Rip was catching Sara, Kendra, Snart and I up on what he learned about what Savage was doing in the Kasnia Conglomerate in 2147. "He's a teacher," Sara said, summing up Rip's main point.
"Tutor, it would seem, to young Per Degaton himself," Rip specified, like the particular wording matters, but it doesn't really explain why Savage's role here is important.
Snart spoke up from his usual seat in the study, "You say that like it's supposed to mean something."
Rip sighs, "After the death of his father in five year's time, Per Degaton unleashes the Armageddon Virus, which decimates the world's population, leaving it ripe for conquest. Per Degaton primes the world for dictatorship, and then when the time is right... Savage snatches that power away from him."
"By killing Per Degaton." Sara filled in the obvious end to Rip's statement.
"Indeed."
Kendra joined the conversation, "Okay, so we don't have what we need to take out Savage, but maybe now we can figure out a way to stop his rise to power."
"So what are we going to do about it?" I asked but I already knew that he had an answer and what that course likely meant for Per Degaton's life expectancy.
Rip explained, "By depriving him of his springboard, Per Degaton."
"Okay, how do we do that?" That should be obvious by now, but I guess not everyone thinks so gruesomely.
Snart quickly expounded making our course crystal clear, "It's quite simple, really. We kill the little bastard ourselves." How hard could it be to kill one kid?
Stein walked towards where we were gathered around the center console, "To be clear, we're talking about murdering a child…"
Jax picked up where he trailed off, "Who hasn't done anything to anyone…"
"Yet, so why don't we pick him off now, while the picking's easy? Snart interrupted impatiently.
Kendra looked over, "There's got to be a better way," she said.
Ray chimed in, "How do we even know that this Per Degaton kid's path to becoming a world-ruling dictator is inevitable?" Trying to aid Kendra.
Rip walked out of the study to join us saying, "Because in the future that I'm from, children learn about Per Degaton in the same way that children in your time learn about Adolf Hitler."
"What about addressing the larger societal problems that would allow such a despot's rise to power?" Stein desperately tried to find another solution.
"Trying to address societal problems would take years or a down right miracle," I started.
Snart interrupted me, not looking at anyone he said, "We already know what pushes this punk to the dark side: Savage."
"The good of the many is more important than the few, or in this case one," I finished explaining my reasoning. This is our best option. Though the omega in me cringed at the thought of killing a kid.
Jax lashed out, "Look, it's not the kid's fault he's got an immortal psychopath as his tutor," he said looking at Snart and I.
"If we don't kill the kid now, Savage will as soon as he's done using him to take over the world," Snart snapped back.
"Ending him now would be a mercy and would save millions of lives," I spoke the truth calmly, anger isn't going to help us. I flinched as Ray and Kendra looked at me with disappointment in their eyes.
Rip built off both of our words, "If he doesn't build him into the greatest tyrant the world has ever known, Savage can't become the last tyrant the world will ever know."
"Murdering a child in cold blood just like Savage murdered your own son." Stein spoke his words conveyed how troubled he felt, "What's the use in saving the world if we stoop to his methods to do so?"
"I'm with Professor Stein." Ray spoke, I expected Ray to have issues, he is one of the least broken of us all, I thought sadly.
"Okay, fine. If y'all don't have the guts to kill this kid…" Snart started trailing off trying to prompt a solution from one of the naysayers.
I sighed, "Then what's the next best thing?" This is not going to go our way but when does anything.
"Then removing him from the timeline might be the next best thing." Rip caved to their sentiment, I wonder how long that will last in the face of what he stands to lose.
Ray spoke happy to be moving away from the talk of murder, "Great, we've gone from infanticide to child abduction. Progress."
"First we need to devise how to abduct him from underneath the noses of his father's private guard." Rip said, starting to form a plan.
"And don't forget the army of Atom robots." Ray spoke adding a complication to the mix, very helpful.
Rip finished with what could barely count as a plan by looking over at Snart, "We're going to need an accomplished thief."
"Well, while you're kidnapping baby Hitler, Professor Stein and I will sabotage the robot army." Ray said adding his contribution to making this mission a success.
Jax quickly spoke up, "I call Team Robot Army."
"Isn't that a waste of time?" Sara, who had been noticeably quiet so far, asked.
"Not for the Kasnian citizens who are tormented by my technology," Ray said showcasing his moral calling, Bruce would have loved his moral conviction, at least he would have before.
"That technology does lead to Savage's rise to power. Good backup plan." Rip approved Ray's plan seeing it's potential benefits.
"Fine, Team Kidnapping." Sara volunteered, raising her hand.
"Go team." Rip said, raising his fist.
"Right, I guess I'm on babysitting duty, then." I said before walking out. I wonder how disappointed Bruce and my family would be to see me advocating the death of a child?
I grabbed a couple of bottles of scotch before I moved into the room with the cell housing Mick. Waving one of the bottles towards Mick, "Drink with me?" I said. He grunted so I slid the bottle through the glass and set it on the ground. I sat with my back against the glass, we both opened our bottles and started drinking in silence.
After a few minutes in silence, Mick asked, "So what's bugging you?"
"I'm conflicted," I sighed, "for years I lived by this code, and then it all changed. We broke the code and that broke us, it set free a darkness that I can't control." I took a long drag from my bottle.
Mick spoke, "What's the point in controlling it? Setting it loose is so much more fun."
I leaned my head back, "Some days I'm not sure I want to. I used to work so hard to be good because that's what people expected. No matter how off it felt, I would choose the option that people expected me to, the one they called right."
"People's expectations just hold you back. They make you weak," Mick growled at me.
I chuckled lightly, "We had a plan to kill this kid and the tactician in me told me that it was the right, the best option. Whereas my instincts protested the very thought." I turned to look at Mick, "Does that make me a monster?"
I walked onto the bridge just as something impacted the waverider. "Gideon?" Stein asked.
Tor Degaton's forces have surrounded the ship.
A view of armored men firing at the ship came up on the console.
I'm afraid our shields will not be able to sustain continued bombardment.
"You're afraid?" Sara exclaimed after a particularly hard blast made us all shake.
"Here's an idea: why don't you fire back?" Snart commanded.
I would, except...
"The flying robots already targeted our weapons systems." Jax finished for Gideon having seen something on the console.
Ray started moving around the console, "We don't need weapons."
"He's right. We have super powers." Stein added, we all moved quickly to get ready for a fight.
After a quick change, we raced out of the ship heading straight for the soldiers, I fired several blasts at men before engaging with the ones that managed to get close. "I think this is yours." Snart said as he picked up one of their bombs and tossed it back at them.
Ray and Kendra split off to try and stop the robots from their base. I joined Firestorm in flying around trying to pick them off while occasionally sending blasts at the men on the ground trying to make sure Sara and Snart didn't get overrun. I stopped moving in the air as the robots suddenly dropped, "Looks like Raymond was able to sabotage his robot army," Snart said as we landed.
Firestorm moved towards him, "Which means mopping up the rest of these guys shouldn't be a problem.
I swore at him, "Why would you jinx it like that?"
"Oh, it will be a problem." Savage said as he stepped forward holding a knife to Sara's throat. I cursed, How did I let that slip by me?
Snart charged his weapon, pointing it at Savage menacingly, "What do you want?"
Savage quickly demanded, "I want to exchange this woman's life for your captain, Rip Hunter."
"I have a better idea: her life in exchange for his. Your son will be returned to you as soon as you guarantee our safe passage." We all turned as Rip suddenly spoke up from somewhere behind us.
The little alpha spoke up, "Don't do it, Father. If you let them go now, they will only come back for us in the future." Seriously how fucked up is this kid obviously lacking a survival instinct.
"It's your choice." Rip cocked his gun.
"Your son is right. We should kill them all." Savage supported the brat.
The brat's father quickly pulled Savage's knife from Sara's throat, and turning towards his men ordered, "Put down your weapons!"
"No, Father." The brat protested Savage really fucked this kid up.
"Let my son go, and I will let you leave in peace. You have my word." The brat shook his head in dismay at his father's words.
Rip released the brat, "Better find yourself a new mentor, kid," Snart said as he passed him.
"They're called the Hunters, mercenaries, and unlike me, there isn't a human part left in them." Mick said grimly as we all
"So they want to lock us all up in the Vanishing Point?" Ray said, how optimistic as usual.
"I'm pretty sure that's not what a mercenary does," I rolled my eyes. I looked between Mick and Snart eyeing Snart's injuries, I wondered what happened between them. The omega in me purred as Mick started to reform his bonds to the pack.
Mick spoke again clarifying for the hopeful or naive, "The Hunters do one thing: kill, whenever, wherever, and they'll stop at nothing till every single one of us is erased from the face of history."
Rip asked in response, "Do you have any suggestions as to how we might outsmart them, Mr. Rory?"
"Run."