With Stars in Our Eyes

Strange Behavior

While the others had gone off to join Sara and Len in the engine room, Rip had gone back to his quarters to look for a book that he had in his library. It was meant as a childrens book, it was something he'd gotten for his son at one time but never had the chance to give him, and inside was a story titled 'The Story of the Star Children' that had been tickling his memory ever since Gideon had displayed the simulation of their crash. Professor Stein chose to remain with him, and was utterly confused when his Captain pulled a book off his shelf on whose cover printed in metallic gold was the title of 'Children's Stories Through Time'.

"Captain what exactly do you hope to find in a book of Fairy tales?" Stein asked as he frowned at him.

"It's complicated Professor," Rip replied, his eyes scanning the story for information. From everything that the story said, there were creatures who were made and lived inside stars, they were immensely powerful in that they could change their form, travel unprotected through time and space, and even see into people's minds; all of this Rip assumed to be fiction, save for the traveling portion, what he was really looking for was descriptions of their appearance and mentions of encounters other travelers may have had with them. He found it near the end of the story, where one such 'sighting' described a small star flying nearby until it stopped and as the writer put it 'seemed to look into the Captain's heart through the hull of his ship, before disappearing from whence it came'. Rip lifted the book, snapping it closed as he turned to Stein with cautious confidence, "I think I may have just figured out what this 'star' really is," he said as he moved around his desk to go find the others. "Gideon is Miss Lance still in the engine room with our 'star'?"

"No Captain, she and the rest of the team are currently in the med bay," Gideon replied, "it seems the star was injured in it's collision with us,"

"Injured?" Stein repeated now even more confused, "how does a star become injured?"

"Thank you Gideon," Rip said, turning on his heels to head for the med bay, "If I'm right professor then it's not an actual star we're dealing with, but something far more interesting and possibly dangerous,". As they arrived at the med bay, Rip brandished his book as he locked his gaze onto Sara, "Miss Lance I think I may have found what this 'star' really- my god what happened Sara?!" He gasped as he saw her lying on one of the beds, naked from the waist up with a fairly nasty gash in her side.

"It's complicated," Rip spun around at the sound of her voice, his eyes going wide as he turned to see Sara, only this one was clothed and seemingly unharmed. Stein's gaze shifted from one Sara to the other, his mouth open as he tried to process what was going on. "Miss Lance there's...two of you?" Rip asked frowning, his head beginning to feel as though the ship were still spinning through space.

"No there's only one of me," Sara corrected with a small smile, "my look alike over there is what the star changed into when I touched it, I think it's some kind of communication mechanism where it takes the face of whoever it makes contact with in order to communicate with the locals," she crossed her arms over her chest as she looked over at her double, it's face contorted in pain as Ray stood by still in his atom suit, holding it's hand and repeating the words 'It's ok, you're gonna be alright,' as he smiled warmly.

"I am attempting to close the wound now Captain," Gideon announced as the light above the bed came on and the gash on the other Sara's side began slowly pinching closed as it was layered over with what looked like liquid skin.

"So what you're saying is you touched that thing and it changed into you?" Stein asked pointing to the other Sara.

"She sure is Professor, I saw it with my own eyes," Snart chimed in from where he leaned against a wall a good distance from the med bay bed, "and despite my warnings she still seems perfectly cool with the fact that this thing stole her face,"