Work Text
Bang! Crash! Clang!
Y/N groaned as she was rudely awoken from her peaceful sleep. Warm sunlight was peeking in between the curtains of her bedroom window. That explained it. In a house with a dozen Rogues, if the sun was up, someone was causing some sort of racket. This morning it sounded like someone, probably Mick, banging around in the kitchen.
She sighed, swinging her legs off the side of the bed and reaching for her phone. Instead of it, however, she found an envelope. When she opened it, she found a note written in her boyfriend's neat, loopy handwriting.
Good morning, my love, this day's like no other. Get up and get dressed. Then, go see your brother-L
Y/N smiled, slightly puzzled, as she went to get dressed. In all the time she had been with Leonard Snart, he had never been one for cheesy, romantic gestures, but who was she to look a gift horse in the mouth? She decided just to roll with it as she emerged from her room wearing her favorite T-shirt and jeans. As she walked down the hall toward Hartley's room, she pulled her red hair into a ponytail.
When she arrived at the door, she found it closed.
Kid must still be asleep
. She thought, recalling her little brother's penchant for sleeping late.
She knocked a couple of times and waited. After a moment, she heard some shuffling.
“What?” came Hartley's muffled, slightly annoyed voice through the door.
Knowing this was as close to an invitation as she was going to get, she phased through the door into the room. Upon entering, Y/N found herself on the receiving end of a glare from her adoptive brother who, at the moment, resembled a four-year-old who had been woken from his nap.
“I hate you.” he huffed as she flopped down beside him on the bed.
“No you don't! I'm your favorite sister!” she quipped back, reaching out to ruffle his sleep-rumpled hair.
“You're my only sister, Screech.” he said, receiving a flick to the forehead for using his annoying nickname for her. “Fine, I hate your boyfriend, though. He woke me up an hour ago and told me to give you this and tell you to wear comfortable shoes.”
He handed her an envelope identical to the first and leaned his head on her shoulder. Opening the envelope revealed another clue.
The day that we met may not have been groovy, But go see the friend we both made in juvie.- L
Mick
she thought with a grin.
“Well, Hart, looks like I'm going on an adventure!” Y/N mused, pecking him on the cheek and getting off the bed.
“Great, now get out so I can sleep.” he said yanking the blanket over his head.
As she phased back through the door and into the hall, a muffled “Have fun!” came from behind her.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Rereading the poem as she made her way downstairs, Y/N couldn't help but get lost in the memory of meeting Mick.
Fourteen
That's how many years it had taken her life to fall apart. That's how many rich people she had pickpocketed at that party. Now, it's how many months she was stuck in this hellhole.
It was all her father's fault. He was a dirty cop. That was all well and fine until her mother died. After that, he got sloppy, then he got caught, leaving Y/N and her older brother Jackson to fend for themselves.
Jackson did everything he could to make sure the two of them got by. He worked two jobs and made sure Y/N stayed out of trouble (mostly), all while taking night classes at the community college. He acted like it didn't bother him, but she could see how exhausted he was. She knew she had to do something. Flash forward to a museum soiree where her hand ended up grabbing the wallet of the police commissioner.
So, here she stood, in the yard at the Central City Juvenile Detention Center.
One glance around the area told Y/N she was going to need a friend or two if she was going to make it out of here without getting beaten up or stabbed. All around the yard rough looking teenagers stood in groups glaring at her, except for one. The largest boy in the yard, seemingly, took no interest in her. He was, instead, leaning with his back against a wall staring intently at the lit match in his hand. Y/N smirked as she strode toward him.
Leaning against the wall beside the boy, Y/N uninterestedly examined her fingernails.
“Hey,” she said, glancing over at the boy.
He was taller than her, with broad shoulders and a solid build. His hair and eyes were dark and he seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face. As his match burned out he looked over at her, taking in her small frame and fiery red hair.
“Get lost Little Red.” he growled at her, turning his attention to something across the yard.
Ok, she thought, Plan B.
Pulling a pudding cup from her jacket pocket, she held it out to him.
“Pudding?” she offered. “Nicked an extra one when the lunch lady wasn't looking.”
He looked between the pudding and her face a few times. After a moment he seemed to make a decision and reached out to take it.
“My name's Y/N.” she said. “Mick" the boy replied, sitting down to eat his pudding.
Two weeks later,
Y/N and Mick sat against the same wall playing cards. Looking up from her cards, Y/N realized Mick was staring at something behind her. From the look on his face, he didn't like what he saw. Turning around, she immediately realized what her friend was looking at.
One of the larger boys, Sean, had pinned the new arrival- Liam? Lincoln? Whatever- to the ground and was currently attempting to break his nose. The smaller boy was trying to fight back, but he was clearly outmatched. Laying her cards down, Y/N stood up and started to head toward the fight. Before she made it five feet, Mick grabbed her arm.
“What the hell are you doing, Red?” he asked.
“Going help him.” she replied.
“Why? You don't know him!”
“I know that if I hadn't met you, that could've been me!” she shot back, yanking her arm from his grasp. “I'm gonna help him. You can stay here if you want, Mickey!”
As Y/N turned and jogged toward the two boys on the ground, she heard Mick's heavy footsteps behind her.
She smirked as she approached the fight. This was going to be interesting.
“Hey, dipshit!” she called.
Keeping the smaller boy pinned under him, Sean turned his head toward her.
“Oh, would you look at that?” he said, grinning menacingly at his victim, “Look like the cavalry's arrived! What are you gonna do,
girly
?”
“Oh nothing,” Y/N replied, taking a few steps toward him. “Just this!”
She swung and landed a right hook to Sean's jaw, causing him to lose his balance. The other boy took this moment to roll out of the way as he tried to catch his breath. Sean stood up, fuming as he turned toward Y/N.
“That's it, short stack! Now your gonna get it!” he said, balling his fists up.
Just as Sean's large fist began moving toward her face, an even larger hand grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm behind his back.
“How about you try picking on someone your own size, punk?” Mick growled, shoving Sean so he landed on his face in the dirt.
He looked up at Mick like he was going to reply. Mick just glared down at the bully, who seemed to decide against retaliating in favor of stomping away muttering about stupid new kids. As they watched him storm away , Y/N clapped Mick on the shoulder and turned toward the smaller boy.
Kneeling down so she could get a better look at him, Y/N realized he was actually quite handsome. He had dark short hair that curled just below his ears. His eyes were startlingly blue, like two crystal clear lakes in the sun. His nose was bleeding heavily from where Sean had landed a couple of punches, but he still had a cocky half-smile on his thin pink lips.
“Thanks,” he said, taking a napkin Y/N offered him and wiping at the blood, “I could've taken him on my own.”
“Right,” she said, rolling her eyes with a smile. “You were just waiting on your moment.”
“Exactly!” he said, returning her smile. “Name's Leonard.”
“I'm Y/N and that's Mick. You should probably stick with us or you'll probably die in here.”
“Alright,” Leonard said with a shrug.
Pulling herself out of the memory, Y/N walked into the kitchen. Lisa was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and fiddling with her phone. She smirked knowingly as Y/N plopped down
and stole a sip of her coffee. Mick was standing at the stove scrambling eggs.
“Mornin', Red.” he grunted, putting some eggs on a plate.
“Morning, Mickey,” she said. “Hey, did Lenny give you a-"
Her question was cut off by Mick sliding her a plate of food.
“Eat that and I'll tell you what you want to know.” he said, an unusual warmth in his eyes.
Y/N rolled her eyes, but quickly dug into the eggs. Ten minutes later, she looked over at Mick with so much hopeful anticipation, she was practically vibrating. Mick chuckled at her enthusiasm and pulled an envelope out of his pocket.
“Here, Snart didn't say much, but he told me to give you that and make sure you ate breakfast.” he said before sitting down with his own food.
Y/N opened the envelope and read the note while Mick and Lisa planned a new heist.
Before I met you, my life was much duller. Your next clue can be found with the master of color.-L
Standing from the table she turned toward the other two.
“Do you guys know where Roy is?” she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“Yeah,” Lisa replied, looking up at her with a smile. “I think he's in the backyard.”
“Thanks!” Y/N called as she headed out the backdoor.
“Have fun!” Mick and Lisa yelled as the door snapped shut behind her.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Standing on the back porch, Y/N scanned the yard for Roy. She finally spotted him leaning against a big tree by the
privacy fence that separated them from the neighbors. Bouncing down the steps, she noticed the spring air felt humid.
It's probably going to storm later,
she thought with a frown.
Great
As she stood there thinking, she was overwhelmed by the memory of another humid spring day that led to a storm, the day the STAR Labs particle accelerator explosion.
After getting out of juvie, Y/N cleaned up her act (mostly). She got a job to help Jackson with the bills and started working harder in school. (She also lifted the occasional wallet, but nobody's perfect!) She did so well, it came as no surprise when she was offered a scholarship to Central City University.
One night as she was walking back to her apartment, it started raining. Y/N ran towed her building, desperate to escape the downpour. As she stopped to let a car pass before crossing the street, she noticed something strange. The rain was going up! Stopping to marvel at the phenomenon, she didn't notice the loud
BOOM
until it was too late.
A blast of energy sent Y/N flying through the air. The redhead screamed and shut her eyes as she collided with the brick wall of a building, but the impact never came. Opening her eyes , the girl found herself in a dark room lit by a small lamp in the corner. Turning around, she found a solid brick wall identical to the one she had hit outside.
“How did I get in here?” Y/N wondered as she reached out to touch the wall.
Just as her fingertips brushed the surface, she felt a tingling and a chill ran up her arm as her hand disappointed through the brick. She screamed and yanked her hand back. At the sound of her shriek, the single lamp in the room exploded. Sitting in the, now pitch black, room, Y/N began to panic.
What was happening? What was wrong with her? How could she do these things?
Not wanting to be caught in an unfamiliar building while she tried to answer these questions, she dove back through the wall and dashed across the street and into her apartment.
In the following days, the story came out. The STAR Labs particle accelerator had exploded and sent a wave of dark matter energy through the city. Most people hadn't been affected by it. There were a few reports of people developing strange abilities. Worst of all, people had died, people like Jackson.
Losing her brother nearly crushed Y/N. Jackson was the only person in the world that still cared about her. The only thing that kept her going after his death was knowing that he would want her to graduate. The only problem was her part time job didn't pay enough to cover her tuition and she couldn't work full time and go to class.
That was how she found herself crouched in a bush behind the lavish mansion of Osgood and Rachel Rathaway, watching as their car exited the long driveway. Word had gotten out that the rich assholes had thrown their son out for telling them he was gay. She figured they deserved a little payback, so she planned to relieve them of some of their precious “old money.” Walking up to the back door, Y/N scoffed at the security panel and phased through the door, leaving the alarm untripped.
Standing in the massive kitchen, the ginger rolled her eyes at the sheer number of complicated gadgets that she saw around the room. She began to make her way through the house, checking each room for valuable trinkets. Coming to a halt in the middle of a hallway, Y/N thought she heard footsteps coming toward her and dove through the nearest wall.
As she emerged on the other side, she realized two things. First, she was in some sort of study that had a safe on the wall. Second, she was not alone. There was someone crouched behind the large mahogany desk, but all Iris could see was the top of a head covered in short silver hair. Feeling bold, she smirked and cleared her throat, gaining the other thief's attention. The shot up from behind the desk and Y/N found herself staring into a pair of familiar blue eyes.
“Leonard?” she said, taking a cautious step forward.
“Y/N?" he whispered back, his eyes wide in shock.
“What're you-" she started before the door behind her opened.
“Snart what's the holdup?” a gruff voice asked as a large burly man entered, stopping short as he noticed Y/N.
“Mickey?” Y/N said with a surprised smile.
“Red?” Mick replied.
Just then, an alarm started blaring.
“Shit!” all three thieves said.
“Do you guys trust me?” Y/N asked, moving toward the men.
“Always have, kitten.” Leonard drawled, a smirk.
Y/N rolled her eyes at the nickname, but grabbed both their hands and moved toward the outside wall.
“Then hold on and follow me!” she said, pulling them both through the wall and outside.
Pulling herself back to the present, Y/N stood next to Roy as he sat under the tree drawing She nudged his foot with the toe of her boot to alert him to her presence. He glanced up at her before returning his eyes to his sketchbook.
“Just a second.” he said.
She leaned against the tree watching a flock of birds as they soared overhead. She looked down when she felt a tap to her knee.
“What do you think?” Roy asked, holding his sketchbook out to her.
Y/N crouched down to take a better look at the drawing. The scene depicted a beach at night, a dark sky with the moon gorgeously reflected in the sea below. She smiled as she handed the book back.
“It's beautiful, Roy!” she said, her voice full of sincerity.
“Thanks,” he replied with a small smile. “Snart left this for you, by the way.”
Y/N thanked him as she took yet another envelope. Tearing it open presented her with another poem.
I'm gonna love you, now and forever. Your next clue is with Boo where we first worked together.-L
Y/N waved goodbye to Roy as she began through the gate and out of the yard. She was not at all surprised when a “Have fun!” reached her ears.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Smiling to herself, she began the short walk to the Central City Museum. As she walked, her mind was overtaken by yet another memory.
After escaping the Rathaway mansion, Y/N, Leonard, and Mick had gone back to the boy's current safehouse where Y/N had explained everything. After a few hours of catching up, she went back to her apartment, leaving them her number and telling them to keep in touch. Two weeks later, she was studying for an exam when her phone rang.
“Yeah,” she said, answering the phone without taking her eyes off the textbook in front of her.
“Lovely to hear your voice too, kitten.” snarked the voice on the other end.
Closing her book, Y/N leaned back in her seat with a smirk on her lips.
“Well, well, Leonard Snart, to what do I owe the pleasure?” she asked, a note of tearing in her voice.
“I had a proposition for you.”,he replied, “Mick and I are working a job tomorrow night. We could use your… help.”
“Color me intrigued.” she mused, crossing her legs.
Leonard chuckled on the other end of the line.
“You get to dress up in a gorgeous gown and swipe jewelry from rich snobs.” he said, returning her earlier teasing.
“I'm in. Text me the details.” she said, hanging up to finish studying.
The following evening, Y/N stood outside the Central City museum. She wore a deep blue sequined gown that fit her slim figure perfectly with silver flats on her feet. Her red hair hung in a long braid that draped over her shoulder. She quickly glanced around, looking for Leonard and Mick before she felt a hand on her lower back. Before she could react, there came a low drawl in her ear.
“My, my kitten, I never realized you grew up so gorgeous.” Leonard said.
Y/N shuddered at the feel of his warm breath against her ear. She looked over at him and her jaw nearly dropped. He was wearing a dark blue suit that perfectly matched her dress. The jacket hugged his arms and shoulders in a way that allowed her to to appreciate his lean, yet muscular form. His tie, like her shoes, was silver. He was still gazing at her, a smirk on his face, when she finally responded.
“You don't clean up so bad yourself, Lenny.” she said, with a smirk of her own.
“Only my sister gets to call me Lenny.” he said, glaring at her.
“Then stop calling me kitten.” she replied walking toward the building.
“Not a chance.” he said, catching up to her.
“Then I guess we're at a stalemate.” she said, taking his arm as he led her inside.
As they entered the museum, they were met with a large crowd of wealthy aristocrats milling about a large room. A string quartet played beautiful music from a stage at one end of the room. White gloved waiters weaved through the crowd carrying trays of food and flutes of champagne. Leonard grabbed two glasses and handed one to Y/N.
“Ok, we've got 20 minutes until Mick creates a diversion.” he said as she sipped her drink" “Then we can slip out and grab the ruby.”
As the pair made their way around the room, Y/N began to eye some of the people who surrounded them. As they passed one couple, her arm brushed the other woman's. When they were about ten feet away, she elbowed Leonard. When he looked over, she held a diamond bracelet up for him to see before quickly slipping in her small purse.
While he was impressed by her skill, Leonard wasn't one to be outdone. With a mischievous smirk, he strolled toward a waiter carrying flutes of champagne as Y/N watched with curiosity. As he approached the young man, he bumped into another man, causing him to stumble. Leonard reached out to steady the
older gentleman before quickly apologizing and shaking his hand, He turned and walked back toward her with his hands in his coat pockets. When he reached her, he pulled out the expensive watch the other man had been wearing before dropping it back into his pocket.
“Impressive,” she said as the band began to play again. “Oh, I love this song!”
Leonard watched her away to the music for a few seconds before extending his hand.
“Care to dance, beautiful?” he asked.
Slightly thrown off by him calling her beautiful, Y/N took his hand and followed him onto the dancefloor. Placing his hands around her waist as she placed hers around his neck, Leonard began to sway gently to the music being played. He gazed down at her as a small smile began to bloom on her face.
“This is fun,” she said with a soft giggle “I should work with you guys more often.”
Suddenly, all the lights in the room went out. As panic began to spread throughout the crowd, Y/N and Leonard grinned at each other. The pair quietly made their way out of the room. They made their way to a large atrium in the west wing of the museum. A large banner hung overhead announcing the “Mining Miracles of Madagascar.” Leonard pulled his cold gun out from where it was hidden under his jacket and froze the security cameras.
“Over here,” he said motioning for Y/N to follow him as he strode toward the center of the room.
She followed him as he wove his way through the room past cases with the most beautiful gemstones she had ever seen. There were gorgeous deep blue sapphires and glittering amethysts, but those weren't the reason they were there. In the center of the room sat a case. When Y/N saw what was inside, her has dropped. Illuminated by a beam of moonlight coming through the skylight, was a gleaming blood red ruby that was bigger than her fist!
She walked up to stand behind Leonard. He had knelt down to remove the side panel of the case's stand and disarm the pressure sensors.
“Alright,” he said, as she turned her attention to him. “Once I flip this switch, you'll have thirty seconds to grab the ruby before the sensors reactivate and the alarms sounds. Then we have fifteen seconds to get out before the security guards get here.”
“Got it,” she nodded, pressing her hand against the glass case. “Flip it.”
Y/N heard a click as she concentrated on the glass beneath her finger tips. A cold tingling sensation radiated up her arm and her hand passed through the case as though it was made of water.
At last, her fingers wrapped around the mesmeric gem. Plucking it from the case, she took a second to admire the stone before securing it in her small purse.
“Alright, let's get out of here!” she said to Leonard.
The pair started to run toward the wall Y/N planned to phase them through in order to escape just as the sensors reengaged and the alarm began to blare. They had almost made it when she tripped and fell into Leonard, sending them both crashing to the ground. Groaning in pain, they detangled their limbs and got back to their feet. Before the could escape, however, a voice came from behind them.
“Freeze”
“Shit!” they both muttered.
“Put your hands where I can see them and turn around slowly!”
The pair slowly raised their hands and began to turn.
“When I say now,,” Y/N whispered to Leonard,
“Get down and cover your ears.”
“Why> What're you_”
“Just do it!” she hissed, turning to the security guard.
“You know, you really shouldn't startle people like that.” she said batting her eyelashes.
“When I get scared, I scream.”
A wicked grin slowly spread across her face as the security guard tried to back away. She glanced over her shoulder at Leonard.
“Now!” she said as he ducked behind a case and slamming his hands over his ears.
Turning back around, Y/N let out a shriek that caused all the glass cases and windows in the room to shatter. The security guard fell to his knees clutching his head as she strode toward him. The man stared up at her with terror in his eyes as she stood over him.
“Who- who are you?” he asked.
She leaned down so her lips were right next to his ear.
“I'm the Banshee.” she whispered as she heard the sirens of approaching police cars.
“Time to go, kitten!” Leonard called from across the room.
She stood back up before knocking the guard unconscious.
“Coming!” she said as she crossed the room and pulled him with her through the wall into the night air.
Once outside, Leonard led her to an idling car where Mick was waiting in the driver's seat.
“What took you two so long?” he asked.
“Small snag, nothing to worry about.” Y/N replied, climbing in the back.
“Seatbelt!” Leonard said from the front seat.
She rolled her eyes as she buckled her seatbelt and Mick pulled out onto the road. She sat there in silence examining the bracelet she'd stolen as stud city flew by outside. After about ten minutes, a voice cut through the silence.
“Banshee? Seriously, Y/N? THAT'S what you're going with?” Leonard teased.
“Shut up,
Captain Cold
!” she replied with a glare.
The two glared at each other for a moment before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. Mick shook his head at them.
“I'll never understand you two.” he muttered, speeding down the road.
Y/N smiled fondly at the memory as she approached the museum. Shawna Baez sat on a bench out front watching people wander in and out the doors. Y/N sat down next to her and nudged Shawna's shoulder with her own.
“Hey, Boo!” Y/N said.
“Hay, Casper!” Shawna replied, throwing an arm around the ginger's shoulders. “Your snowman told me to give this to you.”
Y/N rolled her eyes fondly as she opened the envelope.
You've seen Rogues who love music, colors and flames, But your next clue can be found with Axel and James-L
She grinned as she turned back to Shawna.
“Mind giving me a lift to the Tricksters' place?” she asked.
“Sure thing!” Shawna replied, popping up from the bench and holding out her hand.
Y/N grabbed the other girl's hand and stood up. The two disappeared in a puff of smoke.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When Y/N and Shawna reappeared, they were on top of a nearby building facing downtown. The height of the building gave them the ability to see a few blocks in each direction. Rather than teleporting them to the next rooftop, however, Shawna turned to Y/N with an impish grin on her face.
“Wanna have some fun?” she asked.
Y/N looked at her, then back out over the rooftops.
“If I fall to my death, I swear I'll haunt you, Boo.” she replied.
“Noted,” Shawna said, turning to face the same direction, “Ready, set, GO!”
They both took off sprinting toward the edge and bounded across the gap to the next building. As their feet landed on the roof, they glanced at each other momentarily before breaking into a run once more. As they raced across the rooftops, Y/N listened to Shawn's carefree laugh echo around her. She couldn't help thinking about how much her life had changed since the Rogues had entered it. It was hard to believe she had been so against it in the beginning.
“Are you crazy???” Y/N practically screamed as she paced the room.
“Actually, I don't think I've ever been more sane.” Leonard replied calmly as he watched her from the couch.
“You want to form a crew of the most dangerous criminals in Central City?”
“Yes.”
“Murderers, psychopaths, destroy-the-city kinda people?”
“Yep.”
“And you wanna move them all in here?”
“Exactly.”
“You're insane!”
Y/N turned to look at Mick who had been watching them silently.
“What do you think of all this?” she asked him, crossing her arms.
“I'm staying out of this one.” he said, getting up and walking toward the kitchen.
She sat down in the chair he had just vacated and ran a hand through her messy red hair.
Leonard sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“Look, if you're that worried, we don't have to bring them all in at once. Maybe we could bring one or two in as a test run. What about the Rathaway kid? He seems alright.”
Y/N sighed and leaned back with her arms crossed. He wasn't going to give in.
“Let me think about it, ok?” she said, getting up and walking toward the front door.
“Whatever you say, Kitten.” he replied with a smirk.
“Stop calling me that!” she called back as the door closed behind her.
A little while later, Y/N sat at the bar at Saints & Sinners. She sipped her drink as she thought about Leonard's idea. On one hand, having a crew would mean more help and less competition. On the other, did she really want to live and work with people like James Jesse and Sam Scudder? She sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she heard a commotion behind her.
Turning around on her barstool, Y/N noticed a large man standing by a booth talking to someone she couldn't see. Normally, she would have ignored the scene, especially without Leonard or Mick to back her up, but something had her hopping off her stool and crossing the room. As she approached the booth, Y/N realized the large man was holding a beer and talking to a younger guy. Neither looked very happy.
“I told you to leave me alone, you lumbering neanderthal!” the younger guy said.
The other man answered the insult with a swift punch to his jaw. Before he could land another, however, Y/N grabbed his arm.
“I think he asked you to back off, so back OFF!!!” she said, channeling just enough of her powers to shatter the man's beer bottle.
As the bottle in his hand shattered, the large man ripped his arm from her grasp and ran from the bar. Y/N smirked and turned to the young man on the floor.She held out a hand and helped him up as she looked him over. He was
a few years younger than her, but a little taller. He had auburn hair with bangs that swept across his forehead and blue eyes behind large glasses. There was a cut beneath his right eye where the other man's ring had hit him.
“Thanks,” he said, dusting off his khaki pants before meeting her eyes.
“Don't mention it,” she replied, holding out her hand. “I'm Y/N.”
“Hartley,” he said, shaking her hand. “How'd you do the thing with the bottle?”
“Call it a talent of mine.” she said with a smirk.
Hartley looked at her for a few seconds before his eyes widened as something registered in his mind.
“You're the Banshee!” he said, a note of aww in his voice.
“And you're the Pied Piper. Also, you're bleeding.”
“I- Oh, I am.” he said, holding a napkin to his cut cheek.
“I can stitch that up for you if you wanna come back to my place.”
“That'd be great!”
“Okay, come on, it's only a couple blocks away.” Y/N said, grabbing Hartley's free hand and pulling him out the door.
When the pair arrived at the house, they found it empty.
“The guys must be out.” Y/N said, dragging Hartley into her bathroom and pulling out the first-aid kit.
“The guys?” he asked, wincing as she started to clean the cut.
“Leonard and Mick, they live here too.” she replied.
“You live with Captain Cold and Heatwave?”
“Mm-hmm,
try not to move so much.”
After Hartley's cheek was stitched up, the two sat on the couch in the living room talking. Leonard and Mick arrive home two hours later to find Y/N sitting on the couch with Hartley's head in her lap as he laughed at the story she was telling.
“...And then, Mickey just set the thing on fire!”
Leonard cleared his throat behind them causing Hartley to sit up and Y/N to look toward him.
“Hey guys!” she said, hopping up and walking around the couch. “This is Hartley. He's gonna stay with us for a while if that's cool.”
“Whatever, as long as he doesn't touch my beer.” Mick said, heading upstairs toward his room.
Leonard's face remained unreadable as he sauntered across the room.
“Mind joining me in the kitchen for a minute, Kitten?”
“Sure, Lenny.”
When Y/N entered the kitchen, Leonard was leaning against the counter. His arms were crossed and he was smirking at her.
“You wanted to see me?” she said with a smirk of her own.
“Just wanted to know what changed your mind.”
“I saw a skinny kid in need of a rescue. Figured that worked out well for me the last time.” she replied with a small smile.
“Why Y/N, I didn't know you cared so much!”
“Don't let it go to your head, Snart, I could still change my mind about you.”
“No, you won't" Leonard said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You love me and my crazy plans too much.”
“I guess you're right.” she admitted, leaning into him as he led her out of the kitchen.
Y/N was snapped out of her memory by Shawna putting a hand on her arm. They were standing on the roof of a warehouse that the Tricksters used for a workshop. Shawna poofed them to the front door and Y/N turned to give her a hug.
“Thanks for the lift, Shawna. See ya later!” the redhead said, walking toward the door in front of them.
“Bye, Y/N! Have fun!” the other girl called before teleporting away.
Once inside, Y/N made her way past workbenches piled with half assembled gadgets and mannequins wearing nauseatingly bright leotards. Hearing voices, she headed toward the back of the building where she found Axel and James leaning over some sort of radio-looking device. Just as she was walking up behind them, both men ducked and the device blew up. Y/N made her body intangible just as a hunk of metal flew through her chest, embedding itself in the wall behind her.
“Do I even want to know what you guys are doing?” she asked.
“Nope!” the Tricksters chorused, identical impish grins on their faces.
“Oookay, hey, did Lenny leave a-”
Before she could finish her question, Axel was holding out an envelope.
“Thanks!” Y/N said tearing open the note to find another poem.
My feelings for you couldn't be any clearer. For your next clue, go look in the mirror-L
“Have you guys got a mirror around here?” she asked.
“Over there, behind the statue of Princess Leia.” James said.
“Why do you have a- y'know what, never mind. Bye guys!” she called, heading off in the direction James had pointed. The familiar “Have fun!” followed her.
When Y/N found the mirror, she peered into the warped glass. As she stared at her own face, the reflection rippled and a hand emerged from the glass. She grinned and took the hand, yelping as she was pulled through the mirror.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When she opened her eyes, y/n found herself in what appeared to be a dark hallway with countless windows lining the walls. She moved to step toward one of them, but realized she was being held back by something. Turning around, she found herself face to face with Sam Scudder.
“I wouldn't let go of my hand if I were you.” he chuckled. “Wouldn't want you getting lost in here. “
“Yeah, Snart would flip his lid if we lost his precious kitten,” cooed a voice
behind him. “Especially today.”
Looking around Sam's other side, y/n was met with the sickly sweet smile of Rosalind Dillon.
“Guess I'd better hold on tight, then.” y/n replied with a smirk.
“Alright, girls,” Sam drawled, “ We'd better get going. Snart warned me to stick to the schedule.”
With that, he began to walk down the hallway with Rosalind beside him and y/n trailing a step behind. As the trio walked, y/n saw Sam press a kiss to his girlfriend's hair and couldn't help, but remember her first kiss with Leonard.
y/n stormed through the halls of the WaveRider. Her shirt was torn and there was mud in her hair, but she didn't care. Her only thought was throttling someone and she had the perfect target in mind.
Not bothering to walk all the way around the last corner, she phased through the wall and emerged in the MedBay. She glanced around to see she was alone except for the cause of her current anger, Leonard Snart. He hadn't noticed her yet because he was laying in a chair with his eyes shut as Gideon healed a bullet wound in his shoulder.
“What the hell was that?” she demanded, marching up to the side of his chair.
“Problem, Red" he asked coolly, his eyes still closed.
“Why did you jump in front of that bullet?” she huffed, crossing her arms.
“Oh, I'm sorry for saving your life!” he drawled, opening his eyes and sitting up.
“I don't need you to save me!” she shouted, not noticing as the pitcher of water beside her began to tremble.
“You could have died!” he said turning in his chair to face her.
“I would have phased the bullet through me!” she replied, the volume and pitch of her voice continuing to rise.
“I couldn't take that chance!” he snapped, standing in front of her.
“Why do you even care?” she shrieked as the pitcher and several supply cabinets around them shattered.
The two jumped in surprise from the unintentional flare of y/n's power, but remained otherwise unfazed.
“Well?” she prompted after a moment.
“Because I…” he said, trailing off hesitantly, biting his lower lip and looking at the ground.
“Because what, Leonard?” she asked, getting annoyed.
“Because I love you.” he said softly, still looking at his shoes.
y/n took a step back in shock. She couldn't believe what she had heard.
“You what?” she asked so quietly it was almost a whisper.
When Leonard finally looked at her, his eyes were filled with emotion. He took a shuddering breath, as if to steady himself.
“I love you, you crazy girl! I love your smile and your laugh! I love that you're probably the sweetest person I've ever met, but you can still kick anyone's ass that needs it! I love you so much it hurts! The thought of losing you makes me crazy! That's why I took that bullet for you.” he said, moving to stand right in front of her.
y/n ran a hand through her hair as she processed what he had said.
“W-why didn't you ever tell me?” she asked once she had gathered her thoughts.
“Because you're with Boy Scout.” he said “I may be a thief, but I'd never steal someone else's girl.”
“I'm not with Ray! That'd be like dating my brother!” she said, with a small chuckle.
As she said this, a realization began to dawn on her.
“You're not with Sara.” she said, hope creeping into her voice “Are you?”
“Blondie?” he said with a hint of amusement at the thought. “Nah, she'd cut off my hand again if I tried.”
y/n laughed at the joke, but before she could respond, Leonard had bent down to peck her on the lips. When he pulled away, she sighed, grabbing his hand before he could back up too far.
“Hey, Leonard?” she said, smiling up at him.
“Hmm?” he hummed in response, bringing his free hand up to cup her face.
“I love you too.” she said as his thumb began to run across her cheekbone.
His only response was to tilt his head back down and recapture her lips. y/n sighed in happiness.
y/n was jolted back to reality as Sam stopped in front of one of the mirrors on the wall.
“Here we go,” Sam said. “Front window of the Fifth Street Deli, very reflective, extremely useful.”
Grasping both girls' hands tightly, he stepped through the mirror and emerged in front of the deli. y/n released his hand and turned toward the other two with a smirk.
“So, I'm guessing this is where you hand me an envelope and tell me to have fun?” she quipped.
As an answer, Rosalind handed her another clue from her small purse. With a small laugh, y/n read the note.
I've always known we're better together.
Get your next clue from the wizard of weather.
-L
y/n shook her head fondly and turned toward the other two.
“Do you guys have any idea where Mark might be?” she asked.
Rosalind giggled and Sam just smirked at her.
“If I had to wager a guess, I'd try that direction.” he said, pointing toward the park.
y/n turned in the direction he pointed and saw dark clouds gathering over the lake.
“Yep, that'll be him!” she said, starting to walk that way. “Thanks guys!”
“Have fun!” Sam and Rosalind called before disappearing back through the window.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Strolling through the park, Y/N couldn’t help but giggle about how utterly strange her day had been. Leonard was obviously up to something, but trying to figure out what was like trying to solve a puzzle with all the pieces turned face down. He had never been one for poetry and nostalgia. Even after they got together, he’d been more of a fighter than a lover. In fact, some of Y/N’s most vivid memories of Leonard involved fighting alongside him.
Y/N ducked into a trench as a cannonball hurtled past her.
“Why are we in the War of 1812, again?” she asked, trying to regain control of her breathing.
“Because, Ms. Smythe,” sighed Rip’s voice through the comms, “We must stop Savage from securing victory for the British Navy and expanding his empire!”
Y/N rolled her eyes and started to climb out of the ditch. Before she could, though, she was yanked backward and a knife was pressed against her throat.
“Don’t move,” growled the man in a deep voice with an English accent.
“Oh boy, did you pick the wrong the wrong girl to mess with!” she chuckled darkly.
“Oh yeah?” he said, “And why’s that?
As she opened her mouth to respond, the man’s hand that was holding the knife was suddenly encased in ice along with the rest of his arm. Phasing out of his hold, Y/N turned to face her boyfriend.
“You couldn’t have done that before I blasted him?” Leonard asked, glaring at the half-frozen British naval officer.
“He got the jump on me.” Y/N shrugged, “Figured I’d play with him a bit.”
“You going to be the death of me!” he groaned.
“Maybe, if you’re lucky.” she teased, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Already lucky enough to get you, kitten.”
“Don’t call me kitten, Lenny.”
“Don’t call me Lenny, kitten.” he replied, leaning down to brush his lips softly against hers.
“If you guys are done being disgusting,” Sara’s voice crackled through their earpieces, “we could use some help here!”
A rumble of thunder drew Y/N out of her thoughts. She was standing by the lake as storm clouds gathered overhead. Small waves crashed against the shore. A short distance away was a gazebo and leaning against the railing was a familiar figure. Walking up beside the man, she leaned her arms on the rail and stared out at the water.
“Y/N,” Mardon said in greeting, not taking his gaze off the lake.
“Hey, Marky Mark!” she chirped, earning a glare from her friend.
“Here,” he huffed, shoving another envelope into her hands.
When she opened it, Y/N found, surprise, another poem.
We're all out of Rogues, so now you must dash!
Go over to STAR Labs. Talk to Team Flash.
-L
“Great,” Y/N grumbled, “now I have to walk all the way across town!”
Suddenly, there was a set of keys being dangled in front of her face.
“You’re bike’s over there.” Mark said, pointing to a nearby parking lot. “Better hurry, it looks like rain.”
Y/N snatched the keys from him.
“If it starts raining on me, I swear, I’ll come back here and drown you in the lake, Mardon!”
“Have fun!” he chuckled as she ran toward her waiting motorcycle
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
As she drove through the streets of Central City, Y/N wondered for the millionth time what her boyfriend was planning. Sending her around to the Rogues she understood, they were family! Sending her to Team Flash, though? Her relationship with the Scarlet Speedster and his friends had never been the warmest. She remembered the first time she met them…
‘Who knew the present could be so boring?’ Y/N thought.
Rip (after being threatened by Sara) had granted the Legends a few days of shore leave so Stein could see his wife on her birthday. Leonard, Mick, and Y/N had jumped at the opportunity to get home to their weird little family. Now, though, Y/N almost missed the chaos of time travel. Music poured from the speaker on her nightstand as she hung upside down off her bed staring at the wall.
“Well, you look bored.”
Looking up, Y/N saw the slender frame of Axel Walker leaning against the doorway.
“That’s because I am, genius.” she snorted.
Rolling his eyes, the young man pushed himself off the doorframe. He walked over and held out his hand, grinning down at her mischievously.
“Wanna have some fun?”
1 hour later
“Are you sure this is gonna work Ax?” Y/N asked, glancing nervously at the younger Trickster..
“Totally! All you have to do is grab the diamond so the alarm goes off. Then, when the Flash shows up, I throw this ball, which will explode, covering his feet in my SuperW-Ax (trademark pending) so he can’t run, then we glitterbomb him!”
“This is insane!” she cried, “I love it!”
Phasing the two of them into the closed jewelry store, Y/N strode past the various cases of trinkets, stopping briefly to look at a gorgeous sapphire ring, before spotting her target. In a case toward the back, there was a beautiful diamond necklace. The central stone was a large pink heart that was surrounded by smaller crystal clear stones on a solid gold chain. It had to be worth at least $20,000!
Winking over her shoulder at her companion, Y/N reached through the glass and grabbed the necklace. A second later, the alarm started blaring. Y/N and Axel grinned at each other excitedly.
“Now, we wait.” Axel said, leaning against a display case tossing the SuperW-Ax ball in the air and catching it.
Y/N leaned back against the necklace’s case casually, hands in the pockets of the leather jacket she’d stolen from Leonard. After a moment, Axel cursed under his breath. Before she could ask what was wrong, there was a small explosion. Looking down, she found her feet coated in neon purple goop.
“Shit, there goes the plan.” she sighed, “We’d better get out of her before Speedy Gonzalez shows up.”
“Definitely, c’mon.” Axel agreed, heading for the door.
Y/N tried to follow him, but when she tried to phase through the wax, her feet wouldn’t move!
“Ax, we have a problem.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“My feet are stuck!”
“Just phase out!”
“I can’t! What the hell is in that wax???”
“Um… superglue, quick drying cement, a rubberized polymer I invented, and a little Axid thrown in for flare.”
“Well, apparently, it dampens my powers!” Y/N exclaimed, running a hand through her hair.
“What do we do?” Axel asked, nervously glancing toward the front of the store.
“You’ve got to get out of here before the Flash shows up.” she replied.
“What about you?”
“I’m not going anywhere until I get this stuff off my feet. I need you to get home and get Leonard. He’ll know where to find me!”
“He’s gonna kill me!” Axel groaned.
“Would you rather I do it?” Y/N huffed.
“It’d be less painful.” he shrugged.
“Axel! “ she screeched in frustration, pointing toward the door.
“Okay, okay, I’m going!” he grumbled, heading in the direction she pointed. “Hartley’s right. You’re scary when you’re mad.”
Y/N huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms over her chest. Leaning back against the case again, she tried to figure out a way out of her predicament. About a minute after Axel left, there was a gust of wind followed by a red blur.
“Hello, Flash,” she said with a smirk. “Good to finally meet you. Thought you’d be taller.”
The hero stared in confusion at the scene before him. Y/N figured she looked pretty strange in her t-shirt and dark jeans under Leonard’s jacket, black domino mask on her face, and boots covered in neon purple wax. After a moment, he seemed to remember why he was there and focused on her face.
“Do I know you?” The Flash asked.
“You probably know
of
me. They call me Banshee.”
His eyes widened at the sound of her name.
“Guys, you’re not gonna believe this!” He said into his comms device. “We got the Banshee.”
A second later, there was a pair of power dampening cuffs on her wrists.
“How do you intend to get me out of this stuff?” Y/N asked, eying the SuperW-Ax.
“Hold still.” he said, grabbing hold of her arm and vibrating them at super speed.
He pulled gently and she stumbled forward. Once she was free, he sped them both back to STAR Labs. As they stood in front of a cell, Y/N turned to the hero.
"Seriously?” she said, cocking an eyebrow.
“My team and I have been trying to catch you for two years.” he replied turning the computerized lock.
"It doesn’t have to be like this Barry.” she said.
The scarlet-clad hero stiffened at the sound of his real name.
“H-how do you know my name?” he asked.
“I’ll tell you.” she shrugged, “but I’m not talking from inside a cell.”
Barry was silent for a moment before he nodded once.
“Fine, but the cuffs stay on.”
“Kinky.” Y/N said with a smirk
The young man rolled his eyes and led her to the cortex. Y/N let out a low whistle as she looked around the room.
“Swanky.”
At the sound of her voice, the other members of Team Flash looked up from whatever they were doing.
“Oh my God, you really are the Banshee!” said the woman that had to be Caitlin Snow.
“Always nice to meet a fan.” Y/N replied with a sickly sweet smile.
Barry cocked his head to one side at her choice of phrase.
“Girl, do you know how long we’ve been after you?” Cisco said, “You are a slippery one! Nice jacket by the way.”
“Thanks, it’s my boyfriend’s.”
“Damn, shoulda known!” the inventor replied. “The pretty ones are always taken or evil.”
“Ramon, if you could stop flirting for five minutes,” said a man who looked suspiciously like Harrison Wells, “maybe the Flash would like to explain why she’s here and not in a cell!”
“She knows my name!” Barry said. “If I put her in the cell she wouldn’t explain how!”
“Fine!” the older man huffed, glaring at Y/N. “Get on with it, then.”
Y/N rolled her eyes, casually strolling forward and sitting on the edge of a desk.
“It quite simple, really.” she shrugged. “I know people that know. They tell me things.”
“What people?” Barry asked.
“My brother, for one.” she replied.
“And your brother is…” said the Wells lookalike.
“A friend of yours, glasses, red hair, doesn’t like that one.” Y/N said, pointing toward Cisco.
“Hartley!?” Cisco screeched.
“Oh, you’re Y/N!” Caitlin exclaimed, her eyes lighting up in realization. “Hartley talks about you all the time when he’s here!”
Y/N smiled softly at the thought of Hartley telling them about her.
“My boyfriend also knows who you are.” she mentioned, refocusing the conversation.
“How does
he
know?” Barry cried.
“You told him.” she chuckled, smirking as she saw the cogs beginning to turn in his brain.
After a moment, things seemed to click in the hero’s mind.
“Always nice to meet a fan.” he repeated, finally placing the phrase.
Before Barry could explain himself, a voice came from the doorway.
“Hello, Barry.”
Everyone turned to look as Leonard sauntered into the room.
“I think you guys have a security problem.” Y/N joked.
“What are you doing here Snart?” Cisco asked.
“Well Axel came running into the house. Said you had something of mine.” he said, looking over at Y/N.
“Your boyfriend is Captain Cold?” Caitlin asked.
“Who were you expecting, Weather Wizard?” Y/N giggled, standing from the desk and walking toward Leonard.
“You alright, kitten?” he asked as his eyes scanned her body for injuries.
“Fine, Lenny.” she assured, turning to Barry. “So, if you’ll just unlock the cuffs, I’ll be out of your hair.”
“You stole a $30,000 necklace! I can’t just let you go!”
“It’s in my pocket. You can have it. Ax and I were only using it as bait so we could glitter bomb you.”
Barry rolled his eyes, but a second later, her wrists were freed and he was holding the necklace.
“Well, this has been a blast, but I’ve got a Trickster to kill! C’mon Lenny.”
“You gotta love her.” Leonard chuckled, following his girlfriend out.
Pulling up in front of STAR Labs, Y/N climbed off her bike and walked into the building. She took the elevator to the main floor and made her way through the maze of hallways leading toward the cortex. As she approached the room, she began to hear voices echo down the hall.
“What if it’s plans for a bank they’re trying to rob?”
“Cisco, why would he send her
here
to get something like that?”
“I dunno, man! I’m just thinking out loud here!”
“Can’t you just vibe what it is?”
“And risk the wrath of
those two
? Uh uh, no way! I choose to
live
!”
“It could be a love letter.”
There’s a beat of silence followed by hysterical laughter.
“Actually, he’s the closest.” Y/N said, turning the corner into the room.
Barry and Cisco whipped around to face her. Both men looked somewhere between shocked and confused.
“Barry, Cisco, nice to see you both.” she greeted before turning to the third man. “And I’m assuming you’re the new Wells doppelganger.”
The tall man grinned and tipped his fedora in her direction.
“H.R. Wells at your service, ma’am..”
“How do you-?”
“Ray explained the whole ‘multi-verse’ thing a while back.” Y/N explained.
“What do you mean ’he’s the closest’?” Cisco asked.
The girl turned to face him, noticing the familiar blue envelope in his hand.
“Well, if that’s anything like the other eight I’ve gotten today, there’s a poem in it.”
“A poem?” Barry asked incredulously as Cisco handed Y/N the envelope.
“Yeah, it’s been a weird day.” she admitted, opening it and confirming her suspicions.
Without you, I'd lose my mind.
Your last clue is with the team that broke time
-L
Y/N looked warily at the scientists.
“Would you guys happen to know how to hail the WaveRider?”
“No need, milady!” H.R. said, wrapping a long arm around her shoulders.
“And why’s that?” she asked, stepping out of his hold.
“They're in town.” Barry replied. “They helped us with the
aliens. “
Y/N’s eyebrows shot up at the mention of aliens, but she decided to ignore that for now.
“Great! Any idea where they are?”
“Yeah, they docked the WaveRider near our hangar. I’ll get you the address.”
“Thanks,” she said when the speedster handed her a slip of paper. “Later, gents!”
As she headed back toward the elevator, she heard them call, “Have fun!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Twenty minutes later, Y/N had made it to the airfield. She parked outside the abandoned hangar and climbed off her bike. She looked around for the WaveRider, but saw nothing.
Maybe they already left.
Suddenly, the air shimmered across the parking lot. With the cloaking device disabled, the familiar timeship appeared. As Y/N made her way over, the cargo bay door opened and a voice called out to her.
“Well, look who it is!”
“Ray-Ray!” Y/N squealed as she ran up the ramp and into her best friend’s arms.
Ray wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the ground slightly. He sat her back on her feet and she pulled back, grinning up at him.
“How’ve you been, Palmer?”
“Good, but the ship’s boring without you.” Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he started walking toward the bridge.
“Of course it is.” she replied, looking around. “Where is everybody?”
“Jax is visiting his mom, Stein’s with his wife and daughter, and the new guy, Nate is showing his girlfriend Amaya around the city.”
“Yup, so you’re stuck with us.”
Y/N turned around to find Sara leaning in the doorway of Rip’s office.
“Hey, Sara,” she said, walking over to hug the other woman.
“Hello, love,” the blonde replied, returning the embrace. “I believe this is for you.”
Sara handed Y/N the blue envelope, a knowing smirk on her face. Opening it, the ginger girl found a final poem.
When I'm with you, I'm over the moon.
Strap in, hold on and I'll see you soon!
-L
Y/N looked back up at Sara.
“Don’t suppose you’ll tell me where we’re going?”
The assassin shook her head and turned to Ray.
“Don’t crash my ship, Palmer.”
“Aye, aye, Captain!” He replied, moving to the pilot’s seat.
“Captain?” Y/N asked, looking at Sara. “What happened to Rip?”
“Long story, I’ll explain later. Right now we’ve gotta get you ready!”
“Ready for what?”
Sara just winked and pulled her out of the bridge and down the hall. She pulled Y/N into what used to be her room, the door sliding closed behind them.
“Alright,” Sara said, standing with her hands on her hips. “Let’s start with your hair.”
She climbed onto the bed and patted the spot in front of her expectantly. Y/N threw her arms in surrender, dropping onto the bed and scooting back so she was sitting cross-legged in front of her. As she felt Sara’s nimble fingers remove her hair tie and begin combing through her ginger locks, Y/N let her thoughts drift back to her last mission with the Legends, the one where she almost lost everything.
This was it. They were going to take down the Time Masters. All they had to do was blow up this Oculus thing and get the hell out. Easy… right? So why did Y/N have this feeling in her stomach like something awful was gonna happen?
Standing in front of the mirror in her room, she pulled on her leather jacket and pulled her hair into a ponytail. As she twisted the hair tie around it, she felt the band snap.
“Shit,” she muttered shuffling things around on her desk looking for another one.
She huffed in frustration at not being able to find one. Desperate to keep the hair out of her face, Y/N grabbed some bobby pins, pulling the strands back out of her eyes. Satisfied with her hair, she moved to her bed, grabbing the Pilgrim’s gun. (What?
Someone
had to take it!)
Soon they had landed back at the Vanishing Point. Jax rejoined them and they all headed to the Oculus Wellspring. Stepping into the room, Y/N immediately knew something was wrong. She could feel the power in the air and her whole body felt heavier. Out of curiosity, she pressed her hand against the wall and tried to phase through it. After a moment, though, her hand remained pressed against the surface.
“Uh guys? My powers aren’t working.” she called, causing Leonard to look at her with concern.
“It’s probably because of the radiation coming from the Oculus,” Rip called over his shoulder, “You should be fine once we leave.”
She nodded as they kept walking. Leonard took her hand and pulled her closer to his side. They watched as Ray and Rip ran onto the central platform.
“Take about two minutes to figure out how to self-destruct this thing.” Ray said, opening the side panel of the console.
“We’ll buy you some time.” Rip replied, turning to the rest of the team. “You lot guard the entrance. Mr. Rory and Ms. Y/L/N, you’re with me.”
“Be careful,” Y/N said, squeezing Leonard’s hand.
“Always am, kitten.” He pecked her on the lips and ran after Sara and Firestorm.
Y/N jogged onto the platform and crouched beside Ray. She watched as he flipped switches and pulled wires.
“Hurry up Haircut!” Mick growled, watching one door.
“How much longer?” Rip asked as he watched the other.
“Yeah, I wanna get out of here.” Y/N said, nervously tapping her fingers against her leg.
“Well, just about to reverse the polarity matrix. Once I do that, I say we have about two minutes before this whole place goes boom.”
“How big of a boom?” Mick asked.
“On a scale from 1 to 10?” Ray said, “A googolplex.”
“Awesome!” Y/N said, grinning up at Mick.
“What are you doing?” Rip hissed.
Y/N looked over to see Ray had removed his helmet and gloves.
“I can’t work with all this gear on.“ the taller man explained.
“You can’t-”
“A programmer needs his hands.” Pay pointed out, flexing his fingers in demonstration.
“Ray…” Rip started.
That got Y/N’s attention. The captain rarely called any of
them by their first names.
“RayRay, maybe he’s right,” she warned, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“I got this, don’t worry.” he replied, giving her a reassuring smile.
“No you don’t!” Rip insisted. “This is what I saw. This is what Druce showed me. This is how you die.”
Y/N’s eyes went wide. Ray paused for a moment before looking up at Rip.
“It’s ok.” Ray said.
“It is not!” Y/N shrieked at her best friend.
Ray’s warm brown eyes met hers and he smiled
softly.
“All my life I’ve wanted to make a difference. Creating a future for you guys without the Time Masters’ influence, that counts.”
Before she could respond, Time Masters ran in from every direction and surrounded them as they fired their laser guns. Y/N moved to stand behind Ray, shooting her stolen gun at a few of them.
“That said, I’m in no rush to die, so keep em off me ok?” Ray chuckled nervously.
“We got you!” Mick called back, flames blasting from his heat gun.
“Keep firing!” yelled one of the Time Masters as both sides kept shooting.
Y/N ducked behind the console to avoid a laser blast. She heard a shout to her right and turned just in time to see Mick save Rip from falling off the platform.
“I’m not doing this cause I like you.” Mick grunted as he hauled Rip to his feet.
“Yes, I know.” the captain replied.
Y/N sighed in relief as she shot down the last Time Master.
“Alright, almost done.” Ray assured them. “Uh-oh.”
“Uh-oh?” the other three said looking down at him.
“There seems to be a failsafe to prevent tampering, which probably includes trying to blow this thing up.”
“English, Haircut!” Mick yelled.
“I have to maintain contact with the failsafe in order to destroy the Oculus”
Y/N’s stomach dropped as she realized what he was saying.
“Not that much English.” Mick said.
Ray looked up at the three of them, a look of determination in his brown eyes.
“Get back to the ship.” he ordered.
“Not without you, Ray!” Y/N argued.
“We know the future!” he reminded her. “ I’m dead already.”
“You’re right. Mick said.
Before any of them could say anything else, Mick hit Ray in the head with the butt of his gun. As the taller man fell to the floor, unconscious, Mick took his place at the console.
“Mick, what the hell are you doing?” Y/N yelled.
“I got this.” he replied. “I want revenge on those bastards. Now get outta here!”
Rip pressed a button on Ray’s suit, shrinking the scientist down and putting him in his coat pocket. He turned to look at Y/N, who still hadn’t moved, she nodded toward the door before glancing back at Mick. Rip seemed to understand and ran toward the door.
“What’re you doing, Red?” Mick growled. “You’ve gotta get out of here!”
“I’m not leaving you!”
“You have to! Snart needs you!”
“But I need you! I can’t lose another big brother!” Y/N cried. “Mickey, I-”
“I know,” he said , wiping a tear from her cheek. “I know, but you have to go.”
Y/N swallowed back the sob trying to claw its way out of her throat and nodded. She stood up and started to walk away. As she passed behind Mick, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned over his shoulder to kiss his cheek.
“”I love you.” she said.
“Get lost, Little Red.” he replied, smiling sadly at her.
She stood up and ran after Rip. The two of them made it back outside to the rest to the team, who it appeared had fought their own barrage of Time Masters.
“We’re leaving!” Rip yelled as they ran up.
“Where’s Raymond and Mick?” Leonard asked.
“Ray is in my pocket and Mick has elected to stay.” the captain replied.
“Why?”
“Someone needs to be present to destroy the Oculus. Mick has elected himself .”
Leonard turned to Y/N for further explanation.
“I tried to talk him out of it.” she huffed. “He won’t listen!”
Leonard groaned in frustration and ran back toward the building.
“No, no, no there isn’t ti-” Rip started to call.
Y/N and Sara shared a look before chasing after Leonard.
“We gotta go!” Jax yelled after them.
The three of them ran back inside as more Time Masters entered the room. Sara grabbed a laser gun from the floor and they ran onto the platform.
“Mick!” Leonard yelled as he ducked behind the console.
“Get outta here!” Mick ordered.
“Not without you Mickey!” Y/N replied, shooting an approaching Time Master.
“Pretty boy said I gotta hold this stick for the ship to blow, so I’m holding this stick. Now, leave!”
“My old friend,” Leonard said, moving toward Mick. “Please forgive me.”
“For what?”Mick asked as Sara took down the last approaching Time Master.
There was a thud and the girls turned just in time to see Mick crumple to the floor, unconscious as Leonard took his place at the console.
“Get him outta here!” Leonard told them.
“No!” Y/N said, moving to stand beside him.
“Just do it!” He pleaded, looking up at her with desperation in his eyes.
“Leonard Snart, I amnot leaving you!” Y/N declared. “Sara, get Mick out of here.”
The assassin nodded and pulled Mick’s arm over her shoulder and slowly began to drag him out of the room. Y/N knelt down so she was eye level with her boyfriend.
“You need to get out of here, kitten!” he insisted.
“Lenny, I’m not going anywhere.”
She started to run a hand through her hair, but stopped when her fingers caught on something. Bobby pins.
‘Wait a minute,’ she thought staring at the console.
“Move,” she said, pushing Leonard out of the way and pulling pins from her hair as she took his place.
“If you think I’m leaving you-”
“Relax, Lenny.” she said as she began to bend the hair pins and stick them into the device. “I don’t plan on dying for you today. I’m just not letting you die either.”
She glanced up and saw more Time Masters running into the room.
“Now cover me. We’ve got company.”
Leonard pulled out his cold gun and began to shoot at the approching enemies. Y/N went back to work, using the bobby pins to hold the failsafe in place.
“Do you have any string?” she called.
“
Why
would I have string?” he asked incredulously.
“You have seven bags of mini marshmallows and a deck of cards in that coat! Sorry I didn’t think
string
would be weird! Oh, wait!”
She reached in her jacket pocket and pulled out her broken ponytail holder.
“Perfect!” she cheered, using the elastic band to tie everything in place.
“No, shut it down. Shut it down!” yelled the last remaining Time Master.
Y/N stood up from the console. She grabbed her gun from where it hung at her waist and shot the man in the chest.
“There are no strings on me.”
The room began to shake as he fell to the ground.
“We should go.” Leonard said.
“Like, now.” Y/N agreed grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the room.
The couple made it out side as the ground shook again. They ran across the courtyard and up the ramp into the cargo bay at a speed that would make the Flash jealous. Just as they made it on board, the door closed and the WaveRider took off. A few seconds later, there was a massive explosion that sent Leonard and Y/N toppling to the ground. For a moment, the two thieves layed there tangled together as they caught their breath.
“Did you quote
Pinnochio
before you shot that guy?” Leonard asked after a moment.
“It seemed like a good idea at the time.” Y/N replied from where layed on top of him/
She lifted her head from his chest and looked up at his face. The moment their eyes met, the pair burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Y/N buried her head in the crook of her boyfriend’s neck as she relished in the happiness of the moment, relieved he was still with her. As their laughter subsided, she rolled off him and stood up, pushing her hair out of her eyes.
“C’mon,” she said, holding a hand out to him. “We’d better see if the others are alright.”
Leonard grabbed her hand and hauled himself up off the floor. The two climbed the stairs and made their way to the bridge. As they stood in the doorway, they saw the rest of the team scattered around the room in various states of despair. Ray leaned against the far wall looking like he was about to cry, Sara sat on the floor with her back against one of the seats and a bottle of whiskey in her hand, Mick sat in his chair glaring at Rip, who leaned against the center console with his head hung low, both halves of Firestorm stood solemnly near the door to Rip’s office.
“Damn, who died?” Leonard said stepping into the room.
Every head in the room snapped toward the sound of his voice.
“Seriously, I know we’re not exactly party animals,” Y/N said as she followed him in. “But,show a little enthusiasm! We beat the Time Bastards!”
“You’re alive!” Ray exclaimed. He bolted across the room, scooping Y/N up in a hug and spinning her around.
“Woah!” she giggled, desperately at his shoulders. “Easy, Palmer!”
“How’d you guys get out?” Jax asked as Ray set Y/N back on her feet. “Rip said somebody had to hold the thing for it to blow.”
“Oh, I pulled a MacGyver with some bobby pins and a broken hair tie.” Y/N shrugged. “Then we hauled ass back to the ship.”
“Well, however you did it, we’re glad you did!” Sara said, offering Y/N the bottle of whiskey. “It wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“Thanks, Sar,” she replied, taking a drink from the bottle.
“So, what do we do now?” Leonard asked, dropping into the chair beside Mick’s.
“Well,” Ray spoke up, “Savage still has Kendra and Carter.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Y/N asked, hands on her hips. “Let’s go get ‘em!”
*****
Three days later, Kendra and Carter had been rescued and Vandal Savage was dead (three times to be sure). The team was back to May 2016 and Rip had announced his plan to take over protecting history. Kendra and Carter had decided to stay in 2016 and had flown off to start their lives together.
“Every time they do that,” Mick said. “I get hungry for chicken.”
“And on that note,” Y/N said, drawing everyone’s attention. “I think we’re gonna step back for a while too.”
“Are you sure this is what you want, kitten?” Leonard asked her.
“I’m sure.” she confirmed. “I’d like to go more than two weeks without one of us having a near death experience.”
“Well, the two of you shall certainly be missed.” Rip said.
“Oh please,” Y/N snorted, “You are
not
going to miss catching us making out in the library!”
“No, I can’t say I shall.” the captain chuckled, holding a hand out. “Goodbye, Ms. Y/L/N.”
As Y/N looked at the man in front of her, she realized just how much things had changed since their journey began. She thought about how much her relationship with Leonard had grown on their adventures through time. With all this going through her mind, she did something that surprised everyone. She surged forward and wrapped her arms around Rip’s neck. He stumbled back slightly before regaining his balance and awkwardly patting her back.
“Thank you.” she whispered, smiling softly at him.
“For what?” Rip asked.
Y/N glanced over to where Leonard stood talking to Sara.
“Everything.”
Rip smiled at her as he realized what she was saying.
“Quite right,” he said, patting her shoulder one last time.
“Alright,” Sara said, interrupting her thoughts.”I think I’m done. Go check it out.”
Y/N stood up from the bed, stretching her arms over her head, and walked to the mirror. Sara had put her red hair in a long braid that draped over her shoulder.
“Looks good, Sar,” she complimented, turning to the blonde, who was now standing near the closet.
“Thanks! Now,” she said, reaching into the closet. “Put this on.”
Y/N let out a small gasp as Sara held out a hanger. On it hung a deep blue sequined gown, the same one she’d one on her first job with Leonard. Sara smirked at the other woman’s reaction.
“Snart said you’d recognize it.”
“You could say that.” Y/N mused, quickly shedding her jeans and t-shirt and pulling on the dress.
“And now, the final touch.”
Sara reached back into the closet and handed Y/N the silver flats that matched the dress.
“I feel like you should be singing
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo
while I stand beside a pumpkin.” Y/N giggled, sitting down on the bed and putting on shoes on.
Before Sara could reply, there was a knock and the door slid open, allowing Ray to enter the room.
“Wow!” he exclaimed as his eyes landed on Y/N. “You look amazing”
“Thanks!” she chirped.
“I just wanted to let you guys know we’re here.” he said. “I’ll be in the cargo bay when you’re ready!”
With that, the tall scientist turned and left the room.
“Do I get to know where we are now?” Y/N asked as she stood from her spot on the bed..
“Let go find out.” Sara replied. “After you, dear.”
The two women made their way to the cargo bay where they found Ray waiting by the door. As they approached, he began what appeared to be a speech he’d memorized.
“Thank you for flying Air Legends.” he said cheerily with a bright smile. “We hope you’ve enjoyed your journey. And now, we’d like to welcome you to Themiscyra.”
Y/N’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
“Themiscyra? As in-”
“Yup.”
“But how-”
“Favors were called in.” Sara explained.
“Big ones.” Ray specified, opening the door.
“I’ll bet.” Y/N chuckled.
“All ashore that’s going ashore!” Ray said.
“Well, thanks for the ride. And the makeover.” Y/N told the pair.
“Have fun!” they called as she walked down the ramp.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
As y/n stepped off the ship, the cargo bay door closed behind her. The WaveRider shimmered as the cloaking device engaged and the ship became invisible to anyone who might pass by. y/n turned and took in her surroundings. She stood at the beginning of a narrow dirt path that was lined on both sides by lanterns.
The air was humid and she could hear waves crashing somewhere in the distance. As she followed the path, it took her into a grove of olive trees. With the trees blocking the moon above, the only light came from the glow of the lanterns. Deeper and deeper into the grove she walked. Eventually, the trees opened up and she stepped into the moonlight.y/n gasped at the view before her. She was standing near the edge of a cliff. Above her, a billion stars twinkled in an endless black sky with a full moon shining with a silver glow. The sky was reflected perfectly in the crystal clear water below. At the base of the cliff gentle waves lapped at gorgeous white sands. It was a scene taken directly from one of Roy's drawings!
As she stood staring at the dazzling scenery, y/n noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning to her right, she saw a small table set up a few feet away. On the table was a vase holding a single white rose, Next to it, there was a small candle in a jar. The flame flickered and swayed in the soft ocean breeze. In front of the candle, laid a blue envelope.
That's strange,
y/n thought.
I thought Sara's clue was the last one.
When she opened the envelope, she was surprised to find not another poem, but a full letter.
Dear y/n,
If you're reading this, then you've made it to the end of my little game. I hope your day has been filled with a lot of fun and at least a few good memories. I know I'm not usually one for big romantic gestures, but I wanted today to be special. I don't really do feelings, but for you, I'm willing to try. Turn around.
Turn around?
she thought, laying the letter down.
She turned on her heel and, once again, gasped at what she saw. Standing in front of her was Leonard. He was wearing a dark blue suit that perfectly matched her dress. The jacket hugged his arms and shoulders in a way that allowed her to appreciate his lean, yet muscular form. His tie, like her shoes, was silver. On his lips, was that same easy smirk that she loved and his eyes reflected the moonlight, giving them an almost angelic glow. Once she was facing him fully, he strode forward and gently took her left hand in both of his. The smirk bloomed into a soft smile.
“The first time I held this hand,” he said, squeezing her hand. “I was fourteen. It was my first time in juvie and I was
terrified.
Some asshole had decided to make me his personal
punching bag and I was sure I was done for. Just when I was about to lay down and accept my fate, a voice called out.”
“Hey, dipshit,” y/n said, smiling at the memory.
“The most beautiful girl I'd even seen had come to my rescue. She stopped that asshole and told me to stick with her or I'd probably die. Then, she held out her hand to help me up, this hand. Lately, I've realized that taking this hand was the best decision I've ever made. Whenever I felt unsure or alone, I'd look down and this hand was there, clinging tight to mine. I know now, that I never want to let go and if you give me the chance, I never will.”
Leonard slid down onto one knee as he pulled a box from his pocket.
“Y/f/n y/m/n y/l/n, will you marry me?”
y/n brought her right hand up to cover her mouth. Tears streamed down her face as she gazed down into the beautiful blue eyes she'd fallen in love with at fourteen. So many things had changed since then, but the one thing that hadn't is how she felt when she looked into those eyes. She knew her answer.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“What was that?” Leonard asked.
She moved her hand down to gently cup his face.
“Yes,” she said, laughing gleefully. “Yes! A million times, yes! Of course I'll marry you, Lenny!”
Leonard wasted no time removing the ring from its box and sliding it onto her finger. He stood from his knees and lifted y/n off her feet, spinning her around as she giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. When he set her back on her feet, he leaned down to kiss her.
*****
Later that night, the two of them laid together on the couch back in the safehouse. Their fancy clothes had been exchanged for sweatpants and ratty old t-shirts. y/n's back was pressed to
Leonard's chest and his left arm was slung loosely around her waist. A blanket was draped over their legs and a fire crackled softly in the fireplace across
the room. y/n held her left hand up in front of her face admiring the way her ring caught the firelight causing it to almost glow. Leonard hooked his chin over her shoulder.
“Do you like it?” he asked. “Because I thought the snowflake was nice, but if you don't like it, or you think it's cheesy, I can always find an-"
As he started to ramble, y/n twisted around in his arms and pressed her lips to his, effectively cutting him off.
“I love it.” she assured him. “It's absolutely perfect.”
“You're absolutely perfect.” Leonard replied, giving her a dopey, lovesick smile.
“Sap,” y/n said, gently swatting his chest.
“Only for you, kitten.” he insisted. “Only for you.”
She snorted and laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and kissed her forehead.
Yep, perfect.