I know I haven't updated in a while, but a certain Guest sent a "please update" review on another story of mine. So, I decided to continue. It's just that now Descendants 2 is out, I wanna return to my Descendants stories, which means an indefinitely long HIATUS for my Arrowverse stories. Sorry about that.
Leave a review after reading, please (be sure to actually talk about the story - sorry if that sounded paranoid but I am).
Special thanks to XWF1000 (haven't seen you in a long time), NeoTyson, and Steve993 for reviewing the previous chapter.
To Guest (who sent a please update review on "The Kids From The Isle"): Please don't review a story of mine unless you're actually gonna talk about the story itself. I know it's been a long time since I updated this story, but if you're gonna beg, beg on an Arrowverse story of mine. (Just to let you know, I receive online messages of WHERE and WHEN I get a review, so, please, next time, don't message me through one of my non-Arrowverse stories unless you're gonna talk about the story itself). I am sorry if this sounded rude, but sincerely, I am upset. This is just happening way too many times.
Barry, Leonard, and Crystal were ready to leave Mercury Labs and head for A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters. Barry puts on a wrist watch that says "03:45:00". He pushes the button that starts the countdown.
"What's that?" asked Leonard.
"How much we have left," answered Barry.
"Before what?" asked Leonard.
"Before I die," said Crystal.
"One question: If A.R.G.U.S. HQ has these metahuman power dampeners, why can't we just keep Ms. Frost here safely locked up there for the meantime?" questioned Leonard.
"Savitar is just a man, but his suit is more than just a piece of metal. It keeps him from overloading himself with static charge, allowing him to run at an immensely high speed without disintegrating himself. It's because of that it can also bypass power dampeners," said Barry.
"And that's why we need that power source fast," said Crystal.
"Let's get this show on the road," said Leonard, sounding eager to get the heist started. "Still remember the trick I taught you?"
"Prepare to be amazed," said Crystal sarcastically.
At A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters in Star City, Director Lyla Michaels was leaving with a military general to San Francisco, via chopper. A few seconds after Lyla and the general left through the door, the A.R.G.U.S. director re-entered, accompanied by Leonard Snart and Killer Frost, who is in power-dampening cuffs. The two agents at the reception noticed their entrance.
"Director Michaels? I thought you were on route to San Francisco," said one agent.
"Plan's changed," said Lyla. "I received an unexpected gift from the Flash."
The agent lays his eyes on the white-haired metahuman. "Killer Frost?" He said with surprise.
"Always nice to meet an admirer," said Killer Frost.
"I thought she was dead," said the agent.
"Oliver Queen. Andrew Diggle. Laurel Lance. We've seen quite a number of people who were believed to be dead turn out to be alive," said Lyla.
"I'm always 11 steps ahead of everyone, including death," said Killer Frost with a sinister smile.
"And yet, you're here in cuffs," pointed out Leonard.
"What's Captain Cold doing here?" asked the agent.
"I'm taking the prisoner to lock up," said Lyla. "The Flash asked Mr. Snart here to make sure the lock up goes successful without any interference."
"It's still really hard to believe you became a hero," said the other agent to Snart.
"If you want my autograph, I'd be happy to oblige," said Leonard sarcastically. "Can we hurry this up? I have a wedding to plan."
"Congratulations, then," said the agent. "We just need Director Michaels' I.D."
Lyla scans her I.D. card and then takes the eye scan.
"You boys really dot the Is and cross the Ts," commented Leonard.
"Finally, Director Michaels: Elvis Banana," said the agent.
...
"What the heck?" Cisco wondered, listening to the whole thing through the comm-link.
"Word association," guessed H.R. "Barry must have to come up with the next correct words in the sequence."
"Like 'peanut butter, bacon,'" said Tracy.
Cisco pushes the button on the comm-link and says, "Barry, you're gonna have to stall."
...
"I repeat, Director. Elvis Banana," repeated the agent.
Not knowing what to say next, "Lyla" grabs Leonard's Cold Gun and jumps on the reception table, kicks one agent in the chest, knocking him down, and then kicks the other in the stomach. "She" punches the agent to "her" right in the stomach before knocking him out with the gun. The agent on the floor gets up and engages "Lyla", only to get hit in the face with the Cold Gun. "Lyla" then knocks him out by slamming his face on the desk.
After making sure both agents are out cold, "Lyla" takes out a facial transmogrifier and changes her appearance. She turns out to be Barry in disguise all along.
"My, my, my, getting rather violent in your young age," commented Leonard, impressed.
"I dig it," joked Crystal.
"Yeah, and what were you two doing?" asked Barry.
Crystal twists her wrists and fingers, removing the cuffs.
"Snart taught me," said Crystal.
"Neat trick," said Barry.
"It was Neat trick, yourself," said Leonard, referring to the disguise.
"Facial transmogrifier from H.R.'s earth," Barry explained.
Barry gives Leonard back his Cold Gun. Crystal throws the cuffs away.
"Nice one, Dr. Frost," said Leonard, impressed by how well she executed the escape trick he taught her.
"Don't you mean, 'ice' job," quipped Crystal, laughing.
Leonard didn't need to laugh to show he was amused. His wide smirk says it all.
Meanwhile, in the medical bay, Wally was sitting right by the still-unconscious Jessie. Her wounds were still healing and her vitals have yet to rise back to normal level, well, normal level for speedsters. Wally holds her hand as he begs for her to wake up. Seeing her like this hurts him. It just reminded him of that dreadful day where he feared he was gonna lose her.
"C'mon, Jessie. Wake up, please," begged Wally. "You're one of the strongest people I know. You can't let this defeat you."
"You know she'll wake eventually, Wallace."
Wally turns around and sees H.R. standing at the door, twirling a drumstick with his fingers as usual.
"I just want to see her open her eyes to be sure," said Wally.
"Just like you said, Wallace, she's a strong woman. Speedster or not, she's not gonna let what happened
"You weren't there, H.R.," said Wally, consumed with fear and hopelessness. "Black Siren sonic-boomed me through a concrete wall. I was down. When I finally woke up, I see Jesse getting knocked into a building. It started coming down on her. I was lucky enough to save her, but I wasn't fast enough to save her soon enough."
H.R. can see that Wally is really broken from what happened that day. He can't really blame him because he didn't what it looked like from Wally's perspective. He may have seen how badly wounded Jesse was, but he wasn't out there losing his mind from almost failing to save her. He walks towards the young speedster and places a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.
"I may not know 100% how you feel," admitted H.R. "But I will tell you this. Jesse will not quit on you. I don't need mind-reading powers to know what she's thinking right now. I know, I just know that she's thinking about you, how much she cares about you, how much she loves you. That, Wallace, is what's gonna keep her fighting to stay alive. I know it. You know it."
Wally was hoping that H.R. was right. Deep down, he "knows" that H.R. is right. Jesse wouldn't be close to full health if she was letting herself get worse. He can only keep hoping that his presence will help her wake up sooner. He holds her hand with both of his own as he continues to wait.
"Thanks, H.R.," said Wally.
"Well, someone here needs to be sure you still have hope," said H.R. "That's what Team Flash is all about, right?"
"Hope," said Wally, smiling a little.
"Well, I guess I should leave you two alone," said H.R., walking out the door. "Stay hopeful, Wallace."
"I'll try," said Wallace.
Barry, Leonard, and Crystal take the west elevator to the lowest underground floor of the facility. As they try to locate where the alien power source is, they walk by some reinforced cells housing dangerous criminals from Central City to Star City.
Cupid.
China White.
Tokamak.
Plunder.
There was one name that they were unfamiliar with. Cheetah.
"This must be where Waller kept her Suicide Squad," said Crystal.
"And how do you know about that?" asked Leonard.
"I do my research," said Crystal nonchalantly.
"Care to explain who 'Cheetah' is?" asked Leonard.
"Barbara Ann Minerva. Archaeologist. Discovered an artifact that triggered a physical transformation. Her entire physiology now resembles a, well, cheetah," said Crystal.
"Guys, I think I found it," said Barry.
Barry leads Leonard and Crystal towards a door with a small window on it, allowing them to see an extraterrestrial device. The big red orb must be where the power source is, Barry guessed.
Barry taps into his earpiece. "Cisco, we found it."
For some reason, all Barry can hear is static. Barry walks back to find a spot that has a strong signal, while Leonard takes a look at the control panel.
"Cisco, can you hear me?" asked Barry, checking the signal.
"Loud and clear," said Cisco.
"We found it," said Barry. "But there seems to be a signal interference at the end of the hall and the lock is the Montgomery 3000.
"The Montgomery 3000," said Cisco with awe and worry.
"Is that bad?" asked H.R.
"We're looking at a 25-ton door that can withstand a 30-megaton nuclear blast. Aside from being completely bombproof, the Montgomery 3000 can only be unlocked by a voice-recognition system necessitating three different pass-codes from three different people, and as if that weren't already enough, the thing cost $10 million to build," said Cisco.
Barry hears a metal clink right behind him. Leonard had opened the control panel and rewired the circuitry to unlock the door.
"Thirty-seven seconds. I must be out of practice," said Leonard, feeling proud of himself.
"Well, A.R.G.U.S. should ask for their money back," commented Barry.
Barry and Leonard started lifting the door open, until Crystal grabbed their arms.
"What?" asked Barry.
"Something doesn't feel right," said Crystal. "There's another door in that room."
"Make the plan, execute the plan," reminded Leonard. "Remember the next rule?"
All of a sudden, King Shark shows himself and roars, causing the three to remove their faces from the window.
"Expect the plan to go off the rails," remembered Barry.
As King Shark continues to patrol the room, the three infiltrators literally lay low and discuss the situation.
"I've seen a lot of things, but a half-man, half-shark takes the cake," said Leonard.
"I can't believe A.R.G.U.S. turned King Shark into a guard dog," said Barry.
"King Shark? That's adorable," replied Leonard, amused by the nickname. "I suppose next you're gonna tell me he once led an army of mutant sharks who also wear pants."
"No, it's just the one," said Barry.
"We can talk about the ridiculousness of a shark wearing pants later. Right now, we need to find a way to get that thing away from the power source," said Crystal.
"Afraid to die, aren't we, Ms. Frost?" replied Leonard.
"I'm not afraid to die, Snart," said Crystal. "I'm afraid of what will happen to Barry afterwards."
Barry looks at Leonard and says, "Give me your Cold Gun."
"So you can do what, exactly?" Leonard knew the answer, but he asked anyway.
"There's only one way that tech's getting out of here," said Barry.
Leonard started smirking, finding amusement in his realization. Crystal had a concerned look on her face.
"Barry, have you lost your marbles?" criticized Crystal.
"I see what's going on here," said Leonard. "You didn't just recruit me for my skills as a thief. You wanted a partner who wouldn't mind if you got all murder-y."
"This is Savitar we're talking about," reminded Barry. "Give me your gun."
"Allen, you do realize I am not the same Rogue as I once was," said Leonard. "What makes you think I will be a-okay with cold-blooded murder? Pun intended."
"Last time you guys were here, Sara told me you still shoot to kill," said Barry.
"Only when necessary, not because it's fun," said Leonard. "Who do you take me for, Barry? The woman our friend here is pretending to be?"
"Well, I am not 'her,' so I am not approving this," said Crystal.
"Snart, this 'is' necessary," said Barry, emphasizing "is."
"No, you want to kill King Shark because you're desperate to save your psychiatrist," said Leonard.
"Snart, give me the gun," insisted Barry again.
"Snart, do not give him the gun," said Crystal.
"Wasn't planning to," said Leonard.
"Barry, I know you're willing to do whatever it takes to save me, but you shouldn't lose yourself in the process," said Crystal.
"I can't let Savitar take you away from me, not again," argued Barry.
"Barry!" Crystal whisper-shouted.
Barry realizes that he said "again" and looks at Leonard, who was staring with his signature smirk.
"It's okay, Allen. I know," said Leonard.
"Wait, what?" asked a surprised Crystal.
"You think I'm stupid, Snow?" questioned Leonard. "You really expect me to believe you're some doppelganger?"
"If you knew, then why didn't you try to kill me when we were alone?" asked Crystal.
"Because Barry here cares about you," said Leonard.
Crystal was surprised that Leonard made the choice to let her live. He had his chance when they were alone, but instead, he told her about his plan to disguise her as Killer Frost so he and Barry have someone to turn over to A.R.G.U.S. He truly has changed, she thought. Sara would be really proud of him if she heard about this.
"We can talk about this later," said Barry. "Snart, give me the gun, now."
Crystal turns off her voice modulator. "Barry, you know I would never pass up a good kill. Caitlin Snow... I... always had a killer inside me. Killer Frost helped her see that. But I'm trying to change my ways. As much as I want King Shark dead, I can't let you do it. You're the Flash. The Flash doesn't kill. That's what makes him a hero. Everyone's hero. You can't just throw that moral code away just for me."
"I'm not discussing any further," said Barry. "Give me the gun."
Leonard decided not to argue and gives Barry his Cold Gun, much to Crystal's chagrin. Barry aims the gun at King Shark. There was only one obstacle, however. The door.
"Open the door," he ordered.
No one laid a finger on the door.
"Open the door," he ordered again.
"Have you seen Shark Week, Barry?" asked Leonard suddenly. "Me, I can't get enough of it. Good thing the Waverider has cable."
King Shark turns around and looks at the window again, causing Barry to duck and hide.
"Your point?" asked Barry.
"Most sharks are cold-blooded," said Leonard.
"The great white shark, like King Shark, on the other hand, is partially warm-blooded," said Crystal.
"He's susceptible to cold," Barry realized.
Leonard looks at Crystal, wondering how she knew about the great white shark's blood temperature.
"I read Dr. Lamden's research on sharks. Very interesting," explained Crystal.
"Never strays into water colder than 53.6 degrees Fahrenheit," continued Leonard. "If we lower the temperature in that room to 53.5 degrees Fahrenheit, King Shark should sleep like a little baby."
"Or you can kill him and show Savitar that you two are much alike, your choice," said Crystal.
Barry thinks about his choice. On one hand, he kills King Shark and they don't have to worry about anyone getting in their way once they grabbed the power source. On the other hand, they put King Shark to sleep long enough for them to make a grab-and-run. In the end, Barry gives the Cold Gun back to the ex-thief.
Leonard takes out the Cold Gun's cryo disc from the core.
"Throw away the plan," said Leonard.
He throws the disc into the room through the partially-opened door. The disc releases cold smoke that decreases the temperature in the room to below 53.6 degrees Fahrenheit. King Shark started to fall asleep. The metahuman collapses to a slumber. The smoke in the room was so thick, King Shark's body was unseen.
Back in Mercury Labs, Tracy spent her free time making a coffee maker, which she was now using to make coffee for H.R.
"Tracy Brand, you are a genius," said H.R., drinking his coffee.
"Thank you," said Tracy.
"I feel like the luckiest man in the world," said H.R. "Team Flash, they're family, but to be honest with you, I never really felt like I belong. I lack a clear sense of purpose, but then you came along."
"Me?" asked Tracy, surprised and confused.
"When you came here, I finally understood my purpose," said H.R. "It's us. You and me. Meeting each other, it's felt so powerful."
"But H.R., you're from another Earth and I'm an unemployed, former grad student," said Tracy, afraid of where this was going.
"Come work here in Mercury Labs with me," H.R. begged. "I mean, Dr. McGee is impressed. She will hire you in a heartbeat. She pays well, I should know. Cisco gets a raise once in a while. But the most important thing is that we'd be together. Imagine, me inspiring you, and you applying that inspiration, and us changing the world, and us drinking so much coffee."
Tracy was starting to feel jittery from excitement, no longer afraid but instead happy about where this is going. H.R. gets down on one knee and looks up at Tracy with a big smile on his face. The fact that he looked like he was gonna propose made Tracy feel more excited about what's going to happen.
"Tracy Brand, will you do me the honor of joining Team Flash?" H.R. proposed.
"With you, I'd love to," answered Tracy.
The smiles on H.R. and Tracy's faces grew wider as they leaned closer to each other. They wrap their arms around each other and kiss. This kiss was filled with much more passion than the last one.
Cisco walks in to talk to H.R., only to witness the kissing session between him and the future physicist. Instead of reacting out of loud, he covers his mouth and quietly leaves the room.
Leonard elbows the control panel, opening the door.
Barry, Leonard, and Crystal slowly walk into the room. Suddenly, they heard growling in the smoke. King Shark was not asleep. He was awake, if barely.
"It's just like Jaws. They can't show the shark because they can't afford to make it look good," commented Leonard.
The three continues to walk towards the alien device. They made sure to stay out of the middle of the path because that's where King Shark is, proven by his fin briefly rising from the smoke.
"How long do you think he'll stay asleep?" asked Barry.
"I like Shark Week. I'm not a marine biologist," said Leonard.
"I'm no marine biologist either, but I 'am' a biologist," said Crystal. "I say one minute, more or less. You ask me, you should've lowered the temperature a couple degrees lower."
"Studied a lot of cryogenics as Killer Frost, huh, Ms. Snow?" replied Leonard.
"Well, I needed to understand my powers so, yes, Mr. Snart, I did study plenty about cryogenics," said Crystal.
Barry heads towards the alien device while Crystal and Leonard keep an eye out for King Shark.
"I'm surprised, Cold," said Crystal. "You had your chance at revenge, but you didn't take it."
"A few months ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life," said Leonard. "Long story short, I had a chance to bring Mick back to life."
"The Spear of Destiny," guessed Crystal. "Eobard told me."
"Why am I not surprised you two found each other?" Leonard teased.
"I know what you did. You chose to use the Spear to bring Heat Wave back," said Crystal. "I told Eobard not to erase my memories once he changes reality. He upheld his end of our bargain. I was just living a quiet life as a biochemist in Coast City when I turned on the TV and see Captain Cold and Heat Wave robbing banks again."
"I was selfish. I was stupid," said Leonard. "But I learned my lesson. Mick's gone. I have to move on. Seeing you doesn't help, but I killing you does nothing. Besides, even without Mick, I have everything I could ever ask for. Redemption. A fiance who'll become my wife. Friends. Family."
Crystal felt proud of Leonard. The once cold-hearted criminal has now become a good man.
Barry looks closely at the big red orb in the center of the device. On top of the orb seems to be the power source. A handheld device shaped like a power cell. He grabs it and slowly pulls it out. Unfortunately, as soon as he did, the alarms sounded and the door started closing down literally. Barry, Crystal, and Leonard ran towards it, trying to get out before it closes. Barry and Crystal slide underneath the closing door. Leonard, however, failed to make, punching the door window in anger as it closed.
"Barry!" Leonard yelled.
Panic strikes Barry and Crystal. The alarms continue to sound, which causes even more panic.
"This place is gonna be crawling with A.R.G.U.S. agents in the next two minutes," said Leonard.
"Barry, we have to go," said Crystal.
"No, I won't leave him," said Barry.
"I thought you were gonna do whatever it takes to save me," said Crystal.
"Not if it means sacrificing a man who is going to get married soon. Sara would kill me," said Barry.
"Well, you have to make a choice fast. Save me or save him. You can't do both," said Crystal.
This choice begins to cause more worry for Barry. He walks towards the spot where his earpiece can get a signal. Crystal looks inside to see Leonard looking back, keeping an eye out for the mutant shark.
"Cisco, we need your help," said Barry into his earpiece. "Snart's trapped inside the cell with King Shark. You gotta open the door."
"I can't hack into the mainframe," said Cisco worriedly.
"Keep trying," said Barry.
Barry returns to the door.
"Cisco's working on it," he said. "Whatever you do, don't look behind you."
Leonard, however, looked behind him after hearing a roar. King Shark was awake. His eyes are laid on the former criminal mastermind.
"If Cisco saves my life, tell him I'll put in a good word with my sister," said Leonard.
Caitlin was to the other end of the hall and taps into her comm-link. "Hey, Cisco. Snart says that if you save him, he'll put in a good word with his sister," she said sarcastically.
Caitlin returns to Barry with a stoic expression on her face.
"No luck?" Leonard guessed.
"This isn't a fairytale where a hero is motivated by a price," said Crystal. "A.R.G.U.S.' mainframe is fifty times more secure than the Pentagon's. It'll take a team of Cisco Ramon's and Felicity Smoak's to hack into it in one minute."
"What about you?" asked Leonard. "You've improved in the field of technology during your 'cold' reign terror. Surely, this should be a cake walk for you."
Crystal takes a look at the control panel. She does a little rewiring, which opens the door halfway. Leonard starts crawling under, but King Shark grabs his leg, trying to pull him back in. Barry grabs Leonard's arm and tries to pull him out. King Shark was strong, but Barry was winning the fight. He manages to pull all of Leonard out of the door. King Shark, however, wasn't giving up just yet.
"Caitlin, now! Close it!" Barry said.
Crystal elbows the control panel, closing the door, chopping King Shark's hand off.
"Ouch!" Leonard reacted. "Been there."
The three look through the window to see King Shark's limb regenerating quickly. He was angry, but luckily for them, there was a door between them and the shark.
"Let's get out of here," said Barry.
Barry, Leonard, and Crystal turn and leave, only to be met by armed A.R.G.U.S. agents and one angry-looking director.
"Lyla, hey," Barry greeted her with a fake smile.
"Barry," Lyla greeted him with ire.
I'm gonna have to end it here. You probably know what's gonna happen next. In case you're gonna ask some questions, I'm gonna explain a few things:
- Leonard's story to Crystal/Caitlin is my version of the final episodes of Legends of Tomorrow Season 2. Remember, in my "Unforgivable" series, Mick died in "Unforgivable", which means he and Leonard switch places on who uses the Spear of Destiny to bring who back. I may have just spoiled what happens in my Legends of Tomorrow spin-off, "The Crook and the Assassin", but I am really starting to lose interest in continuing it, not because I don't want to continue but because it's as disappointing as my Arrow spin-off "Back to Lian Yu" (not enough love, from my perspective, at least).
- I referred to Caitlin as "Crystal" in this chapter because, well, she and Barry are not alone.
- In canon, Cisco hacked the mainframe to open the door to King Shark's cell. I didn't let it happen here because, according to Helix, A.R.G.U.S. systems are more secure than the Pentagon. I thought I'd emphasize that by writing another way to open the door.
If you still have more questions, you may leave them in your review, if you choose to leave one.