Hello!
Please enjoy the first of the one-shots.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters. I just love them dearly
NOTE: this takes place kind of 2nd season...doesn't follow the storyline EXACT, kind of AU-ish...so...don't hurt me
"Which way did he go?"
Rip held up his hand stopping Sara as they looked down the corridor. There were two metal doors in the hallway of the 1995 abandoned asylum, and Darhk could have gone into either.
Rip held his sidearm at the ready as he and White Canary made their way down the hall, while the chatter of reports from the rest of the team chimed in their earpieces.
They were looking for a gas formula, that was used on patients, that Darhk was interested in. Sara signaled to Rip to stop at the first door as she readied herself at the second one.
With a simple nod, the two entered their respective doors, ready for a fight, and ready to call the other one over.
But both rooms were empty…
There was a glass down the center of the room. At least on Sara's side. She could see Rip looking around the room. For him, it was a mirror.
They stepped in, glancing around the areas that they had access to.
"Where could he have gone?" Sara asked, her voice sounding distant through the glass but clear in Rip's ear. He looked at the mirror, realizing that she could most likely see him, although he couldn't see her.
Sara looked for an exit. Door. Window. Even a vent.
"I'm not sure," the Time Master admitted. "The hallway was a dead-end. He would have had to come into one of these rooms."
Sarah looked around to see if he could be hiding behind the equipment that was on her side of the room. Not that Damien Darhk is one to hide from anything.
It did seem strange.
"Well wherever he is, he isn't here," Rip said, glancing around his empty area. He turned and found himself feeling a little light-headed. He raised a hand up on the dividing glass to steady himself.
Sarah whipped around at the sound Rip's weight behind his hand made as it slapped the glass. He had his free hand pressing over his eyes and the bridge of his nose, trying to gather himself.
"You alright?"
"Yeah… I just felt a little…" Rip snapped his head up to look at the vent that was on the ceiling. He was beginning to feel sleepy, which was very unusual. So it had to be…
"Gas," he said.
Sara followed his gaze to the vent and connected the thought with what he said.
Rip rushed to the door but found it locked.
He stepped back and aimed to shoot it.
"Wait!" Sara's voice stopped him. "Are you going to light the room up with a shot? Do we know what gas it is?"
Rip hesitated and huffed as he put the gun down. He leaned his hands on his knees, hunching over.
"I can't… think…" he struggled to stay standing.
"Your door must have locked from the inside,"
Sara reasoned, which was followed by a feeling of dread as she turned towards her own door. However, she found her door was still unlocked and raced over to his door in the hallway.
But it wouldn't open…and almost looked welded shut.
"How…" she started to panic and threw herself at the metal door, but it wouldn't budge.
"Sara? Rip? What's going on?" Amaya asked over the com.
"I need a genius over here! Third floor, west corridor" Sara yelled as she made her way back to her side of the room. The control panels and testing equipment must have some way to stop what was happening.
"On my way" she heard both Stein and Ray state.
Rip was leaning more against the glass now, barely standing.
"Rip?" Sara stood on the other side of the glass, matching a hand with his and she crouched to get a look at him.
Captain Hunter lifted his green eyes up to the mirror, not knowing that she was looking right into them. She studied him closely, seeing that he had started a technique to slow his breathing down, taking in less gas.
However, he was still growing weaker.
"Hang on. We are going to get you out of there."
Sara grabbed one of her batons. If she can break the glass, she can get him out of the room in time, maybe even before one of the scientists on the team showed up.
She swung at the glass but barely made a chip.
But the glass can be broken…
She swung again and again, as Rip sank to his knees, but fought to stay awake.
"What's the sitch?" Ray asked as he entered, surveying the scene.
Stein and Jax were not far behind, also taking in the picture of their fading companion.
"Tell me one of those computers can turn the gas off in there!" She commanded.
Ray and Stein split up to look over the computers. They started flicking at the buttons, but nothing seemed to work.
Jax picked up a chair and swung it into the glass, trying Sara's technique, but only ended up breaking the chair.
Nate and Amaya rushed into the room.
"No sign of Darhk," Nate reported.
"Forget him," Sara barked. She knelt down and hit the glass again. "Rip! Rip! Stay awake!"
Rip's arms were shaking as he struggled to keep himself conscious. He could hear the chaos in his ear as the team tried to do whatever they could, but his head was swirling and nothing was making sense.
"What is going on?" Mick's voice came over the com. He was the one left on the Waverider for this mission.
"Rip is trapped in a room with an unknown gas," Nate conveyed.
"Nothing is even labeled!" Stein sounded frantic as he pulled a lever and pressed another button.
Rip's body dropped to the ground, finally succumbing to the atmosphere.
"Rip!" Jax yelled, looking for anything else to try to hit the glass with.
Sarah felt her blood run cold as she looked at her co-captains crumpled form.
Amaya pressed her totem and summoned the strength of a rhino, as Nate went into steel mode, and the two started to smash at the thick glass. Their strength did much more damage than the other two could.
Finally, it shattered enough for Nate to just kick in the rest so they could get to the unconscious time traveler.
"Jax, Ray, help me with him. Everyone out and try not to breathe too much. Gideon, ready the Medbay." Sara listed off, as she quickly checked Rip's pulse before the other two lifted him up. It was slow, but it was there.
Sara felt that SHE could finally breathe.
-L-
"Gideon? What's his status?" Ray asked as he and Stein danced around each other, grabbing the proper equipment to connect Rip to the ship.
"Captain Hunter's heart rate is normal," the artificial consciousness responded. "I do not sense any toxins in his system."
"Must have been once we removed him from the environment," Stein observed as he placed an oxygen mask over Rip's face.
Sara stood against the opposing wall, watching the scene.
Or more accurately, watching Rip.
It was strange to see the man, who had a constant war buzzing in his brain, look so peaceful.
"Gideon," the new captain started, "do we know what that gas was?"
"Unfortunately not, Captain Lance. But Captain Hunter's body seems to be unharmed. His brain activity shows that he is dreaming."
"Dreaming?" Sara looked closer at Rip's face.
"The room he was in was definitely a testing room," Stein recalled. "I know at some asylums they would run certain tests using gases that would vary in reactions in the patients."
"Is this what Darhk was after?" Ray asked.
"Gideon, what was the main gas test that was being done in the CI asylum in 1995?" Stein inquired.
"In an article from the Daily Planet show that The Central Institute Asylum was conducting an unapproved test called 'The Flax Project.'"
"Flax project?" Sara looked to the two scientists to see if they had a clue. Stein looked baffled but something clearly clicked in the Atom's head. "What is it, Ray?"
"Flax… in the original sleeping beauty tale the princess falls into her sleep by a splinter of flax. Not a spinning wheel."
"So it's a sleeping gas," Sara concluded. "Darhk wants access to a sleeping gas."
"Probably to help get into areas."
"How long until it wears off?" Sara asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine…" Ray replied with a sad shrug of his shoulders.
"There's nothing in his body's system," Stein sounded out. "All that's left is it's effects on his mind."
All three looked back at the man sleeping quietly in the chair.
"We could move him to his quarters so he's a bit more comfortable," Ray suggested.
"Gideon? If you think that is safe to do, tell Mick to come to the Medbay so he can help us move him."
"I will locate Mr. Rory," was Gideon's response.
That made Sara feel a little better.
She brought her attention back to Rip and pursed her lips.
"What is it?" Ray asked, noticing her expression.
"I chose the doors," Sara answered, her eyes still looking in hopes that Rip's eyes would open. "I stopped him at the first door and went to the second…I could have stopped at the first door and waved him on to the second…"
"Then it would have been you in that chair," Ray responded.
"Could have," She challenged. "Rip may have been quicker than me to find a way out."
"You don't know that for sure," Stein countered.
"Either way…" Sara's sentence faded, but the men knew she was giving herself the blame.
"Let's move the Englishman so I can get back to the game," came a gruff voice in the doorway.
Sara nodded.
-L-
Day two since Rip went under and there had been no changes.
The Waverider sat in the temporal zone, and everyone was occupying themselves throughout the "downtime."
"We are going to have to make a move soon," Amaya told Sara, who sat vigil by the Time Master's bedside. "Rip wouldn't have wanted us to stop."
"I know," the captain responded.
"Sara," Amaya tread carefully. "This wasn't your fault. It's the gamble we take every time we step off this ship. But, even though we have time on our side, we can't just stop. Thankfully he is not hurt or ill, just sleeping. A lot. Which is probably just his body catching up to him, since I'm fairly certain I have never known him to sleep since I've met him."
Sara smiled slightly and nodded. "I just wanted to give him some time. But nothing has changed. We'll just have to go on without him. Gideon, let everyone know there will be a team meeting in the parlour in 10 minutes."
"Yes, Captain Lance."
Sara looked to her teammate and friend, "thank you."
Amaya squeezed her shoulder in response as she took her leave.
Sara moved from the chair that has been positioned next to Rip's bed, to his side of the bed.
To see him simply lay in the grey t-shirt that he wore under all the layers made him appear almost small. Usually, he was such a presence with his signature coat.
She unconsciously brushed his hair away from his forehead.
"Rip," she said out loud, "I'm sorry. And I'm sorry for taking the ship ahead without you. But you better wake up soon, because I need you."
She stood, but leaned over him, giving him a soft kiss on his lips and pressing her forehead to his. "Come back to me."
With that, she left the room.
Just in time to miss his eyes fluttering open. He took a deep breath and his eyes searched around him.
He was in his quarters.
He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. He didn't feel dizzy, but something felt off. He started to think of what he could remember before he woke up to find himself here.
"Gideon?" He qued, finding his voice.
"Yes, Captain Hunter."
"How long have I been out?"
"Almost 64 hours."
Rip took this moment to consider that maybe he felt "off" because he was actually well-rested.
He bit a little at his lower lip, his usual habit when he was trying to think, and found himself tasting…cherry? He felt his lip to feel a little film of chapstick, that he recognized as Sara's. He's been close enough to her before to smell it.
"Where is everyone?" He asked.
"Everyone has made their way to the parlour." Gideon responded.
"…Darhk has traveled through the timeline so much, we are not sure which part of his timeline we will be encountering him in," Nate was saying.
Before Sara could respond, the door to the bridge opened just outside the parlour.
She felt a thump in her heart when she saw Rip walk through the entryway, searching for the rest of the crew. He had thrown back on his button-up but left it open, and his hair seemed still slightly ruffled from his time in bed.
"Rip," Jax said, standing up off the table he was leaning on.
"You're… alright?" Stein looked over the recovered man, searching for anything that might seem out of place.
"I am feeling well, Professor," Rip responded. "I understand I was out for quite some time."
"Nearly 3 days," Ray responded with a smile.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Jax asked.
"We were in search of Damien Darhk in the asylum," Rip searched through his memory. "Miss Lance and I got to a pair of doors. Unfortunately that is where everything seems to blur for me."
"You got trapped in a room and were taken out by a type of knockout gas," Nate filled in.
"More accurately, a type of sleeping gas," Stein corrected. "Used to put patients to sleep and monitor the brain activity of their dreams."
"Do you remember any of yours?" Ray asked.
Rip habitually bit at his lower lip, still tasting a hint of cherry. He looked down and simply shook his head.
Sara cleared her throat, "alright guys. Now that we are back to 2 Captain power here, let's reconvene in 3 hrs to jump to 2017 Star City." Everyone voiced their agreement as they exited the parlour, leaving the two captains behind.
Sara studied him. "Are you really feeling alright?"
He gave a little nod, "I actually feel pretty rested, which is an unusual sensation."
Sara broke into a smile, "well maybe you should do that more often so it isn't so unusual."
Rip gave a breathy quick chuckle at that, his lips sitting in a slight smirk. He looked at her closely and gathered the courage to ask what was on his mind. "Although…" he started, "I did find myself waking with the slight taste of cherry lip balm…" he locked eyes with her, letting his eyes convey the actual question.
"You were out for so long," Sara started, forming her answer. "One of the times I went to check on you I noticed your lips were chapped. And you weren't awake to tell me 'no'." She gave a mischievous smile, but Rip would like to think he knew were well enough to recognize her nervousness when coming up with something on the spot.
"That would explain it," he said, verbally accepting her answer.
"I should go prep myself," Sara said, making her way to the door. "And give you some time to put yourself together before we jump."
Rip nodded and watched her as she left, seeing her glance over her shoulder at him with a slight smile as she walked down the hall.
Rip went over to the main desk and sat down, looking towards a screen.
"Gideon?" He started. "Bring up security footage from my chamber."
"From what specific time, Captain?"
"…you know what I'm looking for."
The screen flashed white before pulling the footage from earlier.
"-let everyone know there will be a team meeting in the parlour in 10 minutes."
"Yes, Captain Lance."
Rip watched Sara and Amaya watching over him in his quarters.
Amaya put her hand on Sara's shoulder before exiting. Sara stood but didn't leave. Instead, she sat down next to him and brush his hair with her fingers.
"Rip, I'm sorry. And I'm sorry for taking the ship ahead without you. But you better wake up soon, because I need you."
She stood, leaning over him, giving him a kiss and pressing her forehead to his. "Come back to me."
He watched her walk out as he saw himself stir. He placed a hand to his lips and gave a little smirk and he breathed out another slight chuckle.
Hope you like it! Follow, review and all that good stuff.
I already have a list of scenarios and have been writing chapter two. (one-shots are so much easier than a long story...)
Let me know what you thought (or even if there is a scenario that you want to read?)
