Okay guys, Coldwave is my new recent ship and I love the idea of them raising a kid together….hence this series of one-shots revolving around this scenario.

I am now taking prompts for these one-shots and the gif sets available on my Tumblr ( tagged/coldwave)

Enjoy! Please read and review :)

…..

Well… Rip's confidence on finding Savage didn't last very long. The Waverider had been floating around aimlessly for about a week now and Lucas was bored out of his skull.

Everything was still tense between his parents, so Lucas made the decision to pack his bags…. In order to keep Mick happy, Len was likely to ask to go back to 2016 soon.

Where Lucas would eventually die.

The thought wasn't a pleasant one, and as it was unlikely to be caused by disease or something, Lucas started to prepare, arming himself with several knives on his person and set about creating his own specialist gun.

However, at the moment, he was playing Go Fish with Sara and his Dad on the stairs leading down to the cargo bay. His Papa had been sulking in the corner, angrily sharpening a switchblade…. Until he finally threw it at the wall, growling as it embedded itself opposite him.

"I'm done!" he growled, wrenching the knife out of the wall.

Len and Lucas simply glanced at him, before Len shrugged. "Don't mind him. He's still sore about having to leave 2046."

"I'm sore because I was recruited for my unique ability to light things on fire!" Mick yelled, "And now, I'm locked in the one place where I can't light things on fire… a spaceship!"

In his anger, he stormed past the trio, pushing his way past Lucas as he headed up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Lucas asked, twisting around as Mick glared at him.

"Why? You gonna clock me in the head like your Daddy if I don't listen again?"

Lucas knew he'd gone pale at this, as Sara glanced between him and Len in concern, "Everything okay with you two?"

Barely looking up from his card, Len shrugged. "Yeah, peachy."

Almost half an hour later, everyone was summoned to the deck, gathering around the console to watch a distress call.

"System malfunction. I'm stranded, unable to jump. Controls unresponsive. This is Captain Eve Baxter of the time-ship Acheron, requesting critical rescue!"

Mick frowned, "And we care about this chick why?"

"We don't, but the Acheron's computer will contain the current intel on Savage's whereabouts." Rip was clearly thrilled at the thought, a wide beam on his face, "Gideon, set a course for the Acheron's position in deep space."

"Yes, Captain."

"Deep space?" Stein shook his head in disbelief, "I had no idea we had the ability to explore the unknown realms of the galaxy. Astonishing!"

Lucas rolled his eyes at this…. They had literally travelled through time, and exploring deep space was astonishing? Some genius the old man was.

Jax also rolled his eyes, but for different reasons. "No. What's astonishing is that we're acting as roadside assistance for the people who's chasing us."

"Doesn't it seem suspicious, this distress call just happened to reach us?" Len drawled as Jax and Lucas nodded in agreement.

Kendra also seemed to agree. "How do we know it's not a trap?"

"We don't…" sighed Rip, who seemed fed up with their suspicions, "…but what we do know is that Savage's trail has run cold. And unless Gideon can upload the data from the Acheron's computer- "

"- I'm in." interrupted Mick.

Lucas and Len both glanced at him in shock. "Y-You are?" asked Lucas.

"The sooner we end Savage, the sooner I get back to where I belong."

"Prison?"

Before Mick could say anything, Lucas span around to face Stein, a snarl on his face as he took a step forwards. "Fuck off Stein…. Don't act like you're better than us, because you're not!"

Stein opened his mouth to reply, a glare on his face…. But he was quickly interrupted by Mick (who seemed unmoved by his son's defense of him).

"Any prison on Earth's better than this one, Professor."

"Gideon!" called out Rip, quickly noticing the tension as everyone moved to sit down.

"Yes, sir."

"Engines to full throttle."

"Of course, Captain."

It didn't take long for the Waverider to arrive at the destination, with a lone ship floating in the depths of space in front of them.

"Professor Stein, Mr. Jackson…" began Rip, "… would you care to join the boarding party?"

"A chance for an extra-vehicular docking manoeuvre? What could be more exciting?" exclaimed Stein in glee.

Jax clearly disagreed…. again. "Well, I could think of a few things."

"Let's just get this thing started." Grunted Mick, as he headed for the door.

Just before he could leave the deck, Lucas intercepted him and grinned. "Hey, you think there's something worth stealing on that ship?"

"I'm just looking for a change of scenery kid…." Mick then turned to Len, "…If that's okay with you, boss."

"Dr. Palmer. I leave the ship in your hands while we're gone…." Rip then turned to Kendra, "…. And I leave him in yours."

Ray didn't appear to have heard Rip, but judging by the look on Kendra's face, she agreed with the decision.

….

Almost an hour later, Lucas was bitterly regretting his decision to stay onboard the Waverider.

He did love Star Trek…. But Ray was pushing it.

"Captain's log. Star-date 837.9…." stated Ray, in his best serious tone as he sat on the Captain's chair, "…We're awaiting word from the away team aboard the Acheron and- Hey!"

Holding his arms up against the barrage of pens that Lucas was throwing at his head, Ray gave him a hurt look. "What was that for?"

"You are ruining Star Trek for me!"

Kendra chuckled, "I hate to break it to you Ray, but you're no Captain Kirk…. You're Picard."

"B-But Picard was cautious, pontificating, sort of sexless." Protested Ray

"Well, tell that to Vash. And for the record, Picard was way hotter than Kirk."

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Don't compare Ray to Sir Patrick Stewart Kendra, there is no competition there."

Seated in the chair next to his son, Len groaned. "Ooh, Mick had it wrong. This ship isn't a prison. It's a torture chamber."

"Well, I don't think Mick's problem is with the ship."

Len frowned at Sara, "You think it's with me."

"You did knock him out and force him to leave 2046 Star City, which is like… Disneyland for felons."

"He'll get over it. Mick runs hot. He always has. Once he calms down, everything will be back to normal."

"… Yeah, I bet that one sounded more convincing in your head."

"She's got a point Dad."

Before Len could say anything in retaliation, the computer started to beep and an unfamiliar voice came over the speakers and an unfamiliar face appeared on the main console screen.

"I'd like to speak to Acting Captain Raymond Palmer." The man ordered.

Ray beamed at this as he made his way over to the screen, "Ooh, Acting Captain. I like the sound of that…. I'm Captain Palmer. Who are you?"

"I'm the man holding your crew hostage."

"Captain Palmer…" came Rip's voice from off camera, "… I've informed Mr. Valour of the fiery retribution you'll rain down upon him if we are not released immediately."

Mr. Valour clearly didn't appreciate this, as he quickly punched Rip in the stomach and pinned him to the console. "I'm gonna make this real simple. You surrender your ship, and I'll drop you off unharmed at a place and time of your choosing…. You've got 10 seconds to decide."

"Or else what?" Ray scoffed, "If you want the Waverider for yourself, there's no way you'll fire on us."

Valour snarled and aimed a blaster at Rip's head. "Perhaps, but right now, I've got my sights set on your captain's head."

Ray's bravado quickly disappeared, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Okay. Just give me a chance to negotiate"

"Ten… nine- "

"Maybe he's bluffing.?"

"- Eight- "

"You have clearly never played poker Puppy. It doesn't feel like it."

"- Seven- "

"You don't know Palmer, and how he survived the "Imperiex" onslaught!" Rip blurted out.

Seconds later, an alarm began to blare on the Waverider, causing the team to glance around.

"Uh, Gideon?"

"Captain Hunter programmed me to execute certain protocols in response to specific keywords."

Len frowned, "What does that mean in English?"

"Strap yourselves in. We are on the move and preparing to fire."

At the cheery tone in Gideon's voice (for an AI, she liked violence a little too much), everyone rushed to their seats, quickly putting their seatbelts on as the ship fired at the opposing ship.

"What are you doing, Gideon?" snarled Len.

"Just a warning shot to let them know we mean business."

"My partner's on that ship!"

After a few minutes of frantic flying, there was a loud bang and the Waverider rocked from side to side.

"There's a hull breach in the aft portion of the ship, and the pirates have taken out the telemetry controls." Announced Gideon.

"Gideon, switch to manual." Ordered Ray, as he rushed over to the Captain's seat as Kendra tried to grab him.

"What are you doing?"

"If this is anything like a video game… flying a space ship."

As Ray prepared to take control, Sara pushed herself to her feet, closely followed by Len and Lucas.

"Where are you guys going?" asked Kendra in exasperation.

"To deal with the hole in the ship."

"Make sure Picard here doesn't get us all killed!" snarled Len.

"Actually, I'm more like Sulu right now…. Or Han Solo!"

As Kendra clearly resisted the urge to pull at her hair, Lucas ducked back into the room… "Don't dirty Han Solo's name like that!" … and then ducked back out again.

…..

Running to the section where the hole was, the trio quickly heard the hissing noise of air rushing out of the ship as Len spotted the sizable hole.

"Here!"

Aiming his gun at the hole, Len started to form an ice blockade over it.

"How long can you keep that up for?" asked Sara.

"Not long. I'm gonna run out of charge."

Seconds after saying this, the cold gun stopped and the ice stream trickled off.

"Be advised, the breach is only partially contained." Droned Gideon, as alarms began to sound within the room and the sound of the doors closing echoed off the metal walls.

Before the trio could leave, the doors slammed close and refused to open as per safety protocols

"Guess we know the bulkhead doors are working..." groaned Lucas.

"Too bad we're on the wrong side of them."

Minutes later, Ray and Kendra appeared outside the door.

"Thanks for stopping by." Sara stated, trying to sound upbeat.

"We're gonna get you out of here. Just hang tight."

Sara glared at Ray, "Is there another option?"

"Don't mean to rush you, Raymond, but it's getting cold in here." Len growled, pulling his son closer as he watched the teen shiver, "Normally I wouldn't complain, but- "

"Can't you just open the doors, Gideon?" Kendra interrupted.

"The bulkhead is designed to remain shut until the breach is sealed."

"Well, that's not happening from in here!" Lucas yelled.

Kendra felt a sympathetic pang at this. "How much time do we have until- "

"We're dead?"

…..

Ray and Kendra had left around 30 minutes ago, with the scientist muttering something about his suit, leaving the trio to huddle together as the temperature dropped.

"I suppose this must feel like a day at the beach for you?" Sara chattered, glancing over at Len (and Lucas, who was practically seated in his Dad's lap).

Holding his son close, Len smirked, "If I had to pick a way to die, freezing wouldn't be the worst…. What's it like? Dying? I imagine you've got a unique perspective."

Sara chuckled, "You know, it's funny. I mean, you'd expect it to be terrifying, just panic and fear."

"What'd you feel?" asked Lucas.

"I guess lonely. Like everybody I loved was a million miles away…. I mean, I don't like you two, but at least I'm not dying alone."

There was a brief silence, before Len sighed, "Closest I ever came to dying was, uh the day I met Mick."

"Why does that not surprise me?"

"It wasn't like that…. It was my first day in juvie. I was 14, and the smallest kid in there by far. Some of the older kids wanted to make sure I knew it. So, they jumped me…. I fought back, but one of them had a shiv and I figured that was it until Mick stepped in. They didn't mess with me after that… He's been standing up for me ever since."

"Let's just hope he's standing up for Rip and Jax now."

Lucas grinned at this, "Who else is gonna take on those pirates?"

….

Jax sighed wearily, "Sorry, Captain. I can't jerry-rig the door open."

"Don't worry, kid. It's not your fault…" grunted Mick, "… It's his."

Rip's fists clenched in anger, "In case you've forgotten, Mr. Rory, you volunteered to be part of this boarding party."

"I volunteered to get away from my partner and my son, who haven't been acting like my family ever since you fed their head with fairy tales about saving the world."

"Your partner and son have minds of their own, Mr. Rory, which is more than I can say of you."

Mick scowled at the Captain, "You saying that I'm dumb, Captain?"

Rip just snapped.

"Let's pretend, just for a moment, that you're the captain, stuck in the brig while the rest of your crew slowly perish on their damaged ship. Now, what would you do to get yourself out of that predicament?"

Jax could clearly see that Mick was trying to think of an idea…. Len and Lucas were on the dying Waverider, of course he was.

Rip didn't care about that.

"Oh, no brilliant ideas? Really? Why am I not in the least bit surprised?"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, NOW!"

As Mick leapt up and charged at Rip, Jax jumped in between them, "Okay, let's all just take a deep breath." He tried to defuse the situation.

"Or what?" snarled Rip "You'll punch me in the face, or burn me alive, or employ some other barbaric form of violence?"

"That's why you recruited me, isn't it? To hit, hurt, and burn?"

Rip smirked, "No, I recruited you because you and your partner were a package deal. I didn't even want your brat to come along!"

"… What?"

Jax hissed in sympathy, turning a glare on Rip,

"I'm sorry, Mr. Rory. But a serial arsonist was never part of my plan to stop Savage, much less one with the IQ of meat!"

A tense silence filled the cell, before Rip turned away and sighed, "I didn't mean to be so blunt. If I could just have a moment of quiet, then perhaps I can think of a way of getting us off this pirate ship."

Jax couldn't help but glare at the Captain…. Mick didn't deserve that.

Mick however, seemed to come to his own conclusion. "I think I just beat you to it."

Striding over to the cell door, the arsonist called out "Can anyone hear me?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" snarled Rip.

"… Me and the pirates are gonna have a little parlay."

Shaking his head in denial, Jax tried to be the voice of reason (It's so wrong that a 20-year-old has to be the mature one here), "Do not do this, Rory."

"Too late."

One of the pirates came up the laser barrier and raised an eyebrow at Mick, "What do you want?"

"I want to speak to Captain Valour."

"About what?"

"About a time- ship."

Rip growled angrily at Mick, "I am warning you."

This time, Mick lost it.

"Shut up!" he yelled, grabbing Rip by the coat lapels and pulling him close, even lifting him slightly off the ground, "I may have the IQ of meat, but I know how to cut a deal!"

Mick was dragged to the deck and shoved to his knees in front of the pirate Captain.

"I'm listening." Grunted the Captain

"You want the Waverider…" sighed Mick. "… I want to go home."

"Where is home for a man like you?"

"2016, Central City."

"Of all the places in time, you want to go there?"

"That's right…. To the exact moment Hunter recruited me and my partner on this suicidal mission of his, but, this time, I'm gonna tell him where to shove it."

Captain Valour chuckled at this, "Let me get this straight. I let you go, you'll deliver the Waverider."

"Yes. Do we have an accord?"

"You think your friends will believe you were able to escape?"

Mick frowned in confusion, but was unable to shrink back when the Captain started striking him in the face.

"Not. Unless. I. Do. This!"

….

"Nothing quite like dying to make you think about all the mistakes, all the wrong choices." Len groaned

Lucas was drifting in and out of consciousness, still curled up against his Dad as the temperature continued to drop.

"Is this Leonard Snart coming to God in his final moments?" Sara replied, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Hardly…. Just wishing I could take a few things back. Maybe I should've left Mick in future Star City."

"Why didn't you?"

"Without me to keep him in check, Mick can be a scary guy."

Weakly, Lucas nodded against his Dad's chest. "Agreed…" he mumbled.

"Hate to break it to you…" Sara sighed, "… but even if we make it out of here alive, you're still gonna have a problem on your hands. I've seen enough to know that Mick's in a dark place and he's not coming back."

…

Almost 10 minutes later, the door opened, catching the trio by surprise.

"Come on…" Len muttered, slowly getting to his feet, supporting Lucas as he made his way out of the room, "…. Gideon, prep the med-bay. Lucas is silent, which is never a good sign."

"F-f-f-f-fuck you…."

"Yeah, yeah."

….

Minutes later, with Lucas wrapped up in a hypothermia blanket and his Dad's parka, and Ray alive and well, they turned their attention to what was happening on the Acheron.

"Funny you should ask…." Gideon answered, "… I just received a message from Mr. Rory. It seems he escaped capture and is now returning to the Waverider."

"Told you…." Len smugly told Sara.

"Y-yeah!" exclaimed Lucas, "…. T-T-Those pirates picked the wrong guy to mess with."

As they made their way to the Jumpship entrance point, Ray shook his head. "Since when does Rory even know how to fly the jump ship?"

"H-He probably watch Jax that one time." Answered Lucas.

Kendra sighed, acting as though Lucas hadn't even spoken. "How did he even find us?"

"Actually, I did the flying." Interrupted Gideon, "He received quite a beating at the hands of the pirates."

They then heard the Jumpship entrance door slide open.

"That's him now."

The doors slid open, and a heavily bruised Mick entered the main ship…. A really dark scowl on his face.

"You okay, Mick?" Len asked in concern.

Mick didn't say anything, instead, turning away slightly and calling out to someone in the Jump Ship. "Boys! Ship's all yours!"

At his words, heavily armed pirates rushed into the Waverider, all aiming their weapons as the remainder of the small crew.

"You son of a bitch." Growled Ray, sounding more dangerous that Lucas had ever heard him be.

Len ignored the others anger and frowned at his partner. "What are you doing, Mick?"

"I'm getting us home. Are you in?"

Pulling Lucas along with him, Len sighed, preparing his gun. "Yeah…. Time to choose a side, I guess."

There was a brief moment of silence as Len glanced between the two groups, before snarling at the pirates. "Chosen."

He fired an icy blast at the pirates, giving the Legends enough time to get away.

"Bastard!" Yelled Mick, "Go! Get them! Go! I'll get the time drive."

As his Dad dragged him through the ship, Lucas rolled his eyes. "Just so you know, I am Switzerland in this whole fight. SWITZERLAND!"

…..

As they tried to force the pirates back, Gideon had another update for them. "Mr. Rory is making his way to the engine room to access the time drive."

"I'll handle it." Len growled, darting out of his cover, only to be struck in the mid-section by a laser bolt and propelled into a nearby wall, unconscious almost immediately.

"DAD!" Lucas yelled, rushing over and quickly checking Len's pulse.

Steady thankfully.

As the girls fought the pirates in the corridors, Lucas pulled his Dad into a secluded corner, coming to a silent decision in his mind.

"Sorry Dad…" he whispered, removing the cold gun from Len's grip, "… but I've got to do this."

Following Sara to the engine room, Lucas waited outside the room, listening to his Papa and the assassin fight.

Sara fight have the skills, but Mick had brute strength… and the flame gun.

Quicker than what Lucas was really expecting, Mick over-powered Sara and fired his gun at her, singing her arm slightly.

He couldn't let this continue.

"Papa!" he called out, stepping from the corner he was hiding in and catching Mick's attention. As soon as Mick's attention was away from Sara, Lucas fired the cold gun and hit Mick in the mid-section, propelling the arsonist into the wall and knocking him unconscious.

Just as Len made it to the room, having woken up and quickly realising what his son was going to do, Lucas collapsed against the wall, sliding to the ground clutching the cold gun.

"Lucky! Lucky!" Len rushed over, gently encouraging his son to look him in the eye, "What happened?"

When Lucas didn't answer, staring at the gun, Len glanced around and quickly spotted Mick's unconscious body. "What did you do?" he whispered.

"… Papa was going to kill Sara." Lucas hissed angrily, "I did what I had to do."

"Waverider, this is Captain Hunter." Rips voice came over the speaker, "We've regained control of the Acheron. What's your status?"

Mick stirred into consciousness, prompting Lucas to leap to his feet and continue to aim the cold gun at his Papa. The arsonist smirked at this, "What are you gonna do, brat?"

There was a brief moment of silence, before Lucas stormed over and pistol whipped his Papa around the head, knocking him out once again.

"That…." The teen then turned to the rest of the team, "…. You'd best get him to the brig."

Without waiting for anyone to say anything, Lucas stormed out of the room and went straight to his room…. Where he collapsed onto his bed and swore violently.

…

"Okay…. I'll say it." Sighed Ray as he and the rest of the team (minus Lucas) were gathered in Rip's office, "Why don't we just drop him off back in 2016?"

Len's face was clearly showing the stress of the fight with Mick, and Lucas's change in attitude. "Because my sister lives in 2016…." He growled, "And Sara's sister, and Stein's wife."

"So, what exactly are we talking about here?" sighed Jax, "Leaving Rory in the brig until we take down Savage?"

Rip shook his head at this, "No, no, no, no, the brig is unsuitable for long-term incarceration."

"Well giving him free run of the ship is not an option." Sara groaned.

"I'll handle it."

Everyone turned to Lex in alarm.

"By handling it, you mean murder?" asked Stein.

"I said I'll handle it."

Before anyone could say anything else, Len turned and headed for the brig.

"Wait!" Jax cried out, as everyone followed, "What about Lucas?!"

…

Seated directly outside the cell, keeping a careful eye on his Papa and his hands on the cold gun, Lucas was mid-rant.

"- stupid mother-fucker. Why pirates? Why didn't you lie to them about helping and then turn against them?! Instead you forced our hands…" He sighed, "… They're all talking about you, you know. Wondering what they're going to do with you…. Probably just dump you back in 2016."

He shook his head, "Maybe I'll come with you. This place is driving me insane, and I despise…. Like three quarters of this crew?"

Before he could say anything else, there were the sounds of footsteps echoing in the corridor as Len stormed up to him, closely followed by the rest of the crew.

"Lucky… give me the gun."

Silently, with a confused frown on his face, Lucas did as he was told, watching as Len opened the cell and started to drag Mick out.

"What's going on?" he asked, his frown deepening as he pushed himself to his feet and tried to follow his Dad…. Only to be stopped as Ray placed his arm out and placed a hand on his chest. "Dad! What's going on?!"

Nothing.

Pushing past Ray, Lucas raced after his Dad.

"Dad! Will you just answer me?!"

Still nothing.

Just before Len could start pulling Mick out of the ship, Lucas came to a sudden realisation…. All he could see were woods…. Nothing relating to Central City.

This wasn't going to be a simple drop-off.

This was going to be an execution.

"No…" he whispered, attempting to run after his Dad, only to be grabbed by both Kendra and Ray, "…. DAD NO!"

He knew Len had heard him, as he saw the older man wince…. But he didn't stop.

"LET ME GO!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, straining against Kendra and Ray's grip, "DAD! DAD!"

"Lucas…" Rip stepped in front of him and placed two hands on his shoulder as the door closed, blocking them off from whatever Len was going to do next, "… your Fa-Dad needs to do this. Mick is dangerous, you know this. You had to knock him out after all."

There was a moment of tense silence, before a growl of sheer frustration and anger erupted from Lucas as he tore himself out of the loosening grip and leapt at Rip and holding up his switchblade to the Captain's throat.

"Stay back!" he ordered the rest of the team, snarling in anger as his grip tightened on Rip's coat, "You're murderers! You're all murderers!

"Well technically, Len is- "

Ray stopped in his tracks when Lucas turned to glare at him. Once Ray was suitably silent, Lucas turned his attention back to Rip and pressed the blade against his cheek.

"From the very beginning of this mission, you've thought of us as criminal freaks. Psychopaths that you can use to your advantage, because if anything goes wrong, then you can blame us… which has happened after almost every mission!"

"Look, just- "

"- Calm down? Is that what you were going to say?"

Rip just glared at him…. Until Lucas sliced his cheek with the blade. It wasn't a very deep cut, but it would scar… if Gideon didn't get involved.

The Captain yelped in pain as Lucas pushed him towards the rest of the team.

It was like a red mist had come over him. He couldn't feel anything except pure rage.

"You are all murderers!" he growled, "You all wanted to be heroes so badly, and look where we are now!"

He turned his attention to Rip, "You'll never get your family back you know…" he hissed, "…. All you're doing is making it worse for them. The more you interfere, the harder Savage will try to kill them. You've ensured their fate!"

He then turned to Kendra, "He's going to get you killed! Do you really think he cares about you? You are a means to an end. If you die, then he'll go to another time period and grab you then. As long as his precious family survives, who cares about anyone else, right Rip?"

"Now wait just a minute, I- "

"- To be honest…" Lucas interrupted, "… I'm not surprised that some of you agreed to this. Once an assassin, always an assassin, right Sara? And you Kendra! That primal rage we saw back in Russia must be loving this!"

Sara and Kendra looked like they were going to lash out, before Lucas turned to Stein, "I bet your wife will be so proud of you. Well done Stein! It's good to see proof that even one of the smartest men in the world, can be reduced to having a caveman IQ!"

When Lucas turned his attention to Ray and Jax, he took a sick delight in how they shrunk back slightly. ".. I feel sorry for you two…" he sighed, "… you both clearly want to do what's best, even if you sometimes mess up…" Here he glanced at Ray, "… but if you really want to be a part of this team, then you're as bad as them. Get out while you still can."

Leaving his stunned audience behind, Lucas raced to his room, ordering Gideon to lock the door behind him as he began to pace.

What should he do?!

Less than a minute passed, before he came to a conclusion. Scribbling out a note on a piece of paper, he left it on the bedside table and grabbed the bag that he'd packed earlier.

Making sure that no-one was around, he raced to the cargo bay, and opened the door. Before he could actually leave the ship however, Gideon's voice came over the speakers.

"Shall I inform Captain Hunter of your departure?"

"… No Gideon. Don't tell anyone until they realise I'm gone."

"And if we are already in the time-stream?"

"Then you're in the time-stream and I'm not… I honestly couldn't care less."

There was no reply at this, prompting Lucas to head out of the ship and run into the woods surrounding them.

…..

"…. DAD NO!"

Len winced at the pain and realisation in his son's voice…. But he had to do this.

He had to keep his son safe and complete the mission.

"LET ME GO!" Lucas continued to scream "DAD! DAD!"

Once he was far away enough from the ship, Len left Mick on the ground and kicked him awake. It took a few seconds, but eventually Mick groaned and pushed himself to his feet.

"I told you not to knock me out or I'll kill you, so you get the brat to do it?!" he growled.

Len couldn't face his partner…. Not when he felt like he was going to burst into tears.

"That the plan?" Mick continued, "Take me out in the middle of nowhere, where no one can find the body?"

"I wish there were some other way, Mick…" Len sighed, spinning around on his heel and pulling his cold gun out of the holster, "…but you're dangerous! A liability to the team!"

"Team? You, me and the kid were a team! What happened to you two?!"

"People change Mick!"

Glaring at Len, Mick smirked "You think you're some kind of hero, but deep down you're still the same punk kid I saved in juvie…. You haven't got the guts. You want to kill me? Kill me. Only one of us is walking out of here alive."

This was a devastating sentence to hear, and Len knew that his face showed how devastated he was. "… You're right."

He pulled the trigger.

…..

Emotionally exhausted, Len eventually made his way back to the Waverider, shuffling past the rest of the team as they stared at him in concern.

"Let's go…" he muttered, not looking them in the eye, "… I'll be in our…. My room if you need me."

"Mister Snart, I- "

Len held up his hand and shook his head, "Not now…. Not right now."

Refusing to say anything else, Len walked away, knowing that they would be thinking the worst of him at this precise moment in time… he could live with that.

He couldn't live with his son thinking that of him.

"Lucky?" Len rapped his knuckles on the door, not wanting to just walk inside because that wouldn't help matters, "Lucky, I know you're angry but you don't know the whole truth."

Silence.

"Lucky?"

Still silence.

"Gideon. Open the door."

Without saying anything, the door slid open and Len made his way inside.

Something was wrong.

Glancing around the room, Len noticed that the wardrobe door was open and the clothes were gone. There didn't appear to be anything personal of his son's in this room.

Except the family picture lying on the bed and the note on top of it.

As he scanned over the note, Len's eyes widened in alarm.

"Gideon!" he yelled, racing out of the room, "Locate my son!"

Racing into the control room, it was obvious they were already in the time stream, and a quick glance around showed him that Lucas wasn't on the deck either.

"Has anyone seen Lucas?" he asked, his tone clearly panicked.

Nobody could look him in the eye, in fact everyone made a conscious effort to appear nonchalant…. Well everyone except Ray and Jax.

"There was… an incident." Sighed Ray, "Lucas got- "

"- psychotic." Interrupted Sara, "Lucas flipped out and sliced Rip's cheek."

Len had noticed that, and the fact that Rip hadn't let Gideon heal it, said a lot.

"So where is he now?"

"… He's not in his room?"

"Don't you think I already tried there! All I found was this!" Len waved the note around, "Gideon, where is my son?!"

Gideon was silent for a few moments, before she tentatively spoke up. "Lucas Rory-Snart is no longer on the ship."

"WHAT!" everyone exclaimed as the Waverider came to a slow cruise within the time-stream.

"Lucas Rory-Snart is no longer on the ship." Repeated Gideon, "He instructed me not to mention this until we were in the time stream."

Rip frowned at this, "I'm the Captain Gideon, I- "

"- he used some over-ride codes Captain Hunter. He placed himself in a second-in-command position. There was nothing I could do."

Len turned to Rip, "We have to go back! We have to go and get him."

"We can't! We won't be able to travel to that exact time and place without creating a paradox! What if we interact with our past selves?! What if Lucas's actions in that time period lead to an important event in the present, and taking him from that place has a negative effect on your time?! There are too many possibilities!"

"So, we're just meant to leave a FIFTEEN-year-old there all alone?!"

"Surely he can take care of himself until we finish the mission? Once the Time Masters realise that we've saved the world and prevented Savage's world domination plan, they may be able to extract Lucas from the time-line without it having a significant impact on future events."

"He can't even cook!" exclaimed Len, "What is he going to do for food?!"

"I'm sure he'll be alright…. But maybe he'll learn not to run away like a child!"

Unsurprisingly, Len leapt at Rip.

…..

Six months after the Waverider left those forests, two policemen stood over the body of a murder victim.

"Such a shame…" sighed one of them, as they covered the face, "…. And at his age."

"Hmmmm, any witnesses?"

"No… someone saw him enter the alleyway, and the next minute, he was dead."

"Anyone know who he is?"

"No…. it's like he appeared out of nowhere."

"Sad. I wonder if he has any family?"

"Probably…. Poor fucks."