"Labor Camp Number 54 Formerly known as the Koshmar or "Nightmare" gulag. Built in the 18th century -" Gideon began to explain. Rip, Clarity, Sara, and Leonard were standing around the console as Gideon explained the prison where Mick, Ray, and Stein were being held. Clarity was sitting on the console as the rest stood around it. It had been an unrestful night for everyone Jefferson Jackson in particular. So they were all just itching to get the three men back so everyone could rest properly and get back into full strength.
"Can we skip past the Wikipedia crap and get to the good stuff, like how to break in?" Snart questioned walking forward a few steps but there was only silence that followed his question. Cold waited for Clarity to shock him for being rude to Gideon but it never came. Leonard looked at her confusion in his eyes before he saw the unmistakeable glow of power and he realized it was taking all of Clarity's control to keep her powers in check. It would seem dear old Rip wasn't off Clarity's hit list yet. Too bad. Breakfast had been pretty civil this time.
"Perhaps you didn't register that as a question, Gideon." Sara suggested.
"I understood, but in its 200 years of operation, no one has successfully escaped from-" Gideon started to inform them only to be cut off by Snart.
"No offense, Gideon, but I never met a building I couldn't break into." Snart interceded.
"Well, I hope you're right. Savage knows that Stein created Firestorm, but if he finds out that he is Firestorm.." Rip trailed off.
"Always Savage with you, isn't it? My partner's in prison too." Snart reminded.
"And Ray." Sara added.
"Yeah, whatever. The point is you didn't lift a finger." Cold accused.
"You know damn well it was never my intention to get them thrown into a gulag, but I had no other option." Rip snapped.
"No other option? I was about to Glitch in there when you-" Clarity started to object immediately. The console glowing brighter as lightning flowed from clarity's right palm and into the machine.
"And then where would you be Clarity? Hmm? Thrown in the gulag with the rest of them? My apologies. Excuse me if I had no intention of having you water boarded in a Russian Prison with the nature of your abilities." Rip snapped his voice raised on the cusp of yelling. Rip looked at her with a glare. Was she still mad about this? He had thought they had gotten past this. How could Clarity not see that she would have just gotten captured as well? That she would probably be in agony if he had not intervened? Rip had been horrified to see her in such a state earlier. He wasn't about to let her get hurt because of one of his decisions yet again. Things were bad enough as they were.
Clarity looked away from him arms crossed saying nothing more. Her lips pursed together into an angry pout as the lights flickered then stayed somewhat dim to go along with the female's mood.
'Don't act like you care. I'm just a name in a book to you.'Clarity thought to herself. He was just like Eobard. Thinking that he could control her. Well no. Clarity wasn't going to fall for that trap ever again.
"Besides, I doubt that it's Mr. Rory's first time in prison or second or, I imagine, tenth." Rip pointed out with a slight sigh his tone softer. Rip could tell by the way the lights flickered slightly that clarity wasn't letting this go anytime soon. Although he was glad she wasn't firing any blasts at him again. So progress.
"It's Ray's" Clarity said her eyes glowing for a second the lights flickering dangerously before she forced herself to calm and the lights maintained a slight darkened atmosphere. Shocking Rip would do nothing to help Ray and Mick. She needed to calm down. She could do nothing about the situation now. All She could do now was help break them out. Oh man What was she going to tell Felicity? Oh sorry bestie. I couldn't save your ex so he got tortured in a Russian prison. But it's okay! Because savage didn't get the giant silver marble that they can probably just remake!
"All right, that's enough, arguing is not gonna bring the team back any faster. And Rip's right. Criminals usually do feel more at home in prison, and they know it better than anyone else." Sara said firmly ever the voice of reason.
"So?" Snart inquired ready to speed things along and get Mick the hell out of there. He wasn't too happy with his partner sacrificing himself like that.
"So what if the key to breaking in is asking someone who's been in and out of Soviet prisons their whole life?" Sara asked leaning on the console. A small smirk beginning to grow on her face as she spoke.
"And who might that be?" Rip asked her.
"Are you familiar with the Bratva?" Sara questioned the others.
"The spoiled Russian brats who like killing people? Yeah those guys are real swell. I hear they're friendly with the Arrow." Clarity said with a nod making Sara's lips quirk up just a bit. She almost laughed. Almost.
"Ooh, the Russian Mob. In 1986, they would have ruled the criminal underground inside every prison." Snart grinned clearly interested at the prospect. Maybe he's just watched The Godfather to much but Leonard Snart loves the idea of a mob. Not a killer one with pitchforks but one that's led by a single head of the family. One that looks out for their own and deals with the traitors.
"Gid....current leader please.." Clarity requested waving a hand. She wanted to rescue them yesterday. This was taking too long. Man she wished Barry was here. He could just race them out of there. She wished she could Glitch in and get them but she had no idea where they were being held or where Stein was. So that unfortunately wasn't an option.
"Yuri the bear real name unknown. He is currently at a sauna where he will remain for the next four hours if my logs are correct." Gideon answered quickly sensing her creators bad mood.
"Great. Let's go" Snart said and Sara followed quickly. Clarity went to get up to but Rip grabbed her wrist.
"What? Clock's ticking. They've already been in there for two days. Let's move." Clarity said trying to walk after Sara and Leonard again, but Rip pulled her back.
"Yes, and your staying here" Rip said making Clarity freeze.
"I -what? Why!?" Clarity asked a look of betrayal in her eyes.
"Because you need to get your powers under control Clarity. I'm not letting you off this ship til your less..." Rip trailed off looking for the right word.
"Likely to kill you?" Clarity asked a brow quirking.
"Look Clarity, I know your still upset and rightfully so, but if you had gone in there without a plan then you'd be just as bad off as the rest of them" Rip told them.
"We really don't have time for this-" Clarity said shaking her head.
"Exactly so please just stay here. Look after Jax or comfort Miss Saunders or whatever it is you do with your time." Rip said as gently as he could trying to urge Clarity into just listening to him for once.
"Fine." Clarity sighed knowing that arguing with Rip right now would only delay the rescue plan. Once Rip was sure she meant it he ran off after Sara and Leonard.
"Gid..?" Clarity questioned with a sigh.
"They're in the medbay" Gideon answered immediately.
"Thanks Gid. Please tell me when the others return?" Clarity questioned the Ai.
"Of Course Clarity" Gideon said before Clarity glitched to the doorway of the medbay.
"Knock Nickity Knock! How's my favorite quarterback?" Clarity questioned appearing in the doorway. Her heels clicking a rhythm to match her words. Jax smiled for a brief second before it faded.
"Lousy. Can't sleep and the sedative Gideon gave me didn't do a thing" Jax told her rubbing an eye as he stretched. He was exhausted.
"Cmon let's go get you some coffee then. That might help a bit. If you can't sleep might as well try to stay awake." Clarity said helping him up. Kendra walking on Jax's other side as they made their way to the kitchen.
"You seem oddly cheery. Weren't you all upset yesterday?" Kendra observed as she punched in a coffee order for Jax as Clarity sat him down at the breakfast bar.
"Well yes and no. While I am still wicked upset at Rip there's no point in being mad when it could hinder or delay the rescue. Besides I'm not mad at the two of you. You guys did nothing wrong. Rip's the one who owes me the apology." Clarity said as she made herself a hot chocolate with mini blue marshmallows. She breathed in deep smelling the rich chocolate substance inside the mug. She smiled and sighed in relief. Nothing like some hot chocolate to wake you up in the morning. Chocolate could make any bad day just a bit better.
"You really like chocolate don't you?" Kendra asked Clarity amused.
"Well not just Chocolate. Anything sweet and sugary really. Candy, fruit, all kinds of baked goods oh except for brownies. Those things are evil." Clarity said as if she was telling some huge secret and the three laughed. The laughing was cut short as Jax winced suddenly and gripped his head.
"You okay Jax?" Kendra worried for the younger male.
"Yeah I am but steins not. They're playing these Jedi mind tricks on him. I can feel it. They're making him hallucinate. We have to get him out of there. I don't know how long gray can last. He's freaking out in there. He's putting up a strong front but...." Jax trailed off worried as Kendra passed him his steaming cup of coffee and rubbed his upper back soothingly before wresting her hand comfortingly on his left shoulder trying to offer some support. She knew what it was like to be hurting and losing sleep because of your other half. Even if other half means drastically different things for the two of them.
"Steins tough Jax. He'll be okay" Clarity said mixing the marshmallows around attempting to fight down her worry with great difficulty. She hated sitting around doing nothing when her friends were in trouble. It made her feel useless, unwanted, and Unneeded. Clarity hated that feeling but it was a feeling she had been accustomed to since childhood.
"For now" Jax mumbled concerned for his other half. Why couldn't gray have just listened to him? He should be the one getting tortured not him. Stein was old his body feeble from age. He shouldn't have been out in the field alone. Yes Jax knows he himself has a widow of a mother back in central city but for the first time in a long time. He wondered about Clarissa and what he was going to do if Stein didn't make it out of this. How would he explain what had happened? What details would Stein wish her to know? Would he even have the guts to tell the woman?
"He survived a super heated fever, what was basically a black hole and a fight with an evil speedster. He'll make it Jax" Clarity said softly gripping her mug tightly trying to quell her own worry and assure Jax that his other half would indeed be okay.
"I hope your right" Jax said before he took a long swig of coffee hoping to wake himself up.
"We could knock you out" Kendra suggested as Jax rubbed his eyes tiredly his head pounding.
"No that won't work. Stein might feel it and I think Jax agrees the man is already in enough pain" Clarity told Kendra already thinking ahead.
"Thanks for the thought though" Jax told the hawk woman glad that she cares.
"Speaking of thoughts how are you holding up Kendra?" Clarity asked. They already knew how Jax and herself were feeling. The only one missing was the hawk goddess.
"Barely. Without Carter it's like I'm stuck in a freefall. Since he ....."
"Moved on to his next reincarnation?" Clarity supplied as Kendra sometimes struggled saying it out loud.
"Yeah.....everything's just been in a downwards spiral. I lost control of my hawkside which is something I didn't even know could happen. So now because of that Rip has assigned Sara the task of kicking my ass everyday to try and put hawky in check" Kendra said tugging at her hair.
"Is it helping?" Jax asked skeptically.
"Well if anything it's helping me learn how to fight better. So I guess that's a plus. Sara's not an awful teacher all bruises considered"Kendra said rubbing her still sore arm.
Jax cracked a smile. Sara was a badass and it was kinda hot that Kendra could sort of hold her own against a lethal assassin.
"You know Clarity you might benefit from her training to. You won't always be able to rely on your powers in a fight." Kendra said catching the blue eyed woman off guard. Clarity jumped almost spilling her hot chocolate as she looked at Kendra startled.
"What? No. No I'm good" Clarity said shaking her head gripping her mug just the tiniest bit tighter. Hadn't Kendra been there when she went over this with Sara earlier? This wasn't a good idea. Clarity wasn't sure that she liked where this conversation was headed.
"How come? The chance to get trained by an assassin? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me" Jax smirked trying to help Kendra out a lil bit and encourage Clarity. If jax was honest he wouldn't mind learning a few moves from Sara himself.
"It's not as good of an idea as it sounds" Clarity said the lights flickering the more nervous she got about the whole thing.
"Why not?" Jax asked in confusion.
"Cause I Uh...." Clarity trailed off her nerves growing. The lights flickering faster. No. No she wouldn't tell them. She couldn't tell them.
'Cmon Clarity be like Elsa. Be like Elsa. Conceal don't feel, don't let it show. Don't let them know' Clarity thought to herself in vain hoping Kendra would just drop the subject.
"Are you scared of Sara hurting you? Cause yes I know it's intimidating fighting with a trained fighter but-"
"No that's not it either" Clarity said shaking her head helplessly.
"Then what?" Kendra pressed on.
"I don't want to end up hurting the two of you! Okay?" Clarity said after a few moments of Jax and Kendra's pointed stares eating her alive until she cracked.
"What? Clarity don't be ridiculous. Sara and I are both terrified of that. You think Sara doesn't go all bloodlust on me? Or I go all hawk on her? It happens" Kendra said shrugging as if it wasn't a big deal, but to Clarity it was a big deal.
"It's different for me Kendra. I don't expect you to understand" Clarity said shaking her head lightning starting to buzz over Clarity's mug. Jax's eyes widened slightly.
"Kendra-" Jax said trying to warn the Hawk who seemed to be unphased by Clarity's powers beginning to transform into something more menacing.
"Different!? Different how!? I have to get control of my powers so do you. In fact the only difference that I see is that your just to much of a coward to admit that. " Kendra said finally letting out what she had been thinking the day before when clarity had left the room. Sara should have done what she's doing now. Sara shouldn't have backed down. Sara should have stood her ground and fought to convince her.
"You don't know what your talking about Kendra" Clarity said her blue eyes beginning to glow to match her mug. Cracks beginning to form in Clarity's mug. The hot chocolate inside beginning to bubble and menacingly steam. The marshmallows starting to lose their shape.
"Clarity I know what it feels like to hurt someone.I just scratched that guy's face off for crying out loud! What are you so afraid of!?-"
"You've never killed people!" Clarity screamed cutting Kendra off. The mug in her hands shattering the chocolatey liquid seeping out onto the table. The blue marshmallows melted to nothing but blue goo. Lightning shot out from light fixture to light fixture forming a ring of light around the room before they all shattered because of the intensity. Once everything stopped the room was darkened, it was deathly quiet and Clarity's hands were shaking slightly.
"What?" Kendra questioned breathlessly.
Clarity gulped her eyes wide with terror. Why had she just said that? Jax was looking at her in a mixture of horror and concern while the only emotion Kendra visibly showed was shock. The hawk had never expected Clarity to say that of all things. Critically injure maybe but murder? That was unbelievable. And she had said people meaning more than one. Kendra felt a bit guilty for pressuring her now. Perhaps Sara had been right on letting Clarity start her training when she was ready.
"I" Clarity tried to speak but the words got stuck in her throat. The only person she had ever told was Cisco and that was only because he had vibed it. She hadn't even told Felicity. The one person she trusted more than anyone else. Her best friend. Cisco hadn't looked at her like a freak. He had fearlessly hugged her assuring her she would be okay and that he was there for her. That he wouldn't tell a soul unless she wanted him too. He made her feel safe. In that moment she didn't feel this way. In this moment right here right now she felt as if she was being burned alive. The judgement in their eyes it was exactly what Clarity had never wanted to see on any of her friends faces.
"Pardon me for interrupting but they have returned from the Sauna" Gideon informed.
"Thanks Gid. Uh we've still got some teammates to um rescue" Clarity said wiping her hands shakily on a napkin before she glitched back to the console Jax and Kendra slowly following still sort of freaked out over Clarity's revelation. The kitchen left as a disaster zone.
"Now, according to Yuri, this is where his men have access. Got it?" Rip questioned the two.
"This isn't my first prison break. We got it covered." Snart said annoyed. Mick was in trouble and he was sick of planning. It was time for action. With the way Captain Hunters plans go it was highly likely they would be throwing away the plan pretty quick so to the ice villain this was pretty much pointless.
"So how can we help?" Kendra questioned as the three of them walked into the room.
"By staying on the ship. We don't need any more casualties. Besides, Mr. Snart and Sara have got it covered." Rip told the three.
"Whoa, man. Why does it feel like we're on the JV team all of a sudden?" Jax asked.
"What you are is one half of everything Savage needs to change the face of the Cold War. And you are the only person who can kill him."
"Yeah, so you can't just bench us" Jax snapped.
"I am not going to gift wrap the two people in the world that Savage wants the most." Rip snapped his tone final.
"What about me?" Clarity questioned challengingly crossing her arms the lights flickering. Kendra and Jax shifting slightly away from Clarity what happened in the kitchen still fresh in their minds.
"As I stated before Miss Springs, Sara and Mr. Snart have things under control" Rip told her.
"So you want us three to just sit back and wait? Again?" Clarity questioned.
"Precisely yes" Rip told her.
"but I can help-" Clarity tried to protest.
"Clarity I highly doubt your powers are very helpful for a mission that requires a high magnitude of stealth. So unless you've miraculously made leaps and bounds of progress and now have perfect control of you're abilities your staying on this ship. Got it?" Rip said his voice raised. The last thing Rip needed was for Clarity to glitch in there and get the three of them captured. It was safer to just send the thief and the assassin because they were good at stealth related tasks. Clarity would simply get in the way. Besides Rip didn't want to see her hurt again.
Thankfully for Rip before Clarity could protest further Snart intervened.
"Let's go Sparky. You can help me find Raymond's toy suit" Snart lied taking her hand walking her out of the room briskly and around the corner stopping just outside the door. Clarity made to snap at him and protest but paused when the thief put his pointer finger to his lips signaling her to be quiet. He nodded his head to the door just as Rip spoke again. Clarity nodded in understanding and the two eaves dropped on Rip and Sara's conversation.
"Oh, Ms. Lance, could I borrow you for a moment? I have something that might help you out with the mission." Rip told her.
"So what did you really want to talk to me about?" Sara questioned calling bullshit immediately. Rip was a horrible liar.
"Gideon, will you please show Ms. Lance the projection of 2016 should our rescue mission fail?" Rip questioned the Ai.
"I'd be happy to, Captain." Gideon confirmed.
"So this is what will happen to Russia if we don't get Stein back?" Sara questioned unimpressed.
"Not Russia. This is Star City. The rest of world doesn't look much better." Rip told her shaking her head.
"That's impossible." Sara said shaking her head.
"Not if Stein creates a stable Firestorm for the Soviets. Here in 1986, they're already perilously close to creating a prototype. Listen to me, Sara. Everything Everything we've tried to achieve so far could be lost. And not only will my family die 150 years from now, but your family, your city your entire 21st-century world will suffer." Rip told her.
"That's why we're gonna get Stein back before Vostok can break him." Sara with surety.
"Well, I, I hope so, but we need a contingency plan." Rip told her with a sigh.
"What are you saying? I'm saying that if at any point throughout the operation it becomes clear that Martin is beyond our reach-"
"You want me to kill Stein?" Sara asked horrified.
Clarity gasped rather loudly and Leonard covered her mouth. He made a head motion that clearly meant let's get out of here. So Clarity glitched them to her room. Once they arrived Clarity collapsed on her bed Leonard releasing his hold on her.
"Well Rip's really starting to show a pattern here. First Carter's kid, Then the hawk himself, leaves Mick and the Boy Scout to die, and now he wants to kill the good professor. That makes half our crew dead or dying. Now you can say what you want about me Glitch. A thief, a murderer, I don't care but I never ever turn my back on one of my own" Snart said pacing the floor. He waited for a response of some kind. A flicker of a light fixture, the sound of a spark hitting the floor, the feel of static on his sweater, even the smell of something sizzling but nothing happened. Snart looked over at Clarity to find her with her knees drawn up to her chest her arms wrapped around them as she hugged them.
"Clarity?" Snart questioned with a frown. He was unsure if the woman had even heard him at all.
"go" Clarity said hugging her knees to her chest.
"What?" Snart asked confused.
"Go okay? please just leave. Go save the team. I need to be alone right now" Clarity told the thief hugging her knees tighter. It was taking everything in her to keep her powers in check right now. She didn't want to accidentally hurt the thief when she broke down and to much had happened in the last few minutes for her to hold all the emotions inside.
Snart gave a curt nod in understanding but paused in the doorway. He looked back over his shoulder at Clarity. He didn't exactly want to leave her when she was upset but then again Mick was waiting for him to break him out. Snart almost asked her Why? Why she wasn't defying Rip's so called orders and coming with Sara and himself to rescue them but something about the look in Clarity's eyes stopped him. It was a look that he never expected to see on the female heroes face. She looked defeated. Snart left to go to find Raymond's suit with a shake of his head. Clarity was right. They didn't have time for any of this.
"I'll see what I can do Mr. Snart" Gideon told the man alluding to her creators mood.
"I'll do the same on my end Gideon." Snart told the computer.
The moment the doors to her room clicked closed Clarity broke down in tears the lights in her room flickering uncontrollably lightning buzzing every which way along the metal walls, ceiling, and floor. Small metal objects lifting and whizzing around but Clarity didn't notice. She was to busy crying her eyes out. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. This shouldn't be happening. Martin Stein didn't deserve to die. He was one of the only other legends who knew about the reverse flash. They had done everything to keep him alive back on Team Flash and now she was just supposed to let him die? Not to mention it was highly likely that Jax would die as well because of their connection. That just made Clarity feel even more miserable. She couldn't just sit here and do nothing but what if Rip was right? What if she would only get in the way? she couldn't risk the chance that she would be a hindrance. It was too important to gamble with Martins life like that. It was a double edged sword and her tears were making her face sting with pain. Yet another lovely feature of her powers.
"Am I right Gideon? Does Rip really not care about us?" Clarity questioned aloud as tears streamed down her face her powers still out of control in the metal box of a room.
"That is not your concern right now Creator" Gideon said crossly not liking the sight of Clarity upset and crying.
"Gid...there's nothing.....I can't do anything about it. You heard Rip. I'll just get the rest of them caught. My powers aren't exactly stealth friendly" Clarity said with a sniffle.
"Miss Lance is about to make a very big mistake. I doubt the words of a thief will be enough to convince her" Gideon told her.
Clarity wiped her eyes on her sleeves. She took a breath and stood up. Her face stung because of her tears but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it was a few days ago. It was bearable but annoying. Gideon was right. If Rip wouldn't listen to her then she would make sure that Sara would. She wasn't really sure what she was going to say to the assassin but she was sure that she was going to change her mind. Whatever her heart told her to say in that moment she would say. Clarity always listens to her heart more than her head. She was strange like that.
"You're right. Thanks Gid. I don't know what i'd do without you" Clarity told the Ai. Clarity glitched into the waveriders systems.
"I don't want to think about it" Gideon replied.
-in the cargobay-
"Impressive how many weapons you can fit in that outfit and how much stupidity Raymond can squeeze into this one." Snart said walking into the room shutting Ray's suit into the case.
"The plan is to save him too, not just Stein and your partner. We can't have Clarity be the only optimistic one around here." Sara pointed out sharpening her knives.
"Oh, I'm gonna save Raymond, all right, so I can beat some sense into him. And what about you?" Snart questioned.
"What about me?" Sara deflected answering a question with a question.
"Clearly I'm not the only one with a side mission. What did Rip keep you after class to talk about?" Snart asked her even though he already knew.
"He just wanted to go over a few details of the plan." Sara said shaking her head. Details. She couldn't believe she just called assassinating a teammate details.
"He wants you to take out the old man, doesn't he? It's the obvious play. It's also heartless." Snart pointed out not holding back.
"The plan is to save Stein. And if, for whatever reason, we can't, Rip showed me what will happen to my home in 2016, to our families. If Stein breaks, the damage is irreversible." Sara said with a shake of her head.
"Nothing is irreversible Sara. I mean you came back from the dead after all." Clarity said glitching into the room her eyes slightly puffy from her tears. She forced herself to smile but it just turned out to be bittersweet.
"Clarity don't make this harder than it is. I have to do this. I know Team Flash is all goody goody no killing but sometimes you have to make a difficult-" Sara told her.
"Been on a lot of heists, and even when things got rough, I never took out one of my own." Snart told Sara more than a bit disturbed by how hard she was trying to justify Rip's cold orders. You never turn your back on your own. It didn't matter what was going on. It was against his code and Snart hated anyone who went against his code. His father went against his code.
"Well, this isn't a bank heist." Sara told him.
"No it's more important than that Sara. It's someone's life. Two peoples lives actually. You kill Stein Jax is going to die too. I've seen it happen before. To Stein when Ronnie his previous half of fire storm died." Clarity told Sara.
"If it's two people or the millions of lives in the future-"
"That's Just it Sara! Rip doesn't care about us past people. Not really. He may say he does but that's not the truth. All he cares about is what happens in the future. In his time period. To him we're all just names in a history book, things that he has no attachment to. He thinks he knows so much more than we do just because he's from a time period more advanced than our own. Well you know what his way isn't the only way Sara. There are two sides to every story. There has to be a better way than this" Clarity pleaded the light's flickering as she thought of Eobard thawne.
"There isn't. Rip knows more about time than any of us. If he says it's the only way then it's the only way. I don't care if he's from the future he knows what he's talking about." Sara said standing her ground.
"First, he left my partner twisting in the wind. Now he's gonna have you ice old silver-top.
We're all just pawns, Sara. Come on, I'm the crook, you're the assassin, Clarity's the hacker,." Snart tried to reason with her leaning on her weapons case trying to make her see sense. Snart was thankful Clarity had calmed enough to back him up. It had been unnerving to see her powers not working earlier. He liked to see her sparking.
"He's not just asking me to kill. He's asking me to save the future. And if, for whatever reason, we can't save Stein, then I'm gonna do what needs to be done." Sara told him with finality.
"Killing isn't an option Sara. Not in this circumstance. Not when it's one of us. You can't just kill Stein. He's a part of this team, he's...he's family" Clarity told her growing desperate the lights continuing to flicker.
"Clarity I'm not going to kill him unless I have to. Okay? You have nothing to worry about. We'll get Ray and Mick back in one piece and Jax will be fine." Sara said trying to assure her placing her gun down. Clarity glared as Sara left Martins name absent in her promise. She couldn't believe how heartless Sara was being.
"You know Sara you being an assassin never really scared me. I knew I could trust you to have my back. Even your bloodlust never made me think of you as a monster but if you kill Stein....if you kill Stein that just might" Clarity said a single tear sliding down her cheek. A painfilled bittersweet smile upon her face.
"Clarity" Sara whispered hurt by the brunette's comment but she glitched away before Sara could say anything else a light shattering to pieces as she departed.
-time skip-
"Hey, what's wrong?" Kendra asked Jax concerned.
"Something's changed. Grey thinks we've abandoned him. He's starting to lose it in there. I can't take this." Jax said his hand on his temple.
"We've got to tell Rip." Kendra said.
"The guy who benched us? He'll just tell us to sit tight. No, I hate feeling so helpless. This is exactly what it was like when I blew out my knee. I could barely walk, recruiters stopped calling, my mom always crying. I just wish there was something I could do." Jax said shaking his head.
"Wait. Your connection with Stein, it goes both ways, right?"Kendra asked.
"Yeah." Jax said with a nod.
"So maybe we can send him a signal." Kendra urged.
"Grey did tell me about this one time he and Ronnie...... Get a knife. You need to cut me." Jax told Kendra.
-at the console-
"I'm sorry to inform you, Captain. The probability of the United States losing the Cold War has risen to 99%. Star City, the seat of the resistance, is predicted to fall in 2003." Gideon informed him.
"Come on, Sara." Rip muttered.
-back at the prison-
"You mentioned the Quantum Splicer earlier, Professor. Your friends are counting on you to make the right decision." The female scientist said to Stein as they walked.
"I have eyes on Stein." Sara informed.
"The future is cementing. You must extract Stein before he enters the lab!" Rip urged.
"Kill her!"Vostak commanded the guards firing at Sara forcing her to take cover behind a wall.
"What's happening, Ms. Lance?" Rip asked.
" I couldn't rescue Stein." Sara told him.
"Have they moved him into the lab?" Rip questioned.
"Yeah, where Savage has every guard in the gulag watching him." Sara told him.
"Well, if that's the case-"
" I know what I have to do" Sara assured her expression pained.
"Gideon, are you able to detect the Professor's life functions remotely?" Rip questioned.
"Yes, Captain. His pulse is still strong."
"Yeah, not for much longer."Rip muttered.
"Rip, Jax, and I need to talk to you." Kendra said the three walking into the room.
"Now is really not a good time." Rip told the two.
"Yeah, this will only take a minute. I know you think you can't risk losing us, but that's assuming we'd fail." Jax told Rip firmly.
"And we won't I'm not afraid anymore. I can do this." Kendra said confidently.
"And I don't got to be Firestorm to be a part of this team." Jax told him.
"Look, I am not prepared to risk anyone else." Rip told them.
"But your okay with having Sara eliminate a member of our team?" Clarity questioned glitching in her eyes glowing slightly the lights flickering her anger at Rip showing. The betrayal she felt indescribable.
"look Ever since -"Rip started
"Carter? His death wasn't your fault." Kendra told him.
"I know. But as Miss Springs has alluded Stein's will be." Rip admitted.
"And Jax's" Clarity said crossing her arms.
"What?" Rip asked turning to Jax confused. That was something he hadn't known.
"Doesn't matter. Look all I got to do is touch him, and we can fly out of there." Jax told Rip not wanting to get into the mechanics of their bond and everything.
"Yeah, once you've scaled a 50 foot fence topped with razor wire, gotten past eight sharpshooters, and entered a gulag full of the most dangerous criminals in the U.S.S.R." Rip pointed out.
"Yeah there's that or I could Glitch him over the fence and drain the power to the facility. Kendra and yourself make a distraction to divert Savages attention away from us as Snart finishes rescuing Mick and Ray while Sara provides Jax and I cover from up top in her sniper position where she was originally going to be to murder a member of our team in cold blood" Clarity countered immediately and Rip looked at Clarity
"Listen you're playing chess without all your pieces on the board." Jax pleaded. Clarity flinched at the chess analogy. Eobard Thawne loved chess. She hated that game now.
"Maybe you're right." Rip relented.
"So that's a "yes"?"Kendra questioned.
-time skip-
"So, if you glitch in and land here, Jax can wait for Stein to come into the courtyard and you can drain the residual energy" Rip said to Clarity pointing to a spot on the map.
"Thus Shutting off all the power." Kendra smiled.
"Distracting the guards and giving us time to save our team". Jax said with a nod.
"The probability of this plan being successful-"
"There is a 15 second window where the sharpshooters on the tower aren't covering the breaker." Rip told clarity.
"Which means i only have 15 seconds to drain the power from the entire facility. Not to mention i'll be leaving myself wide open. I can't exactly Glitch and drain energy at the same time." Clarity said with a nervous laugh the lights brightening. At least this way she could do something to help.
"I do not like this plan Clarity" Gideon said with a bit of worry.
" Have a little faith, Gideon." Kendra told the AI.
"You can do this. I know you can." Rip assured her with a nod placing his hand on her shoulder.
"No time to waste. Let's suit up" Clarity said grabbing Kendra's hand glitching the two to where they keep their suits. She was unsure on whether to trust Rip's words or not but decided to at least hold on to them for good luck.
"She's got this right?" Jax questioned rubbing his bad leg.
"We can only hope Mr. Jackson" Rip told him.
-at the prison-
"What the hell are they doing?" Sara asked as she saw Clarity glitch in front of the breaker. Jax in the corner of the fence laying low.
"What I should have done from the start Helping rescue Stein." Rip told her.
"What about the time line?" Sara asked.
" I have a plan. Forget about the fail-safe." Rip ordered.
"Isn't it a little late for plan C?" Sara asked.
"Not if Clarity can drain the power without getting shot. Speaking of which give her a little cover would you. She's not exactly in the safest location at the moment" Rip pointed out.
"cmon Clarity.your the glitch. your totally Glitch. Okay...1....2...3...Glitch!"Clarity whisper exclaimed her blue eyes glowing bright blue as her body covered itself with lightning as she drained the power as fast as she could the lights shutting off one by one before the whole prison went dark. Clarity dropped to one knee panting. Sara firing two shots killing the guards who wanted to shoot Clarity.
"i did it" Clarity breathed out a bit exhausted. That felt like running a marathon. Was this how Barry felt everyday?
"ha. Barry Allen who? now that was fast" Jax told Clarity clapping her on the back as her powers faded.
" That door leads to the loading bay. From there, you can get to the jump ship."Snart told Mick.
"Hey, Mick, this is a strange kind of hug." Ray groaned from over Mick's shoulder.
"Where are you going?" Mick asked his partner.
"I got something to do." Snart told him.
"Vostok knows Stein is the other half of Firestorm. She's trying to merge with him.Rip, once Stein is inside the reactor, he will become Soviet Firestorm.Do you copy? I have the shot." sara said.
"Sara, don't do it." Snart said.
"I don't have a choice. It's the only way to save Star City, our families, the future." Sara said her finger on the trigger.
"That's how a killer thinks. And that's not you anymore." Snart told her.
Sara looked into the scope thoughts clouding her mind. What Clarity had told her before she left swirling in her head over and over and over again. She couldn't do it. She couldn't pull the trigger. Snart was right she wasn't a killer. Clarity believed she wasn't a monster. She wouldn't go through with this. Screw Rip.
"How's it going up there? Sara? Sara, are you there?" Rip asked her.
" Now you're on the comm? We need to get out of here." Sara exclaimed pissed off.
"Whoa! Don't shoot! Grey's in there!" Jax exclaimed to Snart as the ice villain went to shoot at vostak.
" Lot of good it would do anyhow." sara said.
"Man, screw this!" Jax said starting to run limping slightly from all the fighting.
"What are you doing?" Sara asked.
"I'm getting Stein back." Jax said.
"We'll cover you." Snart said Sara, Snart, and Clarity protecting Jax fighting soldiers as Jax got to stein.
"I know you're in there, Grey!" Jax said.
"And he's begging for you to save yourself." Vostak said.
"I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Professor Stein. Your mind is stronger than hers, Grey. I get it. I know why you've been so hard on me You're trying to protect me. You don't want to lose me like you lost Ronnie. And that's why I know you're not gonna let her kill me. 'Cause I've had you inside of my head, and I know what a tough, old son of a bitch you can be. So you got to fight her, because you and me, we're Firestorm, Grey. You and me!" JAx exclaimed grabbing his hand.
"Jefferson! You okay?" Stein asked now that he was unfused.
"Yeah, you?" Jax asked.
"Yeah. Not for long. I tried to warn her. Without the Splicer and myself, her nuclear powers are dangerously unstable.It appears Dr. Vostok is having a bit of a meltdown. It's it's fascinating." Martin said.
"Grey Seriously?" Jax questioned him. Martin shrugged unable to come up with a response.
"I think what he means to say is "run." Sara said.
"I'll have the jump ship waiting just beyond the main gate." Rip said and the team all rushed to the jumpship by various methods. No one wanted to get blown up.
The minute everyone got on the jump ship Clarity had Stein trapped in a hug the lights on the jump ship shining brightly.
"What's this for my dear girl?" Stein asked her. The old man had fully been expecting this kind of welcome back from Clarity. She tended to be a hugger. Especially if you almost died or did something stupidly heroic. The first time he had experienced a hug from her was when he and Ronnie had unfused after the blast. At first it had been weird and Martin had been annoyed by some strange female metahuman hugging him but over time he had gotten used to it.
"For being alive. You really need to stop these close calls professor." Clarity told him.
"I'll do my best" Stein assured as Clarity finally released him.
The legends all gathered together in Rip's study. Clarity sat on Rip's desk her legs swinging slightly. She felt relieved that the team was back together again but the little bit of trust she had for Rip Hunter grew even smaller. It didn't sit well with Clarity how easy it had been for him to want to off one of their own. They were a team, a team was supposed to be family, at least to her it was. So the next time Rip Hunter decides to try and leave one of their own for dead Clarity pinky promised herself that she would take a stand. No matter what situation.
"Courtesy of Yuri the Bear." Mick said slamming the bottle of scotch down on Rip's desk startling Clarity out of her daze.
"How did you even have time to steal this?" Clarity asked amused as Mick poured the girl a shot.
"There's always time to steal." Mick replied with a shrug moving from teammate to teammate.
"Thank you. And just so you know, I know you're more than just a thief and I think I'm not the only one either." Ray said nodding his head over to Clarity as he looked up at Mick.
"You took a beating for me. We're even. End of story." Mick told him.
"Well, thank you." Ray told him.
"More drinking, less feeling." Mick replied taking a swing from the bottle.
"A toast to the first time we haven't completely ruined the time line." Stein said lifting his glass.
"Please tell me that's true, Gideon." Rip asked tapping his glass.
Clarity crossed her fingers her eyes squeezing shut the lights brightening as she hoped.
"I am happy to inform The projections of the future are back to normal." Gideon told the team her tone jovial.
" I'll drink to that."
"To Rip." Kendra said.
"To things not going according to his plan." Snart said. Clarity giggling as Snart spoke.
"Yes I admit Miss Springs May have had the better idea this time around" Rip said.
"May?" Clarity asked raising a brow.
"Definitely" Rip amended his tone somewhat apologetic.
"To the Captain." Clarity said raising a glass the lights brightening.
"To the Captain." Everyone Chorused.
"All right." Jax grinned.
"Hold on, Jefferson. You're not quite 21." Stein told the younger man.
"Yo" Jax protested giving Stein an annoyed look.
"In 1986, the drinking age in Russia was 12, so...." Sara trailed off.
"As long as he doesn't drink like Clarity over here. I think the boy will be fine professor" Snart smirked. Within the next five seconds Snart was Knocked out of his chair by a small electric shock from Clarity. Snart made himself comfortable on the floor in response. Mick stealing his chair.
"I hold my liquor perfectly fine thank you very much" Clarity said throwing her head back downing the shot.
"Well I'm happy to see that you're feeling better Clarity" Ray grinned. The last Ray had seen of her she had still been kinda down for the count.
"Oh I can't believe I forgot" Clarity said Glitching into Ray's lap and hugging him tightly.
"I'm sooo glad your okay" Clarity said. Ray let out a surprised laugh and hugged her back.
"And you!" Clarity exclaimed pointing to Mick who raised a brow at her.
"Yeah sparky?" Mick questioned hugging his liquor just the slightest bit closer not wanting the woman to steal a drop.
"Bang!" Clarity said making a gun with her finger her tongue sticking slightly out of her mouth before she fired a small burst of lightning out of her pointer finger the shock lighting Mick's drink on fire.
Mick lifted his glass up to his face fascinated. "How did you do that?" Mick questioned amazed.
"I Glitch" Clarity told him purposefully glitching back onto Rip's desk her legs swinging.
"My desk is not a chair Miss Springs" Rip gently reminded slightly annoyed.
"Yeah I doubt she'll be moving any time soon" Snart said still chilling on the floor sipping his drink. Rip sighed. This crew was impossible.
"Well, perhaps we can let the age limit slide this one time. After all, you were the hero today. You saved my life." Stein told Jax.
"Oh, that? That was no biggie." Jax said shrugging it off with a smile.
"Having merged with an insane Russian scientist, I now know how lucky I am to have you as my partner." Stein told Jax.
"Partners." Jax agreed with a smile.
"Stein doesn't know, does he? That I almost killed him?" Sara asked Rip as they stood off to the side looking at the party.
"That I advised you to kill him." Rip corrected guiltily.
"It's funny. When I was in the League of Assassins, failure to follow through on a hit was unforgivable, a thousand times worse than death but the only thing I could think about was what Clarity had said to me. Maybe I'm losing my edge." Sara said with a frown.
"Or gaining a new one. The fact that you didn't pull the trigger speaks volumes. You know, the safe move was to kill Martin with the Cold War hanging in the balance. I would like to think it was your humanity that stayed your hand." Rip told her.
"I'd like to think that too, but I had some help." Sara said. She looked over at her just in time to see Clarity pale. The glass in Clarity's hand falling to the floor glowing with blue light before shattering on the rug.
"Clarity-" Ray said in concern before the ship shook with a blast.
"What was that?" Sara panicked.
"Chronos" Clarity told the team.
"We have been struck with an explosive projectile." Gideon said.
"Again?" Clarity asked annoyed glitching to her seat.
"No kidding." Snart Agreed.
"Everyone get strapped in now! We're in the Temporal Zone.I don't understand.
No one should be able to-" Rip said shaking his head rushing to his seat.
"You were saying?" Sara asked.
"A scan of the vessel confirms Clarity's suspiscion that it is the bounty hunter Chronos." Gideon informed.
"Oh, man, this guy has impeccable timing." Jax exclaimed.
"He appears to be following us." Stein observed.
"Firing countermeasures." Rip said.
"Countermeasures effective." Gideon confirmed.
"Have we lost him?" Rip asked.
"Yes, but not his missile.
Our aft shield is gravely compromised.
Initiating evasive maneuvers." Gideon said.
"Ah! The vodka was a bad choice." Ray winced.
"Impact in three, two, one." Rip said the ship crashing in some unknown time period.
"Sir, we've just been knocked out of the timestream." Gideon informed.
"What does that mean?"
"It means we're crash-landing in place and time."
"And this is soo a tardis" Clarity grinned.
"For the one hundredth time it's not" Rip called back at her.
-timeskip-
"Gideon, camouflage the ship.This doesn't look like the type of place we want to linger out in the open." Rip told the Ai.
"Hey Ray....isn't that....?" Clarity trailed pointing upwards.
"That looks a lot like a Palmer Tech building, but why does it have a Smoak logo on it?" Ray asked.
"Wait. This is..." Sara trailed off in disbelief looking around.
"Star City." Clarity finished immediately recognizing many familiar sights now in ruins.
"I thought you said the time line was safe." Sara snapped at Rip.
"Gideon didn't lie Sara. It's not in her programming" Clarity said protectively. Rip shot her yet another curious look.
"Yeah, Star City was intact in 2016. This this is 2046."Rip told Sara but was still curious on how Clarity knew that about Gideon. He guessed she could have assumed it but still.
"Don't move!" The green Arrow said jumping down onto a crate so he towered above the legends team.
"Oh, thank God." Sara smiled.
"Hey!" Clarity smiled waving happy to see Felicity's boyfriend once again. Sparks falling from her finger tips. Where there was Oliver there was most certainly her bestie.
"I said don't move." The green Arrow warned positioning his bow more forcefully now pointing to Clarity making the brunette stop her wave her smile dimming slightly as she grew confused.
"It's me. It's Sara." Sara said uneasily stepping in front of Clarity. Why wasn't Oliver lowering his bow?
"Oliver cmon it's Clarity. Felicity must have missed me all these years hasn't she? Ray told you we went with Rip Hunter." Clarity questioned her finger tips sparking happily as she thought of her best friend.
"Yeah we're the legends" Ray said backing Clarity up.
"I never heard of any legends." The green arrow said shaking his head firing at the legends.
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
And end. Mwahahahahha. Okay guys that's it for this chapter!!!! So here are some questions for ya! Pls try your best to answer them as fully as possible because I really love reading your comments. It makes me think I'm not writing this for nothing.
1. What were your favorite 4 moments in this chapter for your desired Clarity ship?
2. Has your ship changed? Why or why not?
3. What do you want to learn most about Clarity?
4. Will you join the Discord for Clarity fans? Why or why not?
5. What's your favorite thing about this story so far?
6. What do you think the best Clarity moment in this entire book is?
7. What do you hate about this story?
8. What do you want to happen to Clarity the most in future chapters and why?
9. When, where how, and for what reason do you think she originally met Each member of the legends team before she became a legend?
10. What arrowverse character should be Clarity's nemesis?
11. What do you think is Clarity's greatest fear and why?
12. Which legend do you want to comfort Clarity the most when she's upset and why?
13. What arrowverse and or superverse character do you want Clarity to meet and interact with the most and why?
14. How powerful do you want Clarity to be? How strong do you think she is? Do you think she's weaker than others believe or stronger than she herself thinks? Or do you think it's something inbetween? Explain pls.
15. If you could say one thing to Clarity. Give her one piece of advice... What would it be?
16. What arrowverse or superverse villain do you want Clarity to fight the most and why?
17. Should the legends all watch/read Clarity's origin story? Why or why not?
18. Which legend do you like as Clarity's close friend on the ship and for what reasons?
19. Do you think I'm a good author? And why?Please be honest guys.
20. How obsessed with this story are you? Be honest...
21. Anything else you want to ask, rant, or tell me
22. Did you answer all the questions thoroughly and completely? Did you explain why for each of them? If you did congratz!! You just won yourself a prize! You get a oneshot written about anything and or anyone in the entire Arrow or superverse!! So comment yes if you did (I'll be checking if you actually answered all the questions or not) then pm me to discuss what you want your oneshot to be about!