"So, let me get this straight," Jack said as he sat at his desk, they'd moved back to the Sheriff's station after dinner to talk in private, "If you don't touch this shard, you stay in this universe."

Rip nodded.

"However," Henry noted, "From the readings I took back in NASA, the shard remaining here for too long would not be good. The energy from the shard doesn't match the energy for this universe, and we've seen before that this is not something that will end well."

"How long is too long?" Jack demanded concerned.

"Well, I was in one place for about a week with no ill-effects that I noticed," Rip noted.

"That's good to know," Jack mused, "So, we need to infiltrate Section 5 so Rip can touch the shard to send him on his way. Is that right?"

Rip and Henry nodded in unison.

Jack shook his head, "Is there a plan for how we do this?"

"That is easy, Sheriff," Gideon spoke up from inside the cell she'd been wandering around studying, "I can access the systems within Global Dynamics. I can therefore get access to the restricted section easily."

Rip smiled at her, before turning back to Jack.

"I'm meant to be the law in Eureka," he reminded them, "I'm not supposed to break into places. Or allow it to happen."

"Technically the shard belongs to Rip," Henry noted, "So it isn't so much a break in, more a retrieval."

"That is quite a technicality," Jack laughed, before he sighed, "The problem is that's not a technicality the law will agree with if we're caught."

"We don't expect you to take the risk, Jack," Henry told him.

"And I don't want you to either, Henry," Rip interrupted, "With Gideon and if you let me borrow your car then I can access Global Dynamics myself. I already have a few possible ways in from our original visit."

Jack glanced at Henry, "Is he kidding?"

"Captain Hunter is a master of getting in and out of places he shouldn't be," Gideon spoke up.

Jack groaned, "Fine. I have no knowledge of this."

"No knowledge of what?"

The voice coming from the door made them all spin to where Jo stood looking at them suspiciously.

x

Rip watched the woman in the same uniform Jack wore, marking her as another part of the law enforcement in Eureka.

"Not important, Jo," Jack told her.

"Why are you here anyway? I thought you finished a few hours ago?" she demanded as she headed to the second desk, spotting Gideon in the cell she asked, "Have you done the paperwork or were you waiting for me?"

"I am not under arrest, Deputy Lupo," Gideon stated as she walked through the bars and out the cell making the other woman jump.

"Gideon," Rip chided softly, "The door was open."

Jo rolled her eyes, "Should I ask?"

"Jo Lupo," Jack grinned, "This is Dr Rip Hunter and his AI companion, Gideon."

"Okay," Jo nodded understanding, she'd clearly been a part of this town for some time, "Nice to meet you, Dr Hunter, Gideon."

Gideon smiled, "It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Deputy. Your record is very impressive."

"Gideon," Rip sighed, "Please stop looking into things you're not supposed to. We're guests here."

Rolling her eyes, Gideon replied, "If I don't look then I would not get to know about the interesting people who live here."

Before Rip could retort the phone began to ring.

"I'll get it," Jo said, "Considering I'm the one who's working."

Gideon moved to Rip's side and murmured softly, "People tracing you is no longer the problem, Captain."

"It's Alison," Jo turned to them, "Looking for Henry."

Surprise covered Henry's face, "Me?" Taking the phone, he listened for a second before nodding, "We're on our way, Alison." Hanging up the phone, he sighed, "They tried to test the shard's power. It's not going well."

Jack bounced up and grabbed his keys, "I'll drive."

"Let me know if you need any help," Jo called as they left, adding before they were out of door, "Or if I need to evacuate the town."

"I thought you said you were just testing," Alison yelled over the blaring alarms as she ran into the lab.

"I was," Nathan replied, "It activated itself somehow." He grimaced as he continued to try to shut down the energy source they'd found, "The energy is looping and feeding itself. I can't stop it."

Alison grimaced, "I've called Henry."

"I don't know if he'll be able to help," Nathan told her, staring as a small point of light began to form at the other side of the lab.

"What is that, Nathan?" Alison demanded fearfully.

"That," came the clipped voice of Dr Hunter, "Is a time portal beginning to form."

Alison and Nathan turned to see him enter with Henry and Jack along with Hunter's AI Gideon.

"It's a what?" Nathan demanded incredulously.

"A time portal," Rip stated again, before adding, "Unfortunately as it's not been controlled there is no way to tell where in time it will open to."

Nathan frowned, "You're talking about time travel."

Rip nodded, "Precisely."

"That's impossible," Nathan scoffed, "Time travel is science fiction. And what would an Artificial Intelligence specialist know about the physics of time travel?"

"A great deal more than you do," Rip replied absently.

Nathan glared at the other man, "I doubt that. My specialist fields are astrophysics and quantum mechanics which I am one of the world's leading authorities on."

Rip turned to him and noted, "Yet this is still out of the realms of your knowledge."

"The energy levels are growing," Henry called from the controls stopping Nathan from retorting, "Would it stop if you touched it?"

"Gideon?" Rip asked.

Alison frowned confused as the AI shook her head, "Unfortunately that would not work, Captain. The portal has already begun to form, removing the shard would not stop this. We need to drain the energy."

Rip sighed as he looked around thoughtfully.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Jack demanded suddenly, "Since that's what usually happens."

Shrugging Rip replied, "The portal opens to before or after the earth exists and the entire world gets sucked into the vacuum of space."

"You just know the way our luck runs there's no point asking what the best scenario is," Jack noted to Henry who nodded.

"Gideon," Rip called as he checked the readings, "The electrical systems Dr Fargo upgraded. Would they be able to accept the charge?"

She tilted her head for a moment before replying, "It would but they would need to be modified properly in order to dissipate the energy safely."

Rip nodded, "Henry?"

"We're on our way," Henry nodded,

Jack pulled out his keys, "I'm driving."

"Nathan, come with us," Henry ordered as he started out grabbing Jack's arm, "Gideon, send me the details of how to do this to my PDA."

"Yes, Dr Deacon," Gideon replied as the two men ran out.

x

Rip swore under his breath as the small portal continued to grow.

"What can I do to help?" Alison asked.

"Keep an eye on the power output," Rip told her, motioning her to the back console.

She nodded and turned her attention to the readouts.

"Gideon," Rip turned frowning at the annoyed expression on her face, "What's wrong?"

"The energy being released is beginning interfere with our connection, Captain," Gideon told him, "I am losing the signal to you."

Rip sighed, knowing to keep their connection she was diverting energy from other systems on the Waverider to their link, "Go. I'll be fine."

Her hand came up to touch the air by his cheek, "Take care, Rip. I will be back as soon as I can."

As she disappeared, Rip took a deep breath and turned his attention back to the situation at hand.

"Rip," Henry's voice came suddenly, "We're here."

"It's a good thing Jack is the law considering how fast he must have been going," Rip noted, before asking, "Do you have the information you need?"

"We're already working on it," Henry told him, "We should be ready to start the transfer in three minutes."

"Dr Hunter," Alison called, "The energy is increasing exponentially."

"Bollocks," Rip snapped, before calling, "Henry, we're running out of time. The portal is going to be viable in the next fifty seconds if we don't start the energy transfer."

"We're almost there," Henry replied.

Frowning Rip caught Alison's arm, "You need to leave this room now."

"What?"

"It's too dangerous," Rip told her, "I need to be here to activate the transfer but there's no reason for you to be in here as well."

Concern flitted across her face before she nodded, "I'll be listening in."

"Lock the door," Rip said, "It'll give a little bit more protection for evacuating the building if this doesn't work."

She nodded again before leaving him alone. Rip knew he could touch the shard and leave here but Henry was his friend and Jack was becoming one as well. He wasn't going to leave them to deal with this.

"Henry?" he called, "Tell me you're ready."

"Rip," Jack replied instead, "We're ready. Start the transfer."

Hitting the button, Rip watched the energy levels and hoped this worked. He trusted that Henry knew what he was doing, considering the interface he'd created.

"Is it working?" Henry called.

Rip continued to watch the levels and finally, to his relief, it began to go down, "It's working."

Turning he watched the portal slowly get smaller before it disappeared into nothing. Checking the information Rip sighed in relief to see that it had closed completely. Opening the lab door, he found Alison standing there.

"It's gone," he told her.

Alison nodded, "That's wonderful news. Now you can explain how you knew exactly what to do."

Henry was relieved to find Rip sitting in Alison's office with no security surrounding him.

"We disconnected all the equipment and locked the lab down," Henry reported to Alison as they filed in, "Is everything okay here?"

Alison nodded with a blithe smile, "Dr Hunter and I were just discussing that."

He winced slightly but seeing Rip was looking relaxed knew that it wasn't too bad.

"What about the energy source?" Nathan demanded.

Alison glanced at Rip before she replied, "I have locked the lab down for the moment and Dr Hunter has confirmed that it is safe now but best to keep it secure."

Nathan frowned but nodded in agreement, "I have some other projects that need to be checked on."

With that said he left, and Henry sighed in relief.

"So," Alison spoke up once Nathan was gone, "Time travel and alternate dimensions. You have some interesting friends, Henry."

Not sure what to say, Henry shrugged.

"Rip," she smiled at him, "I will give you access to the lab at noon tomorrow. That should give you time to make your goodbyes."

Rip shook her hand, "Thank you, Dr Blake." He glanced at the picture on her desk and added, "After today I suggest you go home yourself and be with your son," sadness covered his face for a moment as he breathed, "It's the best thing in the world to spend time with your child and should never miss any chance you have."

Henry caught Jack's eye, but the moment passed quickly, and Rip turned to him once more.

"I don't know about anyone else," he said, "But after that I need a drink."

Henry said, "Sounds like an idea. Café Diem doubles as a good evening spot."

Nodding Rip told them, "Well let's go before Gideon returns and yells at me."