London, 2166
The entire world is in ruins and is in the middle of a battle against one enemy.
Vandal Savage. An evil dictator blessed with immortality. He has achieved what nobody in hunan history ever has.
He has conquered the entire planet.
Vanishing Point
"Caesar. Hitler. Per Degaton. Rank amateurs compared to Savage." Rip Hunter of the Time Masters tells the rest of the Time Masters. "His forces have already claimed the lives of billions. And if we don't oppose to stop him and again do nothing, then their blood is on our hands."
"As a Time Master of long standing, you seem to forget our responsibility is to protect the timeline, not humanity. You wish to engage in the very sort of manipulation of time that we are sworn to prevent." One of the Time Masters reminds him.
"And yet, if we allow humanity to perish at the hands of evil, then what universe are we custodians of?" Rip asks them.
"What if, in trying to save the world from Savage, you make it vulnerable to another, more terrible despot?"
"We are not warriors, Captain Hunter. We possess no army."
"And I'm not asking for one." Rip tells them. "Just a single timeship and your permission to change history before Vandal Savage puts an end to it. I'm not appealing to you as Time Masters, but as humans, please. Grant me the authority to change the timeline Just this once."
-
They did not grant him the authorization as he expected, but he's going through with it anyway as he takes his ship the Waverider.
"How did the council meeting go, Captain Hunter?" Gideon, the onboard computer interface, asks him.
"Exactly as expected, Gideon." Rip says as he gets to the captain seat.
"So we are proceeding?"
"Indeed. Prepare the Waverider for takeoff. Set a course. United States. Star city. January, 2016." Rip tells her.
"Ah, the early second millennium A.D. the golden age of gasoline engines, online pornography, and those silly little smartphones. What are we going to retrieve, Captain?"
"Not what. Who." Rip corrects her. "I need you to pull up a list of files, Gideon. The nine men and women who'll be joining us on our little crusade."
"You usually prefer to work alone, Captain."
"This time, I'll need a team." Rip tells her and blasts off to collect them.
-
First recruit; Dr. Raymond Palmer. The Atom. A scientist who has built a suit that allowed him to shrink and fly anywhere.
Second recruit; Sara Lance. The original Black Canary and former member of the League of Assassins, also dead to the rest of the world.
Third and forth recruits; Jefferson Jaxson and professor Martin Stein. The two halves of Firestorm.
Fifth and sixth recruits; Kendra Saunders and Carter Hall. The newest reincarnations of Hawkman and Hawkgirl.
Seventh and eighth recruits; Leonard Snart and Mick Rory, Captain Cold and Heatwave, master criminals.
Then the final recruit; Peter Parker, Spider-Man.
-
New York, 2016
The sixteenth year old Peter Parker has been on his own for the last few months.
His last family member, aunt May, was murdered by one of his enemies, Scorpion.
Peter did his best to save her, but in the end she died in his arms. He's the last of the Parker name now.
Even with everything going on in his life, he still continues to be Spider-Man. Even when this city seems to wish he was gone and never existed.
As he was sitting on the side of a building bellowing, he sees a crime is taking place and rushes to stop it.
The crime was simple enough as it was some idiots who thought that robbing a store with a fake gun was smart.
Peter made his way to the graveyard and sees the tombstones of his family, as he's done for the past few months.
"Hey, everyone. It's been a while." Peter tells them, trying to start a conversation with the graves. "I'm trying my best to help people, Ben. But it seems the more I try, the more they don't want me to help." He states when his senses go off and he turns around to face Rip Hunter.
"Who are you?" Peter asks when a flash of light consumes his vision.
-
All the recruits later wake up on a rooftop in Star City.
"What a headache." Mick states as he sits up.
"Stein? What the hell are you doing here?" Snart asks the one half of Firestorm.
"I'm as ignorant as you, for once." Stein informs him.
"Where are we?" Sara asks.
"Ow, is this what it feels like to be neuralyzed? Because I'd like to have a word with the Men In Black." Peter asks as he sits up and looks to all of the people he's with. "Who are you people and why am I here?" He asks when he realizes his mask is missing and he's wearing the rest of his Spider-Man suit. "Oh no."
"If you want answers, man, why don't you ask the dude who knocked us out and kidnapped us?" Jax asks the kid.
"The name's Rip Hunter." The man in question says and they all turn to see him. "I'm from East London. Oh, and the future." He tells them as everyone stands back up.
"Nice to meet you, Rip." Mick says sarcastically and gets ready to burn him alive while Peter tries using his homemade web shooters and they don't work.
"Uh, while you were incapacitated, I may have tampered with your weapons." Rip admits.
"Come on, these are difficult to make." Peter complains and starts looking at what he messed with.
"I'm sorry, but I assembled you all because I need your help. The future of the world is in peril because of a man by the name of Vandal Savage." Rip tells them.
"That a nickname or is that his actual name?" Peter asks him.
"That is his actual name." Rip assures.
"What kind of a name is that?" Peter questions.
"Man, his parents must've hated him." Jax agrees with him.
"That can't be, we destroyed Savage." Carter tells him.
"Yeah, Green Arrow and Flash helped us do it." Kendra agrees.
"And therein lay the problem. Unless you or mr. Hall deliver the death blow, Savage can be restored from but a single cell." Rip informs them.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Mick asks.
"Vandal is immortal. Kendra and I reincarnate." Carter explains.
"Wait, immortality and reincarnation is real?" Peter asks.
"Not only is it real, but I've been there." Sara tells him.
"And what the hell does this Randall guy have to do with us?" Mick asks.
"Vandal. In the future, he will employ the evil he's perfected over his long life, and the power he has amassed throughout history, to conquer the world. I've been tasked with assembling an elite team to stop him." Rip explains to them.
"How?" Sara asks.
"To travel through time. To capture savage before he grows into the monster he becomes." Rip explains.
"You got the wrong guy. Hero ain't on my resume." Snart informs him as he walks past.
"Or mine." Mick agrees, following Snart.
"I know it's difficult for you to fathom, but where- -when I'm from, the year 2166, you and everyone on this roof aren't just considered heroes...you're legends." Rip tells them.
"I'm sorry, did he say we're Legends?" Peter asks Ray.
"That's what I heard." Ray replies.
"Hate to nickpick, But doesn't a legend have to be dead?" Stein asks.
"Yeah, see, that's a deal breaker for me, so I'm gonna pass." Jax tells Rip.
"It's dangerous for any of you to know too much about your own futures, but I'm here because each of you, as individuals, is destined for greatness." Rip tells them.
"I could get behind that." Ray states.
"And if you don't follow me, this is what's in store for your world 150 years from today." Rip says and activates a hologram that covered the sky, showing them the entire world is in fire and ruins.
Everyone looks in shock to what's going to happen to the world they know as he shuts it down.
"I could have chosen any time and any place. Of all the people who ever lived, I chose you nine. I certainly hope that you won't let me, and the world down." Rip says and hands a few cards to Stein. "If your answer is yes, meet me at this address in 36 hours." He tells them before leaving.
"Wait, how do I get home?" Peter asks since he has no idea where he is.
-
Peter just leaves the group and fixes the web shooters before looking at the card that was passed around and wonders what he should do.
He has no real reason to stay here, no family or friends. But this Rip Hunter is giving him the chance of a lifetime. Even a place to stay, and even a few people he could get to know.
Travel through time, saving history. Stopping criminals. He's offering him the chance to be a actual hero.
He's going.
-
Peter swings to the location that the card said and sees that he wasn't the first.
"So you're joining us?" Sara asks him.
"Got nowhere else to be. Besides, don't have the money or the resources to get back to New York by myself." Peter says and removes his mask. "This is the place, right?" He asks seeing no sign of Hunter or any transport.
"Supposedly." Carter says when they see a car with Jax and Stein driving up and Jax is unconscious.
"Professor!" Snart calls out. "This is the place."
"I think we're being punked." Ray admits. "Do people still say punked?"
"Nobody ever did." Peter informs him.
"I see your buddy threw himself a going-away-party." Mick says seeing Jax.
"Yes, I believe he drank something that didn't agree with him." Stein says and they all notice that Kendra is upset about something.
"You don't look too happy to be here." Snart sees.
"Perceptive." Kendra notices about Snart.
"Well, I see you've all decided to come." Rip says as Peter is looking to see where he just came from. "Well then, we can be on our way."
"I ain't footing it anywhere." Snart complains.
"A Time Master's sacred charge is to do no harm to the timeline. Can you imagine what a timeship would look like in say, Victorian England?" Rip asks them, pulling a device out.
"I'm dying to say a police phone box, but I'm holding myself back." Peter says earning a chuckle from Ray, understanding that reference.
"Holographic indigenous camouflage projection." Stein sees.
"Indeed." Rip says and pushes a button and a giant ship appears in front of them. "It's called the Waverider. It's been my ship for over a decade. Shall we?" He asks them and they all start boarding them when Stein asks Mick to carry in Jax.
-
"This is amazing." Peter states geeking out while looking around the ship. "Does it use ionic propulsion? No, wait, that wouldn't work given that it wouldn't be able to sustain an inonic reaction. Actually, it might be able to if you are able to stabilize the quantum flux." He keeps rambling on when Rip just looks confused at the kid. "Sorry. I'm known to for rambling on and on."
"No apologies necessary, mr. Parker. I know all about you and everything you've been through." Rip assures him as they enter the main room. "That's why I chose you. You could use some help, proving your worth with your abilities."
"How does a vessel of this size function without a crew?" Stein asks.
"I don't need one. I have Gideon." Rip says when a holographic head appears in the middle of the room.
"Welcome aboard. I am Gideon, an interactive artificial consciousness programmed to operate this vessel's critical systems and aid Captain Hunter in his mission." Gideon tells them.
"Gideon's been working on helping me locate Vandal Savage." Rip says.
"I thought you said he's pretty active in the 22nd century." Ray reminds him.
"Perhaps engaging savage at the height of his power isn't the best strategy." Stein tells him.
"Unfortunately, Savage has kept his movements hidden throughout history. Not even Gideon can determine where or when we can find him. But we have the next big thing: the man who can." Rip tells them and pulls up a photo of someone. "Professor Aldus Boardman. He is the world's leading and only expert on Vandal Savage. We're gonna pay him a visit."
"Course set for October 17th, 1975." Gideon tells them.
"I suggest you all strap in. Temporal navigation isn't something one wants to be standing up for." Rip says as he gets into the pilot seat.
Everyone rushes into seats and straps in.
"Some of you may feel some slight discomfort. In very rare instances, there will be some...bleeding from your eyeballs." Rip warns them.
"Wait, can you repeat that?" Peter asks as the Waverider hums to life.
"The human body is used to time unfolding linearly." Rip explains as the ship takes off and Jax starts waking up.
"Jefferson, I'm so glad you're awake. I didn't want you to miss this." Stein states.
"Miss what?" Jax asks when he starts to see where he is. "What the..? Get me off this...whatever this thing is!"
"Good luck explaining this." Sara states.
"I did him a favor." Stein says.
"I don't think he's grateful." Peter sees.
"Just hang on and remain calm." Rip asks and they blast off into the Temporal Zone.
-
The Temporal Zone is basically like a green river of time as they go in and then out in St. Roch, 1975.
The Waverider camouflaged itself as it parks itself in an opening in the woods.
Some people start standing up as Mick throws up.
"I should have mentioned it before. Nausea is one of the side effects of time travel, along with-" Rip was explaining when Peter tries standing up and drops to his face. "Vertigo."
"My face is in agony." Peter tells him.
"I can't see." Stein tells them.
"And temporary blindness. It should only last a minute." Rip assures him. "The further back in time you go, the worse the side effects."
"You know pharmacies like to tell you the side effects before you take the medication, not after.." Peter informs Rip as he tries standing up and shoots a web to the ceiling to help himself raise up. "Take a page from their book."
"I can't believe you kidnapped me." Jax tells Stein. "Hey. I want to go home."
"Good news, then. 2016 will be around in 41 years." Rip tells him. "Now, you four, feel free to make yourselves comfortable back here on the ship, while the rest of you are coming with me to find Professor Boardman."
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. You're benching us?" Mick asks.
"I thought we were a team." Sara says.
"This mission doesn't require any of your particular skill sets. Yet." Rip explains.
"Meaning you don't need anyone killed, maimed, robbed or silly stringed." Snart states.
"Hey, this is not Silly String." Peter says when his web snaps and he falls to the ground. "I'm gonna hang down here for a while, until I can feel my legs again."
"You sure it's a good idea to leave these guys unsupervised on a time ship?" Ray asks.
"Hey, haircut. Deafness wasn't one of the side effects." Mick informs him.
"We better hurry up. Professor Boardman will die in less that 24 hours." Rip says.
"Why are we cutting it so close?" Ray asks.
"Because if he's destined to die, then he doesn't have a timeline for us to disrupt, and his impact on the future will be minimal." Stein explains.
"How does he die?" Kendra asks.
"He was found dead in his office from unknown causes." Rip explains and they all leave.
"You coming?" Stein asks Jax.
"I'm staying put." Jax states.
"You'd rather stay with them?" Stein asks looking at the ex assassin, teenager, and criminals.
"They didn't drug me." Jax states.
"Point taken." Stein says and leaves.
"Ha! I can stand." Peter says as he's finally able to stand as the side effects wear off.
"Good for you." Snart says sarcastically.
-
Later on, Mick turns on the television and all it plays is this century's shows.
"Why does this stupid station play nothing but reruns?" Mick asks.
"Don't even bother trying to explain." Jax warns everyone.
"Am I the only one on this ship that could use a drink?" Sara asks.
"Not old enough to drink." Peter tells her.
"Well, I say we go get weird in the '70s." Sara tells the adults.
"Excellent idea." Snart says.
"I got the perfect outfit." Sara says and they all start leaving except for Jax and Peter.
"So what are we gonna do?" Jax asks Peter as he's hanging from the ceiling. "You know what, what is a teenager even doing her at all? Aren't your parents gonna be worried about you?"
"The dead can't worry. They're at eternal peace." Peter informs him and drops from the ceiling and sits down in the chairs. "I've been on my own for some time. Didn't really give a care for the foster system."
"Why's that?" Jax asks, intrigued by his story now.
Peter removes part of his suit and shows a scar across his shoulder to him.
"I didn't get that from fighting criminals, I got it from my first foster parents. Said if I wanted to keep secrets, that's a secret I better keep." Peter tells him while placing his suit back on. "I then realized I'm better off alone. Nobody to question what I'm doing, nobody to stop me...Nobody to have worry about me." He remembers his last foster family that actually cared about him, but he couldn't stay with them knowing that he could get himself killed. He left for their sake.
"But then who looks after you? Where do you live?" Jax asks him.
"Nobody. I take care of myself. As for living arrangements...Nowhere and everywhere, I suppose." Peter explains to him.
"So you took this gig to upgrade living arrangements?" Jax questions.
"I am a sixteen year old who was offered the chance to travel through time and save the world. I'm gonna take it." Peter states.
"Well, that might be why you're here. But me being here, it's a big mistake." Jax informs him when Peter's senses go off.
"Watch out!" Peter says when someone shoots at the ship.
"What was that?!" Jax asks.
"A thermite grenade." Gideon informs them. "It seems someone is trying to breach the hull."
"By who?" Peter asks.
"His name is Chronos. He's a temporal bounty hunter." Gideon informs them as another blast hits them. "The ship is taking heavy fire."
"Kinda obvious, don't you think?!" Jax asks. "Aren't we supposed to be invisible or something?"
"We need to get out of here, or fight him." Peter says and the two make their way to the hanger.
"Why is Chronos attacking us?" Jax asks.
"Perhaps Captain Hunter is best suited to answer that query." Gideon tells him.
"Can't you shoot him with something?" Peter asks her.
"Only Captain Hunter is authorized." Gideon explains.
"And where is Captain Hunter?" Jax asks as they get to the hanger doors only to start getting shot at by Chronos.
They quickly move out of the way as the Hawk's come flying in and start fighting Chronos.
"Backup, finally." Peter says when Rip starts shooting Chronos with a laser gun.
Ray and Stein then start making their way to the Waverider and the two inside see they need to get out there and help.
Jax and Stein merge when a car comes driving up and smacks Chronos.
"We go out for one lousy drink, and you guys somehow manage to pick a fight with Boba Fett?" Snart asks them as they exit the car.
Peter, ray and Firestorm all run in and start blasting him to keep him away from the Waverider.
One blast goes off and hits Aldus as the team gets on board and Peter was able to get a web attacked to Chronos' mask so he can't keep firing at them.
"Dr. Boardman has sustained severe internal injuries." Gideon tells them.
"Prepare the med bay for Professor Boardman and get us out of here, anywhere but here." Rip tells her and they blast off back into the Temporal Zone.
-
"Our cloaking should and aft entrance have been significantly compromised, Captain." Gideon says as they're now safe in the Temporal Zone.
"Yes, I can see that, Gideon. Station us in the Temporal Zone while I work on repairs." Rip says.
"Temporal Zone?" Ray asks.
"It's essentially a time limbo. We can hide out there for a bit. Another temporal jump would risk revealing our position." Rip explains to them.
"A time limbo? Astonishing." Stein states.
"Oh, there's something you people don't know about time travel? That's surprising, isn't it? Considering none of you have ever time traveled before." Rip tells them. "Bringing a family member form the past onto a Timeship? Breaking out and carousing around in the 1970s? We've barely begun, and already this is the worst, unmitigated disaster of my career." He says when he turns around and gets punched by Kendra.
"Ouch." Peter comments on that punch.
"I see why you got the hots for that one." Mick tells Carter.
"My son is hurt because of you. Who attacked us?" Kendra asks Rip while holding him against the wall.
"Something of a long story." Rip warns.
"Better tell it fast, Rip, 'cause it doesn't look like the lady's in the patient mood." Snart also warns him.
"Neither am I." Carter states.
"His name is Chronos. He works for the Council of Time Masters...my former employers." Rip says and Kendra lets him go.
"I thought you said you were a Time Master." Sara reminds him.
"As I've expressed, time's not a linear thing. At some point I was a Time Master." Rip says and Sara punches him in the face. "Will you people please stop hitting me?!"
"Start telling the truth." Sara commands him.
"I relinquished my position as a Time Master when I commandeered the Waverider. Chronos was clearly sent to bring me in." Rip tells them.
"So you lied to us?" Peter asks.
"Of course I lied to you. I needed your help, you barely said yes as it was." Rip tells him.
"What about the whole legends thing?" Jax asks and they see Rip's face fall.
"Ooh, you lied about that too, didn't you?" Snart guesses.
"I chose you all because, a hundred years from now, your lives have minimal effect on the recorded timeline." Rip tells them and that means to the records of history, their lives mean nothing. "I needed your help without disturbing the history of 2166."
"So were the opposite of legends?" Jax clarifies.
"Give me one good reason why we shouldn't kill you?" Mick asks Rip.
"Ditto the arsonist." Stein agrees.
"Because Gideon wouldn't listen to your commands and you'd be stuck here forever." Rip tells them.
"Great, so were not an elite team of heroes on a sanctioned mission, sent to rid the future of its most horrific bad guy. Just a collection of nobodies who time really doesn't give a damn about." Ray recaps what the truth really is.
"I didn't lie about the mission itself. Or anything about Savage, or my need for your help." Rip tells them all.
"I don't imagine you're the kind of guy who quits his job and takes this kind of threat for altruistic reasons, so why don't you tell us what Vandal Savage did to you?" Ray asks him.
Peter watches his facial expressions change and knows that frown too well.
"He took someone you loved, didn't he?" Peter asks him.
"The Time Masters discourage marriage. They urge against procreation even more. A Time Master should be free of any personal entanglements that might compromise him. But...yes, I fell in love, and we had a child. Jonas. He slaughtered my family. And thousands of other families. And that body that I swore an oath to serve turned a blind eye. They continue to turn a blind eye. I won't. The last thing my child saw in this world was that monster's face. And you can be damn well sure that when Savage dies, the last face he will see will be mine. I understand the circumstances if you wish to return home. We can make the jump once the repairs are done, if and when Professor Boardman stabilizes." Rip tells them and they all split apart to think of their options.
-
Kendra and Carter go to Boardman and his injuries were too much as he dies.
The others were thinking about what to do as Peter was laying down with one knee raised and his hand resting on it.
"You seem to be taking this a bit harder than us." Snart notices as he finds the kid sulking.
"What would you be doing if you were a kid and was just told that your life means nothing?" Peter asks him. "When I got these powers, I abused them. Used them for my own good...and now because of that, I'm alone. My family is gone. I've got nobody waiting for me to come home in 2016. Just an abandoned building, an old mattress and a rag I call a blanket. Mr. Hunter offered me a chance to do some good. Maybe live up to what I was trying to be. I didn't want to be a legend, but I wanted to at least matter."
"Maybe you were meant to be here." Snart says as he leans against the wall. "Change history. You can show that you can be somebody. Power to change the world, change your fate. For better or for worse."
"You sure you were just a criminal?" Peter asks, surprised by the good advice.
-
Boardman has died in the medical wing as it seems everyone is back on board with the mission.
"Whether it wasn't to happen or not, we're gonna change time, erase Savage's future, and earn our rightful place in history." Ray tells Rip.
"Dr. Palmer is correct. We may not be lenegds in your time, Captain, but we are going to decide our own fates." Stein agrees.
"I don't give a damn about being a legend, as long as we end Savage once and for all." Carter says.
"I can get down with that." Jax agrees.
"I'm on board." Peter says.
"And our malcontents?" Stein asks the criminals.
"I like killing people." Mick says.
"We're in. For now." Snart agrees and Rip goes to the pilot seat.
"So how do we find this guy?" Sara asks.
"Professor Boardman has a theory about that. I already had Gideon plot a course." Rip says as everyone takes their place and take off.