Unfridging is the best use of time travel

[beccaelizabeth]

Last night I dreamt a Mick/Ray plot bunny
which, no, Ray blew that, you don't propose partnership and then go off with the new guy like it's nothing
but
Mick and Ray nearly got blown up and finally kissed
but
then Ray found a ring around his neck with his fiancee's name and a date
and further investigation revealed
something they had just done had changed the timeline enough
she hadn't died.

And as a plot bunny that is excellent.

Because one, she's now a time aberration, but like Lily she's one the Legends are going to really not want to undo.

Two, it's a great chance to explore Ray's urge to be a hero, the ridiculous oversupply of fridged women, and how much of a difference Ray has made in the world.
Seeing as Ray's thing is he always feels he's been too small to make a difference
and he has to be the Atom to do so
there's a lot of angles and mileage there.
Maybe he gets to see a world where he was never the Atom and it all went horribly wrong
but that is most boring
so
make it so his crew tell him all the ways it would go horribly wrong without him
and then have him look at history
and
nothing much has changed.
So at first he's super depressed. He really never did make a difference. Woe is him.
Also opportunity to beat himself up for not saving her before
given that time can apparently weather it
and it made no odds to him.
But, he eventually notices, unlike when Star Wars never got made, he still has both his knowledge and his suit.
It isn't that time hasn't caught up with him.
And it turns out that seeing his city get wrecked? Repeatedly? Even without any more personal loss, was enough to get him on the exact same path, trying to save people.

Turns out some humans just like saving other humans, say if they've been literal boy scouts their whole lives, it don't take a tragedy.

But,
three,
now there's Mick. Being dumped again. For someone's revived beloved, which has to hurt extra. He has his own ring and it isn't changing. Mick would be miserable.
And Ray is merely clueless about humans, not actively a jerk to his dates, so he would care.
But he's married. So no more kissing.
But them there's a peculiar paradox, in that a Ray who was that monogamously married wouldn't have been there with Mick doing kissing, wouldn't have nudged the timeline in such a way that he was married, so would have kissed, so wouldn't, so would...
... which is a headache inducing oscillating paradox such as time really can't be having with.
But it's not giving any headaches?
Memory headaches for Ray, sure, but nobody seems to be forgetting anything.

So it turns out the solution to paradox is polyamory.

Ray's wife knows perfectly well that he tends to collect people, and is better friends with some of his exes than he is now. And it's not like she would be spending Waverider time with him anyway. So she's fine with Mick.

And Mick...


... see that's where the whole thing falls apart from my point of view. Mick's partner should be his *partner*, not a part timer. He's the one reaching out, it should work some time.

But he's immediately switching to advice for the new partners when Ray goes off with Nate, so we know he's generous like that.

I just think he could do better.

But hey, plot bunny, many useful angles.