The Tip of the Iceberg - Progeny Chapter 10
I really wanted to write this chapter once I had seen the episode. There is no copyright infringement intended and I earn nothing but, hopefully, a review or two. Spoilers for Progeny.
It had been eleven days since Rip had rebuilt Leonard's hand in the med bay. While his hand had been rebuilt, strength and flexibility were not what he'd once had. Professor Stein had recommended that he exercise with a rubber ball to regain what he'd lost. Since his value to the team was based on his ability to steal, Leonard worked with it religiously. His hand ached by the end of every day, and he went to sleep each night trying to massage the cramps out.
The others kept busy in their rooms or sparing. He knew Sara went down to the small storage room where Mick had once hung a punching bag to work out. Leonard had chosen to work out with the bag late at night when all the others were asleep. He needed the time to think and was a solitary man by nature. Every time he struck the bag, Mick's words rang in his ears. Leonard had been deeply shaken by the revelation that Chronos was Mick. The fact that he'd never gone back to collect Mick told him one thing: that he died at some point during this mission. That would be the only reason for him not going back for his partner. He'd always expected to die on a job but that confirmation struck him to the core. He prided himself on planning all the minutia for a heist. He'd not really been thinking when he'd knocked Mick out in the woods; he just refused to kill the man who had been his only friend. And now that friend wanted to destroy Leonard by destroying Lisa. By killing her again and again and again.
Keeping Lisa safe was worth the price of his hand.
Rip had decided to leave Savage alone for the moment and instead was focused on a man called Per Degaton who helped Savage take over the world. When they learned that Per Degaton was a teenage boy, the team split on two sides about killing him outright or showing him the error of his mentor's ways. Rip and his side were finally convinced that kidnapping the kid and taking him from the timeline could be enough. Rip was still convinced that killing Per Degaton was their only option.
Sara was upset that Rip wasn't thinking through all their options and decided to visit Mick.
"Ah. Finally. Someone who's willing to do a man's job." Mick wasn't surprised to see the assassin.
Sara caught the slight against Leonard. Because he had been unable to kill his partner, Mick thought he was weak. "That's not why I'm here."
"It's almost funny that you guys keep parading in here like it's some kind of confessional or something."
"That's also not why I'm here."
"Okay. I'll bite."
"Everybody is out there arguing whether or not we should kill this kid because no one thinks he can change. Which made me think of you. You know, no one thinks you can change. That's why you're in here."
"The only reason I'm in here is if I get out I'm gonna give Snart some payback he's not walking away from."
"He saved your life."
"He wussed out on killing me, not the same thing. He marooned me." Bitterness filled Mick's thoughts.
"It's not like he had many choices. You know, while you were busy selling us out to a homicidal time pirate, Leonard and I almost died. He was thinking about you, told me about your partnership, your friendship."
Mick was taken aback. He thought Snart had just forgotten what he and Mick had had. Frustrated with his thoughts, he bit back. "Did it make you weepy? You think it's going to make me weepy?" he snarled. He had to hold on to his anger. It was the only thing he had that belonged to him. That and vengeance.
"He's your friend. A loyal one. You should know that." Sara had come to that conclusion when Leonard had stopped them from killing Mick. He must have held out hope that Chronos's personality could be destroyed leaving Mick behind.
"Well, thank you. I'll work it out with him as soon as I can. Oh. Killing a kid. Not very hero-like." Mick had to get in that last shot. Sara's words made him think. He thought about thirty years worth of partnering with Snart. He'd left Snart in the wind many times. The most recent was after Snart's father had ambushed them. He only learned the whole story from Lisa after the fact. She had called to see if Mick would help her break her brother out of prison when he was convicted of murdering Lewis. He'd declined. But even when Mick had set the building they were in on fire, Leonard had stayed to pull Mick out of the flames before cutting him loose. Mick bore the scars from that job still. There was only one time Snart had abandoned him; when he marooned Mick. Still. Even though it was only once didn't make up for what had been done to him by the Time Masters. The only way he'd kept his sanity while being reconditioned was to focus on Snart and how he'd betrayed him. It had kept the pain manageable.
Leonard was in the galley when he heard the jump ship undocking from the Waverider. Gideon told him what the sound had meant and that Rip and Per Degaton had left on the jump ship. He'd left the main deck because he was tired of the sideways looks the others were giving him. Yes, he'd suggested killing the kid. He'd have done the same if it had been Hitler. Kill one to save many. That had been his choice with Mick. Only he hadn't killed Mick. He had to admit to himself that he wasn't surprised that Rip had taken the kid. He grabbed something to eat and drink. He knew Sara was stalking him so he didn't want to stay in the kitchen. Sara had that "I want to talk" look in her eyes. He didn't want to go to his room; Sara would go there first. He could have had Gideon lock the door but that wouldn't deter her. He avoided the next level since he'd have to walk past Mick's cell. That left one of the storage bays. Leonard decided on the small bay in the ship's nose. Once he was done with lunch, he settled down with his back against a box and pulled out a gold coin. He started finger exercises that moved it from one finger to another without actually grasping it. He still wasn't able to move the coin at his old speed but he was definitely improving. Finishing those exercises, he pulled the rubber ball out of his jacket and started tossing it up and down to practice hand-eye coordination. Time seemed to stand still until he heard footsteps coming closer. From the sound, it was Sara. She slid her feet more than lifted them when she walked which caused a whispering sound.
"No luck finding our homicidal captain?"
"Gideon is still searching but I have a feeling Rip's not going to be found if he doesn't want to be." Sara faced off against Leonard and leaned against a large crate.
"So what are you doing down here?"
"Don't you think you at least owe him a conversation?"
"We had our conversation while he was Chronos and he made his feelings about me very clear." Leonard's fear for Lisa was still fresh.
"And what about your feelings?"
"About you?" Leonard challenged her with a look. He wasn't exactly sure why he said that. He was drawn to her and thought she was drawn to him.
"About Mick." Sara had to admit Leonard both fascinated and irritated her. When he let his self-centered nature take control, she wanted to throw her hands up and walk away or punch him. But there was someone underneath the public persona that she wanted to see more of. She'd seen that Leonard when he'd kept her from killing Stein in Russia and when they were freezing to death. She wanted to find that man again.
Disappointed that she didn't take the bait, he said, "I don't have feelings about Mick," as he looked anywhere but at her.
"Look, it didn't seem that way when we were dying in the engine room of hypothermia."
"Look if you want to ease your guilty conscience that's your business but he's still the same son of bitch he was when you all wanted me to put him down." Leonard had forgotten that he had told them he would handle it.
"I wasn't the one mentioning marooning Rory, you did. It's obviously still weighing on your conscience. So stop being an ass and go deal with it." She stood and walked off. She hoped that she'd shaken Leonard out of his self-absorption.
Leonard threw the ball half-heartedly and watched it bounce out of his reach. He had only one option to reach through Mick's fury and to the man he had once called friend. He got up off the floor and went to his room. He sat on the chair and searched for another option. Except for Sara, the others had been avoiding him again. Jax had seemed to accept Leonard's supposed decision to ice Mick but when he learned that Mick was still alive and was Chronos, Jax had become standoffish again. Maybe it was being faced with the fact that he was prejudiced against Leonard and had believed that Snart would kill his only friend that he felt guilty about. Palmer still looked down his nose at the thief and Stein was perpetually in shock about any of Snart's suggestions. Kendra had never really acknowledged him, and Rip was too wrapped up with his quest. No one would really miss him. Lisa was now an adult and didn't need him like she once had.
He decided staying in his room was pointless and headed to the main deck. He raised his chin in a challenge to Sara who smiled, pleased that she'd drawn him back into the group. Jax and Stein were deep in conversation with Palmer about the robots his descendant had built. Leonard leaned against the main console and listened. The ship was rocked from the discharge of weapons against its hull as Kendra raced onto the deck saying something about Savage being outside leading the attack. Gideon reported that they were under attack. Stein reminded them that they could fight back. Leonard grinned. A fight was just what he needed right now. All of them scattered to grab weapons, and in Sara and Ray's case, clothing and suit, before they all headed to the bay door. Once it opened far enough, each joined the battle.
Finding a grenade on the ground, Leonard tossed it back into the group of soldiers surrounding Savage. Two went down but not his primary target: Savage. He heard over the comm that Ray and Kendra were going to take out the control center while Firestorm tried to battle all the flying robots attacking them. Great. That left Sara and him to fight all the ground soldiers. He hated those odds. He fired the gun at the robots but they just evaded the stream of ice. Leonard kept glancing over his left shoulder expecting Mick to be there. When the robots started falling to the ground, he knew the lovebirds had succeeded at the command center.
"Looks like Raymond was able to sabotage his robot army!" Snart scanned the field looking for a new target.
Behind him, Firestorm added, "Which means mopping up the rest of these guys shouldn't be a problem." He turned to attack the four on their flank but stopped when he heard Savage challenge them.
"Oh, it will be a problem!"
Leonard turned and saw with dismay that Savage had Sara in a choke hold with a knife at her throat. How had he gotten the drop on the assassin?
"What do you want?" He raced through their options for rescuing Sara and came up short.
"I want to exchange this woman's life for your captain, Rip Hunter."
Leonard was stopped from responding by Rip's voice coming from behind.
"I've got a better idea. Her life in exchange for his."
Rip surprised him. Leonard had been sure that Rip had taken the kid away to kill him. But here he was, still alive. "Your son will be returned to you as soon as you guarantee our safe passage."
"Don't do it father. If you let them go now, they will only come back for us in the future."
The little brat was right. And so was Rip. Savage seemed to have indoctrinated the boy completely.
"It's your choice," said Rip as he cocked his revolver.
"Your son is right, we should kill them all," stated Savage. He twisted Sara's arm harder and it was all Leonard could do to not leap to attack the maniac. She was a member of his crew; his code demanded that he act.
But then Tor Degaton jerked the knife away from Sara's throat and yelled to everyone, "Put down your weapons!"
"No father!" Now Leonard could see the man Per Degaton would become. The man who would order the deaths of millions.
"Let my son go and I will let you leave in peace. You have my word."
Leonard had locked eyes with Savage. He wondered if the tyrant remembered him from when they'd broken into his house in 1975. Apparently Rip had released the kid because Savage pushed Sara away from him. Not one to go quietly, she turned and gave him a look that promised mayhem at some future point.
"Better find yourself a new mentor kid." Leonard wished they'd succeeded but once again, all their attempts fell flat. Sara looked up at him as she walked past and he turned to cover her back. They all went into the Waverider and Rip told Gideon to take them away and into the time stream.
It was really late or very early when Leonard addressed Gideon. "Gideon. Do you have recording capabilities?"
"Yes."
"Please commence recording." He paused to gather his thoughts. "I will be going into Mick Rory's cell by choice. Do not initiate any protocol to stop him with regards to me."
"But sir. He has threatened to kill you."
"I know. I also want you to allow him to take the jump ship should he succeed."
"I'm afraid that I don't understand."
"Mick is here because of me. I talked him into coming on this mission. And then I dragged him away from 2046."
"Why did you do so?" Gideon knew that Captain Hunter would want as much information as she could discover about that whole situation. He had spoken with her at length because he still did not understand Mr. Snart.
"It was a perfect fit for him but not for me. It was a world where brawn was necessary to survive. I wouldn't last a week probably and without me to watch Mick's back…There is always someone bigger, someone stronger. Mick would have been caught up in the power he had and someone would have taken him down. And that would have been my fault too. So I knocked him out. Then later, after the pirates, I marooned him instead of killing him like I'd planned."
"Why did you choose to not kill Mr. Rory?"
"Because I planned to come back for him after this mission to take out Savage was over; that's why I asked you for the time coordinates for that location. But he says I never came. So the Time Masters found him and trained him, changed him; they took away all his choices. Now we are insisting on rehabilitating him and are taking away any choice he might have. I've taken away Mick's choices from him since he first saved my life. Mostly, it was for the best," he sighed. "Now, it's time to give him a choice."
"But why are you giving him the opportunity to kill you?"
"When Mick is angry, it clouds his decisions and makes him do stupid things. He's furious with me, apparently for years now, and he cannot see anything other than vengeance. I hope that once he's got that out of his system," and not the way he'd planned by killing Lisa in front of me he thought, "that he will be able to make a sensible choice. Maybe he can find something he wants for himself." Leonard smiled sadly. "The complete irony is that the only thing that would keep me from going back for Mick is my death. And now that death will come at his hands."
"Sir. I really wish that you would reconsider your actions. Captain Hunter picked you for your skills for this mission."
"He picked Mick too and look where that got him. Rip can survive without this thief. My plans don't seem to work as well now as they did when we were just stealing things."
"Maybe it's because you're not used to so many disparate personalities."
"Maybe." Leonard looked around his room for what would be the last time. There was hardly anything to mark it as his, certainly nothing that would take time to clean out. His blue parka hung in the closet by the door. He'd stopped wearing it since the point was to blend in on these missions. He took the gold coin out of his pant's pocket and placed it in the jacket's breast pocket. He removed his holster and Cold Gun and draped them over the chair's back. Someone else could use it. He'd thought long and hard about his choices; Sara calling him out had just solidified his decision. Things could not stay as they were. Mick was still a danger to the team.
He didn't realize that Gideon was still recording and that anyone who viewed it would be able to see how bleak he looked. He'd always put on a false face to others even to the point of developing his odd speech patterns and intonation once he became Captain Cold. Only in times of stress or strong emotion would he forget and talk the way he'd always done. He'd felt that a villain name should come with some sort of tic in addition to the glasses and parka. Lisa had laughed and teased him about it. Mick had accepted it as a part of his "big speech" habit. Only to himself did Leonard admit that he used it to yank people's chains. No one but Lisa or Mick knew it was a recent affectation. "Anyone else awake right now Gideon?"
"Only Mr. Rory."
"Perfect. When this is over, please let Captain Hunter understand that I do this of my own free will."
"I will tell him. I must advise you against this one more time. Mr. Rory out masses you, and he is very irrational where you are concerned."
"I know." Leonard stood up, exited his room, and headed towards the brig. He stood outside the blast door and took a deep breath before he walked through the heavy door. He paced around the corner of his former friend's cage and stood braced with arms crossed. The former partners locked eyes. He let Mick speak first.
"What do you want?"
"People seem to think we should have a heart to heart."
"We don't have hearts. Where does that leave us?" Mick was wondering where this was going. The Time Masters had not only trained him but had done things. His thought processes were a little quicker, and he had learned a lot under their forced tutelage.
"I've got a dozen reasons for killing you and you have a dozen and one for killing me, so." Leonard admitted that Mick had solid reasons for his revenge. It was as close as he'd ever come to saying he was wrong. Not that it mattered.
"All the talk in the world is not going to change a thing."
"Exactly. Here's my proposal. I open this cell, we let our fists do the talking."
Mick was surprised and filled with an unholy glee. Here was his chance to smash Snart into a pulp. He had it coming; he didn't have a chance. A voice in the back of his head pointed out that Snart knew that. He knew he didn't have the strength to take out Mick. That's when he realized that Snart wasn't wearing his gun. He really meant to do this. But why?
"When I kill you?" Mick asked. There had to be a trap. He'd have laid one.
"You take the jump ship, make your escape, and live out the rest of your life anywhere that you like." Leonard tried to be nonchalant.
"And if you kill me?" Mick pause. They both knew the chances of Snart killing him were very small. However, maybe Snart had learned a thing or two. "Well, it's better than being locked up in this place like some kind of circus freak."
"I take that as a yes." Leonard's voice was dead. He was doing this for his baby sister and for Mick who needed to release his explosive anger before anyone else was hurt or killed.
"Sound the bell." A maniacal gleam filled Mick's eyes as Snart palmed open the door. For a brief moment he considered rushing past him and to the bridge but here was his one desire: to give Snart the beating he would not walk away from.
Gideon was still recording.
The sickening sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed through the brig. It had started with body blows. Leonard still ached from a solid kidney shot; the pain was restricting his movement. Both had grown up as street fighters but neither deigned to use dirty tactics or even kicks. The challenge had been fists and both were men of their word. Leonard was getting tired. His blows did not always hit where he aimed. He wasn't able to block or dodge as many either. It had come down to brute strength, as Leonard had known it would. And he knew he'd lose. But he'd chosen this course of action to assuage Mick's anger because just shooting Leonard wouldn't cause Mick's hatred to dissipate. Mick needed to pound the life out of his former friend. Hopefully, that would keep him for going after Lisa in 2016. That hope had solidified Leonard's decision. He'd do anything to keep her safe from Mick. Even if it meant an ugly, painful death for him.
Mick's blows almost knocked Leonard off his feet more than once; he stayed low to maintain his balance. He put everything he had into each blow, but Mick wasn't even rocked. Leonard had a moment to be surprised as he was driven up and into the air before the floor knocked all the breath out of his body. Gasping, he felt Mick pick him up and turn him over. Limp, he watched Mick raise his fist above his face ready to drive down. But the blow never came. Mick slumped down on the floor next to Leonard.
Confused and dazed, Leonard said, "We had a deal Mick. Kill me, and you walk. It's what you want isn't it, to get off the team?" He didn't realize until then how much Mick's betrayal hurt him. The tone in his own voice shocked him. The one who had never allowed any emotion to ever come out except anger or scorn. Cold was appropriate for more than just the gun he carried.
Mick's response was not what he'd expected. "I don't know what I want any more. Truth is, it doesn't really matter."
Through the ringing in his ears, Leonard asked, "What are you talking about?" This wasn't the plan. The plan was for Mick to kill Leonard, take the jump ship, and leave Lisa and the team alone.
"Whether I stay or leave, I'm dead. We're all dead."
Leonard listened as Mick detailed what the Time Masters would have ordered in regards to bounty hunters. "How do you know?"
"My ship would not have moved from Nanda Parbat. After it sat in one place for any length of time, they would figure out that I failed. They would order the Hunters after you, after me."
Leonard was finding it harder to pay attention. His vision was blurring and there were halos around the lights in the ceiling. He couldn't keep his eyes open. His back was hurting something fierce and his limbs would not respond. He welcomed the darkness.
"Mr. Rory," said Gideon. "Mr. Snart needs medical attention. You have three choices at this point. You can take him to the med bay where you can follow my instructions. You can allow me to contact Captain Hunter so he can help Mr. Snart. You can allow Mr. Snart to die."
"Huh?" Mick was surprised to be addressed by the AI. "If you're monitoring this, why didn't you stop it?"
"Because Mr. Snart ordered me not to."
"Why would he do that?"
"I have a video record that will explain it but if the injury is as serious as I believe, you need to tend to him now."
Mick looked down at the younger man. He looked like that punk kid who he'd rescued so many years ago, battered and beaten. Did he want to destroy him? This was the person who caused his service under the Time Masters. But if he'd stayed in 2016 without Snart, he'd probably be in jail or dead. His fascination with fire back then would have taken control. The same for 2046. Snart was no longer his partner but he could see past his vengeance now. The kid had guts but for once, not much sense. They would need his brains to fight back against the Time Masters and complete their initial mission. Mick stood slowly before bending down to lift Snart into a fireman's carry and heading to the med bay.
He eased Leonard's limp body onto the couch and stood back while Gideon scanned for damage.
"It is as I thought. Mr. Snart has a subdural hematoma. It will need to be surgically drained or the pressure will continue to build and cause his death. Do you think you can perform the procedure?"
The old Mick would have been confused by the term; the new Mick was at least confident that he could follow Gideon's directions. "What do I do?" The first thing was to attach a cuff to Snart's wrist to monitor and keep him sedated. As Gideon instructed, Mick sterilized Snart's left temple area. He then took the small laser that was indicated and with Gideon monitoring the positioning, slowly drilled through Snart's skull. It occurred to Mick later that all he had to do was increase the laser's strength to kill Snart. But that decision no longer seemed desirable. Using another tool, Mick was able to suction out the blood clot and other fluid to relieve the pressure.
Rip Hunter rarely slept more than a few hours at a time. When he woke, he decided to go talk to their prisoner. "Gideon? Is Mr. Rory awake?"
"Yes. However, you won't find him in the brig."
"What!" Rip shouted reaching for his gun. "I told you…"
"Yes you did, however, Mr. Snart had other plans."
"Snart? What do you mean?" In his anxiety, he forgot the honorific.
"Mr. Snart entered Mr. Rory's cell."
"Why the hell? Mr. Rory will kill him!"
"That was Mr. Snart's intention."
"Wait! What?!" Rip was very confused by this time.
"I believe Mr. Snart was intending to make reparations. He recorded a message for anyone who wanted to understand his choice."
Rip ran towards the med bay but Gideon advised that he slow down to avoid startling Mr. Rory. With Snart's life literally in his former partner's hands, startling him was a bad idea.
"About time you got here," growled Mick. I had some triage training but nothing this complicated."
Rip walked over to the screen showing Leonard's stats. He seemed stable. Looking down, the thief's features were mostly obscured by bruising. Rip looked up to meet Mick's gaze.
"It was his idea," Mick defended himself gruffly. He'd known Snart for thirty years, had seen the kid determined to outwit his father, to exceed every expectation even though he'd had to drop out of school to take care of Lisa. Looking back now, Mick understood that Snart focused on the minutia as a means of control. He'd had no control when he was a child and was blamed and ridiculed for every fault, real or not. He'd become a perfectionist with the job as a way of snubbing his father's poor skills. His snarkiness came from not wanting anyone to hurt him. Mick crossed his arms and took a wide stance. "We have bigger problems. The Time Masters are going to send the Hunters after us," said Mick.
"I think you need to give me more details Mr. Rory. Come with me to the main bridge. Gideon, how soon do you think Mr. Snart will awake?"
"If I turn off the anesthesia, a few moments."
"Do so." The two men waited until Leonard's eyes opened. Or at least the right one did. He had trouble opening the left. Memory flooded back and he tried to sit up. Rip helped him.
"What happened to our deal Mick?" His hands opened and closed slowly; the skin on his knuckles was bruised, split, and bleeding. He knew he couldn't handle not knowing when Mick was going to go after him or Lisa.
"Deal's off. We have bigger problems and that's going to need all of us working together."
"I think we'd better go to my study and you can explain, Mr. Rory. Mr. Snart, why don't you get cleaned up a bit and meet us there?" said Rip.
Leonard almost laughed. Cleaned up? There was no way to hide the bruising that would surely freak out the others. But he went back to his quarters to wash the blood off and changed shirts. He felt odd. He had believed that he would be dead by now. Where did this leave him and Mick? And Lisa? Was she safe from Mick? Feeling hollow, he headed to the galley and something to eat. On second thought, his jaw was too painful; he'd settle for juice. His head was in the fridge when he heard footsteps coming down the hall; he counted three sets. The lovebirds were probably still asleep so it would have to be Sara, Stein, and Jax. Voices became clearer and he congratulated himself. He'd always freaked out Barry when he heard him coming up on him. He wasn't a metahuman but listening for his father in one of his moods had heightened his awareness to an acute level.
Sara entered first and saw Leonard at the counter pouring juice with his back to the door. She wasn't fooled; she knew he knew they were there. "So you decided to join us?" she said. Walking up next to him, she was going to tease him further. The bruise on his right jaw stopped the comment. Looking closer, she could see other damage. "Leonard?" she questioned.
Setting his features into a stony look, he turned to face her directly.
"What happened?" she gasped as she took in the two black eyes and the even larger bruise that covered the majority of the left side of his face.
"Mick and I had our conversation. Satisfied?" he grated out. He wasn't really angry with her; he just didn't want any sympathy.
Stein and Jax stopped talking at the name "Mick." When they saw Snart's face, both men were shocked. "Did he escape?" asked Jax.
"No. He's on the bridge talking to Rip right now."
"Like you were talking?" asked Sara.
"No. Apparently there's a new problem."
"Of course there is," said Stein. "It's a new day."
"Leonard," Sara spoke softly. "What happened exactly? I didn't mean for you to…"
"Long story, no time," Snart was curt. He was exhausted and that clouded his thinking. Sara was smart. She'd be able to figure a lot out on her own. She started to speak again when Rip's voice came over the intercom.
"Everybody needs to come to the main deck please. Now."
Jax and Stein headed out first with Sara hanging back. "I'm right behind you or don't you trust me at your back." Leonard spat.
"I trust you to do what's best for the team." As she spoke the words, she realized how true they were. She left the galley leaving a confused thief behind.
Mick stood next to Rip while everyone trickled in. Everyone backed away from Mick subconsciously as he moved towards the central viewplate. He smiled as he noticed this and moved off to the side. Snart, as usual, had shifted to the periphery of the room. He wanted everyone in the room within his now limited field of vision. He used a monitor to help him stand.
Ray and Kendra had no idea where to look first: at Rory free and next to Rip, or his former partner, Snart, who was definitely looking the worse for wear.
Sara kept an eye on Leonard. He shouldn't separate himself like that from the team. That separation would destroy him. Maybe if she'd stayed to talk to him and not issued her challenge, he wouldn't have gone to Mick's cell.
Mick opened his mouth and growled out, "Since I failed to bring you in, the Time Masters want to bring me in and this time they're not going to take any chances. They're called the Hunters. Mercenaries. And unlike me, there isn't a human part left in them."
As usual, Ray spoke without thinking too deeply. "So they want to lock us all up in the Vanishing Point?"
"The Hunters do one thing. Kill. Whenever. Wherever. And they'll stop at nothing until every single one of us is erased from the face of history."
"Do you have any suggestions about how we might outsmart them Mr. Rory?
"Yes. Run." He walked towards one of the view screens while keeping his back to the room. He halfway listened to the conversation behind him.
Rip made a decision. "Mr. Rory. We need to know all that you can tell us."
Mick turned and Rip gestured towards his office. The two went there followed by Stein and Palmer. Sara turned around to talk to Leonard only to see he'd slipped out of the room. He needed to stop isolating himself. Just when she thought he'd connected to them, he built a new wall. Well she was done with that. She headed to her quarters to plan her attack. "Gideon. Do you have any recordings about the fight between Leonard and Mick?"
"Yes. I also have a recording that Mr. Snart made to explain his actions regarding Mr. Rory."
"He planned this?"
"Yes. I believe he intended for Mr. Rory to kill him. Shall I play the recordings for you?"
"Yes, please." Sara settled down on her bed and watched the whole thing unfold. The brutality of their fight was sobering. She asked Gideon to play Leonard's message. This was the Leonard she'd met while they were freezing to death. This was a man who felt he needed to clean up his mess. Except it wasn't just his mess. Rip had told Mick that he wasn't wanted as a member of the team. That he was only on the team because Rip needed Leonard. The rest of them had looked down on the two men so they did not feel they were a part of the team. She was grateful that Leonard had connected to their mission. If he'd sided with Mick and the pirates, they'd all be dead. Instead, he'd chosen them. Now, she would have to bring him back to them. She'd admitted that she didn't think of him as a friend back when they were freezing to death. She'd changed her mind. Sara went to the galley to make up an ice pack. Stopping in the hallway outside of Leonard's room, she spoke to Gideon. "Tell Leonard that I'm out here. I want to talk and will not accept a no."
Inside his room, Leonard was laying on his bed. He ached everywhere especially his face. Why had Mick left him alive? he wondered. Was this part of the plan? Or had Leonard's actions snapped Mick out of his fury? His mind was going around in circles when Gideon interrupted to say that Sara was outside his room. He wanted desperately to ignore her. The pain was blurring his thoughts and he was afraid he'd say something that he would not say otherwise. But he knew how persistent she was. He struggled to sit up and leaned back against the monitor screen before telling Gideon to open the door.
Sara realized she'd never been inside Leonard's room. She looked around to get a different read on him. Nope. His room was as devoid of clues as the man himself. There was barely anything to show who lived in that room other than his parka and gun. She smiled as she saw the snowscape on the monitor behind him. Which came first, Captain Cold's or Leonard's tastes. She handed him the ice pack and climbed onto the bed but sat at the other end; close enough for conversation but far enough away to give him space. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
Leonard placed the ice pack on the left side of his face gratefully. The pain slowly began to diminish. He waited for her to tear into him but she didn't speak. He looked at her sideways and discovered that she wasn't even watching him. A companionable silence settled.
"I saw your message about Mick and your decision to fight him. And, I saw the fight," she finally said.
Leonard winced. He'd recorded that message believing he'd be dead and there wouldn't be any other consequences for his actions. Hopefully, he could delete it before anyone else saw it.
"I told you that you weren't my friend. I was wrong. You stood up for me, for us, against your best friend. Mick offered you the chance to go home and leave us to the pirates. You protected us from them and from him. You chose us over him because you knew he was wrong."
Leonard was uncomfortable. Rational thought had governed his initial choice. He knew the pirates would have killed them anyways. But after, the decision to maroon Mick had been all his. He knew the team needed to be protected from his partner's rage. He had taken the only action that made sense. He wasn't a hero, just a pragmatist. He ignored the memory of Barry claiming that Leonard would find the good inside himself given enough time. He had done too many ugly things in his life to ever be considered to be a good person.
TBC