#time vault Gideon is the only Gideon

[kiss-inthekitchen]

pairing: spencer reid x reader

set sometime in early s2; you get stuck sharing a room with your favorite boy genius who absolutely cannot know that you have feelings for him. and also, there’s only one bed. fluff, f!reader (i think there's only two usages of gender markers)

word count: 4.7k

notes: this is a rework of a very old fic i used to have up on ao3. i'm thinking i'll do more of these, i've got a few spencer fics in the vault and it was fun to rework this and see how my style has changed :)

You shivered against the cold desert air. Twirling a keyring around your finger, you headed for the door marked 3. You were exhausted from the day and so, so ready to collapse into bed as soon as you got inside your room. 

You turned the key in the lock while Spencer waited behind you. It was late, and you and the team had pulled into a motel for the night, having been dragged out to a tiny rural town by the unsub after days of tracking him through surrounding areas. He’d been apprehended, finally, and handed over to local police around midnight. You all had decided it best to spend the night before driving back into town in the morning for take off. 

So here you were, at one of those single story motels that still used actual keys instead of key cards. Given the time of night, you knew vacancies would be scarce, so you’d already expected to have to double up on rooms. Gideon had stayed behind at Quantico, leaving Hotch and Morgan in one room and JJ and Prentiss in another, with you and Spencer sharing the last room. You’d hung back while JJ got everything figured out with the concierge (who was just a bored looking kid posted at the desk), and then she’d passed you your key with its little keyring attachment listing the room number and you all bade each other goodnight.

You’d been on the team nearly a year already, but you were still the rookie compared to everyone else. Even Spence had two years on you. But seeing as you two were the youngest, and the least inclined toward the more physical parts of your job– the chasing, tackling, firing your weapon parts– you were paired off with him more often than not. 

You weren’t complaining. You’d come to know Spencer pretty well, and you didn’t feel much apprehension at the thought of sharing a room with him for one night. 

That is, until you opened the door. 

“Oh,” you said involuntarily.  

"There's only one bed,” Spencer said. 

“Sure looks that way.” 

"At least it's a queen?" 

There was a brief pause before you both started speaking at the same time. 

"Maybe we can go back to the concierge–" Spencer began. 

"I mean, I guess I don't really–" 

"–although, JJ did say we got the last–" 

"–mind as long as you–" 

You cut yourself off this time. It’s not like there was another good option, unless one of you wanted to sleep in the car. "This is fine?" it came out as a question rather than a statement. 

"I think so? I wouldn't want to– to make you uncomfortable or anything."

"This is fine," you repeated, more sure of yourself this time. “And you don’t make me uncomfortable.”  

It was only kind of a lie. You trusted Spencer with your life, of course. But he also made you nervous. He was sweet, kind, always seeming genuinely interested in anything you had to say. And of course, anyone could see that he was attractive. You were developing feelings for him, and in a job where your coworkers and your crush himself were all adept at reading people, it really wasn’t a good position for you to be in. You just hoped Spencer was as oblivious with women as Derek made him out to be. 

"We should get out of the doorway," Spencer suggested, and you realized you'd been standing in the threshold this whole time.

"Right."

The two of you walked in, Spencer closing and locking the door behind you. It was a modest room in a tiny town; your standard ugly-patterned, faded bedspread draped over the queen bed in the center, a window looking out into the parking lot, and a dresser that didn’t even have a TV on top of it. You headed straight for the bed, sitting on the edge and removing your shoes while Spencer stood by with his hands in his pockets.

"You know, if it's a problem I can sleep on the cou– uh, the chair," Spencer offered, looking back mid-sentence and realizing that the only additional furniture this motel offered was one rigid looking armchair by the window. 

"No, you're not doing that."

"What?" he asked, taken aback by the quickness of your response.

"You're not sleeping in that chair. It looks horribly uncomfortable and I’m sure it’s never been cleaned, and I know how you’d feel about that.” 

Spencer grimaced, not having thought about that particular detail. “Yeah, but, I mean… I’d do it for you.” 

God, why did he have to say stuff like that? Like you were something special. And why now, when you were stuck in the same room with him until morning? It probably didn’t even mean the same thing to him as it meant to you. He was one of the most caring people you’d ever met. He’d probably say that to any one of you on the team. 

Or maybe sleeping in a chair meant nothing to him at all. Maybe he actually didn’t want to share the bed with you and that’s why he was trying so hard to avoid it. 

Ugh. You just wanted this day to be over. It was late, the case had been a week long, and now you were probably in for a fun night of overthinking and second guessing when you’d been expecting silence and easy, dreamless sleep. 

Okay, maybe that last part was never really an option, but still. 

“Look,” you sighed, “I know this isn't an ideal situation but there's a perfectly good bed here, so let’s just share it. If you’re okay with that. It's just one night and tomorrow we'll be back home and nobody has to know about it."

You had to fight from squeezing your eyes shut in regret. You wished that had come out differently. You chanced a look at Spencer, realizing that you’d been staring down at the faded carpet pattern while you spoke. 

The look on his face was one you hadn’t seen before, and you almost couldn't place it. He seemed sort of disappointed. Disappointed that he had to share a bed with you? Or that you'd made it sound like you didn't want to share a bed with him? Nope, you could not go down that road tonight. You shook your head once as if it would clear the thoughts from your tired mind. 

“I’m okay with that," he said, casually enough that you could almost convince yourself that you’d just imagined the look on his face before. "So, do you want the shower first, or...?" Spencer asked.

"No, I can wait, you go ahead," you said. You desperately needed the moment to yourself anyway.  

You started rifling through your bag for pajamas, toiletries, and your charger as an excuse to look busy while Spencer made his way into the bathroom with his things. As soon as the door closed behind him, you flopped back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as if it might hold all the answers. 

Spencer couldn't know about your feelings. For one thing, you were pretty sure there was a rule against dating your colleagues in the BAU. If not, there probably should be. You were such a close knit team, and if anything went wrong… you couldn’t imagine how difficult that would be. But then, the evil and uncooperative part of you also couldn’t help but think that things might go right. 

From the beginning of your time at the BAU, you’d been drawn to Spencer. It just kind of made sense. You’d gotten through school at an accelerated pace– though not as quickly as him, the man was on another fucking level when it came to academics– and you were one of the only people who found his fact dropping actually interesting, often asking him follow up questions. He’d looked adorably shocked the first few times you’d done that. 

He listened intently to your passionate rants about your favorite films and tv shows, even though he hadn’t seen any of them. When the two of you had discovered a shared interest in mythology and folklore, Hotch nearly had to separate you so you would actually get some work done. It was like you were a kid in school again, and you might’ve been embarrassed if you didn’t find it so funny, if you weren’t so giddy at the idea of a friendship that could make you feel like a kid again. 

Spencer understood you in a way that other people didn’t, laughing at your jokes even when they didn’t land for anybody else. When people interrupted or spoke over you, he always paid attention, and in situations where you were trying to add details to the profile he’d bring the conversation back around to you. 

Throughout your life you’d learned– through painstaking trial and error– to fit in pretty well in most any group you found yourself in, but you’d always considered yourself to be a little weird. A little too different. But when you were with Spencer, you felt like you didn’t have to try so hard. You could both be a little different, together. 

Spencer opened the bathroom door then, startling you. You’d been so lost in thought you hadn’t even noticed the water turn off. You looked over to see him wearing a loose white t-shirt and pajama pants, his hair still damp. And now you knew what Spencer looked like fresh out of a shower. And of course it was endearing as hell. 

“If that’s how you’re planning to sleep,” Spencer began, referencing how you were laid out in the dead center of the bed, your arms fully outstretched and hands hanging off the mattress, “then I think we might have a slight problem after all.”  

You walked out of the bathroom a short while later, dressed in your usual sleepwear of shorts and an oversized shirt. You’d put your hair up in a bun to protect it while you showered, and now it hung loose around your shoulders. You simultaneously wished your outfit was cuter and uglier; knowing your giant t-shirt wasn’t flattering your figure while also feeling like you had too much skin exposed. Not that it mattered. You were just going to get some sleep and then wake up in the morning and head home. Everything would be back to normal. 

Spencer’s in bed already. He’d turned off the big light while you were showering, the lamps on either side of the bed casting him in a softer, warmer glow. He looked up from his book to find you standing there, and the soft, familiar look in his big brown eyes had you rooted to the spot. 

“Hey,” he said softly, patting the space next to him in invitation. 

You conceded, finding your legs again and sliding into bed beside him. “Hey.” 

He fidgeted with the pages of his book, ultimately shutting it closed on his index finger to mark the page. “So, uh, are we okay?” 

“Yeah, of course,” you answered genuinely, feeling bad that your internal struggle had manifested in a way that worried him. 

“Okay, cool,” he said. He paused long enough to let you explain if you wanted to, another invitation. You knew he wouldn’t push it if you didn’t offer something up. You wanted to give him an explanation, but you couldn’t bring yourself to. 

“Sorry,” you managed. 

“For what?” 

“I don’t know… acting weird, I guess. It’s just been a long day.” 

“Oh, well, you don’t need to be sorry about that. You’re always weird.” 

Your mouth dropped open as you looked at him. “Look who’s fucking talking,” you scoffed. Some of the tension dropped from your shoulders, glad he hadn’t questioned you further. 

“Language, please,” he held up a hand to stop you. “I’m delicate.” 

“Wha–?” you let out a surprised little laugh. “You’re an idiot!” 

“Yeah okay, tell that to my I–.” 

“Oh, my IQ of 187,” you finished for him, rolling your eyes. Even that was full of endearment. “God, you are so annoying.” 

“Hm. Y’know, this might be a long night for you. I’d hate to keep you up with my annoyingness.” 

“I feel like you could’ve come up with a better word than annoyingness, Mr. 187,” you tilted your head where it rested against the headboard, looking up at him. 

“Oh, she’s being a smartass now!” he split into a surprised grin, and you could swear your heart skipped a beat. 

“You just said ass.” 

“Wow. How quickly you’ve corrupted me.” 

“Right, of course. It’s my fault.” 

“I knew you’d agree.” 

“Shut the fuck up,” you laughed. 

Things felt a little bit more normal after that, joking around with Spencer like you normally did made the rest of the night feel less daunting. 

Shortly after that, the two of you agreed that you should get some sleep, each reaching over to turn out the light on your respective sides of the bed. 

You let yourself sink into your pillow, the exhaustion you had been feeling giving way to a hyper awareness of Reid’s body next to you. You were kept awake, completely overcome by the foot of space between you and Spencer; the consequences of crossing that space, the way it might feel, the curiosity over whether he was laying awake too, thinking the same thoughts as you. Even with that foot of space separating you, you could feel his body heat. You longed to move closer to him, to touch him, to let his warmth seep into you and lull you to sleep. 

But you didn’t, and you wouldn’t, because this was just an unfortunate booking mishap. It didn’t mean anything. Tomorrow it would be over, and you could more easily go back to hiding your feelings from everyone else and yourself. 

Eventually, exhaustion won out. 

You woke what could’ve been a few minutes or a few hours later, the sky still dark. You couldn’t tell what exactly had woken you up, only the sense that you’d moved, almost like you’d fallen. But fallen from what? 

You blinked in the dark, the street lamps in the parking lot providing enough residual light to keep the room from being pitch black. 

Reid was sitting up. He must’ve bolted upright, you thought. Had that been what moved you? Were you lying on him?! 

“Hey, you okay?” 

“Sorry. Just a nightmare,” he said as if it was nothing. “Sorry to wake you.” 

“What was it about?” you ignored his apologies, sitting up as well. 

“I don't really even remember,” he breathed, almost like it was funny. “Just having a physiological reaction to whatever it was, I guess.” 

You had nightmares too, of course. You all did. You hated remembering them, but you also hated the times when you woke up in the dark, dazed and inexplicably scared. Without thinking, you reached for his hand. 

He turned to look at you then. “I really didn't mean to wake you,” he reiterated. 

“I figured,” you smiled slightly. You noticed his breathing was just a bit too fast. You rubbed your thumb over the back of his hand, leaning over to rest your weight against his side, your head on his shoulder. His nervous system would regulate itself quicker this way. 

“You were on my pillow, by the way.” 

“What?” you ask, your head jerking back from him. 

“I totally called it. You rolled right into the center of the bed in your sleep. Total bed hog.” 

“Hey!” you protested, pulling your hand back from his in embarrassment. So you had been lying on top of him. Or at least really close to him. His hand chased after yours, finding you again. 

“That wasn’t me complaining about it.” 

“Oh,” was all you could think to say back. 

It was quiet for a minute. You let your head fall back onto Spencer’s shoulder, but your heart raced in your chest. 

“Can I ask you something?” he questioned, his tone becoming more serious. 

“Oh– of course,” you answered, your brow creasing. 

“What did you mean when you said ‘it’s not ideal’ and ‘nobody has to know about it’?” 

“Wh– I– Spencer, come on.” 

He didn’t give you an out this time. Just waited for an answer. 

“I don’t even really know,” you sighed.  

“I believe you’re being partially truthful about that.” 

“Don’t profile me.” 

“I’m not. I just know you.” 

You sighed. “You know, sometimes I hate that stupid memory of yours.” 

“I don’t need an eidetic memory to remember that. It was a weird thing to say, and it happened like four hours ago.” 

“You’re guesstimating. And it wasn’t that weird.” 

“Maybe not, but the way you said it was. And you’re avoiding my question.” 

You continued to avoid it, biting down on your bottom lip. 

“And you stuttered when I brought it up.” 

“I told you to stop profiling me.” 

This time, he just hummed in response. 

“And so what if I stuttered?” 

“Stuttering is usually more my thing. A nervousness thing.” 

Maybe this was actually your nightmare. Maybe you’d wake up soon and none of this would’ve been real, and you wouldn’t have had to explain to Spencer that the reason you’d had an attitude was because the situation tonight had made it harder to hide your feelings from him. Big feelings that became a lot harder to ignore when he was this close to you, still holding your hand, the mix of scents from his detergent and deodorant clouding your judgment. Of all the embarrassing scenarios that you could’ve imagined playing out tonight, this was very high up on the list. 

“I said ‘it’s not ideal’ because it’s not, just by definition. We were supposed to get a double room and we didn’t. Not ideal. And I said no one has to find out because I can already see Morgan having a field day with it and I know the exact expression that’ll be on his face–” 

“The eyebrows,” he nodded, lips pursed. 

“And then everyone else will get in on it and I just figured…” you sighed. “I don’t know. I didn’t want to deal with that.” 

“That all makes total sense.” 

“Good,” you breathed. Too relieved. 

“Now tell me the rest of it.” 

“God, Spencer–” you huffed out, frustrated. He knew you too well. 

You wanted to run. Maybe you could go sleep in the car after all. And then ignore Spencer for the rest of the day, and then the year, and your life, and– 

“Don’t make me say it,” you breathed. This had to be a dream. 

“But there is something to be said?” he questioned, his tone hushed, almost reverent. 

It was just vague enough. You could pretend it was nothing. 

“Yes.” 

You felt like you’d just blown your life up with one word. 

Spencer took a deep breath, your body cresting and falling with the movement of it. 

“You make me feel better about being myself,” he confessed.  

You shut your eyes. You had a constricting feeling in your throat suddenly, and the awful realization that you might cry. 

He spoke again, because you couldn’t. “I haven’t always felt good about it, you know? And then you joined the team, and, well– you changed a lot of things for me. And you’re beautiful, obviously, and I was scared to mess up what we have, because it’s special, I think–” 

“It is.” 

“–and then you started freaking out when you saw the bed,” he was smiling now, you could hear it, “and I thought, maybe it wouldn’t be so crazy… maybe I could make you feel that way too.” 

“You do. Of course you do. I feel like I can be my full self with you. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt like that before.” 

Spencer laughed, a little delirious giggle, and squeezed your hand in his. You’d managed to avoid crying, thankfully, and you grinned along with him, looking down at your joined hands as you squeezed him back. 

Things seemed to still for a beat, the two of you sitting with this moment and letting it stretch out. You still couldn’t really believe this was happening. You might have to tell Spencer to pinch you. 

“So what does that mean for us now?” you asked. 

“Well, for right now at least, I think it just means that we can go back to sleep without overthinking things into oblivion.” 

“I was not–”

“Okay, this time I am profiling you, and you’re lying,” he cut you off, his smile still evident.  

“Oh, this was such a mistake.”

He continued like you hadn’t spoken, laughing a little as he went. “I could practically hear it. It’s like, you know when a computer is trying to use too much processing power and the fan starts whirring really loud? Like that but just like right next to me, like tangible—“  

“Okay! Thank you so much, I actually totally got it, you can stop now.” 

He laughed, and your cheeks warmed. 

“For the record, I meant we could both stop overthinking.” Then he shifted a little, facing you a bit more. With the hand that wasn’t holding yours, he brushed a strand of hair from your face, a fake pout on his lips. “Sorry I make you nervous.” 

You cackled at that, if it was possible to cackle in hushed tones. “Oh, I bet you are. Besides, I know you like me now, so you’ve lost that card.” 

“Are you certain of that?” 

“Certain that you like me or certain that you can’t make me nervous?” 

“The latter. I do like you, if that was unclear.” 

Your heart sped up, contradicting you as you answered, “Then I’m certain you can’t make me nervous.” 

He titled your face up to his then, using his index finger underneath your chin to make you look at him. “You’re an awful liar.” 

You just shrugged, watching triumphantly as Spencer’s gaze fell to your lips. “It’s been working out pretty well for me so far.” 

“I guess it has,” he murmured, closing the distance between you and finally kissing you. 

After so many months of imagining (and berating yourself for imagining) what Spencer’s lips might feel like on yours, you weren’t disappointed. 

For once you didn’t have to think at all, the chemistry between you and him drowning out everything else. His hand fell to your waist, and yours moved to the curve of his jaw, pulling him closer as his mouth moved against yours. Your teeth grazed his bottom lip and he gasped, and your skin felt like it was lit up from the inside. 

You pulled away to breathe, and to process, and to try and stop your head from swimming. You were rewarded with the awestruck look in Spencer’s eyes as he opened them again. 

“Okay, was it just me, or–” 

“That was crazy,” you breathed.

“Crazy,” he agreed. 

“Spence?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I don’t think we’re getting back to sleep tonight.” Your eyes widened at the implication of saying those words at that time. “Not, like, in the sex way, though,” you hurried to correct yourself. “I need like, 4-5 business days to process things first, and I– well, I just meant, like– you know?” 

Spencer was nodding at you even as his eyebrows pulled together in a frown. “Can I still kiss you during those 4-5 business days?” 

“Oh, yeah,” you said, sounding breathless. 

“Cool,” he agreed. “You seem really nervous, by the way.” 

“Well, you kissed me.” 

“I did.”  

“How were you not nervous?” you breathed. 

“Oh, I was. Your reaction is making me feel a whole lot better about it though.” 

You scoffed half-heartedly. “I do so much for you.” 

“You do,” he replied earnestly, letting go of your hand to wrap his arm around your shoulders as he pressed a kiss to your forehead. “We could lie back down, if you want. Like we were before I so rudely woke you up.” 

“Yeah, I’m super mad about that,” you joked. “Anyway, I was asleep for that, so you’ll have to show me what I was doing.” 

He seemed all too pleased to do so. “Okay, so you were basically like,” he leaned back against the pillows, pulling you down with him, moving his hand to the side of your head to guide you to the place where his shoulder met his chest, “Like that, and then your arm was over here,” he picked up your arm and guided it around his waist. 

“Oh god, that’s so embarrassing,” you said, realizing that he must’ve been awake when you’d done it. 

“Yeah, I know. Really terrible time for me.” 

“I can imagine. I can scoot back over to my side of the bed, just say the word.” 

“Don’t you dare,” he said, squeezing you closer. 

You trailed your fingers up and down his waist, feeling more content than you had in ages. 

“I can’t believe you’d suggest that I would have sex with you right after confessing my feelings. Like, take me to dinner first at least.” 

“Oh my god,” you half-exclaimed, half-laughed. You felt your cheeks heat up again, grateful it was still too dark in the room to be noticeable. “You’re right, I’m so sorry. How’s next Friday?” 

“Hmm, I don’t know. My work schedule is kind of unpredictable. I’ll have to get back to you.” 

“You’re such an ass.” 

A few short hours later, you were back on the jet with the rest of the team. You were lying on the couch while Spencer sat in a seat one row up and across from you, both to avoid suspicion and so you could try to catch up on sleep. He sat facing away from you, but with the angle you were at you could still see one side of his face if you tilted your head up. 

You were just beginning to fade when your phone buzzed next to you. 

Spencer: I have to tell you something, coworker to coworker. 

You looked up to see him blank faced, looking down at the book in his right hand, holding his phone in the left. 

You text back: okay? 

Spencer: My crush asked me out last night. 

You’re exceptionally glad no one was sitting close enough to see you. Spencer had caught you off guard, and you felt an infatuated grin spreading across your face. 

You: what did u say? 

Spencer: Wanted to get your opinion first. 

You: i think u should say yes, obviously. 

Spencer: Idk, I’m kinda nervous. I think she’s trying to jump me on the first date.

You just barely managed to refrain from laughing out loud. You looked up at Spencer again, and he’s looking at his phone as if it contained nothing more than a weather report. You’re astounded. 

You: one could argue that technically you’ve already slept together, so there’s less to be nervous abt

You saw his eyebrows raise just slightly. Success. 

Spencer: You’re trouble, you know that? See you Friday night

You: i promise i won’t try to jump you 

Spencer: Oh

Spencer: I fear I may have shot myself in the foot here

You: i wouldn’t worry about it too much

Spencer: That’s rich coming from you 

You rolled your eyes even though he couldn't see you. 

You: whatever. wear something sexy ;) 

You heard him blow air out of his nose, an almost laugh. 

“Something funny?” you heard Derek ask. 

Shit. 

“This book contains a historical inaccuracy that was proven incorrect eight years before its publishing date,” Spencer replied without missing a beat. 

Unbelievable.

You: you’re unhinged :*

Spencer: Go to sleep already, would you? 

You: coworker to coworker? my crush keeps interrupting my beauty sleep 

Spencer: He’s probably worried about the worldwide implications of you becoming any more beautiful 

You: i guess that’s why the universe gave you insomnia :( too pretty 

Spencer: Stop flirting with me

You: bc you’re too delicate?? 

Spencer: Yes 

You snapped your phone shut, feeling dazed. You watched the clouds go by in the window across from you, and you couldn’t help letting your gaze slide over to Spencer. He’d put his phone down as well, concentrating on his book. Or pretending to concentrate. He was turning the pages much too slowly for his actual pace. 

You: you have got to do a better job of fake reading than that

You heard a page turn. 

You looked up again to see the ghost of a smile threatening the corner of his mouth. 

This was going to be fun. And also, you were so screwed. 

[venusiancarbondioxide]

assigning the canaan house cavaliers a summer olympic sport

marta: shooting. specifically, i can see her shining in the rifle events. she has those glasses that make her look like a cyborg and is famously cool under the olympic pressure.

naberius: he's the only cav to actually be a fencer and he's stupidly good at it--he's bringing home a gold medal for sure. several people make thirst traps about him, but more people make videos mocking those thirst traps.

jeannemary: technically too young to compete at the olympics, but she is at the top of junior gymnastics. overall solid on everything, but she's a star on vault. her strategy is very high risk-high reward. she wants to land the triple-twisting yurchenko so much; this is a goal so insane that not even simone biles has done it.

magnus: basketball! he strikes me as a defense kind of guy. not the best on the team as far as skill, but he carries his weight and is excellent for team morale. one of those athletes that everyone uses as an example of good sportsmanship.

camilla: tennis. her game is fast and aggressive and utterly relentless--you have to have godly stamina to keep up with it. of the "the best defense is a good offense" school. she has a habit of switching what hand she uses between sets. this both prevents overuse injuries and fucks with people because hey, not that many people are canonically ambidextrous!

protesilaus: boxing. another guy who is stupidly good at his sport, goes into the olympics with multiple world titles to his name. he goes viral for a video where he picks up all of his kids at once.

colum: wrestling, specifically freestyle wrestling. he has the most intense training regiment out of everyone on this list, and frankly, it is Too Much. does well in the games, but would do better if he trained smarter, not harder.

gideon: the rugby lesbian of all time. she's the team captain and can stiff arm a motherfucker like you've never seen. getting hit by gideon nav on the field is equivalent to getting hit by a truck.

bonus!!

pyrrha: she has the same rugby energy as gideon, but in my heart of hearts, she's tennis. i want her and cam to have psychosexual tennis matches that would make the movie challengers blush.

loveday: boxing. she relishes in every opportunity she can get to legally punch someone in the face.

[vexic929]

Child in Time

Chapter 3

Warnings: none

Chapter 1: link Previous chapter: link Next chapter: link

This was, perhaps, the worst case scenario that in all his years and for all his knowledge, Harrison could never have predicted. For a man who was fairly used to knowing every variable ahead of time, it was jarring, unnerving. He felt inordinately shaken and could barely seem to hold his composure while Cisco, Caitlin, and Barry discussed what to do with the infant whose presence had sent him into a spiral of internal panic.

As soon as the discussion reached a point where the others were preoccupied, Harrison excused himself. He wheeled himself as calmly as he could down the hallways of S.T.A.R. Labs, his mind racing. His controlled exterior was beginning to crack and he couldn't afford that. Not now.

The entrance to the Time Vault slid open and Eobard entered, the doors sealing him in the private, secure space where he could drop the mask of Dr. Harrison Wells. He took a deep breath before standing, tossing his glasses haphazardly into the wheelchair seat, and crossing the room in two strides.

"Gideon," he called out, his voice tight.

"Good day, Dr. Wells." Gideon responded, her soothing, mechanical voice filling the room.

"Show me the future." Eobard said urgently, not interested in pleasantries.

"Certainly, Doctor."

Gideon's holographic face disappeared, a newspaper taking her place. Instead of the familiar headline 'Flash Missing: Vanishes in Crisis', the new headline was some dull article Eobard couldn't have cared less about if it wasn't for the fact that it wasn't meant to be there. He took a shaky breath, trying to quell his panic, and scrubbed his face with both hands.

"Run a complete search. Show any references to The Flash." Eobard said slowly, his chest suddenly very tight.

Fortunately, several smaller articles about The Flash dotted the space in front of him and Eobard regained the ability to breathe, bracing himself on the dais in front of him as he examined them closely. The future was...mostly in tact, it seemed. For now.

"Bring up my log, Gideon." Eobard said finally, taking a step back from the pedestal and crossing his arms, trying to regain some semblance of composure.

"Certainly." Gideon said and the list of entries appeared instantaneously. "Go ahead, Doctor."

"New entry: it has now been…" Eobard paused, looking at his watch. "372 days since lightning struck. Subject has brought an infant to the past from the distant future without considering how that could impact said future. This is, admittedly, unsurprising given his impulsivity but, nevertheless, concerning. At present, Subject remains The Flash and I have yet to experience any potential negative side effects as a result, but it has only been three hours since the infant's arrival. I expect more challenges to arise the longer he remains here."

Eobard paused, running a hand through his hair. This damned baby  - his younger self - threatened to unravel everything he had meticulously planned, everything he had worked for for the last 15 years. He exhaled a shaky breath, but the tension didn't leave his body. He couldn't afford to be complacent. The presence of this infant was a ticking time bomb and he had to neutralize it before it exploded.

"Gideon," Eobard said again, interrupting his log. "Show all references to Eobard Thawne."

"Zero references to Eobard Thawne." Gideon said, and Eobard felt the panic begin to seep in again.

"Show any references to The Reverse Flash." Eobard demanded.

"Zero references." Gideon repeated.

"Look again."

"Zero references." Gideon said once more.

"Look again." Eobard growled, his frustration and fear boiling over.

"I've searched 3,452 times, Dr. Wells. There's nothing."

Eobard took a deep breath to ground himself. He couldn't afford to lose control now, not when everything was so precarious, but the knowledge that he could disappear at any moment was a very known, very real threat that left him mentally spiraling. He couldn't afford to panic. He had to maintain control. The baby was a threat, yes, but he could handle it. There was no other choice.

"Log entry continued," Eobard said, turning back to the holographic interface. "In order to return the timeline to its intended state, I will maintain close observation of Subject's interactions with the infant, assess and evaluate potential threats to the timeline, and take all necessary actions to mitigate the inevitable changes. Subject must not be allowed to be alone with the infant for any length of time."

Eobard turned away, returning to the wheelchair and making his way out of the room. He couldn't let this infant destroy everything he'd worked for. He had come too far, sacrificed too much. He would find a way to fix this. He had to.

[mcbenson25]

More Then He Bargained For Final Part

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

A/N: Hello everyone! It's been...awhile. Rest assured I have not completely forgotten about our little story here and here it is, the final part. I won't spoil the ending but even if the ending isn't what you wanted, don't worry they'll be something in the near future for you :). I missed you all and thank you for reading. It means the world to me :)

Warnings: Violence, blood mentions, injury, mild language

-----------

The blaring alarm reverberated through the air, its shrill sound threatening to deafen you. You decided to not join Iris and Felicity, realizing that splitting up was the better option to avoid detection. Carefully, you climbed back up, positioning yourself just out of sight from the approaching soldiers while keeping a watchful eye on their movements. Pulling out your phone, you opened the Star Labs layout, that Cisco had given everyone a while back, containing the intricate layout of building and the hidden passages.

Following the map, you located a passage leading to the Time Vault where you knew you could get access to the entire building's security feeds.

As you made your way, gunshots echoed in the vicinity, accompanied by the frantic voices of Felicity and Iris below. You ran, taking advantage of the distraction that masked your movements. You located the vent and crawled through the space before you spotted the opening to the Time Vault and descended into the pristine white room, where the small white podium sat.

"Good evening, Mrs. Thawne," Gideon greeted you. You winced inwardly at the mention of your name, but there were pressing matters at hand. "Good evening, Gideon," you responded, your focus sharpening. "Can you pull up the security feed for the lab?"

"Certainly," Gideon replied, swiftly bringing up the footage. You scrolled through the screens until one caught your attention, its eerie red light casting an ominous glow. There, in the center of the room, was Kara, restrained and… in a hospital gown?

Your heart sank as you witnessed a tall figure loom over Kara, a needle poised menacingly in their hand. The needle plunged into her arm, eliciting a wince from Kara as a voice dripped with malicious intent, uttering the chilling words, "She's cooked."

An unmistakable shiver ran down your spine.

It was Eobard's voice.

Overgirl lay nearby, engrossed in an exchange of comforting words with Dark Arrow, while Eobard reached for a small machine resembling a surgical device. With a gasp, you closed the footage, knowing you needed a plan to put a stop to what was happening.

Bounding back up into the vent, you searched for the path leading to the room where Kara was held captive. Moving with measured steps, you walked slowly, mindful of any noise that could betray your location. Suddenly, the lights flickered, and darkness enveloped the area, only to be replaced by the emergency lights illuminating the vents. The power had been cut off.

A smile tugged at your lips.

Iris and Felicity.

As you neared the room, the sounds of a fight against the soldiers echoed through the corridor as they swiftly unstrapped Kara, who appeared frail and weakened. "Get me to the Sun," she whispered, her voice laced with urgency. Felicity and Iris grasped Kara's weakened form, determinedly making their way toward the elevator.

Meanwhile, you saw several Nazi soldiers running towards the room. You knew you had to give them time to escape, so you opened the vent and dropped in front of them. The sudden noise caught their attention, and for an instant, you all stood there, locked in an unexpected standoff.

"Well, this is awkward, isn't it?" you quipped, rolling up your sleeves, your gaze fixed on the soldiers.

Without hesitation, you delivered a punch to one of the Nazis, swiftly disarming them and employing their weapon against the others. The adrenaline surged through your veins as you exchanged blows, evading their strikes. One of them managed to land a solid hit to your face, you winced momentarily before retaliating with a swift kick to their legs.

Pushing through the laying plot of soldiers, you ran toward Felicity, Iris, and Kara, their desperate hopes resting on the elevator doors.

"Where have you been?" Felicity exclaimed, her voice tinged with relief and urgency, while Iris frantically pressed the elevator button.

"Busy!" you retorted, a hint of defiance in your response, just as the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder, signaling the imminent arrival of reinforcements.

Thankfully, the elevator doors began to open, but to your surprise, a green beam of energy erupted, striking Kara and propelling her across the room. A colossal, menacing robot emerged, its presence overshadowing any hope of escape.

"I don't believe Mr. Thawne is done with you yet," the robot boomed. Soldiers began flooding into the room, and the four of you reluctantly raised your hands in surrender.

The soldiers seized you forcefully, their grips tight as they dragged you into the cortex where Dark Arrow and another group of soldiers were. Your eyes darted around the room, instinctively searching for Eobard. He walked in, engrossed in his tablet, attempting to restore the power for the surgery. He cast a glare directed at Iris and Felicity which morphed into a lingering gaze as he saw your bruised cheek. You noticed his hand twitch, an urge to examine the injury clearly itching within him. When his eyes met yours, you looked away, unwilling to invite his attention.

"Report," Dark Arrow's deep voice snapped Eobard's focus back to the tablet.

"Good news," Eobard said, struggling to avert his gaze from you, "The Wellenreiter has successfully transitioned to this Earth."

Dark Arrow took a menacing step forward. "Kara is all that matters."

Eobard resisted the urge to roll his eyes, knowing this would hinder their plans. "That red sunlight we're subjecting her to? It's fading away. So, pretty soon," Eobard's annoyance seeped into his words, "her cells will be so desaturated that the surgery will be impossible."

"Fix it," Dark Arrow commanded with a dark edge to his voice.

"I can't," Eobard replied, exasperation lacing his words.

"This is your city. This is your facility. So turn the power back on," Dark Arrow's patience waned.

"I can't because the system is encrypted," Eobard retorted. He wanted to hit this man so badly and his restraint to do so was waning.

You exchanged a quick glance with Felicity, acknowledging her brilliance in the encryption.

"By who?" Dark Arrow questioned.

"By Ms. Smoak," Eobard answered, shifting Dark Arrow's attention toward Felicity with a deadly glare.

"Felicity Smoak, turn the power back on," Dark Arrow growled, his gaze fixated on her.

Eobard spoke, advancing toward Felicity, his speed allowing him to seize her and pin her against the wall by her throat. "He said," Eobard's voice dripped with threat, "turn the power back on!"

Despite being held by her throat, Felicity managed to utter, "Sorry, Eobard. Eobard?" mispronouncing his name.

"Eobard," he emphasized, increasing the pressure on her neck.

"My God, the future sounds weird," she gasped between breaths, the strain evident in her voice.

Eobard scoffed. "That's funny. Sometimes we think we're more clever than we actually are. Because where I come from, the history books are filled with tales of the age of heroes, yet none of them mention Felicity Smoak." His eyes turned red, and he vibrated his hand menacingly toward her.

"No! Felicity!" you screamed, kicking the guard holding you, causing him to lose his grip. Swiftly, you sprinted toward her, but before you could reach her, something struck your head, sending you sprawling to the floor.

Dark Arrow loomed above you, weapon in hand, poised to strike you once more. Clutching your throbbing head, you noticed blood staining your trembling hand. Eobard halted in his tracks, his eyes widening as he observed you sprawled on the ground, blood trickling down your face. His gaze burned with fury. This was the final blow to his patience. He turned, ready take Dark Arrow's heart and squeeze the life out of it, but a voice resonated through the room.

"No! Stop. Stop," Kara stumbled into the cortex, her voice filled with desperation. "You came here for me, so just take me. Please, don't hurt anyone else."

Felicity shook her head vehemently. "No, Kara."

"It's okay, Felicity. Give them the code," Kara reassured her, her voice tinged with resignation. Felicity lowered her head in defeat, reluctantly providing the code to Eobard, who struggled to maintain composure as he watched the guard haul you up, your balance faltering as you attempted to stand. Your eyes met his, you shook your head.

He had chosen his side.

And it wasn't you.

The power came back on as the guards dragged you away. You could still feel the blow to your head, and you winced as the soldiers pushed you to follow Iris and Felicity in front of the glass to where Kara was lying once again on the surgical table next to a sleeping Overgirl.

"Oh my God," Iris whispered.

"Kara," you said, reaching out to the glass before the soldier snapped at you, swatting your hand away. You glared at the soldier before turning your attention back to the scene unfolding in front of you. Eobard had grabbed one of the larger scalpels, admiring it, before looking up, meeting your eyes. The look of malice in his eyes dimmed as you watched him sigh, and you looked away, your eyes watering, focusing on Kara.

There was no use pleading with him anymore. There was nothing left to save.

Eobard turned back to Kara. "This next sound, metal through bone," he said as he moved the scalpel closer toward Kara's chest, "that's my favorite part," he finished with an evil smile.

"You might want to close your eyes," he said as he dipped the scalpel down to her chest.

You held your breath, waiting for the piercing scream to come but there was none.

Iris and Felicity exchanged confused looks with you as you heard Dark Arrow's voice laced with annoyance. "What are you waiting for? DO. IT."

Eobard looked up, his body still filled with rage from earlier. "I'm trying. There's something that-"

Eobard was cut off with Ray shouting, "Mitts off Mengle!" and you watched him transform from a miniature person back to his normal size. He punched Eobard in the face, stunning him before blasting him out of the room. You took the opportunity to kick the soldier behind you as Iris grabbed one of the paperweights and slammed it into the other soldier's head, knocking him out.

You rushed to Kara, who was being unlatched from the bed by Ray.

"Oh hey!" Ray greeted cheerfully, "I got your S.O.S. How was the wedding?"

Felicity giggled as you and Iris exchanged looks of disbelief, and Kara, who had sat up, laid back down again in disbelief. He helped Kara up as you walked into the corridor. "The rest of the Legends are here and we're busting everybody out."

"Wait!" Felicity exclaimed. "We need someone to lock the time vault."

"I'll do it." You said with a nod. "Don't have too much fun without me."

--------------

"Do you think anyone is coming for us?"

Harry rolled his eyes. It was the millionth time Cisco had asked since he had woken up. "Cisco, if you ask one more time, I will personally make sure you stay in here forever."

There was a pause, and Harry smiled before Cisco said, "Man, someone's having a bad day."

Right as Harry was about to quip back, there was a booming voice over the intercom, "Attention all prisoners: Great news. The cavalry has arrived."

Nate's voice was a relief as everyone cheered.

Harry sighed in relief as his cell moved towards the door and opened.

"About time. I was about to murder Cisco." He joked. "Do me a favor and free him last."

Nate laughed and agreed.

As Harry walked out into the hall, he immediately started to look for you. He ran down the cortex hallway and noticed the door to the time vault close. He crept slowly as he opened it, grabbing a nearby metal piece as he went in and saw something move and swung.

"What the hell!?" He heard a familiar voice yell.

"Y/N?" He said confused and relieved, and he dropped the pole.

"Harry!" You exclaimed, and he walked up to you and hugged you.

You were surprised by the gesture but felt relieved he was alive. You pulled back slightly, your face close to his.

"Where are the others?"

Harry seemed lost in thought, still holding onto your waist.

"Harry?" You asked softly, your heart suddenly running a marathon as you felt it pound against your chest.

His gaze locked with yours as he bridged the space between you, his eyes conveying a mix of warmth and longing. The air around you seemed to shift as his lips, soft and inviting, tenderly converged with yours. The moment was seamless, like a natural progression of shared glances and unspoken sentiments.

You wrapped your arms around his neck, drawn into the kiss by an invisible force that had been building between you for longer than you both realized. The touch of his lips was a revelation, a delicate dance of vulnerability and passion. His hands found a comfortable place on your waist, pulling you a fraction closer.

As you both pulled away, he looked at you with a warmth that made you feel butterflies. "I was worried," he admitted, his voice tinged with genuine concern.

"I'm not as soft as I seem," you replied, a smile playing on your lips.

Harry chuckled softly, a mix of relief and amusement. "I should have known better." He pressed his forehead against yours. "Let's find the others and get out of here."

----------------

Eobard was about to lose his mind. The very scenario he had repeatedly warned Dark Arrow about had unfolded right before his eyes.

Each time he looked at the man, fury surged within him, fueled by the haunting image of your bloodied head replaying incessantly in his mind. Attempting to muster the remnants of his patience, annoyance dripped from his words, thinly veiling his exasperation. "The general isn't safe here anymore."

A glare shot his way from Dark Arrow, who stepped forward with a huff. "I'm well aware of that."

The temptation to kill him gnawed at Eobard. "Fall back to the troop carrier and get ready for the invasion," Dark Arrow ordered.

Finally, things were aligning with Eobard's plans.

Not that he cared, but he asked anyways, "Without you?"

"I'm staying," came the seething reply. "Supergirl won't leave here alive."

"Don't make it personal," Eobard cautioned. "Bad move."

Dark Arrow slammed his hand on the desk beside Eobard. Before he could retort, another voice cut in, "Are you questioning your Fuhrer's orders?"

Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes in irritation, Eobard met Overgirl's gaze, her eyes fixed on him for a response.

"Of course not," he retorted, his tone soft yet laced with harshness. "General."

With that, he sped off to ready himself for the awaited attack, but there was one matter he needed to take care of.

-------------

Back on the Waverider, a whole new set of issues slammed into you like a freight train. Professor Stein got hit hard during the fight, his life tethered to Jax, and Caitlyn and Ray were on a wild mission to find a solution.

Iris had dashed off to find Barry, while Felicity and Oliver were deep in the mystery of what was happening with Overgirl. That left you with Harry. The post-kiss buzz had worn off, and now you were feeling a bit awkward. Not that the kiss wasn't something you wanted, but it was definitely uncharted territory.

"So, um, are we, like," you stuttered, a blush creeping up your cheeks, "together now?"

Harry's ears matched your blush as he ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I mean—if you want?"

"I just… I don't know," you began, seeing Harry's confusion.

"Harry, I want to be with you," you clarified, and he broke into a smile, "but maybe we shouldn't rush anything."

Harry nodded, a genuine agreement in his eyes. "Right. After all, we have all the time in the multiverse."

Your grin widened at his charmingly dorky comment.

"We should head back," he suggested, taking a step closer, his hands gently encircling your waist. He placed a tender kiss on your forehead.

"I'll catch up with you. I'm just going to grab a change of clothes and freshen up a bit," you said with a smile as he left.

In the bathroom, you gave your face a wake-up call with a splash of cold water. Looking in the mirror, you noticed some dried blood in your hair from the Dark Arrow's blow earlier. Letting out a sigh, you figured a quick shower was in order.

The water was refreshing, but as it ran down, you winced a bit, trying to rinse the blood from your hair. It hit you then – tiredness. With each droplet, you could feel the weariness in your muscles, and you realized you couldn't recall the last time you had a decent sleep.

You dried off and instinctively reached for your neck before sighing.

There was nothing there anymore.

As you got dressed, thoughts of Harry lingered. He had kissed you, and you were, well, let's just say you weren't upset. In fact, it was the first time in a very, very long time that you felt this kind of happy warmth.

"That's a nasty cut you've got there."

You turned around, and there, of course, stood the last person in the world you wanted to see.

"What do you want, Eobard?" you huffed out harshly, already trying to get around him to leave.

He sighed. "I was worried."

You stared up at him before bursting out laughing hysterically. "You know, Eobard, that's about the craziest thing I've heard today," you managed to say while still laughing.

He took a step towards you, and you immediately stepped back.

"No."

He looked at you. "No?"

And that's when you just lost it.

"No. You don't get to come here and act all worried about me when you were about to split my BEST FRIEND OPEN AND HAD ZERO REMORSE ABOUT IT. YOU DON'T GET TO WALTZ IN AND START MAKING DECISIONS, AND YOU SURE AS HELL DON'T HAVE ANY RIGHT TO SPEAK TO ME.," you screamed at him, pushing him with each word until you realized you were crying.

Silence hung heavily between you, broken only by the sound of your ragged breaths.

Eobard took a sharp inhale before quietly saying, "You're right. I don't have any right. I lied to you, so many times."

"I never meant to hurt you. You could say it was selfish, stringing you along, but I love you," he paused and glanced up at you, "and even if you never want to see me again, I need you to know that. Every touch, every kiss, everything was real."

There was a moment of silence as you let his words sink in.

You sighed, rubbing your eyes, trying to wipe the tears and exhaustion from them. "Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't," You took a shaky breath in still trying to regain your composure, "But you chose your side."

"Wait-" Eobard tried.

You shook your head. "It wasn't me that you chose, and I'm done chasing someone who will never choose me."

Silence clung in the air as Eobard glanced up at you before cautiously stepping towards you and you let him. "Even if you never forgive me," his hand lightly reaching for your face, "I'll always be here for you. Whatever you need, whenever. It's the least I can do."

As you looked up you knew he meant every single syllable of that statement. You placed your hand on his and leaned against it.

"Thank you."

"Do you love him?" He asked after a moment.

There was another pause.

"I think so."

Just as the words settled between you two, an urgent voice echoed through the Waverider, "Guys, something happened in the med bay!"

Eobard kissed your forehead. "Go."

You pulled away, and just as he was about to leave, he turned around.

"Be happy, my darling." He gave you a soft smile before he rushed away, leaving you staring at the spot he had just been.

"I hope you can be too."

---------------------------

Professor Stein was dead.

As you stood in the control room, you reached for Harry as the rest of the team filled the room, taking a moment to mourn the loss of not just a friend but a part of their family.

"We have got to stop Overgirl."

You all turn to face Oliver.

"Professor Stein's death will not be for nothing. Failure is not an option. We are going to win. We are going to show these people that this Earth belongs to us."

"Great speech," came Frost's blunt response and you couldn't help but giggle.

Gideon's voice filled the ship. "Mr. Queen we are being hailed by another Time Ship."

"Put it on."

"I want to offer a truce." Dark Arrows figure appeared not eh hologram. "We will peacefully return to our Earth."

"In exchange for what," Barry asked.

"Supergirl comes with us."

You all looked at each other in agreement before Oliver took a step toward the hologram.

"Here another difference between you and me," he took a sharp breath in, "I don't abandon my friends!"

With the the hologram was shut off.

Sara stepped up. "Alright everybody ready to go."

Harry squeezed you hand as everyone nodded.

Sara nodded. "For the professor."

--------------

"Okay is it me or is this entire thing not working?" You asked after barely dodging another hit from the other Waverider

Harry shook his head frustrated. "It's not working."

"You need to take down their shields," Felicity said, looking at the screens.

Harry and Cisco glared at her, they knew this already. Before Harry could snap back at her you hit both of their arms.

"Ow!" Harry exclaimed as Cisco rubbed his arm.

"Quit whining and let's hit this damn ship," You said sternly.

After a couple tries Felicity spoke again with worry laced on her words. "Guys this still isn't working. I think we need a bigger gun."

"Way ahead of you."

You watched Kara fly toward the other ship. In a flash you saw Overgirl burst out of her ship crashing into Kara.

"Waiting for some good news here," Cisco said nervously.

"I don't have any for you man!" Felicity exclaimed. "The only way to take out their shield is to get someone on board that ship."

"I can get up there but I'll need someone to do all the computer work," Frost's said over the coms.

"I'll go," Felicity said.

You shook your head. "No you stay here and I'll go. You know the ship better than anyone so we need you here."

"Absolutely not." Harry immediately said. "You're not going anywhere."

Felicity and Cisco glanced at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Harry it'll be fi-" You were cut off by his lips over yours.

As he pulled back he ran his hand over your cheek. "I'll go."

"Holy shit are you guys together?"

Harry glared over at Cisco and you tried to hide a smile.

"I totally called it," Felicity said as she nudged your side.

"Aw that's great now can we go?" Frost asked feigning annoyance, walking into the room, amused.

Harry gave you a quick kiss. "I'll be right back."

You smiled and nodded. "You better."

---------------------

It was time to go.

Eobard sensed the urgency as the fight continued on, observing the soldiers starting to pull back, their morale shattered by the relentless presence of Overgirl and Supergirl soaring above.

He sighed.

Another weak team.

Another failed attempt.

As he ran he felt Barry catch up to him and he let him grab him.

As he sprinted, Barry caught up, gripping him roughly.

Barry slammed him into a concrete pillar, fury contorting his features as he readied a phasing hand.

Oh, Barry. Did he genuinely believe he could?

Eobard already knew the answer but wanted to test it anyway. "Do it, Barry. End it."

Barry glanced up, panting, pushing his hand just a hair closer to Eobard's chest.

"END IT!"

Barry locked eyes with him and, after a moment, stepped back.

"What's stopping you, Barry?" Eobard taunted, already knowing the answer. "Oh, I forgot. Barry Allen is above killing. Isn't that right?"

Barry glared, pushing Eobard away. "Get out of here."

Eobard smirked. "Till next time, Flash," he said, venom dripping from his words.

"Can't wait," Barry replied, annoyed.

Eobard sprinted off, spotting an icy trail heading towards the Dark Waverider. Intrigued, he followed it.

He witnessed Frost and Amaya dispatching soldiers while the doppelgänger raced toward the controls.

They were here to disable the shields. Eobard didn't bother stopping him; there was no point now. As Harry pressed the big red button to unveil the ship, Eobard ran toward him, whisking him into a separate room.

"What the hell?" Harry looked up, seeing the Reverse Flash before him. "What the hell do you want?"

Eobard rolled his eyes. "Relax. If I wanted you dead, I would've already killed you."

"Then what the hell do you want?"

Eobard sighed. "I want you to know something." There was a pause. "I may have broken her heart, but it doesn't mean I never loved her."

"What a funny way of showing it," Harry said, annoyed.

Eobard scowled, pushing Harry against the wall. "Listen here. I don't expect you to understand, but I do love her. I love her so much, and she deserves so much more. I don't like you, and I wish I could, but she loves you. She picked you."

Harry was silent as Eobard took a step back. "Break her heart, and I'll personally make sure that you are miserable for the rest of your life."

"Harry!"

Both men turned toward the door at the voices calling.

"Get out of here."

Harry nodded as he walked past him.

"For the record," Harry said, glancing back, "she loved you too."

With that, he left, and Eobard sighed, running a hand over his face.

She loved you too.

---------------------

Harry couldn't shake off thoughts of the Reverse Flash. He wasn't expecting confrontation, and Harry knew he wouldn't kill him. In a twisted way, it felt like the Reverse Flash's attempt to move on. Harry shook his head; even a cold-blooded psycho had feelings.

Stepping onto the Waverider, he was enveloped in a tight embrace, and he couldn't help but smile. "I told you I would make it back."

"I never doubted that for a second," you said, smiling up at him.

He kissed you, savoring the moment. There was a lingering press, enough for you to sigh contentedly.

"Come on, let's go blow up that ship."

Returning, Iris congratulated Harry, and Cisco approached with a mischievous grin. "You think you can handle this bad boy, Harry?" he asked, signaling the weapon controls.

"Walk in the park, Kazansky," Harry replied as he took his seat.

"Well, if you run into any problems, you've got your girlfriend right here to help you," Cisco teased.

Harry groaned, and you couldn't help but laugh, playfully hitting Cisco. "Where are you even going, Cisco?"

"To help you down there," Cisco said, creating a breach to the fight below. "I'll be right back."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ramon." He pressed the controls and hit the release button.

You watched as the other ship exploded while Cisco breached it so it wouldn't land on civilians below.

You smiled at Harry, and Cisco breached back. "Nailed it!" he exclaimed, with Amaya and Zari behind him.

"I'm detecting dangerously high radiation levels," Gideon interrupted.

"Disembodied voice lady is right," Cisco said as he and Harry looked at the screens, "Supergirl is about to go supernova."

"Supergirl," Harry said over the comms, "Your doppelgänger's about to have a meltdown."

"What do I do?" You heard Kara's concerned voice.

"You need to take her up," he gestured with his hands, "up, up, and away. Now."

You caught Harry's eye and giggled. "Really, Harry? Up, up, and away?"

He laughed. "See, I can be funny."

You rolled your eyes playfully. "Dork."

"Only for you," he said, smiling.

"That's cute. But save it for after we save the world," Cisco said playfully teasing.

A big boom followed before you realized Kara had succeeded. Cheers erupted as Nate announced he had caught Kara from her fall. You kissed Harry as everyone celebrated.

-------------------

After a tiring couple of days, you decided a very, very long nap was in order. Harry had been over and brought Big Belly, leaving when he saw how tired you were, realizing he was tired as well. As much as you would have liked him to cuddle with you, you figured you deserved some time for yourself. So you went on a jog, showered, watched some TV, and caught up on some books you had been wanting to read.

As you finished your latest read, you heard your phone go off, and saw it was a message from Iris.

'Come to the little park by the lake at 4. We're saying bye to Kara and the Legends. Wear something nice.'

You sat there confused. Why would you need to wear something nice for a farewell party?

You knew there was more to this.

You got ready with a smile, picking a simple dress, a flowy sundress that embraced the summer vibes, adorned with delicate floral patterns that mirrored the colors of the sunset. You did your hair before your phone went off again.

'Do you know what all this wearing something nice is about?' -Harry

'I have no clue!' You wrote back.

'I'll pick you up?'

You smiled as you reread the message. 'Of course. See you in a few :)'

You grabbed your purse and headed down. Harry was there, smiling as he greeted you.

"How are you?" He asked as you placed your seatbelt on.

"I'm good. I finally managed to get some good sleep."

He leaned in and placed a kiss on your forehead. "I love you."

You smiled with immense joy radiating through your body. "I love you too."

As he drove, he reached over with his free hand and rubbed your leg before slipping his hand into yours.

As you arrived, you saw Barry, Iris, Oliver, and Felicity, along with Kara and Sara.

You got out, and Sara gave a little wave before giving you a hug. "Take care." She watched as Harry walked towards you. "He's a keeper," she said with a wink as she said bye to Harry.

Kara came over and also hugged you and Iris. "Take care, guys. We'll have to do this again sometime." She frowned. "The hanging out, I mean, not the fighting Nazis," she said, laughing.

You all laughed as she took the device from Oliver to get back to her home.

It was just Iris, Barry, Oliver, and Felicity left.

"Does someone want to tell me why I had to wear 'something nice'?" You said, using your fingers in quotations.

Felicity smiled as Iris said, "Well, considering we had a ceremony, we figured we should probably make it official by exchanging vows."

"Oh! Yes!" You exclaimed excitedly.

"Can mayors ordain weddings?" Barry wondered out loud.

"I'm pretty sure that only applies within the Star City limits," Oliver chuckled.

"We know someone else that could, though," Felicity said as she exchanged looks with Barry before he ran off and returned with Diggle. He looked confused as he felt the effect of speed running and threw up. "Could I get a warning next time?" He said meekly.

"Sorry," Barry said, rubbing the back of his neck shyly, "But we were wondering if you could officiate our vows."

Diggle immediately smiled. "Of course." As Barry and Iris exchanged their vows, you leaned into Harry and sighed happily.

"We all found our happy ending today," he whispered into your ear.

You nodded, a look of content on your face. Harry wished they could live in this moment forever. The air was filled with a mixture of emotions — love, joy, and the bittersweet realization of goodbyes and new beginnings.

Felicity and Oliver shared the same look as Felicity asked him, "Will you marry me?"

Oliver stood there astounded and taken aback but happily agreed. Diggle smiled. "Finally! After watching you two and keeping you together for years, I'm honored to marry all of you."

Both couples kissed as Harry turned you around and placed a kiss on your lips. He pulled back and lifted you to twirl you in a circle, and you laughed as you held on to his neck.

"You think someday that'll be us?" He asked as he set you back down, your foreheads touching.

You hummed in contentment. "Someday."

He smiled, kissing you again, and you knew that even with all the heartache you had been through, you would be happy. You knew you still had some loose ends to handle, but for now, here, there was nothing else you could ask for.

--------

Taglist:@khayrrilrainxwells @kirareaper13 @i-dont-care-lol @cursedfaechild @lovepeaceorelse @roryjames82 @brianllamawrites @achromaticerebus @honeybeezgobzzzzz @bellagomez-barriga @readingfanficdonotdisturb @tahiraseoti @roguerieka22

Hellooooo and sorry for the long wait I hope you all enjoyed it! This is not the end for our story here I still have some more stuff in mind! Thank you to everyone who has been here since the beginning, I LOVE you so much!!! Feel free to leave any comments as well as ideas. :)

[jackiequick]

The Flash OC ⚡️

Leanna O’Conner 🌺

Full Name: Leanna Kira O’Conner

Nicknames: Lea, Lana, Anna, Annie, O’Conner, Doc, Darling, Flower

Age depending on the season: 32–38 (but she always looks young for her age)

Height: 5'3

Job: Assistant, Scientist, Detective and overall help of Team Flash

Shows she appears in: The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, DC Legends Of Tomorrow and etc

Relationships: Ex-boyfriend Eowells and Harrison Wells Earth 2. Currently single.

Friendships: Iris West, Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, Kara Danvers, Barry Allen, Felicity Smoak, Ray Palmer and the list goes on

Power Set: She doesn't have powers but ends up effected by the explosion and timeline change years later. Ends up with really good sense of hearing, enhanced listening which comes in handy.

~~~~~

Leanna was hired by Dr. Harrison Wells to be his little helper knowing she also has a background in science and tech, with a strong heart. That moment he knew she was someone who keep an eye on.

She quickly became friends with Caitlin, Ronnie, Cisco and Hartley having other scientists and engineers of S.T.A.R. Labs join in on the fun of their friendship. Over her months, more like a year, of working with them whole team she developed a huge love and respect for them. Lea grew close to Dr. Wells having a small crush on the older man, little did she know he felt the same way. Soon enough the night of Explosion came and everything changed.

Later on Leanna was sent to recruit Barry Allen since doctor Wells wanted to keep the coma patient at Star Labs instead, she agreed knowing that they can probably help him out when the time came. 9 months later Barry woke up and training with his speed began! One night, Harrison spoke into the microphone saying, “Run Barry Run!” for the first time as his hand causally slipped onto Lea’s in a comforting grip and she smiled back, leaning into his touch.

Later on the two started rather quickly dating over that. Dinner dates, kisses shared, hand holding, smiles, late night talks and etc. Love was in the air, friendships grew, Team Arrow came to visit Central City aka Oliver, Felicity and Ray, Team Flash was at its highest point but The Reverse Flash was out there…

Later Leanna gets a feeling that Harrison is hiding something from her and she confront him about him, Harrison tells her it’s nothing. Until a few days later while she’s walking down the hallways one morning at the Lab she leans against the wall noticing how difficulty tougher the wall felt and stumbles into room in between the wall where Thawne kept his suit and Gideon. EoWells became the new name.

Leanna is in shock finding the information as Gideon greets her saying “Hello Ms O’Conner. But you are only that last name during this lifetime. How may I be of assistance ma’am?” Leanna ask her the questions she has. But before she can ask about article and Eowells real family history, her boyfriend sneaks in behind. Eowells was standing, as he sat in Lea his famous chair and questioning her action by entering the Time Vault.

Eowells grumbles and pinching his nose, “Lea my dear, I love you. I really do but I can’t believe you’ll ask Gideon AND NOT ME!”

Leanna glares, “Oh please, Harrison or should I call you Eobard? I asked you earlier and you refused to answer me! If you really wanted my help or something, you could’ve been honest…do you care about me or am I just a game in your plan to build Team Flash..?”

“I-I do care! I can’t have them knowing yet, I promise you I will tell them about who I am and we can be together forever.”

“A week.”

“I’ll execute the best to way to tell them.”

“Or I tell the team.”

“You wouldn’t dare, I can tell your bluffing my dear.”

That night lead to screams, heartache and anger for the pair. Eobard told her bits and pieces of his story, but not everything keeping it a lie and Leanna fell for it. He hated seeing her that way, noticing the light and laughter flickering out of his girlfriend that night, pulling Lea into his arms, he kissed her and begged for forgiveness. She didn’t even know what to think, but let it slide hoping he kept his promise.

As weeks went on, Eobard didn’t say a word to Team Flash BUT Leanna did! She revealed his identity to Barry, Cisco, Caitlin, Joe and even Iris as they all worked against him. Eddie died sadly. Of course they defeated Reverse Flash, Barry went back in time to see his mother and they created a wormhole in Central City. Ronnie and Barry stopped it as Leanna held Caitlin in her arms knowing how heartbreaking it must’ve been for her friend.

~~~~

(Season 2–3)

Months later, everyone was working once again at Star Labs after a break from the chaotic year. Leanna worked with Joe and Caitlin most of those months as a biologist and detective. She became friends with Penny and her sister Patty, eventually finding a video tape for Barry and handing it to him. On there the video tape Eobard Thawne aka FAKE Harrison Wells confession to the murder of Nora Allen and his faults towards his relationship with Leanna O’Conner, saying that her and Barry have inherited a chunk, if not most of S.T.A.R Labs.

Everything was turning up nicely until two visitors from EARTH-2. Jay aka ZOOM and Harrison ‘Harry’ Wells. The moment Lea lay her eyes on Harry in Star Labs, she felt like she saw a ghost, like she was gonna throw up. The girl didn’t know what to think the long hours she spend standing near Wells and trying to get to know him. Cisco hated him, saying he was a grump and a total dick while Lea kept watch while working on a few test items noticing a look in Harrison Wells eyes. Anger, confusion, sadness and annoyance. The same way she felt.

She told Cisco, “Sooner or later, every man shows himself.” And Harry did. He was a little nicer in a way with Team Flash, being mostly closer to Cisco and Leanna. The three could be bickering over everything! However Harry seemed to care about her, finding her presents kind and lighten up his mood every once in a while. He barley heard her laugh or smile too often but when he did, he smiled.

One night, Leanna was closing the windows in Star Labs and checking up on the rooms before leaving it all to Harry. She stumbled into one of the labs searching for jacket that held a small brown notebook she lost earlier during the week. “Ah ha! I knew I left it in here…” She said with a small nod, noticing a small black notebook that was open with nice handwriting inside. She smiled.

Harry walked into the lab with a half nod and taking a seat near the sets of tables, grabbing his black markers and a white notepad scribbling down an idea. He felt her eyes on him and chuckled slightly, “Yes, O’Conner?”

“Is this yours?” She asked with a small half smile, taking a seat in one the stools pointing to the notebook.

He turned around questioning her query and eyes widen at the small black notebook, snatching it of the table and closing it. He glanced between the notebook and her before he asked, “What did you..see? In this case of the notebook, O’Conner.”

“Just your handwriting, and a narrative in the way you wrote a note, like a storyteller. And a name.” She replied honestly, pushing her hair out of her face. Harry questioned her knowledge cue her to speak more and she continued, “The name, Jesse, popped up on that small note.”

“…my daughter, Jesse. I told you and your team that Zoom took her, while some of his Metas came here to Earth 1. I miss her…”

“I can tell you do. I have a few nieces and nephews, I know how it feels to miss children you love…”

“Why are you so nice to me?”

“Because, Harry, you aren’t like the others. I can see the pain and anger in yours eyes after losing your light and laughter, being your daughter…I know that because I felt it. When your told the truth and something you love is taken from you..it hurts.”

“You were hurt before, weren’t you Lana?”

“Yeah. I was hurt before by Thawne, friends while I was child..even told that a woman couldn’t do much better than a man in my line of work.”

“They’re idiots.”

“What?”

“I’ve haven’t known you long but I can tell enough. Your very smart, kind, understanding and a badass with a gun. Hell, you shot down three Metas this month and cuffed them in front of the group like it was nothing. You show a lot of love and compassion towards everyone.”

“I was taught well. But don’t sell yourself short, Harry. Your a genius and gentle, a bit grumpy but it adds to your charm. You’re very understanding about a lot of things and see a lot compassion in people, notice things that they don’t.”

It was like sparks flew between that in that moment, of course they pair was attractive to each other after some time working together but this month felt stronger than ever. Harry saw a light flickering return in her eyes while Lea saw a balance of hope returning in his. Lea’s heart fluttered softly for him and Harry’s heart beats strongly for her. Two kept their emotions in control, not knowing what to say or do about this feeling..

Until Christmas time came near and Cisco hung mistletoe in Star Labs cortex, in hopes to have Caitlin and Jay along with the other couples to celebrate and kiss. But Cisco Ramon didn’t expect to walk into the Cortex, to find Harry Wells hands cupped onto Lea O’Conner’s face with such joy as her arms wrapped around his waist lean in for another sweet kiss. The two were in their own little world all smiles and no sorrow..

Cisco cleared his throat with his hands on his hips and yelled, “Well, well, well, if it isn’t The Grump and The Lady!”

The two snapped their heads towards Cisco in utter shock and slightly annoyance wanting to kick him out of the room. “Ramon!” Harry yelled with his hands still gently cupping his lady’s face, “Don’t you knock?!”

“Seriously, Cisco?!” Lea yelled at the same time as Harry did grumbling under her breath.

Cisco just laughed while also in shock wanting to know everything about this situation. He swore to not tell a soul but it didn’t last long as he told Barry, Iris and Caitlin, even Joe and Jay found out. They didn’t know how their relationship started exactly but it did and it felt just right. To add onto the dynamic, it was honestly a adorable height difference, if you ask Caitlin.

The two were inseparable, with Harry always standing behind her as his hands, placed comfortably on Lea’s shoulders as if it was the most normal thing in the world. She would smile taking one of his hands, placing a gentle kiss onto her knuckles that always tinkered with items in the lab. They weren’t big on PDA however the couple always seen giving small kisses on each other’s cheeks and forehead.

Of course, they bickered and fought like an old married couple at least twice a week, even over the smallest things.

~~~~~

Plenty of things happened, Harry got shot by Patty, a few metas, Jay revealed to actually be Zoom, and of course the famous trip to Earth 2 to save Jesse…Let’s just say Lea met Jesse under the worst circumstances as Zoom kidnapped her as well for high leverage over Team Flash.

Jesse screamed, ranted and cried the whole time, in the beginning Lea felt sorry for her and comforted the girl. Until her temper started to rise and snapped at the poor girl, telling Jesse that everything will be fine and that she’s braver than this! Eventually Jesse stopped and started talk to her to figure out how to escape. Thankfully Barry, Cisco, Harry, Killer Frost and others saved them! They all returned to Earth 1 with a survivor of Zoom to reveal himself as the REAL Jay Garrick. 

Everyone bonded, a few metas came in here and there. Harry, Lea, and Caitlin had to saved Jesse from going into shock. Lea and Jesse formed a bond afterwards. Plenty of other things happened as Barry’s dad died while trying to help them.

Eventually they defeated Zoom and everything was fine, until Barry created Flashpoint and you know what happened there! Team Flash was dealing with bigger issues due that change in the timeline order cause of the different Meta Humans, Caitlin becoming Killer Frost, Harry and HR, relationships blooming, the yearly crossover events and etc.

Forget to mention, Harry was a little jealous when HR would be flirty or anything similar to that with Lea. HR adored all the couples, especially Barry and Iris! But deep down he knew she was Harry’s lady.

~~~~~

As crazy it was, it was home. One afternoon, Harry walked into the lab to find Lea tinkering a equation for a biological connect between a few Meta humans and a new answer to Jesse’s speeding powers, getting a huge headache. He smiled, resting his hand on her waist kissing her shoulder tenderly. It was a rare occasion where he was the one easing her thoughts. Usually it was the other way around, with her being the one to do so, but it felt good.

Lea leaned into Harry’s touch and eased looking up at him with a small smile. They only been together for two years but it felt like they were the married couple of Team Flash with how comfortable they are around each other. She laced her lips giving him a cheeky kiss as he went in for another kiss.

“You forgot to add the 3 and subtract the 15, that’s why your having trouble.” Harry commented, taking the pen to fix the equation and being a genius, he solved it immediately.

“Of course I did. I’m better with a gun and genetic codes then rude math stuff..” Lea replied with a small huff, pointing to the paperwork.

“That’s why I’m the billionaire genius.”

“And I’m the junior biologist.”

“A gorgeous biologist, may I add.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“I would!”

Before she can replied or add anything else, Harry lifted the girl into her arms wrapping the love of his life into her arms grinning. Lea wrapped around his neck when suddenly she hissed her face laying on Harry’s chest, feeling a headache and a sharp ringing in her ears. His gripping stayed strongly against hers, rubbing her back until it passed and when it did, Harry asked, “Uh honey what was that? Are you okay?”

Lea whimpered for a moment and nodded, “I’m fine. I heard a ringing like a bell..or the elevator.”

“From here? Darling, your sure it’s not a headache…you’ve been having a lot of those recently.”

“No..it’s not.”

As if on cue, Cisco came in with a confused face holding a corn dog and texting Barry on his phone. He looked up and noticed the couple sensing something was wrong, Harry was skeptical, it happened out of the blue as he watch Lea’s reactions and his face lighted up. 

Cisco tossed Harry his machine and they the used old Meta Human detector waving it in front of her until it’s started slowly beating a gentle as Harry and Cisco face lit up. After a few hours it was confirmed, Leanna caught onto elements of being Meta Human!

—-

Hours and days passed as Leanna O’Conner became aware of her powers that bounced within her. She had to ability to have enhanced hearing. Cisco and Harry were VERY proud they found out of her abilities firsthand while Caitlin kept her abilities a secret. That was until Cisco and Lea found out with Barry about her power set. They love Caitlin and embraced her new abilities, even if Killer Frost revealed to be a bit of a insecurity for her. But Lea was always by her side for all of it!

To say Lea struggled with her powers was a understatement, there were moments where she heard everything from a 4 mile radius and moments where she couldn’t hear anything at all. The first days she couldn’t sleep or think straight, having to wear noise canceling headphones that Cisco and Harry built for her or Iris hug her from behind to hush her worries.

Weeks past and everything changed for Team Flash, they’re team grew up but also downgraded. Since Killer Frost kept showing up making issues harder, Savitar kept wanting to kill Iris, Wally West got powers and started dating Jesse, and etc.

OH! The Invasion, The Musical Crossover Event and happened as well. In result, was a world wrestling issue for the teams as Supergirl, Arrow, Legends and others join in. Barry and Iris even got engaged twice, which everyone celebrated.

More Metas came to town, causing Lea to take action and step up even more with Team Flash, since she was always behind the scenes of all the action. Time travel happened and then it was the night of Iris’s death…

It was a crazy nightmare for Barry and the rest of Team Flash, fighting against time to save Iris from Savitar and Killer Frost. Stressful, heartbreaking and frustrating to say the least. In the end they won, H.R. swapped positions with Iris, as she went to kill Savitor with a gun she took from Lea.

There was a small funeral held for H.R. Wells during a somewhat cold rainy day, everyone dressed in black underneath umbrellas burying their short lived friend. Caitlin returned as Killer Frost for the funeral telling Lea and Cisco she needs some time to figure herself out but will return later on. A few days later, Lea and Cisco were packing up for a small trip to Earth 2 with Harry when a portal opened a few blocks away result all of Team Flash to take action.

The portal was The Speed Force wanting Barry to spend some time with them for a while, for his issues of messing with the timeline. It was heartbreaking to see Barry Allen go, Lea held Iris in her arms comforting the girl as she had to watch her fiancé leave for a while. Julian, Cisco, Harry and Joe stayed behind watching the mere sad action take place as a group…

Thanks to reading and I hope you liked it. If you have any questions onto Season 4-5 put them in the comment section below 👇🏼

Tags: @gaminggirlsstuff @morgan108 @msrochelleromanofffelton @t-nd-rfoot @yetanotherwells @blueboirick @sherloquestea @sherlkore @gcthvile @ohgodnotagainn @topgun-imagines @gcthvile @superspookyjanelle @blackheart-beauty @hanlueluver and etc

[forthegoob]

Random thoughts of an unfocused person on season 17 episode 8 :

Are you ready? Because I'm not. I saw photos on CM insta where Emily is on the field and an other where Rossi looks sad. Plus, I read a spoiler on someone said Rossi kiss Jill Gideon.

2 remain. Only 2...

Directed by Zach Gilford. YAY. Oh did you know he played in a Taylor Swift music video ?

WOW BRIDGET VOIT IS HIS WIFE IN REAL LIFE. Okay Era, let the wiki page alone and start the episode. Please.

This is how horror movies begins.

So the old man is probably the creator of the Stuart house. GS-one. To five I guess ? Shivers when the music start.

"Rossi is a vault" JJ... you are right on this one.

I KNEW IT WAS HER ! I WROTE IT ON MY LIST OF PREDICTION! I FUCKING KNEW IT.

Oh Jill... "Hell is paved with good intentions" blablabla. Rossi will be so pissed about it though. So, she is on the list, isn't she ?

So, for now, they know GS-One and GS-five. But what about the other ? And what about the other houses then ? Did they'll keep it for next season ?

But the all, Rossi left because he fall in love with Jason's wife and he can't. "Right person, wrong time". It's bullshit. Don't make us believe he will leave the work of his life, leave his best friend who named his son after him, for such a stupid reason. David Rossi is a loyal man. "I wasn't as emotionally mature". Yeah, sure.

Tara and Rebecca get back together?!

They finally turn the lights on.

And Luke just kick the door open. Morgan's style.

TYLER ? The grey sweater... Oh my... Hello ?

Luke does geo-profile like in the good old days :) I recently start rewatch of CM at the season 12, because I miss Luke. I like the "lonely wolf" style he has, so he made twice as effort to fit in and the team is just so impressed everytime he makes a smart move. Oh yeah of course he knows latin...

Yeah Penelope it's "sexy". Luke is. Luke is smart. We love Luke, Penelope.

Of course Voit finds his lawyer on his network. He have it since years just in case. So he have something on him and that why he can ask him to reach Damian and do shitty work for him.

They talk too much about Jason's cabin to not ended here at some point...

JILL KISSED DAVE. Ok, Jill is dead by the end of the episode, because Dave is cursed.

Jade is somewhere and she'll killed him if he get caught, or Jill. Or both. (I FUCKING KNEW IT bis.)

This episode was good. I'm glad they didn't do "fan service" (but don't get me wrong, I LOVE fan service) on it and we just go straight to the point for once.

[burnwater13]

Concept art by Anton Grandert. Image from the Book of Boba Fett, Season 1, Episode 4, The Gathering Storm. Depicts the Firespray over the sarlacc pit, with the creature grabbing the ship with its tentacles.

Din Djarin wasn’t sure that he’d ever understand the Force. He found it hard to image let alone understand. Grogu was able to do such strange things with it and it just didn’t seem… he struggled to find the right word. Sensible? No. He’d seen what Grogu could do. It was real. Predictable? No that didn’t fit at all. Rational. Yes, that was the word, if any word fit how he felt about the numerous actions Grogu took that he couldn’t explain.

First, how did anyone, Grogu included, feel the presence of another being without seeing them, hearing them, smelling them, touching them? Grogu could sense the Jedi’s arrival at Gideon’s ship before any of the rest of them could. He’d known something was happening and he assured the Mandalorian of the other person’s goodness. How the dank farrik had he done that either?

After all, Mandalorians didn’t just trust people. They’d had decades of betrayal to inform them that no one could be trusted to have their best interest at heart. But as soon as Grogu coo’d to him, he understood that the man in the black cloak was a friend. He wasn’t going to harm them. Din Djarin had believed him. Knew, as well as he knew his own name, that Grogu was right. This Jedi was a friend. 

That was just one example. The ‘magic hand thing’ as Karga liked to call it was the first time Grogu had used the ‘Force’ in the Mandalorian’s presence and it was just as amazing as it was unbelievable. Grogu just touched the wound gently, almost imperceptibly and concentrated and somehow, somehow that injury reserved itself? Healed itself. At a rate that even bacta didn’t work at. Again, what let that happen?

Then there was lifting the mudhorn. That critter weighed at least a thousand kilos. At least. Grogu weighed five or six kilos at most. How in the name of the Creed, did a that work? On a good day, when Din Djarin had been in the best shape of his life he couldn’t have done anything like that to a critter even a quarter the size of the mud horn.

Din Djarin knew that there were more examples than he could even remember. Deflecting fire. Pulling things closer. Using things farther away. Jumping higher three or four meters high to reach something. Not taking a running jump with a vaulting pole or anything like that. No. Just jumping from a standstill and being on top of something Din Djarin would have had to use his flight pack to reach or a ladder. 

It just didn’t seem rational. How could anyone do this? He could understand, sort of, what he had seen the human Jedi do. A lightsaber was a huge force multiplier and droids weren’t immune to the plasma the device generated any more than a flesh and blood person was. That Jedi had moved so quickly that some of the details were easy to forget, like pushing the battle droids away or crushing them with just… what? The Force?

Now, here he was on Tatooine. They were just there so Peli could change out a couple of components of the N-1 to help keep the ship off the New Republic’s radar. On that basis he thought that he and Grogu could visit the Daimyo and see how the project to bring Tatooine under a central authority was really going. Plus he knew that Grogu wanted to visit the rancor. 

Uff. Another example of things the bounty hunter didn’t understand about the Force. Grogu had just touched the huge creature and it fell asleep. Could he have done that to the Krayt dragon? Or that turtle-dragon? Could he have put Gideon to sleep? That was moot of course. Gideon was gone. 

Of course Grogu would go exploring the palace. Of course he would find something to do that only he could do, like lifting a mud horn. But why didn’t he tell the Mandalorian what he was up to? Was he afraid that the answer would be no? 

Din Djarin shook his head. Of course the answer would have been no. When would any parent say, ‘Go right a head, climb the communications tower with a rope and a tiny, un-tested harness, and find the hole that no one else could be bothered to fix, because of course you should do dangerous stuff without a back up plan’? Never. Parents would never say okay to that. If Grogu didn’t ask the Mandalorian for advice on that sort of thing, was it because he didn’t want to be parented any more? Or he just didn’t think that Din Djarin was his parent? Ouch.

The Mandalorian knew that he wasn’t an easy parent. He didn’t just do everything for Grogu. He delivered a lot of lectures. He tried to impress upon Grogu that taking care of your tools was as important as taking care of your body. Yes, baths, washing clothes, and doing chores were necessities. 

Was he just too much hard work and not enough fun? When he thought about his own parents he knew that they had found a way to balance both the fun and the lessons. Even the Mandalorians who had taken over that role in his life had let them have some fun. 

Was that the problem? Did Din Djarin just have to lighten up and look at things from Grogu’s perspective more? After all, with the Force, however it worked, it did indeed work. It had saved them all more than once and Grogu had done that with one hand raised and amazing concentration causing frown lines of his tiny face. 

Grogu wasn’t just a child who needed a parent to guide him. He was more than that and the Mandalorian had to accept that when the situation demanded it, Grogu was not going to ask for permission, debate pro’s and con’s, or even think twice about taking action if that meant saving someone from the Imps, or even a little discomfort. Grogu was going to accept the risk and treat the whole thing like an adventure and in the end, solve the problem, because that’s what he had been raised to do and that’s what the Force allowed him to do, whether or not a random Mandalorian bounty hunter understood it or even liked it. 

Uff. Now, he felt very surplus to requirement. That was not a feeling he liked at all. 

“Dad?” 

Grogu called to him. 

“Ranky?”

Din Djarin laughed out loud. Of course Grogu would want to visit the rancor which really meant go for a ride on the critter, right after he ate everything he could fit on his plate at least two times over. So he had a choice. Be the fun dad and let his son go ride the critter and deal with the fallout later, or be could be a Mandalorian dad and say ‘no’?

“What the hell. May the Force be with you.”

Concept Art by Erik Tiemens, from The Book of Boba Fett, Season 1, Episode 4, The Gathering Storm. Image depicts Jabba's palace exterior with the Firespray flying nearby, with the landscape of Tatooine in the background.

[nysocboy]

Gemstones Episode 1.8 Review: Kelvin's testicles, Jesse's butt, and ancient Philistine penises

In the last episode, Scotty kidnapped Gideon and Jesse, forced them to open the church vault, and stole the Easter offering money, incidentally confessing that he had been in love with Gideon.  Judy and BJ had a breakup scene, but Kelvin and Keefe barely appeared.  In Episode 1.8,, their romance is centric. 

An Old Man's Dick:  It's still Easter evening.  After dropping off Judy at her house, Baby Billy asks Tiffany "Who wants to suck an old man's dick?" She goes down on him while they are driving down dark country roads near the estate.  Suddenly Scotty, driving away with the money he stole, runs a stop sign and crashes into their car!   They are unharmed, but Scotty is near death (Tiffany finishes the job by accidentally shooting him).  Then they steal the money.  An interesting call-back here: earlier Scotty implies that he forced Gideon into oral sex, and he dies while interrupting consensual oral sex, an ironic punishment of the sort you would see in 1950s horror comics. 

Top five young ministers:  Gideon admits to being Scotty's partner in the offering-theft plan, and is rejected by Eli and Amber.  But he doesn't mention his part in the blackmail plan!  We cut to Jesse telling his siblings that they are in the clear. But how do they know he won't tell later, and implicate them in the assault?   Worried that he'll be arrested, Kelvin is having anxiety attacks and "sharp shit pains in my stomach" (hemorrhoids?).   Even if he wasn't convicted, the scandal would destroy his career.   "I was in the Top Five Young Ministers to watch last year -- I got a reputation -- a following."  Wait -- if he's so famous, why is his whole plot arc about proving his worth?

Denim brings lunch:  We cut to scenes where Baby Billy and Tiffany leave town with the offering money, Eli worries that the whole enterprise is corrupt, and Jesse apologizes to Gideon for pushing him away and starting the whole mess. Eli admits, for the only time in the series, that the church's finances are not entirely above-board.

 Next, Judy tries to mend her relationship with BJ by bringing him lunch at the optometrist office.  Whoops, his coworker Denim already picked up lunch.  "So you're having sex with BJ?"  No, she's a lesbian -- she has a wife.  This does not convince Judy, who calls her: "One of those benevolent lesbians, out to meet a hot guy, make friends with him, so you can sample-suck some clean dick."  BJ's nonchalance about LGBT people, plus Judy's sort-of nonchalance, will become important later.

He refuses to take Judy back, so she storms into the parking lot and starts destroying cars, finally getting arrested.

Hemorrhoids and Testicular Tumors: Keefe is swimming while Kelvin tries not to look at the body that is giving him so many unwelcome desires.   He wants to know how he can rid the world of darkness, when he's surrounded by it: his mother died, Eli was assaulted, the church was robbed.  He concludes that God is punishing the family for "not being who we say we are."  But Kelvin had nothing to do with those things. How does "not being who we say we are" apply to him?

"Don't you think God is being a little harsh?" Keefe asks.  We all wear masks; we hide things even from ourselves.  

Kelvin laugh/cries and says "I think we're getting off easy...when the Philistines stole the Ark of the Covenant, God punished them with hemorhhoids and testicle tumors."  

He's referring to an obscure story in 1 Samuel 4-5, where the Philistine thieves were punished with opalim. The King James Bible translates the Hebrew word as "emeroids" (now "hemorrhoids") and the NIV as "tumors."  An article in Biblical Archaeology Review points out the importance of penises in Philistine art, and suggests"flaccid penises."   No one mentions testicles; apparently Kelvin invented it, to correspond to the glimpse of Keefe's testicle that began his recognition of his homoerotic desire.

Next: "You should go, Keefe."  Keefe doesn't understand: "You want me to make a store run?"  Kelvin becomes angrier and angrier: "Go.  Leave.  Get out. I am no longer fit to lead you!" 

Kelvin scratches his butt as he says this.  Apparently he has hemorrhoids, and thinks that God is punishing him -- an ironic punishment for having anal sex? Will testicular tumors come next? 

Keefe disagrees: "There's no one more worthy than you."

 "Get the fuck out of here! Now! Do I need to call security, motherfucker?"  This is shockingly aggressive.

Keefe wades away, holding his swimsuit like he held his shirt during the mushroom head scene.  The intimacy he enjoyed that night has been revoked.  Kelvin falls into the pool and screams and cries.

Why does Kelvin send Keefe away?  If he's no longer qualified to be a spiritual leader due to the assault of the blackmailers, they could certainly continue to live together.  It must have something to do with the "hemorrhoids and testicular tumors," the intimacy they shared, or even homoerotic desire itself.  Kelvin believes that it is evil, demonic, that Keefe is a serpent who tempted him.  I don't care much for this association between LGBT identities and sin, but the show has been careful to establish that it's in Kelvin's head, not a general theme, structurally or in-universe.  

Jesse's Butt: Jesse invites his crew and their wives to "movie night," but the movie is actually the video of their sex-and-drugs party. He has decided to come clean: "These flawed men and myself have participated in some illicit, sinful activities."  Is this a callback to Kelvin's belief that he has participated in "illicit, sinful activities" with Keefe?

No one wants to see the video except Mandy, Chad's wife. Jesse advises that she might not want to because it features "Chad's gray testicle." Another testicle reference?  Is seeing that, like, the belly of the beast?   But they all go to the screening room, even Chad's underage kids (um...that's illegal).  

As they watch, the wives storm out in anger and disgust. Amber starts throwing things at Jesse, yelling that he drove Gideon away and destroyed the family.  Then she grabs an assault rifle and shoots him (with buckshot) in the butt, a symbolic anal rape. 

We cut to shots of Baby Billy and Tiffany rolling around in their loot,  Eli using his influence to get Judy out of jail, Keefe driving away crying, Scotty's van being dredged up, and Jesse yelling "She got me in my meat! She broke my butthole!" The background song is "Oh, Lord," by Geordi:

Oh Lord, what's wrong with me.  I can't seem to be what I wanna be

And it's not for the sake of tryin'

I tried so hard, God know, and felt like dyin'

And if you've been watchin',  you woulda seen me cryin'

So, O Lord, won't you give me your hand?

The siblings and their partners have broken up.  Gideon is gone.  This is the low point of their lives, and there's just one episode left for things to get better. 

Next: Episode 1.9 Review: Jesse is racist, Judy is a rapist, and Kelvin is the Devil

[veggiesforpresident]

anyway heres my rant on how i would make the righteous gemstones but better

this is copy-pasted from my notes so forgive me for any typos etc

gideon comes home and introduces scotty as his friend but is kinda cagey about it, scotty jokes that gideon made him find god (similar to the dinner scene in canon) - later when they're alone, they are hushedly discussing "the plan" and they kiss. this gets interrupted by jesse who tries to have guy bonding time with them.

turns out their "plan" is for gideon to come out AND to steal from his family - gid is a baby bi in his first rship and is being manipulated by scotty

gid later has a change of heart "my family earned that money!" and they fight

this still ends w gid and jesse tied up in the vault somehow

while theyre in there their convo goes like. "dad... i'm bi." "i know son. i hate your boyfriend." "yeah i think we're gonna break up." or something

scotty still takes the money and doesnt die bc fuck the church xoxo

judy/bj are bi4bi where bj knows and judy doesnt, she hates on every woman she has a crush on (this is already canon lbr). more judy being given shit work, like overhead announcements instead of singing on stage. (judy insisting that bj has a crush on his coworker denim bc obviously denim is strong and handsome and has beautiful hands... etc. anyone can see it.) (bj hears this and looks into the camera like guillermo)

kelvin and keefe. intricate rituals. keefe climbing into bed (naked) after a nightmare. weekly "guy nights" that are SACRED BONDING and NOT TO BE INTERRUPTED but are really just movie dates. kelvin rubbing tattoo fading lotion on allll of keefes tattoos (it doesnt even work!). idk like. "satan body checking" like vigorously inspecting each part of the others body for secret satanic influence (they just want to see each other naked). i need more kelvin lowkey obsessed w keefe, saying hes his "best friend" all the time and wanting to include him in everything. kelvin does keefes hair.

OH another thing w kelvin is he still has that "come to youth group!" plot but when he's talking to the girl about like "there's a man who will always be there for you..." and the girl is like leaning in thinking hes flirting with her, only to be disappointed when he says "God!"

later on she does decide to go in order to get her phone back.

when kelvin is relaying this to keefe (while keefe is washing kelvins feet or smthn) keefe is like "maybe she needs a buddy. worship is easier when you have a person to do it with." or smthn. cut to kelvin giving the girl a worship buddy (a bored goth teenager who immediately asks if she wants to smoke weed in the bathroom. she does and they smoke out of bible pages.)

[singledarkshade]

Dazed, Confused And One Last Chance

Summary: It's been several months since the Legends were released from the simulation and Sara won't accept reality. Now Rip has only one more chance to get her to realise what happened wasn't real.

Sequel to Dazed, Confused and Completely Discombobulated, Dazed, Confused and Observing and Dazed, Confused and Trying To Keep Going.

Author’s Note: This is the final story in this series. Thanks to @riphuntertimemasterlegend for helping me work out the story and the encouragement to write it. Enjoy.

Alarms sounded through Star Labs, waking Cisco who had fallen asleep at his desk trying to work out how to stop the most recent meta to attack the city. He sighed when he checked the security cameras and saw the woman moving slowly through the corridors towards the storerooms.

Deciding to not call in any backup yet, Cisco slid on his glasses and created a portal so he was standing at the doors when their intruder reached there.

“I need the Time Sphere,” Sara Lance stated coldly when she turned the corner to find him waiting for her.

Cisco shook his head, “And I can’t give it to you. Time travel is dangerous, we’ve already seen that a load of times.”

“We know what we’re doing,” Sara stated, “We changed time to make it better.”

“For who?” Cisco asked softly, “Why do you get to choose what happens and to who? What gives you that right?”

Sara frowned at him, “My people are out there somewhere, and I need to rescue them.”

Cisco shook his head, not surprised she ignored his question, “I don’t know what else we can do to persuade you they don’t exist and what happened wasn’t real, but I can make sure you don’t head out and cause problems because you think you know better. I’m sorry, Sara.”

Sara lunged at him, Cisco hit her with an energy blast sending her through a portal to her apartment in Star City, closing it quickly. Letting out a sigh Cisco headed to the Time Vault, “Gideon,” he called, “Contact Captain Hunter at the Vanishing Point. Tell him I need to talk to him.”

Two minutes later a portal opened, and Rip Hunter walked through with Mick Rory.

“Both of you?” Cisco asked surprised.

“We assumed that you were contacting us as Sara has made an attempt to steal the Time Sphere,” Rip told him.

“If Blondie is trying to steal the Sphere,” Mick added, “That needs to be stopped now.”

Rip let out a sigh explaining, “If she starts trying to travel through time to change things the Time Masters won’t be able to ignore it. She will be deemed a Time Pirate and arrested.”

Cisco winced, “I’m guessing it won’t be a slap on the wrist and sent home kind of punishment.”

“It will be prison,” Rip replied, “And we won’t be able to protect or help her.”

“I sent her to her apartment, but she’ll be back,” Cisco told them, “And I might not be here next time.”

Mick looked at Rip, “Do we take the Sphere?”

“Can’t,” Rip murmured softly, “It will be needed in the future.”

Cisco stared at him, “What?”

“You didn’t hear that,” Rip told him.

“What do we do?” Mick demanded, “We know Blondie won’t leave this alone.”

Rip grimaced, “I don’t know. I honestly have no idea what we can possibly do or say to get through to her that it wasn’t real.”

Mick sighed, “Well, we need to do something.”

Shaking his head, Rip nodded, “I will try to talk to her once more and reason with her.”

Mick let out a snort, “You know Blondie won’t listen.

“I have to try,” Rip told the other man.

“Well, have fun,” Mick told him, “I’ll check in on the others.”

Cisco watched surprised as Mick walked out leaving him with Rip.

“Can you send me to Sara’s location?” Rip asked, “The courier does work to a degree but there are some limitations using it to get to two points within the same time.”

Chuckling Cisco nodded, he slipped his glasses on and took a deep breath, “Take care, man, she is not happy right now.”

                             *********************************************

Sara walked through the lab looking for the information, the scientist she’d found was working on practical applications for time travel and although he turned out to be an idiot, she hoped some of his work would give her a way back. After Cisco sent her home, she’d instantly headed out as this was her next idea to find her people. Grabbing the papers and laptop she started out the building, stopping when she saw a familiar man standing by the car she was using.

“You can’t keep doing this, Sara,” Rip told her, “You are not allowed access to time travel and if you manage to do this, then you will be deemed a Time Pirate and we will imprison you.”

“We?” she demanded.

Rip nodded, “The Time Masters.”

Sneering she asked, “And you’re now one of them again?”

“Yes,” he told her softly, “Druce and his associates are no longer in charge, we are protecting time the way we were meant to. That includes stopping someone trying to change time for their own ends.”

Sara laughed, “So, are you going to kill me, Rip? Do you think you can?”

“We don’t kill people, Sara,” Rip told her, “But you will be imprisoned, and the Fortress is not a nice place nor somewhere you could escape from.”

“Isn’t taking me out of my timeline a violation of all you claim to be for?” she mocked.

Rips sighed, “Despite what you may think, Sara, you’re not that important to the timeline. It’s one of the reasons I recruited you originally, remember.”

“I am going to get my people back,” Sara snarled at him, “And we will get back to fixing things.”

Shaking his head, Rip told her, “They weren’t real, Sara. I wish I could give you back your friends, but they don’t exist. Your real friends are in Central City, worried about you and wanting to help. I am asking you one more time, stop this and go home. Be with your sister and father, you have them both back from the dead. Be grateful for that.”

“Go to hell,” Sara snapped, she pulled a knife and crossed the space between them quickly to press it against his neck. “I will take this though,” she pulled the courier off his wrist, “Proof that you’re lying to me.”

“No,” Rip stated, being careful not to move as Sara kept the blade against his throat, “Proof I had time on my hands after we took down the council and decided to make something I had thought of many years ago.”

Pulling back, Sara opened a portal and ran through.

-

“That did not go as planned.”

“Really, Gideon?” Rip snapped, “I hadn’t noticed.”

Ignoring his sarcasm, she stated, “I am waiting for you on waste ground three blocks from here. Start walking and I will have traced Miss Lance’s position by the time you have arrived.”

Rip sighed and began to walk; he had hoped that she would see sense. It had been several months since they had been removed from the simulation, although Ray was having some issues coping with the fact his wife didn’t exist, the others seemed to be reintegrating back into their lives.

He had hoped Sara would come to terms with reality, especially with her father and sister alive when they had been killed off in the simulation, but he had underestimated how stubborn she was as well as how little she now trusted him.

The friendship they’d once had had been twisted by the simulation so that he was the bad guy in her view and there seemed to be nothing he could say or do to change her mind. It saddened him, because Rip had so few people in his life that he could call friend.

Reaching the waste ground, he could feel the vibrations of the Waverider’s cloak as he walked towards it. The shield was designed to repel people who were not used to it, and the frequency was tuned to Rip’s own brainwaves so it meant he could not only ignore the signal but let him know where his cloaked ship was.

Walking onto the bridge, he saw Gideon’s hologram appear just to ensure he knew he’d messed up.

“Call Mr Rory,” Rip ordered, he faced the screen and waited for a moment.

Mick appeared and he asked, “What went wrong?”

“Well, she still thinks I’m lying to her and stole my courier,” Rip sighed.

“I told you not to let her see you’d made one,” Mick rumbled, “Has Gideon traced her?”

“I have, Mr Rory,” Gideon spoke up.

“We’ll come and join you,” Mick told him, “Help stop her, since you clearly can’t do this on your own.”

“We?” Rip asked ignoring the dig.

“I’ve got some free time,” Leonard Snart said as he appeared on the screen.

Rip nodded, “Good to see you, Mr Snart. Before you join me, can you speak with Sara’s father and sister? Possibly take Ray with you as he did know them.”

“Fine,” Mick replied, “But don’t make a move till we have a plan.”

“I intend on watching only unless she tries to change something,” Rip replied, “I have a feeling she will try to hunt down the people who were her crew. I’m hoping that will bring her back to reality.”

“Hope so,” Mick said, “Because she’s running out of time.”

Snart frowned confused, “Meaning?”

“Meaning that the council are only giving us one chance to sort this,” Rip explained, “If we don’t find a solution then another Time Master will take over and likely she will simply be put in the Fortress.”

Snart looked at Rip then Mick and noted, “From the looks, I’m guessing that is the worst possible option.”

“The Fortress is where the worst of the worst time pirates and other criminals are sent,” Rip explained, “It is inescapable and frankly not where we want her to end up.”

“Then we make sure she doesn’t,” Snart noted, “We’ll head to pick up Palmer, then go to Star City. Be careful.”

Rip nodded and the screen went blank.

“Gideon,” he called, “Where is she?”

“2213.”

Rip rolled his eyes, “Of course the one and only year the ‘Ava Clones’ existed. Honestly the fact that Sara and the others ignored such stupid things in the simulation is just so frustrating.”

Gideon said nothing instead brought up the calculations to traverse the time stream as Rip slid into the pilot’s seat.

                             *********************************************

Quentin Lance frowned in surprise when he opened the door to the three men standing there, one he knew personally while the other two from police files.

“We need to talk to you,” Ray Palmer said without any preamble, “About Sara.”

Nodding he stepped back and let the three men into the house, “I was wondering how long it would be before someone came.”

“She’s trying to find a way to time travel again,” Ray explained, “And the Time Masters won’t allow her to.”

Quentin sighed, “In the very brief conversations we’ve had, it’s all she’s talked about.”

Ray glanced to the other two men and the big one, Quentin was sure he knew, stepped forward.

“Do you know what her plans are?” he rumbled.

“She barely talks to me about anything personal,” Quentin sighed, “It’s like anytime we talk it’s as if she’s trying to see if I’m going to say something to prove I’m a fake.”

The third man winced, “I was hoping at least you and her sister would make her realise this is reality.”

Quentin shrugged, “Can I ask what will happen if she won’t stop?”

“Prison,” the big one said, “And not a nice one. We’re trying to stop that.”

Ray grimaced before saying, “If you hear from her at all, please call us. Or if you think of anything.”

-

Ray walked along the street with Snart and Mick after leaving Sara’s father’s house feeling disheartened.

“Sounds like she’s not done anything but try to get back,” he said.

Snart nodded, “Let’s hope Rip is having better luck than we are.”

“Doubt it,” Mick replied, “Blondie is convinced Hunter is the bad guy these days. I don’t see anything he says persuading her any different. We need her to see the truth in a way she can’t deny.”

“But we’ve shown her again and again,” Ray reminded her, “How do we do that?”

Snart and Mick shrugged.

“Where is Rip picking us up?” Snart asked.

Mick tapped his courier sending a message to Gideon, he glanced waited a moment before the reply came through.

“Park six blocks from here,” he told the other two men.

Ray frowned thoughtfully, “Doesn’t that one do time travel?”

“Only English has that on his courier,” Mick explained, “These are standard Time Master equipment, keep an eye on health and give access to everything. He was bored while the council had everyone locked down for a few weeks while we finished clearing house so added time travel to it like in the sim. It was his idea years ago.”

Ray stared at Mick, “He made it in a few weeks?”

Mick nodded, “He is a nightmare when bored. Gideon kept throwing projects at him, so he’d stop playing about with the Waverider systems. I suggested sedating him, but she refused.”

“Hold on, Sara is using a prototype to travel?” Ray demanded worriedly, “Isn’t that dangerous?”

Mick nodded, “Gideon is tracking it.”

“Which is a good thing,” Rip stated as he appeared in front of them as they turned the corner, “Because Sara didn’t find what she expected in 2213 and has returned to this time. I think she may be looking for Dr Heywood.”

“Nate?” Ray asked in surprised, “But he has no idea who any of us are. I made sure of that.”

At the three gazes that fell on him, Ray shrugged, “I had to check. We ran into one another at a conference and had a conversation about how bad the buffet was. He had no idea who I was other than knowing me from Palmer Tech.”

Rip grimaced, “We need to find him first.”

Mick nodded in agreement, “Blondie gets violent when she doesn’t get the answer she wants.”

“Gideon?” Rip asked.

“Dr Heywood is currently lecturing at Coast City University,” Gideon told them, “I am detecting the courier’s signal there and have the Jumpship ready for you.”

Rip turned to them, “Gentlemen, shall we?”

                             *********************************************

“That’s all for today,” Nate Heywood standing at the front of the lecture theatre said as he shut off the projector and turned the lights on, “Your assignments are on the website and any questions, my email is always open.”

With that said he nodded ending the lecture, and the students began to gather up their belongings wandering out chatting away. A few called thanks when they walked past as he pulled together his papers readying himself to leave the hall himself for his next class.

“That was interesting,” a woman’s voice made him look up to see a blonde in jeans, red t-shirt and leather jacket standing just in front of him.

Nate nodded a little bemused, “Thank you.”

“I almost believe this is actually what you do,” she continued, “It’s funny.”

Looking around to see if there was someone filming him as a joke, “Excuse me?”

“I don’t know what Rip said or did to make you go along with this, Nate,” she continued, “But I’m here and I have a time courier. We can get the Waverider back and find the others.”

Nate stared at for a minute before saying, “I don’t know who thought this would be funny, but I have another class to get to then thirty tests to grade for tomorrow.”

He tried to move, surprised when she grabbed his arm.

“You know who I am, Nate,” she snapped, “I need you to stop pretending and come with me now. We don’t have much time.”

“Sara, let him go,” a new voice came, and Nate stared in bemusement as four men walked in the door at the back of the hall, one of whom was Ray Palmer, owner of Palmer Tech and someone Nate had met a few months ago. The other three he didn’t recognise. One looked like a henchman from every bad movie he’d ever seen, one was slouched against the wall seemingly disinterested while the final man was wearing a long brown coat that only needed a cowboy hat to be Wild West cosplay.

The woman, Sara, suddenly pulled a knife and placed it a Nate’s throat who gasped in horror.

“Sara, what are you doing?” Palmer demanded.

Nate winced as Sara pressed the blade against his neck, “Yeah, what are you doing?”

“Sara, he isn’t going to change,” the man wearing a long brown coat said in an English accent, “You’re going to harm an innocent man.”

Sara pushed Nate away, “But I won’t because he’ll turn to steel and prove you wrong.”

“Turn to what?” Nate asked, getting more and more confuse with each passing second.

She shook her head, “You don’t have to pretend that you don’t have your powers anymore.”

“Powers?” Nate was hoping that he was sleeping, and this was a dream he was about to wake up from.

“Sara, he doesn’t know us,” Ray spoke up, “I checked, and I wish he did but it wasn’t real. I know how you feel, I lost Nora, but I’m learning to live with that.”

The blonde woman shook her head, she turned and ran out the room.

“I apologise, Dr Heywood,” the English guy in the coat said as he walked towards Nate, “But on the bright side, you won’t remember this.”

Before Nate could say anything, white light filled his vision. Blinking, Nate frowned and turned to finish packing his things. Checking his watch, he realised he was about to be late for his next class and wondered how he’d lost so much time.

-

“Well, that was a disaster,” Snart noted, “I hate to say this but talking her down might not happen and we may need to let the Time Masters do their thing.”

“You want to put her in prison?” Ray demanded, “You?”

Snart sighed, “She’s going to end up hurting someone. No matter how many times we try to get her to realise this is reality, she refuses to accept it. Even when someone she knew wouldn’t lie for Rip clearly has no idea who she is.”

Mick grimaced, “Point of the thing. It was used for training, full immersion in a scenario. Messed up plenty of trainees and she was in there longer than anyone has ever been.”

“During my training, after I went through a training simulation, I was unbalanced for days when I came out not knowing what was real,” Rip told them, “I hate to agree with Mr Snart, but he may be right.”

Ray frowned, “I don’t like it.”

“Neither do we,” Snart told him before turning to Rip, “Where is she?”

“Gideon, has Miss Lance left this time yet?” Rip asked.

“Not yet, Captain,” Gideon replied, “She appears to be heading to the train station. The courier has sent a report that it would not open to the destination she was aiming for in Star City.”

“Her sister or dad,” Mick noted.

Rip nodded, “Hopefully. Gideon, come pick us up.”

“I am heading to the football field, Captain,” she told him, “However, you will need to hurry as the team are due to train in about ten minutes.”

“You heard her,” Mick said and started to walk with the other three following on.

Reaching the football field, they stepped onto the ship, waiting in the cargo bay until Gideon was in the air and then headed to the bridge.

-

Rip instantly moved to the parlour and started looking through his desk, while the other three waited at the central console as Gideon piloted them to Star City.

“What are you looking for?” Snart asked as Rip rummaged through his desk.

Rip glanced over, “Nothing too important. Gideon,” he bounced down the steps to join Mick and Ray with Snart just behind him, “Can you locate Laurel and Quentin Lance?”

“Using their phones,” Gideon replied, “I have located them at a coffee shop two blocks east from the police station.”

Rip mused for a moment before asking, “Ray, can you meet them and bring them back here?”

Ray nodded.

“Mr Rory, Mr Snart,” Rip turned to them, “I need you to head back to the Vanishing Point. I have an idea which I need you to speak to Eve about.”

“How bad is it?” Mick asked, before noting to the other two, “Baxter has a scale.”

Rip frowned at him before reluctantly admitting, “It’s a ten.”

“Can’t wait,” Mick chuckled.

Rolling his eyes, Rip quickly explained everything he needed them to do before tapping a few controls and a portal appeared before them.

Snart stepped back in surprise having never witnessed one before but following Mick through without hesitation. The portal closed and Rip turned to Ray.

“Meet us in the waste ground in thirty minutes with Sara’s family,” Rip told him, “I need to talk to someone first.”

                             *********************************************

“Come in, Michael.”

Rip smiled as his father motioned him over to the table, “I hope you don’t mind.”

“You’re always welcome here,” Booster told him, “And you look like you need someone to talk to.”

Rip sat across from the other man, “I do.”

“Well, here I am,” Booster said, “Tell me why you came all this way to sit at my kitchen table.”

Leaning back in his chair, Rip watched as a mug of tea, and a plate of waffles with chocolate spread and fresh apple slices were placed in front of him.

“Sara Lance,” Rip said, “She’s…” he let out a long sigh, “She’s not accepting reality so I’m about to do something that is extreme.”

“And you’re conflicted about it,” Booster noted.

Rip nodded, “It’s a little cruel.”

“Isn’t this the woman who stole your ship in the dreamworld you were in and screwed you over by turning you in to people who stole the agency you built?” Booster asked, “From what I saw in the logs she treated you extremely badly.”

Rip shrugged, “That’s not her fault. The simulation was designed to mess with her head. I can’t hold anything against her. I’ve been through these sims myself and they twist your mind in a way that leaves you unsure what’s real and what’s fake. I have to help her, but I just don’t like the way I’m planning to do it.”

Booster reached out and squeezed Rip’s wrist, “You are a good person, Michael. I know that you’re doing the only thing you can.”

Nodding Rip took a forkful of waffles, he needed some comfort food since he’d promised Gideon that he’d stop drinking. And right now, the plan he had in mind meant he really needed something strong, so chocolate and waffles were a good substitute.

-

“Captain,” Gideon said softly as he sat in the parlour taking several deep slow breaths, “You have given her every chance to accept reality. This plan is the only choice you have left.”

“I know,” Rip replied while he continued to breathe deeply, trying to get himself into a calm place for a few minutes before Ray returned with their guests.

“Miss Lance needs to either accept the truth,” Gideon continued, “Or we must imprison her. There is no other choice.”

Rip slowed his breathing and looked up to see Gideon sitting across from him, “First time I’ve managed this.”

“I told you that one day you would learn to put yourself in a trance state so we could talk face to face,” she smiled, reaching out to take his hand, “I have missed being able to do this.”

Rip touched her cheek, “I miss this too. The one downside of coming out of the sim.”

Gideon laughed softly before telling him, “You are a good man, your father and I agree on this.”

Rip chuckled softly, “The two most biased people.”

“The people who know you best,” Gideon replied, “And love you most.”

She leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to his lips just before Ray’s voice intruded on Rip’s peace. Opening his eyes, Rip stood and walked down the stairs to greet their guests.

“Captain Lance,” he nodded to the older man, “Miss Lance, it is a pleasure to meet you both and I’m sorry it has to be for this.”

“Ray said that this is about helping Sara,” Laurel said softly.

Rip nodded, “I’m afraid the fact she will not accept that this is reality and that the years she remembers were part of a simulation has forced me into a situation that means I can no longer leave her free.”

“Are you arresting her?” Quentin Lance demanded sharply.

Rip grimaced, “How about we head to the galley and have something drink while I explain my plan fully?”

Laurel stared at him for a few moments but at Ray’s nod she rested her hand on her father’s arm, “That sounds like a good idea.”

                             *********************************************

Sara frowned when no one answered as she knocked on Laurel’s door. She knew this couldn’t really be her sister, but she was tired and needed a place to rest for a while. Trying to decide what she should do instead, her phone rang.

Frowning as it was an unknown number, Sara knew that this had to be Rip trying to track her down again but she knew this and was on the street so she would be able to escape any attempt to capture her.

“What do you want, Rip?” she demanded.

“Sara?” a familiar and missed voice said.

Surprise and relief filled her, “Ava?”

“It’s me,” her girlfriend said, “I’ve been hiding from the Time Masters.”

“I’ve been trying to find you,” Sara whispered.

She heard Ava sigh, “I couldn’t risk it until I knew you were truly alone. Now we can meet up and get away from them.”

“Where will I meet you?” Sara asked, closing her eyes hoping Ava wouldn’t tell her they couldn’t meet yet.

“I’ll send you the address,” Ava told her, “But you have to get here within the hour, or I’ll have to move again.”

Sara checked the address, relieved not only she knew where it was, but she was close enough to it that she’d make it within time.

“I’ll be there soon,” Sara promised, “I lov…” she frowned as the phone cut off but understood Ava hung up to avoid the call being traced. Tucking her phone away, Sara started walking quickly. She almost had her life back.

-

The address Ava had sent her was for a warehouse just outside the financial district of Star City. It was quiet, not deserted with a few people wandering about but Sara didn’t feel any concern.

Heading to the unit where Ava was waiting for her, Sara smiled so looking forward to being back with the woman she loved.

Walking in Sara frowned as instead of the woman she was expecting to see, it was empty. Turning to leave she found her way blocked by Rip, Ray, Snart and Mick.

“What did you do to Ava?” she demanded, readying herself to fight.

Rip sighed, “She doesn’t exist, Sara. You were speaking to Gideon.”

“You’re lying,” Sara yelled.

“This is your final chance,” Rip told her, “Return the courier to me and stop your quest for something that does not exist. Your father and sister are alive, Sara and want you back with them.” He paused before continuing, “Or…”

“Or what?” Sara demanded, “Because we’ve both seen I can beat you without breaking a sweat, Rip.”

“I’ll take that as a no,” Rip said before he fired his pistol, hitting Sara squarely in the chest.

She stared at him in shock before fell to the ground and the world went black.

-

“You killed her,” Ray cried in surprise as they watched Sara drop to the ground.

Rip rolled his eyes, “Of course not,” he stepped over to the unconscious woman, “It was on the stun setting.” He removed the courier from Sara’s wrist and turned to Mick, “Would you?”

Mick rolled his eyes but hoisted the unconscious woman onto his shoulder and waited.

Rip attached the courier back on his wrist, “Gideon, how is it working?”

“The genetic lock has activated, and full access has been restored,” Gideon told him.

“Genetic lock?” Ray asked.

Rip shrugged, “You really thought I would make a piece of technology that could be used by anyone to travel in time? I let Sara have basic access to its functions, making sure she was locked out of anything too dangerous.”

“Like the Vanishing Point,” Snart mused.

“Speaking of?” Mick said impatiently.

Rip nodded and opened the portal back to the Vanishing Point. Mick nodded goodbye to Ray and Snart before he stalked through with Sara hanging over his shoulder.

Rip closed the portal then turned to the other two men, “I’m afraid I can’t allow you back to the Vanishing Point. I must abide by the council rules. You should return to your lives. I’ve caused enough disruption to them.”

Ray offered his hand to Rip, “We understand and I’m glad you disrupted it.”

Snart nodded, “I agree. I know you hate this plan,” he continued, “But it’s the only thing you can do.”

“Thank you, Mr Snart,” Rip offered his hand, relieved when Snart shook it.

Rip tapped the courier again and a portal opened showing Cisco on the other side who looked surprised to see the portal.

“I can only hold this open for a few seconds,” Rip told them, “You need to go through now.”

Without another word the two men joined the bemused Cisco before the portal shut down leaving Rip alone in the warehouse.

“Captain,” Gideon’s voice came, “You have been requested to return to the Vanishing Point immediately.”

He sighed, “I’ll be right there.”

                             *********************************************

Sara woke slowly.

Opening her eyes, she looked around finding she was in a cell. Forcing herself to stand, Sara reached out jerking her hand back as the forcefield shocked her. Looking round as far as she could, Sara could see a door which opened suddenly, and a guard walked in.

“Where is Rip?” Sara demanded.

The guard placed the tray he was carrying at the slot on the floor and pushed it through, “Captain Hunter is not available.”

“Then I want to see Mick Rory,” Sara yelled.

“Mr Rory is also unavailable.”

Sara fisted her hands in annoyance, “Who is available?”

“Your trial starts in one hour,” the guard told her, ignoring her question, “I suggest you eat as if you are found guilty the food will not be as appetising where you will be sent.”

“My trial?” Sara mocked.

The guard nodded, “To confirm if you are a Time Pirate or not.”

Before Sara could say anything else, he turned and walked out leaving her alone in the cell. Looking down at the tray, she pushed it out of the way trying to work out how to get out of here.

But there was no way.

This meant she had to overpower the guards and find her way to the Waverider because she knew Rip was here. Coward that he was, he wasn’t coming to see her, but he was here.

And getting to punch him on her way out when she took her ship back would be a bonus.

-

The chamber Sara was marched to by four guards, which showed how scared they were of her, was well lit with seven Time Masters sitting at a bench across from her.

“Sara Lance,” the woman sitting in the centre of the group stated, the name plate in front of her read Council Member Travon, “You have been charged with the crime of piracy throughout time, theft and attempted theft of Time Master property. How do you plead?”

“I don’t plead anything,” Sara snapped, “I don’t recognise your authority over me.”

Travon shrugged, “Whether you recognise it or not, you must enter a plea, or it will be noted as guilty by default.”

“Go to hell.”

“Guilty has been entered,” Travon stated, “The list of charges has been made available on the screen before you. Read them and starting from the beginning we will listen to any defence you have for each charge.”

Sara rolled her eyes, “I’m not participating in this.”

“Very well,” Travon said, “There is no defence given for any charge. I have received a request for leniency from Captain Rip Hunter asking us to take into consideration how long you were trapped within the simulation when making our judgement. As one of our most respected captains, and advisor to this council, we will take this into serious consideration.”

Sara snorted, “Rip is respected these days? Well, that gives me even less confidence in this so-called court.”

“We have entered into the record that you have acted with contempt of these proceedings but considering the charges it isn’t unexpected,” Travon stated, “Judgement will be delivered momentarily.”

Sara watched confused as the air shimmered between her and the judges.

“They are discussing the case in a privacy seal,” the guard beside her explained, “It shouldn’t be long considering your list of crimes.”

Before Sara could retort the shield disappeared and Travon stood again, “Sara Lance, the council have agreed that you are guilty on all charges. We have taken into consideration all information, and it is our judgement that you will be remanded to the Fortress to stay there for the remainder of your days. However due to the plea for leniency from Captain Hunter, it has been agreed that you will be eligible for parole within ten years.”

Sara moved to take out the guard closest to her and steal their weapon but before she could move, she was hit by a taser and collapsed to the ground unconscious.

-

Sara groaned as she woke up feeling the world shuddering. Forcing her eyes open she realised she was seated, strapped to her chair, and facing several others who were watching her amused.

“Where am I?” she demanded.

Laughter sounded around her as she looked down and saw she was wearing a light grey jumpsuit like everyone else was and there was something around her neck.

“You’re heading to the Fortress,” the man across from said, “Along with the rest of us dangerous criminals.”

“The Fortress?”

More laughter sounded around her, and the man held up his hand to stop them, “It’s a high security prison and once you’re in there, that’s it.”

“No one’s ever broken out?” Sara asked.

The man shook his head, “Not possible. A few have died trying to.”

“Well, I’ll be the first,” Sara stated.

Everyone laughed again.

“Feel that thing around your neck?” the man asked, he waited as Sara touched the metal band, “The collar makes sure you can’t make any trouble. Try it and see how much it hurts.”

Sara grimaced but before she could ask anything else a loud thud echoed around the room.

“Looks like we’re here,” he shrugged, “Catch you in there.”

“All prisoners move to the exit,” a guard shouted as the seat restraints released.

Sara watched everyone stand and get in line but didn’t move.

“Get in line,” the guard ordered.

“No,” Sara stated, ready to fight when a shock hit her, and she fell forward out the seat.

The guard looked down at her, “Now get in line.”

Staggering to her feet, she saw her friend smirking at her.

“Told you.” He chuckled and added, “And every time you try something it gets worse.”

Sara joined the queue and waited, taking in everything around her. The red light above the door turned green and she followed on into a dull grey room where several guards stood. She watched as each prisoner in front of her placed their hand on a scanner before the guard spoke to them then they were pushed through a door.

Reaching the front of the queue, Sara glared at the guard.

“Hand on scanner.”

Knowing she had no choice Sara pressed her right hand onto the screen. It lit up and the computer announced her name before listing all her so-called crimes.

“You’ve been sentenced to life imprisonment within the Fortress with possibility of parole in ten years,” the guard stated once the computer finished, “The collar around your neck ensures that you follow the rules and regulations of the institution. Each infraction means you will receive a shock, this will get stronger if you break any rules within the same twenty-four-hour period. Be aware that continuous breaking of the rules across several days will result in the shocks being stronger. Do you understand this?”

“What if I say no?” Sara demanded before crying out as a sharp shock went through her body.

The guard waited until she was still before telling her, “I repeat the information until you say yes.”

“I understand,” Sara ground out.

The guard nodded, “Walk through the door.”

Before Sara could move the guard in front of her was shot, spinning she saw one of the other guards shooting at every other guard.

Walking towards Sara who prepared to defend herself, she stared in amazement and relief as the guard took her helmet off to reveal long blonde hair.

“Ava?” Sara hugged her, “How?”

“No time for that,” Ava told her, “Hold still while I remove the collar,” she pulled out a small piece of metal that looked like a three-prong fork and touched it to the back of metal around Sara’s neck. Sara let out a sigh of relief as the collar opened and Ava tossed it away.

“I’ve managed to find a ship for us,” Ava told her, “Be careful, there are more guards.”

Sara grabbed one of the guns from the fallen guard and followed her girlfriend through a different doorway. She shot back as they ran through the corridors, Ava stopped at an airlock and motioned Sara to get in.

“You fly,” Ava told her, “I’ll keep them out till the door shuts.”

Running to the bridge, Sara slid into the pilot’s chair, readying them to enter the time stream and find a haven.

“Go,” Ava yelled, and Sara started the engines.

She flew away from the Fortress, staring in amazement at the large grey vessel before them, hanging in space next to a moon.

“Stop staring and get us out of here before they can send ships,” Ava told her as she strapped herself into the seat at Sara’s side.

Nodding Sara activated the time drive and they jumped to safety. The moment they were in the green of the time stream, Sara unstrapped and moved to hug her girlfriend again.

“I thought I’d lost you forever,” Sara whispered.

Ava smiled, “Sorry I couldn’t come for you sooner, but I needed to find a ship. It’s not as big as the Waverider but it’s ours.”

Sara smiled in relief, now they could find the others and return to fixing time to make things better.

                             *********************************************

Rip stood looking down at the unconscious woman on the medical chair, once more immersed in a simulation.

“There was no other way, Captain,” Gideon reminded him.

“Your computer lady is right,” Quentin Lance sighed as he gently stroked his daughter’s hair.

Rip sighed, “I just wish she would have listened to us, that she could believe what we were telling her.”

“Sara was always stubborn,” Laurel told him.

Nodding in agreement Rip explained, “Although the simulation is running again, it has been altered by Gideon to be less aggressive to her psyche while George is monitoring constantly. He will continue to provide her with a narrative with things within it that hopefully will make her question the reality. If…when she accepts that then he will wake her.”

“What about her physical body?” Laurel asked, “Is she going to waste away living in her mind?”

Rip shook his head, “She is being kept healthy by the stasis field which will ensure that her body does not deteriorate however long she remains in the simulation.”

“And you’ll let us know how she is?” Quentin asked.

“I will provide you with monthly reports, Captain Lance,” Gideon assured, “And the council have approved for you to visit once every three months to check on her.”

Sighing Quentin wrapped his arm around Laurel, “I guess that’s the best I can hope for.”

“I can give you some more time before I send you home,” Rip told them.

Laurel shook her head, “It’s best we leave now. Thank you, Captain Hunter.”

Rip nodded before he tapped a few controls on his courier and the portal opened showing Laurel’s apartment.

Father and daughter looked back at Sara lying unconscious for a moment before they walked through the portal which closed a few seconds later leaving Rip alone once more.

“You are wanted by the council, Captain,” Gideon interrupted his thoughts.

Rip sighed, “Never a moment. Tell Eve I’m on my way.”

Leaving the medical bay, Rip hoped one day Sara would come home, but for now he had to get back to work.

[with-my-murder-flute]

Okay okay okay, I finally remembered my other Pyrrha hypothesis I meant to bring into this. Which I feel requires a digression first into the River as a thanergetic version of the Catholic Treasury of Merit.

Basically the Catholic concept of the Treasury of Merit is like, Jesus on the Cross opened a kind of supernatural bank account, but for the forgiveness of sins. That's why ordinary Christians get their sins forgiven; priests are like little bank tellers who get asked for forgiveness, and they can go into the vault and get that person the amount of forgiveness they need. And then all Jesus's saints and martyrs and holy people perform good and meritorious acts, which adds to the repository.

And it can transfer between people; if you've done a bunch wrong in your life, but someone else prays and does good on your behalf, that can pay for your own redemption. That's why the Catholic Church can issue indulgences, where they literally sell or give away certificates indicating the bearer is forgiven every sin they would ever commit in their entire lives.

The nature of the River seems really similar to the Repository of Grace, in how it's theoretically this universal thing, but also really specifically grounded in time and place, its own little bubble universe full of souls waiting for another Resurrection in the future.

I just... get the feeling that necromancy is "a disease [Jod] released" quite literally, like, he got magic powers and used them to create the River, and then found a way to make people necromancers who could tap into as much of the River as they currently have access to.

Okay so! Looping my red yarn over to the board labelled "Pyrrha", VIA:

Augustine's explanation in HtN: "Resurrection Beasts feed like revenants: they find thalergenic planets and guzzle them up wholesale, crack them open like clams, and take the soul for meat. Then they turn all that remnant thalergy into what we call the corpus, or the hive, and the thanergy—the dead clam itself—for armour. You can ask the Saint of Duty about the thanergy transfer [...] The card up the sleeve of the revenant, and the Resurrection Beast, is that it can inhabit anything it’s got a connection to. Anything thanergetically connected with their death."

So the next part of my theory is: Resurrection Beasts are thanergetically related to anyone who is connected to the River. That's why Varun seems to have basically started turning Judith into a Herald.

Final question: What do you call a necromancer who only uses thalergy? It seems like John could have gone in that direction, healing the sick and raising the dead, but he got a bit sidetracked away from it. And it feels like Nona (/Alecto) is the literal opposite of John, light to his dark; Nona's propensities are towards love, connection, and the joy of being alive.

What if Gideon and Pyrrha had that balance of opposites, too? Is the thanergy-void the result of a corresponding source of or affinity with thalergy? Back before necromancers and cavaliers had divided into those categories, were cavaliers more than walking batteries?

(The Eighth sucks the soul out of its cavaliers and exploits the space that tries to fill it--the danger seems to be that the cavalier will become a Herald for an RB. Which makes me think about how incredibly far the Mithraeum is from absolutely anything else; if there weren't lyctors to lure it away (and by NtN there aren't), would the RBs be going after all necromancers? It kind of feels like it.)

This all feels like a bonkers Rube Goldberg machine, like I've got a flaw in my logic somewhere, but I can't see it right now.

Just finished re-listening to Nona, and I have to know - what the ever-loving fuck did Jod want with G—'s arm? My first thought was that it had something to do with the dead man's switch for the suitcase nuke, but he mentions that he still has plans for it, in his narration to Alecto/Harrow after the bombs have gone off, so there's something else there. I feel like it's tied in with something about G1deon and Pyrrha being different from the other lyctor/cavalier pairs we see.

Speaking of which, there are a good few of those differences - here are the ones that come to mind:

G1deon's thanergy-void ability that lets him break Harrow's bone wards. I don't think this is it - to me it feels like it's more in the vein of Mercymorn's one-touch supernatural anatomy abilities, within the "normal" range of freaky abilities that lyctors have.

G1deon being physically imposing, unlike any(?) other necromancer we come across. I feel like there are some connections here that are eluding me right now.

The big one, Pyrrha's individuality surviving lysis. This by itself wouldn't make sense to me, but maybe it ties in with G1deon's buffness, that somehow the physical basis for their ascension was atypical?

On that last note, something else that stood out to me through Nona is that Pyrrha and G1deon's necro/cav relationship dynamic seems very different from the others we see (not just among Jod's original disciples but also with the contemporary pairs). At one point Pyrrha mentions filtering G1deon's brain fluid while working on the transference/winnowing trial, with the only other subject of that test being Cristabel rather than one of the other necromancers. In another passage Pyrrha talks about working on the Tomb's wards with Cassiopeia and Mercymorn - her plus two necromancers.

This had me wondering if Pyrrha was also a necromancer originally, somehow - but Palamedes's explanation to Nona of why she isn't affected by the blue madness undermines that hypothesis. But that aside, Pyrrha was definitely involved in what I would think of as "necromancer stuff" in a way we don't see from anyone else except Camilla (because the Sixth House are nerds). But maybe my expectations are off base because we're introduced to the necro/cav relationship through the eyes of Gideon, who is aggressively disinterested in necromancy...

Speaking of nerd shit, what kind of people were Jod's crew before the bombs and the Resurrection? He refers to them at one point as "a cop and six different kinds of nerd" and "two scientists and an engineer and a nun and a lawyer and a banker and a cop and an artist," referring to A—, M—, G—, the nun (Cristabel), C—, A—'s brother (Alfred), P—, and N— (he doesn't seem to have included himself in that tally). The narration clearly references all of their roles individually except G—'s, so I would guess he was the engineer, with the scientists being M— (medical) and A— ("the glycerol-6 genius"). But as best I can recall we don't really hear anything about G—'s role apart from being Jod's most steadfast supporter and carrying the suitcase nuke - it comes across as though Jod took him rather for granted. I wonder if Pyrrha remembers this and holds it against Jod along with all his post-Resurrection shit? I'd love to learn more about this in Alecto - I wanna know everything about our problematic fave ex-cop ex-spook genderfuck parent figure and her grief and her love...

But back to my earlier line of thinking, after the Resurrection Jod roped his disciples into a war of vengeance against the descendants of the generation ship, and defense against the Resurrection Beasts, and at a very tentative guess it seems like only Pyrrha of the original eight would have been predisposed towards that kind of combative life (jokes about academia aside). But at the same time she seems to have stepped into a research-y role that we don't see from any of the other original cavaliers (with the caveat that our info is very limited and Alecto could upend this entirely).

All this is to say, I Have Questions about Pyrrha and G1deon and who they were pre-Resurrection, but right now I don't have any coherent theory beyond "I think there's something going on here."

[writer-in-theory]

nothing new (spencer reid x reader)

summary: after two decades together, spencer begins to worry reader will fall out of love with him now that he’s not the man he was at twenty-two. request?: no pairing: spencer reid x gn!reader category: angst with a happy ending content warnings: self-deprecating thoughts (spencer & reader), mentions of divorce/falling out of love (doesn’t happen), mention of alcohol (spencer has one drink) word count: 2.2k a/n: we're finally here! i'll apologize for this one taking a little longer than i expected, it hit way too close than i was expecting it too. i had to take many breaks writing this one, so heed the cautions and remember to take care of yourself always. and as always, this fic wouldn't be here without some wonderful betas. so thank you a million to @safespacespence and @reidselle for reading this and making sure it was post-worthy!

masterlist reid from the vault masterlist

Friday nights are the worst.

These are the nights Spencer is haunted by the most, the ones that keep him lying awake far past the reminder on his phone set to give him the proper amount of sleep. These are the nights that, ten years ago, he would have spent in a bar with all of his friends.

The friends Spencer hardly ever saw anymore.

Elle, who had left before Spencer could truly come to know her like a sister—and who, sometimes, still haunted his dreams with all of the “what ifs” had she stayed. Derek, who had long since left the BAU to start a family. Out of all of them, he had never been the one Spencer thought would leave first. There was Hotch, too, and the name alone was enough to send a dowel rod straight through Spencer’s stomach, twisting through all of the hurt that ghostly goodbye inflicted on him. Jack would be starting high school now, how was he? Did Hotch ever find the peace he deserved so much? Now, even Penelope was gone. Penelope, who brightened Spencer’s day no matter how many clouds were gathered over his head.

Would there come a time when Spencer no longer recognized anyone on the team? Would he be like Gideon, living and dying within the BAU? Would he be Rossi, never quite being able to leave despite the peaceful life screaming at him to do so?

Spencer had found peace with you years ago, why couldn't he have chosen to rest like everyone else had?

Yes, Friday nights were Hell on Earth for Spencer Reid.

They were Hell for you too, in a way you never thought possible. These were the nights you lay awake and pretended not to feel the pain radiating in waves off of your husband. You’d lay on your side of the bed, arms tucked close to your chest praying tonight wasn’t the night he realized you weren’t enough. You always had been before—ever since that sunny day in August when he’d promised you would be in front of all your loved ones. These were the nights where you wondered where the man you’d married had gone and if he’d ever return.

By Saturday morning, the pain would curl itself around each of your ribs to rest dormant for another week—biding its time until it could strike out at your heart with as much force as before. You’d pull yourself from bed and shower with Spencer. The two of you would have a lazy morning consisting of a breakfast he’d been mastering over the years and movies you’d both seen countless times. But until then, you’d lie on opposite sides of the bed and feel further apart than you’ve been in seventeen years.

While you were blindsided by the ever-growing distance between you two, you supposed it had been slowly growing from the beginning—a shallow wound sliced at your vows and left to fester for every year that followed. There was something about your relationship that was no longer bringing Spencer peace, you just hoped you could find it before the distance grew too great to cross.

This Friday night was different.

The house was unearthly quiet when you stepped in. The only sound came from the gentle rattle of the heater that fought a fruitless battle against the emotional chill blanketing the space. Immediately it felt barren, devoid of the bright smiles and loud laughter typically contained within. Something was wrong, but you’d allow Spencer the space you’d long since learned to give him—at least, for as long as you could stand.

The hours ticked by until finally, the front door swung open closer to 5am than midnight.

Spencer often admitted he wasn’t fond of alcohol. For a man who had spent many of his years at the mercy of people more powerful than he, it wasn’t often he was willing to relinquish any of the meagre amounts of control he still clung to. Tonight, though, you could smell the hints of whiskey on his breath mixed with the familiar scent of his cologne.

“I’m glad you’re home,” you whispered, voice barely loud enough to loft over the white noise of the heater.

“I need to talk to you.”

There it was—the moment everything fell apart, the moment when seventeen years crumbled away to ash. Your fingers dug into the sleeves of his shirt, as though that simple material could somehow keep you tied close to him. “Wait,” you whimpered, lower lip quivering with everything you longed to say but knew better than to vocalize. Please don’t go, I may not be the one for you but we can still find happiness, please stay with me. “Give me one more moment.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just let me have this, Spencer. I want to remember what it feels like to hug you before you go.”

“Go?” Spencer tore out of your arms then, expression twisted into pure confusion. “I just got home, why would I go now?”

“Spencer, you don’t have to play nice. I know what’s coming.”

“You do?”

“Of course, I do,” you sighed, wishing he would step closer to you again. The physical distance now was somehow more painful than anything else you’d experienced previously—the visible representation of all the times he’d chosen to distance from you in his mind. Though you hadn’t truly felt married to him in weeks, you weren’t ready to say goodbye.

Not to seventeen years of love and happiness. Not to the wedding day—a casual affair, spoken declarations of grandeur in front of only those you trusted most to witness such love. How could you possibly walk away from the simple gestures that brought you so much joy on even the cloudiest days—all the hugs, and snacks, and sweet words whispered close in your ear.

You could stand to end the cold nights, physically near Spencer but far in from his usual steady comfort. There would be no missing the days you’d wake up and realize it was a bad one for him, the days when he seemed too stuck in his mind to do anything but push you away. You wouldn’t miss carefully carving out another piece of yourself and offering it to him, hoping it’d be enough to make him stay. How many times could you chisel a piece away from your heart until it would shatter irreparably?

“I’ve seen you pushing me away for weeks now, I know what that means,” you admitted, head tilting down to stare at your hands as they picked at the ends of your fingernails. “I’ve been ignoring it, trying to feel ready but I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for you to leave me.”

“Leave you? Wait, darling, you think I’m leaving you?” The crack in Spencer’s voice was enough for you to look up at him then, revealing a pained look in his hazel eyes.

“You’re not?”

“Why would I ever leave you?” Spencer practically gasped around the words, his large hands wrapping over your own. “Being with you is the happiest I’ve ever been.”

“You haven’t seemed happy lately,” you told him, and you watched as his entire body sagged. His shoulders dipped, his eyebrows furrowed in with concern, and the corners of his lips downturned into a pout you might’ve called adorable in a less serious moment.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I want to retire from the BAU.”

And—oh. This wasn’t Spencer’s way of trying to ask for a divorce, this wasn’t his attempt at sparing your feelings only to crush them more. He hadn’t been avoiding you because he didn’t love you. He wanted to retire from the job he’d had since right after you got married. The job that had even prompted the engagement in the first place. When Spencer had gotten recruited all those years ago, you’d made the choice to move with him across the country, to start a new life far from everything you’d ever known before.

It had been the greatest adventure you’d ever go on, because it had been with Spencer.

“Oh, Honey,” you cooed, feeling the rush of relief flooding your chest and wiping away the stabbing pain of rejection. The ache would linger as you healed from this moment, but at least the wound was cleaned out and bandaged—it was finally acknowledged and cared for. “I’m proud of you.”

“You’re proud of me?”

“I know that must’ve been a tough decision to make.” For as long as you’ve been married to Spencer, he’s been in the BAU. He practically grew up there, from the lanky and shy twenty-two year old boy to the confident man standing in front of you now.

Of course, with every moment that built him up there was another three to tear him back down. Moments that scarred so deep you weren’t sure they’d ever wash clean from his skin. You still caught up rubbing his palm where you knew the scarred knife wound lay, the one clue his team had when he’d been arrested. Sometimes, when he thought you weren’t looking, his fingers would brush over his neck and you knew he was remembering the moment he’d cracked—the moment Cat Adams had threatened you and he’d crossed a line he’d never thought possible.

Spencer was not the same man you’d married, but how could you ever expect him to be? Hell, you were not the same bright young person you’d been nearly two decades before. If you were, there was no way you’d still be with him now. No, you’d grown and learned and pushed through together, constantly re-learning who you were and how the pieces of you both fit together.

“You’re not...upset?” Spencer asked, lips tensing as a tell that he was trying not to chew on them.

It broke your heart, to see Spencer this way. This was a man who had always been there for you, who always had a smile or a warm hug waiting when you next saw him.

“Spencer Reid, I am your partner. I want you to be happy and if being happy means retiring at 38 then I’ll throw you the best retirement party you could possibly imagine,” you told him, reaching out to take his face between your hands. “I love you, no matter what.”

“I just...you married an FBI agent.”

“I married you.” You gripped a little tighter, just enough that his gaze flicked back to meet yours. You needed him to hear this, to truly understand how deep your love ran for him. “I still love you as much as I did on our wedding day, maybe even more.”

“You don’t care that I’m washed up?”

“Honey, you’ve got to believe in yourself a little more,” you sighed, gently guiding his face closer to you so you could place a gentle kiss on his forehead—then another on his nose, then each cheek, and finally landing on those lips yours knew by heart. “You’re not washed up, it’s just time for you to move on from this job. I’m sure your team will understand. It’s time for the next genius to have their shot, right?”

“I guess so.”

“I know so,” you told him, allowing a smile to crack for the first time since stepping foot in your house that night. “And besides, if I’m being honest I’m kind of relieved you’re retiring.”

“Is that so?” he asked, his own smile beginning to replace that careful pout of his.

“Absolutely,” you told him, tugging Spencer close enough to wrap him in a tight embrace. This was where you belonged—in the arms of the man you loved, wherever that may lead you. “I’m sure whatever you decide to do now will be far less dangerous, and will definitely take up less time. And maybe, hopefully, it’ll be less of a burden on that brilliant mind of yours.”

“I wouldn’t mind more time with you,” Spencer admitted, his entire expression softening as he likely pictured it. More days like Saturdays, more time spent enjoying one anothers’ company without the looming threat of being called up for a case.

You guided him back to the couch, allowing your bodies to fall into each other on it. The way you were tangled made you unsure of where he stopped and you began, but in the moment you didn’t care. All you had eyes for was that brilliant smile warming his face, the smile that had been dimmed in recent weeks but now was showing signs of being reignited. “Are you okay?” you asked, never letting your hands stray far from him.

“I will be,” Spencer promised, and that was all you could ever ask for. Tonight you’d stay wrapped up in one another, and every day you two would find your way back.

You both would be okay, together.

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[reidsbookclub]

Nothing New (Spencer’s Version) (The Blurb Edition)

Pairing: Spencer Reid x BAU Reader

Warnings: mentions of drinking

WC: 615

Summary: Spencer lets his feeling out on Penelope’s living room floor

AN: This is a bit different than the show, in here Penelope joins the team before Spencer. | Sorry to Spencelle shippers, in this Elle and Spence have a brother-sister relationship. | inspired by Nothing New (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) | I’m hoping to make a longer version of this once midterms end | not edited

Penelope had invited the team to her house for what she was calling the “First Annual Holiday Extravaganza” she had decorated her apartment in all things mistletoe, holiday, and ribbon. But most importantly she wanted to make sure the newest addition to the team felt welcomed and loved and wanted to say farewell to Elle.

Spencer Reid had joined the team a little earlier that year and it was the first time he felt wanted. He was the shiny new toy that the BAU had. Gideon couldn’t get enough of him, always having him around. It was like his own personal encyclopedia on the go. Hotch couldn’t be more excited to have him as a new addition to the team. And Morgan, as much as he loved his sisters, was so excited to finally have a little brother one that he could protect, teach anything sport-related, and learn from him.

Penelope couldn’t be prouder to have had a new genius addition to the team, while she managed all things technological he complimented everything else. JJ and Elle had already taken him in like the little brother they always wanted. But he didn’t seem to understand how or why Y/N could be so smitten by him. With the attention Spencer was receiving from Y/N, he was falling hard and fast, going through a rollercoaster of emotions that he didn’t have time to process at the rate he would have liked, emotions that he always thought would be bottled up and taking to the grave. Never in his wildest of dreams did he believe he would be getting drunk for the first time and leaving it all out on Penelope’s hardwood living room floor.

♖♗♘♙

The party was in full swing, with everyone dancing, talking, and mingling. And in true big brother fashion, Morgan was hell-bent on getting Spencer to drink.

“Come on, pretty boy, you need to try at least one drink. I promise you this one doesn’t taste weird” Morgan had previously tried getting Spencer to drink some vodka, proving it to be a little too strong for the young doctor. After two margaritas and one long island that he sipped on as Penelope was delivering a farewell speech for Elle, the young doctor proved to be the lightweight that everyone thought he would be.

“I’ve got something to say,” Spencer speaks up as he makes his way to where Penelope had just delivered her speech. “First, I wanted to thank Elle for being the badass big sister I always wished I had. Elle, I love you and I hate change so not having you around will kill me. Next, thank you to everyone for making me feel loved and welcomed. I’ve had too much to drink tonight, and I know it’s sad but this is what I’ve been thinking about all day.” taking a deep breath, he continues, “Y/N, what will become of me, once I’ve lost my novelty? You don’t know how much your love and affection have made me love you, but I can’t help but wonder if am I only bitin’ time ‘til I lose your attention? And someone else lights up the room for you. And I know I’ll say I’m happy for you but then ill cry myself to sleep.” He begins to tear up, seemingly can’t seem to get on with the speech, but then he almost inaudibly whispered, “ I just want to know, will the team still want me when I’m nothin’ new, will you Y/N still want to be around me when I’m nothing new, and this job puts me so much through the wringer that they say I’ve been through it?”

[austarus]

Timeless!Harrison Wells x Reader - White King, Black Queen

*A/N: The picture/edit/gif does not belong to me. It belongs to its rightful owner.

**Please don’t forget to comment, like, and reblog. It means a lot to content creators of all kinds!

***I’d also like to thank @grimtamlain-writes​ for being my beta reader.

MASTERLIST

Word Count: 2267

You narrowed your eyes as the city continued to bustle, noise from people and cars emitted in the air. Clouds hung sparsely over Central City as the waning moon took the place of the sun high in the sky. The wind blew a light breeze through your hair. You kicked a leg back and forth gently as you sat on the edge of the STAR Labs tower wings. Your other leg was bent close to your body, an arm resting over your knee. The height didn’t scare you so much as it used to. In fact, you didn’t mind being so close to the edge anymore. If you fell, then you fell. Truth be told, your powers would save you whether you willed it to or not. Some would say it’s a curse, others not so much. Your umbrakinesis acted like a defense mechanism at those times. A sigh left your lips as you straightened up your back, cracking it. Relief echoed through your body, but your heart felt heavy. Time is ticking... You knew what was happening downstairs, Gideon had alerted you when someone entered the Time Vault. It wouldn’t be completely wrong to say that you didn’t want to face him – couldn’t get attached since he’d been here. Not again. Staying up here was your way of avoiding that problem until… Until what, though?

The hair at the back of your neck stood up, a chill ran down your spine as your shadows alerted you of a presence a distance behind you. Turning your head slightly, you sent an icy look to the one person you dreaded to see. The face of the man you had seen pass one too many times. Their looks from their final moments imprinted in your mind for this one to come back. He was the last thing you had of them.

Harrison Wells.

A small smile was on his face, his hair tousled with his clear-framed glasses perched on his nose. He knew you’d be up here. The others told him you’d been up here since his reincarnation into the world. Since he’d made contact with Team Flash to help them and explain his predicament of currently living. But really, Harrison would have known if no one had told him. He had sensed it. Seen it – the images flickered past in his brain. The other versions of himself with you up here – the foreign familiarness that he personally did not experience.

But nothing more than a dreadful reminder of what’s past.

“I’ve come to say good-bye,” the genius started in a soft voice, wanting to approach you carefully. Your glare bothered him, yet he knows it shouldn’t, for once Harrison leaves, he will be united with Tess, the love of his life. Over and over and over again.

You snorted, turning your gaze to the stars that twinkled away from the clouds. You could see the constellations of Cassiopeia, winking brightly light-years away. “Such a shame, you could have helped them with Godspeed.” A bitter laugh left your lips as you recalled Nash showing you how to recognize the constellations and where to navigate from there. Sherloque would drink his tea up here with you and converse about his cases. HR would read to you his latest ideas and novels while you gave your input. You would drag Harry out of his lab to get some fresh air. And Eobard… he was the one who showed you this view, before Barry had woken up, before the Particle Accelerator had gone online.

“Team Flash is more than capable of handling threats on their own.”

“I take it you think that having a Wells must be a handicap, hm?”

“I never said that.”

“Hmph.”

“I couldn’t leave without telling you good-bye.” You pressed your lips thinly and Harrison continued, pocketing his hands in his dark coat. “It didn’t feel right to go without saying that.”  The night was getting colder, yet you remained out here in a thin jacket. Dare he say, he worried a bit?  You turned to fully look at him from your seated position. “I… won’t deny the sentiment I feel towards you. The memories of the past Wells. Their thoughts – well, previous thoughts – and feelings are still here.” Harrison had gestured to his head then placed a hand on his heart. Bile rose at the back of your throat as the smiling images of the boys hit your mind. You bit your lip hard as he spoke, “Each one of them felt strongly for you, but I’m not them. They’d want you to move on. To live-”

“No!” Your patience snapped, standing up rapidly with expert footing. Shadows went rampant in the night, wind howling in his ears. “You don’t get to say that!” Darkness immediately consumed the atmosphere and air around you both. Unbridled anger licked up in your heart and soul as you took heavy steps towards him. Harrison couldn’t see, but he could feel the moving darkness as he stood his ground. “You have no right to act all high and mighty towards me.” A hiss left his lips as a dark particle lashed at his arm, burning through his coat and marring his skin just as he heard your anger burn in your next words. “You don’t understand the strings that fate has chained me with! Nor will you ever understand my burden.”

***Flashback***

“What is it that you want?” You glared at the entity. The Monitor had appeared in your kitchen as you were pouring yourself some alcohol to enjoy your quiet night. You had taken some time away from all the heroes and villains running around.

“I came because I require your assistance for the Crisis.”

“Pass, I’m not in the mood to play the hero.”

“The point is not to be a hero or the villain, but to honor fate’s will.”

“Well fate can go hump a stump for all I care,” you sipped on your choice of alcohol, you turned away from the eternal entity only to find him in front of you right as you had exited your kitchen. A deep frown crossed your features. This is such a drag.

“Fate has bound your life to Harrison Wells the moment you first met him years ago.”

“False, that was Eobard masquerading as Wells. So, technically no.”

“That technicality may be so, but fate saw the speedster as your gateway to the rest of them. Without Thawne you would not have been so tied to Harrison Wells’ existence.” Rolling your eyes, you took another sip, already knowing you’d need a couple of glasses to forget about this interaction. “Your life is bound to his. To them.” The Monitor had you right where he wanted you, pushing images into your mind to allow you to see reason. “You were a lover.” You flinched as the image of Eobard appeared in your mind. “A partner.” Harry. “A friend.” HR. “And a confidante.” Sherloque. “Now this one needs you as well, he is in danger of himself with the Anti-monitor. My opposite entity.” You knew he was referring to Nash, the multiverse explorer with the haughty attitude and snarky comments.

“…”

“You are the anomaly that exists in the multiverse, there is no other in your position.” The entity saw the hesitation flicker in your being. “The time has come for you to be his protector.”

***Time Skip***

Nash panted, on the ground of this desolate land on his hands and knees. His mouth felt dry, tasting iron in his mouth from the blood on his split lip. How much longer can he endure this? The Anti-monitor continued to laugh at him, to mock him, for his weakness. Pariah gripped hard at the dirty snow, blood and mud defiled the pure whiteness. He couldn’t get back up. His body ached. No matter how hard Nash tried to push back, the Anti-monitor was too strong for him even with these temporary powers.

“Humans are such fickle beings,” the anti-entity spoke in a grand manner, “Soon the multiverse will be mine and there shall be no flaws. No humans to corrupt my domain.” The eternal being gathered his divine power into the palm of his hand and fired anti-matter at his appointed Pariah. The one to bear witness of the end of the multiverse. His curse.

Nash shut his eyes; this was the end. This was his end. A breath left him, what he expected to be his final breath. But the final blow never came. Ringing greeted Nash’s ears as he opened his eyes. Standing in front of him, shielding his body was you and your dark powers. For whatever reason it withstood the anti-matter as particles clashed against one another. You stood defiantly and gracefully in your fighting positions, conjuring your dark spectacles from every shaded corner.

“Don’t you dare touch him, you fucking monster.” You growled, your hands working magnificently to bind the Anti-monitor down. Once bound your umbra became spears and swords that pierced through the entity. While it could not kill the Anti-monitor, it slowed him down – meaning it would slow down his assault on Nash. You needed to get him to safety, needed him to have enough strength to teleport you two away from this dimension. And that’s exactly what you convinced him to do when you grabbed him, hugging his injured body to yourself as he fought to stay conscious.

***End Flashback***

“You don’t understand what loss truly is! You don’t get how hard it is to move on from this.” Just as you had moved, so had Harrison. A dagger of darkness at his throat, clenching the front of his cloak as he held a dagger of light to your own throat. Harrison  gritted his teeth as he used his powers to light up the area in his green light. “This pain, the misery of losing over and over and over again. To bear the burden of fate’s strings only to watch them all fall.” He flinched at how the veins around your eyes had darkened to a charcoal color. His throat dried as fear hit him. Harry’s memory flashed into his mind – the memory of you in this state, accidentally killing a meta in self-defense. “You’re just a selfish man, running away from what’s in front of him.” Harrison’s light battled against your darkness to keep the physical manifestations of umbra away from harming his body. “I despise people like that.”

“I’m only doing what’s best for me.”

“By what, Harrison? Running to the past? What’s in the past is best left in the past, those who hold on to the past don’t appreciate the present.”

“Such hypocritical words coming from someone who sulks around up here for what once was.”

“You don’t fucking know anything about me. All you have are some second-hand memories, but you don’t truly know me and what I’ve been through. You’re just like Barry.”

“And you’re any different?”

“At least I know the difference between reality and a desperate dream.”

“…” He knew Tess is doomed to die for time to flow, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t cherish every second with her until it was time. Maybe he was a desperate man chasing after a desperate dream, but he would until the bitter end. For Tess.

“A Time Loop is just a miserable notion for you to see Tess when her destiny is already a fixed time point. Just like Barry’s mother. Their deaths are absolute. Even with your Timeless powers you can’t interfere with what’s set in place.”

“That may be so, but I’ve fulfilled my part here – at least I have someone to return home to, even if they are doomed to die. I could be by her side over and over again.”

Harrison’s words pierced your heart, you pushed the tears back. The ache in your heart throbbed at a greater rate. At least… he had the power to return to his someone… The genius saw the haunting dejection in your eyes, the way your shoulders quivered as you tried to keep yourself together. He regretted the words that left his mouth…

“Do as you please,” you whispered, loosening your grip on his jacket to let him go. The darkness dissipated as you walked back to your perch with pocketed hands. “I’m done begging…” You mumbled to yourself so quietly that he didn’t catch your last statement. A tear left your eyes as you stood tall where you once sat.

“Good-bye,” Harrison murmured to the wind drifting in your direction before turning and leaving. A part of him felt torn by the things he had spat at you. What’s done is done. I doubt I’ll be back here any time soon. Clenching and unclenching his hand, Harrison shut his eyes and summoned his powers to pass through time. Tess, I’m coming home.

“Good-bye, Harrison.” Another tear fell, this time you wiped it as the night continued. He was gone. They were gone. You were alone, once again spectacularly alone and cold.

The pieces are all in place. The time has come…

Time still ticked as seconds went bye. A voice whispered at the back of your mind; the presence residing there since his exorcism. The one that kept you company through all this.

“It’s time, my queen.”

Checkmate

[burnwater13]

The Client discussing the Child with Moff Gideon, on Nevarro. Image from The Mandalorian, Season 1, Episode 7, The Reckoning. Calendar from DataWorks.

Grogu didn’t think about the person who paid Din Djarin to find him very often. He wasn’t Morgan Elsbeth who seemed to live in Grogu’s mind, rent free. But every once in a while Grogu would see an older human walking across the plaza in Nevarro City and do a double take. Was it that gentle sounding man? It couldn’t be. Moff Gideon had ended him. So why was Grogu’s brain playing tricks on him?

First, he asked his dad. The Mandalorian had a lot of life experience and knew a lot about how people behaved under stress. He was a bounty hunter and a Mandalorian. Hunter and hunted. If that wasn’t stressful, what was?

Fat lot of good that did him. 

“Grogu, buddy, he probably reminded you of one of your old Jedi Masters and now you just mix them up with each other. It could happen to any one.”

Uff! No way was that what was happening. That client guy didn’t remind Grogu of any of the Jedi masters. Jedi masters didn’t send other people out to do the work that they were assigned. They did the work themselves. Jedi masters also didn’t kidnap children, or use stolen goods to pay their debts. Grogu was sure there were more differences, but these were the ones that he could think of off the cuff.

So, if the client wasn’t like a Jedi master, why did Grogu think about him from time to time? He decided to check in with his friend, IG-11-M. The droid-marshal had an interesting perspective.

“Humans are not subject to logical processing of data. There is no factual support for non-humans to be bound by logical processing. Your central processor may have a defect that is repairable. Perhaps you should run a re-boot sequence?”

Hmmm. Grogu could appreciate that advice. Why he thought of the man who had been powerful and still so vulnerable didn’t need to make sense. That was a relief. But how would Grogu put his central processing unit through a re-boot sequence? He really didn’t care for meditating, but maybe it could help? Maybe?

Grogu sighed deeply. He needed more help. IG-11-M had made a good suggestion, but Grogu wanted to put off meditating as long as possible. It would just remind him of the time he spent training Luke at the Jedi Sleep Away Camp and that had been pretty frustrating for him. But who should he talk to?

The high magistrate was off planet for a meeting with the New Republic. Cara Dune was still on whatever strange special project she’d been on for the last few years. If only his ba’buir was around. Or Fennec. But they weren’t available either. Dank farrik!

Grogu began to pace around the exterior of the cabin. His dad was taking a nap and didn’t like the sound of Grogu pacing. He said Grogu should either learn to pick up his feet or use the Force to float when he felt like pacing. Apparently the shuffling sound his feet made was just a shade too close to the sound of that weird creature that caught the Mandalorian when they first went to explore the planet. That hadn’t been a fun time for either one of them so Grogu took his pacing outside. 

As he walked by the N-1 for the thirty seventh time he heard the sound of the comms system ‘pinging’. Grogu wondered who could be calling the ship instead of the cabin? Grogu trotted over to the ship and hopped up on the fuselage and listened carefully to the automated system pick up the comm. 

It was Peli! Yippee! She was the just the person who could help Grogu, if he could get the canopy opened in time to transfer the call from ‘record’ to ‘live’. Since this was an urgent need and he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to talk to his friend, he decided that using the Force to help was acceptable. He wasn’t being selfish or tricky after all. He was trying to answer an important question and Jedi were always allowed to use the Force to do work like that. 

So one leaping, twisting, turning vault into the air, accompanied by a wave of his hand, and Grogu was in the N-1 and hitting the proper sequence of buttons and switches to accept that comm.

“Grogu! Buddy! How are ya’? Ya little womp rat!”

Peli Motto was as cheerful and effervescent as always.

Grogu coo’d and grumbled at her.

“Really? Well, I don’t know why your dad couldn’t answer that. He can be such a tin can at times. That old man changed yer life. He sent bounty hunters after ya, for crying out loud. Whadda gundark! But, if he hadn’t, yer dad woulda never found ya. Easy peasy. Some people are a necessary evil. He was an unexpected good. So don’t look a gift fathier in the mouth, kid. It never pays. Any whoo, is yer dad around? I think I gotta line on a Razor Crest for him. Gently used. Not a lotta hours on the engines. Real sweet machine. It is too Treadwell! Quiet! I gotta customer on the line!”

Grogu giggled and trotted off to get his dad. Peli had answered his current question and had answered a question he didn’t even have. How could they be bounty hunters without a ship that could host a carbonite system? Like father, like son, bringing the bad guys in cold was just what he wanted to do. If it hadn’t been for the Client he never would have met his dad, or Peli, or whole bunch of other people. He had been an unexpected good. Who knew you could be warm and cold at the same time?

[vampire207343]

Hyacinth Vulpecula Black Potter

What if... Lily and James Potter has twin daughters their names are Hyacinth Vulpecula (fem!Harry Potter) the oldest twin and Violet Lily Potter the youngest twin and the Girl-who-lived. When the dark lord attack the potters, dumbledore declared the youngest potter twin to be the girl who lived and in order to keep her safe she must be raised away from the magical world. Hyacinth would also have been raised along side her sister if her godfather Sirius Orion Black who also blood adopt Hyacinth into her family line making her legally his heir as well beging the Potter Heiress. She was raised in ancestral home of the black family. Along side Sirius own grandfather Arcuturus Black III and Cassiopeia Black.

Notes:

Newton weasley is the reborn of a different Newt Samander from a different world who died young.

*~*

Hyacinth Vulpecula Black Potter who was blood adopted by sirius Black the moment she was born and named his heir after he was made her sworn godfather so when her parents died during the time the dark lord attack. He was nearly wrongly imprison by a crime he didn't do and his trusted friend Remus Lupin quickly his back on him before trail even began and already saw him as the traitor who betrayed Lily and James's location to the dark lord. Only to be proven wrong during his trail was declared innocent and the real traitor was non other than their other friend who they never thought would ever betrayed anyone of his friends  peter pettigrew.

After his trail ge quickly got Hyacinth and left never allowing Remus apologize since he quickly left the ministry to raised Hyacinth Vulpecula Black Potter in ancestral home of the black family. Along side Sirius own grandfather Arcuturus Black III and his great aunt Cassiopeia Black to help him raise his heir.

The young twin brother of Ronold Bilius Weasley, Newton "Newt" Apollo Weasley has always been close to his grandmother

Cedrella Weasley née Black along side his two older twin brothers Fred Gideon and George Fabian Weasley. They are the only weasley children that knows that their grandmother is a member of the Black family. So they meet Hyacinth Vulpecula Black Potter when she and Newt were 7 years old and the twins were 9 years old. And every since they meet Hyacinth and Newt were quite close to one another it dosen't help anything that they both love animals and are both beast speaker.

It would seem that Newt and the Weasley twins take after their grandmother's black gene than Weasleys that the current lord Black Arcuturus Black III gaved the three of them their own personal vault to see along with giving them allowance for their school suplies when they start Hogwarts which the three Arcuturus Black III.

The three Weasley kept their trust Vault a secret from mother and the rest of their family less they want their mother drain their trust vault dry which is something they didn't want. Arcuturus Black III help them invest in muggle & Magical companies to increase their gold which they didn't regret. He also help them learn how to manged money.

They were also given proper pureblood education along side Hyacinth. Something their parents never taught them if they haven't learn proper education of pureblood they might unknowingly offend someone unknowingly and that is something they didn't want. The twins were taught everything they need to learn before entering Hogwarts in 2 years using time turners. While Newt was catch up to Hyacinth using a time turner as well, but they aren't in a hurry since they still have 4 years to go before entering Hogwarts themself.

It wasn't long before grandfather Arcuturus Black III and great aunt Cassiopeia Black found the horcux that their house elf kreacher. That's when they discover how Regulus Arcuturus Black died by trying to destroy the horcux. They manged to retrived Regulus body but his body has become a Inferi that they were force to destroy it and turn it ash. And they destroy the rest of inferi where they found Regulus body some of those were muggle but somewhere wizards which they gaved ash of those wizard to the ministry of magic to give to their respectful family.

          It is how the Black family discover the dark lord known as Voldemort who was suppose to be a pureblood was nothing but a half blood which many pureblood family plage their loyalty to dark lord were furious to find out he wasn't even a pureblood but a half blood that branded their heirs like some cattle to be dispose off. He even went against magic to create something not even the darkest Wizards or witches would ever create a horcux. His true name is Tom Marvolo Riddle the son of a muggle man and a squib woman. 

Luckly Hyacinth isn't a turn to a living Horcux when the dark lord attack the Potters, since by then he might already created more than one which makes his soul a little more unstanle than it already is. The Black has Hyacinth check if she was turn to a horcux but luckly she isn't but the same can't said about Violet since no one where Remus Lupin allow his goddaughter Violet Lily Potter to be raise by Dumbledore so she can't be check if she's a horcux or not. The Blacks has continue what Regulus has started by hunting the dark lord's horcux for a while know they already found the Guant Ring, slytherin necklace, hufflepuff's cup and Ravenvlaw's diadem, which the four horcux were all destroy but they still have the feel he had more after all the dark lord has always believe the magical number 7 so they believed that he created 7 horcux which gose against every pureblood belief about going against magic, but never the less they continue their hunt for the horcux in ordr to prevent the resurrection of the dark lord.