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ttooccaa · 4 years

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The impeccable timing of Everything - Chapter 2

2/5

First off, I fixed a small mistake in the first chapter, I had absolutely forgot that Intergang actually makes an appearance in YJ, so yeah, sorry. All I did was change a small portion of dialogue. Re-reading is not needed, again sorry for absolutely forgeting about them...

Now that that's out of the way, this chapter turned out way longer and much more detailed than I excpected.

Rating: Teen

Ao3 link

Chapter 2: Casual Sabotage

Taos

November 23, 12:01 MST

Ed was running only on a few hours of sleep and was currently nursing his second cup of coffee. He didn’t like it at first, but he quickly developed a taste for the bitter drink after the opening of the Meta-Human Youth center. He tucked his white T-shirt into his jeans and tried smoothing down his light yellow flannel.

Ed hadn’t managed to really talk with the three newly arrived metas, as soon as they had answered all the basic questions and had gone through a quick medical check-up all three of them had fallen asleep. Nathaniel had just informed him that all three were awake and wanted to talk. Ed decided that it was best that he teleported in the beginning of the hallway leading to the medical wing. That way his sudden appearance in the room wouldn’t cast the newly arrived teens any unwanted stress.

Ed drank the last of his coffee and threw the disposable cup in the trashcan. He gingerly opened one of the two large, white doors and entered the medical room. It was a large room with a lot of medical equipment in it, all of the beds could be separated with so called privacy curtains. There were separate rooms as well, though only a few. He leaned against the door when he closed it and started thinking of what to say and how to best help Wayne, Kate and Kole, but quickly his thoughts started to go astray. Stray thoughts of Bart began filling up his head. He definitely liked Bart, there wasn’t any question when it came to that, but damn it if feelings weren’t complicated. Voicing them, even more so. The fear of rejection never goes away even when you’re almost sure the other person will reciprocate your feelings.

Closest to the door he noticed Leslie also known as Livewire and Andy or Mist, Leslie was sitting on one of the beds while Andy was putting a bandaid on her finger.

“Don’cha think that’s a little much?” Livewire asked while looking at the neon pink bandaid with a unicorn on it.

“I think it’s quite cute.” Andy chuckled, then placed a chaste kiss on her girlfriend’s forehead.

Leslie blushed, but quickly recovered and noticed their peer counselor’s daydreaming form leaning against the door “You gonna stay there all day, sunshine?”

This quickly snapped him out of his thoughts and he turned towards the couple. Ed walked over to them. “Really? Sunshine?” He asked dryly.

Leslie grinned, then shrugged “Well, “golden boy”‘s a bit too obvious.”

“And as we all know you are a master at subtlety.” The Argentinian said rolling his eyes.

Andy smiled “I’m guessing that what’s bringing you over to the med wing are those three over there behind the curtain.” She pointed at the back of the room, without turning around.

“Yeah. New additions… hopefully.”

“I’m sure they’ll stay.” Andy said, reassuring him.

“I mean, we did and we weren’t exactly easy to deal with.” Leaslie shrugged, then put her arm around her girlfriend’s waist.

Ed smiled “Dully noted, now if you’ll excuse me, duty calls.”

Both Leslie and Andy rolled their eyes.

Ed continued his short walk over to the other side of the room. He slowly pulled the curtain separating the three teens from the other side of the room.

“Hey!” He greeted.

Neut was with them already and Wayne, Kole and Kate were talking. Nathaniel excused himself, than pushed Ed outside the curtain.

“What’s up, man?” Ed asked.

“They’re a bit on edge.” Neut gave Ed a half dissolved piece of plastic.

He looked at it, confused.

“That used to be a fork.”

“Geez. Which one of them…?” He waved the white plastic around trying to illustrate his question.

“Kate.”

“Okay.” He took a big breath “We can do this.”

Neut nodded and they both pushed the curtain open once again.

The teens turned towards them. They were dressed in clothes issued from the Meta-Human center, while their original clothes and belongings were on the cupboards next to the beds.

There was a beat of silence then Kate spoke “Thank you for saving us.” She was playing with the split ends of her long, blonde hair. “I really don’t know what would’ve happened to us if you and rest of the Outsiders hadn’t come.”

Ed nodded, then took a breath “How are you all feeling?”

Wayne shrugged “Peachy.” His midwestern accent clear even from a single word.

Ed looked at Neut, hoping for some help. He gave him a reassuring smile.

The Argentinian sighed “Okay, I’m sure Neut already told you everything you need to know, but let me at least formerly introduce myself, my name is Eduardo Dorado Jr. and I’m a peer counselor at this center, known as the Meta-Human Youth Center.”

He continued “You already know what we do or?”

Kole answered “Yeah, Nati over here told us everything!” She was smiling brightly.

Ed smiled and raised an eyebrows at the nickname, he turned towards Nathaniel who was rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m happy to hear that, I know I will probably be repeating Nati’s words, but you are free to go whenever you feel like it, though I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Wayne narrowed his eyes at that “And why is that?”

Kate rolled her eyes in restoration “I don’t know Wayne, maybe because we were almost human trafficked.”

“Bitch.”

“Twat.”

Ed took a calming breath. “I know you’re probably all scared-“ Wayne’s narrowed eyes turned towards him. “Even if you don’t feel like admitting it, but right now here is probably the safest place for all of you. I looked through your results and you’re meta-gene has been awakened, which means -.”

“That now I’m even more of a freak than I used to be.” Kate muttered.

“Hey, you’re not a freak, none of you or us for that matter are, okay?” Es put his hand on her shoulder, doing his best to reassure her.

He put his hand back at his side, then leaned against a heavy machine “In the beginning I wanted my powers gone more than anything, but I started to accept them. Yeah, it was hard, but it was worth it. What I’m trying to say is that if you decide to stay you can get help with everything, not only from me or Neut, but also everybody in here and medical professionals such as doctors, psychologists-“

“I don’t need no shrink.” Wayne’s midwestern accent cut through his words.

Ed sighed “Again, it’s completely up to you.”

“I’d like to stay.” Kole said, her expression determined

Kate nodded “Me too.”

All eyes turned towards Wayne.

He sighed “Not like there’s any better options out there.”

Both Ed and Nathaniel smiled wide.

“You won’t regret it.” Neut said.

Now came the hard part, Ed turned his attention once again to the three teens “I’m sorry that I have to ask this, but can you please tell us everything you can about how you ended up being trafficked, anything at all will hopefully save everybody else who were in your situation.”

All three of them tensed.

Ed continued talking, while running a hand through his unruly curls “We will talk one on one if you wish and anything you tell me, stays between us and the Outsiders so that we can stop this organisation. Please think about all the people you can help.”

Kate smiled “That’s some hardcore guilt tripping, Ed.”

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” He was stumbling over his words, blushing hard.

Kate chuckled “Haha, so you are human after all.”

Ed looked puzzled for a second, then Kate continued talking “I’ll do it. Where are we going to talk?”

“It doesn’t have to be right away-“

“I’m a big girl Ed, I can handle it. Better to do it sooner rather than later, that way the info is as fresh as possible.” She got up from the bed and just now did Ed notice that she was half a head taller than him. “Let’s go, yes?” She pushed open the curtains.

Central City

November 23, 13:38 PST

Bart had just finished a quick workout, trying to get his head straight… well that wasn’t exactly possible. Anyways he went into the living room where Jay was sitting on the couch watching Tv. Bart was glad to be back home. He had missed it.

He leaned on the back of the couch next to Jay “What are you watching?”

“Just that prick G. Gordon Godfrey cause panic for no apparent reason.”

Bart turned his attention over to the Tv “The League and the Outsiders were silent during the months when poor meta-human were disappearing, but now! All of a sudden it they are taking down a ring and not only that they have “saved” three meta-humans! Really makes you think what is truly going on.” The tv host gave the camera his signature sleazy grin, then continued to speak, but Bart had already tuned him out.

“He’s insufferable.” The younger speedster muttered under his breath.

Jay grunted in agreement. He turned the volume down and looked at Bart “So how are you doing, kid? Anything new.”

Bart shrugged “Same old, same old.”

“You know, Bart, between you and me, Joan was always the more perceptive of the two of us, but even now I can tell something is bothering you.” The first Flash had a warm smile on his face.

Bart took a big breath, then sat down on the couch next to Jay “It’s just, a lot.”

Jay laughed “Ah, you’re spending too much time with Batman and his wards, you’re becoming vague like them.”

Kid Flash chuckled, then relaxed into the couch. So many conflicting thoughts were going through his head, he loved Jay, he was family, but still this time, it’s way of thinking, people’s mentality, everything was so different, he should be used to it by now, but sometimes he was still amazed at how different everything was.

Jay tapped him on the shoulder “You’re thinking too hard, son. Whatever it is, it doesn’t have to be now or ever for that matter, but if you ever want to share, I’ll be here, ready to listen.” He was smiling, his eyes were gentle and trusting.

Bart slowly placed his hand on top of Jay’s which was resting on his shoulder and smiled “There is this, teeny weeny thing.” He was squinting behind his index finger and his thumb illustrating how small the thing was.

The first Flash brought his hands to rest on his thighs and chuckled “Well if it’s that insignificant you shouldn’t have a problem with getting it out.”

Bart laughed nervously “Yeah...” A thought went through his head ‘Here goes nothing. I guess.’ He then looked at the ground then back at Jay “I kinda have a crush.”

Jay blinked at him “That was it?”

Bart made an unsure expression “Ehhh, not quite.”

The other Flash just continued to look at his ward.

“It’s on a guy.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Jay looked at the ground for a second, then nodded and turned his attention back to Bart, smiling once again “So wanna tell me who it is?”

Bart blinked a couple of times, but then recovered “It’s uh Ed.”

“Never heard of an Uh Ed.”

“Not funny.”

Jay’s smile brightened at Bart’s slight annoyance.

“So Dorado’s kid?”

“The one and only.” His lingering unease was showing.

Jay nodded once again “He is a fine young man.”

Kid Flash chuckled at that “Be careful, your age is showing.”

Jay just smiled and ruffled Bart’s hair “Listen, kid, I’ll love you no matter the gender of your partner. As long as you love them and they love you that’s all that matters.”

Bart smiled, but couldn’t help himself “Even if it’s a villain?”

“Okay, now you’re pushing it a little.”

They both laughed and Jay pulled Bart into a tight hug “I meant what I said, I love you, Bart and I’m glad you told me. Does anybody else know?”

They pulled apart “Well Jaime and Cassie, but I haven’t explicitly told anybody else.”

Jay nodded “That’s fine too, now go take a shower, no matter the gender, nobody wants a boyfriend that stinks of sweat.”

Bart got up from the couch “Geez, thanks, Jay.”

Jay shrugged and turned towards the Tv.

Just as Bart was at the door he turned back to his legal guardian “Thank you.”

“I’m always here for you, son.”

Bart nodded and with a soft smile made his way towards the bathroom.

Taos

November 23, 13:00 MST

“Wait, so this isn’t your office?” Kate was sitting on the leather chair opposite to Ed.

He rested his hands on the desk “Technically, it’s my dad’s but me and Neut use it more than him.”

“Cool.”

“First off, any family that you want to contact or that has been looking for you?” Ed already knew the answer to that one, but he had to ask anyways.

Kate had a humourless smile on her face “They kicked me out on their own, so I would say no.”

“I’m sorry… you were saying before, that you were in Midway City, when you were kidnapped.” Ed marked the city located in Michigan on a card, displayed on a tablet.

Kate nodded “Yeah, I was living on the streets, the prostitutes there were nice enough to help me.”

“Can you tell me exactly what happened when they took you?”

“I remember that a couple of punks stormed under the bridge with guns and took me and a few others. They knocked us out, next time I woke up, I was tied up and in the trunk of a car. I came to a couple of times, but I don’t recall anything specific.” Kate’s expression was pained.

Ed’s eyes softened “I know it’s hard, but this could really save a lot of people. Was there anything weird that happened in the days leading to your kidnapping?”

Kate shrugged “Not really… actually, yeah, there did, there is this truck that comes every other Friday night okay? It brings condoms, HIV tests, all of that. I usually didn’t go, because there wasn’t a reason, but last time it came, they had this new test, if they test you, you get 20 bucks. Sounded like a steal back then.”

“That was a meta-human gene test.” Ed said, his voice hollow.

“Seems like it. They took a little blood, some hair and ran a cotton swap on the inside of my cheek.” Kate looked really deep in thought “I also remember one time I woke up, they injected this thing into my neck, it hurt so much.”

Es nodded “That must have been what awakened your meta-gene.”

“Most likely.” Kate sighed “Is that all you need, I’m tired.”

The Argentinian said “Yes, thank you so much, Kate.” His eyes were sincere and full of gratitude “I promise it’s only going to get better from here on out.”

The blonde smiled “I sure hope so.”

They both got up. As they were heading for the door Ed said “Let’s pray I will manage to convince somebody else to also share their experience.”

Just as Ed opened the door, the figure of Wayne was waiting on the other side. Ed couldn’t help the small sound of surprise that escaped him.

Kate smiled at the shorter boy, then ruffled his mohawk “You’ll do great.”

The pale boy pushed her hand away, embarrassed “Yeah, yeah the greater good and all that.” He turned towards Ed “Let’s get started?”

The superhero nodded and bid Kate goodbye, as he closed the door he motioned for Wayne to sit in the chair that just a moment ago was occupied by Kate.

The black haired boy sprawled himself on top of it and turned his icy blue eyes towards Ed.

Ed smiled warmly and Wayne squinted as if he was being blinded by the sun.

“Just ask me straight away, don’t sugar coat it.”

The Argentinian nodded “Okay then, any family I should be concerned about?”

Wayne shrugged, playing with a loose string on his white meta-human youth center issued T-shirt “I lived with my uncle, he was my legal guardian, but considering he hasn’t looked for me this long, I doubt he cares.”

Ed furrowed his brows “Okay, but we still have to inform him about your current whereabouts?”

The pale teen shrugged, though looking more uncomfortable than before.

Ed decided to let that be at least for now “Where were you when you were kidnapped?”

Wayne cringed “Kansas City Juvenile Detention.”

Ed was quite surprised and looked up from his tablet “You were in juvie?”

“Aye, aye, captain.”

Ed bit his tongue just as he was about to ask why and settled on a different question “How did they get you, I guess?”

Wayne was rotating his lip piercing with his thumb and pointer finger while answering “One of the guards told me that the doctor wanted to see me, so he took me to his room, next thing I know I’m blacking out.” He made a sound with his lips then continued talking “I wasn’t even that long there, about a month.”

Ed nodded “Did anything weird happen while you were there, like tests?”

Wayne shrugged “I don’t know, man. There were a lot of rumours though, about people disappearing, didn’t think they were true… but yeah. Also they check you up before they throw ya in there. They took blood and all that good stuff.”

“They probably used those tests to test you for the meta-gene.”

“Guess so.”

Ed looked thoughtful ‘Dios mío, just how deep does this whole thing go?’

The other teen tapped his hands on the desk impatiently “We done here?”

Ed snapped out of his spiralling thoughts “Yeah, at least for now, thank you, Wayne.”

Wayne looked a little flustered under Ed’s sincere gaze, but shrugged nonetheless “Yeah, whatever. I’m pretty sure Kole is waiting outside.”

And she really was, when Ed opened the door. He was greeted by Kole and Neut talking, while Kole was trying to braid Kate’s hair.

Kate’s blue eyes shone mischievously “Was it that hard?”

Wayne rolled his eyes at hair “Oh, shut up. C’mon it’s your turn with Dr. Dorado over there.” He sat on one of the white chairs attached to the wall.

Ed looked at him as if he’d heard that joke a million times already “That’s literally my father.”

Wayne shrugged, not an once of regret in his posture.

The young superhero turned his attention towards Kole “Only if you want to, of course.”

The ginger nodded and got up from the chair, carefully manoeuvring around Kate who was sitting on the ground.

She marched past Ed and sat on the chair, Ed looked at Neut who smiled reassuringly. The golden one closed the door and moved to sit opposite to Kole.

He started talking “So, Kole, I’m gonna ask you some questions, but don’t feel pressured to answer them.”

Kole nodded.

He had already learned that Kole was an orphan, so he skipped that question and moved no to the next one “Okay, where were you when you were kidnapped?”

“The Rising Sun Foster home in New York.” Came Kole’s immediate reply.

‘First, the streets, then juvie, now a foster home, things are truly escalating.’ Ed wrote the name down and continued asking “Okay, for how long where you there before you were kidnapped?”

Kole looked thoughtful for a second “Not that long really, perhaps two months or so, I was moved there from another foster home in which I spent three years.”

“Did anything different than usual happen there?”

“Yup, upon arrival they did a couple tests on me and the others.”

“Such as?”

“Hair, spit, blood, the usual. I remember going to bed as usual, then panic and then I was in a truck. I woke up once and saw a couple more of the kids from the foster home with me. I haven’t seen them since, I hope they are well.” She looked extremely sad.

Ed reached out and put his hand on her shoulder “Maybe right now, they aren’t, but thanks to you we can help them.”

She smiled brightly at him.

She left the office and Ed laid his head on top the desk, utterly exhausted. He closed his eyes for a second and thoughts of Bart came flooding through. It seemed that all the time he didn’t spend working, he spend thinking about Bart. He was so conflicted on one hand, he wanted to be with him, on the other his doubts and insecurities couldn’t stop eating away at him.

After a few more seconds spent in self pity, he summarised all the information on his tablet and texted Oracle and Garfield everything, informing them that it would be good if they had a meeting. He got a response soon after, apparently Barbara also had found some very intriguing things regarding Intergang’s weapons. Garfield called everyone to an immediate meeting at the Outsiders’ HQ soon after.

The peer counselor left his father’s office and teleported to the cafeteria, hoping Neut was there. Just his luck, he teleported right next to the table being occupied by the three new meta-humans and Neut, though Wendy was also there talking excitedly with Kate. Ed’s sudden appearance made Wayne, Kate and Kole jump. He smiled sheepishly.

Wendy rolled her eyes then turned her attention back to the trio “You’ll get used to it.”

Wayne looked embarrassed, bordering on angry, while Kate looked amused. Kole was looking at him with wide eyes, as if she hadn’t seen him teleport already.

“Good to see you too, Wendy. Anyways, I’m here to tell you I’ll be leaving, I’m sure it won’t be for long, but-“ Ed started explaining.

Neut cut in “Don’t worry, man, we’ll make sure the place doesn’t burn down while you’re away.” He looked amused.

Ed rolled his eyes “I sure hope so.” A second later bright, golden light engulfed him.

Hollywood

November 23, 12:48 PDT

The Argentinian arrived and noticed that the Outsiders had almost all gathered, he quickly noticed Bart sitting on the couch energetically talking with Jaime and Cassie. He smiled at the sight.

“God, you’re whipped.” Virgil’s amused tone cut through his little daydream.

He blushed brightly and narrowed his eyes at Virgil “I have no idea what you’re on about.”

“Yeaaahh, right. Are you ever going to do anything about it?”

Ed sighed deeply focusing his attention on his forest green converse “It feels like every time something is about to happen, we get interrupted or there’s something more important going on. At this point, I have no idea if everything is all just in my head.”

“Believe me, it’s not.” Static’s voice sounded as if he’d had to say that a million times already.

Ed looked at him pouting. Just as he was about to say something Beast boy caught everybody’s attention and all conversation died down.

He started talking “As I said already in the text I sent you, we have developments regarding Intergang.” As he finished Barbara appeared on the large screen “Hi, guys!”

Beast boy waved at her and continued “Ed will be first, then Barbara, okay?”

All nodded.

“Perfect, okay Ed, the floor is yours.” Garfield bowed theatrically and winked at Ed. The Argentinian scoffed, but took the green skinned teen’s place anyways.

Ed quickly summarised everything Wayne, Kate and Kole have told him and moved to the conclusion “Those are the three places where they were kidnapped.” Pictures of the detention center, the foster home and the bridge under which Kate lived appeared on the screen. He continued “I think it’s pretty obvious that Intergang is targeting people nobody would look for – orphans, hookers, prisoners and so on. Unlike Granny Goodness and her goons who didn’t exactly pick out their victims so carefully, because they knew they could cover their tracks better.”

Cyborg’s expression looked grim “That’s truly low, taking those people, thinking nobody would miss them.” A flicker of anger was seen in his eye.

Ed agreed, sadness washing over him. He moved to a spot near Bart, suddenly he felt a warmth on his lower back and realised it was Bart’s hand. He looked at the shorter teen and smiled, his mood truly improving even if by a little. The speedster always had that effect on him. Bart’s eyes were warm and welcoming as they met his.

Garfield looked thoughtful “Sadly, that just makes our mission even harder, Oracle, what did you find?”

Barbara started typing “First of - their weapons, I am certain that they are alien technology. I think even the same one as the Orphanage.”

“So Granny Goodnes has something to do with all of this?” Garfield asked, memories of the evil lady coming back to haunt him.

Barbara shook her head from side to side “It’s not out of the question, but keep in mind, that Intergang has always worked with alien technology, they could’ve easily gotten it another way…”

“Anything come out of that tracker on Ugly’s car?” Superboy had his arms crossed over his muscular chest.

Oracle sighed her round glasses sliding down her nose “Not really, left in a garage, hasn’t been used since.”

Jaime looked at Barbara “Please, tell me we have some good news.”

“Well, not really, but in the grand scheme of things, it is good news. The information on the computers were catalogues and a few bases.”

Ed blinked “Catalogues?”

Barbara continued “Here’s one an example.” A picture of Kole appeared with information around here. Oracle started explaining “Her age, sex, weight, but most importantly her superpower, it says it all right here.”

“Crystallisation?” Jaime questioned, more to himself rather than anybody else.

As if she hadn’t heard him Oracle continued explaining “Down here it says to whom they were sold, my best guess is that they give such “catalogues” to buyers so that they can better decide what they need.” Her expression was disgusted.

Ed swallowed hard and looked at Bart for comfort, who was also wearing a grim expression on his face.

Bart piped up “That’s quite the interesting name.” He was looking at the buyer.

“Kanjar Ro? It sounds familiar.” Jaime was squinting at it, as if that will help him remember it.

Barbara nodded “As it should, we’ve seen him before marked as one of Intergang’s clients.”

‘Intergang deals with aliens… does that mean?!’ Ed looked up at Barbara with wide eyes “They are selling the metas to aliens.”

Oracle swallowed, but then nodded “It would seem that way.”

The realisation of just how complicated this mission suddenly got dawned on all of them, settling around them in a heavy silence.

“At least we know Granny isn’t involved, she wanted all the metas for a giant army, not to just make a quick buck out of them.” Beast boy concluded.

“Exactly.” The redhead agreed.

Static sighed, then asked “You said there were bases?”

Barbara opened up a map for them then started marking places “First off, we have a base in Star City, then Detroit and last, but not least Blüdhaven. From the info I gathered they are much like the one in Happy Harbour, only operating when they need to make a … uh…for lack of better words “delivery.””

Ed’s accent flowed after Oracle was done talking “But there must be a main one? One in which they keep all the metas?”

Barbara pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose “Yes, it would only be logical after all.”

“And we don’t know where it is?” Bart asked, already predicting the answer.

“Nope.” Barbara was kind enough to affirm.

Jaime leaned against the couch “What’s the plan?”

Barbara smirked and turned towards Garfield, which made everybody else also turn towards him.

The green teen blinked once, then quickly walked over to the big screen and started formulating a plan of attack “Our best chance is to act as soon as possible, they already know we’re after them. We have to check out the three bases, Star City has Green Arrow, while Nightwing’s in Blüdhaven, if they can they will join us. The attacks will be at the same time, that way they won’t be able to warn each other.”

Garfield turned towards Ed “Will you be joining us?”

Ed shook his head from side to side “No, amigo, I have to look after our new trio and help them with their powers.”

A sudden wave of sadness washed over Bart.

Beast boy nodded “So, we’re one man down, we will attack tomorrow, Star City is alpha, Detroit is beta and Blüdhaven’s omega. Alpha will be Terra, Forager and me. Beta will be Kid Flash, Superboy and Cyborg and Alpha will consist of Blue Beetle, Static and Wonder girl. This will be further discussed with the League to see if any of them can join.”

Barbara smiled, proud, then Beast boy continued to talk “That will be all for today, I will go to the Watchtower to inform Black Lightning and the rest of the League of our plan. If any changes are made, I’ll text you.”

After saying goodbye to Barbara, most either went to their rooms or home, Ed turned to Bart whose hand had been unconsciously rubbing soothing circles on his lower back. Bart quickly snapped back to awareness and in a flash moved his hand away, blushing brightly. Ed smiled, colour also blooming on his cheeks. He cleared his throat “Want to join me on the balcony? I need a breather after all of this.”

Bart grinned “Sure thing, amigo.”

Ed caught Virgil winking at him from the corner of his eye and promptly, but so Bart wouldn’t see showed him the finger. Virgil’s muffled laugh was heard even as they stepped outside in the warm November weather.

“My wardrobe just can’t keep up with the weather around me. November in Hollywood has nothing to do with November in Central City.” Bart grumbled, while shrugging of his red bomber jacket, leaving him in only jeans and a french tucked T-shirt whit three white stripes – orange, green and yellow going in the middle.

Ed stole a peak at Bart’s lean, but toned arms, then casually looked the other way.

Bart smirked and looked at Ed “Although, the weather ain’t the only hot thing around here.” He winked and fingerguned at the end.

The Argentinian blushed, before quickly erupting into giggles “Real smooth there, amigo.”

“The language is my canvas and words are my paint.” Bart had that overly dramatic starved artist look in his eyes.

“Make sure nobody else hears that, Shakespeare, or you’ll be drowning in dates.” Ed rolled his eyes leaning on his elbows against the railing.

‘I only want to date one person though.’ Bart thought while looking at Ed’s profile.

He quickly changed the subject “How’s it going with the magnificent trio?”

“Eh, they’re all still pretty shaken up, even if some pretend like they aren’t… I still have to contact their relatives. Tell ‘em where they are.” Ed had a pained expression on his face, looking exhausted all of a sudden “Anyways, what about you? You seem in good spirits, hermano.”

“Well let’s just say that Jay’s pretty incredible.”

“The original Flash? I bet.”

Bart smiled, but then turned towards Ed “You on the other hand – not that you ever could – look terrible.”

Ed tsked “Thanks, man.” Bart opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off “Yeah, yeah, I know, you didn’t mean it that way.” He had a playful smile on his face. “I only talked to Kate, Kole and Wayne, but I feel exhausted, as if I’ve gotten my ass handed to me by Canary one too many times in a row.”

“Sometimes conversations can be more mentally exhausting than actual manual labour.” Bart mused.

Ed rolled his eyes good naturally “You’re so profound. I know I shouldn’t be taking everything to heart, but I just can’t help it.”

Bart placed his hand atop of Ed’s “I don’t think you should stop, your compassion is what makes you so strong.”

The other teen blinked then grinned, turning his hand over so he could hold Bart’s “For a natural airhead, you’re pretty smart.”

Bart grinned “I’ll have you know I come from a family of scientists!”

“Me too, but those genes definitely missed me.”

Bart busted out laughing.

“What?”

“I just imagined you as a smaller version of your dad, running around in your white lab coat, always serious.” Bart was still grinning, his hand feeling hot from where he was holding Ed’s.

Ed had a look of horror on his face “Phew, I’m glad that didn’t happen.” He then smiled, his eyes catching Bart’s.

None of them said anything, they just looked at each other.

Until Ed broke the moment “Hey, Bart, I-“ he was cut short by his own telephone ringing. ‘What? For real?!’ He grabbed the phone and less then gently picked up “Is something wrong, Neut?” Concern already dripping from his voice. “Okay, I got it.” He turned his attention back to Bart “I have to get going, things are getting fun at the center.”

Bart tried to keep his expression cheery as he asked “Is everything on fire?”

“Not yet, but Wayne apparently made Kate trip over herself and melt off part of the floor.” Ed was already thinking about the Center’s budget and how that would affect it.

“Made somebody trip over themselves, eh? I think I already know who he’ll get along with.”

Realisation hit Ed hard, but then he grinned “Those two together would be a complete disaster.”

Bart chuckled.

Just as Ed opening his mouth to once again say something, his phone started ringing “Jesus, okay, I have to go.”

“Yeah, I got that.” He tried not to sound too disappointed.

Just before disappearing in a flash of gold, Ed quickly put his arms around Bart’s neck and hugged him “Thanks for always making me feel better.”

Before Bart could react Ed was gone and the speedster was left standing flushed, but grinning. ‘I think I’ll consider this a win.’ He thought as he sprinted towards Central City, trying to get his beating heart under control.

#bartuardo #zetaflash #eduardo dorado jr #bart allen #el dorado young justice

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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The Flash Really Needs to Fight Some Bad Guys Again

https://ift.tt/3fNeXT6

The following contains THE FLASH spoilers through Season 7, Episode 11.

Good news, The Flash fans: Our long national nightmare that was the Forces of Nature storyline is finally over.

Granted, “Family Matters, Part 2” has many of the same problems as last week’s installment – the nonsensical sibling connection between the various Forces of Nature, the show’s insistence on calling them godlike beings even while treating them like Barry and Iris’s literal children, the general creepiness of Speed Force Nora’s existence, the cringe-y dialogue and awkwardly forced emotion. Let’s not even try to figure out how Barry and friends fought the Speed Force, an anthropomorphized being, inside the Speed Force, a localized place, before making nice and coming together as a family to live in…a cosmic version of Barry’s childhood home.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

At least all the multi-colored lightning was really pretty? Hats off to the production team.

The episode ends with a reference to Impulse, which is exciting because it’s our first explicit nod to Bart Allen’s impending arrival. Even if after watching this particular arc, I’m not at all certain that Barry and Iris are meant to be parents anymore. (Sorry, XS! I loved you back in Season 5! This isn’t your fault!) This entire saga was really not a great look for them, and it made both characters nigh on insufferable at points.

Though, to be fair, a forced “family” connection between five grown adults who are virtual strangers to one another was never going to have the emotional impact that the show so clearly wanted it to, no matter how many times one of these, again, fully grown adults referred to Barry as Dad.

Truly, you know an episode is a struggle when the most entertaining part is the weird set of interludes that involved Frost randomly fighting Chillblaine in an attempt to recapture him after a freak storm set them both free from Iron Heights. Why were they in what looked like a parking garage? Where did he get that horrible feathered jacket? Why wasn’t he wearing a shirt? I don’t know, but at least their snarky and awkward flirting was entertaining. I’m kind of here for Frost’s crush, even if The Flash couldn’t keep her in prison for more than a couple of episodes.

In all honesty, “Family Matters” probably really didn’t need to be a two-parter in the first place, particularly when much of this hour retreads ground that the previous installment already covered. (Bonus points for only letting us believe Iris, Bashir, and Alexa were dead for thirty seconds, I guess.) But this episode does highlight a very specific issue that I hope someone somewhere course corrects in the back half of Season 7. And it is this: What do we have to do to just watch The Flash actually fight someone again?

Between all four Forces, Abra Kadabra, and Eva McCullough herself, this season has featured a positive plethora of villains who’ve been defeated not by our heroes’ superpowered skills, but by extended (often overly sappy) conversation. And on some level, that’s not a surprise – The Flash has always been the Arrowverse series with the biggest and most obvious heart.

The Flash Reveals Details About Final Cisco Episode

By Mike Cecchini

The Flash: The Forces of Nature Story is a Complete Misfire

By Lacy Baugher

But Season 7 thus far has fully leaned into the show’s worst and most saccharine tendencies, repeatedly solving problems with little more than a heartfelt speech about the power of love and some handwaving. We love these characters and we love this universe, so usually we’re all willing to go with it – the emotional beats are what we’re all here for, after all, and if The Flash gets that stuff right, we’re all willing to forgive it a great deal otherwise.

Unfortunately, this season has taken those tendencies to their worst and most extreme endpoints. Part of that is due to the fact that we don’t really know or care about the Forces as people, so we’re not particularly invested in what happens to them. As a result, that emotional connection that has carried the show so many times elsewhere (that even mostly papered over the holes in Eva’s exit at the beginning of the season) just doesn’t exist here. But it’s also because there are only so many times we can watch Barry and Iris talk a villain down by pontificating about the power of love.

“Family Matters, Part 2” features several of these sickly-sweet speeches, including a whopper from Joe about the strength of togetherness and how it takes a family to save a family. This sits really weirdly next to his pep talk from a couple weeks back about how you have to forgive your terrible children anything because you always see their best selves, but maybe the advice is different if your not-kids are actively trying to murder you and/or each other.

I mean…is it bad that I just want to watch Barry punch a bad guy in the face? Is that so much to ask?

It feels like it’s been forever since we had a really good The Flash fight scene. I suppose the bit where Frost did speedster drugs to fight the Barry that had suppressed his emotions sort of counts, but almost everything else this season has involved Team Flash trying to talk a bad guy down rather than just fighting them. And to be honest, it’s getting kind of tiresome. At least Frost got some solid kicks to Chillblaine’s head in while she was flirting with him.

Maybe it’s simply that recent villains haven’t felt terribly threatening – The Flash worked hard to humanize Eva before she tried to take over the world, after all, and it’s hard to explain what Nora or the other Forces even wanted at various points in this story. But Abra Kadabra had a documented history of being a danger to Team Flash, and yet Barry’s go-to move is still trying to somehow talk him around to not killing everyone.

As we look toward the back half of Season 7, here’s hoping that The Flash remembers that Barry needs to be capable of fighting villains with more than just words – so that when he does pull out those heartfelt speeches, they might actually mean something again.

The post The Flash Really Needs to Fight Some Bad Guys Again appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3uncjII

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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lopithecusfanfiction · 7 years

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A Life So Changed: Chapter Fifty-One

Author: Lopithecus Pairing: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne Rating: Explicit Word Count: 2667 Alternate: AO3, fanfiction.net Author's Note: N/A

Chapter Fifty-One:

Bruce rushes as fast as he can go to the medical bay, slamming the door open just as J’onn is lying Clark down onto the bed. “Clark!” Bruce stands in the doorway as J’onn works, hooking Clark up to a breathing machine and then getting ready to extract the bullet. Bruce watches in bated breath, feeling as if his world is spinning off its axis.

With a deep breath, he enters the room more but makes sure to stay out of J’onn’s way. He also doesn’t want to get too close to the Kryptonite himself. He needs to keep a level head on himself, remember his training. “Where did the bullet enter?”

“Close to his heart,” J’onn responds.

Bruce’s heart jumps into his throat. “How close?”

“Too close. It will be difficult to get out.” J’onn looks at Bruce gravely. “It is a delicate process.”

Bruce’s eyes snap to Clark who has begun sweating. The alpha’s breaths are coming in shallow gasps, face screwed up in pain. “You have to get it out before it poisons him, J’onn.” Bruce swallows. “And with it being so close to his heart-”

“It is even more imperative that I remove the bullet as quickly as possible,” J’onn states. “Yes, I know. If the poison reaches his heart…”

Neither of them finish the sentence, the reality of the situation sinking in. Bruce watches Clark as the Kryptonian struggles to breathe, his anger growing. “What happened out there, J’onn?”

J’onn’s lips thin. “It might be best to fill you in after I have tended to Kal-El.”

Bruce doesn’t say anything in return, replaying the events over and over in his head. Wally had froze out on the battlefield, allowing Luthor to get a shot off at him. This caused Clark to have to get to him quickly and save him, making it so Clark got shot. Of course, Luthor had Kryptonite bullets. The egotistical alpha wouldn’t have anything different. Bruce’s anger continues to rise and he asks J’onn, “Where is he?”

“Who?” J’onn asks, beginning the extraction.

“The Flash, where is he?” Bruce asks angrily.

J’onn scrutinizes him for a few seconds before finally answering. “Kyle brought him to his quarters.”

Bruce turns on his heels and begins stomping down the hallway in the direction of the Watchtower’s bedrooms. His ire fuels him as he goes, hands curling into tight fists. Before he gets to the rooms, however, he runs into Kyle coming in the opposite direction. As soon as Kyle sees him, the beta’s eyes grow wide. Bruce doesn’t even take a second to acknowledge him, walking past him.

“B-Bruce,” Kyle calls after him, turning and catching up. “Wait, please.” The beta places a hand on Bruce’s chest and Bruce looks down at it, growling deep in his throat. Kyle removes it quickly. “Listen to me, please.”

“What is it?” Bruce snaps and Kyle flinches. “You should be heading back to the battlefield. They need you out there.”

“I know and I am but,” Kyle takes a desperate breath, “please, don’t be too hard on Wally. He’s-”

“I don’t care what he is feeling,” Bruce growls. “He’s the reason Superman is lying in the med bay right now, almost dying. There’s a possibility that his daughter will lose her father today, Kyle, and that’s on Wally!”

Bruce tries to walk away but Kyle catches his hand. “He’s going through a lot right now-”

Bruce whirls on the beta. “I know exactly what he is going through.” He leans forward, getting into Kyle’s personal space. “That’s no excuse.” Turning once more, he wrenches his hand out of Kyle’s grasp and begins leaving. “Get back to the battle, Green Lantern. Now!”

Kyle doesn’t try to stop him again and Bruce makes a beeline towards Wally’s room. When he gets there, he takes a deep breath, trying to conjure up his training once more. Bruce knocks on Wally’s door and waits but there is no answer. Bruce knocks again but still, there is no answer. “Wally?” Bruce calls. “Open the door.” When there is no answer once again, Bruce’s frustration and anger comes back full force. “Watchtower, override command, zero zero two.”

Wally’s door promptly opens and Bruce steps into the room. All the lights are off, leaving the room in darkness. Allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness, Bruce looks around the room until he spots the speedster sitting on his bed, staring at Bruce with wide, frightened eyes. “Bruce, I-I’m,” Wally stutters. “S-sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Bruce can see the shine of tears on the omega’s cheeks, the light from outside the room illuminating the wetness there. Bruce bites his cheek, stopping himself from yelling at the speedster. Wally looks like he’s one step away from breaking down and the last thing he probably needs right now is Bruce lecturing him and telling him how mad he is at the beta. He wants to tell Wally that sorry won’t cut it, that the speedster shouldn’t have gone in the first place.

With his hands still tightly clenched, Bruce turns, wishing he had the Bat uniform on in order to retreat into his cape. It’s a place that he knows is safe and away from the overwhelming world and the feelings that come with living in it. Bruce leaves the room, feeling his anger boiling just under his skin but realizes that venting his rage on Wally won’t change anything. Wally already looks like a defeated man and so instead he goes to the gym to release some of his pent-up emotions.

As soon as he is in the room, he heads to the punching bag. Bruce grabs the boxing gloves and forcefully pulls them on, going at the bag viciously as soon as they are properly on his hands. Each time he punches the bag, he takes his anger and his worries out on it, feeling all his emotions spilling over the edge. Bruce punches harder and harder, allowing his eyes to fill with tears as thoughts of Clark cram their way into his brain and the scene of the alpha getting shot playing repeatedly in his mind. He loves Clark so much and he can’t stand the thought of their daughter losing him. Lara can’t lose her.

“Ah!” Bruce screams as he punches the bag as hard as he can, tears spilling out and rolling down his cheeks. As the bag swings back towards him, he catches it and rests his forehead on it, sweating and panting hard. He can’t lose Clark either. They’re supposed to be mates in the future. Clark can’t die yet.

A sharp pain shoots through his stomach and Bruce doubles over, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. “Hmm,” he hums, trying to breathe through it. It passes quickly but leaves Bruce feeling a bit nauseous. He goes and sits down on one of the benches located in the room, taking the gloves off and sighing. He leans his head back onto the wall, closing his eyes. Reaching up, he wipes the tears from his cheeks and tries to focus on anything but Clark lying in the med bay fighting for his life.

But all he can think about is glowing, green rocks, guns and bullets, Luthor and blood, and all the carnage Bruce has seen in his lifetime. He’s not ready to lose Clark, he doesn’t think he has ever been ready to lose Clark despite their line of work. Clark is supposed to be invulnerable, impenetrable, unkillable. And sometimes it’s easy to forget that there are things that can hurt him, that can kill him.

Bruce places a calming hand on his stomach, feeling Lara move. “I’m okay, Lara,” he whispers to her, thinking she might be able to feel his distress. “I’m okay.”

He doesn’t know how long he sits there like that, meditating and feeling his daughter moving, but when he hears the door to the gym open, he expects to see J’onn there. Bruce opens his eyes slowly, preparing himself for bad news but hoping beyond hope for good news. His breath catches in his throat when he sees who is standing there, however.

“Bruce,” Clark says, looking very much alive.

Bruce stands, gaping. “Clark?” Bruce looks his future mate up and down. “Should you be up?”

Clark chuckles and steps into the room. “Well, after spending three hours under the solar bed, I am very much capable of standing and walking around.” Clark reaches him and smiles. Bruce slaps him, thankful Clark rolls with it. “What was that for?”

“For almost dying on me, you insufferable idiot.” Then Bruce grabs a hold of him and pulls him into a tight hug. “Don’t ever do that again.”

Clark is silent for a while before pushing back from Bruce. The alpha’s eyes search Bruce’s, mouth frowning. “I’m sorry I worried you, Bruce, but you know I can’t promise such a thing.”

“Sure, you can. You know why?” Bruce picks up the gloves off the floor and walks them back over to where they belong. “I’m taking you off active duty, that’s how.” Clark chuckles and when Bruce turns back around to face the alpha, he asks, “You think I’m joking?”

Clark walks up to him, shaking his head and still laughing. “No, I don’t. I’m not that stupid.”

“Then stop laughing.”

“Bruce,” Clark cups Bruce’s face, “I really wouldn’t put it past you to do such a thing but, and you know this perfectly well, don’t pretend, you can’t take me off active duty. It’s not practical. The team needs me.”

Bruce pushes away from Clark. “And what if you were the one pregnant instead of me?”

“That’s beside the point.”

“Not really.” Clark’s eyebrows furrow and Bruce rolls his eyes. “Humor me.”

“Then the League would have you.” Bruce bites back the retort he had planned on saying, not expecting that answer. Clark sighs. “Bruce-”

“You almost died, Clark.” Clark stops, shutting his mouth. “You almost died and left me and Lara alone.” Bruce swallows, refusing to cry again despite his hormones wanting him too. “And you’re not allowed to do that, Clark. You can’t die on us. You can’t leave me alone with our daughter.”

“Bruce, you wouldn’t be alone,” Clark says. “You have your family and-and the League.”

“It’s not the same. Don’t pretend it’s the same, Clark.”

“I’m not.”

“Then why are you saying that as if it is?”

Clark watches him closely. “I’m not saying it’s the same, of course, it’s not, Bruce,” Clark starts slowly. “But I can’t promise you that I won’t die.”

“Right. Says the immortal alien,” Bruce snaps.

“Bruce, don’t.” Clark reaches for Bruce’s hands. “Things hurt me.”

“I know that.”

“Things can kill me.”

Bruce pulls his hands away. “I know but it’s supposed to be harder.” Bruce points to himself. “I’m the vulnerable one, Clark. I’m the one that puts his life on the line. It’s not supposed to be like that with you. It’s not supposed to be as easy as it was today to hurt you.”

Clark looks confused now, his face morphed into a mixture of sympathy and puzzlement. “Bruce, what is this really about?”

Bruce swallows back the tears, wiping at his eyes. “Fuck.” Biting his bottom lip, Bruce takes a deep breath to get his composure back. “Wally should never have been out there, Clark.” He begins to feel his anger at the speedster returning. “I asked him if he was ready to be out there and he said he was going to be fine. He froze, Clark. He put you and everyone else’s lives in danger. He almost got you killed. And then Kyle comes to his defense and tells me that Wally’s been through a lot. Well, we’ve all been through a lot, Clark. That’s no excuse. He should have known better!”

It’s not until he is done, that Bruce realizes he had been shouting. Wiping a hand down his face, Bruce takes, yet again, a calming breath, shaking his head in disappointment at himself. He hadn’t meant for his temper to get the better of him. He hadn’t meant to yell at Clark or take his anger out on the alpha. But he felt like he was about to explode and had no other way of getting it out.

Clark is nodding slowly in understanding. “Don’t be too hard on Wally.” Bruce tsks and rolls his eyes. “I’m serious, Bruce. I’m the one who decided to get in front of the bullet.”

“And you should have known it was a Kryptonite bullet. It came from Luthor, Clark. Of course, that’s what it was,” Bruce says. “You should have let someone else handle it.”

“No one else would have gotten to Wally on time.”

Bruce throws his hands back. “So, then again, we’re back to Wally being at fault because he’s the one who froze.”

“Bruce-”

“Don’t, okay?” Bruce retorts. Bruce cups his forehead, closing his eyes. He whispers, “I just don’t want you to die, Clark. I don’t want you to leave me and Lara.”

“Bruce,” Clark says lowly, grabbing the hand that is on Bruce’s forehead and holding it. Bruce opens his eyes and looks Clark in his. “I can’t promise,” the alpha pauses briefly, “can’t guarantee, that I will always make it out of a fight alive. I just can’t. It’s the name of the game, Bruce, and you know that. And I know you don’t do well with loss,” Bruce huffs, “but there may be a time that you have to deal with it. I’m not going to abandon the League, I’m not going to stop saving people and fighting Earth invaders and Luthor and others, just to stay safe myself.” Clark grabs Bruce’s other hand. “I don’t want to die and leave you and Lara behind, Bruce, of course not. But it is a possibility and we need to accept that.”

“I don’t want to.”

Clark smiles warmly at him, small and loving. “I know you don’t. You never have with anyone. I was there after Jason died, remember? I saw how it affected you.”

“That nearly killed me,” Bruce whispers.

Clark’s smile softens even more, the alpha squeezing Bruce’s hands. “Bruce, listen to me. Yes, I might not make it out of a fight alive someday. Yes, you and Lara might lose me. But guess what, Bruce? One thing Lara will never lose, is you.”

“I want her to have both her parents.”

Clark sighs, sympathy shining in his eyes. “But that isn’t a guaranteed possibility. We have to live in reality here, Bruce. We’re superheroes. We put our lives on the line every day and invulnerable or not, we can die.” Clark places a hand on Bruce’s stomach. “She could lose me but she’ll still have one other parent, because you’re not going anywhere, Bruce. She’s not going to lose you even if she loses me. One parent is always better than zero, right?” Clark shrugs. “You and I should know that better than anyone. Do you think you’ll be able to accept that?”

“I’ll never be able to accept that.”

Clark sighs again. “Bruce-”

“But you’re right. I know you’re right. You can die. You can leave us. I need to deal with that possibility.” Bruce avoids eye contact. “It’s just hard. Too many people leave me, Clark.”

“Hey, I haven’t left you yet and I’m not saying it’s going to happen tomorrow or ever. We just can’t live in a world where we think it never will happen.”

“I know,” Bruce agrees. “This whole thing just… it worried me… scared me.” Bruce looks at Clark. “I love you, Clark.”

Clark cups Bruce’s cheek. “I love you too.”

Nodding, Bruce takes a deep breath. “I want to go back home. I’ve had enough of emotions for one day.”

Clark huffs a laugh, grabbing Bruce’s hand again and leading him out of the room. “Bruce Wayne, allergic to feelings.” Bruce playfully punches Clark in the shoulder.

A/N: Thanks for reading!!

#DC Comics #SuperBat #Superman #Batman #Clark Kent #Kal El #Bruce Wayne #A Life So Changed #My Fanfiction #sfw

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robininthelabyrinth · 7 years

Text

LOT fic: Mick's World

Fic: Mick's World (AO3 Link) Fandom: Legends of Tomorrow, Flash Pairing: mostly gen (Mick Rory/Leonard Snart main, Barry Allen/Leonard Snart but only if you really squint)

Summary: When Leonard Snart gets a hold of the Spear of Destiny, he doesn't turn it over to the Legion of Doom to do with as they wish.

He's a thief. He steals it for himself - and for his partner - instead.

It's Mick Rory's world now, and you're all just living in it.

(rewrite of Doomworld)

A/N: I wrote this in a fit of inspiration in the space of about an hour, so...please forgive the mistakes. They may be more than usual. @oneiriad, who needs to stop giving me all these fic ideas.

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

Len's humming to himself as he enters the warehouse where he stashed the guns and the diamond for the time being. His contact was as good as his word - he has a reliable location for Mick and a message out for delivery.

He has no doubt Mick will meet him at the crappy Keystone motel, despite the months since they last saw each other. They've always come back together, always, no matter the reason for the split.

They just need some time to cool off, that's all.

Len smirks at the pun.

Just as he walks in, though, he sees a crackle of lightning. Red lightning, not yellow, but no one's ever been able to fault Len's knee-jerk instincts.

He flips on the gun, aims, and shoots in one move.

He catches the speedster from the waist down.

It's definitely not the kid he saw earlier - an older man, about Len's age, blond. Looks like Len just gave him an unpleasant surprise.

There's laughter from the side of the room.

Len spins and aims the gun at the man who is stepping out of the darkness. White-haired, older, evil smirk.

Damien Darkh. Len's heard of him.

"It's good to see the stories I've heard about you aren't exaggerated," Darkh says. "Well done, Merlyn."

"I told you," Merlyn says smugly, stepping out from the other side.

"Didn't know I deserved this type of ambush," Len drawls. He's heard of Malcolm Merlyn, too, though he doesn't think he's ever heard of him working with Darkh.

"Nothing yet," Darkh says. "You see, we're more interested in your future exploits."

"I'm not in the market for a job."

"Not yet," Merlyn says. "But you end up taking one, and it kills you."

Len arches his eyebrows. Oh, that explains it.

They're all stark raving nuts.

"Speedsters can travel in time, Mr. Snart," the speedster says. He's still kicking frost off his feet. "As can time travelers. Two years from now, you sign up with one of the latter, along with your partner, Mick Rory. They lead you into a trap and convince you to sacrifice yourself."

"Doesn't sound like my speed," Len says, smirking at the speedster, who makes a pained face.

"I'm going to enjoy working with you," Darkh comments, also looking at the speedsters face.

"I didn't say I'd sign up."

"You get to prevent your future death at their hands," Merlyn says.

"Now that you've told me, I can do that on my own," Len points out.

"Yes," the speester says. "But then you won't be able to save your partner from their clutches, which is where he is - right now."

That gives Len pause. Mick's not a leader and he hates being alone - he wouldn't put it past a bunch of do-gooders to manipulate the fact of Len's death to fuck with Mick's perceptions, make him little better than the grunt that do-gooders always assume him to be.

"Fine," Len says. "Let's say I'm listening."

They know agreement when they hear it.

"First," Darkh says. "Let me tell you a little bit about the Legends, as they call themselves..."

Len doesn't like what he sees.

He doesn't like it at all.

He insists the Legion – Legion of Doom, what a ridiculous name; this Nate fellow is clearly no Cisco – show him some of their encounters with the Legends, but all he can see is Mick.

Mick, beaten down, drunk on a job – Mick is never drunk on a job – and listless.

Mick, being insulted and belittled by his crew.

“He won’t come with you straight away,” Thawne tells him. “You’ll have to be a bit more subtle.”

“I know how to handle my partner,” Len says coldly, and goes.

It’s easy enough to lure Mick out.

“My, my, my, how the mighty have fallen,” he drawls. He hopes to see the familiar phrase – one they bounce back and forth between them when they meet up again by surprise – spark some recognition, some life, in Mick’s eyes, but no. Nothing.

“You said that the last time you appeared,” Mick tells him.

Len has a moment of worry that this isn’t the first time the Legion has picked him up, but he puts it aside. His priority right now has to be Mick.

“I’m kind of in the middle of something,” Mick continues.

“Yeah, in the middle of being treated like a good little doggie to those insufferable wannabes.”

Mick ignores him.

Mick never ignores Len.

“Stay on mission now,” he mumbles to himself. “Gotta find this hobbit guy.”

“JRR Tolkien?” Len asks, blinking. He knew Tolkien was a WWI vet, but that seems like a bizarre mission even for the Legends, which seem to collectively have the mental capacity of gnats. Discounting Mick, of course; Mick wasn’t contributing. “Why? Hoping for an autograph?”

“I don’t even know who that guy is,” Mick blatantly lies.

Len gives him a look. There’s no way Mick forgot the epic marathon they did of the LOTR movies, much less the epic, epic marathon of all the Hobbit and LOTR movies. They’d both had wobbly knees after that just from sitting so long.

Why the hell is Mick playing the fool to Len?

Mick flushes a bit. “All I know is I gotta find this hobbit guy who knows the guy who's buried with Jesus' blood. Then we can destroy the Spear of Destiny.”

Oh. Well, that makes slightly more sense.

Not, you know, as much as going to talk to Tolkien in his nice, quiet university post twenty years in the future and then coming to a non-wartime period to pick it up, or even to go back to the middle ages where it was presumably buried, or anything like that.

As Len said: gnats.

“Mick, Mick, Mick,” he drawls. “When have we ever destroyed anything we’ve ever stolen?”

This time it’s Mick who gives Len the look.

Len grins. He’d put that out there deliberately as an error; he’s partners with Mick Rory. They destroy their scores plenty of times. Better ash than in a pig’s hand, after all.

“This is the most valuable score in the universe!” he continues. According to Thawne, anyway; this spear supposedly rewrote reality. Now that was value. “What have they done to you?”

He means it. Mick looks so lost, so sad, so tired.

For a second there, it looks like he’s getting through – but then Mick’s comm buzzes. “Steal us an ambulance, will you?” a woman’s voice orders.

“On it,” Mick grunts.

“Mick,” Len says. “What happened? What happened to the man who never took orders from anyone?” He pauses long enough for the except me to be heard, though not said. That's different. Mick agreed to that up front, and Len's done his best never to let him down because of it, though he sometimes screws up. “I respected the hell out of that guy.”

Mick flinches.

“Mick,” Len says again. “They’re treating you like a trained pet. Sit, Mick. Fetch, Mick. Good boy, Mick.” He barks at the end to emphasize it.

“I’m no one’s pet,” Mick growls.

“They don’t trust you,” Len shoots back. He’s seen them, the Legends. He’s seen how they treat Mick. “They may act all friendly to you, but they'll never trust you, never. When the chips are down, they'll look at you the same way they always have: as a thug.”

Mick flinches again. That barb struck home – Len can only imagine what they’ve done that made him act that way.

“You and me?” Len presses. “We're partners. I trust you. I respect you.”

“You’re dead,” Mick whispers.

“Take the Spear of Destiny, Mick,” Len urges him. “Use it for us.”

“There is no us,” Mick says, voice stronger. “You’re dead.”

“I don’t have to be!” Len exclaims. That’s the whole point of this stupid time travel nonsense, isn’t it? “With the spear, it’d be so easy to bring me back.” They could fix history so that they’re right back where they ought to be. Len won’t be a figment from the past, he’ll be real. It’ll be his future again, wide and open, instead of doomed to end in death.

Suckered by a hero. Fool to the last.

No, sir. Not Leonard Snart.

“You’re in my head,” Mick says stubbornly. “You’re an illumination.”

Len frowns. Mick thinks he’s… “A hallucination?”

“That’s it.”

Len feels the rage boil inside of him. Mick’s been hallucinating him, real enough for him not to be able to tell the difference. And the Legends have done nothing.

He punches Mick in the cheek. Not that hard – hard enough to bruise, but still pulling most of his strength. “Did that feel like a hallucination?” he snarls.

“I need to go,” Mick says, and backs off.

Len punches the side of the tent – it’s not as satisfying as wood, but does less damage to his hand – and returns to the Legion.

“Do you know what they’re up to?” Darkh asks. His eyes are avid. Greedy.

Lewis’ eyes looked like that.

“Yeah,” Len says, making a snap decision, the same sort he made when he decided to go up against the Streak one on one instead of backing off the diamond or finding a quiet way to pick it up. “Yeah, I know what they’re up to.”

It’s not until later, though, when he finds them in the church, Mick as listless as ever, that the decision becomes finalized.

“Pretty pathetic if you ask me,” he drawls. He’s never liked churches. His father dragged him to a few of them, unwilling to let his son follow his Jewish mother and only solidifying Len’s decision to reject Christianity. Ironic that he’s chasing a Christian trophy now.

“Mr. Snart?” the guy he’s been told is Rip Hunter says.

“You can see him,” Mick breathes.

Len’s heart hurts. Mick didn’t believe he was real, really didn’t, not until this moment. He can see it in Mick’s eyes.

“You’re supposed to be dead,” Hunter continues.

“Yeah, they told me all about how I get soft and die for you losers. I didn't believe them,” Len says.

He had, of course, once they’d shown him evidence. But it sets up –

“Believe who?”

- the perfect entrance line.

“Well, if that’s not an entrance line, I don’t know what is,” Darkh says.

Len sighs. Hanging a lampshade on it just ruins the whole effect, in his view.

“The Legion must have traveled back in time and picked up Mr. Snart before he joined the Legends,” Hunter says.

“He told us all about your plan on how you're going to destroy the spear,” Darkh says.

“Thanks for the tip, Mick,” Len adds. He says it more to see what’ll happen than anything else – whether the Legends will live down to his worst fears, or if there’s some glimmer of real comradery there.

But no.

They turn glares on Mick, blaming him already, and Mick stiffens up, expecting a verbal attack, saying “I didn’t think he was real” as if he can ward off future pain.

Oh, the Legends are going to pay for what they’ve done to his partner.

But in the ensuing fight, Len realizes – “You actually care about these losers!” he exclaims, staring at Mick.

Mick looks torn, but he turns and follows them instead.

Them, not Len.

“I guarantee they don’t care about you, Mick!” Len calls after him, letting him go. “They wouldn’t treat you this way if they did!”

Mick’s gone.

“Your plan working yet, Snart?” Thawne asks snidely.

Len turns on him. “Oh, it’s working,” he says. He’s really done with Thawne’s shit, and he’s barely known him more than a few days. “Don’t you worry. How about your little Merlyn’s job, huh? He living up to his end of things?”

“Of course he is,” Thawne sniffs.

“You’re the time traveler,” Len says. “Go find out.”

“He’ll meet us back in the Vanishing Point –”

“Sure he will,” Len drawls. “Because a time ship and a mystical book of spells would never result in a double cross. The Legions can always leave this time period and go to another one to find what they need, you moron.”

Thawne purses his lips. “Fine,” he says shortly. “I’ll go check in on him.”

“Bring a copy of the relevant few pages, will you?” Len says. “It’ll gives us a lead to where the Legends are going.”

He goes and returns within an hour.

“He’s found the Kalabros,” he reports smugly. “The word of god himself.”

“Owner’s manual for the Spear of Destiny," Darkh says, practically cackling.

“Does it have a map on it?” Len asks, letting all of his unimpressed disdain into his voice.

Thawne rolls his eyes and shoves the pages into Len’s hands. "I quick-copied them myself," he says.

Len looks at the pages. “No man’s land,” he says, recognizing it, and hands it back. “Let’s go get ‘em.”

Thawne flashes it out of his hands. “Wouldn’t want you looking too long and getting ideas about translating it,” he laughs.

Len rolls his eyes and hides a smile.

Joke’s on him.

Len’s got an eidetic memory.

More than that, though: he’s got a working knowledge of Hebrew, learned purely to spite his father, and Hebrew’s the language written right alongside the Aramaic in the book.

Written Hebrew hasn’t changed, not really, in at least two thousand years.

Len smiles.

They wait for the Legends to make their move – a ceasefire, really? – and Len and Darkh go to stop them.

“Hand over the spear or we kill you,” Darkh says. His eyes are glowing; he means it.

Len’s made them promise not to kill Mick, but right now? Right now Darkh would kill them all.

But Mick is the one holding the spear.

“Mick,” Len says.

Sara reaches for it.

Mick moves it away.

Yes.

“Hey, man,” Nate says. “We’re your friends.”

“I don’t have friends,” Mick says, accepting it at last.

“But he does have partners,” Len says with satisfaction. They’re friends, too, but friends has always been secondary. They’re partners: they’ll have each other’s backs, even when they hate each other. That’s what it means. “So what do you say? Partner?”

“Mick, you’re better than this,” Sara says. Her eyes are all wide and pleading, like a few last minute words can make up for months of neglect – and that’s just what the Legion has shown Len.

“No, actually,” Len drawls, “you’re not. They may pretend to believe in you as long as they can use you, but they'll just as soon let you die.” Len pauses, still bitter. “Same as they did me.”

They lead Len to the slaughter so he would die for them. They’ll do the same for Mick in a heartbeat.

Len’s not going to let that happen.

“He’s messing with your head, man,” one of them says.

“Ever since I've been on that ship, you people have been trying to change me,” Mick growls.

“That's not true, Mick.”

“Guess what?” he continues, ignoring her. “There are things about me I wanna change too.”

Sara’s eyes go cold. “Steel up, Nate,” she orders. “Stop him.”

“He does, you and animal chick die, but we still keep the spear,” Darkh says.

“And we’re gonna make all kinds of fun changes,” Len says with satisfaction. He’s got some in mind already.

“You bastard,” Amaya tells Mick.

Mick hesitates. “Come with me,” he offers her. Len arches his eyebrow. Maybe she was nicer than the others. Or maybe - oh, fine. If Mick really cares about them all that much, Len won't take brutal revenge on them, no matter how much he wants to. “The spear can help us fix your messed up future and my past.”

“Never,” she says, and Len can tell from how her face twists that she’s disdaining Mick now, for his choices.

Mick goes over to Len. By Len’s side, where he belongs.

“if you think we’re gonna let you walk out of here –” one of the Legends starts.

Len doesn’t care which one. He’s only got eyes for his partner. By his side again. “You’re right,” he says, putting his gun away. “We could use a distraction.” He pulls a grenade. “I hereby declare the armistice – over.”

He throws it.

Within minutes, there’s gunfire everywhere.

“Oh that’s just great,” Mick grumbles. “Now we’re all gonna die.”

“Mick, have I ever pulled a heist without a getaway plan?”

And then Thawne is there.

Len can see him coming, the blur of lightning on the hill.

“Get Darkh first,” Len yells to him. “Get him back to the ship!”

It makes literally zero sense to do that, of course, but as Len suspects, Thawne is moving too fast to use his critical thinking skills at the same time. Len’s on his side, Len’s proven himself, Len can be listened to, so he does it, spiriting Darkh away first.

“I wish it could’ve been different, Sara,” Mick is saying to her, his face wistful.

“I don’t,” Len says, striding towards Mick and grabbing the spear so that they’re both holding it. He puts his other hand on Mick’s arm. “And right now, it’s my wishes that matter.”

And he says the words that he saw on those pages, the Kalabros, the Word of God – owner’s manual to the Spear of Destiny – and the spear glows in response, brighter and brighter.

Thawne gets back to ‘rescue’ Len and Mick only in time to shout “No!” but it’s too late –

The Legends are running towards them, but they’re too late –

Time itself is spinning around them, the battlefield twisting in time, twisting, twisting –

Gone.

Central City.

They’re in the kitchen, of course.

Mick blinks.

“We’re in the kitchen,” he observes.

“I thought you’d want a beer,” Len replies. He goes to put the spear away. It’s still shining a bit, but it looks satisfied. A bit like a cat with the canary – or a man right after a really good orgasm –

Len hears the sound of Mick pulling open the gargantuan fridge while he pulls open the pantry and walks inside.

That’s a lot of food. He’s impressed with himself. The pantry, of course, leads to a secret door, and the pneumatic tube system next to the dumbwaiter. Len had seen them once and thought it was pretty cool. This version had a place for the spear to fit in.

Best of all, since it was a tube system, if he thought someone was about to find the spear, he could press a button and it’d go shooting along the tube system to the next stopping point. A moving target is the hardest type of target – which is of course why Len goes after them so often.

He slides the spear into place. “Don’t get too satisfied,” he tells it. “I’m probably going to need the rest of what I asked you for, so just hold it in reserve, yeah?”

The spear glows softly, almost like it’s confirming.

Len is pleased.

He goes back out of the pantry.

“You stocked the fridge with my favorite beer,” Mick says. He’s got one in front of him, open, and the makings of his favorite sandwich, but he’s not moving to make that sandwich. His eyes are glassy.

“Of course I did,” Len says. “Now eat up. We’re going to rob Central City National later.”

“We are?” Mick looks around the well-stocked kitchen as if seeing it for the first time.

There are four ovens, a full stove, two fridges and counterspace nearly everywhere. Overkill, in Len’s mind.

“This is my kitchen,” Mick whispers.

Len goes to him. “Yeah,” he says. The kitchen Mick rambles on about when he’s drunk, the one he always said he’d have someone build him if he ever got that one perfect score, the score of a life time. Every last detail that Len committed to memory, from the brand of the oven to the color of the marble countertops. “It’s your kitchen, Mick. I told you the Spear was the score of a lifetime.”

“You always have to be right,” Mick says. Both of them pretend to not notice him scrubbing his face. “We’re going to go do a job? Now?”

“It’ll make you feel better,” Len says. It always has. Mick’s not as much of an adrenaline junkie as Len, but damn if he doesn’t love it when they break the law. “And CC Nat is like taking candy from a baby.”

He pauses. “Well, usually. Did I ever get to tell you about this speedster fellow…?”

Mick snorts. “Yeah,” he says. “Oh, boy, did you. Guess they picked you up between you fighting him the first time and you giving me the heat gun, huh?”

“Yeah,” Len says.

“There was less than four hours in between the two,” Mick observes.

Len blushes for his older self’s eagerness. Sounds like him. “Yeah, yeah,” he says gruffly. “Speedsters; what can you do? Did I have a plan to figure out his identity yet?”

“You figured it out,” Mick confirms, then laughs when Len wrinkles his nose. His future self got to have all the fun! “And I know it now, too. We teamed up to fight the aliens.”

“Aliens?!” Len yelps. “What the hell did I miss?!”

Mick just starts laughing. It’s a good while before he stops.

Len just gives it up for a lost cause and gingerly wraps his arms around Mick. He never does this in public, of course, but they’re in their own damn house.

Mick buries his face into Len’s shoulder and just sobs for a bit.

Len doesn’t say anything. It’s better that way; that way they can both pretend this didn’t happen, later. That it hasn’t happened many times before.

“So,” Len says, when Mick’s finally stopped shaking. “Bank? And then dinner?”

“Dinner first,” Mick says. “I know you. We’ll get back, you’ll be high on adrenaline, and you’ll want nothing but pizza, and because we’re lying low, that means I gotta make it for you.”

Len shrugs. It’s a system! It works!

“Greens first.”

“Creamed spinach?” Len suggests hopefully.

Mick gives him a look. “Some things never change,” he grumbles, but the way his eyes crinkle up shows he doesn’t mean it. “And you’re getting sautéed spinach. With lots of garlic, so don’t start whining.”

“I’m the master of this city,” Len sniffs. “I will whine if I want to.”

The spinach is good. He doesn’t understand it. Must be the garlic.

Also, the Legion had shitty taste in take-out.

Len’s about halfway through when Mick yowls.

He’s up and out of his chair and down the hall before he can think twice, gun up and ready, only to find Mick…standing in the hallway?

“What is it?” Len asks, eyes darting from side to side.

“I – uh – I…”

“You good?”

“Yeah,” Mick says, shaking his head. “I’m good. I just – I thought I saw a – and this sounds crazy, I know – but I thought I saw a ninja?”

“Oh,” Len says. “That. Yes. I got you some.”

Mick blinks. “You…what?”

“Ninjas,” Len says. “You still like them, right?”

“Uh…yeah?”

“Good. I got you your own loyal-to-the-death squad of ninjas.” Len shrugs when Mick gapes at him. “They double as housecleaners?”

“Are you nuts?”

“I had the ability to change reality,” Len says. “So maybe I played around a bit.”

“You got me ninjas?”

“Ninja henchmen,” Len confirms.

“Ninja henchmen?”

“We’re supervillains, aren’t we?” Len says, shrugging. “You and me.”

“I just thought we’d go back to the way we were,” Mick says faintly.

“I’m working on that part,” Len assures him. “The spear said that too many memories all at once would be disruptive, so it’ll seep in over the next day or so.”

Mick frowns at him. “Memories?”

“You’ve had a lot of experiences without me,” Len points out. “I gave you the heat gun, we teamed up again, all that stuff. Hardly fair if you remember it and I don’t. So I asked for those memories – the next two years – back.”

Mick swallows hard.

“I know I’m not the Len you lost,” Len says gently. “But give me a few days, and I’ll be him again.” He wrinkles his nose. “Though hopefully I’ll keep enough of my mind not to let a group of heroes convince me to kill myself for them.”

“You didn’t,” Mick whispers.

Now it’s Len’s turn to blink. “What?”

“You didn’t,” Mick swallows. He reaches for his chest and pulls out a chain, with a ring. Len’s ring, the old one from their very first job together. “You didn’t kill yourself for them. You killed yourself because I was going to do it, and you wouldn’t let me.”

Len considers this face. “Oh,” he says after a few long moments. “Well, that makes a lot more sense.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Mick says wretchedly. “I hurt you – you hurt me – we were fighting –”

“You’re my partner,” Len says, because it really is that simple, in the end.

Mick has to swallow a few more times and rub some more at his eyes. “Okay,” he says after a while, his voice harsh. “Let’s – let’s go rob a bank.”

They go out.

“Leonard Itzhak Snart,” Mick says flatly. “What the fuck is that?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Len says. He aims for innocent. It doesn’t work. Mick has pulled out the full name.

“What. Is. That?”

“Are you referring to the new low-cost housing units I installed all through the slumzones?” Len asks, blinking innocently. They’re called the ‘Fire & Ice Projects’, and they’re legally protected from being demolished for condos or rent rises, at least for the next few years.

“No, you idiot,” Mick growls. “I’m referring to the fucking supervillain lair you decided we live in!”

Len turns and beams at their house. It’s awesome.

“It’s a goddamn castle!” Mick howls.

“Please. It has laser defenses.”

“It has a moat! With sharks!”

“You’re the one who wanted to leave his life savings to an endangered shark sanctuary!”

“Sharks!”

“I didn’t put lasers on their heads,” Len says. “This is restraint on my part.”

“How the hell doesn’t the Flash just come and pick us up here?” Mick asks, shaking his head.

“It’s an embassy,” Len replies promptly.

Mick buries his face in his hands. “It’s an embassy,” he says hollowly. It’s okay. Len knows that tone. It means Mick’s about to fall over laughing.

“Well, the Legion did pick me up from history and enable me to steal the spear from them,” Len says with a shrug. “They should’ve known better than to trust a thief.”

“I can’t believe you,” Mick says. “What did you do with them?”

“Well, Thawne wanted to be famous and respected and not dead – he was being hunted by something called the Black Flash – and Darkh wanted to be in charge of a city or country, as did Merlyn, and they all wanted their families back – so I gave them their own country. As co-rulers.”

“Co-rulers,” Mick says, his voice marginally squeaky. “Them.”

“Yeah, I’m not seeing it go well,” Len says, smirking. “I did give ‘em their families back, though. Least I could do, since I took their magic and speed away.”

“Co-rulers,” Mick repeats, and shakes his head. “Where did you put them? Australia?”

“No, I like Australia,” Len says. “I gave ‘em the Great and Independent State of Texas.”

That’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Mick needs to sit down, he’s laughing so hard.

Len grins.

Robbing the bank is fun.

Central City First National Bank – CC Nat, to those in its immediate vicinity – is a long-standing favorite target of Len’s, mostly because its security is never updated and its depositors never learn. It’s practically an invitation to get your money paid back by the FDIC.

It’s a lot more fun when he has the Streak to contend with.

“Since when does the Streak have a sidekick?” he asks Mick.

“Flash,” Mick corrects. “He hasn’t been called the Streak – well, since your time.”

Len gets a vague flash of memory. “We put him on TV?” he asks.

“That’s right,” Mick says, smiling. “Sidekick’s Kid Flash, I think.”

“Excellent,” Len says, and charges up his gun. “You know the plan?”

Mick grins. “I know the plan.”

The plan goes pretty well – they manage to get away with about a quarter of the intended take, which Len is counting as a victory. The Flash is a tough enemy.

“That went well,” he tells Mick.

“It did,” Mick says, bouncing a little on his feet with adrenaline as they drive into the lair. “That was fun. I haven’t had fun since…well, it’s been a while. You know there’s a statute of me in Washington DC?”

“No, really?”

“Saved Washington’s life.”

“Nice,” Len says. “Do I get to remember that?”

“No, you were gone,” Mick says, but the pain in his eyes every time he mentions it is already fading. “But I’ll tell you all about it.”

“You’d better.”

There’s a flash of lightning – yellow, not red – and suddenly the Flash is standing there in their living room.

Mick starts to reach for his gun, but Len catches his arm. “Relax,” he says.

“What’re you up to, boss?” Mick asks.

“Just a little twist,” Len says proudly.

“Not much of one,” Barry says, pushing his cowl back. He grins at them. “Apparently, superhero versus supervillain fights are legal now, even if the actual thieving you guys do isn’t. Thanks for that. Makes my life easier.”

Len arches his eyebrows. “I don’t remember specifying us being friends,” he drawls. His instructions had been slightly more ‘favored pet nemesis’, really…

“Speedster,” Barry says. “I keep my memories pretty well. Cisco, too, thanks to his Vibe powers. We became friends, you know.”

“You’re kidding.”

“…exaggerating a bit,” Barry concedes. “But we worked together sometimes! Or, well, Mick and I did!”

Mick nods.

“So, I mean, my fake memories mostly say that after battles I come here and we hang out and critique each other,” Barry says, beaming. “Which even though I know they’re fake sounds pretty good to me. Did you actually put a huge amount of low-income housing in the slums?”

“You ought to see what I did to the politicians,” Len says, a little proudly.

“I’m more impressed by the fact that all the Families defer to you now,” Barry says. He is Barry, now that Len thinks about it; he doesn’t remember getting the memory of learning the kid’s name back, but it’s coming back. They definitely knew each other.

“The Families?” Mick asks.

“I may have named myself the Godfather of Central City,” Len confesses.

Mick snorts. “I’m not surprised,” he says.

“Really?”

“You did it last time, too.”

“I look forward to remembering that…”

Barry looks between the two of them and shakes his head. “Let’s postpone the hang-out till tomorrow, huh?” he says with a smile. “You two need to catch up. Though you probably want to talk to the Legends first.”

Mick’s back straightens. “The Legends,” he says cautiously.

“They’re still rebuilding their ship,” Barry says.

Mick turns to Len.

“I would’ve punished ‘em,” Len says. “For treating you that way. But you seemed to really care about ‘em, so I left ‘em be.” He thinks. “I did steal a bit of their ship, though. Just to fuck with 'em.”

“I want to see them,” Mick says.

“What you want, you get,” Len says. He’s always believed it to be true, but now –

Now he can really do it.

“Where’s Lisa?” Mick asks as they’re driving down the streets of Central on his bike, Len taking the time to enjoy being curled up against Mick’s back.

“Three-time Olympics champion in figure skating,” Len says. “Also recently named Queen of Norway. Almost certainly leaving me nasty voice messages on my phone right now.”

Mick sniggers.

“I got her a private island in the Caribbean. She should stop whining.”

“You spoil her.”

“I mean to spoil you, too,” Len says. “Is it working?”

“Yeah, Lenny,” Mick says fondly. “It’s working.”

They come to a stop in front of the Legends’ ship.

The Waverider. Len remembers that now, just a word with no images, but the images will come.

“Mick?” Sara asks, climbing out. “Mick, is that you?”

The rest of the Legends come out behind her.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Mick says, crossing his arms. “I ain’t sorry about it, neither.”

“The only changes made to the world appear to be the inclusion of a castle and a great deal of low income housing, as well as city-wide free healthcare and a better metro system,” Stein says. “I’m not entirely sure what you have to be sorry about.”

“Looking up the changes to the world has been a bit like spending a year hunting down a bad guy,” Jax says, looking bemused, “and then at the end he turns around and hands you cake. Good cake. Cake which is not a lie.”

“It is a bit of one,” Len says. “But you’d never know it.”

“You didn’t change a lot,” Sara says.

“I gave the Waverider some new guns,” he offers.

“And a second jump ship,” she says. “We noticed. Uh. Thanks. I guess?”

Len shrugs. “Mick liked you,” he says. “And I did too, apparently. I’m still pissed at all of you for what I saw when I was with the Legion, but I’m willing to hold off until I get all my memories back to judge.”

“Memories?” Rip asks.

“I’m getting all my memories until I died back,” Len says. “Obviously.”

Sara swallows. “Len,” she says. “The spear – the changes don’t ring in the timeline as aberrations.”

“No, they don’t. That’s how the spear works.”

She swallows again. “Could you bring Laurel back?” she asks.

“Laurel?” Len asks.

“Her sister,” Mick says.

“Could you make Lily not an aberration?” Stein asks eagerly.

“Rex,” Amaya whispers. “Rex could be not dead…”

“Just make me a list,” Len says helplessly.

When they go home, Len retrieves the spear, which is glowing as if to say “Already?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Len mutters. “Last few changes. Okay. Let’s try to make as few nasty impacts to the timeline as possible, okay?”

The spear purrs approvingly.

“Laurel Lance is hereby resurrected from the dead, her body and soul whole and entire. This is due to someone dropping a magic one-use-only artefact on her grave and then digging her up; she won’t wake up until she’s free to oxygen.”

Mick arches his eyebrows.

“Reduces trauma,” Len tells him. “Vampire movies and Buffy all agree.”

Mick rolls his eyes.

“Lily Stein is no longer an aberration. Jefferson Jackson is hereby to return from the secret mission to space he has been on these last twenty years after the government faked his death…”

“Secret mission to space,” Mick says dryly.

“I’ve quadrupled NASA’s budget twice over,” Len says with dignity. “As it should be.”

“I’m not even commenting.”

Len shakes his head. “Rex Tyler, Hourman, was only injured by Eobard Thawne’s attack on him, enough to convince Amaya Jiwe to board the Waverider in hopes of finding his attacker,” he says. “His body was then…uh…kidnapped by aliens, who healed him and put him in stasis.”

“The Dominators,” Mick suggests.

Len shoots him a look.

“I didn’t name ‘em.”

“Okay. Fine. He was kidnapped by the Dominators, who put him in stasis so he would heal but not age. He came back to earth when they did on their spaceships in…”

“Last year.”

“…last year. Really?!”

“You missed a lot. Finish using the spear.”

“Right, right. So when the Dominators came to earth this time, he was rescued by Oliver Queen –“ Sara had mentioned him earlier. “- who hid him in his laboratory until he woke up, which would be right about now. Mick, remind me to tell Barry to call Oliver and tell him to bring Rex over so he can go off and be in a nice happy threesome with Amaya and Nate.”

“Will do,” Mick says.

“Amaya Jiwe, while serving in the JSA, donated her eggs in a ground-breaking new process to another person in her village, who bears the woman who will be her daughter and her granddaughter Mari’s mother. And – oh, just give her a duplicate totem. Long lost twin or something, recently found.”

The spear glows.

Len shakes his head. “That’s enough for now,” he says. “Thanks.”

The spear glows again.

He puts it away.

“Now is everybody happy?” he asks Mick. “Except the Legion and Rip, of course, who are just having existential issues.”

“I’m going to invite Oliver and Felicity to the next hero and villain movie night,” Mick says.

“You do that,” Len says with a sigh. He did not specify movie nights, but apparently he’s got them now.

“Until then, though,” Mick says, and wraps an arm around Len’s shoulders. “I’ve got an idea.”

“Does it involve dessert?” Len says hopefully.

“It does,” Mick says, smirking. “Your favorite type.”

“I actually meant funfetti cake,” Len says, “but I suppose I’ll take you as an acceptable alternative.”

Mick snorts. “You had the ability to do anything at all with the Spear of Destiny and you chose to make me a paradise,” he tells Len. “I think your fondness for me is showing.”

Len sniffs. “It is not.”

“Want to bet if I can make it show?”

Len’s not taking that bet.

That’s a sucker’s bet, and Leonard Snart, ladies and gentlemen, is nobody's fool.

#my fic #dccoldwave #coldflash #mick rory #leonard snart #barry allen #legion of doom

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seiya-starsniper · 7 years

Text

What’s in a Name?

Read on Ao3: [Link]

It was no secret that Nate and Ray were head over heels, over the moon in love with one another. They worked well together on missions (when they weren't messing things up), they were excellent sparring partners, and they knew exactly how to motivate one another to do better. Their constant playful ribbing wasn't fooling anyone either, anyone could see that they were flirting.

The problem was that it seemed obvious to everyone on the Waverider except for them. The worst part though, was the pet names.

It had started out innocently enough. Mick and Len were the first to start out with nicknaming other members of the crew, and then after Len had died, Ray had started doing it too. But then Nate came on the ship, and then he and Ray had taken to reaffirming their 'bro' status at every opportunity.

"If I have to listen to them calling each other 'bro' again, I'm going to start shooting at them," Mick says one day over dinner with Sara and Jax.

"This is your fault, you know Mick," Jax huffs, rolling his eyes as they watch Nate and Ray once again start play punching each other.

"My fault?!" Mick barks back indignantly.

"Yeah, if you hadn't given everyone nicknames, Ray wouldn't have started doing it after he started hanging out with you all the time, and then we wouldn't have to keep hearing about 'bro hugs' and 'bro bonding' and 'bro fights'", Jax asserts. Mick looks to Sara for support, but the blonde only shrugs in agreement with Jax.

"I usually stick to one name, Haircut seems to have a whole book of 'em, you can't pin this on me," the arsonist counters before shoveling another cinnamon bun into his mouth.

"Either way, if this," Sara gestures to the two men, who have now taken to play wrestling. "...continues, we may need an intervention."

Even Martin has grown weary of Nate and Ray's obnoxious flirting. Not only are they distracting one another during missions, but their "sibling rivalry" has escalated into the labs where the scientist used to be able to do his research in peace. Nowadays, he's stuck listening to Ray trying to show off his scientific knowledge, while Nate tries to goad him into doing live demonstrations.

Martin begins to wonder if he was ever this insufferable when he was trying to impress Clarissa. He certainly hopes not.

"We could lock them in a closet and wait for them to finally come out...literally," Jax says after Ray and Nate have accidentally caused an explosion.

"Jefferson, I don't think that will stop the nicknames or their current behavior. It might just make things worse."

Martin's right. After Nate and Ray finally realize their feelings for one another, their behavior and the pet names definitely get worse. Astronomically worse.

"Hey pumpkin, could you pass me that map over there?" Nate asks one day while he and Ray are investigating a potential time aberration in the library. Sara's trying hard to pretend she didn't just hear something so grossly domestic on a time traveling spaceship.

"Of course babe," Ray practically sings. Sara makes a note to go back through the security footage of the ship because otherwise no one will believe her when she tells them Ray just skipped to the maps.

"You're the sweetest," Nate coos when Ray brings him what he needs. Ray blushes so hard Sara's sure the scientist increased the library's temperature at least a few degrees. If the historian wasn't distracted before, he is now and Sara really doesn't have time to watch them make eyes at each other, not when she needs results fast.

"Hey pumpkin!" she calls out mockingly, completely destroying whatever moment they're currently having. "You're needed out front."

Ray's making dinner in the kitchen and Nate's trying his best to help but he's too distracted by how cute his lover looks in an apron. Amaya sighs for the what feels like the thousandth time after Nate knocks over yet another bowl of ingredients. At this point, the team wouldn't be getting dinner until the following morning.

"You know, maybe it's better if you stay outside the kitchen. You've got a pretty bad case of butterfingers there and you haven't even touched the butter," Ray interjects when Nate drops an entire carton of eggs.

"No! Come on, I swear I can be help-" Nate's barely gotten his defense in before he's dropping the flour, causing a cloud of smoke to erupt between the two of them. Amaya's expecting to hear a fight break out now, but instead the two of them burst out laughing.

"Nate you silly goose," Ray says affectionately once the two of them have calmed down a bit.

A beat. "I'm your silly goose though," Nate grins.

"That you are, darling," Ray replies.

Neither man hears Amaya dramatically exiting the kitchen.

Ray is helping Jax with repairs to the ship's jump drive when Nate comes searching for him.

"Hey Ray-ray, you wanna go spar for a few rounds?" the historian asks. "If I keep staring at these texts I'm going to drive myself insane."

Ray-Ray? Jax thinks. Seriously? They were going to need to have a talk about this soon. That, and the fact that while they two of them may not be as physically affectionate nowadays (those first few weeks were unbearable), if Jax had to sit and watch them stare at each other doe eyed for one more second, he was going to toss them both out the cargo bay doors.

Ray looks to Jax for permission to leave, and the mechanic waves him off. The repairs were pretty much done anyway.

"Let's go sugar plum!" the scientist exclaims and the two of them race off to their sparring session.

"...in what universe is Nate is goddamn sugar plum," Jax groans to the now empty engine room.

It doesn't take long for things to come to a head. Sara's pretty sure Nate and Ray have gone through every imaginable pet name in the English language, and a few in German and French. If she had forgotten Nate spoke multiple languages before, she definitely wasn't going to ever again.

They're making a plan for what to do next about the Legion of Doom (Sara still hates that name but Nate's worn everyone down). Normally, Ray and Nate are on the same page, but this time, they're arguing about who should be the decoy for the speedster.

"I'm just saying, that I look more like their target, so it really should be me that goes," Ray argues but Nate's having none of it.

"Well, that's sweet of you honeycake, but I really think..."

"HOW MANY NICKNAMES CAN YOU HAVE FOR EACH OTHER OH MY GOD!" Jax yells from across the room.

An awkward silence descends upon everyone.

"...Oh come on," Nate laughs awkwardly after a few moments. "It's not that bad..."

"Do you two even know each other's names anymore?" Amaya snaps at them. "Because I sure don't."

"You two are allowed one pet name each and that's it," Mick growls before either of them have a chance to defend themselves.

"What?! How are we supposed to just pick one?" Ray sputters.

"Easy. That's Pretty, and you're Haircut. If I can pick just one for each of you, then you can too."

"But we don't even like..."

"One. Nickname. Each. Capiche?" Sara cuts in. Ray looks like he wants to say something more but he shuts his mouth instantly when he notices the seriousness in her glare. The pair share a look of understanding before nodding their reluctant agreement.

"Good, now let's get back to planning."

Nate eventually comes up with the perfect nickname for Ray. It happens after a mission when Ray makes a dramatic entrance to save the rest of the team when they've been captured.

Combat is normally not the scientist's strong suit, however, today he's on point. He does everything right, and Nate is pretty sure he's falling in love all over again.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Nate says once they've all been freed. "Like super amazing. You're like, like a super amazing man! No wait! A Superman!"

"Really?" Ray says eyes shining. "You really think so?"

The historian looks far too pleased and the rest of the team knows that unless they do something about it now, Ray's going to latch onto this new nickname faster than a speeding bullet and never let it go.

"We're not changing your name to Superman," Mick interrupts before the two of them can take the thought any further. "It sounds stupid. Just like Supergirl."

"But..."

"No." Sara says with finality. "You're the Atom. That's it. You don't get a second chance at a superhero name."

"Aw man."

Nate still calls him his Superman in private though. And that's enough for Ray.

I’m dedicating this to @kiras-sunshine because they’re wonderful and lovely <3 And also to my nickname anon! I’m sorry this is so late, but I hope you like it!

#steelatom #palmersteel #atomsteel #ray palmer #nate heywood #mystuff #my fanfic #seiya writes

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