike Elle, who was subconsciously doing it because of immaturity, Rip was doing it for his son. All that mattered to Rip was that his son was alive. The path to get there didn't matter — that's how Elle had thought in Russia. As Stein had said, Rip's actions were dictated by the premise that killing Per Degaton would stop Savage and thereby save his son.

The teenager pinched the skin between her eyebrows before running her hand down her face in dismay at the revelation. Her headache was staggering now after learning of Rip's acts. She was seeing an outside perspective on what it looked like when someone else had a fixation on a particular action, failing to see anything else — like the repercussions — other than the ending. Legs wobbling back until the back of her knees hit the edge of a seat, Elle slumped in the chair and let out an exasperated breath.

While everyone had idled away from the console, stressed at the disclosures playing out before their eyes, Jefferson hadn't moved, so he saw Elle's demeanor shift. His face scrunched and he rounded the console to the same side as Elle, plopping down in the seat beside her. Arms crossed, Jefferson stared straight ahead, but he did lean down towards the slouched girl when he spoke.

"You alright?"

Elle closed her eyes and let out a breath before she responded. "Yeah, it's just ironic."

"What's ironic?" asked Jefferson.

A humorless laugh left the Anders girl. "What Rip is doing. Like Stein said, he's doing it to save his son, but he doesn't see the consequences."

Jefferson shrugged. "Rip's desperate to save his family."

"I know. I just — it's weird seeing someone do something without caring about the consequences, only seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and not what's inside it," Elle said.

"Where are you going with this, Elle?" Jefferson wondered, having no idea of the revelation the teenager beside him was exposed to.

"I see how wrong it is now. And I'm mad at myself for doing it," she admitted, shifting in her seat as Jefferson's gaze trailed to her. Knowing Elle, he didn't interrupt her; he just let her keep talking. "Doing this — the time travel thing, I realize now that I can't just be looking at the outcome. So many things are in play, and I just need to make sure I know that at all times."