#Zarys would have made for a better boss

[crshelidon]

"Remember that you're resources" is something I actually heard an HR manager say to a team of architects in their employment, with pretty much the same tone.

[mengyan]

oooo idk if you’re still taking prompts but maybe “ill be here, no matter what” 👀 👀 also can I just saw your writing just made my day 10x better i am thriving your writing is just >>>>>

Carmen forces her eyes open, squinting as her head pounds and she tries to make out her surroundings.

The fight doesn't come rushing back to her immediately, her thoughts far too unorganized for her to think straight. A few minutes pass, and the thief winces as she leans against the tree she woke up on. Her comms are crushed, the small earrings broken by her feet, and she shivers in her tattered coat.

She looks out at the street. Japanese characters and neon lights burn her vision, and she grimaces, looking away. Flashes of the fight start to return- her grappling hook's rope had been severed, a ninja star thrown at her before she could retract it. Paper Star was here, she remembered. She didn't quite know how she ended up being moved to the outskirts of the city, but she supposed she'd figure it out.

Now concious enough to move, she bends her arm, groaning when a sharp pain rushes through her. So she did fall several stories down a building. Good to know her body could confirm that for her.

Biting her lip, she struggles with her aching limbs, but she manages to pry open her coat. Most of her tools are intact (excluding her hook, of course) and she digs around blindly for her phone.

She lets out a sigh of relief. The screen is cracked, but she can turn it on, and that’s all she needs.

I should call Player, is her first thought. She tugs off her glove and taps his contact photo, waiting as the phone rings. By ring number three, she’s frowning, and then—

“Japan to Canada call rates not yet purchased for this device,” an automated voice drones. Carmen curses, running her fingers through her disheveled hair. “Press two to end this message. Press three to purchase—”

Carmen presses two before it can finish. She was so fucked. She buries her face in her left hand, trying not to cry, while her right hand’s fingertips hover over the screen. Unknowingly, she taps something, and—

There’s a ring. Startled, she looks at the screen again, and just as she reads the contact name, their confused voice crackles over the phone speaker.

“Hello?”

Carmen nearly falls over in recognition. “Jules?”

“Carmen?!” Julia gasps, and there’s some muffled voices on her end, one of which she recognizes to be Chase. Why is La Femme Rouge calling you? she can hear him question in French. Julia ignores him, and Carmen takes that opportunity to speak.

“How are you getting this? Aren’t you in France?” Carmen feels like collapsing again, everything overwhelming her. Julia mutters something back to her coworkers, and then there’s some rustling until it becomes much quieter. Must’ve entered a different room, she notes.

“We’re in Japan, actually. We got a tip that one of the V.I.L.E operatives would be here.”

“Smart as always,” Carmen grins tiredly. “Paper Star is, or maybe was, here. Not too sure anymore.”

Julia pauses, absorbing her message. Perceptive as she is, she senses the wrongness of her statement, because Carmen Sandiego doesn’t just let people get away.

“Are you okay?” she asks, concern seeping through, evident even from over the phone. Carmen chuckles in a way that isn’t funny but because of the irony, seeing how not okay she is.

“No,” she deadpans. “I’m not bleeding out, thankfully, but I’m ninety nine percent certain that my ribs are broken, and if my legs aren’t too, then my ankles are at the very least sprained.”

Julia inhales sharply, walking back to the area with the others. Her response is frantic, and Carmen can barely tell what she’s saying from the speed she’s talking at.

“We’re pinging your location- Chase, get back in the car, Zari, can you call Chief and get the aid car ready, we’ll be needing it-”

“No hospitals,” Carmen warns.

“That’s what the aid car is for,” Julia snaps, then softens. “Sorry. I’m just- I’m worried about you. You should really stop rushing headfirst into danger, you know.”

Oh. There’s something else to that, something she can’t place, but she can’t dwell on it right now.

“You’re not the boss of me,” she jokes, and Julia chokes out a laugh, as strained as it is. “And how was I supposed to know that I’d fall from a skyscraper, get tossed into the forest, and have no recollection of how I got here?”

“Carmen, you’re not making a very strong case for yourself.”

This time it’s her turn to laugh, and fuck, that was a terrible idea because her ribs are broken and her chest hurts.

“Triangulated your location. We’re on our way,” Julia informs. Carmen smiles weakly, murmuring a thank you.

“Jules,” she wheezes, her words starting to slur. She’s using all her remaining energy to stay awake, and it’s getting to her, on the verge of dragging her back under. “Please don’t hang up.”

“I’ll be here, no matter what,” Julia promises. Carmen nods, lying back, and waits for her to show.

[firesoulstuff]

Captain Canary + “you’re not safe here.”

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27544165/chapters/71160003

Sara can feel her stomach churning, and tears burning beneath her eyelids.

She has hated Lewis Snart for a long time now. The only comfort she has ever been able to take with the thought of him is that he is dead, and it was a very painful death.

Or at least, that was his fate before an aberration appeared.

She and Leonard were in the training room this morning, each doing their separate exercises. She’d been going through some of her forms whilst Len had been behind her across the room and hitting the punching bag. Eventually she noticed she hadn’t heard him in awhile, but she hadn’t heard him leave either. When she turned around he was gone, and before she could start looking for him Gideon called her to bridge.

She found out what happened, and immediately she had wanted to throw up.

It was the same thing that happened with Ray on the mission that brought them to the 80’s. There’s an aberration, and a past version of Leonard died.

That aberration? An extra crewmember for Lewis being free on the weekend of a heist because turns out the Time Masters pulling strings had been what kept him away. The heist still failed, but instead of getting busted this extra crewmember was able to get a very ill tempered Lewis out and home free. Where he took out his anger on his pregnant wife, and then his nine-year-old son who ran in to protect his mom and baby sister.

Little Leonard didn’t stand a chance.

Leonard – their Leonard – is back for now, because they’ve traveled back to before Lewis returns home and so the timeline isn’t yet set.

“You ok?”

No, she is not ok.

She’s with Mick, heading to the Snart household to get Little Leonard and his mom out. Their Len is with Ray and Amaya, staking out the heist and making sure the police come early, which they will so long as they act on the tip Zari is sending them.

She glares over at Mick, her expression saying for her how she is very much not ok, and then she sets her eyes forward again.

“His mom is pregnant.” She says as they come up on the house, and Mick hums.

“Yeah.” He agrees, “Time keeps on track, Lisa will be here and pissing everyone off in ‘bout a month.”

“That’s not the point.”

She doesn’t look, but she can feel Mick eyeing her. He gives it a minute, until they’re at the front gate made of rotting white-picket-fence, and he sighs as he nudges it open.

“Believe me Blondie, nothing would make me happier than putting that asshole eight feet in the ground, especially before he hurts Lisa. But if we do that her and Snart become different people.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” She mumbles before she can stop herself.

Mick rumbles at the back of his throat and eyes her, but he doesn’t say anything about her choice of words; he knows what she means.

They get up to the front door and he reaches for the knob, but his hand hovers above it, his eyes locked firmly on the door.

“Snart will get his chance.” He says, almost more to himself than to her, before he finally looks at her. “If Lewis shows up here, he made the choice.”

She… She knows he’s right. She still feels sick, and like she isn’t going to be sleeping for a long time after tonight, but he’s right. This is Leonard’s life and his decision. Unless he comes over the comms and tells her otherwise, if Lewis shows up here she won’t kill him; no matter how much she wants to.

Mick opens the door and it creaks open, and right away there’s the sound of movement coming from the kitchen. Its dishes rummaging around, glass, and given the time it’s a safe bet it isn’t a third grade Leonard Snart looking around for a late-night snack.

“I’ll get her.” Mick says, and then nods to the stairs next to them. “You get him.”

She nods; content to let him make the plan this one time, and hurries up the stairs. She doesn’t take enough precaution to keep her footsteps quiet, she wants him to wake up. She does, however, keep them light and quick; because what she doesn’t want is to take the risk he might mistake her for his father.

The upstairs hallway is small, barely five feet long and with two doors on each wall. The first is propped open, a dark bathroom on the inside. The second is closed, but the plush L hanging on it being a soft white color with tiny pink flowers clues her in that it might not be the dwelling of a nine-year-old boy. The next door, however, it has a nameplate with Leonard spelled out on it in crooked stickers and it’s frame is decorated with the images of astronauts and aliens.

She allows herself a tiny smile; letting herself forget for just half a second the reason she is here and instead bask in the peek into Leonard’s childhood.

Then her half-second is over, and with a gentle hand on the knob she turns it and lets herself into the room.

It’s dark, not even the dimmest of nightlights to offer comfort. She wonders, idly, about that. She knows Leonard now prefers to sleep without a hint of light, but she doubts he became that way this young of his own accord.

She decides not to dwell on it, not now anyway. Instead she pads across the room and kneels down next to his bed. His adult self would have heard her by now. He would have opened his eyes; he might even have jumped. But this Leonard is still snoring softly and it breaks her heart that she has to wake him.

“Leo.” She whispers, her hand coming to ghost over his back.

He stiffens, his entire body giving a jolt as is eyes snap open.

“Shh… It’s ok.” She hurries to say. “It’s ok, I know you don’t know me, but I’m a friend of your mom’s. She called me, you guys are going to come with me and my friend for a sleepover.”

God, she hopes little Snart hasn’t been well taught in the art of not getting kidnapped.

He sits up; looking at her in very much the same way her Leonard does when he’s trying to determine where her plan is going to land them.

“Why?”

Her breath hitches as she tries to think of a lie. Except what’s worse is she realizes he’s nine. Leonard has told her Lewis first came after him at the age of eight, and while he didn’t earn himself a permanent scar until eleven, at nine he already knew it was best to avoid daddy when he was angry.

“You’re dad called from work.” She says, watching his eyes for some kind of sign of fear, and she sees it. A flicker, a faint tightening of his body, and it makes her gut twist even more. “Something went wrong tonight, and he’s very angry about it.”

There’s another tightening of his body. His shoulders close in and his eyes flit away from her, and automatically she spreads her fingers out on his back.

“It’s ok.” She promises him, and licks her lips to force herself to continue. “But you’re not safe here.”

He shifts by only the tiniest amount, but it’s towards her, and she needs him to hurry but she doesn’t want to rush him.

“Boss!” Mick’s voice suddenly shouts from downstairs, and Leo jumps where he is. “We gotta move, you coming?”

She looks back to Leo, and she almost wants to call back and see if his mother will yell up that it’s ok, but it’s Mick in charge if getting her. She’s probably unconscious by now.

She dares to put a little more pressure forward with the hand on his back, and he follows it. He lets himself fall into her and wrap his arms around her neck. He’s a little awkward to stand up with and carry, tall enough that he should be walking himself. But she isn’t going to put him down unless she absolutely has to.

.

.

“You didn’t kill him.”

Leonard – her Leonard – looks up at her, and after holding her eyes for a long moment he sighs and puts his partially assembled cold gun on his nightstand.

“Raymond wouldn’t let me.”

She raises her eyebrow, not that he’s looking anymore. His eyes are downcast, his mouth a firm line, and she gives him time but she’s starting to think he isn’t going to elaborate. That’s fine, she can’t expect him to want to share anything. She’s about to bid him goodnight and then go spend the next six to ten hours sharpening her knives and imagine them carving into the flesh of Lewis-

“I couldn’t.”

His words are quiet, so much so that a part of her thinks she might have imagined them. But then he sighs and leans over to the nightstand again, this time picking up his famous deck of cards and beginning to shuffle them mindlessly.

He glances up at her, and she takes the hint and steps into his room and closes the door behind her.

Even so, it’s some time before he speaks.

“I wanted to.” He finally says, “And you know I could’ve gotten through Raymond.”

He finally looks at her with that, waiting for her to acknowledge his attempt at humor, and she gives him a smirk.

Then it’s back to shuffling the cards.

“But… If I had… then I wouldn’t be here would I?”

He brings his eyes back to her, and she looks away.

“No.” She agrees, “You would’ve had a different life.”

A better life, but she doesn’t need to say that.

“No telling what that might have brought.” He acknowledges, “You wipe the memory of little me?”

She nods, “And your mom.”

He nods this time, and gives the cards another shuffle.

“My and Lisa’s childhoods were… awful.” He says, “Not a day goes by I don’t wish things had been different. Getting the chance…”

He trails off, gathering his thoughts, and she’ll give him that. She’ll give him all the time that he needs.

“Lisa’s happy now.” He finally says, “She has Ramon, and all those other idiots. And I…” He swallows, “I have some idiots of my own. Couldn’t risk that.”

She smiles, and she wants to tease him. She wants to taunt that Captain Cold does have a heart and she’ll never tell. Maybe tomorrow she will, but not right now. Right now he has unshed tears in his eyes, and his face is pale. He’s even less likely to sleep tonight than she is.

So she crosses the room and without a word crawls in to sit next to him on his mattress. He scoots enough to give her space, but she still presses right into his side and lays a hand down over his wrist with hardly any weight to it.

“Good.” She finds herself saying, and she runs her fingers up is hand until she dips them between his knuckles. “Because these idiots would be lost without you.”

[waveridercrewmember]

#Six Legends and a Roy Harper.

Friends, friends, friends. I had this AU idea right before I took a nap and it hasn’t left my head since, so here you go. A Legends Community TV Show AU. (Very very minor spoilers for Community).

So Sara was the cool girl in high school, right? Pretty similar to canon, she liked to party, was friends with Oliver. After they graduate, Oliver takes her on a trip around the world (There’s no boat crash because this is a happy AU and I said so.) Halfway through the trip, Sara decides she deserves better and leaves Oliver to adventure around the world by herself, doing volunteering or activism stuff along with martial arts. However, she misses her family, so she goes back to Starling City and decides to enroll at Greendale and get a degree in exercise science. Okay, this is getting modestly long as I type out all my ideas, so the rest will be under this cut.

At Greendale, Sara meets new student Ava. Ava had a really good job in some high government position. However, she found out her boss, Rip Hunter, had really wanted her for that job, so he faked the requirements needed for her to hold that position. Instead of just a GED, Ava actually needed a college degree, so she decided to go back to school, get the degree, then go back to her job. 

Sara and Ava meet in Professor Ray Palmer’s Introduction to Calculus course. Dr. Palmer notices that seven of his students could use a bit of help with the course, so he makes them form a study group. There’s Sara and Ava, who of course eventually fall in love over the course of the four years and all that. Also in the study group is Roy Harper (From Arrow. I just love him a lot, okay, so he’s included. I didn’t finish Arrow and have no idea where he ended up in canon but I don’t care, he’s here anyway.). Roy is in college straight from high school, and he’s majoring in mechanical engineering and hoping to get into the prestigious Air Conditioning and Timeship Repair School. (No one really knows what they mean by timeship, but ACTRS is too cool for anyone to question it.)

Astra is there to get a business degree. She was privately tutored all through elementary and high school, and going to get this degree is her way of finding independence from her over protective mother (who she still loves very much). She wants to start a company to empower other women. Another member of the study group is Charlie. No one really knows where she came from or how long she’s been at Greendale. She is majoring in music and plays with her punk rock band on the weekends. Why is she in intro to calc? Your guess is as good as mine. 

And our last two study group members are Mick and Leonard. Mick just found out about Lita, and Snart was getting a bit tired of running from cops all the time, so they decide to turn a new leaf and head to school. Snart wants to do crime, but like legally. So Snart and Mick major in finance. Snart loves it, but Mick soon switches to English. 

Gary Green is the dean. Dean Green hahahahaha. Mona is a famous author who graduated from Greendale, and they have a bronze statue of her outside the entrance to the school. Nate teaches history. Dr. Stein is a chemistry professor, and has a faculty rivalry with Dr. Palmer. Nora and Ray are married, and Nora teaches psychology. Constantine is the night school teacher. No one knows what he teaches, but whatever it is, it happens after school hours. Zari and Behrad run the ACTRS. They are the coolest people on campus. Everyone is a bit in love with them. Jax and Wally are apprentices in ACTRS. 

Main people from Flash, Supergirl, and Arrow play background faculty/students because it’s time for the Legends to finally shine. Anyway, if you’ve made it this far, thanks so much for reading! I have a lot of Ideas about this AU and would love to hear yours! Cool. Cool cool cool cool cool. 

[agentmarymargaretskitz]

Please Don’t Come Back- Chapter 4

(Head’s up- temporary character death)

Behrad looks into Gary's past, Ava confronts Rip, and Gary returns to the Waverider.

AO3

              Behrad glanced over at his sister as she slept on the little nest of pillows in the parlor. By now, Zari had to be deep into her vision quest. It was still crazy to think about how in another timeline, she’d been a Legend too. Then again, he really did need to re-evaluate his definition of crazy after the past few years he’d spent with the Legends. Maybe she could share some details about her other self when she came out of the slumber.

              With Zari occupied, Behrad could get working on his secondary task. Ava had asked him to see if he could get Gideon to pump out some information on Gary’s past. She just didn’t have the same connection he did with the AI. It was actually worth getting stuck in a time loop…almost. But he had visited her in his dreams through her matrix and gotten to know her better since then. It probably wasn’t a good idea to sleep while Zari was out, but he could still talk to her awake.

“Hey, Gideon?” he called, stepping out momentarily to the bridge. “You there?”

“I am, Mr. Tarazi. What you need?”

“I need information on Gary Green, and nothing that’s been forged.”

Gideon paused before speaking again. “Mr. Tarazi, there is a command code to access that information on Gary Green.”

“Please?” Behrad pleaded. “I know you can override it.”

“Mr. Tarazi-”

“I’ll play Scrabble in your matrix with you,” Behrad offered. “Think about it. You, me, all those little tiles. You kicking my ass with words no one has heard of.”

“People have heard of those words,” Gideon huffed. “I…suppose I can grant you a window. But I have to warn you about what you’re going to find. There’s a reason Captain Hunter buried that information.”

Documents started to appear on the console screens in front of them. Behrad chuckled.

“You’re the best, Gideon.”

“I know.”

~~~

“What are you doing here?”

              Ava tried not to look too surprised at Rip’s appearance, but she was kicking herself on the inside. If she’d just taken Gary’s file and run instead of debating grabbing her own, then she would have made a clean escape. Now she was trapped in a room with the man who had lied to her about her whole existence. If she didn’t play this right, he would get suspicious and use the memory flasher on her. Everything would be for nothing then.

“Director Hunter,” she nodded, not smiling as she pushed Gary’s real file under her arm. “Director Bennett asked me to get these file updates to be processed.”

Rip looked from his desk to the file under her arm. “Did he now?”

“Yes. I didn’t mean to barge in, but I had no idea when you were coming back.”

Rip nodded. “That’s understandable.”

“Great. So if you don’t mind, I’ll just get going!”

She started to move around to reach the door, but Rip side-stepped to block her path.

“Something that’s not understandable is that I saw you just a minute ago with Agent Green, preparing to go to a mission briefing,” Rip told her. “You can’t portal into offices of directors, so how did you sneak past me?”

“I was just-”

              Ava caught the movement of Rip’s hand on the flasher and acted fast. She dropped the file and kicked him backwards, catching him off-guard. He fell against the desk, the memory flasher hitting the floor. Ava ran forward and kicked it away. Rip made a move to fight back, but Ava was ready. She grabbed the arm that was heading for her in a punch and attached a handcuff to his wrist. As he processed that, Ava dragged him over and handcuffed him to one of the stupid wall sconces he had in his office.

Rip looked at his situation with frustration and then back to her. “Who are you?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Ava Sharpe, or the twelfth version of her that you brought back from the future and programmed full of fake memories.”

The deflation in Rip’s shoulders was satisfying. “You’re from the future.”

“2020,” Ava went over to the door, keeping her eyes on him as she made sure it was locked. “I’ve come back for a little mission regarding a certain file that you redacted. Or were going to redact today.”

“Agent Sharpe-”

“Director,” she corrected, even if she hadn’t held that title in nearly a year. “I deserve some answers today. And I might have never gone to seek them out if I hadn’t decided to do a favor for someone.”

Rip didn’t seem surprised at the title. “Well, congratulations first off. I always had a suspicion this day would come. That you would want answers for your past.”

“I do,” Ava leaned against the back of a chair in his office. “Maybe I’ll get to ask a few. But I’m not here for myself. I can understand why my file was redacted.”

��But you still wanted to steal it and find out everything.”

Ava shook her head. “Not everyone is self-centered. I didn’t come for my file. I came for Gary Green’s.”

Something changed in Rip’s body language. It wasn’t major, but a look of fear entered his eyes briefly and he stiffened. “You’re here about Agent Green?”

“In my present, certain people are rising from Hell to return to Earth,” Ava explained, not exposing too many details. “Rasputin, Genghis Khan, Marie Antoinette, a bunch of others. Gary has this notion that his father could come back too.”

Rip went somewhat pale. “If I were you, Director Sharpe, I would hope that never comes to be.”

“Well, I’m trying to assess how big a threat he’d be if he does come back,” Ava sighed. “But you conveniently erased any details on his file that would be able to help me. So what’s the deal with Gary, Rip? Hell, why did you even hire him in the first place? I’ve had to save his ass half the time.”

A snort escaped her former boss. “You’d be surprised how often I’ve been asked that. He’s more capable than he lets on. His father practically trained him to be a child soldier.”

Ava frowned.

“That’s not why I recruited him. Part of it was…revenge. One last middle finger to his father for everything he did to me- taking his son, not that he cared about Gary anyways.”

“And what was the other part that made you recruit him?”

Rip sighed. “To keep an eye on him in the event he turned out to be just like his father.”

“Like his father?” Ava raised an eyebrow. “How bad is his father?”

“Director Sharpe, just take the file and go. At this point, you might as well take yours too.”

“No!” Ava snapped. “Not until you’ve given me a straight answer. For once in your goddamn life, stop avoiding the truth. Tell me now who Gary’s father is!”

“His name is Vandal Savage.”

              The way Rip said the name made it feel like something had crawled down Ava’s spine. Everyone at the Time Bureau knew about Vandal Savage and what he had done. She had made a list of serial killers and all-around awful people who could have been Gary’s father, but Vandal Savage hadn’t been on the list. The name had come up, but she had doubted that he was a possible candidate. Ava looked at the file on the floor and picked it up to check. For once in his life, Rip was not lying.

“You think Gary could be the next Vandal Savage?” she asked, still working to accept it.

“I don’t want to underestimate the possibility,” Rip said. “His father trained him to be a killer. I would be a fool to assume Vandal Savage’s son didn’t have the same potential of evil. Those who are mentored by him go on to aid him in his activities or commit their own atrocities. If Gary ever does turn, then I plan to take him out myself. You should too.”

Ava laughed. “Gary wouldn’t…he wouldn’t.”

              She couldn’t say that he wouldn’t turn evil. It hadn’t been a year and she’d completely forgotten. Gary had given into Neron’s influence and worked with him. She and the Legends had a hand in contributing to his fall, treating him like crap and using him as unicorn bait and not paying overtime. But it wasn’t like he had gone Damien Darhk evil, just a henchman really. The way Rip was looking at her…he knew something had happened.

“Go ahead and take his file,” Rip instructed. “Use it to make your own judgement. Take yours as well.”

Ava glanced back at where hers was still sitting on Rip’s desk. “I only brought Gary’s to be replaced. It’s too late to get mine.”

“I suppose you’ll have to leave it then. Maybe it’s for the-”

“Hold on,” Ava held up a finger. “I’m not done. You redact that file but make a copy first. Leave it somewhere on the Waverider. Think of it as way to make it up to the last eleven versions of me that you thought of as disposable.”

Rip looked regretful. “I’m not proud of that and you deserve to know the truth. I’ll leave the file in the room no one goes into. Now will you please let me go?”

Ava picked up his memory flasher from the floor and put into her pocket. Taking Gary’s file and making sure it was the unredacted one, she tossed Rip the key to his handcuffs. He managed to catch it as Ava started to open the door.

“You were a good mentor,” she told him. “But you don’t care about people unless they help you achieve your goals. You did it to me. You did it to the Legends. You probably did it to Gary too. Everyone who can help you gets used, and they leave you for it. And one day, you’ll have nowhere left to run and no one to help you. It’ll be a sad ending, but you brought it upon yourself.”

Rip stared at her as she opened the door and walked out. Ava exhaled as she strode towards the bathroom. She had always wanted to give Rip a piece of her mind for what he’d done to her. Inside the bathroom, she programmed the courier to take her back to Central City and Mick just a few minutes after leaving them. Hopefully, she’d still be able to see her favorite niece.

~~~

              Behrad watched Atropos drag the golden thread from his chest. He had heard of people talking about their life flashing before their eyes, but now his life was being pulled out before his eyes. The Fate had her bone knife held back and was ready to swing down. No one was here to save him, but hopefully someone would come for Zari. This was it.

He was going to die without anyone at his side and he was going to die before he could tell Ava what he had found out from Gideon.

Behrad was going to die before he could tell her that Gary’s father was Vandal Savage.

SNIP

~~~

Stacey had tried to get him to stay another day, but Gary knew he had been gone long enough.  He had to get back to the manor and get back to his magic studies, especially with his father’s return. The Legends were going to have to be notified that Vandal Savage was back at an Encore and after the Loom of Fate as well. He didn’t even have to tell them that the man was his father…yet. But it would better they knew before he found them and let that bomb slip.

After making sure protections were put on the house and its occupants, Gary drove the car that he’d rented back to the dealership. He then planned to portal back onto the Waverider first so he could tell Captain Lance and the crew. Before he did, Gary pulled out his phone. He hadn’t looked at it for days so he could get away from everything, but he’d missed a voicemail from John.

“Hey, Gary. It’s John,” he heard as soon as he pressed play. “We found the first piece of the Loom…”

Gary listened the message twice. His heart did sink when he realized that he had missed saying goodbye to Ray and Nora. Hopefully, domestic bliss was treating them well.

“I miss you. Just…let me or someone on the ship know you’re okay, right? Bye.”

              Both times, Gary smiled at the last words. He had missed John while he was away. Whatever they were was murky and muddled, but he felt there was something there. Then again, he could just be reading into things too much. He probably hadn’t helped things with his own disappearing act. But he did want to see John again.

              When he made it onto the Waverider, a chill traveled down his back. Something was off about the ship and he didn’t know what it was. As he started heading in a direction, he passed Zari storming away out of the med bay. Mascara was running down her cheeks, so something was wrong. Gary’s gut twisted fearing the worst.

“Zari, are you-”

“Not now!” she snapped, brushing past him.

Gary watched her go and peeked his head inside the med bay. His heart sank as he saw John lying on one of the beds, eyes closed. Oh no, no, no.

“John?”

John groaned and opened his eyes. “Gary?”

“Oh, thank goodness. I thought you were dead.”

John’s face fell as Gary entered the room. “Starting to wish I was instead.”

Gary shook his head. “No, don’t say that. Not after the last time.”

“You don’t know?” John sat up with a wince. “Gary, how long have you been back?”

“Barely a minute, but I did see Zari crying. Is she okay?”

“Hardly. Her brother’s dead.”

The world stopped for a few seconds as that news sank in. “What?”

“Behrad was on the ship with Zari when- Gary!”

              He hadn’t realized he’d been falling until John reached out to grab his arms as his knees hit the floor. Gary could hear him telling him to calm down, but he was hearing his father’s voice swearing to find the Legends. His father had sworn to find the pieces and the Legends. With two of them in the same place, he would have easily taken the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

“How did he get on board?” Gary mumbled.

“He?” John frowned. “No, it was a she. Charlie’s sister, Atropos. She wanted the rings and nearly got them. Charlie and Sara got the rings, but she got away. She almost took me out too if Nate hadn’t found me.”

Gary sighed in relief not only because John was alive, but because it hadn’t been his father who had found the ship and killed Behrad. But he absolutely hated that he hadn’t been there. Behrad was not the one who should be dead right now. If he hadn’t gone off the grid for a few days, he could have been here and helped him, maybe even saved him.

“Strangest thing though,” John muttered. “I swear when I was bleeding out by the creek, someone was standing over me before Nate found me.”

The panic that had gripped Gary earlier returned.

~~~

              Lachesis pushed the soul coin to the side when she was finished with the summoning. She started studying one of the other coins she’d recalled earlier while waiting. Even when the flames started to rise up and she heard the screaming, she just kept examining the coin and how useful they could be. When the intended soul finally appeared, Lachesis glanced up at him. As predicted, Vandal Savage was furious.

“What am I doing back here?!” he demanded, striding up to her table. “I was so close to taking out Constantine!”

“I know,” Lachesis told him, setting the coin to the side. She would decide on its usefulness later. “I don’t doubt you could have slaughtered the whole crew.”

“As if your sister wouldn’t have done the same.”

Lachesis narrowed her eyes. “Atropos has restraint, something that you seemed to have forgotten during your duration in Hell.”

The dictator scowled. “I was not known for leaving a job unfinished.”

“Except that wasn’t why I sent you to the surface. I would have called you back sooner, but Atropos required your assistance in finding Clotho. But now that you’ve returned, I’m curious to know how the family reunion went?”

A smirk slid across Vandal’s face. “Gareth refused my offer. He wouldn’t turn on the Legends, but that doesn’t mean they won’t turn on him. It’ll be inevitable, but it can’t hurt to speed things up. Should I make an entrance for them later?”

Lachesis smiled. “You’re getting your touch back. You’ll get your revenge soon enough, but first we need all the rings in one place. Clotho’s doing the dirty work retrieving them all, even if Atropos is collecting earlier than she should. Once she has all the rings, then your son will bring you back.”

“Gareth’s magic is powerful, but how will you convince him to bring me back?”

“Oh, I won’t be doing the convincing,” Lachesis gave a low whistle toward the shelves where she knew the hellhound lurked. “Marchosias will.”

The man across from her took a half step back as a growl came from the darkness. No matter the evil or bravery in a soul, the sound of a hellhound drove a spike into the fear of all. Lachesis watched as Vandal recovered himself and nodded in agreement. Lachesis picked up another coin and examined it. Yes, she would be a good one to bring back.

“You can go now,” she told Vandal. “If you’re still angry I brought you back so soon, there’s plenty of people to take it out on down the street.”

“Until we meet again.”

Lachesis glanced up as he started to open the door. “How much does your son know about what happened to his mother, Vandal?”

“What does that have to do with the plan?” he sneered.

“If you want him to stay after he betrays Clotho and the others, I need to know so as not to let the wrong details slip.”

“I told it him it was pneumonia. He was only six, he didn’t ask questions.”

Lachesis nodded. “I won’t mention the truth then.”

Vandal didn’t say anything else. He just walked out the door and closed it behind her.

Lachesis picked up the next coin in Astra’s stash. Jack the Ripper would be a fine addition to the souls she would bring back.

[coldflasher]

Part of Femslash Week, organised by @flarrowverse-shipyard​ :D Femslash Week Day 4 - Bed Sharing/Snuggling

Pairing: Charlie/Zari Tarazi

Rating: Teen (mentions of sex)

TW: mentions of sex and character death

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23028457 

All That Glitters by coldflasher (capriciouslouis on ao3)

“Most of the rooms down this corridor are spoken for," says Sara. "You’re gonna have to bunk up.”

Thanks to a mysterious shortage of rooms on the Waverider, Zari and Charlie have to share a bed. Neither of them are particularly upset about the situation.

“So can you really shapeshift into anything?”

They’re lying in bed together in Charlie’s bedroom, which looks like a teenager’s emo phase met a museum exhibit in the middle of a tornado. Glossy vinyl records spill out of their sleeves all across the floor like the world’s most dangerous stepping stones. There are clothes abandoned everywhere where Charlie’s stepped out of them and left them there, including a pair of lacy black underwear draped over the lampshade, and battered punk posters of howling singers plastered all over the walls. It wouldn’t have been Zari’s first choice of bedroom, but she didn’t exactly get to choose. When she’d announced she was staying, she’d had a look through a bunch of different rooms and thought she’d finally found a nice one - a little vintage, smelling faintly of perfume - when Sara had grabbed her by the arm.

“Nope. This one’s off limits.”

“Why? There’s no one in here.” And there hadn’t been for some time, judging by the layers of dust. 

Sara hesitated. “It belonged to a friend.”

“Well your friend isn’t here now, and I am, so…”

“You’re temporary,” Sara snapped. “You don’t get to rearrange everything just to suit you.”

“Who made you the boss?” asked Zari. Certainly no one who believed in the importance of manners.

Sara smiled thinly. “Popular vote.” She released Zari’s wrist. “Most of the rooms down this corridor are spoken for. You’re gonna have to bunk up.”

At the time Zari had been deeply unimpressed by this rudeness - the ship was huge, and there were so many empty rooms, so why shouldn’t she take one that was free? But when she’d tried to let herself into another empty bedroom, this time it was the AI that locked her out.

“What is with you people?” she demanded. “Why do you hate me?”

“This room belonged to Leonard Snart,” Gideon told her. “It has remained almost untouched since his death at the Vanishing Point in 2016.”

Zari had been trying to prise a panel off the wall to see if she could have another flash of inspiration that would let her hack her way in, but at this, she paused.

“Wait,” she said. “This room belonged to a dead guy?”

Gideon explained, and she discovered the sad truth of all those rooms lying empty. Each one was a time capsule for a departed team member. Some had left voluntarily, others had passed away - but regardless of the circumstances, each bedroom still remained as its occupant had left it, like a time capsule. As if the team was waiting for their lost and fallen members to come walking back through the door. They could travel back and forth in time, but the people they loved were still lost… and apparently it was easier to leave everything as it was than to move on.

This deeply traumatising discovery had a horrible effect on Zari, who was an empath and highly sensitive. She’d ended up in the kitchen having a staring competition with a doughnut, afraid that Behrad’s peace offering the other day had started a dessert-related backslide that she’d never be free of - and that was where Charlie found her.

“You all right?” Charlie asked, concerned. “You look a bit bummed out.”

“All the free bedrooms are for dead people,” Zari mumbled.

Charlie had given her a big grin that had a strangely uplifting effect, like she transferred happiness across the room with one glowing smile.

“Well. If you need somewhere to rest that pretty head, you can always come and have a kip with me.”

That was how they ended up in Charlie’s disaster of a bedroom, and if Zari’s being honest with herself, she doesn’t hate it. Thanks to her social media following, she doesn’t really have the opportunity to be messy. She has to be ready to turn on the camera at all times, to look pretty and perfect and put-together. Dirty laundry isn’t conducive with her brand. 

“So you can really shapeshift into anything?” she asks.

Charlie turns towards her with a  grin. “Ah, there it is. Knew it’d come up eventually. Come on then, spill the beans. Who’s your fantasy shag?”

“Excuse me?” says Zari.

“You know, your fantasy shag! George Clooney, Gillian Anderson… who makes your fanny flutter?”

“George Clooney’s like, super old,” says Zari, wrinkling her nose. “And for the record, your word choice leaves a lot to be desired. I don’t know how you do things in England, but where I’m from ‘fanny’ is not a sexy word.”

“Sorry. Picked up an English accent back in the seventies and for some reason I can’t seem to shake it.” Charlie stretches lazily, pointing her toes, one painted nail poking out through a hole in her fishnet tights. “But you’re changing the subject. Being in bed with me means you can sleep with anyone you like. Who do you want me to be?”

Zari thinks about it for a while. She looks at Charlie sprawled out on the bed with her fuck-me eyes half closed, her wicked grin and the wild cloud of hair wrestled into its braid, tinged purple at the end; her stripey shirt and mesh jacket. Effortlessly sexy and cocky enough to know it. 

“I don’t think I want you to be anybody. I like you how you are.”

Charlie looks surprised. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Zari says. “I mean I know this isn’t your original form, but it looks good on you. I’m sure you still look sexy with your tentacles or whatever -”

“My original form would melt your brain,” says Charlie. “But I can probably rustle up a couple of tentacles if you’re into that.”

“Maybe later,” says Zari. “That’s not my point. I feel like if I was going to sleep with someone with shapeshifting powers, I’d want them to look whichever way made them comfortable. A body’s just a body. The sexy part is what you do with it.”

“You really mean that, don’t you?”

“Of course. I’m very sincere. It’s one of my most awesome qualities.”

Charlie grinned a little bit at that. Zari found herself smiling back.

“I don’t think anyone’s said that to me before,” says Charlie. Her expression dims slightly and she starts toying with a loose thread on the pillowcase. “This isn’t my real face, obviously. Belongs to some bird named Amaya who lived here a few years back. When I first met the team, I put her face on just to mess with them. Then I kind of got stuck with it for a bit. Now I can change again, but I’ve had it so long that it feels like my face. But they still don’t see it that way. Sometimes I feel like they still look at me and see…”

“Her,” Zari says softly.

“Yeah.” Charlie rolls onto her back. “It’s partly my fault, I know. That’s the whole reason I looked like this, because I knew it would throw them off. But now I want to just be me, Charlie, without some random woman hanging over me making them do a double-take when I do something that’s super anti-Amaya. You’re the only one on the ship who hasn’t met her, the only person who looks at me and sees… me.”

It’s the first time she’s ever heard Charlie be serious. No flirting or wisecracks. For the first time, staring into her eyes, Zari can believe that Charlie is a fate. That she’s seen civilisations fall and the centuries pass like seasons. No one as young as Charlie looks could have eyes so old.

“I get that,” she says quietly, propping herself up on her elbow. “It’s not the same, but… when you grow up famous, people think they know you. It’s like there’s a part of you that doesn’t belong to you. I can never just be me; I have to be the brand. And I love it, I’m proud of it, I spent years building it - I just wish people could see past it. Even my parents don’t know me.”

“I have a confession,” says Charlie. 

“Go on.”

“I don’t have a bloody clue who you are.”

Zari cackles. It’s a horribly unattractive sound she would never have permitted in one of her vlogs, but it feels so good to let it out.

“I’m serious! You could tell me you’re the Queen of Sheba and I’d believe ya.”

“You gotta join the Z-nation,” Zari teases, snapping her fingers in a Z-formation. “I’ll add you to the mailing list.”

“You’d better bloody not.”

It feels good to laugh, and even better to have someone laughing with her. When she first joined the team and realised none of Behrad’s friends recognised her, it had pissed her off. She’s an icon! She has a make-up range and a million followers and even if the perfume launch didn’t go exactly to plan, she’s still in the running for influencer of the year if she can knock Stormi Jenner off the top spot. But although Charlie doesn’t know her, she doesn’t make it sound like a bad thing. It’s not because she thinks Zari is vapid or irrelevant or beneath her notice. She just… doesn’t know. There’s no prior expectations, no way she can disappoint. For the first time in years, she can be judged not on who she has been for a decade, but on who she is today.

“I may not know you,” Charlie says softly. “But I’d like to.”

“Well then,” says Zari, offering her a manicured hand. “I’m Zari. Nice to meet you.”

She’s expecting Charlie to shake her hand, but instead, she lifts it up to her mouth and kisses it. And like a fourteen-year-old with a first crush, Zari blushes.

“Yeah,” Charlie says with a smirk, knowing exactly what kind of effect she’s having. “I think you and I are going to get along just fine.”

[nancywheelxr]

The days their kids are born Ava and sara finally tell the legends the name of the twins (Laurel and Leonard) and mick starts to cry

“Okay, do we actually know anything about the baby?” Zari asks over the bland elevator music as they all wait to reach Ava and Sara’s apartment. It’s a little crowded and maybe they should have asked Ray to shrink them for the ride, but hey, no one’s elbowing no one and no one’s stepping on no one’s feet, so. Wins all around. “I mean, besides that it exists, I guess.”

“Nope,” Ray shrugs with a happy grin, “Sara said they didn’t want to raise expectations in case the adoption process fell through. And also to keep the baby safe, just in case.”

“We did make a lot of enemies,” Nate points out with a nod. 

“Either way, we’re here,” she says and feels weirdly like she has to steel herself for this. Which is ridiculous because it’s just a baby, Zari is cool with babies, look, she had a baby dragon once. Or a version of her did. A kid version. Or something, time travel is weird. Doesn’t matter, the point is, Zari is like, super okay with babies.

It’s Sara who opens the door, looking happily tired, lighter in a way Zari hasn’t seen her in a while. Maybe ever. “Hey guys,” she says quietly, ushering them in, “come on, they’re sleeping so you gotta be quiet, but I’m so glad you made it.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, boss,” Charlie grins, and that too is more genuine than Zari has ever seen her be. Seriously, what’s going on today. “So, can we see the little buggers?”

“Only if you don’t wake them up,” Sara warns, already leading them to the baby room, “we just put them to bed and Ava is sleeping, so if you do wake them up, I will kick your ass.”

“Ooh, bad word alert,” Nate points out and Ray oohs in the background. “You wanna watch out for that from now on, mom.”

“Babies are not really my thing,” Constantine speaks up before Sara could properly muster up her forces to glare at Nate. His fingers twitch like he wants to reach for his cigarettes but knows better than to try it right here in front of Sara. “But apparently they’re yours, so you should probably have this, pet,” he hands her a crumpled paper that shows a strange-looking symbol when Sara straightens it out. “Paint it above the doorway and the windows and it should keep the nasty ones out.”

“Aww,” she grins, pulling him into a hug. Constantine goes grumbling and scowling, but lets her hold him there for a good ten seconds. “You do care! Thanks, Uncle John.”

“That will not be a thing,” he frowns, looking slightly panicked.

“Of course it will, you all are their uncles and aunties, don’t be an id– dummy!”

“Okay, I have to ask,” Zari finally interrupts, “did you just use a plural?”

Sara’s grin widens as she swings the door open carefully. “See for yourself.”

They do. 

Inside the room, there is a large crib, separated in the middle by a short pillow wall, and inside the crib, there are two babies.

“Legends,” Sara says softly, “meet the twins: Laurel and Leonard Lance-Sharpe.”

Ray and Nate immediately melt in piles of cooing goo, surrounding the babies for better cooing angles, while Charlie keeps her distance, sidling up to Zari. “They are rather cute little things, aren’t they?”

“Yeah,” Zari smiles. She has to admit they are the cutest babies she’s ever seen. Look at their little hands! And those little toes! Then, “oh my god, is Mick crying?”

Mick is, indeed, crying and Zari has to look away because suddenly Sara and Ray are there, patting him on the back, and they are all trading a look that should probably be better left for them. There is clearly a story there, something before Zari’s time, and this moment isn’t meant for them.

“Thanks,” she hears Mick grunting, hand wiping angrily at his eyes, and Sara smiles sadly, squeezing his shoulder. “He’d like that. Them.”

“Yeah, he would probably be bragging right now,” Ray adds.

“I like to think so too,” Sara decides, her own eyes looking a little too shiny.

Zari has a vague memory of reading something on Gideon’s files about someone named Leonard, but she can’t remember what he did or who he was. He clearly was a Legend, though, so she’s going out on a limb here and assume he was a misfit hero that helped save the world at some point.

A fitting namesake, if she says so herself. A legacy.

And, after all, once a Legend, always a Legend.

[noradarhkpalmer]

four days 2/5

Title: four days

Rating: T

Pairing: Darhkatom!

Warnings: 4x11 and 4x12 Spoilers!!!!!!!!

Summary/Notes:

Ray and Nora think they can go unnoticed for four days while Sara is away, while the rest of the team is on mission, and while Charlie, Mona, and Mick are trying to help Zari figure out whatever the heck is going on in that heart of hers. Spoiler alert: they don’t go unnoticed.

Someone in a group chat I’m in estimated that there’s about four days between 4x11 and the beginning of 4x12. These are the four days that Ray and Nora are just too cute for words. This is connected to the darhkwu friendship fic I’m writing.

I’m sorry for traumatizing Zari in advance...

ao3 link: here

The next morning Nora curled further into Ray. She couldn’t quite believe last night had really happened. But it had.

“Ray?” She heard muttering and looked up.

“Good morning.”

“Were you talking to yourself?” She asked with a curious glint in her eye.

“Just admiring how wonderful you are. How much I love you.”

Nora smiled and kissed him once more. “I love you too.” She curled up close. “You know what I could use?”

“A nutritional breakfast?”

“A shower," she said at the same time as he said 'breakfast'.

“Oh let me make sure the coast is clear and you can go!”

“Will you join me?”

Ray ducked his head. “I mean if you want.”

“I do want. I’m not scared to tell you how I feel anymore.”

“I’ll get you some new clothes fabricated and we can…”

“Ray Palmer if you don’t get in the shower me with I swear I’ll…” Ray cut her off with a kiss.

Nora, now swallowed in Ray’s shirt, waited for the shower to be a perfect temperature. Finally ray deemed it safe and tried to turn around to give her privacy. Nora tugged his hand to turn him back around and smiled. She kept eye contact with him the entire time she slid the shirt off her body.

Ray swallowed hard and Nora kissed him deeply before sliding past him and into the shower. He quickly shed his boxers and stepped inside.

That’s when Nora jumped him.

Nora wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. “I need you again.” She whispered against his lips.

Ray picked her up and Nora wrapped her legs around his waist. Without much further preamble, Ray slid inside her. Her moans echoed off the tiles as Ray made love to her. Nora gripped the back of his neck to keep herself upright and kissed him gently.

“Ray, oh god, Ray!” Nora held on tight as she came, she slumped against him and buried her face in his neck.

Ray was close behind and once they finally settled he set her back on her feet. Nora curled into his chest under the shower head and kissed him.

“I could get used to that.” Nora smiled up at him.

Ray ran his fingers through her wet hair. “I could too.” He kissed her. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Ray.”

He gestured towards his body wash. “I’m sorry I didn’t fabricate you any toiletries we should probably do that at some point… I mean… you were still wanting to stay?”

“Consider me your permanent roommate.” Nora wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. “And that’s okay, smelling like you is literally not a bad thing.” She kissed him.

Ray took his time in washing her body, marveling that she was here and real and he could hold her and touch her. He also took the time to wash and condition her hair, running his fingers through the dark tendrils.

Nora has never felt so cared for. Besides every other moment she had spent with Ray. He took the time to wash her body, kiss every scar he found, give her an amazing scalp massage as he washed her hair for her, and she was a puddle of goo totally in love with Ray Palmer by the end of it. He had moved to start washing himself but she shook her head and tried her best (given their eight inch height difference) to return the favor. When all was said and done Nora pulled him in for a deep loving kiss, thanking him without words.

Now came the hard part: making their way down the hall to his room in towels without being seen. Ray poked his head out first, seeing the cost was clear and he nodded to Nora to follow behind. Nora padded down the hallway behind him, ducking behind corners in case anything that sounded like footsteps were heard.

They were almost to his room when they rounded the corner and saw Charlie waiting in front of his door.

Nora smacked into his backside and steadied herself.

Charlie smirked at the pair and raised an eyebrow. “Well uhh… looks like you had a good night.”

“Charlie this isn’t what it looks like.”

“You didn’t just shag in the shower after a night of shagging and now you’re trying to sneak back here without anyone noticing so you can shag some more?”

Ray hesitated and grimaced. “Well umm if you put it that way…”

“Please don’t tell anyone I’m on the ship, not if it puts Ray at risk.” Nora said.

Charlie waved her off. “It’s alright, mate, I ain’t gonna tell, Rayge here deserves to be happy and he’s talked about you enough for me to know that, that’s with you.”

Nora ducked her head. “I’m gonna head inside the room now.” She slid past both of them and entered ray’s room.

“Did you actually need something, Charlie?” Ray asked.

“No it can wait. Go get your girl.”

Ray smiled and walked into his room. “That was close. It went better than I thought.”

“I guess maybe it’s a magical fugitive thing to keep quiet about others?” Nora chuckled and went over to Ray. “I like being called “your girl” by the way. I overheard Charlie.”

“I mean… you’re not a possession Nora. You’re your own person.”

“I’m your person. And I hope you’re mine.” She pulled him down for a sweet kiss.

“I love you.” He kissed her forehead. He went to his closet and started getting ready. “I’m gonna go get you some more clothes just basics, dark jeans, dark shirts?”

“Maybe a sweater or two? I get cold easily.” She smiled.

“You could always borrow one of mine.”

Nora grinned and went to his closet toying with one of the sweaters. “Thanks umm yeah that’s about it. And undergarments if you’re comfortable…”

“Oh yeah no problem. Just basics colors?”

Nora nodded and pulled out a dark maroon sweater of his. “Yeah, sounds great.”

Ray leaned down and pecked her lips. “I’ll be right back!”

Nora sat on his bed in nothing but her towel. She stared at her surroundings, chuckling at her fallen nightgown in a crumpled pile with his pajamas. If she had her way, they’d never sleep in pajamas ever again.

Another few minutes passed and Ray came in with a stack of clothes and a bag of toiletries. Nora took them from him and sat them on the bed, not sure where else to put them. She looked at Ray who snapped his fingers and went over to what looked like a chest of drawers. He started shuffling things around and Nora finally went to him, peaking around his arm.

“What are you doing?”

“Ta-da!” Ray smiled. “You now have an entire drawer for your things!”

Nora’s throat constricted, confused at how such a small gesture could affect her this much. Nora pulled him by the back of his head and kissed him sweetly, not caring if the tears fell from her eyes at this point. “Thank you.” She pressed their foreheads together and pecked his lips once more.

Nora went and grabbed everything except what she wanted for her outfit that day and placed them in neat piles in the drawer. She walked back over to change into the outfit she’d picked: his maroon sweater she had claimed earlier, a pair of dark jeans, and her boots. The sweater swallowed Nora, to no one’s surprise, but it made Nora feel cozy and warm in more ways than just body temperature.

“I think you should keep that sweater, looks better on you than it ever has on me.” Ray sat on the bed chuckled and Nora stepped between his legs. “What would you like to do today, Nora Darhk?”

“Just be with you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

xxxx

“Alright, sit back, Miss Darhk, and I will make you the most nutritional breakfast of your entire life.” Ray smiled from his place at the counter and Nora watched from the island.

“You know what also works? Pancakes? A big stack of pancakes. With chocolate chips and whipped cream.” Nora rounded the island and hopping onto the island countertop.

Ray shook his head. “But you’ll have no energy like an hour after. Besides, I’m allergic to gluten.”

Nora furrowed her brows. “Well, I’m not and I’m hungry so I’m going to have pancakes.” She started to move off the counter to head to the food fabricator but Ray stepped between her legs.

“You’re right… you’re my guest and I’ll make you pancakes. I promise they’ll be better than Gideon’s.”

Nora wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. “With chocolate chips?”

“And whipped cream.”

Ten minutes later Ray was pouring the batter onto the skillet and Nora watched (intently) Ray cook. She’d never had a man cook for her before and it filled her with warm pleasant somersaults in her belly. Nora was now cross-legged on the island countertop, feeding herself whipped cream straight from the can.

“You’ll spoil your breakfast if you keep doing that.”

Nora rolled her eyes as Ray chastised her again. “You really like bossing people around the in kitchen.”

Ray turned around briefly while the first side of the pancake cooked. “I just want you to enjoy this time and if you get sick because you ate all that sugar, you won’t.”

Nora smirked at him and beckoned him over. “I already have the sweetest thing, I’m not sure how this could make me sick in comparison.” Nora crooked a finger for him to come even closer and he leaned in, ready to kiss her, when she grabbed the canister of whipped cream and sprayed some onto his nose.

Ray recoiled at the cold temperature but Nora brought him back and an kissed the whipped cream off his nose, making sure to lick it off as sensually as possible.

“You’re something else.” Ray gathered her in his arms.

Nora locked her legs around his waist and cupped the back of his neck. “I’m your something else.” Nora pulled him in for a deep kiss, ready to let the pancakes burn and let him have her for breakfast instead.

Ray pulled away, panicked. “The PANCAKES!” Ray turned to pull the burned pancakes off the griddle and turned around to Nora who was laughing at him. “I’m gonna get you, Nora Darhk.”

Nora pulled him back to her after he threw away the pancakes and kissed him deeply. “You already have me.”

xxxx

“Hey, Ray… I know you’re like best friends with Nate and all but… OH MY GOD.” Zari stopped in her track’s in Ray’s doorway as she gazed upon the sight of Nora Darhk, naked from at least the waist up, on her stomach, with tiny prince and princess figurines in her hands.

Nora turned her head slowly, keeping herself as covered as possible. “This isn’t what is looks like.”

“I don’t even know what I think it looks like.” Zari made a disgusted face. “What the hell are you doing here? You killed Nate’s dad!”

“I didn’t… it was a demon…”

“Poor Nate…” Zari furrowed her brows. “Okay but why are you here?”

“Well…”

Ray came rushing into the room, sliding just past Zari. “Hey… Zari… this isn’t what it looks like…”

“There’s a naked witch in your bed, Ray, what else could it possibly be?” Zari crossed her arms over her chest.

Ray glanced at Nora, noticing she had the prince and princess figurines from his castle set and cocked his head. “You know what, I’m really not sure but, Nora is safest here.”

“In your bed, you mean.” Zari cocked an eyebrow.

Nora covered herself and sat up in the bed. “She’s not wrong. It is comfy.”

Zari felt sick and looked at Ray. “What I was gonna ask you is not important. Nope… what’s important now is me going to erase this image from my brain.”

“Well… I guess… good luck with that.” Ray rubbed the back of his neck nervously and let out a relieved noise as Zari walked away and the door shut behind her.

Ray crawled onto the bed to her and pulled her into his lap. “What are you doing?” He asked, amusement in his voice.

Nora presented him with the figurines. “Making Princess Nora and Sir Raymond get married?”

Ray dropped a kiss to her shoulder and chuckled. “Naked?”

“Well… I was feeling a bit… frisky and so I wanted to like you know… give you a reward for working so hard in the lab when you got back but I also didn’t know when that would be so I kind of grabbed the figures to occupy myself.”

“Didn’t want to get started without me?” He continued to place kisses from her shoulder to her neck.

“Mmmm I didn’t know you coming back to that would be something you were interested in. I’ll know for next time.” Nora grinned and pulled away so she could kiss him full on the lips. “Hi.”

“Are you about to tell me I’m too overdressed?”

“We’ve been dating for a whole day and you can already read my mind.” Nora kissed him again, slower this time. “I love you.” She pressed her forehead against his.

“I love you too.” Ray smiled and pecked her lips once more.

“Now get naked.”

Ray chuckled against her lips. “Yes, ma’am.”

[writerrain]

I have to ask, why is Gary the Slytherin and Nora the Hufflepuff? Do you have more?

Thank you for asking! 

First of all, I want to apologize, because I think I take this kind of thing too seriously and I’m going to write quite a lot.

[After finishing this post I realized that I almost wrote an essay and it was probably better to hide it under a Keep reading]

Gary

So, one of the most underrated traits Gary shows is his ambition. The most recent example is how bummed he was when he noticed that Zari, who had just joined the Bureau, was his superior: his smile and his general demanor display a certain degree of envy, proof of his ambition. I think that this trait was revealed mostly at the beginning of season 3, when he was almost competent. One time, if I’m not mistaken, he phoned a colleague who had got a promotion or something to congratulate them and then, after he had hung up, he had said something along the lines of “I’m coming for you”, which demonstrates how he wants to rise up the ranks. One of the most prominent traits of Slytherins is being ambitious/power-hungry, and even if Gary doesn’t show this trait too often, it’s still one of his characteristics.

Another detail that shows his to ambition may also be seen in his dnd gaming. His character (hence who he wants to be, in a way) is a warlock. I have sporadically played dnd, so I don’t know too much about classes, so I am going to use the information found on this page for reference. Warlocks get their powers “through pacts made with mysterious beings of supernatural power” (which shows to what extent they would go for power); another quote that I think might be useful to understand this desire for more knowledge and power (and a Ravenclaw would seek knowledge rather than power) is “warlocks are driven by an insatiable need for knowledge and power, which compels them into their pacts and shapes their lives. This thirst drives warlocks into their pacts and shapes their later careers as well.” I think that the choice Gary made (which could be completelly coincidental, I don’t think that the writers went this deep, they probably just wanted to make him look geeky and make him love John on sight) is relevant to this argument.

 Another Slytherin aspect that has to be taken into account is loyalty. Slytherins are not, per se, extremely loyal (this is a more Hufflepuff trait, which I think it’s why Gary would appear more like a Hufflepuff). Their loyalty is more linked to usefullness, but if we think about how many powerful Slytherin families followed Voldemort despite everything we have to admit that there is some sort of loyalty there, despite their ambition; otherwise, an ambitious group of people would have never followed just one guy for such a long time, but someone would have tried to overthrow him (which is also why I think that making all the Slytherins follow blindly Voldemort is bullshit because their main trait is ambition, not blind submission, but this is an argument between me an JKR). So, Slytherin has to be linked to a “selective loyalty” of some sorts, and I think that Gary displays also this quality. He is loyal to most of the characters we know and love, but as soon as Zari in The Getaway tells him that Hank is possibly compromised, he jumps on the conspiracy theory boat and works against his temporary boss, whithout even asking Zari for proof. This shows this sort of “selective loyalty” I’m talking about: Hank has done nothing to get Gary’s respect (hell, he probably didn’t even know his name), so there was no reason to be loyal to him. I don’t think he would have betrayed Ava as easily, because Gary is loyal to a selected group of people, and she is definitely the person Gary trusts the most except maybe John, but after the unicorn thing I don’t know.

Nora

Now, Nora’s case is trickier. However, she doesn’t fit the Slytherin type, in my opinion, because she lacks ambition. She didn’t want Mallus because her ambition was to destroy the world, she wanted Mallus because her dad’s ambition was to destroy the world, and she was loyal to him. Blindly loyal. She starts to question his actions only after getting to know Ray. If we compare this to how quick Gary questions his loyalty to the Bureau in The Getaway, we see how their faith in their superiors/parents differ, and I think this, more than other trait, show why they belong to the “unexpected” house.

The downside of loyalty is being easily walked over by others. Nora is indeed walked over by the person she loves the most, her father, the moment she accepts to carry a freaking time demon for him. And it’s clear that Damien doesn’t consider her as an equal, at least at first, as shown in No Country for Old Dads. The fact that she gives herself away like that also demonstrates selflessness and helpfullness, other traits that can be associated with Hufflepuffs, who are always ready to help. Furthermore, when talking about the warlocks in Gary’s paragraph, it was said that warlocks seek “knowledge and power” and hence they make pacts with supernatural beings/demons, but Nora wasn’t really seeking knowledge, nor power. She can use magic even without Mallus, and while she is in prison she reads Mick’s books, which I’m pretty sure are more entertaining than pools of knowledge (which also excludes the Ravenclaw option; not all bookworms are Ravenclaw).

It is also important to note that we get to see Nora as a child, which is a kind of representation that Gary lacks (on the Arrowverse Wikia page we can read this, however: “When Gary was a kid, he used to tell his friends that his dad was an orthodontist, thinking it sounded much cooler than a dentist”, from I, Ava, and to me this is a Very Slytherin move). Child Nora, on the Arrowverse Wiki, is described as “kind, caring, polite and innocent", and if she hadn’t been possessed (thank you, Damien) and hence influenced by a demon (and her father) she could have grown to be a more stereotypical Hufflepuff. Her father’s influence is strong, yet we cannot say that she is entirely evil, and she has good intentions most of the times. I think that her only ambition, recently, is being good, which sounds pretty Hufflepuff to me.

Furthermore, I think that if Nora was a Slytherin, she would take any chance to freedom she can get. Yet, she becomes friends with Mona and Ava, the people in charge of her confinement, and she never uses them to get out of her cell. Hell, she goes back after Gary frees her! And she tells Gary (a guy she barely knows) to be safe when she realizes there’s a powerful demon around! And the only thing that makes her strong enough to get out of her cell is Hank’s death! She wants to check on the person who kept her prisoner and didn’t even consider her as a human being (while Ava, at least, had a different attitude towards her at the end of Tender is the Nate) just out of her own kindness. If that is not a caring Hufflepuff I don’t know what it is! Maybe a Gryffindor, but definitely not a Slytherin.

Long story short, these are the main reasons why I think these two characters belong to the aforementioned houses. These are definitely debeatable opinions, and if anyone wants to argue with me I’m more than happy to do it! The best thing about sorting, I think, is that it shows how characters are perceived differently by people in the same fandom, who consume the same kind of content; we all see different nuances, and getting to know other’s opinions, I think, is a way to get to know the character better, from points of view that weren’t considered before.

And to answer to your last question (if this is what you were asking): yes, of course I have more sorting opinions. I think that somewhere on my laptop there’s a word document entirely devoted to observations on different characters and Hogwarts houses, and I think I have written something about Legends, at least until season 2.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Fic: Puppy On Board (3/?) - Ao3 link

Fandom: Legends of Tomorrow Pairing: Mick Rory/Leonard Snart (currently gen)

Summary: In which life is Big, and Tough, and Extremely Frustrating - but mostly because Len is currently a goddamn puppy.

————————————————————————————–

On one hand (paw?), Len is pathetically grateful to be back with Mick once more. Just seeing his partner again, when he'd just about lost all hope, is everything he could've wanted and more.

On the other, though, does Mick really need to sleep for so long?

Clearly not.

It's unhealthy, that's what it is.

Len's doing Mick a favor when he sticks his nose into Mick's ear and slobbers on him till he wakes up.

Really.

No matter what Mick might be saying – or, more accurately, cursing.

"You want more to eat, huh?" Mick finally asks, rubbing his face.

Len totally woke Mick up out of concern for his health - but if more food is on the offer, well, you know, he’s not going to refuse...

He's a growing puppy, damnit.

"Food every two hours is apparently normal at your age," Mick said sleepily, heading to the kitchenette corner in his room. "So, I guess it ain't your fault."

Hmph. As if Len would be motivated by something so base as biology.

(Oh, but that milk is good. Hits the spot just right. God, he was so hungry.)

A satisfactory feeding later, Mick puts Len down on the ground and opens the door. "C'mon," he grunts, tossing on a robe - clearly a Legends-imposed requirement, because Mick still sleeps proudly nude as always. "I'd better get you out of here before you decide to piss."

Actually, on that subject, Len's pretty sure he saw - ah, good, there it is.

Mick's still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, which is probably why it takes him a second to catch up to what Len is doing, and on what.

"Wait, no, puppy, that's Sara's - welp, nevermind, that's a lost cause right there." Mick sighs. "I'll tell Sara she needs to get a new pack before the next mission. And maybe clean this one. She'd better not try to make me clean it, when she shouldn’t have left it hanging around where a puppy in search of revenge could get to it..."

Len gives his best "I'm an innocent puppy, really" grin.

Mick gives him a beady-eyed glare. "Don't think I'm not onto you."

Len's smile fades for a moment, then comes back at twice the strength. Mick's figured it out? Already? Thank God! Maybe they can skip ahead to figuring out a good way for Len to communicate, or maybe even to turning him back into a human so that -

"You're trouble, that's what you are," Mick announces.

...oh.

Len whines and slumps down, a process that involves just giving up on this whole standing business and splaying out on all fours like the weight of the world has come crashing down on his puppy shoulders.

"Hey, I didn't mean that," Mick said, crouching down. "It's okay, you're a good boy deep down - yes, that's right, a good boy -"

Len is not a good boy.

Len isn't even a good puppy.

And he likes it that way, damnit! He's a bad, bad man! He’s a supervillain and proud of it, except that right now he's a goddamn puppy.

Near-newborn puppies are not, despite Len’s best efforts, very intimidating.

"C'mon, back to bed."

Fine. But only for a bit, and then Len's waking Mick up again out of sheer spite!

...and possibly hunger.

"Don't know what your mom was thinking letting you wander off this young," Mick comments.

Len nips at one of his fingers, aiming to get him with one of the few milk teeth that have fully grown in so that it will sting.

Don't talk about my mom like that. Not even you, Mick.

Mick chuckles and pets his head and yawns a bit, heading back to his room, his eyes already heavy.

Len huffs, then frowns, picking up a strange scent.

He cranes his neck as far out as he can, just barely able to see around Mick.

It's the new guy - Nate.

He's not doing anything, just standing there, staring blankly down the hallway. He doesn't move or say hi or anything - Mick clearly missed his presence there entirely, and Len would have, too, if his new sense of smell wasn't so strong.

Len yips a tentative greeting, giving a vague wag of the tail, but there's no response and anyway Mick is taking Len away at speed, so there's no time to investigate.

Weird.

Whatever, Nate's sleepwalking issue isn't Len's business.

A few hours later, the Legends all gather in the med bay, which seems to Len like a weird-ass place to meet given the existing presence of a bridge designed specifically for that purpose, but their intention quickly becomes clear.

"Surely the temporal energy doesn't keep you from doing a scan at all, right, Gideon?" Zari asks.

"I can do a surface scan," she says. "And determine health, albeit superficially. For some reason, my DNA scanners can't seem to make head or tails of him."

Head or tails. Heh. Because he has a tail now.

Len finds that said tail wagging in approval entirely without his consent.

He’s going to really enjoy the dog puns.

"Well, what's your verdict, then?" Sara asks.

"He's a very healthy male puppy, with no serious diseases or other issues that I can determine. Comparing his appearance to other images I have, I would estimate an age somewhere a little over two weeks old, though I'm unsure how much older given the temporal issue."

"What breed is he?" Nate asks, giving his fingers for a lick.

Len is tempted - so many interesting smells! - but he pointedly turns his back on Nate to give Zari's fingers some attention. He's pretty sure Nate was on the pro-castration side of things, even if he didn't speak up, and anyway it makes Zari laugh in delight and Nate mutter under his breath about favoritism and it's not even Amaya...!

So, you know, there.

"He appears to be a mix of breeds," Gideon announces.

"So, a mutt," Sara says. "He fits right in already."

"But what breeds?" Nate asks. "That could impact his behavior and needs and - stuff."

"Stuff," Amaya says, amused.

"Hey, I know something about dogs. Not much, I admit, but..."

"I believe there is a significant proportion of husky," Gideon says. "Thereby accounting for the coloration, general form, and blue eyes - though those might be a puppy feature that darken as he gets older."

"Those ears aren't even slightly husky," Amaya objects.

"That's correct - some sort of spaniel, I would estimate, given the size of his ears and - ah - their proportion to his body -"

Len'll grow into them.

"He'll grow into 'em," Mick says.

Len loves Mick. Wise man.

"Hold up," Sara says, eyeing the ears. "How big is he going to get? We don't have enough space for a full-on herding dog here -"

"Huskies are working dogs, not herding dogs, I think," Ray says helpfully from where he's lurking by the door. "And Mick can take him on walks around the ship, or outside once we land."

"If we take him outside, he'll get lost," Zari objects, reaching out to rub Len under the chin.

"He can barely walk or regulate his own temperature right now," Mick grunts. "Doesn't exactly seem like an urgent issue."

"Barely walking or not, he still made his way onto the Waverider," Sara reminds him.

"Should we chip him?" Nate asks.

Len sniffs. Nate's the one who ought to be chipped, what with that sleepwalking habit.

"Not at this age," Amaya says firmly.

"Perhaps a small collar could be fashioned," Gideon suggests. "And the tracking chip placed under the nameplate."

Len sighs noisily. It's not like he hadn't been expecting to be collared eventually, given his shape.

Luckily he didn't have any bad associations with collaring, unless you count a certain period of never-to-be-spoken-of-again bad fashion choices back in the 90s...

The Legends, however, met Gideon's announcement with an almost stunned silence.

"Oh, man," Nate says, breaking it after a moment, "his name. Mick, have you named him yet, or can we help?"

"Well..." Mick said cautiously.

"No, no, please, let us help!"

"I still get veto power," Mick warns.

What about Len? Len should get veto power.

Personally, he's quite fond of "Boss" as an acceptable dog-like name -

"How about Spot?"

For shame, Nate. He doesn't even have spots! Coloration markings, yes, but not spots.

"No, no, Nate, not Spot," Ray says. "He doesn't have spots."

At least Mr. Castration-Is-Good-For-Dogs has some decent opinions.

"He's more black-and-white," Ray continues. "How about Oreo? Or Newsie, short for newspaper?"

Ugh. Positive statement retracted.

"No," Mick says. "Just - no."

"How about Joe?" Amaya suggests. "Or - Carl, maybe? Oh, I know! Rex!"

Len puts his head down and covers his head with his paws, whining pathetically.

"I think even the puppy thinks that's a no go," Sara says, snickering. "Sorry, Amaya."

"It's okay," Amaya says. "He's cute enough; I'll forgive him anything."

Len's traitorous tail gives a wag at that.

"How about something more thematic?" Zari suggests.

"Thematic?" Mick asks, sounding skeptical.

Len's not sure why; he loves things with a theme. If he has to be Heatwave's dog, then he might as well get named something appropriate. Flame or Explosion or Heatpup something -

No.

Hot Dog.

He can just see it now in a newscaster voice: “Here comes Heatwave, famed supervillain, and his trusted sidekick, Hot Dog…!”

Len sniggers, though it mostly comes off as a dry sort of huffing.

...he'd better stop that before they decide to name after Muttley or something.

(He’s far more of a Dick Dasterdly!)

“I’ve got an idea,” Zari says.

"Oh?" Sara asks. “What were you thinking?”

"Well, Mick is going to be the primary owner, right?" Zari says with a shrug. "We could match the dog to the owner."

C'mon, make the Hot Dog joke! Do it! It's right there!

"Something heat related, you mean?" Sara asks. "To match 'Heatwave'?"

"No, that's too obvious," Zari says. "I was thinking more of a contrast - Snowflake, or Snowy -"

"Oooh, Frosty!" Nate exclaims. “Cold Miser!”

"Or you could do the exact opposite of Mick's," Amaya says, "and call him 'Coldwave' -"

"No," Mick says flatly. "Nothing with Cold."

Len had been pretty much in favor of the names, no matter how dumb - he loves a good cold pun - but Mick's voice...

He's in pain.

Len whines, pulling his head out from under his paws and trying to go to Mick at once. It's his fault Mick is in such pain, his fault, he was the one who abandoned his partner like that and therefore only he can make it right. He might not be able to fix it, he's too small to do that, but he'll go and snuggle him and lick him and nip at his fingers till he feels better -

On his hurried way over to Mick, though, Len trips.

Over his own goddamn ear.

"- sensitive subject," Sara is murmuring when Len goes flying, and then she's not murmuring, she's laughing.

Everyone is laughing.

Even Mick, which is Len's sole consolation. Maybe it wasn't exactly how he was thinking of cheering Mick up, but whatever, it worked.

"Maybe we should call him Floppy," Ray says. "After his big old floppy ears -"

Len rights himself and growls at Ray.

"Awww," Sara coos. "Lil puppy don't like that."

"You named your last pet after a musician, right?" Nate asks. "Guns and Roses? What about something else like that?"

"Oh, I know!" Ray exclaims.

Oh, God, no.

"You could name him Tevye! After Fiddler on the Roof! That's your favorite musical, right?"

...okay, that one's not too bad. At least it respects Len's Judaism.

(Does Len have to be circumcised again now that he’s been reborn? He really hopes not. That was one experience he was very happy to not be aware during.)

"Maybe Fiddler would be easier?" Zari suggests. "Or Fiddlesticks? I like Fiddlesticks."

"I already know what I'm gonna call him," Mick says. "I thought of it last night."

They all look at him, even Len.

He's still hoping for 'Boss'.

"That puppy's name is Trouble."

...yeah, that's fair.

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

A/N: I wish to give full credit to everyone's wonderful suggestions in the comments to chapter 2, all of which were great and very fitting, and also extremely helpful for writing this chapter :) hopefully work will go quiet again and I'll be able to write more of this soon!

[singledarkshade]

Starting Up

Part One – Filling the Roster Summary - Rip is ready to start his new business. All he needs now are a team and some clients. Author’s Note: Another fic set before Protection but after What We Lost, On A Whim, One Moment and New Direction in my Legends Security Universe Sara “What do you think?”

Sara glanced back to where Rip stood leaning against the wall just inside the front door, he was trying to look relaxed, but she could see he was nervous letting her see this.

“Small,” Sara grinned at him.

Rip rolled his eyes, “Well so far my staff includes me, and me. But I’m hoping you too.”

She looked around again in silence.

“You know you want to,” Rip said, “We both know you’ll hate being a cop.”

Sara laughed, “My dad is not happy with you right now. And I quote, ‘Not only have I lost my best detective, but he turns around and steals my newest recruit’.”

“Come on and I’ll show you around,” Rip pushed himself off the wall.

Sara bounced a little as Rip walked her through the small space that was currently the home of Legends Security. It was small but neat and divided into separate but distinct sections. Reaching the smallest room, she stared in amazement at the things sitting around it. When Rip had come to her with the job offer, she’d been stunned because she’d never thought he would ever leave the force. Even after being shot.

“Where did you get all these?” Sara asked, looking at the devices she assumed were for surveillance.

Rip smiled, “I made them.”

“What?”

“Before I joined the force my original focus was computers and technology,” Rip shrugged, “I started tinkering when I began thinking about setting things up, it’s amazing what you can put together when you have nothing much else to do.”

Sara chuckled, “I am impressed.”

“Are you in?” Rip asked.

With a grin Sara nodded before asking, “So, have you talked to anyone else yet?”

“Not yet,” Rip replied with a shrug, “But I have a few people in mind.”

  Diggle Dig walked into Dragon’s Breath not sure why he’d been asked to come by, but he didn’t have anything else to do today and was intrigued by the message, so here he was.

“Hi,” Constantine, the owner greeted him, “Can I get you a drink, mate?”

Confused Dig nodded, “Just a soda. Although you can tell me why I was asked to come to a nightclub at ten in the morning?”

“Rip,” the man called through the door at the back, “Your meeting is here.”

The other man appeared, looking better than he had the last time Dig had seen him, although he was still moving slowly.

“Mr Diggle,” Rip smiled at him, “Thank you for coming.”

“You got me curious,” Dig admitted.

Rip motioned him to a seat at the nearest table, “I am going to get straight to the point why I asked to meet you. I am starting a security company and I want to hire you.”

Dig leaned back in his chair thoughtfully, “Why?”

“I saw the plan you put together for Nyssa’s party,” Rip reminded him, “You know your stuff. From your background you have both military training as well as been a bodyguard on enough occasions to know what is required.” Dig stared at him stunned the man had done a background check on him but before he could ask Rip continued, “Considering the last time we talked, I’m assuming you no longer work for Reverse Star Solutions?”

Dig nodded before shrugging, “As much as I enjoyed the work, and I am good at it, Thawne didn’t listen to anyone which became frustrating.”

“I saw that,” Rip told him, “And I can assure you that I will listen to what you say.”

Dig mused for a moment looking at the man in front of him. He had enjoyed his job, but Thawne had not been the best boss in the world. Considering what he’d seen of Rip Hunter, Dig decided to take a chance.

“Okay,” Dig nodded, “Trial period.”

Rip offered his hand, smiling when Dig shook it, “Agreed. Now, I’m also hoping you may have some ideas on people to build my teams with.”

Dig smiled, “Oh definitely.”

  Zari The café was quiet as Zari sipped her coffee while working on her laptop at the corner table. A shadow covered her, and she frowned at the man standing there.

“I’m doing nothing illegal, Detective,” she stated coldly, “I’m debugging a computer game.”

Rip Hunter smiled at her holding up his own tablet, “I know. This is not a secure place to work so I had a look.”

She frowned at him, “The wi-fi in my crappy apartment sucks.”

He shrugged, “Well on the other hand you could be in jail.”

“What do you want?” Zari demanded.

Rip pulled a chair out and sat, he took a quick breath grimacing suddenly.

“Are you okay?” Zari asked worried at the pain covering his face.

“Possibly overdone things today,” he sighed, taking a breath Rip looked at her, “I’m not here as a cop.”

Zari frowned worriedly, “Are you sure you’re okay? You look a little pale.”

“I was shot a few months ago,” Rip explained waving her concern away, “I’m still recovering and as I said overdid it a bit today.”

She stared at him, despite how annoyed she had been when he’d appeared Zari did like the man. She’d been arrested the year before for hacking into the security systems of three jewellery stores. Learning she’d been forced to help the gang robbing because of a threat to her family, Rip and Quentin helped her and her family.

“The reason I’m here is to offer you a job,” Rip told her.

Zari stared at him, “What?”

He smiled, “I’m starting a security company and I need someone with computer skills. And as someone who is almost as good as I am you are my first choice.”

“Really?”

Rip nodded, an amused smile on his lips at her scepticism, “If you’re interested, I can give you some more details.”

Staring at him thoughtfully for several seconds, Zari nodded, “Okay, let’s hear it.”

Less than an hour later he had his recruit. The three main positions were filled by the people he’d wanted and Rip was ready to begin.

[aeon-wolf]

Legends of Tomorrow | 4x08

This episode was wild as fuck man.

There was so much in the midseason finale that it’ll be hard for me to remember everything. 

So the main arc was obviously Charlie and Constantine trying to “repair” time by fixing the immediate problem instead of the root which I’m glad they did to be honest. I think of all of the Legends, Constantine needed to learn that the most and he could only learn that by living it, Charlie as well to some degree. It was a nice twist also that Charlie’s absence was the thing causing the Legends to kill magical fugitives. I admit it took me a bit to catch onto that, but it makes 100% sense. She was the one to stop the Legends from just automatically sending them all to hell and if Constantine wasn’t on the ship as well, they would have to resort to killing them.

I do hope this is a turning point in Charlie’s arc where we get to see her really become a part of the team. This episode for Charlie seemed like the time loop episode for Zari. Before that episode, she considered herself an outsider and throughout that episode, she learned that the team really did care about her and that she was an important part of the team. And then really started to allow herself to bond with everyone. 

We also got a look at what is likely to be the big bad of the season, Neron. It’s cool that they’re having a tie-in with Project Hades. It seems like that idea was Neron’s idea in the first place so it all comes together. Project Hades and the government aren’t a separate big bad from Neron. Kind of like how technically Mallas was the big bad of last season, but the Darhks were an extension of him and really the antagonist for most of the season. Plus the Time Bureau being something of a sub-antagonist as well in S3. I am glad that it’ll all coming full circle instead of having disjointed big bads. 

The rest of my thoughts are mostly kind of little mini thoughts so I’ll just list them here.

- I do hope that Charlie is able to regain her powers at some point before the season is over and that if there is a S5, that she’ll stay on the Waverider. 

- Zari calling Charlie hot. The Legends writers certainly know their audience well.

- The fact Ava and Sara are together in every timeline gives me life. 

- I love that at the end, Mick and Ava were bonding. I think that does show that in the last episode, the two did realize that they both had crossed lines. Mick likely more than Ava, but that they could move forward and find some common ground, especially for Sara’s sake. 

- Legends of Puppets made me want to die. 

- The Charlie’s Angels thing with Gideon, Sara, and Ava was so weird but also I’m hyped that we got to see them all in leather asf. 

- Cat Zari is so cute

- The beginning part where Gideon told Ray, Nate and Mick that Barry Allen, Oliver Queen, and Kara Zor-El called and Ray saying that it must be the annual crossover and Nate saying hard pass gave me life. Also, Gideon calls her Kara Zor-El? Because I can’t believe that was the name Kara would have left in a voice message, even to the Legends. Supergirl or Kara Danvers would seem more likely. Barry did introduce her to everyone as Kara Danvers after all. 

- I wonder if when Legends comes back, if Mona will join the Waverider at some point. It seems like she probably will, especially after what happened last episode. It’s likely she probably wouldn’t trust the Bureau and with the Legends likely going after Neron as well as having a much “case by case” attitude towards magical creatures, that Mona would do better with them. Also, I thought I read press releases that Mona was going to be a Legend, so... I don’t know. 

- So Des is going to be back (probably), in one form or another. I did say it was questionable in the last write up of having their poc, queer man be the one to “die” and get possessed/owned by the demon, but I do wonder if Desmond having linked(?) his soul to Neron, if that will have some effect on Neron when the time comes. I do wonder what position he has since Hank seemed to “report” to him about Project Hades, so I’m guessing he’s placed himself as Hank’s boss or something. 

Anyway, I think this is the last episode till April. And who knows what the fuck Tumblr is going to be at that point. 

[stillthewordgirl]

LOT/CC fic: Memory & Maybe

Leonard continues to get acclimated to the Waverider and the team, three years after the Oculus. It's not easy. A direct sequel to "A Million Miles Away" and another prequel to "Me vs. You."

I decided I wanted to post this before Legends airs. It's not like I don't know it's an utter AU already, but I rather like this Charlie (whom I've sort of used before) and I'm holding on to her as long as I can. (Hey, they're dealing with magical creatures this season, right? It could happen!) 

For @larielromeniel, who wanted to see how Leonard would meet the newbies. And thank you for the beta!

Can also be read here at AO3.

Someone else—one of the women—is in his old room now. She—Zari—offers to move, but Leonard declines. The Waverider crew rooms are pretty much interchangeable. There’s no point in ousting her when he can just move into a spare.

He tries not to think about the times he and Sara had played cards on that bed. That’s stupid. Sentimental. It’s just a room.

We have to hide.

Don’t try to distract me.

The Brit in the trench coat mentions that he “wouldn’t say no to a roommate, mate”—wink, wink—but Leonard simply blinks at him, feeling far too at sea right now to flirt back or even respond to it. The man gives him a considering look, then nods thoughtfully and not without sympathy.

“Let’s have a pint later in the galley,” he says quietly. “Get acquainted.” He gives Leonard a smile that manages to be wry and understanding at the same time. “And for once, I mean that perfectly innocently.”

So now Leonard’s standing in an empty room, staring at the walls while Mick and Raymond retrieve his packed-up belongings. He’d asked about his gun, but Mick had sighed and Raymond had gone white and refused to speak, so he’s letting that go right now. He knows enough of the specs these days that he’s pretty sure he can just work with Gideon to recreate it. Maybe even make it better.

The rooms are different: the bed looks more comfortable (not that it would take much) and there’s more storage space. Raymond had said that Jax had been working to revamp them, and there’s another little pang. Leonard hopes the kid is OK and happy, wherever he is.

Three years.

Gideon had given him a clean bill of health. He was precisely as he had been when the Oculus exploded: same physical age, constructed left forearm and hand and all. Her supposition was that his position at the heart of the explosion had thrown him into the timestream so immediately that none of the more destructive energies had touched him, literally suspending him in time. No one, yet, had any idea why the temporal fluctuations surrounding him had only recently grown so rough that the Time Bureau had noticed them, but Leonard’s sure someone will have theories eventually.

He doesn’t really care. He has enough to deal with.

He hasn’t seen Sara since she’d headed off with the Time Bureau director, and maybe that’s just as well. He’s having enough trouble finding his feet and getting accustomed to things here…now…without dealing right then with the reality that they almost certainly won’t be able to go back to their old friendship, let alone anything more. He doesn’t go where he’s not wanted, not in this respect anyway, and…

There’s a noise behind him, and he turns to see the two new women on the team standing in the doorway, watching him. They don’t look as wary and upset as the other new guy had been, but they do look tentative. More than that, though, they look curious. Well, he can deal with that.

“Hey,” the one named Zari says, giving him a little wave. “How are you doing? Sorry again that I took your room.”

Leonard shrugs. “Well,” he drawls, stuffing his hands in his pockets, “it wasn’t like I was using it.”

“Still.” When he doesn’t complain about their proximity to his (new) space, Zari takes a step forward, edging into the room, the other woman following suit. “We, ah, asked Gideon to tell us who you are. More about who you are,” she adds. “She told us what the Oculus was and how you blew it up.” Her quick smile is definitely pleased. “Badass.”

She continues before he can respond to that, or really digest the thought that the remaining original team members mention him so rarely that these newcomers don’t even know who he is. “I really hate the idea of someone being able to pull my strings like that. And I don’t really like people who set themselves up as some sort of…moral authority.” A quirk smirk. “Ask Sara.”

Leonard lifts his eyebrows, a little surprised, but pleasantly.  “Yeah,” he manages. “Same here.” He glances at the other woman, who’s staring at him intently with what almost seems to be puzzlement in her gaze--like she’s not quite sure what to make of him. He lifts an eyebrow at her, making the request for introduction obvious, he thinks, and Zari elbows her, getting a glare in return before she looks back at him.

“I’m Charlie,” she says, and he’s never heard an introduction sound quite so defensive and angry before. But he understands anger, and he understands a healthy disrespect for authority, and he thinks maybe he could work with these two. Maybe they’ll get along just fine.

“Pleased to meet you, Charlie,” he tells her cordially, ignoring the anger. “And what…”

“Hey!” The man from before, the one who’d cautioned the others against him, stops in the doorway. He’s carrying a crate, and it appears he’s actually bringing some of Leonard’s packed-up belongings, but the look on his face is anything but friendly. “Zari…Charlie…I told you about…”

Zari rolls her eyes, shaking her head. “Not the boss of me…” she sing-songs, while Charlie gives the newcomer a look that’s so filled with irritation that Leonard wonders about the history there. Still, they both apparently decide it’s better to let Leonard get to the business of looking into his things, stepping back toward the door. Charlie just leaves, but Zari winks at Leonard first—a friendly wink, and a commiserating one, nothing more. But nothing less, either.

“Nice to meet you,” she says, ignoring the other man. “Anyone Mick and Ray trust so much is OK in my book.”

And then she leaves, as Leonard wonders that she didn’t mention Sara and the newcomer stands there, still staring at him.

He’s not in the mood to deal with criticism from someone he’s never even met. Leonard lifts his chin and despite his current state of uncertainty, gives the man his best Captain Cold glare.

It doesn’t help. In fact, the man’s frown grows a little more pronounced, his discomfort shifting into what might almost be anger.

“We fought you,” he blurts out then. “You were part of the Legion of Doom.”

Leonard blinks at him. “The Legion of what?” he manages.

The other man’s continued without pause. “The Legion,” he repeats. “The Reverse Flash, Malcolm Merlyn, Damien Darhk. And you.”

Leonard knows two of those names. The Reverse Flash was Ramon’s name for the first speedster enemy Allen had acquired. And Merlyn…

That was the man who’d killed Sara. Or as close as didn’t matter. She’d told him once, over cards. She’d acted like it didn’t matter, not anymore. But it did.

“I did not,” Leonard hisses back, his discomfort with the very idea coming out as anger, and a corner of him is almost glad to see the other man step back in the face of it. “I never worked with…with them.”

But the fellow is made of sterner stuff than expected, and there’s steel in those eyes as his chin goes up too.

“You killed Amaya. You froze her and shattered her,” he continues inexorably. “And you helped them rewrite reality. Thawne and Merlyn and Darhk…the man who killed Sara’s sister, for crying out loud!”

What?

“Sara’s sister is dead?” he says, staring. “When? What happened?”

The man is in no mood to give his perceived enemy any information, however. “You killed Mick too,” he says, staring back at Leonard. “Icicle through the heart. And…”

“The hell?” Mick himself had appeared, carrying a crate, Raymond following him with another. “Damn it, Pretty…”

“What?” both the new guy and Leonard ask in irritation, looking at Mick, then looking back at each other with even more ire.

Raymond coughs back a laugh, but Mick’s in no mood for humor. “That wasn’t him,” he says, staring at the man. “It wasn’t. Any way you spin it.”

“Nate,” Raymond butts in, putting his crate down and finally giving Leonard’s antagonist a name, “I have to restack some stuff in the cargo bay where we found these. Come give me a hand.”

Nate gives Raymond a look, but he still follows him, giving Leonard a glance that’s probably supposed to be threatening before he leaves. It’d almost be funny if Leonard wasn’t so disturbed by his words. He gives Mick his own look, and the bigger man sighs, putting his crate down.

“They said it was old you, from before the Flash, from long before the Legends,” he mutters, looking away. “They picked you up then, the Legion, told you that you were gonna die, and you worked with them.”

Leonard didn’t know what to say. “It was me?” he asks finally. “Really?” He’d killed Mick? Worked with the bastard who’d had Sara killed, the bastard who’d apparently killed her sister? No wonder she didn’t want to talk to him.

Mick shrugs, glancing away. “I dunno.” He glances back. “You don’t remember anything?”

Leonard been racking his memory. “No,” he says shortly. “Not at all.”

“Eh.” Mick looks down. “I sorta used this memory-wiping thing on you…him.”

Leonard digests that. “You can do that now?

“Yeah.” His friend glances up, a spark in his eyes. “But I still think that wasn’t really you,” he says firmly. “Maybe like a Dark Snart, someone from another Earth, like Leo.”

There’s that name again, a name that brings up unpleasant memories from his childhood, and his jaunt back to 1975. “Leo?”

Mick starts to speak, then stops. “I need beer for this,” he tells Leonard firmly. “And so do you. Trust me.”

Leonard considers, then acknowledges that with a tip of his head. “OK by me. Galley in the same place?”

“Yep.” But then Mick pauses again, and there’s something almost…soft…in his eyes, something that speaks of the feelings they’ve both staunchly denied having. Leonard will admit that as he gradually sorts through the variety of issues related to his three-year time skip, he is glad that Mick seems so…settled? More at peace. More at…home?

Well. At least there’s that.

“Glad you’re back, Snart,” though, is all Mick says.

“Me too, Mick. Me too.”

Raymond and the Brit in the trench coat—he introduces himself as John Constantine, and while that seems to be vaguely familiar, Leonard isn’t sure precisely how—join them in the galley, and there are beers acquired all ‘round. He takes a drink of his, reflecting that he hasn’t had anything to eat or drink, apparently, in three years, and looks at the others.

“So,” he says, “who’s Leo?”

Constantine makes a noise that’s thoroughly admiring—Leonard lifts an eyebrow, but otherwise ignores him—and takes a drink, winking at Leonard again. But he glances at Mick rather than replying himself, and the bigger man nods, as if steeling himself to speak.

“Well,” he says, after taking a long pull from his beer. “Nazis attacked Allen’s wedding. Nazis from another Earth. The you from that Earth goes by ‘Leo.’ ”

So many words today aren’t making sense. “Nazis?” Leonard asks blankly. “From another Earth?”

“Yeah.”

“Scarlet got married?” And he wasn’t there to crash it? Damn.

That gets a snort from Mick and a laugh from Raymond. “Eventually,” the scientist says, taking a sip of his own drink. “Leo’s cool. He’s…different. From, uh, you. He likes hugs and he likes talking it out. Playing counselor.”

Leonard stares at him, vaguely appalled. “No.”

“Yes,” Raymond responds happily.

Constantine sighs gustily. “A damn-fine-lookin’ man,” he says thoughtfully, putting his feet on the stool next to him. “But sadly, quite thoroughly taken.”

Leonard gives Mick a quizzical look. His friend shrugs. “Fella by the name Ray Terrill,” he says. “Ever heard of him?”

“Nope.” Leonard stared into his beer, wondering. This Leo seemed…rather more likeable than he’d ever considered himself. Or cared. But...

“Anyway, we beat them,” Raymond continued. “Leo and his Ray went back to Earth-X. They’re getting married! But he visits sometimes.” He gives Leonard a grin, then looks at Mick. “Oh! Tell him about the puppet.”

But Leonard holds up a hand. “No,” he commands. “Don’t tell me about the puppet. I don’t wanna know about the puppet.” And he doesn’t want to know more about the oh-so-charming Leo, who very definitely isn’t him. “Tell me about the other newbies.” He pauses. “And who’s Amaya?”

Constantine and Raymond exchange glances, but Mick’s eyes go distant. “She was parta the team,” he says quietly. “Went back home, though. To 1942.”

There’s more there. Leonard knows it with every fiber of his being. But this isn’t the time to pursue it. “Ah,” he manages, deciding to leave the question of this missing woman behind him. Especially since his doppelganger apparently killed her. Sort of. “The newbies?”

“Well,” Raymond cuts in, leaning forward, “it’s weird. Charlie looks just like Amaya! But she isn’t.” He takes a healthy gulp of his beer as Leonard stares at him and Constantine guffaws at his expression. “Well, that’s a long story. And it’s even weirder for Nate. But…”

But Leonard’s staring at Mick now, and the other man is shaking his head, something complicated in his own eyes. Again.

“Charlie only looks like Amaya,” he tells Leonard. “She found ‘Maya’s image in Gideon’s database and decided she liked it. She can change shape.”

Words continue to not make sense. Leonard tilts his head, waiting. “So,” he says after the silence stretches. “Who is she?”

Mick pauses…then grins. “She’s a dragon,” he says raptly.

No sense. At all. “A dragon.”

“Yeah.”

And Leonard knows that look. Oh, crap.

Leonard stares at him, then looks at Constantine and Raymond. The latter gives him a nod and a particularly goofy grin. Constantine just shakes his head.

“We’re dealing with magical creatures, mate,” he says, not without sympathy. “It gets weird. Make this lot explain to you how it started, ‘cause I’m not up to it right now.”

Leonard just plain doesn’t want to right now. He takes a bigger swig of his beer than usual. “And Zari?”

“She’s a hacker,” Raymond tells him. ”From the future. And she has this wind totem.” He snaps his fingers. “Oh! The totems. We need to explain the totems. And Beebo.”

“What the fuck is a Beebo?” Leonard does have a vague memory of some children’s toy, but he decides, abruptly, that he doesn’t want to ask. He just can’t deal with more weirdness. “Never mind. Seriously. Tell me later. Maybe much later.”

Raymond looks disappointed, but nods. “Well. Anyway. Good to have you back, Snart.” He gives Leonard a tentative grin. “Really. Hasn’t been the same.”

Leonard allows his shoulder to be patted, giving Mick a long-suffering look, and watches as the scientist wanders off. Constantine lets out a snicker, finishing his own beer, then rises.

“Well, I’m sure this isn’t going to easy for you, mate,” he tells Leonard seriously. “But welcome back to the land of the living. You need any fillin’ in on the magic stuff, let me know.” He smirks. “Over another drink, if you want.”

Leonard eyes him. “Got it.”

Constantine chuckles, tilts his head toward them, and saunters off, into the corridors of the Waverider. Leonard, bemused, watches him go. And decides not to ask. For now.

Instead, he just looks at Mick, who looks back.

“You gonna stay?” his friend asks abruptly. “On the ship? I mean. I know a lot’s changed.”

Leonard’s still feeling very at sea, but he has a very definite feeling that if he makes the wrong decision here, he’ll lose even more than he’s already lost.

“I can’t really see goin’ back to Central and picking up where I left off,” he says after a moment. “But I do want to go tell Lisa. Soon as I can.” He eyes Mick. “Still, I’m staying. For now.”

Mick nods, and Leonard doesn’t think he’s imaging the faintest look of relief on the other man’s face.

But then Mick presses it.

“Blondie…” he starts.

Leonard holds up a hand. “No, Mick.”

His friend gives him a rather combative look (which is very Mick) laced with concern (which isn’t). “You should…”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” The words come out harsher than he’d meant.

Mick regards them, then shrugs. “Fine,” he mutters, getting to his feet. “On you, then.”

Leonard watches him go, sitting there in the galley alone, nursing his beer.

He can do this, he decides, a little grimly. He’ll make this work. It won’t be the same, but he can go back to being Mick’s partner, Raymond’s…frenemy? Sure, that works. And he’s pretty sure he can work just fine with Zari, Charlie and Constantine. Nate will just have to deal.

But Sara…

His role here has always been snarky opposition to the captain. It’s a good role. He’ll miss Rip in that regard. Sara…Sara is undoubtedly a much better captain, but she’ll need that too. Someone to challenge her and provide counterpoint and back her up, sometimes.

And he can do that. And maybe…

He stifles the maybe.

The maybe is never going to happen.

[firesoulstuff]

Random 10 + Darhkatom (aren’t we supposed to be working) ?

It isn’t like Ray had some grand delusion that things were going to be perfect.

For one thing, Nora just had her curse broken yesterday, so they’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop with that. Besides, they were busy with three encores yesterday, so it isn’t like he even had time to plan anything big or elaborate. Then there is the fact that they live on a time machine and so, even though they all abide by the 2020 calendar, it isn’t technically Valentines Day so why would he have thought to plan anything?

Except he totally watched the ship calendar and made the time for planning, and he expected a hiccup or two but come on, not this.

What was Astra even thinking bringing back Richard Nixon? Sure, he’s no saint, but as far as evil schemes go plotting out a nefarious political campaign is pretty boring. Definitely not how he wanted to spend Valentines Day.

Yet here he is, posing as Nixon’s right-hand of the day while Nora scopes out all his new contacts as his secretary. Well, he is just going to have to make do.

Thankfully he isn’t alone. He has Zari here to help, and when their favorite new employer decides he is going to go meet a new friend for lunch they all agree bringing two assistants is a little overkill.

“Take Zari.” He speaks up right away, and in response Zari looks up from her 90’s magazine and over at him with wide eyes. “I still have some papers I would like to read here, and Zari is so much better with people.”

Zari, for the record, looks like she is about ready to strangle him. But Nixon, who is probably ready to strangle him in general after his earlier pushing of some less nefarious agendas, is all too eager to leave him behind and within fifteen minutes Ray is alone in the main room of the rented office.

He waits until he is absolutely sure Nixon and Zari are gone, and then he sets about improvising Valentines Day.

The office suite Nixon is renting isn’t very big. It’s really only the one room but technically he has ownership of the little nook off to the side. That’s where he’s had Nora’s desk set up. Ray finds it infuriatingly insulting that she’s stuck out in the hall like that, but the rest of the team - Nora included – has reminded him that it’s good for the mission. Not only can Nora keep tabs on him, but she can snoop through his plans without worrying so much about being caught.

Ray pokes his head out the office door and grins. Nora is still there with several files spread out on the surface of her desk.

“Psst.” He stage whispers and she spins around, her expression a mix of surprised and confused. “Happy Valentines Day.”

Her confused looks quickly morphs into a small smile and she fully abandons her sleuthing, choosing instead to wheel herself over to him and accept the kiss he bends down to give her.

“Happy Valentines Day.” She echoes, looking up at him through her lashes. “Wish we were back on the ship.”

“It’s ok.” He promises, getting onto her knees as so to be on equal ground with her as he kisses her again. “We can make here work.”

The sound she makes is something like a purr, something like a laugh, and something completely intoxicating all rolled into one.

“Really?” She asks, pulling away from his kiss only enough so that he can see her arched eyebrow. “Aren’t we supposed to be working?”

“We’re always working.” He counters, “And besides, our new boss isn’t going to be back for at least another hour.”

Now the look on her face is downright dirty.

“I can think of a lot of things we can do in an hour.”

[kalinara]

I hate to say it, but I do think maybe Avalance is the root of Sara’s really uncertain characterization this season.

Most of my biggest problems with Sara early on had to do with uncharacteristic aggression (why in the world would a serious combatant like Sara throw a knife at her civilian store manager boss, no matter how much of a dick he was?)  and a very inconsistent attitude toward the Time Bureau.

Like she steals the Waverider (with some obvious provocation from Rip), and seems to be inclined to at least try to be a bit more subtle and constrained than their usual approach.

Something that goes completely out of the window in Freakshow, to the point where she's willing to hold a hapless, obviously harmless agent like Gary at gunpoint and have him take the blame.  And then, her enthusiasm for fighting Ava suddenly takes precedence over the mission?

The next episode, she's barging into a Time Bureau mission, calling the Time Bureau a totalitarian regime, and trying to ram Ava's ship.  Which, okay.  There was a bit more justification for that antagonism here, given that the Bureau wanted to put Zari back in prison, and Ava wanted to throw the book at them despite Rip wanting lenience.

The thing that stands out the most for those first three episodes though is that Sara, who is usually characterized as a level-headed, calm and measured leader, ends up acting repeatedly hot-headed and seems to have lost her ability to control her team.  Despite the pre-season interviews talking about breaking time as something Sara wants to fix out of a sense of responsibility, that attitude gets abandoned very quickly in favor of defiance against the Time Bureau.

(I'm not saying that Sara SHOULD feel guilty for breaking time, because it was necessary at the time, but it is in character that she would.)

I feel like the show discarded a legitimate area for Sara to have growth and development, simply to amp up the conflict between the Legends and the Time Bureau, simply so that they could use the adversaries to friends to lovers trope.

And then, as soon as the conflict with the Bureau has set the stage for Sara and Ava as scornful antagonists, it's gone.  I won't pretend that Rip was right in what he'd done in Return of the Mack, but I really have a hard time accepting that Sara would be willing to give even a former friend to an organization that she called a totalitarian regime two episodes ago.

This seemed to be entirely designed to relax the tension between Sara and Ava.  Look, they're now reluctantly on the same side: sadly watching Rip get taken away by the Bureau.

(It also bugs me that somehow Rip's gone from being the man who lost his family to Vandal Savage and got brainwashed by Eobard Thawne to being suddenly an unreliable source on who might be a danger, but that's a side note.)

Now, of course, the Bureau has no interest in taking the team down.  And the Legends have completely lost interest in the Bureau.  And...what?

None of the actual problems between the Bureau and the Legends have changed.  The Legends are STILL traveling in a stolen ship, solving problems via metaphorical sledgehammer.  The Bureau is still the kind of cold 'totalitarian regime' that would have put Zari in prison.

Suddenly Sara's okay with them because they're not a personal threat anymore?  Since when is that in character for Sara?

But okay, after that, Sara seems to be settling back into a more recognizable position.  She's regained her admittedly impressive leadership abilities.  She's helping Helen without wanting to massively change the timeline.  She's controlling her team better.  She lost Martin, but that wasn't her fault.

But then we get the Beebo episode.  Ava and Sara have a lot of chemistry, I admit.  But Sara also finds out that her former friend, who she gave to the Time Bureau, is now in prison.  She's understandably horrified.  She also gets very clear proof that Mallus exists.

So what does Sara do when she finds out Mallus exists and is dangerous, and that the man who recruited her, who gave her the chance to become more than she was (something she expressly credits to him in Raiders of the Lost Art), the man who lead an invasion of the League of Assassins and was willing to fight Ra's al Ghul to the death for her is IN PRISON?

...nothing.  She just flirts with Ava.  AVA is the one who decides to try to free Rip.  Despite the fact that I can’t see Sara ever being willing to leave even an enemy in a situation like that.

(also, while I liked seeing Ava save Sara, why did no one from Sara's team assist her?  Did they all just stand around waiting for the Time Bureau chick to act instead?)

Daddy Darhkest is mostly a good episode for Sara, but she finds out Rip escapes and...there isn't even an indication that maybe they should keep an eye out for him, since he has the only real information about their enemy.

I won't bitch about Sara's characterization in the time loop episode.  I feel like the real Sara would have been more concerned about Zari's claim of sabotage than talking with her girlfriend, but that wasn't the real Sara.

And while I didn't really begrudge Sara going on a date with Ava in the last episode, since she believed the team was having an easy mission in Detroit, I definitely think Sara would have immediately wanted to go after them once Gideon made that phone call.

And for all that I thought the Sara and Ava date was cute, I'm still bugged by the fact that Ava still works for an organization that wanted to throw Zari in prison, and this isn't giving Sara even the slightest pause.

An adversaries to friends to lovers plot really only tends to work when they stop being adversaries.  But Ava really hasn't done that.  She's just stopped doing anything about it.

And unfortunately, Sara really hasn't had any character development this season outside of Ava.  We've seen no introspection about Sara having had to break time.  Sara's grief for Laurel comes up in the context of Zari's quest occasionally, but never really gets expanded on.  Sara's met a doppelganger of a man that she could have loved, from an apocalyptic alternate world and we get no real reaction to that.  

I feel like the show is quick to toss us "Sara, you're the best Captain ever" asides to mask that they haven't really given Sara any character growth since Aruba.

It's annoying because I really do want to like Avalance.  I think there is clearly some interesting mystery behind why Ava is almost as good a fighter as Sara herself and why Rip recruited her to begin with.  But it's hard to be enthused when show focuses so much on the romantic dynamic that the rest of Sara's characterization has gone by the wayside.

[flabbergabst]

Captain canary, mission in 1998. Sara goes to a bar for recon and meets..... *drumroll please* ...a 26 year old Leonard Snart who does not hesitate to flirt with a beautiful woman

Established Relationship!Captain Canary is too tempting not to put it here. I’m sorry!

Not Cheating When It’sYou

“I’m in and I’ve got eyes on Salle,” Sara casually said,walking towards the bar.

It was 1998 and the team was on a mission to locate thewarehouse housing smuggled sports cars. There were three masterminds to theillegal operations and Mick and Leonard already took care of the first one. Thesecond businessman, Joseph Salle, had with him a maroon notebook containing allthe information containing detailed records of the shipments of the cars andthe carriers. Gideon deemed it important to stop these greedy moguls because ifthe operation weren’t stopped by year 2000, the stock exchange will crashleading to economic regression.

Sara offered to lift the notebook off of Salle mainlybecause she was challenged by her crook boyfriend and his equally morallyambiguous bestfriend. Being the Captain of the ship, she wouldn’t want her egobruised, so she accepted. Included in making the decision of doing it herselfwas the thrill of it. It was an easy job and she could need a little moraleboost after a complicated last mission. And Leonard promised her a gift if shecould impress him. She’d never pass an opportunity like that.

The whole team was watching through the hidden cameraconcealed in the small stone of Sara’s choker. Sara didn’t even need to lift afinger to get Salle to notice her. She was seating in the seat in the barclosest to the corner. Her purse (which housed three knives, five throwingstars, and, oh, a lipstick) was on the table and she ordered a scotch. Her body-tightroyal dress invited the mogul for her. Sooner than she expected, Salle slidbeside her, laying a hand on her shoulder.

“Pretty girls deserve to be given drinks,” the short,balding man said.

“Careful, assassin,”Sara heard Leonard say through her comm.; she swiveled her chair and facedSalle. She placed both her hands on the man’s shoulder and slid it to his side,her fingers touching the notebook from the pocket of his coat.

“That’s so nice of you,” she said. Once her pointer andmiddle finger trapped the thin notebook, she dropped her hand, casuallysqueezing it on her ankles. “But you’re not my type.”

Joseph Salle, not used to people saying no to him, was aboutto insist, when a tall man, behind him with an all too familiar voice interruptedhim. “When a lady said no,” he began, “then maybe you should turn away andrespect that.”

Salle was about to react but he turned back and saw the manglaring at him with the coldest, scariest eyes. The smaller man immediatelyrushed away.

Sara then saw the man, and gasped. All she heard from hercomms was Mick and some of them laughing, and Leonard swearing like a sailor.

She smirked and swiveled her chair again to face the bar andwhispered loud enough for the team to hear. “And the night just got better.”

The man, younger Leonard, sat beside her but didn’t talk toher yet, trying to sense whatever he can from the beautiful lady beside him.

Sara was trying hard too—from not looking at the youngerversion of her beau, and from not laughing at the exchanges of her crew thatshe can hear from her comms.

“New dare, Blondie,”Mick said, still laughing. “Kiss youngLenny.”

“No, you’re not daringher to cheat on me,” Leonard sternly replied, earning a laugh from the menof the team.

Wally interrupted. “Butis it really cheating? It’s still you she’s going to kiss. Only a younger you.”

“Point,” Sara whispered, hiding the smirk on her face.

Leonard groaned in response. “No. You got the notebook. Just leave.”

“Or test late 20sSnart’s flirting game,” Nate replied.

“Killjoy,” Ray teased.

Mick came close to the console. “Thumbs up if you accept the dare, Blondie. We have visuals.”

Sara did exactly that, then flipping her hair a little,earning the attention of young Len.

“So,” he drawled, his voice obviously lacking the grit sheloves, “would you accept if I buy you a drink?”

“Okay, not that good astart,” Zari said.

The blonde turned her head sideways, as if considering. “IfI declined his offer, what do you think you have to make me accept yours?”

“I know how to take no for an answer,” he immediatelyanswered, which made Sara’s eyebrow rise. “If you decline, I’ll nod and leaveyou be.”

Satisfied with his answer, she nodded. “Alright, Mister…”

“Leonard. Or Leo,” he offered.

“Then where did ‘Len’come from?” Amaya asked.

“Only heard it fromBlondie. Boss was always Leo.” Mick answered.

“And you?” young Leo asked, sliding another glass towardsher. “I’m guessing you won’t like it if I keep calling you beautiful.”

“Alright, he’sactually got game,” Zari commented.

“All of you shut up,”Len complained.

Sara laughed, mostly because of the frustration in herLeonard’s voice. But the Leonard in front of her thought it was because of hisline. “Sa—Savannah,” she ultimately answered. “You don’t look like someone who’snamed Leo.”

Young Len raised an eyebrow. “And what do I look like?”

“You know what to say,”Leonard muttered, having given up with convincing her not to continue the dare.

Sara held the glass close to her lips. “Really, really,handsome.”

Leo’s smiling, pulling his chair closer. When Sara didn’t moveback, he deemed his motion okay.

“What brought a gem like you to a place filled with crooks andcigars and stale beers?”

She can’t help but look at his face, noting what wasdifferent. His eyes were obviously younger—because it didn’t carry the soul ithas now. That’s what distinguishes her Leonard.

“I’m a gambler,” Sara replied. “I just won tonight. But Ifeel like the win isn’t enough.”

Leo took a drink, downing a glass in one go. “Anything I canhelp you with? I’m quite talented in many fields, pleasure or otherwise.”

“Snart, I think babyyou wants to sleep with Sara,” Nate interjected.

Leonard didn’t comment. Neither did Mick.

“I catch your drift, Leo,” Sara replied with a smirk. But toyoung Len’s surprise, she stood up, picked up the notebook she kept between herlegs and the purse on the bar. “And like I said, you are very, very handsome.But I have someone to come home to.”

Young Leo, true to his word, just nodded in understanding.Still, Sara laid a hand on his shoulder and kissed the man’s cheek. “I think ‘Len’suits you more than ‘Leo’. But that’s just me.”

She left with a smirk, walking away with a sway on her hips.Young Len checked her out as she walked. “Hm. Len,” he said, and ordered abeer.

“I’m outside,” Sara said to remind her team. “Just a coupleof minutes till I get to the jumpship. I’ll be in the ship twenty minutes max.”

“Got it, Sara,” Ray replied in confirmation that the teamgot her message.

“And Leonard?” Sara asked.

“Yeah?” the man in question, whose chest felt lighter than afew minutes ago, answered.

“You better be naked inour bed the moment I open the door to our room.”