I have noticed that no one has commented or questioned what our dear Professor Stein has realized about Mick's plan that is so concerning. No has anyone wondered about the mysterious comment about Mick intended to go somewhere beyond the Speed Force's reach when it states that pretty much all movement, both on a macro scale and a micro scale, is connected to it.
The answer to both can be summarized in a single word: thermodynamics.
That's right. After my liberal use of comic book science, it is time to bring in some real-world science. Albeit with some twisting in order to work with the comic book science already established.
Los Angeles: April 4th, 2017
When he recruited the assortment of people for his unauthorized mission to kill Vandal Savage and try to save his family, Rip had no idea what he was getting into. It wasn't just the discovery of the Time Masters' agenda and corruption that dominated the High Council and the existence of the Oculus. It was everything to do with leading a team.
He'd never truly led a team before. The Time Masters tended to work alone or with other Time Masters for short spells of time. Rip spent most of his captaincy with only Gideon and the occasional local people like Jonah Hex. He didn't have the experience at juggling all the strong personalities and issues of the people he selected. Starting the entire mission off with a lie and initially treating them as skillsets rather than people probably didn't help him establish much authority with the group either.
And honestly, there were days where it felt like he was herding a bunch of children. Highly-armed and super-powered children with impulse-control issues and not much sense of self-preservation. Rip actually felt relieved that Sara took on the role of captain in his absence and was content to let her remain in command of the team. She seemed to have a talent for it and the team worked better under her guidance. Rip was happier without the responsibility.
That didn't mean that the feeling of being surrounded by impulsive children ever went away. And it didn't change his frustration when one of them ran off and did something crazy.
He initially had no real interest one way or another when it came to recruiting Mick Rory. At least, not at first. While Rip knew he would bring some useful firepower to a fight, he mostly saw Rory as a general thug and a requirement for Snart's recruitment. But he had moved past that initial impression. While Rory would always be the most troublesome and least moral member, he was still part of the team. And that meant that when Mick decided to vanish on an insane scheme with long odds, they would charge after him and try to knock some sense into him.
Life would be so much easier if people wouldn't go off on their own to engage in impulsive rescue missions without letting those in charge know or do anything. But Rip knew if he complained to Gideon, she would point out the hypocrisy.
With Amaya and Nate keeping the wildlife at bay, he and Sara finished the repairs to the outside of the Waverider. The dinosaurs weren't the only misplaced creatures prowling around. But those Amaya couldn't commune with fast enough, Nate knocked them back with a steel fist. The work went faster and smoother than expected. And that meant they would be able to locate and chew out their missing member all the sooner.
As they headed back into the Waverider, Stein came hurrying out with the others trailing behind him. The man's expression made Rip hesitate briefly and Sara tense. Something was wrong.
"Ms. Lance, the situation is far more serious than what we initially believed," said Stein frantically. "Mr. Rory is in grave danger if he follows his current plan."
Pausing briefly before narrowing her eyes, Sara said, "We're heading to the bridge. Explain as we walk."
"If Mr. Snart is truly trapped somewhere that exists only as a single instant, that would imply that everything has stopped," said Stein, falling in line beside her. "Even the very molecules. There would be no entropy. Theoretically, at least. And if that is the case, then—"
"Absolute zero," Ray said, his eyes widening as they moved through the hall. "Third Law of Thermodynamics. The entropy of a system approaches a constant value as the temperature approaches absolute zero."
Rip bit back a sharp curse. Outside of the Cold Gun on the highest setting, it was extremely difficult even in the future to achieve that temperature. And it never lasted long before the surroundings warmed it at least a fraction above that temperature, allowing ice from the moisture in the air to form. Humans weren't built to survive temperatures even close to that.
The only benefit to the entire captured moment existing at absolute zero was that Snart's body wouldn't have a chance to react to the cold. No moving molecules meant the damage would be paused before it happened. While all timeships were equipped with a decent medbay, captains were taught some basic first aid and medical knowledge in case they were caught away from any help. Rip knew what extreme cold could do to the human body and it wasn't pretty.
"Precisely," said Stein. "And the Second Law of Thermodynamics essentially states that any energy, any heat, that enters such a system would move from high concentration to low. Or to put simply, anything with heat is going to try to warm up the cold. And the meager body heat of a man of even Mr. Rory's size would barely make a dent. He'll be reduced to absolute zero almost instantly and he'll be in the exact same predicament as Mr. Snart. Trapped and frozen in time."
"He can't have known," Amaya said quietly. "Mick can't have known what will happen if he tries."
"Actually, Mr. Rory is quite aware of the issue," said Gideon. Her tone held a hint of what might be reluctance and guilt. "As I stated earlier, we spoke quite thoroughly about his possible retrieval of Mr. Snart. I informed him about the difficulties that the absolute zero temperature would theoretically pose to his plan." Hesitating a moment, she added, "I was quite detailed in my description of what would happen. He needed to have a very clear idea of what risks he faces. Both the risks to his success and the risks to his life."
"A plan that won't work," Rip said. "He'll be trapped immediately."
"Okay, new rule," said Sara sharply. "Gideon, if anyone of this team starts researching or working on a secret plan that could threaten either their life or time itself, tell someone else on the team so we can talk them out of it or at least help keep it from being a disaster." Realizing the possible hypocrisy due to her previous vendetta against Damien Darhk, she added, "And that includes the captain."
"Mr. Rory's plan has taken the absolute zero temperature into account," said Gideon. The hesitation was more noticeable now. "We devised a method to deal with the issue until he at least reaches Mr. Snart."
Nate said, "Well, that's good, I suppose. How?"
"Just as Mr. Snart's Cold Gun is capable of producing temperatures of absolute zero on the highest setting, Mr. Rory's Heat Gun can reach the Planck temperature or the absolute limits of heat," said Gideon. "Neither man normally used the full power of the weapons regularly, both for energy concerns and to minimize casualties after Mr. Snart's agreement with the Flash, but the capabilities are well-established. Mr. Rory's Heat Gun producing flames at the Planck temperature will counteract the absolute zero surroundings. To an extent."
"The Cold Gun and Heat Gun may have canceled each other out, but those produce limited streams," Stein said as the arrived at the bridge. "It won't be enough to warm the entire area. The Second Law of Thermodynamics will still ensure the energy will move from high temperature to low. The most it might accomplish is that it'll be enough energy for molecules to move and the human body to react to the extreme low temperatures."
"And how exactly does Mick plan to use his Heat Gun to avoid freezing anyway?" asked Ray as they all strapped in.
Vanishing Point
Though the trip was certainly still rougher than normal due to the broken timestream, Mick had enough experience and enough resistance to the effects of time travel by now to remain standing. The rest of the passengers weren't so lucky. Other than Cisco's brief trip during the alien invasion nonsense, the three of them were still new to this method of time travel. And with that came all the side effects. It knocked the trio to the floor with various levels of nausea, vertigo, and so on.
But still no bleeding eyeballs. Mick was beginning to think that symptom was a myth.
"I can't feel my face. Is that normal?" asked Barry, poking at his cheeks. "This is so weird."
"Why is everything purple?" Iris added, blinking rapidly.
"It'll pass," mumbled Cisco, burying his head between his knees while looking rather green. "Messed with me and Felicity too."
"It gets easier the more you time travel like this," Mick said.
Climbing unsteadily to his feet, Barry said, "My way doesn't make me want to throw up."
"And you want to drag all of us somewhere outside of time like the Vanishing Point?" Mick asked, watching the trio shaking off the worst of the effects. "Because I really can't imagine being yanked through the timestream at super speed being any more comfortable." As soon as he guided the Shadowslicer to the farthest edge of the place, he added, "You can head out as soon as we land if you want. Get a good look at the place. Just don't wander off too far until I get everything sorted here."
He didn't have to offer twice. Cisco broke into a bright grin and raced out, excited to see whatever the Vanishing Point had to offer. Shaking his head briefly, Barry took Iris' hand and followed him as the Shadowslicer touched down. Mick gave them a few moments before glancing towards the ceiling.
"Gabriel?"
"Yes, Heat Wave?"
"If I don't manage to give the order later, you better make sure those three are returned as close to their own time period as you can manage. Don't leave them trapped here."
"Do you not intend to return to the timeship?"
Hesitating a moment, Mick said, "Just covering all possibilities."
"Of course, Heat Wave."
With that piece of preparation handled, Mick left the bridge and started heading out. He knew this could end badly. The details of extreme temperatures in places with no time passage and that stuff didn't fall under the category of topics that Time Masters thought he needed to know. And while he knew plenty about fire and how it worked in a variety of situations (mostly by experience), he would be dealing with the opposite of fire. Gideon helped explained the parts Mick couldn't figure out on his own.
He knew that wherever Snart was, it would be as cold as the full power of the man's weapon. Deadly cold.
He always hated the cold. Almost as much as he loved fire. And the bitter temperatures now made his burn scars ache sharply. And this would be far worse and more intense. People weren't meant to survive being that cold.
But Mick had a plan. A crazy and stupid plan, but a plan that might at least keep him from getting stuck like Snart. He was so lucky Gideon took the time to help work this out and explain what he needed to know. And he was too stubborn not to use the plan.
He paused briefly to grab a long coil of rope, woven from some advanced material that left it lighter and stronger than anything from his native century. And it was resistant to fire, another important feature. Mick slung the coil over his shoulder. The extra person on the rescue mission might actually be useful.
Mick also vaguely wondered if he left a spare set of that stupid armor on board and whether it would make any difference. Would it buy him any extra time? Would any form of insulation really make any difference where he was heading?
He ultimately rejected the idea though. He didn't want to go searching the timeship on the off chance the stupid armor from his time as Chronos might buy him an extra second or two. He would stick with his normal coat and gloves. He might even toss on a pair of goggles from the days when he was still getting used to the light from his Heat Gun, just to cover his options.
When he stepped off the Shadowslicer, Mick found the trio staring at the Vanishing Point. Cisco kept looking up and around at the structures floating and orbiting overhead. Flash and his girl were more focused on their immediate surroundings, examining the destruction. The Legion of Doom might have straightened a few things out, but it didn't hide the fact the explosion did a number on the whole place.
"Done sight-seeing yet?" he called to them. "We've got a job to do."
"Right," said Cisco, clapping his hands together. "Lead the way."
The place was once again abandoned and empty, the Time Masters and Legion of Doom both long gone. Silence hung over the building as they headed in. Dark and vaguely dusty, it reminded Mick of a crypt. Lifeless and crawling with disturbed memories. A proper fire burning the whole place down could only improve things. His whole body practically itched with the desire to take a lighter or his Heat Gun to the damaged building. It might calm him down and ease the impulse to lash out at the shadows.
And when he reached their destination, the unease only grew worse. As did his agitation. Mick couldn't tear his eyes away from the pile of rubble in the center. The old layout of the chamber remained burned into his mind. He remembered a deep circular pit with a green glow coming from below. He remembered a square platform in the center over it with only two thin walkways across gap. And he remembered a machine with a circular opening exposing a cylinder chamber filled with mechanical workings, including the switch that needed to be held down to ensure an explosion.
The destruction of the Oculus was meant to take Ray. The nerd would have died and the man barely blinked at the idea of sacrificing himself. Ray might be an idiot, but he wasn't a coward. Partially out of revenge against the Time Masters and slightly because Mick didn't want the nerdy hero to die, he knocked Ray out and took his place holding the switch down. Keeping his teammate alive, destroying the source of the Time Masters' real power, and burning destiny to the ground at the same time sounded like a reasonable way to die.
But then Snart had the same idea. He knocked Mick out and stayed behind instead. He chose to sacrifice himself like one of those heroes.
Even if he was unconscious and didn't actually witness it, Mick could still see his partner standing in front of the machine and holding down the switch that would seal his fate.
It shouldn't have been Snart. It shouldn't have been anyone else. If anyone deserved to go down while wiping out the Time Masters' organization, it was him.
"Mick," said Iris, startling him back to reality. Something in her tone indicated that they'd been trying to get his attention for a while. "You okay?"
"Yeah," he said, coughing quietly. "This is it. Right where that junk is." He gestured at the rubble where the machinery above the pit once existed. "Don't know how much you can aim where those portals form, but it'll be a lot easier if you can get it close."
Looking around the chamber thoughtfully, Barry said, "There's not a lot of room to build up some speed. I might have to clear a path."
"Go for it," Mick said.
A blur of motion and lightning flashed as the speedster went into action. Following him with the naked eye wasn't going to happen. But Mick watched the flickering afterimage and the vanishing debris as best he could. In almost no time, the Flash managed to clear the edges of the room, essentially creating an improvised track for him to run on. He left the destroyed remnants of the Oculus untouched. Barry looked rather pleased with himself as he eventually skidded to a halt.
"I should be able to work with that," said Barry.
"Great. Now, I don't know how much you know about my powers," Cisco said slowly, pulling his goggles and gloves back out of his backpack, "but it can really help if I have something to vibe. I mean, I'm trying to open up a way to this weird little pocket of reality created when their time crystal ball exploded. I need a little help aiming. I don't suppose you've got anything of his, do you? Or anything else that might have been yanked in there?"
If he brought the Waverider, there would be plenty to choose from. Snart's belongings and at least half of their stolen historical loot was still in his old room, untouched for months. No one had the heart to pack it away. Nate took Carter's old room and Amaya took Kendra's and there were still a few unused rooms that Rip never bothered with in the first place, so no one ever needed to disturb his belongings. They couldn't bring themselves to throw them out and the only ones who might have a claim on Snart's stuff were Mick and Lisa.
But the Shadowslicer didn't carry much connected to the man. Even less after Mick cleaned out the formerly-frozen chunks of hand. That didn't mean, however, they were out of luck.
Mick dug into his coat pocket and pulled out the silver ring that Snart left him. A souvenir of their first real job together and a reminder that even the best plans could go wrong.
"This belonged to Snart. He had it for years. Will it work?"
"Um… Wow," Cisco said awkwardly. "I mean, I know you two were 'partners,' but I didn't know you meant…"
Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Mick said, "Not like that, idiot. Besides, he had his eye on Blondie. Not that he would admit it. He was too cold for that," he said, letting some sarcasm color his last sentence.
"Blondie? You mean White Canary?" Cisco asked, eyes widening. "That's both scary and awesome. Does Lisa know?"
"Is now really the time for this?" asked Barry.
Holding his hands up in surrender, Cisco said, "Right. Sorry. On a mission. We'll worry about future killer thief babies later."
"Anything I can do to help?" asked Iris, clearly trying to steer things back on track.
Unwinding the rope, Mick tossed one end to the young woman. He quickly tied the opposite end around his waist with a sturdy knot.
"Tie that to the broken junk to anchor it," he said, gesturing towards some metal structure next to her. "You get to play safety line and make sure there's a way back."
"Smart," said Iris as she obeyed, sounding mildly surprised. "Didn't you used to be too hot-headed for this stuff. You seem calmer than when you were robbing Central City."
He didn't really respond to that. He really didn't have the time or desire to explain that lifetimes in the Vanishing Point being remade into someone else cooled him down a bit. Not completely, but enough.
"You watch the rope," Mick said. "If it stops going forward or even starts coming back, start pulling. I know you don't have super-strength, but do your best. Really don't want to stay in there any longer than necessary."
She was a tiny, thin, fragile-looking thing. She wasn't like Amaya or Sara, armed with magic or assassin training. Mick could see she didn't have the upper body strength to do what he was asking. He wasn't exactly light and adding Snart would give her more weight to pull. But the other two would be busy keeping the portal open, so she was the only option.
Besides, based on how the young woman drew herself up and her expression hardened, Iris seemed determined to meet the challenge anyway.
He wasn't sure if she reminded him more of Lisa or the Flash with that look.
"Ready?" asked Barry.
Mick gave a nod and said, "Start running, Red."
Nate knew that everyone was hoping that the Waverider would reach the Vanishing Point first. It would be easier that way. They could stop him and talk some sense into Rory. They could figure out a better plan.
But as Sara brought the Waverider around, they all saw the second timeship waiting. Nate could also see the ramp down. Rory was already inside the structure.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Jax.
"We could still have time," Ray said, though he didn't sound completely convinced.
Nate looked at the woman beside him. Worry dominated her face. Worry for their missing teammate. He knew Amaya had developed an unexpected friendship with the former criminal. Which was surprising since Nate once kept her from slitting Rory's throat with a knife.
He knew what she wanted to do. And he knew what she needed to do.
As soon as the Waverider touched down, Nate said, "Run, Amaya."
She didn't even hesitate, bolting to her feet as her hand touched her totem around her neck. A brief aura of a feline made of light and magic flared around her. Then she raced off the bridge faster than any non-speedster human could achieve, the power of a cheetah helping her.
Mick watched as the Flash raced around the perimeter of the room and, now wearing his gloves and goggles again with the addition of an earpiece to communicate with Barry's suit, Cisco directed his powers at an angle in front of the arsonist. He didn't know what he expected the forming portal to look like, but the gray-blue thing that occasionally pulsed the same shade of green as the Temporal Zone seemed vaguely promising.
Doubt and something resembling fear tried wriggling at the back of his mind as he now faced the ultimate moment. Playing the hero would always lead to death eventually. Mick knew that for a fact. Being the hero meant dying and leaving your partner behind, lost and adrift with nothing left except a team that deserved better. And even if Snart could be a hero in the end, Mick knew he wasn't one. So he would probably die and fail.
Mick shoved all that down. Too late to back down now. He was getting Snart out of there.
It should have been him, not Snart. The team would have been better off. Snart wouldn't have betrayed them or almost betrayed them. And Snart had Sara and Lisa. Snart deserved to live. They needed him.
If things went wrong, the team wouldn't lose anything they would miss. Jax and the professor could handle any fire that they might need. Nate could provide any muscle and Sara could take care of any required punches. And Snart was the best criminal that they could possibly need. They would be fine.
He dug into his other coat pocket and pulled on his old goggles. It wasn't much protection, but he didn't think anything would help much anyway. He still pulled his coat a little tighter just in case.
"I think this is as stable as it's going to get," said Cisco, his voice slightly strained. "If you're going to go, now's the time."
Nodding once, Mick stepped forward. His hand wrapped tightly around the grip of his Heat Gun at his side. He was going to get his partner back. He was going to do one thing right.
He ruined so many things. He left his family to burn. He lost control on a job, nearly burning himself alive and driving his partner away for a while. He sided with pirates over the team for a ride home, betraying his team for the first time and forcing Snart to choose. He hunted them as Chronos and killed Kendra's past life son. He failed to destroy the Oculus, letting his partner steal that sacrifice instead. And he failed to learn from his past mistakes, almost betraying them again.
Mick didn't regret many choices in his life. Especially those that involved breaking the law. But he did regret those few decisions. This wouldn't fix any of them. But it was a choice that Mick would never regret and he knew without a doubt it was the right one.
His hand tightened enough on his Heat Gun that his fingers ached within their gloves. It was crazy. The entire plan sounded like the stupid hero morality thing.
"Hold on to that rope, Iris," he called over his shoulder. "I'm counting on you."
"Go get your partner," said Iris over the sound of a racing speedster.
Pulling his weapon from his holster, he powered up the Heat Gun to its highest setting. Mick hugged it to his chest as he stepped right up to the portal. His breathing was ragged and shook for some reason. Mick ignored it.
He tried to remember every detail of how the room used to look. He didn't want to step off the walkway and fall into that deep pit. At least the portal formed close to where the machine used to be. Only a handful of steps.
He could handle a few steps. If he could survive the induction process twice while holding onto even part of his identity, then he could do this.
Disobeying the most primary rule of weapon safety, Mick turned the barrel towards his chest with his finger on the trigger.
"Mick, stop!" Amaya's voice shouted from somewhere behind.
But he was already stepping through the portal, pulling the trigger to fire.
And yet another chapter ends with Mick firing his Heat Gun. But this time, he is trying to use it to be able to not get stuck in a location that is at absolute zero.
Unfortunately, having at least enough heat to keep his molecules moving also means that his body will have enough energy to react to the extreme cold. Snart, currently existing in that captured instant and at absolute zero, at least has the benefit that his body can't react to what is happening. Which means Snart can't die in that state until he warms up at least slightly and he can't suffer frostbite or hypothermia because there isn't even enough energy for water molecules in him to freeze.
Yeah, if I'm going to bring back a character that the show is treating as dead and gone, then it isn't going to exactly be easy. And sometimes that means there's going to be a cost. Whether or not the cost is the life of another person is yet to be seen.