HELL RISING
chapter one ; Dealings with the devil
[ season 1, episode 1 ]
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IRRITATION RADIATED OFF OF THE RED-HAIRED BRIT AS HE PACED THE HALLS OF THE WAVERIDER. "How did the meeting go, Captain Hunter?" A feminine voice rings out over the ship.
"Just as expected, Gideon." Rip Hunter replies.
"And are we proceeding?" The AI questions.
"Indeed," Rip confirms with a nod. "Set course: Star city, United States, January 2016." He takes his seat, pulling the metal safety restraints over his head.
"Ah... the second millennia AD," the man reminisces at the simpler times. "The golden age of gasoline engines, online pornography, and those silly little smart phones." The AI says in return.
"What exactly are we going to achieve, Captain?" Rip finishes typing in the exact coordinates before he speaks again. "Not what, Gideon. Who." He corrects, submitting his report.
"Speaking of, I need you to pull some files,- of the nine men and women that will be joining us on our little crusade." He orders, turning in his seat to face the view of the temporal zone.
"You usually prefer to work alone, Captain." The AI concludes from their past missions.
"Well this time, I will be needing a team." He states.
His hand wraps around the lever, controlling the Waverider. He pushes it down and the ship takes off through space and time. "First recruit," he reads the first name off his list. "Katie Bennett,"
"Captain, I ask that you reconsider this candidate. Katie Rose Bennett is a meta-human currently in quarrel with the Flash. Removing her from the timeline could possibly disrupt her life and substantially damage her future." Gideon expresses her concerns, but Rip simply disregards her warnings.
"No need to worry, Gideon."
Star city, 2016
𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓼'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥
A cigarette hung loosely between a raven
haired man's lips. After taking a short drag, he flicks the ashes into the ashtray before returning his sharp gaze onto the stranger that sat before him.
"So... you know my sister?" Smoke billowed out of his mouth, before dissipating into the air.
"Well, not exactly." The man's accent was unmistakably British, with a clipped pronunciation and a tendency to use formal phrases.
"However, I am aware of her... and her abilities."
Despite the dark haired man's cool demeanor, the orange jumpsuit he wore and the prison bars behind him made it clear that he was not to be trifled with.
Thomas's eyes narrows at the red-haired brit. "And what abilities is it that you speak of?" A grin pulls at the strangers lips. "I am aware your sister is in fact a meta-human, affected by the particle excelerator."
Thomas's eyes lazily watch as he presses the butt of the cigarette into the tray, before returning to the stranger. "What do you want from Katie?" He asks, a threat laced in his question.
"I ask for nothing besides her help." Thomas silently sinks back into the metal chair.
"And so why don't you ask her instead of coming to me?" The brit sighs.
"Unlike my other recruits, she may be a bit more difficult to subdue without injury." Thomas listens, with little to no care. "I have yet to create a ranged device able to counteract her abilities and I am in a bit of a rush." He continues.
"So you want me to talk to her?" Thomas sneers.
"I believe if you were present, she would be more reasonable." The stranger concludes.
A sarcastic smile graces Thomas's features. "Oh, I would love to attend. Unfortunately I have prior engagements." He says, gesturing to the room around him.
"Nevermind that Mr. Bennett. I'm sure we could work out an easy fix for said 'engagements'." A grin replaced Thomas's false smile. "Then, I'm sure we could work out something."
-
"When you said speak with her, I didn't know you meant to knock her out..." Thomas sighed, kneeling to his unconscious sister's side. A cool breeze brushes past those on the roof.
Noticing the wince on his baby sister's face, Thomas shrugs off the coat given to him by Rip, before gently placing it over his sister.
"To be fair, I didn't knock her out like the others, I found her that way." Rip says, glancing at the concerned brother.
"No need to worry, she, along with the others should wake any moment now." Rip assured as he looked down to check his watch.
Still, this comment didn't satisfy Thomas. Thomas paced the roof, looking over those who Rip intended to join him on the ship.
He couldn't exactly say he approved of who Rip planned on taking along with his little sister. Two thieves and least of all, a supposed "ex assassin". He was beginning to have second thoughts about his original agreement; though, a deal was a deal.
𝓚𝓪𝓲𝓽𝓮'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥
"Stein, what the hell are you doing here?" An icy voice calls out.
Katie's eyes flutter open, revealing deep blue eyes that could sink any sailor's ship.
"For once, I'm as ignorant as you." The old man retorts.
Katie notices the jacket laid across her chest. Sitting up with a pounding hangover, it falls into her lap.
"What happened?' A blonde woman asks, her question not directed at anyone in particular.
"Why don't we ask the dude who knocked us out and kidnapped us?" Katie- still confused, looks across the roof top.
Suddenly her eyes land on someone familiar. "Tommy?" She frowns in confusion.
He leans against a large air conditioner with his eyes pinned on Katie, but he doesn't move a muscle. He only observes and listens in on the conversation.
It'd been so long since she last visited him- since he'd told her to move on and to stop living in the past. He looked so different. His eyes were lifeless, there was nothing behind them, no warmth, no feeling, not even hatred.
As she looked him over, she couldn't help but notice the tattoos that covered him. Intricate and detailed, each one seemed to hold their own meaning. One tattoo in particular caught her attention; a dragon that seemed to come to life before her very eyes.
A moment later and a red-haired man dressed in a trench coat reveals himself. "The name is Rip Hunter and I'm from east London- oh, and the future." He inturduces. Katie stands to her feet quickly as she stared daggers at the stranger.
A purple light gleams in Katie's eyes. "What do you want?" She hisses.
Rip could feel her influence as her charm began to slip beneath his skin and creep under his ribs. She was using her power of influence on him. The purple gleam mirrored in the brits eyes as he opened his mouth to answer her with no will of his own.
Thomas suddenly steps to his defense- as it was a part of the deal. "Release him Katie." He orders.
Katie's lips press into a thin line, holding back her protest. But of course, she listens to him and releases Rip of her power.
Clearing his throat, Rip steps away from behind Thomas. "Ahem, thank you." Rip mutters before turning his attention back to his potential team.
"Now if you'll give me a moment, I'll get to that part." He assures the raven haired girl. Katie crosses her arms, her impatients on full display.
"I've called you all here because I need your help. The world is in danger by a man that goes by the name of Vandal Savage." He begin.
"That can't be, we destroyed him." A woman dressed in an unusual bird attire, interrupts. "Yeah, the Flash and Green Arrow helped us do it." A deep voice says, supporting the bird-lady's claim.
"Therein' lay the problem. Unless one of you deliver the final blow, Savage can reconstruct from but a single cell." Rip informs, leaving the two with a mixed look of confusion and denial.
"What the hell are you talking about." A rugged man growls, his confusion targeting the brit.
"Vandal is immortal, me and Kendra reincarnate." The bird-man says without a single second of hesitation or doubt of how absurd his statement sounded.
"I've done that." The blonde pipes in, drawing all the attention onto herself.
Katie hums in recognition of the 'miraculous reoccurrence'. Not that she believed any of it.
"And what the hell does this Randall guy have to do with us?" The large built man asks.
"Vandal," Rip corrects.
"In the future he will inploy great evil, that he has used his long life to perfect. By using the power he has amassed throughout history, to finally take over the world. I have been tasked to assemble an elite team to travel through time to help me defeat Vandal Savage." Katie was in disbelief. Her eyes found those of her brother, but he didn't say anything.
"How?" The blonde questions.
"To travel through time and to stop Savage before he becomes the monster he is destined to become." Rip tells the woman.
"You've got the wrong guy, hero ain't on my resume." The man in blue, comments. "Or mine." The man's partner backs up.
"Look, I know it's difficult for you to fathom, but where-" "when" he corrects. "I'm from, the year 2166 you and everyone on this roof top aren't just hero's but legends." He announces.
"Legends?" The robot guy questions.
"I hate to nitpick but in order to be a legend you must be dead..." Stein states.
"You do realize 2166 is in 150 years? We'll all be dead by then." The woman beside Katie, puts plainly.
"It's dangerous for any of you to know too much about your own futures, but I am here and each of you, as individuals, are destined for greatness. And if you don't follow me, this is what is in store for our world 150 years from now." He reaches for a small remote out of his pocket before pressing a button causing a giant hologram to appear in front of Katie, Thomas and the rest of the potential legends.
Katie's face was full of horror as she saw the world burn down around her. She couldn't imagine herself- or God forbid one-day her kids or grandkids experiencing that pain. Hell, any kid for that matter.
"I hope you won't let me- the world down. If your answer is yes, meet me at this address in 36 hours." He says handing the old man a card.
Katie took a quick step closer to the older man, to have a peak at the card before rushing over to her brother.
"Tommy," she pulls him into a tight hug. It had been such a long time since she last could hold him in her arms. "I missed you." She exclaims as he held her in his arms. "What are you doing here?" She frowns, pulling away.
"I made a deal with Rip." He states plainly.
"What kind of deal?" She frowns. "If I helped him convince you, he'd get me out of prison." He explains.
"Why?" She asks. "I don't know." He answers honestly.
A moment of thought passes, before Katie is back to her usual bouncy self. "Come on! I want to show you my new apartment!" She beams to her older brother. And with that, the two leave.