Ancient Egypt
A robed assassin attacks Vandal in his chamber. He fails and pulls back his hood, and Rip says that he's there to kill him.
Leipzig: 1975
Waverider
lands and Gideon reports that it is Vandal's current location. She
summons Rip to the medbay and Martin accompanies him there. Kendra is
going into convulsions and calling for Carter. Ray comes in as the
medbay sedates Kendra, and Martin figures that she's getting worse.
After running a medical analysis, Rip tells the team that pieces of the
dagger broke off in Kendra's bloodstream and are heading to her heart.
He points out that the future technology on Waverider can't
save Kendra so jumping into the future to get more equipment won't help,
and she wouldn't survive the time jump anyway. Rip insists that their
mission is still simple: they need to stop Vandal in the past to prevent
him conquering Earth in the future. He assures the team that he's seen
darker days and accomplished his mission no matter what. Gideon reports
that the jumpship aboard Waverider was damaged during Chronos'
attack, and Rip figures that Jax can repair it since he's a mechanic.
Jax points out that he's an auto mechanic, but agrees to do what he can.
In his quarters, Rip looks at a photo of his wife Miranda and son
Jonas. Sara slips in and sees the photo, and Rip says that he wants to
be alone. Ignoring his request, Sara figures that Rip doesn't have a
plan and was trying to convince himself with his speech. She suggests
that since they can't kill Vandal, they slow him down, and points out
that Vandal was selling the nuke for money. Rip realizes that taking
Vandal's money would set his plans back by decades, and Sara asks where
Vandal keeps his money in 1975.
In the medbay, Martin shows Ray
the scans of Kendra's bloodstream and the dagger fragments. Ray
suggests that he shrink down, enters Kendra's circulatory system, and
use his photon cannons to vaporize the fragments. Martin wants to take
the time to map out a plan, and says that if Ray had been his student
then he would have taught him the principles of scientific analysis. Ray
insists that he's going in.
Rip has Gideon review Vandal's
financial plans, and the AI says that Boardman theorized that Vandal
entrusted it to the Brumberg Group, the oldest bank in the world. Sara
wants to tell the rest of the team, but Rip says that he's going alone
to avoid anyone else getting hurt. He points out that Carter would still
be alive if he hadn't convinced him to come, and Sara agrees to go with
him whether he wants her to or not. Len and Mick overhear them and come
in, and point out that they know how to infiltrate banks. refuses and
Mick warns that he makes bad decisions when he's bored. After Rip
leaves, Len reveals that he took an electrical key from Rip.
In
the medbay, Atom shrinks down and then Martin injects him into Kendra's
bloodstream. He finds the first fragment and destroys it, and Kendra's
vitals improve. However, a piece of debris hits Atom and damage the
power core on his suit. He has no choice but to plot a course out.
Rip and Sara go to the Brumberg Group bank and tell the teller that
they're going to deposit gold doubloons heirlooms worth $10 million
each. Mr. Blake meets with them and assures Rip that they're known for
their discretion. Once he takes the case with the doubloons out, Rip
accesses Blake's computer and finds references to something called "the
vessel." Sara warns that the receptionist had a hidden gun and the
guards are mercenaries. Blake has calluses consistent with being a
swordsman, which means that they've made them. rip doesn't believe it,
and Blake and his security team arrive . as Rip tries to talk his way
out, Sara takes down one of them with a hidden throwing knife and then
attacks the others. As she fights Blake, Rip takes out a guard with a
coat rack. Sara finally goes berserk and takes down Blake, and controls
herself in time to stop killing him, as Rip warns that they didn't get
anything from Blake's computer.
After bringing Blake with them back to Waverider,
Rip wonders what Sara doing. She reminds him that the Lazarus Pit
brought her back, and it left her with a blood lust. Sara warns Rip that
she's a monster and walks away.
Jax is working on the jumpship
when Len and Mick come in. He's making progress since finding the
instruction manual, and the criminals want Jax to fly them to Central
City and help them steal a priceless jewel. When Jax refuses, Len warns
that it wasn't a request but respects his courage for refusing them. He
says that Jax only has to fly them to Central City, not participate in
the robbery. When Jax warns that the jumpship has a security lockout,
Len shows him the key he took from Rip earlier and Jax agrees to see
what the ship can do.
Ray is working on his suit when Martin
says that he's come up with a better way to track the fragments. When
Ray refuses, Martin tells him that he has to have confidence that it
will work. He asks how many people Ray has lost, and Ray says that he
lost someone close to him. He refuses to discuss it, and Martin tells
him to fix the suit because it's the only chance that Kendra has.
Rip and Sara interrogate Blake and demand to know where Vandal's
fortune is. Blake calls Rip "Gareeb", and says that the Gareeb is a
legendary figure that attacked Vandal when he first became immortal. The
Gareeb is their version of the Devil, and Blake tells Sara to run
because he already failed to kill Vandal once. Furious, Rip slaps him
and walks out, and Sara goes after him. She wonders what Blake meant,
and Rip finally tells her what happened.
Ancient Egypt
Rip finally gets the upper hand and pins Vandal to the wall, but
hesitates. Guards arrive and pull him away, and Vandal demands to know
who he is.
1975
Sara admits that killing
isn't easy for an easy man, but Rip blames himself for all of Vandal's
murders and tells her that refusing to avenge one's wife and son makes
someone a monster.
Jax flies the jumpship to Central City and lands on the roof of a museum. Len and Mick go inside and find the emerald.
Rip and Sara interrogate Blake again, and he says that the vessel is
Vandal's most treasured possession. He immediately tells themselves that
it's at the Greyhill Building and there's a gathering there in
celebration of it. Sara figures that Blake wants them to go there and
gets them killed, and Blake says that the vessel is the remains of
Prince Khufu, aka Carter Hall. Rip has Gideon set course for the
Greyhill Building, and tells Sara that he won't let Vandal desecrate
Carter's remains. Sara suggests that they take in the rest of the team,
and Gideon confirms that Len, Mick, and Jax are no longer aboard the
ship.
Len and Mick return to the jumpship, and Len tells Jax to
set course for another address. Mick realizes that it's where Len grew
up and why he wanted to steal the emerald, and figures that Len is going
to give it to his father Lewis so he won't go to jail trying to steal
it. Jax and Mick both warn that Len could alter history, but he doesn't
care.
In the medbay, Ray is looking at Kendra when Martin comes
in and says that he knows what it feels like to have a crisis of
confidence. He explains that when he was teaching a gifted student in
2002, and the student made him feel inferior with his intellect. Martin
says that Ray was the student and he was exceptional, and admits that he
enjoyed taking Ray down a peg or two. He's telling Ray that he doesn't
recognize the cocksure student in Ray and wonders who he lost, and Ray
says that he lost his fiancée Anna Loring wo years ago in the Starling
City siege. The Mirakuru soldiers broke her neck while Ray was forced to
watch, and he built the suit so he would never be powerless to save
anyone again. He panicked when the fragment hit his suit. Martin assures
him that he couldn't save Anna... but he believes that he can save
Kendra. Now Ray needs to believe it as well. After a moment, Ray says
that he'll do it.
Sara and Rip take Blake to the Greyhill
Building in his limo, and Sara secretly forces him at knifepoint to talk
them past the guard. Inside, Blake says that he'll need their help to
find the vessel. Sara punches him unconscious and they toss him in the
trunk.
Len enters his childhood home and sees the beer bottles
scattered around the place. Lewis is passed out on the couch, and Len's
childhood self--Leo--steps out and says that he came down for a glass of
water. Len says that he's Lewis' friend, and tells his younger self to
always look out for himself and never let anyone hurt him.
Lewis wakes up and draws a gun on Len, and orders him to get away from
Leo. Len tells Leo to go back to bed, and then turns to his father. He
says that he's doing him a favor and takes out the emerald, and says
that two days from now Lewis will try and fail to steal the emerald, and
spend five years in prison. He says that he'll also know if Lewis beats
his wife and son, he'll be back. Len admits that he can't kill Lewis
because his sister Lisa hasn't been born yet, and walks out. Mick and
Jax are waiting, and Len admits that nothing changed. He says that Lewis
never beat his wife and children until after he went to prison, and
they leave.
At the Greyhill party, Sara and Rip slip in with
the other partygoers. Rip invites Sara to dance so they can survey the
room, As they dance, Rip says that Sara can overcome her blood lust by
being a better person. He moved beyond the death of his family by
striving to be better. More mercenaries go by and Sara and rip follow
them, pretending to be drunk. Sara knocks them out and they find
Carter's remains in the next room. As they prepare to move it, Vandal's
assistant Caleb comes in behind them and recognizes Rip. Blake leads
more mercenaries in.
Martin directs Atom to three more
fragments and he blasts them apart. The targeting system overloads and
Martin tells him that it's him, not the suit, that Kendra needs. Atom
targets the last fragment and blows it up, and flies out. Martin says
that he couldn't be more proud, and Ray says that he remembered he
wasn't in class until two years after Martin claimed. The professor says
that Ray needed a push, and he doesn't remember all of his exceptional
students. However, he assures Ray that he was exceptional saving
Kendra's life.
Once the mercenaries tie up Sara and Rip, Caleb
says that money isn't the source of Vandal's power. He and Blake take
them to an inner sanctum filled with chanting people who worship Vandal.
Vandal is standing over Carter's body, and turns to welcome Rip. He
explains that Carter's blood still has its uses, picks up the Amon
Dagger, and severs the carotid archery.
In the medbay, Kendra starts chanting in Egyptian. Ray and Martin have no idea what is happening.
Vandal extracts Carter's blood and drinks it, and says that he can
share his immortality with his faithful. He passes the chalice of
Carter's blood around, and each of the worshippers drink it and absorb a
bit of Vandal's essence.
Kendra continues chanting and then
says that Rip and Sara are in trouble. She shouts out their location and
Gideon confirms that they're there. Kendra wakes up briefly and says
that they have to save them.
Vandal asks Rip why he hates him
enough to kill him, and finds Rip's watch. He admires the photos of
Rip's wife and child and promises to keep the picture close. Vandal
figures that he will kill them in the future and smiles in triumph.
Gideon patches Martin through to the jumpship, and he has Gideon upload
the Greyhill coordinates to them. Len says that they're on their way.
Vandal says that Rip has no chance of defeating his power, and all of
his worshippers will live die at his command. He boasts that he is a
god, and Captain Cold, Heatwave, and Jax break in. the two criminals
open fire and Vandal hides behind the altar, while Jax fights his way
through the crowd. Mick unties Sara and she joins in the fighting,
Vandal fires a blast of mystical energy from the Amon Dagger, and Sara
takes carter's body out. The others open fire on Vandal while Sara
fights her way past the mercenaries. Vandal releases a blast of energy
and rip tells the others to go. He shoots the Dagger out of Vandal's
hand and tackles the villain the man, while Sara fights Blake.
Vandal recovers the knife and slashes at Rip, who slams him down onto
the altar and stabs him, saying that it's for Miranda and Jonas.
Satisfied, Vandal says that he knows their names and when he heals, he
will find and kill them. Meanwhile, Sara takes Blake down and stabs him
repeatedly until Rip stops her. Blake looks up, his immortality letting
him survive the death blows, and Sara punches him.
Back on Waverider,
Rip tells Gideon to find Vandal's next location. He goes to the medbay
and Kendra thanks Rip for recovering Carter's body. Ray is glad to point
out that he saved her life, and remembers to credit Martin for his
emotional support. Kendra warns that she isn't up to taking on Vandal,
and Rip promises to help her get ready.
Len is reviewing the
historical records with Gideon. The AI reports that Lewis will be
arrested in two days after trying to sell the emerald to an undercover
police officer. Jax overhears Gideon and says that Len at least tried,
but Len says that it doesn't matter. Sara comes in to get them, and the
team goes outside and buries remains. Rip admits that Carter and
Boardman's sacrifices showed him that one person can't save the world.
Kendra, who places flowers on Carter's grave. She asks him to come back
to him and then thanks Martin and Ray for helping her. Once she goes,
Martin tells Ray that Anna would be proud... and so is he.
Back on Waverider,
Rip orders Gideon to prepare for takeoff. He knows about the theft of
the emerald, and then apologizes to Len and Mick for hiding information
from them. Now that they're back to full strength, Rip says that they
must all commit to work in concert. Len says that they won't ditch him
if he ditches them, and Rip agrees. Gideon reports that she has located
Vandal in 1986, and they jump into the timestream.
Written by Gadfly on Jun 23, 2019