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Earth 7 Part IBusinessman Snart/Baker LancexXx“Brooding is my job, Lisa. What’s wrong?” Leonard Snart asked, watching his younger sister doodle in her design portfolio.Lisa sighed. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” she told him, but of course he was going to worry about it, she was his little sister.“Are you sure?” He asked simply.She sighed again. “It’s just…” she hesitated. “You know my friend Sara?” Leonard nodded.“She owns that cafe downtown doesn’t she?”Lisa nodded. “And that’s the problem. Another cafe opened across the street and it’s driving her out of business.”“If her product is good and service is quality, she should have nothing to worry about.” Leonard replied ready to get back to reviewing contracts over his breakfast. Lisa had other ideas as she shot him a glare across the table.“Sara Lance owns the best cafe in the city, hands down. But she runs it by herself, with no help and no staff, and there’s only so much she can do against another cafe, across the street no less, that runs like a chain restaurant.”Leonard stopped what he was doing and looked up. “ Is it a chain restaurant?” Lisa shook her head. “That doesn’t make any sense. By that logic the place’ll be out of business in a year maybe less.”“Sure, but in the meantime, the quality cafe that actually deserves to continue running will be out of business too.”“No one deserves to be in business, Lisa, we’ve talked about this. One day I could go out of business and the world would still keep turning. It’s the same with any business. All we can do is our best.”Lisa rolled her eyes. “Your such a cynic.” she shook her head. “This cafe means everything to her. Its all she has. She doesn’t deserve to lose it because some big spender is throwing money around like it’s nothing.”Leonard took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Why do I get the feeling you want something?” Lisa smiled innocently at him. “Just tell me.”“Maybe you could help her stay a float until the other cafe inevitably puts themselves out of business. It won’t be long before word gets around that their product isn’t that good and the service is crap. You do it for all the other small businesses in the neighborhood.”Leonard sat back in his chair. “And have you spoken to her about this?” he asked.“I suggested that I could help her.” she explained.“And?”“She’s stubborn.”Leonard nodded knowingly and sighed.“Please Lenny, at least go down there and see the place for yourself.”Leonard hesitated. On the one hand if he went down there he could finally see what Lisa was always talking about and the young woman she seemed to idolize. He didn’t really have anything to lose. What was the worst that could happen? He got a good cup of coffee and a decent lunch.“Fine, I’ll go take a look.” Lisa jumped up excitedly and circled the table to hug him. “ But , I’m not making any promises.”xXxWhen Leonard was sixteen he swore to himself he would make a better life for himself and for his sister. That he would overcome his father’s legacy, his abuse, and build something that would give him the freedom to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He achieved that, turning a small business loan and a office front in downtown Central into a multi-million dollar security firm in the largest skyscraper in the city. Now he spent most of his time taking care of the larger scale, long term operations and investing the money he made into the community that raised him. He supposed this little cafe was apart of that community too. The Canary was set into the corner storefront of a much larger building on the apex of Peach Street and Kinsman Boulevard. On the back side, on the Peach side was a family pharmacy, on the Kinsman side, a bicycle repair shop. Directly across the street on the opposite corner was the aforementioned new cafe, The Central City Pit Stop, sitting alone in a detached, two story building. It didn’t look overly crowded, but there were significantly more patrons across the street than at the The Canary .Leonard entered the building, a bell above the door giving away his entrance. Leonard didn’t really know what he expected from the cafe, maybe whitewashed walls, plants in the corners and hanging from the ceiling, something light and airy, a little hipster maybe. More than likely a motif that matched the name. What he actually found was a space so inviting he felt almost at home here. The walls were a dark golden yellow, thick dark wood beams accenting the color in the walls and ceiling. Two of the walls were entirely brick, old and rustic. The counters and pastry cases were all lined in the same dark wood and the lights were bright enough to see while also being low enough to create an intimate atmosphere. There were several areas spaced out around the shop. Dozens of dark wood tables and three groupings of plush couches and chairs.Leonard turned to the counter to find a young blonde woman wiping it down. He approached, gaining her attention.“Hi, welcome to The Canary, what can I get you today?” she asked a slight smile on her bright red lips. Her skin was fair and freckled and her eyes were a piercing blue. She couldn’t have been more than three years younger than him.“I’ll have a large hot chocolate and a double fudge brownie.” he replied. “And do you have mini marshmallows?”“No, sorry, but I have a marshmallow fluff whipped cream I can put on top.”He agreed and she rang him up before turning to make his order. He noticed as she walked away how she walked with a slight limp, but didn’t think much more of it as she eventually returned with his order.“I’m sorry, you look really familiar, have we met before?” she asked him as she passed his order across the counter.“I don’t think so, this is my first time in here. My sister talks about this place all the time. I was in the neighborhood on business and I thought I’d stop in and see why she loves it so much.”“Who's your sister?”“Lisa Snart.”Recognition flashed across her face and her smile was equal parts knowing and rueful. “Right, well, enjoy your hot chocolate Mr. Snart.”He watched her walk away before taking his order and retreating to a table near the back. From his spot he could see the entire restaurant and he watched as people came and went. Almost everyone who came in knew Sara and spoke to her as if they had been friends for years. She laughed and smiled and treated each customer like they were the most important customer of the day. He must have sat there for hours shifting his attention between his tablet and the goings on of the cafe.Once the afternoon lull hit, Sara grabbed a washcloth from the back and came out from behind the counter for the first time since he’d been there. And for the first time since he’d been there, he saw the reason for her limp. A prosthetic leg, the end formed into a C shape runner’s blade.It wasn’t until she started walking toward him that he realized he was staring. “So, be honest with me.” She said as she slid into the seat across from him. “Were you really just in the neighborhood, or did Lisa ask you to come here?” his hesitation was all the answer she needed. “Look, I appreciate that Lisa cares so much, I really do. It’s nice to have someone who cares about this place as much as I do, but this isn’t your problem. I don’t need help.”Leonard smirked. “Your right, you don’t need help.” he told her, watching amused as she looked surprised by his answer. “Your product is great, your service is just as good and the atmosphere is wonderful. So no, you don’t need ‘help’ you need capital.”“And that’s different how?”“Capital implies an investment. A small loan, if that makes it sound less invasive. I grew up in this neighborhood, I have a vested interest in seeing it flourish, in giving back to it.”“So you regularly offer small loans to the businesses in the neighbor?”“I do. From what I can tell that cafe across the street won’t last more than a year, if that. They’ve stretched themselves too thin, the question is will you be here to take your customers back when their gone?”Sara sighed.“You don’t have to answer now, the offers been made and if you decide you want to we can go over the fine details.”“Fair enough.” she eventually replied standing. She took his empty cup and plate and headed back to the counter where she resumed her post like a well trained soldier.
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Earth 22 Part IModel Snart/Designer LancexXx
May 7, 2018
“I haven’t spoken to him since I walked away, Kendra. We avoid each other like the plague at shows. This isn’t a good idea.” Sara turned away from her desk, her best friend standing behind her, arms crossed and a hip leaning against the desk beside her.“You guys got your start together, all of your original designs, the ones that made your name, he modeled them, he gave them a face. You two were the perfect partnership. There’s no better way to launch this charity than with the man who helped you build the original brand.”Sara sighed, sagging down into her chair. “I know its a good idea, but that doesn’t mean he’ll agree.”“You’re never gonna know if you don’t ask.”Sara rolled her eyes. “You’re supposed to agree with everything I say, I’m your boss.”Kendra laughed. “Yeah, Okay. Just call him, Boss .”xXx
March 25, 2007
Sara fiddled with the lapels of her suit jacket, self consciously scowling at her reflection. It took a lot of overtime waiting tables at the diner to afford the yards of material she needed to make the whole outfit, but it was worth it. This was going to be their big break. This interview was going to change everything. No more going hungry to afford rent, or huddling up to avoid freezing in the winter when they couldn’t afford to pay the gas bill. No more having to decide between everyday necessities and going to the doctor when they were sick.
This. was. it.
“Stop fussing.” Leonard’s voice was soft as he stepped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He leaned forward to press a kiss behind her ear. “You look fantastic, and your going to blow them away.”
“ We’re going to blow them away.” she corrected, smiling at this reflection in the mirror.
“Their your designs, Sara. This is all you.” he told her, letting her go and taking a step back. She turned to face him, resolutely ignoring the hole in the bedroom wall over his shoulder. They wouldn’t have to deal with that either after today.
“Maybe, but they look best on you.”
His smile turned shy as he looked down and she felt the love burst in her chest. This man, this beautiful man was everything to her. They’d been through so much, fighting and struggling together since they’d graduated college. She’d spent the years waiting tables and working retail while he tended bar at a local pub and did odd jobs wherever he could find work. But they weren’t going to have to do that anymore, because today was the day. Today was the day someone finally gave her a chance, finally looked at her designs, finally helped make her dream, their dream come true.
Today they would meet with a big name designer and hopefully...no, he would, he would see what they were capable of and he would finance her first line.
This was it, everything they had worked for, every day they had to struggle and scrimp and save, it was all going to pay off today.
xXx
May 9, 2018
When Sara was seven her grandmother gave her the old sewing machine she had used for decades. Everything changed after that. Everything in her closet was handmade or completely customized. She made her own costumes at halloween and even made her own prom dress. She learned everything there was to learn and when she went to college she took every course she could, ever extra group study, every extracurricular where there was a chance that she could learn something new.It was at one of those classes that she met Leonard Snart. He caught her attention immediately, which was a feat all on its own, since he was working so hard not to be noticed. He was so tall and handsome and shy and she just couldn’t stop thinking about him, even after class was over. In the next class she finally spoke to him, introducing herself. His little smile was charming and when he laughed it was like everything bad in the world was gone. They quickly became class friend (She was there for design he was there for modeling, though his shy demeanor didn’t scream model to her, he certainly had the cheekbones for it), and it didn’t take long for their friendship to expand outside the classroom. It wasn’t long until she realized her designs complimented him the best, or that he actively searched her out whenever he had any free time. Before either of them knew it their relationship couldn’t be honestly be described as just friendship.Together they made it to the top and once they got there it tore them apart. Now Sara was standing outside the door of his penthouse apartment trying to work up the nerve to knock. She’d have to sooner rather than later, they were expecting her after all.Eventually she knocked and it didn’t take long for someone to answer.Lisa Snart had always been a big fan of their relationship. She once told Sara that Leonard was considering dropping out of school when she introduced herself. Their family had always struggled, what with their father’s alcoholism and their mother running out on them. He was putting himself through college on scholarships and loans that he wasn’t entirely sure he’d ever be able to play back and he had considered, in a low point, dropping out and getting a full time job, maybe learning a trade instead. Lisa would later confess that Leonard had confided in her, that it had been Sara’s passion that drove him to keep going.When they had finally made it big and Leonard started getting contracts outside of their own brand he had hired Lisa on as his personal assistant. She was good with people in a way he never had been and she was fiercely protective of him, making her the perfect person to speak for him. Sara hadn’t spoken to her since that fateful day, (she was his manager now, and his new personal assistant set up this meeting) and Sara wasn’t entirely sure what Lisa’s opinion of her was anymore.Now, standing in the doorway of Leonard’s apartment, smiling brightly at her, Sara was taken back by just how happy she seemed to see her.“Hey, long time no see.” Lisa said, ushering her into the apartment. The younger woman shut the door and then didn’t waste a moment pulling her into a hug. “I’ve missed you. I know my brother royally fucked up, but that doesn’t mean we still couldn’t see each other.”Sara pulled away, confusion playing across her face. “I’m sorry what?”Lisa sighed. “I know you probably don’t want to dredge of the past but if it makes you feel any better I totally went off on him when he told me. I mean honestly, that Alexa bitch of all people?” she mimicked gagging.“But that’s not…”“Anyway, Lenny’s finishing up a shoot outside on the deck, he should be done soon. Can I get you anything?”“Um, no, no thank you.”Sara followed Lisa into the main apartment, letting her guide her to the double door where just beyond Leonard was posing across a bench seat overlooking the city behind him. The photographer was moving around him quickly, trying to get as many photos as he could before they lost the light. Sara tried not to stare, she really did, but Leonard had always been so beautiful. She remembered watching him work all those years ago, how it all just came so naturally to him. Two years had passed since she had been this close to him and yet she was just as drawn to him now as she had been when they met over a decade before.This may have been a very bad idea.
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Earth 32 Part IMetahuman Snart/New Resurrected LancexXx“Remind me again, why we agreed to help them?” Weather Wizard sighed, his head falling back against the wall behind him.“Ask that again and when this is all over I’ll put you out of your misery.” Leonard practically growled. He was not in the mood to deal with this anymore. Between his plan falling apart because his team couldn’t handle working with The Flash, to the fact that they were all now jammed into one of the supersized cells of the pipeline, watching the backs of two guards. He was seriously beginning to regret his choices.xXxTwo weeks ago, a paramilitary group had moved into Central, using the lack of preparedness against people like them to their advantage. They’d set up shop in the city and started muscling in on various criminal enterprises, including bringing in a new drug trade. That alone was enough to convince Leonard they had to go, but as it turned out, the group was also anti-meta and had taken to vanishing anyone affected by unnatural causes. Leonard knew it was only a matter of time before they came for him and his crew and so he came up with the plan to team up with The Flash. Between Team Flash’s resources and The Rogue’s experience in the underground he was certain they could drive the interlopers out of town.The problem was going to be convincing both sides to work together.“You want to team up?” Flash questioned, he didn’t bother to disguise his voice, Leonard had figured him out a long time ago.“If you think about it, it’s the only logical step.” Leonard replied.“No,” Flash shook his head, huffing a laugh. “I agree, I just never thought you’d be the one to suggest it first.”Leonard smirked. “Mad I beat you to it?”“No, just glad I don’t have to convince you.”“Yes, well, if we’re in agreement, I think we should bring both teams together for a meeting.”Flash nodded. “Star Labs would probably be best. Our security will keep watch so we can talk.”“It’s a date then.” Leonard smirked, watching the blush bloom under the hero’s cowl.xXx“We’re meeting the Flash in a few hours at Star Labs.” Leonard spoke, flexing his authority as he entered the Rogue's base of operations; an old bomb shelter hidden in the back of an abandoned warehouse. His order was not greeted with the usual enthusiasm.“You actually went through with it?” Weather Wizard questioned incredulously.“Of course I did. Did you think I was joking?” Leonard replied. “These new players will wipe us out if we don’t strike first.”“We get that, but do we really need the Flash?” Shawna asked. Her tone told him she would go along with whatever he decided, she just need to be reassured.“Flash has access to resources we would have to waste time accumulating ourselves, not to mention his connections to other superhero teams should we need back up. I don’t like it anymore than you do, but if we want to survive this we need their help. And whether they like it or not they need ours just as much.”No one argued with him after that, but Weather Wizard made it clear he still didn’t like this as he stomped off to get ready. When they were gone, only Lisa and Mick remained.“Are you sure about this Big Brother?” I trust your judgement, but these aren’t normal bad guys. They won’t hesitate to kill us.” Lisa questioned.Leonard sighed. She was right of course. This new force in the city was unlike anything Central had seen before. Hordes of meta humans from another earth, alien invaders, no problem, but a paramilitary group of unknown origin was the biggest problem of all. That’s why they chose Central though, wasn’t it? The Arrow would be ready for them in Star City, The Batman and his team would have them dealt with within the month and they certainly didn’t stand a chance against the Supers, The Lanterns or Wonder Woman. That just left Central City.“We’re crooks not heroes, there’s no shame in retreat.” Mick added. “We could leave Central and let Flash call in his own allies. No need to get involved.”Leonard had considered that, if only because he knew he wouldn’t be able to convince Lisa to leave without him.“This is our city.” Leonard finally replied. “They don’t get to come in here and take over. Not after we built up the underground from nothing.”xXxBarry skidded to a stop inside Mission control, kicking up a wind and blowing some papers off a desk. He stooped down to pick them up.“You guys got all that right?” he asked.“Yeah, seems a little too easy to me.” Cisco replied. He was sitting behind the main computer bank, typing away. He didn’t look up.“Normally I would agree with you, but I think with everything that’s been going on none of us have a choice. We can’t ask the other heroes to abandon their cities, not with everything they have going on. Team Arrow is dealing with Damian Darhk and his group, Superman is off world, so Supergirl and Connor are pulling double duty. The Bat Family have a massive Arkham Breakout to deal with and The Lanterns were recalled to Oa. On top of that, J’onn is MIA and Wonder Woman hasn’t made contact since she left for Themyscira last month.”“What about the Titans, or Firestorm?” Caitlin questioned.“The Titans are dealing with Deathstroke and Firestorm is waiting for our call but they’re not going to be enough, not while they’re still learning to coexist.” Barry continued. “Snart’s Rogues are all we have right now. And whether they like it or not, we’re all the help they have too.”“Lot of help we’re going to be, have you ever dealt with a group like this before?” Harry asked. “It’s not exactly something you can learn as you go.”“We may have a little help in that department.” Cisco spoke up.“What do you mean?” Barry asked.“Felicity called while you were out. You know Sara, Laurel’s younger sister?”“The original Canary?” Caitlin questioned. Cisco nodded.“Sure we went to her funeral last year.” Barry replied.“Well, apparently they found a way to bring her back to life and it’s left her a little… Laurel didn’t really have a word for it, but she’s supposedly prone to streaks of violent murderous rage, ya know, just the thing you want a former assassin to have. Anyway, she and Felicity think it would be good for Sara to get away from Star City and spend some time in a city that’s a lot lighter, less broody if you will. Plus ya know, our bad guys are a lot more resilient than their bad guys so if she loses it she’s less likely to kill someone.” Harry looked away from Cisco and around the room. “I don’t even know where to begin with that.”“I think what Cisco is trying to say, is she understands how organizations like this work better than we do and she can help us.” Caitlin spoke up.“If she doesn’t kill us first.” Harry muttered under his breath.Barry ignored him. “When is she getting in?”“Felicity didn’t say, just that she was heading in this direction.”“We’ll keep an eye out for her then.”“In the meantime,” Iris spoke up from one of the monitor stations. “The Rogues are here.”xXxThe meeting was...tense to say the least. Leonard and Barry seemed to be the only ones in any state of calm. Lisa, Mick and Shawna were doing their level best to support Leonard and his decision, but it was clear the rest of the Rogues didn’t want to be there and quite frankly, the rest of Team Flash didn’t want them there either. Unfortunately for all of them, they were going to be stuck together for a good long while.Caitlin was trying to calm a bickering Harry and Hartley Rathaway when everything electrical in the building went dead. “Back up generators should kick on in ten seconds.” Cisco called out, but they didn’t.“Looks like we’ve been found out.” Leonard said, ice frosting up his exposed arms.“Good, let’s get this over with.” Scudder practically growled, ready to jump into action.“Don’t underestimate them.” Cisco replied.“I don’t take orders from you.” Scudder turned on him, ready to start the fight with the young scientist.“ Do not underestimate them.” Leonard repeated forcefully and Scudder took a step back, refocusing on the task at hand.As it turned out, none of them got the chance to underestimate them. Leonard had just ordered his team to spread out, Flash following suit, ready to move, to react, when they struck. It started with flash bang grenades. Leonard saw them as they hit the ground and turned to shield Lisa from the shock. The grenades went off simultaneously, blinding them and setting off a concussive force that disoriented them further.Leonard struggled to get to his feet, the searing pain in his head sending a wave of nausea through him. The persistent ringing in his ears drowned out all other sound and Leonard found himself forced back to the ground, the last thing he remembered was the pain.xXx“Why is this cell so much bigger than the others?” Mick asked, and Leonard smirked. Ironically, no one could diffuse a situation like his team’s most unstable member. Whether he knew he was preventing infighting or not, Mick Rory was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for.“We had to temporarily hold a giant shark mutant.” Caitlin replied from her seat on the floor next to him.Lisa scrunched up her nose. “Is that what that smell is?”“Yeah, I haven’t been able to find anything to get rid of that.” Cisco added, leaning against the glass. “We’re all gonna smell a little fishy now, aren’t we?” Jesse James asked, and then answered his own question. “Well, we are criminals” no one laughed.Leonard was only half paying attention now, he was trying to devise a plan to get them out of there, but he’d never been able to get out of these cells before, even with his powers, he wasn’t too hopeful he could do it without them. The soldiers had fitted them with power dampening collars while they were unconscious, rendering every meta powerless. Leonard was just about to turn to Barry for suggestions when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Movement in the slats of the vent above the guards.“I don’t suppose you have anyone on the outside?” Leonard spoke up, looking back at Barry. The costumed hero was leaning against the side wall beside Iris and Joe who were on the floor. “Only the Star City crew, but we have no way of letting them know something is wrong.” Iris answered for him, and Leonard watched as comprehension dawned on the speedster. He looked to Caitlin and Cisco who seemed to be thinking the same thing.“I totally forgot she was coming.” Cisco muttered, only to jump back startled as one of the guards slammed into the glass right next to him. They got to their feet, peeking out to find the second guard lying on the floor unconscious, a black shadow standing over him.“You know, I was under the impression you guys mostly dealt with Meta Humans.”
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Earth 21 Part ICity Boy Snart/Country Girl LancexXxLeonard couldn’t figure out why they were being punished. His father was the one who was caught stealing evidence, it didn’t seem fair that they were the ones being punished for his crime. And yet here they were, getting off the bus in the middle of nowhere, the sun way too hot for his long sleeved dark shirt and jeans. Lisa stood beside him, turning her face away from the dust kicked up by the departing bus. Leonard mourned it as it rolled away, their last chance out of here before…“There they are.”“Grandpa!” Lisa exclaimed taking off down the side of the road and throwing herself into the arms of the old white haired man. Leonard sometimes wondered if he would look like that when he was that old, the alternative was looking like his father, so he sincerely hoped he did.“Well don’t just stand there ma’ boy, come on, don’t leave this old man hangin’.” his grandfather spoke to him drawing him from his thoughts. At seventeen, Leonard Snart was resolutely against being told what to do, but his grandfather had always had a way of making them feel wanted, a feeling they severely lacked at home with their father, and he had never been able to say no to him. “See that wasn’t so bad.” he continued as they pulled out of the hug. Leonard smiled softly.“Grandpa, where’s grandma?” Lisa asked looking around the dirt covered parking lot where they could see their grandfather’s pick up, his ranch’s logo printed on the doors panels.“She’s back at the ranch fixin’ ya’ll up some lunch.” he told her. “You hungry little one?” Lisa nodded, smiling widely. “Well then, we best not leave her waiting.” he reached for Lisa’s bag, which Leonard had been carrying along with his own and then took her backpack from her as well. “They sendin’ the rest of your stuff along?” he asked as he threw their bags into the bed of the truck.“No, we brought everything with us.” Lisa said before Leonard could reply with the carefully curated lie he’d been working on since they boarded the bus from Central City. They didn’t get to see their grandparents, Lionel and Louise Lewis, often, even less so, since his mother died and Lisa’s had walked out on them. So Leonard knew they wouldn’t have any idea what kind of man their son had become. His story was perfect. Lewis had committed a crime, so everything was evidence. No one knew how long it would be held as such, it could be years and by then everyone would forget that they had showed up with an army duffle bag, a child's backpack and suitcase that looked like it had been fished out of a dumpster, which it had been, Lisa didn’t have one of her own and Leonard didn’t want to stuff all of her stuff in his bag (despite there being plenty of room) and make it look like they had even less than it already seemed.Lionel gave Leonard a look but he didn’t hold it long enough for him to say anything. He simply turned and helped Lisa into the back of the cab, before climbing into the passenger seat. Leonard didn’t speak for the entire ride back to the ranch and Lionel only spoke when Lisa asked him a question.The ranch was exactly as Leonard remembered it, acres and acres of land behind the house, cattle grazing off in the distance behind wooden fences. The barn was just as big as it had always been, sitting on the far end of the property and towering over the house. Dirt roads crisscrossed the grounds, leading a clear path from one end to the other.Louise Snart stepped out onto the front porch as they climbed out of the truck and Lisa didn’t waste any time running to her. The older woman smiled, hugging Lisa like her life depended on it. Leonard grabbed their bags from the bed, resolutely ignoring Lionel who looked as if he were trying to figure out what to say. Leonard didn’t give him a chance to say anything as he carried their bags toward the house and accepted his own hug from their grandmother.“I hope you kids are hungry. I made a big lunch.” she told them, ushering them inside. “Go ahead and leave your bags by the stairs, Leo, we’ll take them upstairs after lunch.” he did before following them into the kitchen.Louise hadn’t been kidding when she said she’d made a lot of food. “Bit much honey, don’t you think?” Lionel chuckled. She stuck her nose up at him and Lisa laughed.“Well we need to make sure we make it through the day. We won’t be eating until late tonight.”“How come, Grandma?” Lisa asked, trying to crawl up onto the bar stool. When she didn’t quite make it up, Leonard gave her a boost.“Well sweetie, there’s a big party in town tonight and we’re going to eat there.”Lisa’s face lit up. “Wow! A party? Really?”“Mmhmm. The whole town will be there. There’ll be food and games and all sorts of fun.”Leonard didn’t say anything, but he smiled back when Lisa grinned at him. They ate lunch, Lisa doing most of the talking, answering questiones for their grandparents. They asked him a few questions but his usual lack of verboseness seemed to keep them from asking too much. He would rather they spend their time with Lisa anyway. She was only ten, she would be here for awhile. At seventeen, Leonard didn’t expect to stick around very long.When lunch was finished, their grandparents sent them upstairs to unpack, pointing them to their own rooms. Leonard carried Lisa’s bag upstairs and got her settled in her room before making his way over to his own room across the hall where he started meticulously pulling things out of his duffle bag.Leonard was five when Lewis started drinking heavily. A year later his mother grew ill, the disease taking her quickly, but not before racking up a lot of medical bills. Lewis pawned a lot of things to pay it off, but the drinking never stopped. The only thing that saved his job were his fellow officers covering for him.Leonard was twelve (Lisa five), Lisa’s mother having been gone for nearly a year, the first time Lewis hit him. Leonard was tired of being the responsible one. Coming home from school to take care of his sister, barely having time to do his homework and sleep. He’d told Lewis as much and the next day he missed school while he waited for the black eye to stop swelling. After that they were fair game, it was like Lewis had gotten a taste for it and he liked it. Leonard got between Lewis and Lisa as much as possible and for the most part he didn’t hurt her, but they rarely had enough food, their clothes were old and torn and Lisa spent more than one night sleeping in the closet when Lewis came home from patrol.They had a few nice things of course. They had to keep up appearances when they went to parties with his patrol buddies. Leonard could tell they knew something was wrong, but they never did anything, so as far as Leonard was concerned they were just as bad as Lewis.But now Lewis was gone, caught up in a scandal that not even his buddies could cover up for him. In fact, Leonard looked forward to the day all of their faces would be splashed across the front page, publically shamed for everything they had done to help Lewis get away with his numerous crimes. There was a real fear though that Lewis would get off on a technicality and they would have to go back to him. He had no intention of letting that happen, no matter what it took.A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts and he looked up in time to see his grandfather peek in. “Hey, kid, how ya doin’?” he asked, stepping fully into the room.“So far so good.” he replied looking down at the neat piles of folded clothes. He pulled out a nice black dress shirt and spread it out on the chair in the corner. He then turned back to his duffel and started removing the few personal items he had to his name. A small stack of worn old books the library was going to throw away. He fixed them up well enough to keep for a bit longer. A picture of himself and Lisa, as well as a picture of himself with his best friend Mick Rory back in Central City. He made a mental note to remember to call Mick later and let him know they made it alright. There were an assortment of rubix cubes of various sizes and difficulties all of them completed and well worn and some battered notebooks and pens.Lionel took it all in, watching impressed as he neatly organized everything before finding a place for all of it throughout the room. Lionel sighed as he watched Leonard carefully arrange his rubix cubes by size on his desk.“Look Leo, it’s pretty obvious you don’t want to talk about any of this, so I’m not going to force you. But I want you to know I’m here to listen if you ever decide to, okay?”Leonard didn’t turn to look at him, he merely nodded. “It’s not Leo anymore, gramps.” he finally spoke up. “It’s Leonard, or Len. Only Lisa calls me Lenny.”Lionel nodded. “Okay, Leonard. Your grandmother went to help your sister unpack. When she’s done Lisa wanted to see the herd. Wanna come along?”This time Leonard did turn to face him. “Sure.” he agreed.“Good, you wanna change, it’s kind of hot out there?”Leonard look down at himself. He was wearing what he usually wore, dark jeans, a black pullover and the Timberland's Mick’s mother had bought him for his birthday that year.“No I’m alright. Do you mind if I use the phone before we go. I promised my friend and his mom that I would let them know we got here alright.”“Only phone we’ve got is on the wall in the kitchen, help yourself kiddo.”xXxLeonard Snart a was City Boy at heart. He’d take the loud din of traffic, the rise of buildings all around him, the convenience of a store just down the street any day. So moving in with his grandparents was sure to be quite the culture shock. He was right. He’d never been one for the cowboy aesthetic and that hasn't changed in the seven hours he’d been in Starling Valley, Oklahoma. Lisa seemed to like it though, of course she liked anything new and out of the ordinary for her, up to and including the pink dress with the paisley patches their grandmother dug up for her.The party was at the center of town. Picnic tables lined the street with BBQ grills fired up all along the sidewalks. There were booths with games and contests and a stage where a band played in front of a dance floor. At the center, right down the middle of the street was a buffet table piled high with food.“Mickey would love this Lenny.” Lisa called out over the music.“Yeah, he would.” Leonard replied absently.“Is Mickey the friend you called earlier?” Louise asked. Leonard nodded. She smiled. “Well, you’ll have to invite him down for the one on the fourth of July. That one is even bigger.”“Oh yeah! Can he Lenny?” Lisa asked. Lisa loved Mick as if he were another brother and to be honest Mick loved her like a little sister. Leonard was sure he would love to come down to visit, he may even bring his mom along.“If he wants to.”“Well then, now that that’s settled, how about some food?” Lionel asked.So, Leonard Snart was a City Boy at heart, but watching his sister thoroughly enjoy herself, her eyes wide with excitement at everything going on around her, her mouth never empty as she ate more in one sitting than she usually got in one day back in Central, he thought he could get used to the Country life.Oh! Laurel, Sara! Over here!” Louise called out, shortly after Leonard had given up on eating anymore, much to his grandfather’s amusement. Leonard looked over just in time to catch sight of the two young girls walking passed divert their path toward their table.“Hi Mrs. Snart.” the shorter of the two greeted Louise with a smile the screamed mischief. The taller girl rolled her eyes.Louise laughed. “Oh Sara, you always look like your up to something. I love it! Gotta keep that father of yours on his toes.”“That’s my reason for being, Ma’am.” Sara replied. Beside him, Lionel snorted into his drink. Louise threw her head back and laughed heartily.“Well I want you two to meet my grandchildren.” she continued once the laughter subsided. “Sara, Laurel, this is my grandaughter Lisa.”The young girl grinned and waved. “Hi.”“Hi,” Laurel replied. “Oh my goodness, I love your dress.” she continued. “You look so cute.” Lisa blushed and thanked her.“And this is my grandson, Leonard.” Louise continued drawing their attention across the table.“Nice to meet you.” Laurel greeted.“Likewise.” he replied, trying and failing not to notice the way Sara was watching him with an almost predatory gaze.“So what are you guys up to?” Laurel asked.“We’re going to watch finding Nemo at City Hall.” Lisa replied.“Sounds like fun.” Sara replied. “You know there’s a more teenage oriented movie over in the park.” she directed at Leonard. He tried not to look too eager at the suggestion, but he could not describe the sheer lack of enthusiasm he felt at watching Finding Nemo for the hundredth time. As much as he loved his sister, he couldn’t handle another go round of Just Keep Swimming . Leonard looked to Lisa. “You mind if I sit this one out?” he asked.Lisa seemed to be mulling it over. “Okay, but you have to watch Princess Diaries with me later then.”“That’s fair.” he replied, and they shook on it.Leonard then stood, grabbed his plate to throw away and stepped away from the table, only to notice that Sara’s expression had gone from mischievous to somewhere in the range of adoring. He wasn’t sure what to think about that honestly.xXxThe park was nice, he could do without the statues of livestock and he had a feeling the teenage population loved them after a weekend at whatever party was planned.Laurel and Sara led him along the winding path from the entrance.“So Leonard where are you from?” Sara asked from her place at his side. Laurel was a little ways ahead of them.“Central City?” He replied.“Are you here for the summer?” Laurel called back over her shoulder.“No, Lisa and I are going to be living here for the foreseeable future.” He explained.“Well then,” Sara smirked. “Welcome to Starling.”“Thanks.” Leonard smirked back. The more he thought about the girl beside him in her tight blue jeans, combat boots and white lacy halter top, the more he realized how little he minded her interest in him. “So what’s there to do around here?”“Plenty, especially during the summer. There’s a lake not far from here where we go camping for a couple of weekends. There’s a carnival that comes to town and a rodeo. There’s 4H in the fall and…”“And of course the important work, like keeping the family ranches up and running everyday.” Laurel interrupted shooting her sister a disapproving look. “You haven’t left for college yet, Sara.”Sara rolled her eyes and Leonard stifled a laugh.“Uh oh, is Laurel being no fun again?” A dark haired girl and dark clothes and make up called out as they approached her and the gingham blanket she was sitting on with three other women.“Yep!” Sara exclaimed as Laurel replied;“I’m always fun!”“Whose this?” One of the women asked. She was rather cute, long brown hair with highlights framing her face.“This is Louise and Lionel’s grandson Leonard. He and his sister just moved here.” Sara explained. “Leonard this is Felicity Smoak, her mom owns the beauty salon in town, Amaya Jiwe, her family runs an animal rescue and sanctuary to the west of town, Zari Tomaz, her mom is a teacher at the high school and Kendra, she and her mom own and operate the local bakery/coffee shop.”They greeted and welcomed him, shifting around to make room for him on the blanket.“Where’s Richie Rich and his hanging chad?” Laurel asked as she got comfortable.Sara snorted. “Yeah, Laur, your not bitter at all.” Laurel flipped her off.“You just missed them, Oliver went chasing after some homeschool girl and like a loyal dog, Tommy followed after him.” Zari explained, popping a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth. She offered Leonard, who was directly to her right, some. He turned her down.“Who is this now? And should I avoid them?” Leonard asked.“Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn.” Sara replied. “Oliver’s dad started a ranch out here when he was twenty years old and then took all the money he made and invested it into some big tech firm. Now he owns everything from casinos to oil fields to factories up and down both seaboards. Tommy’s dad owns a medical tech company in Star City. He moved Tommy out here after his wife was killed in a mugging to protect him from the same fate.”“They’re pretty much a matched set at this point.” Amaya explained. “You never see one without the other, like their each other’s wing men or something.”As she spoke another young girl joined them, a glass bottle soda in one hand and a burger in the other. “Are we talking shit on my brother again?” She asked.“Of course.” Kendra answered.“Always fun. Who's the new guy?”“Leonard Snart, Thea Queen.” Zari introduced.“Leonard wanted to know if he should avoid Oliver and Tommy.”“Absolutely, one hundred percent. They’ll drag you into trouble and then let you take the fall, cause no one in this town would dare speak out against a Queen or a Merlyn.” Thea rolled eyes. “Just ask them.” Thea gestured between Sara and Laurel. “Their dad hates my brother, cause every time he busts him for something dad bails him out and then convinces the judge to drop the charges. Petty kids stuff he calls it. Well it wasn’t petty when the Diggle’s lost one of their calves cause they set off fireworks on the pasture and the poor thing was trampled to death.”Leonard scowled but held his tongue. He didn’t know these people well enough yet, it wasn’t his place. It was nice talking with them though. They were funny and witty and more than happy to include him despite barely knowing him. They talked until the sun finished setting and then turned their attention to the large screen that had been erected in the middle of the clearing. He didn’t much care for the movie but the company was good, and if at some point during the movie he felt Sara move a little closer, well, who was he to complain.He may just get used to the country life after all.
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Earth 6 Part IArt Thief Snart/Curator LancexXxIt started at a laundromat, not the most romantic of beginnings, Sara could admit, but life wasn’t a movie and fairytale romances just didn’t happen. Especially when she was technically already in a relationship, though you would never know it based solely the amount of time they spent in each other’s presence. She never thought she end up in a loveless relationship, and yet here she was, stuck in the rut that came with too much structure and not enough of the adventure she craved growing up. She didn’t blame Tommy, but with sharp words and disappointed looks, his father had stripped him of his desire for spontaneity and adventure. Now he was the perfect heir, ready to take over his father’s company and forget about the fact that he had wanted nothing to do with said company growing up.It’s not the life Sara wanted for herself. She loved Tommy, he was like a brother to her, they had grown up together, but the wife of a CEO wasn’t her idea of fun. And for that matter neither was being curator at a museum in a city that was falling apart so badly, the only real use the museum got anymore was for extravagant parties like this one.“You’ve been staring offly hard at that Rodan, babe.” Tommy whispered in her ear. When had he come up behind her?“It’s a Vermeer, Tommy.” she replied, taking a sip of her champaign. She turned to face him, smiling half heartedly.“Oh, right, sorry.” he apologized.“It’s alright.” she said. “I know it’s not your thing. Just like spreadsheets and contracts aren’t mine.”Tommy looked at her with thinly veiled concern. “Is everything alright?”She took another drink. No, it wasn’t. “Yeah, just a little tired, come on.” she took his hand. “I think the director’s going to give his speech.”The museum director, one Rip Hunter, was probably the most impersonal human being on the planet, so watching him try to connect with a room full of people was always a lesson in second hand embarrassment. Thankfully for her, Tommy felt the same and when they were sure no one was paying attention he pulled her out of the room and out into the back garden.“I don’t know why he just doesn’t get someone to write those for him. Honestly, I’m sure Gideon would be happy to do it if only to save him from this four times a year.” Sara said as they walked the stone paths through the rose garden. Every so often a reproduction of a famous work would break the endless chain in the wall of hanging vines and bright blooms. This part of the museum had been her idea. The perfect place to enjoy her favorite medium of art without feeling boxed in. Rip had been skeptical at first, but the minute his assistant, Gideon, had said how lovely she thought it would be, he’d approved the project. The man couldn’t be more obvious if he tried.“He seems like the type to take exception to being told he can’t do something.” Tommy explained. He was right of course. Rip was the poster child of achieving something simply out of spite. He practically ran on it.“He really is.” she replied simply. As they came up on a white marble bench, she took a seat, setting her glass aside.“So, I’ve been thinking.” Tommy spoke up after a bit.“About what?” she asked.“Us, you know when we were kids. I remember when you used to tag along with us, me and Ollie and Laurel, you were like our shadow.”Sara rolled her eyes. “You know the only reason I followed you guys around was because of my dad, right?” she asked. He looked confused. “Dad said I was too obsessed with my solo hobbies and I needed to spend time with other kids. I only tagged along so Laurel wouldn’t rat me out to our father that I had gone off to be by myself again.”Tommy snorted. “So all these years we’ve been teasing you about tagging along and you didn’t even want to be there in the first place?” she shook her head. “Oh that is hilarious. Ollie’s going to be crushed when he finds out you didn’t have a crush on him.”“Ollie thought every girl had a crush on him. He’s such an ass.” Sara replied over Tommy’s laughter.“Yeah well he’s dating your step sister.”“His only saving grace.” “You know all of that pretty much just throws everything I was going for out the window.” Tommy explained.“And what were you going for?” she asked, looking up at the reproduction of Nike of Samothrace across the row from them.“I was trying to be romantic. A nice little story for us to tell people later.”Sara felt every muscle in her body tense, her eyes resolutely staring down the statue. She knew what was coming, an uncharacteristic fear over taking her.“I love you Sara, and there’s no doubt in my mind that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Tommy continued. Sara finally looked at him, he was sitting on the edge of the bench a velvet box in his hands held out to her.
“No no no no no no no no”
“Will you marry me?”
“No no no no no no no no no no no.”
“I…” she froze, what was she supposed to say? She loved him, she really did, but did she love him enough to spend her life with him. Shuffling from society function to society function, popping out heirs one after the other and going on the occasional vacation to some rich man’s tourist trap twice a year? Could she be the daughter her father wanted, the wife Malcolm wanted for his son? “I… what is that?”Her questioned seemed to throw Tommy off and he looked down at the ring. “Diamonds and rubies in platinum, your favorite.” he looked back up only to realize she wasn’t even looking at the ring. “Sara?”“That section of the museum is closed.” she muttered to herself and Tommy turned to follow her line of sight, catching the shine of flashlights in the windows of a glassed in hallway connecting one gallery to another.“It’s probably just security making their rounds.” Tommy replied, eager to get back to the task at hand.Sara shook her head, standing from the bench.“Your getting up, why are you getting up?”“The guards do their rounds on the hour. It’s only 8:30.” “So they’re doing them early. Sara!” Tommy called after her as she started walking toward the building. He sighed harshly, snapping the ring box closed and shoving it into his pocket. He got up, running after her. “Sara, what are you doing?” he asked as he came up behind her. She’d entered the building along the walkway and was heading toward where the lights had disappeared.“Shhh.” she hushed him, following the path of usual foot traffic through the hall and into the next gallery. The lights were ahead of them when they made it, making their way toward the farthest gallery in this wing.“Why don’t you just call security?” Tommy whispered harshly.“They’re headed for the Americana Gallery.” she muttered to herself giving no indication that she had heard him.“Good for them, call security.”“I spent six months curating that gallery, I’m not leaving it up to a bunch of guys who don’t get paid enough to care.” she finally answered him, storming off.“Your insane, what are you going to do?”She was back to ignoring him again. The only lights in the gallery were the overhead spotlights, illuminating each work of art and the flashlights moving back and forth on the other end of the room. Right in front of the Norman Rockwell she almost got into a fist fight over with a collector at an auction house in Central City.“Sara, Sara stop.” Tommy whispered as she approached what she was now certain were thieves. They were working at the frame which should have set off the alarms all together. The sensors were so sensitive they should have gone off as soon as they started breathing on it. One time a kid sneezed near a statue and the alarms went off. But there was nothing now. She reacted then, slipping a hand into the slit of her skirt and pulling out a throwing knife. Not many people knew she carried knives, only her stepsister in fact. She’d learned to use them while studying martial arts intensively most of her life. With the precision she was known for she flipped the knife in the air, caught it by the blade and threw it across the room, firmly planting itself in the wall by one of the thieves heads. He yelped then cursed, drawing everyone’s attention to her.“Why do you have knives!” Tommy exclaimed.There were four men, all of them rather large if not in bulk in height. They each wore blue coveralls and black balaclava masks and there was clearly some kind of radio device in their ears. They outed their leader when they all turned to look at him. He gestured toward her with a nod and the biggest of the group made his way toward her.“We need to go.” Tommy said behind her the sound of his footfalls moving quickly out of the room followed. She stood there wide eyed, staring at the large thief. He and the others were staring off behind her.“Did he just fucking run away?” she asked outraged. They all nodded. “Oh, well, I’m definitely not marrying him now!”“Good call.” they all toned together, their voices distorted by some kind of machine.Things began to progress again. The large thief began stalking toward her again and she ran toward him, dropping to her knees and sliding the rest of the distance between them, driving her fist into his knee cap. As he struggled for balance as the pain erupted she snapped up to her feet and leapt into the air, driving her fist into the side of his head. Disoriented he fell to his hands and knees and Sara finished him off with a kick to the face.“Holy shit.” one of them muttered.“Abort.” the leader called out, gesturing for the other two to go after her. They had even less success, taking hits here and there that left them bruised and bloody on the floor. Only one of them managed to get back up, evading her long enough to make a run for it, following the leader out an emergency exit.Behind her, Sara heard voices shouting but she ultimately ignored them going after the thieves.“Running in fucking heels and a ball gown, what the fuck!” one of them exclaimed when she finally caught up with them running along the maintenance roads.“Stop talking and keep running.” the other one replied, judging by his tone he was the leader. They were nearing the employee after hours parking lot when a white panel van screeched to a halt at the end of the path. The side door slid open and the two men jumped in, a third pulling a gun and aiming at her. She reacted, pulling another knife and throwing it, just as the leader leapt forward and shoved the gun down. The knife went sailing, barely sliding between the faces of the leader and the third man before embedding in the opposite door.“Fucking hell, who is she ?” someone screamed.“Just drive!”xXxSara returned to the museum to find police everywhere. Her father was there, screaming at Tommy while the younger man tried to defend himself, not quite achieving the proper volume to be heard over her father’s ire. Felicity was by Oliver’s side, Laurel with her boss looking over the room. Undoubtedly putting everything their father had taught them about being witnesses to good use. She was the first to notice her.“Sara!” Laurel called out, ending any and all arguments between their loved ones. She rushed to her sister, asking only one thing. Was she alright? She was surrounded and questioned and shuffled off to an ambulance where they checked her vitals, wrapped her bruised knuckles and put one of the foil blankets around her.“What the hell happened in there, Sara?” her father asked when the paramedics were done. “What were you thinking?”“Do we have to do this now dad? I’m in shock. Look they gave me a blanket and everything.” she flapped it, pulling it a little tighter and stood from the tailgate. She stepped around her father who was none too happy to let her walk away. As she neared the edge of the police barrier, ready to duck under the tape and bail on this whole shitty night, Tommy finally caught up with her.“Oh god Sara, are you alright. I was so worried.” he told, pulling her into a hug. When he pulled back Sara smiled half heartedly, reaching up and smoothing out his lapels, her eyes keeping track of the task.“Tommy.” she began.“Yes, what is it?”Sara looked up at him. “I hate rubies.”And with that she turned and walked away.
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Earth 34 Part IOne Night Stand/Accidental Pregnancy AUxXxLeonard Snart prided himself on many things. His skills as a thief being nearing the top of the list. Among those skills existed an acute sense of situational awareness. The ability to notice the slightest changes in his environment, someone looking his way a little too long, a nervous shift, a dangerous entity, and of course, a deviation in the normal routine.His routine deviated the minute he laid eyes on her. His crew had just pulled a big job in Keystone City and Leonard had returned to Central afterward to lay low. Feeling a little couped up in his safehouse with the high of a well planned job going off without a hitch still pulsing through his veins, he decided on a jaunt to Saints and Sinners where he would enjoy the usual atmosphere, have a few beers, maybe a burger and then head back to crash.The bar wasn’t particularly busy, not by Thursday night standards. There were a few groups of regulars spread out along the outside against the walls in the booths. Three frat house looking guys were playing pool with a couple of girls, none of them belonging here, making all kinds of excessive noise and throwing around money, all of them were living it up on their adventure to the seedier side of town. Leonard rolled his eyes, put an order in at the bar and then took his usual seat in the back, the perfect view of the entire bar.It wasn’t until he sat down that he noticed her. How he could have missed her to begin with he wasn’t entirely sure. She was small, sure, but she wasn’t a regular, so his eyes shouldn’t have glossed over her. She was sitting at a high top, her feet propped up on the rungs of the chair across the table from her. There was a half empty bottle of Jack Daniels in front of her a tumblr next to that, and she never looked up from the pocket sized notebook she alternated between flipping through the pages of and making notes in. Other than a good view of the door and the bar, the table didn’t seem to be anything more than a place she found comfortable.Leonard realized he was being obvious in his observations when she stopped writing to look up abruptly. Her brilliant blue eyes turned to him, not even trailing the rest of the room, just immediately pinpointing him as the source of what he assumed was her feeling of being watched. Leonard diffused the situation with a smirk, a tilt of his beer bottle toward her and then smoothly turning his attention to his food as the waitress brought it to him. He felt her watch him for another minute before turning back to her notebook.Everything was relatively quiet after that, but as he neared the end of his meal he noticed the three college guys were huddled together. Never a good sign. The one in the middle was being elbowed and ribbed by his friends and the gestures toward the young woman made the topic of their conversation obvious. Eventually he pushed his friends away from him and made his way over. Leonard couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it was obvious the woman wasn’t interested. Not to be discouraged he continued to speak to her, leaning into her personal space. Leonard was looking for the right moment to step in, his need to lay low overruled by his desire to put these punks in their place, when the guy snatched the notebook out of the woman’s hands.Leonard watched the woman, her face neutral but the rage boiling beneath the surface, not all that dissimilar from his partner Mick. She slowly she got up, ignoring his prodding as he flipped through the pages wanting to know what was so interesting that she would ignore him for it. She stood before him, feet shoulder width apart, body loose, ready for a fight.“You have five second to return that.” she said, Leonard hearing her voice for the first time. A few of the other patrons had caught wind of what was going on and stopped to watch.“Or what?” he laughed.“Or I embarrass you in front of your friends.”The guy laughed, shutting the book and sticking it in his pocket, mocking her. She smirked.“You were warned.” was the last thing she said and she moved forward swiftly, driving a fist into his gut. He doubled over in pain, coughing and sputtering as she brought her knee up and capped him in the face. He straightened up with the force and the woman grabbed his head, slamming it against the pool table, letting him drop to the floor, groaning in agony. His face was covered in blood and he coughed every so often.The woman reached down and pulled the notebook from his pocket, slipping it into her own and returning to her table where she slipped her black leather jacket on. This seemed to snap at least one of the other boys from his shock and he cursed at her, moving toward her as she picked up the bottle of Jack Daniels, only slightly less empty than when Leonard had first noticed her. The man raised his hand as if to grab her and with lightning speed she grabbed his hand, bending it back at a painful angle, bringing him to his knees as he struggled for her to let him go. The woman turned back to her bottle and in a feat that clearly impressed everyone watching, she downed the rest of it in one go, before setting it back on the table, releasing the second man and shoving him away with her foot.With that she sauntered off, stopping just long enough to exchange some folded bills and a few words with the bartender before leaving. Leonard counted to ten, tossed some money on the table and left as well.The woman was still in the parking lot, straddling the black motorcycle that he had parked his own next to when he pulled in an hour or so before. She was fiddling with the straps of her helmet, struggling as her hands shook. Her breathing was labored and Leonard would have thought she was shot through with adrenaline from the fight if only she wasn’t sitting so tense and rigid.“That was some show you put on in there.” Leonard spoke up. The woman’s head snapped up, blue eyes sharp as she stared him down. He froze, a feeling of unease washing over him. “Don’t blink or you’ll miss her attack.” a voice whispered in the back of his mind.She leaned slightly away from him and took in a deep breath letting it out slowly. It dawned on him then that she was fighting an urge. He’d seen it before with junkies on the street. But the urge wasn’t for some illicit substance, the urge was to kill.“What do you want?” she asked, turning back to her helmet.Leonard telegraphed his movements, slowly raising his hands. “Just making sure you’re alright. Not that it isn’t obvious you can take care of yourself, but you did drink an entire bottle of Jack by yourself and now you seem intent on driving away.”“You a cop?” she huffed a laugh, as if she already knew how ridiculous that question was.Leonard chuckled. “Not if my life depended on it.” he replied. “And I suppose your just a concerned citizen.” she added.“Absolutely.” he told her.“One that seems very comfortable in a bar full of criminals.”“Hey, even a crook can be worried about safety.”She shook her head and took another deep breath. She’d stopped shaking, which was a good sign, and the deadly intent was gone, though he knew better than to think she wasn’t still dangerous.“I haven’t seen you around here before, I’m Leonard.” he stated simply.“Sara. And I’m just passing through. Stopped in to meet some friends of friends before I head out again.”“Going anywhere special?” he asked, trying to keep it light. He wasn’t trying to pry, but this woman had grabbed his attention in away no one else had, at least not for a very long time.“Not really. Why? You have a suggestion?”He shrugged. “Not really, though I hear Bludhaven is beautiful this time of year.”Before she could reply Leonard straightened up, listening intently. Sara did the same catching the faintest sound of police sirens in the distance.“Those are definitely headed this way.” he said. Sara looked incredulous.“You can tell, just by listening?” she asked incredulously.Leonard smirked. “Impressed.”She shrugged. “A little.”“If your interested I know a safe place you can lie low.” he offered. Sara looked him up and down.“Sure, why the hell not.”Leonard sauntered over to his bike parked next to her and straddled it, slipping his helmet on. She did the same and then followed him as she pulled out of the parking lot, making it down the street in time to catch a police car and an ambulance as they turned a corner in the opposite direction.Sara followed Leonard through the streets and eventually into an alley a few miles from the bar. She parked her bike beside his and took her helmet off, dismounting.“A safe house?” she questioned incredulously as he pulled aside a section of the building’s wall that had, just a moment ago, seemed completely normal.“I did say it was a safe place to lay low.” Leonard smirked.Sara rolled her eyes. “You’re one of those guys who thinks puns are funny aren’t you?” she asked slipping through the open panel.“Puns are hilarious .” he replied following her in.The safe house wasn’t as sparse as she would have thought it would be. There looked to be a few rooms. The one they walked into was set up similarly to a joined kitchen and living room. There was a beat up looking sofa on one end, a card table somewhere near the middle and a galley kitchen on the other end. There were stacks of books and magazines randomly scattered around and the other rooms were all closed off by doors.“Not planning on staying long?” she asked. She may not know him very well, or at all for that matter, but given his neat appearance she doubted this was a place he was all too comfortable in unless he absolutely had to be.“No, I’ll move on in a day or so. I made the mistake of letting someone else set this one up.” he explained. She tried not to laugh. “Can I offer you a drink? Guy who set this place up cared more about stocking the liquor cabinet than anything else.”“Sure.” she replied simply. She watched as he pulled a fresh bottle of Jack out of one of the cabinets and two glasses. He filled each and passed one to her. “So, Leonard, besides drinking, what else is there to do around here?”“Do you play Gin?” he asked.“Card games? That’s how you entertain yourself around here?”Leonard smirked. “Among other things. This however, is the only two person entertainment I can offer you without crossing a line.”Sara looked like she was suppressing a smile, wageing an internal debate whether or not to rise to his challenge. She leaned forward on the counter. “Your deal.” she told him, stepping back and making her way over to the card table. Leonard took a steadying breath and pulled a deck out of a drawer before joining her.Sara had taken off her jacket, draping it across the back of her chair. As she sat she leaned a bit, pulling the little notebook out of her jeans pocket and slipping it into the pocket of her jacket.“Ya know,” Leonard began, shuffling. “That must be pretty important for you to break a guys face over.”“It’s nothing that can’t be replaced.” she told him, taking a pull from her glass. “That guy just pushed the line a little too far. Probably didn’t need to give him a concussion, the broken nose was good enough, but...” she shrugged.“Well maybe this will be a teachable moment for him.” he replied as they began to play.“Doubtful. Men like that rarely ever learn. On the plus side I doubt I’ll have anything to worry about with the Police.”“What makes you say that?” Leonard asked, taking a card and discarding another.“Given the normal clientele, at least half, if not all of them probably ducked out the back when they heard the sirens, so there won’t be any witnesses. On top of that those boys are going to have to decide if they want everyone to know they got their asses kicked by a girl half their size. If not they’re going to have make something up that’ll just go cold in a couple of weeks.”“Either way your home free. As you said, your leaving town in a few days anyway. Gin.” he laid his cards down. Sara looked over his hand, before ceding. She gathered up the cards and shuffled, dealing a new hand.“So what is in the notebook, if you don’t mind me asking.”Sara sighed, finished off her drink and standing to retrieve the bottle from the counter. She refilled her glass. “I’ve been a little out of touch for a year or so, it’s just a list of things to catch up on.”“Out of touch?”“It’s complicated.” she took a long drink from her glass and Leonard took the hint, dropping the subject.The next two hours passed with cards and more alcohol. Leonard drank slowly, stopping once he felt a nice buzz, but Sara kept going, giving no indication that she was feeling any effects of the alcohol whatsoever. He briefly entertained the idea that she might be a metahuman, but dismissed it the first time she got up to relieve herself. She swayed on her feet as she stood only enough to look, to anyone who hadn’t seen her finish off nearly two bottles of Jack, as though she had merely misstepped. In an instant she was steady again, making her way to the bathroom and returning to find he’d put the cards away.“Giving up.” she teased. She hadn’t won a single hand all night. Leonard of course had been cheating and he was fairly certain she knew it, but she didn’t mention it or seem to care.Leonard smirked. “It’s getting late, and I’m not as young as I used to be. Can’t burn the candle at both ends anymore.“You will not last the night.” she muttered to herself, standing and returning the nearly empty bottle and glasses to the kitchen. “I suppose I should get going too then. I’m sure it’s clear by now.”“Are you sure, you’ve been drinking pretty heavily all night.” Leonard replied.“Still worried about my safety crook, I’m flattered.”Leonard smirked. “Maybe I’m just hoping you’ll stay and take advantage of me.”Sara laughed, a very pleasant sound. Leonard had never considered laughter to be pleasant, but with her it surprisingly was.“You’re very strange Leonard.” she told him.“Good, I thrive on being unpredictable.”Sara was slowly moving closer, crossing from the counter to where he stood beside the card table.“I can’t seem to pin you down.” she continued, standing toe to toe with him. She had to crane her neck back to look him in the eye. Had he always been that tall? She could climb him like a tree.“After what you did to those guys at the bar, I find that hard to believe.” he replied, leaning into her slightly. She must have felt the shift, her eyes dilating.“Is that what you want Leonard? To be dominated?” she asked rising up on her toes, a feat that was so smooth and effortless Leonard questioned whether she had actually had anything to drink at all.They were so close now, breath mingling between them as they stood in a standoff.“What can I say,” he began, unapologetically. “I have a type.”Sara reached up and planting her palms against his chest, she pushed him back, the unexpected move, throwing him off and he stepped back. She didn’t stop though, keeping a firm pressure against his chest as she advanced. Leonard took the hint stepping back each time she stepped forward until the back of his knees met the sofa and he let himself fall back onto it.She smirked down at him, crawling onto his lap with feline grace she should have been incapable of after so many drinks. His hands came up, resting on her hips, fingers flexing against the material of her jeans.“Mmm, you definitely have a type.” she muttered, feeling the evidence of his arousal between them. Sara leaned in to him, her mouth latching on the column of his neck, finding a sweet spot just below his ear.Leonard groaned, threading his fingers through the belt loops of her jeans and pulled her flush against him. He then trailed them up her back and under her shirt, stuttering in his movement only slightly when he felt the numerous, sometimes rather large scars there. He had no room to judge of course, he had plenty of scars of his own he wasn’t looking forward to her seeing, but as she ground down against him, he found his self consciousness, flying from his mind.Sara’s hands began their own journey, running down his chest and down to the waistband of his jeans. She had the button undone and his zipper down in record time, never ceasing her work on his neck, before trailing her hands up under his sweater. Her nails scratched deliciously at the muscles of his abdomen, never once hesitating over his blemishes. She pulled back long enough for him to pull her shirt over her head and then moved in again, this time working on the other side of his neck. He was sure to have a few telltale marks in the morning, but at the moment he couldn’t find it in him to care.Sara had almost gotten his shirt off when, he wrapped his hands around her ass and pulled her against him, standing. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he started walking, heading for the farthest closed door from the couch. She continued her ministrations, ignoring what he was doing, where he was going until he dropped her, her back hitting a soft surface. It took only a moment for her to realize they were in a bedroom now, and he had dropped her on a bed.Leonard stood over her, breathing a bit labored, whether from the exertion of carrying her or what she had been doing to him. She assumed it was the latter, eyeing the prominent bulge through his open jeans. Leonard removed his shirt as she sat up, pulling him by the waist band to stand between her legs. She pushed his jeans off his hips, his briefs following.“Please tell me we haven’t gone through all of this and you don’t have a condom.” she spoke for the first time since she’d crawled into his lap. Leonard smirked, stepping back, ridding himself of his pants, and turning away to pull open a dresser drawer. He reached in, found what he was looking for and turned around just in time to watch her kick off her jeans. She stood before him in black lace, her hips sharp, her body incredibly toned. He realized as he appreciated her, that she had a lot more scars than he originally realized. He could tell which ones were bullet wounds and which ones were knife wounds. There was a cluster of stab wounds just below her breast bone and he could only guess what made the long angry looking slashes.He caught her eye and stalked forward, holding up the condom. She took it from him, pulling him down to finally share a kiss. Leonard used the opportunity to wrap his hands around her thighs, lifting her up and moving forward to kneel on the bed. He laid her down gently this time, hovering over her.“You’re overdressed.” he said, smoothing his palms down her sides.Sara smirked. “What are you going to do about it?” she challenged, running her hands through his closely cropped hair.Leonard looked smug. “I think you’ll find, Sara, that I never back down from a challenge.”“Good.” she replied, throwing her leg over his hip and using her momentum to flip their positions, much to his startled amazement. “I think you’ll find, Leonard , that neither do I.”Leonard took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was no prepubescent boy, he had plenty of experience with partners of multiple persuasions, but this woman, this woman who was slowly grinding against him, looking for all the world like she just might eat him alive was going to be the death of him. He could feel it.The sound of the foil ripping, drew him out of his thoughts and he watched as she rolled the condom on, before reaching up and undoing her bra. Leonard sat up against the headboard, pulling her toward him as he did, slipping his fingers into her panties and pushing the garment down. Once she was free of them, she straddled his lap, sinking down onto him slowly. He dug his fingers into her hips as she began to move just as slowly, teasing him.“Sara.” he breathed, a warning that only spurred her on. They were both so wound up, Sara knew they wouldn’t last and it was only a matter of time before Leonard took matters into his own hands.Sara was driving him crazy, the slow undulation of her hips not nearly enough to push either of them over the precipice they had been working towards. Eventually he couldn’t take it anymore, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her down against him, stilling her movements. She gasped as he pistoned his hips up into her, a feeling of deep satisfaction settling in him as she dug her nails into his shoulders.It wasn’t long before they were both nearing the end, and Leonard was determined to make sure she finished as well. He slid his hand between them, placing steady pressure against her clit. She gasped his name, her entire body wrung taught like a bow string as her walls contracted around him.“Fuck.” he cursed, burying his face in her neck and biting down on the flesh there. Not enough to break the skin, but just enough to make her squirm against him as she came down.They sat like that for neither knew how long, before Sara pushed off of him, collapsing to the side. Leonard smirked down at her, enjoying the boneless way she struggled to calm herself.While Sara tried to catch her breath she heard Leonard get up and walk across the room. A door opened before she heard the sound of running water. Not long after he came back in, crawling back up onto the bed beside her. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she was until she felt a blanket being draping over her. She turned to look up, watching as Leonard got comfortable on the other side, never once questioning her continued presence there. She had been certain that he wasn’t an overnight kind of a guy, but she supposed he had made it clear he didn’t want her driving in an impaired state. Fucked senseless was about as impaired as it got for her.Leonard heard Sara laugh and turned to look at her. “Not exactly the response I usually get after sex.” which only made her laugh harder.“Sorry.” she apologized though he got the feeling she was not in fact sorry for anything. He merely shrugged, switched off the bedside lamp and laid down, drifting off to sleep.xXxSara jerked awake, the voices rising up in cacophony all around her. Another night, another nightmare. At least this time she hadn’t lashed out. She turned her head, letting her eyes adjust to the dark before she could see the faint outline of her bed partner. She smiled to herself. Leonard had been a lot of fun, undoubtedly. Quite the gentleman for a crook, but it was time to move on. There was no need for a night of fun to turn awkward in the light of day, so she carefully slipped out of bed, redressed in the dark and left. Simple as that.Except, nothing was ever simple when you lived a life like hers.xXx19 months later“We got a problem boss.” was Mick’s only greeting as he stalked toward the wooden work bench Leonard had laid all of his notes and blueprints out on. The Rogues were gathered around, waiting for him to fill them in on their latest heist when Mick dropped a thick manilla envelope on the bench in front of Leonard.“What the hell is this?” Leonard questioned. The outside was blank, no markings of any kind.“Special delivery from one of Lewis’ goons.”Leonard looked up at his oldest friend, an intense glare on his face. Mick knew it wasn’t for him, but he also knew what a piece of work Lewis Snart was and no matter what the reason, chances were, something bad was about to happen.“What did he say?” Lisa asked, from Leonard’s right.“Only that it was a job offer, and it was in your best interest to look it over before you make up your mind.” Mick explained. “I got the distinct impression that he’s found leverage somewhere.”That didn’t make any sense. The only people Lewis could hurt to get to him were Lisa and Mick. He’d defend his crew, sure, but at the end of the day they didn’t mean the same to him as his sister and surrogate brother.Leonard sighed, opening the envelope, careful to feel for traps before he looked into it. When he was certain it was safe he dumped the contents on the bench.“Surveillance photos?” Shawna questioned. “Isn’t that the woman from Saints and Sinners last week?”She was right, it was Sara. The young woman who swept in and out of his life in a single night. She had been gone when he woke up the next morning, no note, no explanation, not that he expected one. He assumed if he ever saw her again, it would be by chance, until the week before when she’d been at the bar before he and his crew walked in. She’d seemed distracted, nervous even, but whatever was bothering her, wasn’t enough to stop her from having a good time with him in the alley behind the bar while everyone else was busy inside.The photos were taken a good distance away. A few of them were of just her, running through the park, or standing outside a nice house in the suburbs talking to another, older woman with long blonde hair. It was the other photos that brought him up short though.Sara, carrying a young girl, a bright red stuffed toy of some kind clenched in the girl’s hand. Sara was smiling down at her, laughing. The photo didn’t show the young girl’s face, but she had long curly dark hair. The next one did show her face, and there was a note attached to it.The little girl was sitting in the yard of the same house in the other photos, same toy in her hand as she looked out at someone out of frame. She was grinning happily. The note simply read; She has your mother’s eyes.
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Earth 16 Part ICamp CounselorsxXx"Stop pouting Lenny." Lisa chastised, turning from her phone to her older brother with a glare. "You've always wanted to go to camp, now you can.""I wanted to go when I was eight, kid.""Hey, it's a job and it's far away from dad which is everything you wanted this summer.""She's right man." Mick added from his other side."It's not the job that bothers me. Did you see who the other Counselors are?""Oh, that. Well, I can't blame you there." she conceded.As if on cue two flashy sport car convertibles came screaming down the road stopping on a dime not far from where they were standing next to the camp bus. Oliver Queen sat behind the wheel of one, a small black haired woman with dark make up in the passenger seat and a taller guy with dark hair in the back. The second car was driven by Tommy Merlyn with two blonde women, one in the front and one in the back. Tommy and Oliver were laughing, clearly they had been racing here, and the young blonde woman in the back of Tommy’s car looked less than amused as she jumped over the back door of the convertible and turned to grab her duffle bags.“Cause that was totally necessary.” She muttered under breath, blowing past everyone and climbing into the bus.“Alright, seriously Laurel, what is wrong with your sister?” Oliver questioned climbing out of the car himself. “I thought she was looking forward to coming here.”“I don’t know. She’s been in a bad mood for almost a month now.” Laurel replied as she accepted her bag from Tommy. “No one knows why. She’s barely spoken to anyone since graduation. She even told mom and dad she didn’t want a graduation party.”“Do you know Felicity?” Oliver asked the other woman in their group. With a better look, they could see she definitely didn’t seem like the kind of person who would be welcome in a group headed by trust fund brat Oliver Queen or his best friend, and yet the young woman in her goth ensemble looked to fit right in.“No.” she shook her head, and Leonard might have cringed at the higher pitch of her voice. She was definitely lying.“No huh?” Oliver questioned with a smirk.“Nope.” she replied simply, taking her bag from him and heading for the bus.“She’s a terrible liar, how has she ever gotten away with anything?” the taller man asked as they all turned for the bus. They ignored Leonard and his crew as they passed, boarding the bus themselves.“Well that was entertaining.” Cisco said when they were gone, earning a snort of laughter from Lisa.Leonard just shook his head, sharing a look with Mick and Barry. “Here comes the bus driver. Let’s get on.”The group from Star City were all situated at the back of the bus. The young woman he knew only as ‘Laurel’s Sister’ was sitting in the very last seat, her bag on the seat across from her, most likely to prevent anyone from sitting there. She had her feet up and her headphones on, staring out the window and resolutely ignoring everyone who had crowded in around her.The rest of her group had decided to ignore her too. Merlyn and Queen each sat by a window, Laurel sharing a seat with Merlyn, Felicity with Queen and the tall guy who looked vaguely familiar, but who Leonard couldn’t place, sat by himself, at the edge of his seat, looking back at all of them.Leonard and his crew seemed uneager to join them and instead took the seats near the front. It was probably presumptuous to think none of them would get along, they didn’t even know any of them. They knew of them though, or at least of Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn. Even halfway across the country in Central City, they were aware of the two friends’ constant trouble making. Leonard remembered watching them on the news growing up, decked out in their little kid tuxedos looking for all the world like they would rather be anywhere else. They probably did and to be honest if Leonard were in their place he probably would have been too, but it was more the general air about them that hackled him. They lived a privileged existence and Leonard couldn’t stand the idea of them squandering all of their opportunities when there were people like him who had to struggle for every little thing.The bus drove two hours north of Central City, moving from open highway to rural back roads.Camp Waverider was situated on a lake that did not live up to the name of the camp. The water was so placid, Leonard half expected a thirty foot crocodile to be swimming around in there.The camp was fairly expansive, but the main cabins were all in the same place, sitting along in a row on either side of a dirt road. The rest of the camp was made up of playing fields, ranges and crisscrossing hiking trails. The entrance road turned into a roundabout, and the bus stopped at a wooden platform where a man, a woman and a little kid were standing.The groups disembarked the bus and as soon as they were all off, it took off again, leaving them all standing there waiting for instructions.“I’m Rip hunter, this is my wife Miranda and my son Jonas.” he introduced. “Welcome to camp Waverider. We appreciate all of you coming out early to help set up. There’s still a lot to do so I think we should jump right in. Miranda will get the girls situated in their cabin, and I’ll take the rest of you to yours.” he explained.xXxThe Counselors cabin was double sided. Split down the middle by a common room, that locked from the boy’s side and the girl’s side. The three sections of the building, Boy’s dorm, girl’s dorm and common room were all the same size and in the common room there were various sofas, books shelves, a billiards table, a card table and a ping pong table. The common room was the main point of entrance.Miranda took the girls through the door on the left, while Rip diverted the larger group of boys to the right.Each dorm had several single beds all along the walls and a trunk at the end of each bed.“It’s only you four girls this year.” Miranda explained. “So feel free to spread out.”Sara, who Miranda remembered was the first person of her group to apply for the Counselor position, waited for Laurel to choose her bunk and then chose one as far from the older girl as she could manage. Felicity split the difference taking a bunk between them with several empty on either side and Lisa, who as far as Miranda could tell did not know the other girls, left several between herself and Sara on the opposite side.This year certainly promised to be a bit dramatic.“Alright,” she began when they were all situated. “It’s just us girls for awhile. I’m going to take you on a tour of the camp, show you where to find everything you might need. I’ll also explain your duties and what we’ll have to do to get the camp ready for the incoming campers.” she continued. “After that we’ll have lunch and then you guys can have the rest of the day to explore and learn your surroundings. We’ll start bright and early in the morning.”With that, she led the girls out of the cabin and into the camp.On the boys side, Rip was discovering that this summer was most likely to give him ulcers. He had been surprised to find applications from both Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn in the stack of last minute applications, and he spent nearly an hour online making sure they weren’t apply due to some court mandated community service. He would have to take them no matter what anyway. He was required by law to have no less than Eleven counselors for the number of campers who had signed up this summer and he was short by four. He was certain he would have to shut down this year until he received the late applications from Queen, Merlyn, the Older Lance sister and Raymond Palmer.“Maybe she’s still upset about Nyssa.” Ray spoke up as he dropped his bags on a bunk along one wall. Oliver and Tommy took bunks next to him. On the other side of the room, Leonard, Mick, Barry and Cisco had lined up.“Fee said she saw the whole break up coming. She made peace with it months ago.” Oliver replied, pulling things out of his bag and putting them away.“Then I have absolutely no idea.” Ray muttered.On the other side of the room, Leonard and Mick shared a knowing look. There seemed to be a case of obliviousness circling the Star City crew. Maybe it was because they were on the outside of the situation, but it was pretty obvious the problem ‘Laurel’s sister’ was having was with her company.It didn’t really matter to Leonard, though. As long as everyone did their jobs and he wasn’t left to pick up the slack for anyone, they would all get along great. The only reason he was at this stupid camp was to escape his father for the summer. He’d managed to minimize his exposure to the critical man during his freshman year of college, but now that school was out for the summer he would be in far too close proximity with him. It wasn’t that he hated Lewis, quite the contrary, it was just that it had been obvious for a very long time that the older Snart would never truly understand his son or his interests.Thankfully, Barry and Cisco had told him about the summer job at the camp. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea, not much of an outdoorsy guy himself, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. Anything was better than spending three months in the same house with a man who didn’t understand why he would rather be an engineer than carry on the family tradition at the Police academy. On top of that neither he nor Lisa wanted to spend any time around a mother (his stepmother) who spent most of her time telling her daughter she wasn’t skinny enough, or lady like enough, and that she was wasting her time applying to colleges when all she had to do was land a rich husband.With Leonard planning on leaving for the summer, Mick saw the opportunity to get out of town himself. He was having trouble finding any peace and quiet to study for the CCFD and Paramedic training program which he was slated to start at the end of September. Mick was hoping the relaxing atmosphere would help him concentrate a little better than he would with the constant interruptions at his parent’s house or at the library with kids off from school constantly running in and out.When they were finished settling in, Rip led them back out of the cabin. The tour of the grounds took a couple of hours, mostly because Rip kept stopping to explain things, such as their duties, the rules of each particular field or range and to stress the importance of learning the hiking trails as best they could to keep from getting lost.“Throughout this week we’ll have maintenance crews in and out. There’s a construction company, Jackson Construction out of Central City that will be coming up to check that all of the cabin roofs are free of leaks and that all structures are stable. The son of the companies owner has volunteered to stay for the summer to see to it that maintenance is kept up. He’ll be around to help build things for the kids once activities start and he’ll be the only one with access to the outside world once the campers arrive.” Rip explained. They would have to make friends with that guy for sure.“As for other adults. Several more will be joining us in the days to come. Most of them are only here to teach classes and will be staying off grounds.” he continued. “On your applications you were required to list special skills, hobbies, sports, previous employment, etc. I’ve used those to create a schedule for each of you to oversee different activities day to day.”Rip continued the tour, giving comprehensive instructions which Leonard was sure to retain. It wouldn’t do to get lost or be in the dark around this place, especially when he was going to be in charge of so many kids over the next few weeks.Once Rip was finished he led them back to the main area of the camp and toward the largest building there. Rip had told them it was the mess hall. They got there just as Miranda was leading the girls in, stacks of pizza boxes and bottled drinks on a rolling cart.“I was just telling the girls, if you order any food from outside for yourself, you have to order it at least an hour ahead of time. It doesn’t matter how many times the delivery guys come up here, they always miss the turn off and have to back track for at least a mile.” Miranda explained.The group set up at one of the long tables, Miranda and Rip left them to get better acquainted and to see to their son, who they’d left in the main house while they showed them around.Much to Leonard’s surprise they all seemed to fall in pretty well together. Ray was a little too goody goody for Leonard’s taste but he got along well with Barry, Cisco and surprisingly Mick. Cisco and Felicity eventually realized they recognized each other from the orientation at MIT a few months back which cemented her firmly in the nerdsphere. Oliver and Tommy were the biggest surprise of all, behaving rather pleasantly and nothing like anything they had expected. Laurel flitted from conversation to conversation, clearly the social butterfly. She was personable and listened well and Leonard could see that that was not the reason her sister (who he discovered was named Sara) had any kind of reason to be mad at her for. Speaking of Sara, she Felicity and Lisa seemed to have hit it off during the tour and any sour mood Sara was carrying melted away as she laughed with the two women. For that matter Lisa seemed to be enjoying herself as well, which was all Leonard cared about.When they were finished eating, they cleaned up and went their separate ways. Laurel, Felicity, Tommy and Oliver headed for the hiking trails while Ray, Barry and Cisco went back to the cabin to continue their discussion from lunch.“Sara and I are going swimming.” Lisa explained as she walked with Leonard and Mick back to the cabin. Sara had gone ahead, once again avoiding Oliver, Tommy and Laurel. “You guys should come too.”“I could do with a swim.” Leonard replied easily. He looked to Mick.Mick shrugged. “The beach could be a good place to get some studying done.”“Awesome, we’ll meet you out there.” she replied excitedly, a little bounce in her step as she ran ahead.xXxLeonard and Mick caught sight of Lisa and Sara as they approached the beach not long after. Lisa was laughing at something Sara had said, nearly doubled over. It was a nice sight honestly. Leonard had lived on campus all year, which means other than holidays he had very little reason to go home, so most of the time he would meet his sister out in the city somewhere or she would come and visit him on campus. It had not escaped his notice that her mother’s critical nature was taking its toll now that he wasn’t there to distract her everyday. There were quite a few weekends she would stay with him to avoid her completely and he couldn’t blame her in the slightest. Now, to see her so much lighter, laughing and care free, it made this whole thing worth it.As they approached he took note of the young woman with her. He hadn’t had much time before this to get a good look at her. She didn’t look much like her sister, except for the long blonde hair of course, and she was fairly small compared to the other girl. She was barely five five, he was sure and yet he could see she was packed with muscle as she removed her outer layer to reveal her bikini underneath. This was a woman who Leonard had no doubt, epitomized Small but fierce.“Hey.” Lisa greeted them as they got closer. Sara turned to see who she was talking to and Leonard did not miss her subtle perusal of him. Leonard was no slouch in the fitness department either. He had been a champion swimmer in highschool and had kept up with it even after graduation. He couldn’t boast Mick’s fisek by a long shot but there was nothing for him to be self conscious of.“I’m going to swim out to the float dock.” Sara told them, turning for the water. “Race you guys out there?”“I wouldn’t challenge Lenny, Sara.” Lisa warned as she followed the blonde to the edge of the water.“And why’s that?” she asked spinning around to face them, she eyed Leonard with a sudden keen interest.“Lenny is a five time state champion swimmer.” Leonard wouldn’t lie, he kind of liked how boastful his sister got when she talked about him. Of course, he was the same way with her. There had always been an immense amount of pride between them.A grin slowly split Sara’s face and Leonard was put in mind of something dangerous, almost hyena like. “Oh is that right?” she questioned.“It is.” he replied, the brag clear in his tone.“Well state champion,” she began, backing into the water. “Let’s see what ya got then.”“Are you serious?” he asked.“Do I look like I’m joking?”He shook his head and looked to Lisa who simply shrugged. “Alright fine, we’ll start thigh deep, running dive, first one to the dock wins.”“What do you win?” Mick called from his spot on the beach. He’d set up a beach chair and was watching them, his text book open on his knee.“We start set up tomorrow, winner gets to offload one chore on the other.” Leonard replied.Sara seemed to think about it for a minute. “Deal.” she finally replied holding out her hand. They shook on it.They set up in thigh deep water, which on Sara was hip deep compared to him. Lisa stood on shore behind them counting down.“Ready, set...Go!”As Lisa yelled go, Sara dodged to the left, throwing her full weight into Leonard and knocking him off his feet into the water. He came up spluttering in outrage, only to find Sara was already swimming out to the dock. He could hear Mick back on the beach laughing at him, Lisa calling for him to hurry up.Leonard got his bearing and dove in, stroking as fast as he could, but by the time he caught up, she was already on the dock, laying on her stomach and looking over the edge at him, a mischievous grin on her face.“I hope you know this means war, Lance.”“I’m looking forward to it, Snart.”
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Earth 42 Part INew 52 Justice League Snart/Civilian LancexXxThat old adage if you can’t beat’em, join’em had never really made sense to him. If you couldn’t beat someone, didn’t it make more sense to either try harder or just walk away? There was a difference between determination and obsession and Leonard Snart had skirted that line for years. He had always told himself that he would retire someday and that would be his time to walk away. He’d go live somewhere away from any superheroes and never have to think about The Flash ever again.And yet here he was, watching The Flash and Green Lantern’s back as they tried to stop whatever the baddie of the week was planning. They were amateurs at best, but they were superpowered which made them twice as dangerous, experience or not. He was starting to understand The Flash and that was a horrifying thought all on its own.Leonard threw up an ice wall, stopping a bolt of energy from reaching Hal who had been knocked out of the sky by one of the other metas. “These guys are just firing blindly.” Leonard said into the comm.“They’re definitely newbies.” Flash replied. “We need to lead them away from this area, it’s too populated.”“There’s an abandoned construction zone around the corner. If we push them th-”“Cold!”That was the last thing he heard as the breath left his lungs, a searing pain burning through his chest. He would have cursed but he didn’t have time to think about it before the darkness surrounded him.xXxLeonard Snart came to all at once with a gasp and a jerk. His eyes were wide, though still hidden behind his visor and his chest felt like Gorilla Grodd had been sitting on it. He struggled, trying to get up, but there was something holding him down.“Stop, your going to hurt yourself.” a female voice spoke, and Leonard looked around, eventually finding the source. She was leaning over him, how had he missed her before, long blonde hair pulled back in a twist and bright blue eyes shining with worry. She was the thing that had been holding him down, her small hands on his shoulders.“Where am I?” he asked, and found that his chest hurt even more when he tried to speak.“The Central City Community Center. You fell through the roof.” she told him. He focused on the ceiling above him and low and behold there was in fact a shattered skylight up there.“Aw Fu-” he turned to look at her again, catching sight of movement off behind her, little eyes watching them with interest. “Udge.” he quickly corrected, only to greeted by a chorus of little giggles.The woman seemed to be resisting the urge to laugh as well.Leonard’s meta healing wasn’t nearly as fast as The Flash’s but the longer he laid there the more the pain subsided until he could finally get back to his feet. He took in the remains of the skylight shattered on the floor around them and offered the woman a hand up.“Uh, sorry… about the mess.” he replied a little awkwardly earning himself another round of giggles. The woman sighed and shook her head, turning to the kids.“Alright, all of you go back to what you were doing.” she shooed them. The group of kids, mostly consisting of small children, the oldest couldn’t have been more than six, turned and scurried back to tables where they were working at computers. “Don’t worry about it.” she said turning back to him. “We’re insured for metas. It’s only smart in this city.”Leonard chuckled. Before he could say anything, an explosion sounded outside the building and Leonard turned to shield her out of instinct. “I should probably get back out there.” he said once the explosions started moving away again.“Probably.”“Sorry again for the mess.” he repeated as he headed for the door. Just as he’d made it a chorus of voices called out to him, and he stumbled a bit in his surprise. “Bye Captain Cold!” the kids called after him and he turned a little waving awkwardly, much to the amusement of the young woman.xXxThe metas weren’t free much longer and with their capture came an abundance of questions from Flash. For a guy who had been an enemy less than two years ago, he was certainly not shy about how much he respected Leonard now for working with them.“Are you sure your alright? You should probably get checked out at the Watchtower.” Flash said.“I’m fine, the pains already mostly gone.”“Yeah, but that scorch mark isn’t.”He was, of course, referring to the blackened mark at the center of his chest. Leonard was pretty sure if it weren’t for the upgraded tech Cisco Ramon had put in his suit when he upgraded him a few months ago, that blast would have burned right through.“I’m touched that your so concerned with my fashion sense, Flash, but if we’re going to trade tips, that shade of red is terrible for your complexion.”“It is not!” Cisco chimed in over the comms. Leonard rolled his eyes. “I’ll have you know I took his complexion into consideration when I picked that color. It’s perfect.”“Maybe when he was younger, but he’s no spring chicken anymore.”Barry, who knew very well that Leonard was just trying to get a rise out of Cisco in some desperate attempt to get them to stop worrying about him, looked equal parts amused and annoyed. Hal was trying not to laugh, as he spoke to reporters on the other side of the police line.Cisco made a noise of outrage. “Ya know what Cold, I was gonna offer to fix your suit but now I don’t feel like it, let Winn deal with it.”Leonard smirked. “Fine by me. He’s much prettier look at anyway.”“Lies.”“It’s the hair I think.”Cisco gasped. “You take that back.”“Alright!” Hal interrupted as he approached. “If your done derailing the conversation Cold, you should really get checked out with medical. You got hit with the equivalency of a small plasma cannon, better safe than sorry.”He sighed. “Fine. If it’ll make you all feel better.”xXxThe fracture to his sternum was so small the doctor almost missed it, so all in all he was fine. The only thing they were most concerned about was a possible concussion but he checked out there too.“I heard you took quite a hit, Leonard, are you alright?” Diana asked as she caught up with him on his way back to the teleporters.“Just got a clean bill of health from medical.” he replied.“That is excellent news. Are you staying? We are about to have dinner.” she asked.“No, unfortunately, I have a thing to take care of on terrafirma. Rain check?”Diana simply nodded. “I’m sure we will cross paths again soon.” she said, heading off toward the commissary.With that, Leonard continued on soon enough finding himself back in Central City. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was thinking, but he had an idea in his head and he wasn’t really trying to talk himself out of it.The community center was still open, though the kids from before were gone. Probably sent home after it was safe to walk the streets again. There were a few older people milling about and some young adults going in and out of the gym areas and classrooms. No one really paid him any mind, which seemed a little strange. One would think a costumed meta would draw attention in a place like this.Leonard wove his way through the expansive center, eventually finding himself where he had crash landed earlier in the day. The glass from the skylight had been swept into a pile, and thankfully the steel frame had remained in tact above, but there didn’t seem to be anyone around.“If you’ve come to apologize again, it’s really not necessary.”The woman from before approached from behind, and this time he had a better chance to look her over. White blouse, and ID badge he couldn’t read pinned to her open collar and a black pencil skirt. Her hair was still twisted up and there was a wry smirk on her lips as she stopped before him.“Actually, I came to see if you needed any help cleaning up, but clearly, you have that well in hand too.” he chuckled.She smiled. “Unfortunately this isn’t our first encounter with meta related damage, so we’re pretty well equipped to handle it. Fortunately it wasn’t that bad this time and you seem to be doing alright.” she gestured to the black burn mark that was still visible on his chest plate.“Yeah, the suit took most of the hit.”She smiled again. “Well, I appreciate you coming in. Most of the time no one checks in afterward, they just kind of assume we’ll be alright. Which we will, but your concern is appreciated nonetheless.”“I figured it was the least I could do. I hope I didn’t scare the kids too badly.”She shook her head. “Only because they were worried about you. Your kind of a favorite around here.”Leonard didn’t really know what to say to that. The idea that he was anyone’s favorite was a little ridiculous to him. He still had trouble calling himself a hero, despite most of the others doing so. He’d only been working with The Flash for about two years now, and it hadn’t really been something he planned.With his sister retiring from the game, his partner, Mick, going awol and the rest of the crew turning their backs on him, he wasn’t really in a hurry to get back in the criminal game.That being said he was no hero either.He mostly kept to himself for awhile and it suited him just fine. No one had ever figured out who he was and The Flash had kept his alter ego under wraps as well, for reasons Leonard had yet to figure out, so with his record clean after his last stint in prison he went straight too. He found a job at a security firm, testing systems and how easy it was to get in and out of a client's building undetected or with no question. It was actually kind of fun. He could do what he was good at, it was totally legal and he got paid quite well for it.Working with The Flash had come about around the same time Vandal Savage had launched his plans to decimate half the world’s population in order to rule over what was left. He didn’t much care for that at all, so he suited up and lent Flash a hand, getting him out of the trap Savage had stuck him in to keep him busy. He had been surprised and Leonard couldn’t blame him, but Flash couldn’t deny he had helped and he accepted help for the rest of the mission as well.When all was said and done Flash had told him he was grateful for his help and if he ever felt the need to play hero again he was more than welcome to join him. Leonard had brushed it off in his usual way and went back to his life. Any time he helped The Flash after that was just because whatever was happening was in his vicinity and it wasn’t really a big deal to help out. But then he started showing up at the ones that weren’t convenient and eventually he just couldn’t deny he had been bitten by the bug. He supposed it wasn’t too much of a stretch. He had vehemently protected his neighborhood when he was a crook with a strict code, and Central City was just the place his neighborhood resided so by that logic, he was still looking out for his neighborhood by taking on the bigger picture.Flash just smirked and offered him a comm link.Next thing he knew he was a regular at Star Labs and The Watchtower and wasn’t that a rags to riches story?Despite all of it though, he still didn’t see himself as a hero. As far as he was concerned he was just a crook who retired early and was trying to keep busy.“Actually,” the woman continued and Leonard suddenly realized he still didn’t know her name. “If your so determined to help, there’s a little gathering here on Saturday for the kids, one of the kids in our after school program beat cancer recently and she’s kind of a big fan of yours.”Leonard was a little dumbfounded, but how exactly does one say no to something like that.“Of course. I’d be honored.” he replied.“Great, I’m Sara, by the way, I don’t think I introduced myself earlier. Sara Lance, I’m the director of the Community Center.”“It’s nice to meet you officially.” he replied. “I should leave you to it though. I suppose I’ll see you on Saturday.”“I’ll see you then.” she smiled.xXx“What do you mean you have plans, Lenny? What kind of plans could you possibly have at Ten A.M. on a Saturday morning?” Lisa questioned him through the phone.“None of your business trainwreck.” he replied.Lisa gasped. “Did you meet someone Len? Are they there right now?”“No, I’m all alone, kid. It’s just a meeting okay. Nothing you need to worry about.”Lisa sighed. “Boring.” Leonard rolled his eyes. “When are you going to have some fun, big brother. You’ve been such a downer since you retired. All you do is work and play hero.”“I’m not a downer.” he defended. “I just have a lot of work to do. I’m up for a promotion at work, there’s been an increase in metahumans in the last few months. It’s a little crazy right now.”“Who are you and what have you done with my brother? I can’t believe the words “I’m up for a promotion” just came out of your mouth.” there was a murmur of noise on her end of the line before he could answer and then; “I know right?”“Who are you talking to?” Leonard questioned.“Cisco.”“What is Cisco doing in your apartment at nine o'clock in the morning?”Lisa was far too amused as she replied. “Fixing my computer. It was charging when the power went out because of those Metas the other day and I guess it shorted out. He’s trying to save my files.”“And he needed to come over this early to do it?”“Who said he came over early?”There was a muffled bump on the other end of the line and then Lisa’s laughter which got farther away. “I definitely just got here. I have a lot of work to do at the lab, this is the only time I could come over.” Cisco voice was rushed and panicked and Leonard smirked to himself, glad to hear he’d instilled the fear of winter into Central City’s resident superhero geek bar when it came to his sister. He supposed he’d have to lighten up on him eventually. Lisa had mentioned she was interested in him, seriously, and who was he to stand in the way of her happiness.Lisa was clearly trying not to laugh as she retook the phone. “Anyway, call me when you’re done, maybe we can grab lunch or something.”“Sure, sounds good. I’ll call ya later.”“Bye jerk.”Leonard sighed as he hung up the phone, tossing it aside. He would need to start getting ready soon. He’d run into Sara again completely by accident while chasing down a group of armed robbers. He’d managed to stop them with minimal damage, which was a miracle since they had been swerving all over the road like they were drunk. As it turned out, the cafe he’d stopped them in front of was frequented by one Community Center Director, Sara Lance. They’d exchanged a few words and they’d suddenly remembered that she hadn’t given him a time to show up on Saturday. They’d gone their separate ways before reporters could show up and now here he was, up early on his day off to go to a kids party like a mascot.He wasn’t too upset, sure it was a little strange and he wasn’t entirely sure what he was supposed to do, but he wasn’t about to disappoint this little girl, not after everything she had been through.With that thought, Leonard packed up his uniform and headed out. The community center wasn’t far from the loft he’d moved into after starting his new job, so it didn’t take him long to get there on foot. It wasn’t too crowded which suited him just fine. It was easier to slip in undetected to change and then slip out and make it look like he was just arriving without all the people around.Sara met him in the hallway outside her office.“Perfect timing. The kids have been here for about a half an hour, so they should all be here.” she told him, leading back down the hall.“What’s her name?” he asked.“Jada, and she has no idea your coming, no one does. I thought it would be a nice surprise.”“I hope so, I’d hate to disappoint her on such a special occasion.”Sara smiled. “Trust me, she’s going to be so happy that your here. She even wore her favorite Captain Cold shirt today.”Sara stopped outside one of the community room doors. He could hear kids talking on the other side, the chatter of voices excited and happy. He took a deep breath as Sara pushed the door open.“Jada, sweetie, there’s someone here to see you.” Sara called out over the noise. A young girl, no more than seven, sitting near the middle of the table, her, back to the door, turned, her face lighting up instantly as he stepped in behind Sara. She was very thin, and there was a wrap around her head, and when she smiled the whole room lit up.“Captain Cold!” she exclaimed excitedly, her voice carrying over the excited din of the other children and parents. She scooted off her seat and onto her feet, running up to him as fast as she could. Leonard dropped down on one knee to meet her, letting her throw her arms around his neck, and hugged her back. She was breathing hard from the exertion, but she didn’t seem to care. She chattered at him endlessly about how amazing she thought he was and how awesome his powers were and could he make it snow inside? (the look Sara gave him said if he could he shouldn’t). It didn’t seem to matter anyway, because before he could answer she was moving on to another question. She continued on for a few minutes, and Leonard found himself smiling at her enthusiasm.Eventually Sara stepped in to calm her down. He ended up taking pictures with her and her friends, the parents, who no doubt knew what he used to be spoke to him as if they didn’t and all the while Sara stood back and watched.Leonard wasn’t sure how long he had been there before his com link went off.“Cold do you read?” Cisco’s voice sounded.“Yeah.” he replied simply, pressing a hand to his ear.“We’ve got a robbery in progress at Kord Industries. I’m picking up Grodd and Giganta on security. Flash is on his way, but he’s going to need back up.”“Alright, I’m on my way.”Jada was looking up at him when he turned back and he knelt down in front of her. “Do you have to go?” she asked.“I do, duty calls.” he replied.“Okay,” she didn’t sound too happy about it, and he didn’t really have time to unpack everything he felt about that. “Thank you for coming.” she continued. She hugged him again, which he returned and then sent her off to play with her friends.Sara was at the door waiting for him and she smiled as he approached. “I’ll walk you out.” she told him, leading the way. “Thanks again for coming today. I haven’t seen her that happy in a long time.”“Glad I could help.” he replied as they wove through the halls.“You did a lot more than help.” she said as they made it to the front doors. Once again he was unsure what to say. This inability to form retorts had never been a problem before and he found it slightly unnerving that it was now. He’d been known for his witty one liners for years, but recently he found his tongue tied, and his mind going blank. In fact, the more he thought about it the more he realized it had started around the time he woke up with Sara Lance kneeling over him in a field of broken glass. Which didn’t make any sense, he’d only just met her, he had no reason to act like a prepubescent teenager around her.“Cold! How far out are you, I’m getting over run here!” Barry’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.“Not far.” he replied. “Sorry, I have to go.” he nodded toward her in goodbye.xXx“Thanks for the assist.” Barry said as he led the way into the control center of Star Labs. “How’d you get there so fast though, you live on the other side of town.”“I was out running errands.”“I thought you had a meeting today?” Cisco spoke up.“Finished the meeting, went to run errands.” Leonard replied, flipping his hood off and removing his goggles. “What was Grodd after this time?”Barry shook his head. “No idea, Ray and Carter went down to talk to Ted, see if he can figure it out.”“In the meantime I guess we just wait.”“Alright, keep me updated I guess.” Leonard replied, heading for the door.“Your leaving already?” Cisco asked. Leonard turned to look at him, slightly suspicious.“Yeah, bad guys caught. Works done for now.”“Oh, well, yeah, I was just thinking, we could all go get lunch or something. We haven’t really done that in awhile...ever...we’ve never done that, but no time like the present right?”Leonard was a little relieved to see Barry looking confused. “Did my sister put you up to this?” he asked.“No…” he huffed. “...Not really…” he laughed awkwardly. “....yes.”Leonard sighed. “I’m fine Ramon, you can report back to Lisa that she has nothing to worry about.”“Wait, what’s going on?” Barry asked.“Lisa thinks I’m boring now that I’m not robbing banks anymore.” Leonard explained.Barry looked between them. “Yay for boring.” Cisco deflated. “And you’re not boring. You just haven’t found anything non-felony related to do outside of work. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Hobbies are kind of hit or miss.” Leonard shook his head, turning back for the door. “I’m not twelve, I don’t need a hobby.”But he did. As much as Leonard hated to admit it, what Barry said had made sense. Most of his life consisted of work, and if he wasn’t working he was either playing hero or sitting around his apartment being antisocial. The problem was, his only real hobbies involved taking security systems apart, working out plans, solving complex puzzles and all of those things he did at work. So really, he was participating in his hobbies he was just getting paid for them now. Which meant he would have to look elsewhere to keep busy.He was eating lunch in his office the following Monday when the pieces all fell into place. For reasons beyond his understanding the young Director from the Community Center had entered his thoughts that morning as he was getting ready for work and he found himself growing curious about her. That led him to the Community Center website where he found the volunteer page. After that it was just a matter of figuring out what he could contribute.Leonard had dropped out of high school shortly after getting out of juvie. He’d gotten his GED, knowing he might need it someday, but school had never been a place he felt welcome, so at his first chance he left. It wasn’t the learning that had driven him away, it was the people. The teachers and other students, the ones that looked at him like he was just another statistic. He had always been good in school, he just couldn’t always stand the looks. So he decided he wasn’t going to put himself through that and walked away.That being said, there was plenty of proof that he was qualified to teach in an after school program. Unfortunately, some of that proof came from the Juvenile detention center where the in house staff had reported on what they considered a “genius level intellect”. They claimed that given the right circumstances, including a better environment, he could be anything he wanted to be.Well, he had been what he wanted to be, he had been a brilliant thief and now he was a high ranking employee at a private security firm. So clearly, he hadn’t done too badly for himself.Leonard eventually signed up to volunteer, providing his full resume. He was pretty sure they were going to turn him down once they read his police record, but he had to at least try.Two days later he got an email.
Dear Mr Snart,
I was pleased to receive your application to volunteer here at the Central City Community Center. After reading your resume and running a background check, I feel as though you would be the perfect fit here. Please contact me at your earliest convenience to set up a meeting to discuss your future role here at the center. You may respond to this email for convenience or call my secretary, her contact information is below.
Thank you for your interest in furthering the lives of Central City’s youth, and I look forward to working with you in the future.
Sincerely,
Dr. Sara Lance, Ph.D
Director of Operations/Child Psychologist
Three days after that he was walking the halls of Central City Community Center, still dressed in the suit he wore to work that morning.“Leonard Snart to see Dr. Lance.” he said as he stopped in front of the secretaries desk. She looked up and smiled at him.“One moment please Mr. Snart.” she replied, getting up and making her way over to the closed office door. She knocked, stuck her head in and then slipped back out. “Go on in, Mr. Snart.”The office wasn’t enormous, but it was well lit. Here on the third floor she had the perfect view of the city around the center and just below her window she could see the expansive outdoor grounds used primarily in the spring and summer. The center was well funded, there was no doubt about that. It had come a long way from the rundown single story gym from his childhood. He supposed he had Wayne to thank for that. The man acted like a broody asshole in costume, but out of it he certainly let the softer, caring side of his personality out.Adjacent to the windows sat a large oak desk and the wall behind it was covered in photos, certificates and commendations. The most surprising of which was a framed purple heart medal, next to a group photo of soldiers in full gear. The other photos were of groups of kids, almost like class photos.“Mr. Snart, Welcome.” Sara greeted him, standing from her chair to shake his hand. “Please, have a seat. So,” she began, once they had both gotten comfortable. “Did you have anything specific in mind when you applied?”“Honestly, no. I remember this place growing up, it was much different back then. I hadn’t really noticed how much it had changed until very recently. Next thing I know I’m looking into the website and here I am.”She smiled. “Well, I think I have a few ideas for you, if your amenable.”“I’m all ears.”“Well, for one, I have a group of kids who love to learn how things work. They take old electronics apart and learn how to put them back together and in some cases improve them. They love solving puzzles and experiencing new challenges. The instructor who was teaching it was let go a few weeks ago and we’ve been having trouble filling the position.”“If I may ask, why were they let go?” Leonard questioned.Sara took a deep breath. “A lot of our classes have a limited number of seats. We’re not a school, but we do adhere to the teacher to student ratio of the local districts. Even here, especially here, the kids deserve to receive attention in their learning.That being said, it falls on the instructors to chose students. We get stacks of applications and the instructors go through them to fill spots. This class has so many applicants I was expecting the instructor to request more days so he could double his seats, but he didn’t. He filled ninety percent of his seats and left it at that. I thought that was strange so I looked into it. Of the one hundred and fifty applicants, ninety-three percent of them came from lower income households, kids trying to get a leg up on a skill or in school to prepare them for future education, which is fundamentally what this Community Center is for. He accepted all applications from mid-middle class kids and up, and no one else. I called him out on it, he came up with some excuse about only accepting the kids who had the skills to succeed in the class, as if he weren’t there to teach them those skills in the first place and fired him.”“What have the kids in the class been doing without a teacher?” he asked.“I’ve been able to get local volunteers to rotate in and out of the class for the last few weeks, but none of them have been able to make every class, so there’s no permanent replacement yet.”“Well, I would be happy to teach the class, but I have to warn you, sometimes work requires me to work late without any advanced notice.”“I’m sure we can work around that.” she said. “If your willing to sign on as the permanent instructor, I can get the volunteers to cover when you have to work late.”“Then I think you’ve found a new instructor.” he told her.She smiled. “Excellent.” she stood up. “Why don’t I show you around.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Earth 2 Part IMayor Snart/Doctor LancexXx
“Mr. Mayor, can you hear me? Leonard?” her voice was so sweet, so kind, but at the moment he just wanted her to go away. His head was pounding, his body ached and all he wanted to do was sink back into sleep, but she wouldn’t let him. He eventually forced an eye open. “There you are.” the sweetest smile greeted him. “You had everyone very worried, sir.”
“Where am I?” he wheezed, coughing as pain ripped through his chest. He gasped, short little breaths, trying to calm down.
“Just try to relax, Mr. Mayor. Your at Central Memorial Hospital. Do you remember anything?”
Remember? What had happened? Why was he in the hospital? And then it hit him.
“Lisa, where’s Lisa?” he struggled to get up, but the woman was there, holding him down. “The accident, where’s my sister?”
“She’s alright, Leonard, stop, your sister is fine. You need to stop trying to move around.”
He was breathing heavily when he finally stopped. He looked up at the woman and for the first time he noticed her scrubs. “Where is she?”
“She’s a few floors up. She was admitted for observation. She has a broken arm and some minor cuts and bruises. She’s being observed in case of a concussion, but that’s it. Your friend Mick is with her.” the doctor explained. “Now the police are here, they want to talk to you about the accident. Do you think you can handle that?”
“Yeah.” he huffed, still finding it difficult to breath.
“Okay, before I let them in, I’m going to tell you what we need to do with you.” she continued. He tried to nod, but it hurt to much to move. “Alright. You have extensive bruising on your chest, that’s why it’s so hard to breath and you have a lot of cuts that we needed to stitch up. Your leg was pinned when the car crumpled and your femur is shattered. We need to send you down for surgery to reconstruct the leg, their preparing the OR for you now. You have a fractured wrist and a, shockingly, minor concussion.”
“What about the other driver? The other car that hit us?” Leonard asked.
“I think it’s best if I let the police explain. I’ll go tell the detective you’re ready.” She was gone for only a moment before returning with Detective West. “If you don’t mind, we’re short staffed tonight and I need to prep him for surgery.” the doctor told Iris.
“That’s fine, I just ask that you not speak about this with anyone outside of this room.” Iris replied. The doctor nodded and then moved to the opposite side of the bed, fiddling with the machines he was hooked up to. “How are you feeling, Mr. Mayor?”
“I’ve been better. What happened to the other driver?”
“First of all, I need to ask you what you remember before the accident.” Iris said.
“I was driving Lisa home from the Police fundraiser she put together. We were just turning onto Craile off I-94 when I heard an engine rev up but before I could look we were hit. I think it was on my side, and I think I hit something with the front end.”
Iris sighed. “You were hit by a modified pick up that had been reported stolen three days ago. It was large enough not sustain an enormous amount of damage, so the driver took off in it and dumped it three blocks over. It looks like there was another car at the scene, but they didn’t call 911. That was Lisa.” she paused. “All outward appearances say this wasn’t an accident. And since the impact was on the driver’s side we’re confident if it was intentional, you were the intended target.”
“What now then?” he asked, his voice clinical and cold. It was easy to see, in that moment, where he got the nickname Captain Cold from.
“Well, we’ve put a protective detail on Lisa and Mick is refusing to leave her side so she’ll be well looked after. In the meantime, the hospital has approved two uniforms outside the OR while your under and then you’ll be under protection 24/7 until we catch whoever did this, or otherwise prove our initial theory wrong.”
Leonard sighed. “And I’ve no doubt there are a lot of suspects to comb through.”
Iris smiled ruefully. “You weren’t exactly known for showing mercy in the courtroom.”
“The people I convicted didn’t deserve mercy.”
Iris sighed. “I should definitely get to work then. I’ll check in with updates as much as I can, in the meantime, take care of yourself sir, and try not to give the doctors a hard time.”
“I’m a delight, detective.”
Beside him the doctor snorted, covering it up with a cough, much to Iris’ amusement. Leonard looked up at her, a mock glare on his face. Iris left and Leonard turned his attention fully on the young doctor. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was focused once again on the computer next to the bed.
“I didn’t get your name, Doctor.” Leonard spoke up, drawing her attention.
“Sara, Sara Lance. I’m the attending in the ER tonight.” she replied turning back to the computer.
“Lucky me.” he added watching a tinge of pink bloom across her cheeks. She was trying to bite back a smile as she finished her work.
“The surgeon and the anesthesiologist with be in to go over everything with you before they take you up there. In the meantime, it there anything I can get you?” she asked stepping around to the end of the bed.
“No, thank you.”
“Alright, you shouldn’t be here much longer, but if you think of something, the call button is on your right.”
“Thank you.” he replied and she smiled as she walked out.
xXx6 Years Later“I need your help.” this wasn’t Laurel, the Laurel they knew and loved asking. This was a woman who came over to their world to cause trouble and when that didn’t work out she snuck off to Star City and took over their Laurel’s life.“And why should we help you?” Cisco asked, crossing his arms.“Because if you don’t, an innocent person is going to get hurt, probably more. I’m not asking for myself, I’m asking for them.” she explained.Barry stepped between them. “Why don’t you tell us what’s going on and then we’ll decide if we should help you or not.” Barry said.Laurel sighed. “The Mayor of Central City, on Earth 2-”“Mayor Snart? He’s in danger?” Harry interrupted, suddenly very interested.“No, his wife is. She was kidnapped by some old associates of mine. They’re trying to use her to get to me.”“And why would that work?” Iris questioned never looking away from the dawning realization on Harry’s face.“She’s my sister.” Laurel answered simply.“Sara?” Barry asked shocked. “Sara married Snart?”Laurel simply nodded.“What do the people who took her want from you?”“They think I betrayed Zoom.” she replied. “There’s still a small group of metas who are loyal to him or at least the idea of him. Mostly foot soldiers Zoom would have thrown away without a second thought. After I escaped prison they tried to convince me to join them, but I turned them down and hopped back over here to get away from them.” she sighed. “I guess they figured out where I am, because I got a transmission from the ring leader last night. They want me to trade myself for her.”“And you don’t want to give up your freedom?” Cisco scoffed.“Don’t be stupid.” she snapped. “Only an idiot would think they would actually let Sara go if I did what they asked. Snart is pro-meta, but he was anti Zoom. He spoke out loudly and often to the point that he and Sara had to turn their home into a virtual bunker to keep him and his forces out.” Laurel paused, looking away. “Look, she doesn’t deserve this okay. She’s never done anything to hurt anyone in her entire life. She’s not like the Sara you know. She didn’t get on the Gambit with Oliver or end up in the League. She’s just a normal woman who wanted to be a doctor all her life so she could help people. I’m asking for your help on her behalf.”A look passed between them all and Barry eventually turned to face her. “Okay, tell us everything they said.”xXx
“You look like hell, jerk.” Lisa grinned at him. Leonard scowled back.
“Your concern for my health is touching, baby sister.” he replied. Despite the jokes, Leonard was feeling better than he had been. He could now sit up and his leg didn’t hurt quite as badly as before. The doctors had told him his concussion was healed and after a few days of Physical therapy he would be allowed to go home to continue the healing process.
Lisa on the other hand was nearly healed. The bruising was turning a yellowish color and the cuts were fading into short dash lines. Her arm was still in a cast, but the bright yellow plaster was decorated with signatures and doodles from all of her friends and coworkers.
“Where’s Mick?” Leonard asked as she full entered his room, taking a seat beside the bed.
“He had to meet with his publisher. He’s going to swing back around and pick me up when he’s done.”
“How about you, are you getting back to work too?”
“On Monday. I have a butt load of work to catch up on.” she told him.
“I’ll bet.”
“How about you. I know you're just dying to get back to work.” she teased.
“I don’t know. I’m kind of enjoying the break.” Leonard replied.
Lisa scoffed. “Yeah, right. Is your secretary bringing you paperwork to sign?”
“Only things I was working on before the accident. There’s a little too much pain medication in my system for anything new.”
“When did they say you could go back to work?”
“He’ll be back to terrorizing the City Counsel in a few weeks.” a new voice replied from the door. They both turned to find Sara standing there. She had a black leather jacket on over her scrubs and a bag, slung across her body over that.
Lisa turned from the door, expecting to see a sour look on her brother’s face at the dig against him, but was surprised to find him looking more amused at the woman. Interesting.
“Lisa, this is Doctor Lance. I don’t know if you’ve been formally introduced before.” Leonard finally spoke up.
“No, we haven’t.” she replied.
“Doctor Merlyn took care of you when you were brought in.” Sara explained.
“And you took care of my brother? Lucky you.” Lisa added sarcastically. She turned to look back at Leonard, finally getting the sour look she expected. Very interesting.
Sara smiled. “Well, I’m actually on my way out, I just wanted to stop in and see how you were doing. It’s been a few days since I’ve checked in.” Sara finally replied, looking to Leonard, whose expression immediately smoothed out. Very Very Interesting.
“I’m alright. I start physical therapy tomorrow.”
“So soon?” he nodded. “Well that’s a good sign.”
“Oh absolutely.” Lisa spoke up before Leonard could reply. “I’m sure he can’t wait to get home and be his usual antisocial self again.”
Leonard made a noise of protest as Sara laughed.
“Who isn’t antisocial these days?”
“I’m not antisocial.” Leonard defended. “I’m just private.”
“Oh. Okay.” Sara replied catching Lisa mouthing ‘Antisocial’ in response. She smiled and shook her head. “Either way, I should get going. I’ll try to stop in again before your discharged.”
Leonard simply nodded, a little smile gracing his lips as she bid farewell and stepped back out. When she was gone, Lisa turned back to her brother a knowing look on her face.
“What?” he questioned.
“Crushing on the doctor who saved your life, Lenny, how Prime Time Drama.” she grinned.
Leonard rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what your talking about.”
“Of course you don’t. That would be too easy.”
xXx“You have a lot of nerve showing your face here.” Mayor Snart spoke in the same cold, calculating manor as their own Leonard Snart.Siren stood stoic, seemingly unaffected by his words, but the hatred in her eyes was unmistakable.Once through to Earth 2, Harry had led the way to the Snart Family home, playing mediator between Siren and the cops who, rightfully, tried to arrest her. He’d managed to diffuse the situation and get them inside.“She’s my sister Snart, I’m not going to sit back and do nothing.”“How convenient.” he sneered. “And she was taken because of you, no less, fitting.”“What’s that supposed to mean?”“Exactly what it sounded like.” he replied. “You weren’t her sister when you were the one hurting her, but now that someone else has her your all ready to throw yourself on the line.”“I wouldn’t go that far.” Cisco muttered, drawing Snart’s attention.“That’s why we’re here, Mr. Mayor.” Harry spoke up. “These people are from Earth 1, Flash is the one who stopped Zoom.” he explained. “They came to help.”“And why would you help us? Their not threatening your world like Zoom did.”“It’s the right thing to do.” Barry replied. “Plus, the Leonard and Sara of our world are good friends. They would want to help you if they could. And since they can’t right now, here we are.”Leonard sighed. “Fine. But we have a bigger problem than just this.”“What’s that?” Caitlin asked.“Sara is pregnant, and a week overdue.” xXx
“Mr. Mayor, it’s good to see you on your feet again.”
Leonard turned to find Sara behind him. Gone were the scrubs, not suitable for this atmosphere, and in their place a deep navy blue ball gown, encrusted with white gemstones that twinkled like stars in the low lighting of the ballroom. Leonard on the other hand wore a black tux, his shoes shined within an inch of their life.
She smiled at her. “Dr. Lance. Well, I have you to thank for that.” he replied.
She smiled softly, a light blush across her cheeks. “It was a team effort.” she replied modestly.
“All the more reason I’m here.” Here being the largest of Central Memorial’s annual Fundraisers. Leonard and Mick for that matter, usually just wrote a check, but after everything that had happened over the last few months it seemed only fitting to make an appearance this year. That being said, Leonard may have, secretly been hoping to run into the doctor who saved his life. He hadn’t had the occasion to see her as of late, his appointments with the Physical Therapist not quite lining up with her own schedule.
If Leonard were honest with himself, which he rarely was when it came to matters of his personal life, Lisa had been right, he did have a bit of a crush on Sara. It was hard not to, she was intelligent and sweet and kind hearted. They’d managed a few conversations while he was still in the hospital and he found himself looking forward to her stopping in to check on him.
“Dr. Lance, it’s good to see you.” Lisa said as she approached them. They turned to her and Sara smiled.
“It’s good to see you too. How are you feeling?” Sara asked, gesturing to her now casteless arm.
“I’m great, so happy to have my hand back, finally.” she laughed. Mick had wandered over with her and was looking between Leonard and Sara amused, much to Leonard’s chagrin. Lisa had not been quiet about Leonard’s little crush on the young doctor.
“I’ll bet, and how is the matter of how you got the caste?” she asked, keeping her voice low. The local papers and the news had had very little on the matter and Sara assumed it had to do with the investigating being on going. She was also sure it wouldn’t do to help catch whoever tried to kill Leonard if they who city was high alert, spooking the suspects.
“The police took two young men into custody two days ago.” Leonard explained, his voice also hushed. “At the moment their claiming it was a hate crime, not being all that thrilled with a mayor whose half black, but I think they’re trying to divert attention away from their connections to a mob boss I prosecuted a few years ago. He recently died in prison and its possible they're trying to protect one of his sons who took over the family when he died.”
“They won’t send anyone else after you will they?” she asked, clearly concerned and Leonard didn’t want to think about how much he liked that she was concerned about him.
“I don’t think so. Given how willing they were to cooperate, I don’t think it was a sanctioned hit.” he replied. Before he could say anymore, the hospital director took to the stage as the band ended their latest song. He spoke at length about the hospital, thanking those who had donated and those in attendance. He made a few jokes that weren’t really funny, but everyone laughed anyway. When he was finished, the band began to play again and he left the stage, melting into a group of finely dressed aristocrats.
Sara shook her head and turned back to Leonard, Lisa and Mick.
“Quite the character.” Lisa laughed.
“You have no idea.” Sara replied. “He’s a good doctor though, so, we all let it slide.”
The next few hours were spent in pleasant conversation. Leonard even worked up the nerve to ask Sara to dance.
“I don’t think I ever really thanked you for everything you did for me after the accident.” Leonard told her as they swayed together on the dance floor.
“You don’t need to thank me. I was just doing my job.” she replied modestly.
“I see, and were you just doing your job when you came to check on me, even when I wasn’t in your care anymore?” he asked.
“I like to check in on all my patients that come through the ER. It’s nice to know their doing well or that their improving.” she told him.
“So I shouldn’t feel too special then, you do it for everyone.”
Sara looked away, suddenly very shy. “I wouldn’t say that.”
When the song ended they were reluctant to seperate, so they danced to the next song and the one after that until, together they left the dance floor and found themselves on the balcony overlooking the city.
“I’ve always loved this skyline. Especially at night. There’s something so different about it compared to Star City.” Sara told him as she leaned forward against the railing.
“Is that where your from?” Leonard asked.
Sara nodded. “Born and raised.”
“What brings you to Central then?”
“Star City wasn’t really home anymore.” she explained. “My father passed away while I was in medical school and my mother decided to move here to start over. My sister’s boyfriend went missing and is presumed dead, she didn’t take it well so she’s voluntarily missing and all of my friends moved out of the city when it started going down hill. Dr. Merlyn got out before me, he put in a good word for me here.” she shrugged. “It hasn’t been home in a very long time.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” he told her.
She brushed it off. “What about you, have you always been in Central?”
“I have. Only left long enough to get my law degree before I came back.” he explained.
“And how does the City’s top prosecutor decide to run for Mayor?” she asked, a teasing lilt to her voice as she tried to drive away the melancholy she’d let settle in.
“I joined the prosecutor's office to clean up the corruption I witnessed growing up, I can do a lot more in the Mayor’s office than I could in the DA’s office.” he told her, turning to look out at the skyline. Just beyond they could see Star Labs in the distance. “My sister and I were practically raised by our neighbors, the people in our neighborhood, and the corruption affected them the most, so I couldn’t let go.”
When Leonard turned, to find Sara looking up at him, that teasing gleam replaced by something much more striking. She smiled softly at him, and he suddenly realized she was a little closer than she had been before.
“That’s quite ad-”
Sara was cut off as the building began to shake. The lights of the skyline flicked until they went out all together the only light now coming from Star Labs, the intensity growing brighter and brighter.
“An earthquake?” she asked as Leonard wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back into the building.
“I don’t think so.” he replied, looking back in time to see the light burst, bolts of electricity shooting into the sky. A shock wave radiated out, blowing out windows and knocking everyone off their feet as glass rained down around them.
As quickly as it began it was over and the terrified screams gave way to cries for help. Sara pushed herself up off the floor, ignoring the way her body protested and looked around.
She caught Tommy’s eye across the room where he was checking on a group of people on the floor nearby. He seemed to be unharmed, dust lightening his black tuxedo. She looked beside her to see Leonard still laying on the floor. He looked dazed but conscious which was a good sign.
“Leonard, are you alright? Do you feel any pain anywhere?” she asked him.
“Sore.” he wheezed, coughing and sending a cloud of dust across the floor.
“Are you dizzy, persistent ringing in your ears?” she continued.
“No.” was his simple reply and she helped him sit up.
“Okay, just give yourself a minute.” she told him, before turning her attention to an older man who was lying on his back, a pool of blood on the floor around his leg.
“You’re bleeding.” he said, but she must not have heard him. When he was certain he was more stable he got up, looking for Lisa and Mick. They were both a few feet away, looking tired and dirty but otherwise alright. With a quick nod from Mick he turned his attention back to Sara, who was kneeling over the prone man. He made his way over, dropping down next to her and gaining her attention for just a split second.
“Give me your bow tie.” she told him, cutting him off before he could tell her she was bleeding again. He untied it, pulling it off and holding it out to her. She took it, tying it tightly around the man’s bleeding leg. The man grunted in pain and she told him to hold still, they’d get him help as soon as they could. With blood on her hands, the crystals on her dress now tinted red, she stood and made her way to a woman not far away who was holding her hand to the side of her face. Leonard was up, following behind her.
Before he made it to her, Dr. Merlyn walked passed him briskly, shoving a bright red bag into his arms. “Give that to Sara.” he called over his shoulder as he made it way across the hall, three more red bags in hand. It took barely a second to register that they were first aid bags, as he finished the trek toward her, setting the bag down and kneeling next to her.
“Thanks.” she muttered, pulling the bag open and digging through it.
“Sara, your bleeding.” Leonard replied as she worked to bandage the woman’s face.
“What?” she questioned, her focus solely on her task.
“You are bleeding.” he repeated, the trickle of blood from her temple having moved down the side of her face while she was distracted.
“Okay,” Sara spoke up, and it took Leonard a moment to realize she wasn’t talking to him. “Nice calming breaths.” she told the woman. “Help is on the way.” she grabbed the med bag and stood, surveying the room and heading for the next closest injury. Leonard watched in awe.
Years from then, someone would ask him if it had been love at first sight. He would tell them it had been, but on the night he proposed, the night they spent celebrating the next step of their lives together he would tell her it had been this moment, the moment he realized the extent of her selflessness, that cemented the affection he’d come to feel for her into something much more than a simple crush.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Earth 33 Part IWinter Soldier Snart/Captain America LancexXxOctober 5, 2011Agent Gary Green did not like the cold. Of all the weather patterns in the world, freezing cold temperatures and snow were not one he enjoyed in the least. He’d give anything right now to be back at his desk in DC, hell he’d go back to California and deal with Ray Palmer if it meant getting out of the arctic circle. Why Director J’onzz thought he of all people would be best suited to look into the strange reports that had come in from this region earlier in the morning nearly a day before, he had no idea, but here he was and Kara help him, he just wanted to go home.“How long have you been on site?” Agent Green called over the noise of the engine. The man sitting in the snow cat beside him, a S.H.I.E.L.D. field team leader, was just as bundled up as he was, though he seemed decidedly less miserable than Gary.“I came in this morning, sir. An oil crew called it in about eighteen hours ago.” the team leader replied pulling the vehicle to a stop. Gary braced himself, climbing out and dropping down into a bank of snow and ice.“Why hasn’t anyone seen it before?” Gary continued, his voice carried away by the howling winds. If they worked up here, they would know better than to be out in this weather, but transmissions had made it clear that this matter was urgent and they didn’t have the luxury to wait until the spring thaw.The team leader who’d driven him here, led the way toward a team of similarly dressed men. All of them were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents under his command, stationed just below the arctic circle; the closest team available to secure the area until a ranking agent from DC could come in and evaluate the find. Hence his presence here.The team leader gestured to the landscape, or at least what they could see of it in the dark and the howling snowstorm. “This place is always changing. It was total luck they found it now, much less at all.”“Fair enough.” Gary muttered. The team separated as they approached, revealing a large opening into an ice shelf.“Mind if I ask what this thing is?” The team leader questioned as they carefully picked their way through the ice tunnel his team had drilled in his absence.“Would you believe it’s a weather balloon?” Gary asked, following a guide rope down. He could hear the team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents behind him stop.“No.” the team leader replied. There was a moment where they seemed to be waiting for him to say something and when he didn’t, they continued walking.“So, between you and me,” the team leader began again, catching up. “I don’t think we have the equipment for this.”Gary looked back at him, his extensive training the only thing keeping him from giving away his trepidation. He’d just gotten back to Washington from New Mexico not long before the transmissions came in, watching an Alien Goddess fight off a giant robot in a very Shakespearean-esc drama between sisters. They’d leveled that little town and Gary wasn’t too keen on finding out what was hiding here that advanced Palmer technology couldn’t handle after witnessing all of that.Instead he asked. “Is the sonar up and running?”“Yeah, the scans are coming back now. Deep scans.”Gary didn’t particularly like the way he emphasized ‘deep’ either. Not for the first time he wished he was back in his office at the Triskelion.“You’re going to need on hell of a crane, sir.” another agent standing at the end of the tunnel called out to them as they approached. The tunnel opened up into an enormous cavern and Gary stamped down the panic that tried to rise up.Gary stepped out toward the spot lights, not entirely sure what he was supposed to be seeing and then he saw it and realization rose up like a tidal wave that threatened to consume him.Towering over them like Palmer’s newly proposed New York project, a black wing tip jutted from the ice. The underside was painted with a telltale insignia that only further confirmed his suspicions.“That’s Hydra, isn’t it sir?” one of the agents questioned.“Yes it is. Circa World War II.” Gary breathed. “Get a laser cutter. I need to get in there.” he told them, earning curious glances but no objections.Within the hour they had cut through the hull of the wing, and Gary was the first to drop down into the pitch darkness. With flashlight in hand he began scanning the area, waiting until he heard the solid thunk of the Team leader landing just behind him, before moving on. They didn’t need to go very far. The interior was a mess of broken screens and machinery sealed away in ice, but it was one particular piece that caught Gary’s attention.He moved forward, pulling out the ice pick he’d strapped to his belt before they’d descended and chipped a few pieces off. He stepped back abruptly, startling the team leader who had been watching tense and still slightly confused.Agent Green pulled a comm piece out of the lining of his hood and attached it to his ear.“Base, come in base.” he spoke.“This is base, we read you agent.”“Get me a line to the director, now.” he demanded, though the intangible emotion in his voice belayed the directness he was undoubtedly going for.“Sir, its three AM on the east coast.”“I don’t care what time it is, this is worth waking up for. She’s waited long enough to come home.”xXxNorway, May 1942Half a dozen German tanks, emblazoned with an unfamiliar logo rolled toward an old stone castle on the farthest edge of the fjords. In the highest tower, a young man called out for his comrade. “They’ll never find it.” the man who spoke was young, confident. He believed in what he was charged with doing, with keeping safe. “Go, tell the keeper they approach.”When his companion was gone, the tower watchman, reached into an old crate and pulled a glass bottle from it. He stuffed a scrap of cloth in and lit it with a torch before lobbing it over the side. It crashed on the haul of a tank, setting it on fire. It was minor inconvenience at best. He reached down for another, but he never got the chance to throw it, the tank below, winding it’s gun up toward the tower, firing and obliterating it.In the main body of the castle, more men dressed like the tower watchman slid a thick wooden beam across the door.“They’re coming!” the companion shouted as he entered the hall.The tower keeper stepped back. He led these men. The oldest and wisest of them all. “They will never find it.” he replied as they turned as one away from the door.Behind them the door creaked ominously and they turned back in time to watch it shatter inward off its hinges. When the dust settled the tower keeper looked on in horror as half of his men lay dead in the ruble. The others staggered to their feet, only to be cut down by gun fire as soldiers stormed the now open castle gateway.The soldiers took the tower keeper into custody, the rest of his comrades were dispatched.“It’s taken me quite awhile to find this place. You should be commended.” a man stepped out of the settling smoke. He was dressed in the usual black garb of the Nazi party’s high ranking members, though he didn’t have a German accent. In fact, he sounded distinctly American. “I’ve lived quite a long time, so it’s really quite a feat to have hidden this from me for so long.”He stepped up to the tower keeper, looking down on him with a smirk. “Give me what I want, and you will find the Reich most appreciative.”“I will give you nothing.” the tower keeper replied without hesitation.“You’re a man of great vision. In that, we are alike.”“I am nothing like you!” the tower keeper spat.The man smirked. “You and I know a secret, don’t we.” he leaned closer. “What others see as superstition, myth, we both know is real. Some may call it magic, others call it science; the oldest science in creation.”“What you seek is a legend.” the tower keeper struggled against the soldiers holding him.“Then why do you work so hard to hide it.” the man grinned. “The tesseract was the jewel of Zor El’s treasure room. Built to house a power that has existed since the dawn of time.”The tower keeper looked on wide eyed.“You’re wondering how I know this, when you are supposed to be the last person to remember the old teachings, right?” the man chuckled. “I’ll tell you a secret.” he leaned in close. “I was there when Kara walked this earth, bringing with her knowledge and good will. When Cait influenced history for her own amusement, the icy beast within her crying out for release. I was there when they struck down the meta giants, saving humanity from eternal destruction.”The man stood to height again, watching in satisfaction as emotion played across the old man’s face.“Who are you?”“I have been known by many names. Most recently, however, I am Damien Darhk.” he said. “It’s very dramatic don’t you think?” he sighed. “Now, the Tesseract. It’s not something you would bury. But it is close, yes?”“I can not help you.” the tower keeper replied.Darhk smirked. “Oh but you can.” he snapped his fingers and one of the tanks turned to aim it’s cannon at the small town beyond the castle. “You have friends out there? Grandchildren, perhaps? I don’t really need them to die…” he left the threat open, watching as the keeper unconsciously flicked his eyes to the wall behind Darhk.Behind him, a massive stone carving sat embedded in the wall. “Ah, Yggdrasil, tree of the world. Guardian of wisdom…” Darhk approached the carving as he spoke, scanning the roots. “And fate.”He pushed an encrusted jewel, feeling it give. The carving echoed as pieces moved unseen inside. Beside him, a drawer popped open, blue light emanating from it. He carefully lifted it from the drawer.“The Fuhrer digs for trinkets in the desert.” he muttered to himself, turning to look at the old man. “You’ve never seen it have you?”“It is not for the eyes of ordinary men.”Darhk smiled. “Exactly.”“You’re a fool. I do not care how old you are. You can not control that power. You will burn.”Darhk slipped the cube into a titanium case held out for him by one of his soldiers, then turned his attention back to the keeper. “No, the world will burn. And like the phoenix, something better, stronger, will rise from the ashes.”Without warning, Darhk grabbed the keeper by the neck, pulling him to his feet. His soldiers watch in awe as his eyes glow, and energy passes between the old man their leader. Within seconds the keeper was nothing by skin and bone, drained of life. xXxJune 14, 1943“You know daddy just wants the best for you Sara.” Laurel called after her younger sister, following the free spirited young woman as she darted from the kitchen and toward the front door. Someone had knocked and Sara, knowing exactly who it was, praised her best friend’s good timing. The last thing she needed was to sit through another of her older sister’s speeches encouraging her to listen to their father and marry some man who would take care of her for the rest of her life in exchange for complete servitude and a half dozen children.“I’ll see you in the morning.” Sara called over her shoulder, her voice rising above Laurel’s as she pulled the door open and stepped out onto the stoop, closing it swiftly behind her.Sara grinned ready to give him a dramatic thank you for saving her from her sister’s wrath, only to stop short at the edge of the landing.Leonard Snart was the boy next door in all ways but the ones that society deemed respectable. From a young age he’d had her back, stepping in to lend her a fist or two fighting off a group of boys that didn’t like a little girl standing up to them. He learned quickly that she didn’t need his help, but their friendship was cemented anyway. There was never a day where one was not seen without the other. They’d grown up side by side, together for all the heartbreaks and losses and the secrets that they’d never trust anyone else with. Secrets that could get both of them in serious trouble. They had never been apart before and at twenty-one, with a war raging on two fronts, Leonard was of age for the draft and Sara lived in fear that for the first time since they were seven years old, they would be seperated, potentially for good if the enemy was good enough.She dreaded it everyday; waking up to find that his number had been called and knowing that she couldn’t go with him, no matter how good a nurse she was, no matter how many times she volunteered to go over. Now he was standing on the sidewalk at the bottom of the steps, and damn if he didn’t look handsome in his uniform.Leonard looked up at her from under the rim of his cover, that lopsided half smile that never ceased to melt the hearts of women (and men) everywhere.“When do you leave?” she asked, taking the steps slowly until she was face to face, one step up to level the significant height difference.“Ship out in the morning. 107th to England first thing.” he replied, reaching up to set a hand on her hip. She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning into him.“We could run away to Canada.” she muttered into the collar of his dress uniform.“Hey now,” he pulled back. “That doesn’t sound very much like the Sara Lance I know and love.” he told her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her off the step, setting her down beside him. “That’s sounds too much like giving up.” he continued. “Now come on, I want to spend my last night on American Soil with my best girl, who promised to go to the future with me.”Sara took a deep breath as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her off down the street. Instinctively she wrapped her arm around his waist and went willingly.“Still gotta work tonight, doll?” he asked.“Yeah, recruiting station at the expo.” she replied. It was the only work she could get with the Army. As a woman she wasn’t allowed to fight and as the daughter of an Army Colonel, it was made damn sure that she would never set foot overseas. She supposed she should just be grateful her father let her do even this much. Then again, when had she ever settled for less than she thought she deserved or was capable of. Well, except of course when it came to her schooling. Women were nurses not doctors after all.Leonard spent the entire walk to the expo grounds trying to cheer her up and by the time they made it she was laughing at all of his horrible puns and putting the inevitable out of her mind.As they neared the convention grounds, Sara caught sight of a familiar face. “Isn’t that Ray Terill?” she asked, watching amused as Leonard looked up in search of said man. She pushed a little closer to him, keeping her voice low. “You never did tell me how your date went.” she watched a cocky little smile tug at his lips and a blush settle on his cheeks. “It was good.” he replied. As they passed, Ray turned from the concession stand and spotted them, greeting them in passing.“Leo, Sara.” he said.“Ray.” was Leonard’s simple reply.“How come he gets to call you Leo?” she asked as they walked away.Leonard smirked. “It was very good.”Sara grinned, looking back over her shoulder. Ray was standing out of the way looking around, and Sara made a split second decision. Quickly, she spun out from under Leonard’s arm, much to his surprise and darted back the way they’d come.“Where are you going?” Leonard called after her.“Hey Ray.” Sara greeted, coming to a stop next to the taller man. He looked down a little startled for a second before relaxing into a kind smile.“Hi Sara, I see Leo’s number got called.” he replied, briefly looking up at the other man over her shoulder.“Yes, he ships out in the morning, which is why we’re here, ya know a last hoorah before he goes off to play hero. The only problem is, I have to go to work in couple of hours, so he’s going to be all alone, so I was thinking maybe, if your not already here with anyone, you’d want to come along with us.”“Oh, uh…” he hesitated. The truth was Leo had told him all about Sara, how she was the only person he trusted with his secret because she trusted him with hers. Ray had gotten the impression that at the end of the day it would always be Sara and Leonard no matter how much Leo seemed to like him.“Come on, you don’t want Leonard to be all alone tonight, do you?” she asked, and judging by the mischievous twinkle in her eye, she wasn’t talking about keeping Leo company at the Expo once she left for work.“Yeah, sure doll.” he finally relented. “You’re a hell of a wingman.”Sara grinned, looping her arm with his and pulling him toward Leonard who was giving Sara a knowing look. She simply grinned at him too and looped her other arm with his, pulling them both along.“Come on boys, David Palmer is debuting a new invention on the main stage. The girls at the hospital could not stop talking about it.”They watched in awe as David Palmer, Founder and CEO of Palmer Technologies debuted his flying car. He promised one in every driveway in America in just a few years just as the thrusters gave out and crashed back to the stage.“Well, I did say it would be a few years.” Palmer joked, laughter rising up. “Innovation takes time ladies and gentlemen but never doubt that humanity is always on the cusp of greatness.”“Is it just me or does he seem a little full of himself.” Ray asked as they walked away from the showcase. The sun had set now and time was almost up, so they started walking toward the recruitment station across the grounds.“It’s not just you.” Leonard replied.Sara laughed. “I guess when you go from nothing to a multimillionaire, your ego tends to swell too.”Ray chuckled. “Oh it swelled alright.”As they neared the station, Ray broke off from the group. “I’ll just wait over by the gate.” he told them before heading off. They watched until he was out of sight and then Leonard turned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders again, leading her toward the station.“Promise me you’ll be careful.” she said.“As careful as I can be.” he told her as they stopped under the lights of the building. “I’ll tell ya what, little birdie. I’ll promise not to play hero, if you promise the same.”“Deal.” she replied without hesitation.Leonard smirked. “Come on, doll, you and I both know that’s not gonna happen.” he told her. “You were born to be a hero.”Sara scoffed. “Some hero.” she muttered. “Can’t be a doctor, can’t be a soldier, I’m sure by the time you get back, my father will have pushed me off on some deferment asshole who wants a servant not a wife.”“I think you and I both know you’d run away before letting that happen.” he told her. “Little birds a fighter, she won’t be caged.”She knew he was trying to lighten the mood, but it just wasn’t working. The dread that she’d pushed aside all evening was back and all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry. But she couldn’t do that, because Leonard needed her to be strong like always and she wasn’t about to let him down, not now of all times. Sara knew better than anyone how much he didn’t want to go. Between his little sister and his grandfather, there was too much for him to take care of here. On top of that there was nothing Leonard liked less than the idea of being trained to kill. Regardless of why, of the innocent people who needed defending, all he had ever wanted was a nice quiet life and now he’d be lucky if he even made it back to see New York again. “Promise me you’ll come home, Lenny.” Sara finally replied looking up at him. There were tears in her eyes, threatening to spill over and Leonard could remember exactly one time that he’d ever witnessed her cry before, right after her mother’s funeral, and now she was crying for him. He probably shouldn’t be so touched by that.“I’m going to do my damndest. I know it won’t be easy, not without you there to watch my back, but I’ll do everything I can to come home.”With that he kissed her forehead and pulled her into a hug, letting her hold him as long as she needed.“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.” he whispered as she clung to him desperately.“I can’t, your taking all the stupid with you.”Leonard laughed as she pulled away.“Write when you can, okay?” she said as he started walking away. He simply nodded, waving goodbye as he slipped into the darkness between street lamps. Both completely unaware of the man who had been watching them.xXx“Hiya Sara.” one of the other nurses, Lindsay, said as she stepped out of a changing booth. Now in her nurse whites, she was ready to start work for the evening. “What’s wrong hun, you look somethin’ awful.”“Busy day at the hospital today.” she replied simply. “Anything going on here?”“Yeah, we got a new doctor. Your dad dropped him off, he’s supposed to be evaluating the recruits.” she explained. “Real sweet older guy.” she continued.“Why thank you, miss, that’s rather kind of you.” a voice sounded behind them and Lindsay jumped spinning around and coming face to face with an older man in a white Doctor’s coat. He had grey hair, neatly combed, thick black framed glasses and he smiled in a way that calmed Lindsay almost immediately.“Doctor Stein, this is Head Nurse Lance.” she introduced them. Sara smiled at him and held out her hand.“Pleasure to meet you doctor.” she greeted him. He accepted her hand with a smile.“You’re a bit young for a head nurse, Miss Lance.” he replied.“Sara’s the best Nurse in this man’s army.” Lindsay spoke up before Sara could deflect. “Got accepted to the medical school before they realized she was a woman.”Sara shot her look that very clearly said, ‘Stop talking’.Doctor Stein looked appalled by the news, whether it was the idea that she had been accepted at all or the fact that she was turned away afterward, she didn’t know and didn’t get the chance to dwell on.“Miss Lance, if I may, with a talent like that you should be in Europe leading a team of nurses, what are you doing here at a recruitment station in New York?”“You work with my father, Colonel Lance, Doctor, you tell me.” she replied simply.Realization was quickly covered by disappointment. “No no, that simply won’t do.” he muttered. Then to her. “Nurse Lance, you will assist me this evening. Come along, I’ll read you in.”With that he turned and walked back toward the exam rooms. Sara and Lindsay shared a look before Sara grabbed her equipment and hurried to catch up with him.“We’re looking for people for a new program.” Stein told her, his voice low. “It’s top secret. Your father is in charge of it on the Military side, but it is very much my project and as such, everything that happens must be approved by me first. I have the final say, simple as that.”“And what specifically are we looking for in candidates, Doctor?”“Individuals of good health, intelligence and character. Gender is of no concern, though the Army seems to believe men are the best option.”“And you don’t?” she asked, following him into an empty exam room.“My dear, greatness does not care about your gender or your race or your religion. It is, in every stretch of the imagination, the most unprejudiced idea in all of creation. Men spend their entire lives looking for greatness only to realize too late that it is not something you can find out in the world, but rather something that comes from inside of you, something that is already there. It simply needs to be nourished and tended to until it blooms.” he didn’t say anymore on the matter and Sara is a little too taken back by his speech to ask anymore questions. So, when he gestures for her to prepare the room, she does.“Tell me, Nurse Lance. Was that man you were speaking to outside your sweetheart?” Stein asked, flipping through a stack of files on the tiny desk attached to the wall.“No sir, he’s just a friend.”“You seemed very close for just friends.”“Alright, he’s my best friend. We’ve been close since we were in grammar school.” she corrected.“And how did that come about?” he questioned. He was still facing the wall, flipping through files.Sara sighed. “There was this little kid in our grade. She came from a very poor family, and this group of boys liked to pick on her for it. One day I was walking home from school and they were hurting her, so I got in the middle of it and started to fight them off. I guess Len saw and stepped in to watch my back. We’ve been inseparable ever since.”“Do you get into fights a lot?”“No woman should suffer at the hands of men.” she replied, turning to face him once she was done. She was surprised to find Stein watching her. “I don’t like bullies Doctor. I don’t care who they are, where their from, how much money they make or come from. A bully is a bully and they have no right to treat anyone else like their above them for any reason.”Stein smiled. “Excellent.” he stepped forward. “Please, sit on the table.”Sara froze. “I’m sorry what?”“A full exam needs to be done before I can admit you into the program, Miss Lance. Please.” he gestured to the table.“Is this a joke?”“Not at all.”“My father-”“Your father is my problem.”“But... I’m...”“The best candidates I’ve come across yet.”xXxSara was staunchly ignoring the side eye from the men in line, all of whom stood nearly a half a head to a head taller than her. They were all dressed in green fatigues, and had dog tags swinging from their necks under their uniforms.One of the men looked like he was about to say something to her when an army jeep barrelled down the dirt road and stopped just short of them. When the dust cleared a beautiful brunette woman was revealed, her uniform immaculate even in the heat, and her lips painted the most stunning shade of red. Sara was fairly certain she’d never laid eyes on a more beautiful woman. When she spoke, she was decidedly British. “Soldiers, I am Agent Gideon Sharpe. I will be supervising your induction today.” she handed out clipboards as she walked passed each of them. “First I will need you to fill these out.”“Last will and testament?” one of the men read out loud, they looked between each other nervous. Sara didn’t flinch.“What’s with the accent, Queen Victoria? I thought I was joining the US Army.”“What’s your name soldier?” Gideon questioned, turning to walk back toward him.“Hank Heywood, your majesty.” he replied with a smirk.“Step forward, Heywood.” she said, pointing to the ground a few inches from her. “Right leg out.” he did as instructed.“Are we gonna ‘rassle, cause I’ve got a few moves I’d like to teach you.” Hank continued.Gideon smiled the smile of a dangerous woman who knew she was being underestimated, and was about to prove it. Sara knew it all to well and bit back a smile.Without warning she stepped up close to him. “Are you familiar with the ancient art of Jiu Jitsu in which one's size, weight and momentum are used to over power them.”Hank looked nervous all of a sudden. “No.”Gideon smirked, rearing back before he could react and punching him in the nose. “Neither am I.”A second jeep rumbled toward them and Gideon stepped back, making room for the man that stepped out. “What are you doing on the ground Soldier!” Colonel Lance shouted. “Get back in line and stand there until someone tells you what to do.”“Yes sir.” Hank replied, jumping to his feet and standing at attention. The trickle of blood from his nose had the Colonel looking toward Gideon.“Breaking in the recruits already, Agent Sharpe, excellent.” he said, walking the line. He stopped briefly to look down at Sara who did not break attention before continuing back. “General Grodd said that wars are fought with weapons but won by men. And that is exactly what we are going to do. At the end of this week we are going to chose one of you to be the first in what will be a long line of super soldiers. By the end we’ll have an army of soldiers whose sole purpose it will be, to escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of hell, right where he truly belongs.” he stopped in front of the line, somewhere near the middle. “The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an allied effort made up of the best minds the free world has to offer. Led by Dr. Martin Stein, we will win this war with a new breed of army.”Three days later the group was on their morning run in full gear. It was a balmy eighty degrees and there wasn’t a dry body among them. As they rounded a corner they spotted the drill sergeant standing next to a flagpole. Not far off from that a jeep with one soldier behind the wheel, Colonel Lance in the passenger seat and Agent Sharpe in the back, making notes on a clipboard.“Let’s go soldiers hustle!” he screamed. “First man to bring me that flag gets a ride back in the jeep.” in a mad scramble the men attempted one by one to climb the flagpole, failing each time. Sara stood off behind them, watching incredulously. “No one’s been able to bring me that flag in nearly twenty years! Let’s go, keep it moving!” he yelled, gesturing them to continue the run. As the men cleared out Sara approached. “Lance! Get a move on.” she ignored the drill sergeant, leaning down and pulling the pin out of the bottom of the flagpole, watching it topple to the ground. She pulled the flag off the hooks and tossed it at drill sergeant.“Men.” she muttered under her breath, walking toward the jeep and jumping over the back and into the seat next to Gideon.Gideon looked like she was trying to hold back laughter and Sara winked at her, smirking as the jeep took off leaving a group of stunned soldiers behind. Four days later Sara had proven herself time and again. She’d made it through the courses, kept up with the training and impressed with hand to hand combat and weapons training. Most of the men (Hank Heywood and one other being the only holdouts) had come to respect her, a fact she hadn’t thought possible. Everyday she fought alongside them and every night she laid in her bunk reading books from her stack of military literature and medical textbooks.“You’re not seriously thinking about picking Sara are you?” Colonel Quentin Lance was not asking as the leader of a top secret Army project. He was asking as a father who had sworn to his wife, on her deathbed, to protect their daughters no matter what.“I am more than thinking about it Colonel. She is the clear choice.” Stein replied, looking up from his clipboard. A short distance away, Gideon was supervising the recruits in their morning workout, and like everyday before, Sara was keeping up, some may even say surpassing them.“When you convinced me to give her a shot I assumed you would find a better candidate among the men. I love my daughter more than anything, I need you to understand that.”“I do understand that, Colonel. I have a daughter of my own.” Stein replied. “A brilliant Astrophysicist who has to fight twice as hard as her male counterparts for the smallest opportunities.”Colonel Lance looked slightly cowed, but continued on nonetheless, turning toward the jeep and pulling the lid off a crate marked dummy grenades. “My little girl has been getting herself into trouble for as long as I can remember. She’s spunky that one. Starting fights, trying to be something the world just isn’t ready for. There’s very little I think she can’t do, but this is one of them.” with grenade in hand he pulled the pin. “It takes more than spunk to be a soldier.” he continued. “Grenade.” he yelled tossing it toward the group of recruits. All at once they dove out of the way, ducking for cover. Colonel Lance watched in horror as Sara defied the group, jumping on top of the grenade to shield her fellow recruits.“Get down!”After a moment, when it became obvious it wasn’t going off, she opened her eyes and looked around.“It’s a dummy.” Gideon said breathless, helping her up off the ground.Sara looked back toward her father, waiting for him to start screaming, but he never did. He simply stood there, next to a grinning Dr. Stein, his expression shuttered but his eyes saying everything. She thought she saw tears well up, but she couldn’t say for sure. Her heart ached for him, like she only just realized why he had been holding her back for so long. But none of that mattered now. She was a soldier in the US Army and if the look on Stein’s face was anything to go by, she would be the world’s first super soldier.xXx“You’re nervous.” Stein said as he sat on the striped bunk next to hers. All the others had been striped bare as well. The footlockers emptied as her fellow recruits were shipped out for normal assignments.“Not really. I’m just thinking about my dad.” she replied. An older edition of Grey’s Anatomy sat on the bed beside her, the well worn pages dog eared, the spine cracked from years of reading and rereading. She noticed his attention on the book and smiled softly. “Len bought it for me for Christmas one year. I had just confided in him that I was thinking about being a doctor. He didn’t laugh like so many others would have. He just smiled, told me if anyone could do it I could and that was it. He saved up from shoveling snow all November to buy me a brand new copy. Refused to get used, said I needed the latest edition if I was serious about being a doctor.”Stein smiled. “He’s a good friend. Everyone needs people like that in their lives.” she nodded. “Your father will be alright, Sara. Today was an eye opening day for him, that’s all.” he explained. “It’s not everyday a father realizes his daughter isn’t just a rebel, lashing out at the world. He’s seeing you as you truly are for the first time.”Sara smiled. They spoke for a bit longer before Stein insisted she get some rest. As he was walking out she called out to him.“Doctor Stein.” he turned to face her again. “Thank you for believing in me.”Stein chuckled. “A lot of people believe in you Sara. I just happened to be in a position to make those who didn’t, listen.”xXxDavid Palmer was very full of himself and Sara made a mental note to tell Ray and Leonard that the next time she saw them. David was also a pretty decent guy if you could get passed his ego. He seemed to care about doing the right thing which is all that really mattered. He wasn’t going to make it to the end of the procedure, however, if he didn’t stop talking to her breasts.“My eyes are much farther north, Palmer.” Sara said, her tone as threatening as possible. It seemed to do the trick, because as soon as he locked eyes she could see she scared him a bit. She supposed anyone deemed worthy for an experiment like this would probably scare him though.Looking highly amused, Stein guided her to the machine and the nurses helped her up in it. Laying out in the machine, Sara had a decent view of the room. They were at least three stories below street level, the walls of the lab tiled an aqua blue. Above them was a viewing booth where her father, the politicians of Washington who had made this happen and Agent Sharpe were observing.“Are you ready Miss Lance?” Stein questioned.Sara nodded, chancing one last look up at her father. He nodded nearly imperceptible at her and she fought back a smile. She could do this. She could definitely do this.It all just sort of happened after that. The machine lifted, the doors closed and an intense pain came as eight needles injected the serum into her body. There was a light all around her, the intense heat like a summer day at Coney Island. She thought it was going to tear her apart, but she fought to remain conscious, her last memory of Leonard playing in her mind as she thought about how mad he was going to be when he found out she let the Army use her as a guinea pig.And then it was over and she was wasn’t any taller, which was extremely disappointing, but she felt incredible, like she could lift a car or run twenty miles and not break a sweat. She had thicker corded muscles now, which weren’t out of proportion for her size, and her eyesight, hearing and other senses were so much sharper.“How are you feeling?” Sara looked up to find her father standing there, looking down at her with worry in his eyes.“Kind of peeved I’m not taller.” she replied and he huffed a laugh.And then a man in a grey suit who’d been in the observation booth was standing on the overlook a gun in hand.“Hail Hydra!” he yelled drawing their attention but it was too late to do anything. He fired his weapon and Sara watched in horror as Stein fell. She pushed through the crowd toward him, cut short as a bomb went off in the viewing booth. As everyone ducked for cover, Sara continued to crawl for Stein. He was bleeding heavily, his breath shallow.“Martin.” she said, pulling him into her arms. “Stay with me, Martin.”He smiled up at her. “Tell my daughter, how proud I am of her.” he breathed, his voice weakening with every word.“I will, I promise.”“You. are. enough.” he breathed his last.“He’s getting away!” someone in the crowd yelled out and there were more gunshots over head. She turned to find Agent Sharpe firing at the spy’s retreating back. Sara gently laid Stein down, getting to her feet and running after him, following agent Sharpe back to street level and out onto the street.Agent Sharpe stopped in the middle of the road firing after the spy, but he swerved enough to miss getting hit. Sara reacted then, running after him with a speed she had not previously known. Barefoot in only hospital scrubs she weaved through the back streets of new york. At one point the spy turned to fire his weapon at her and she pulled a taxi door off its hinges to use as a shield. When he kept going she followed after, eventually finding them on a pier behind a canning factor.The spy jumped over the edge of a brick road and she peered over the edge, watching in fascination as the spy started up a strange underwater craft and took off. Sara didn’t think twice, following it as far as she could on land until finally running out of ground and jumping into the water. If she wasn’t so preoccupied with not getting shot, she might be admiring her new found strength a bit more, as it were, after prying the airtight glass dome off of the submersible she fought to keep a hold of the spy, dragging him to the surface and up onto the dock.“Who sent you?” she screamed, holding him by the lapels of his soaking wet suit.“The first of many, cut off one head, two more shall take its place.” was all he said, before biting down on something in his mouth. Almost instantly his mouth began to foam, his eyes rolling back in his head as he convulsed and died.Sara was driven back to the base once an SSR team showed up to clean up. They seemed impressed by her abilities, but at the moment she didn’t really care. She walked into chaos a sopping wet mess, watching as they wheeled Stein’s body out on a stretcher.“I want to be there when they tell his family.” she said, drawing her father’s attention. She could see the tension leave his shoulders when he laid eyes on her, but he wouldn’t say anything yet, not while there were so many politicians around. He’d never really liked politicians. He said they were skeevy, too willing to sell people out for their own gain.“Of course.”xXx“You think you’ve got enough?” Sara complained as the doctor stepped away, finally removing the needle from her arm. There seemed to be more blood in the jars beside her than in her body and yet she didn’t feel dizzy.“All of Stein’s research and equipment were destroyed in the explosion and the formula for the serum was locked in his head, he refused to write it down for anyone. The key to reproducing the program is in your genetic structure I’m afraid.” Gideon explained. “That could take years of course, so, as of right now, you’re the only super soldier in existence.”Sara rolled down her sleeve and hoped down off the table, still extremely annoyed the serum hadn’t made her any taller.“Martin deserved better than that.” she said, walking to the window across the room. In the warehouse down below, David Palmer was dressed in cover-alls taking the spy’s minisub apart.“If it could only work once, Sara, he would have been proud that it was you.” Gideon replied, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. Sara watched as her father led one of the Senators toward Palmer on the warehouse floor and turned for the stairs that led down there as well.It wasn’t long before she and Gideon were coming up on the three men.“I’m the best mechanical engineer in the country, and that’s speaking modestly.”“What are you saying Palmer, get to the point.” Colonel Lance snapped.“I have no idea what any of this is. We’re nowhere near capable of this technology, it’s like it’s not even technology at all, but some kind of combination of science and myth.”“Then who is?” The senator questioned.“Hydra.” Lance replied. The Senator looked confused. “Surely you’ve read out briefings.”“I’m a very busy man, Colonel.”Sara rolled her eyes, much to Gideon and Palmer’s amusement.“Hydra is a cult exisisting deep within the Nazi’s science division.” Gideon spoke up. “It’s run by a man known only as Damian Darhk. There are no records on him anywhere, that we can find, we’re not even sure that’s his real name.”“His followers worship him like they think he’s a god, invincible, ready to lead them into a new era that transcends even Hitler’s ideation.”“His head scientist is a man named Eobard Thawne, he’s the one who would have built this thing.” Palmer added, gesturing to the sub behind him.“So what are you going to do about this?” the senator questioned.“I spoke to the President this morning, the SSR is being retasked.” Colonel Lance replied.“Colonel?” Gideon questioned, voicing all of their surprise.“They’ve made a move on American soil, we’re officially taking the fight to them. Be ready to move in twelve hours, we’re headed for the European theatre.”“And while you’re there, Miss Lance here will be sent off to Alamogordo.” the senator added.“Excuse me!” she protested.“You’re a lab experiment honey. No need for experiments on the battlefield.” he replied.“I’m not a lab rat, senator, the serum worked, there’s no reason I can’t help.”“We asked for an army and all we got was you. You’re not enough.”Gideon stepped up before Sara could react. “With all due respect sir, Doctor Stein believed she was.”“And thankfully the President agrees. She’s coming with us too.” Colonel Lance cut off the Senator's reply. “We’re not naive enough to think there weren’t more spies around today. They’ve undoubtedly reported back that Stein’s experiment was a success. It would be foolish to think they won’t send more agents after her at any one of our research labs.”“I hear what your saying Colonel, but one woman isn’t going to make the difference in the war.”“Wanna bet?” Sara asked, standing a little taller.xXx“Is this really necessary?” Sara asked annoyed, looking herself over in a full length mirror. “It’s a little flashy for a battlefield.”They were in Italy, a top secret underground bunker built specifically for the SSR to Palmer’s specifications. Above them sat a field camp filled with soldiers returning from missions and going out again. They’d been in the European theatre for all of two weeks, but there wasn’t much action so far. Sara had assumed they would be jumping right into the fray, but the SSR was taking a much more covert approach. She supposed that made sense, but she wasn’t entirely sure covert would remain in tact when she was dressed like the American Flag. “That’s the point Captain.” Gideon told her, stepping up behind her. “You’re not just a soldier, your a symbol of America, of the Allies. You stand on the front line in that and the enemy will know exactly who is coming for them.” she continued, gently guiding Sara to turn around. She looked the blonde woman over with an air of appreciativeness that Sara did not miss. “That little stunt with the car door a few weeks ago made the papers, recruitment is up thirty percent. You’ve become an icon over night.”“Not really what I was going for, but if it helps.” Sara replied.“That’s the spirit.” Palmer exclaimed as he joined them. He handed her a helmet to match the rest of her uniform. “I’ve got a bomber jacket for you too. Your metabolism is higher than most, so it’ll keep you warm, but I don’t think we should be testing if you’re susceptible to frostbite here in the field.”“Good call.” Sara teased, tucking the helmet under her arm.Palmer smiled and then gestured for them to follow him. He didn’t lead them very far, stopping at a row of tables where shields of various sizes and shapes sat. “That car door gave me an idea. Thought you might appreciate a weapon that could attack and defend.”Most of the shields were long and box like, though a few of them were shaped like a coat of arms. The various pieces had canons, small guns and even some kind of electrical device for close range shock. They were all bulky and gaudy. And then something on the ledge under the table caught her eye and she bent down to pick it up.“That’s just a prototype.” Palmer told her as she hefted the circular shield in her arms. It was completely silver and had concentric circles etched into the front with a large star in the very center.“What’s it made of?” she asked a little awe struck. It was light but durable. Just from the look of it she knew it would be aerodynamic and with enough training it would be extremely useful.“Nth metal.” Palmer replied. “Extremely rare, extremely hard to work with. I used up most of my supply forging that.”“Nth metal?” Gideon sounded skeptical.“Also known as Dwarf Star Alloy. It’s the strongest metal on earth. It was created inside the extreme pressure of a white dwarf star and then shot out like a meteor. There’s not very much of it on earth, most dwarf stars are too far out to send substantial pieces our way.”“What do you think?” Sara asked gideon, holding the shield up.“Needs a paint job.” Gideon teased. Sara sighed, knowing exactly what she had in mind.“Leave it on the table. I’ll take care of it.” Palmer told her and she did, grabbing the brown leather bomber jacket he laid out for her and slipping it on.“I suppose we should go show the Colonel.” Gideon said. “Let him get the full picture of his newest asset.”“I’m sure he’ll be thrilled.” Sara replied skeptically as she followed Gideon up the stairs and out of the trap door. They nodded to the guards standing watch and started the short trek from the wooded area into the GI camp. They made it just in time to find a contingent of worn and battle weary men limping, truding and in some cases being carried in.“Sergeant Jackson what division is this?” Gideon questioned as they approached one of the young men who had come over with the SSR division.“The 107th ma’am.” he replied. “They’ve been stuck in trenches for the last four days. They lost half the division when the enemy separated their lines. Their talking about strange weapons, technology that shouldn’t exist.” he gave them a knowing look.Sara liked Jax, he was smart kid. He had a bright future ahead of him if the world would overlook his color and give him a chance.“Wait, did you say the 107th?” Sara questioned. “Yeah, they… hey, wait, Captain where are you going?” Jax called after her but she ignored him, dodging bodies on her way to the officers tent. She burst through the tent flaps, skidding to a stop, drawing the attention of her father at his desk. He looked up at her and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.“Sara,” he began, dread settling in the pit of her stomach.“We have to go after them. We can’t leave them out there, not with Hydra.” she said.“We can’t risk anymore men.” he wasn’t speaking to her as a superior officer, and if she wasn’t in the midst of staving off panic she might have appreciated that a little more.“We don’t have to, I can go in. I’m much stealthier on my own.” he wasn’t going to budge, she knew he wasn’t, but she had to try, she had to fight because it was the only thing she could do for him.Colonel Lance stood from his seat and ordered everyone out. When they were gone he stepped up to her. “Sara, that kid is like a son to me, you know that. He spent as much time in our home as he did his own, but I cannot let that inform my decisions now. I would like nothing more than to send the entire army out there for those men, but we have to look at the bigger picture.Now, that base is in the middle of dense forest, thirty miles behind the line. It’s winter, so it’s gonna be cold as hell up there. They have more men, and weapons that we have not even begun to scratch the surface in our understanding of. It’s not possible baby girl. It can’t be done. Not now, not with everything that’s at stake.”Sara stood ridged, the spark in her eye was the only warning Quentin Lance had ever had before she did something reckless growing up and it was more than obvious now.He sighed. “You wanted to be apart of this man’s army, well here you are, Captain, do not make me have to issue you a direct order.”“Yes sir.” she spat, standing at attention.“Dismissed.”Sara spun on her heels and marched out, bypassing Gideon who had clearly been waiting for her. Sara stormed passed her, dodging soldiers through the crowd, some even seemed to jump out of her way.“Captain Lance!” she heard Gideon call out for her. Jax joining as he caught up as well. Curious onlookers watched as she stormed passed toward the tree line and when she got there, in a sudden burst of rage she lashed out, punching through the trunk of thin tree, sending splinters and wood everywhere. There were murmured shouts of alarm rising up but she ignored them as she tried to calm herself.“Sara-”Sara spun to face them, cutting her off. “Not now Agent Sharpe.”xXx“As you can see, production is proceeding faultlessly.” Eobard Thawne was a tall man with sandy blonde hair and pale skin. He was older, maybe in his early forties, and well built.“Good, increase output by sixty percent. See to it that our other facilities do the same.” Darhk told him, leading him along the factory floor.“Sir, our workers. I’m not sure they have the strength.” Thawne defended, following his leader up a spiral staircase and into a control pulpit. Below P.O.W.s work at gunpoint.“Then use what strength they have left, doctor. There are always more workers.”xXxThere was a knock on the post between the flaps of her tent and she turned from packing a small sack with supplies. Her shield was leaning against her bunk and she was still in her uniform. Once the wood splinters had been pulled out of her skin the serum went to work healing her, now just three hours later it was like nothing had happened. Even so, she slipped on some fingerless gloves that Palmer had given her.Sara turned to find Gideon standing in the opening of her tent. “Going AWOL Captain?”“Are you going to try and stop me Agent?”Gideon smirked. “Sergeant Snart is a very lucky man to have his very own super soldier to watch his back.”“Yeah, well, he would do no less for me.” she replied.“So you watch each other’s backs.”“Till the end of the line.”Gideon watched her for a moment. “And how do you plan to get thirty miles passed the line? Are you going to walk?”“Is there a better option?”“There’s always a better option. Better hurry before your father decides to check on you.”Gideon turned and disappeared into the darkness beyond her tent. She hesitated only a moment, before grabbing her bag and shield and running after her. She followed the British agent through the growth around the camp until they made it to a long clearing they had been using as an air strip. At the end was a silver Lockheed Electra aircraft with the engine idling.“Hey ya cap, ready to rescue your guy?” Palmer greeted them from the pilot seat as they slid the side panel open and climbed in.“More than ready.” she muttered, a little smirk tilting her lips. Both Gideon and Palmer smiled back a feeling of true camaraderie passing between them.“You guys are gonna get into a lot of trouble for this.” Sara said once they were in the air.“And you won’t.”“It’s worth it.”Palmer called back over his shoulder. “Lucky guy.”xXxSara would freely admit to anyone but her father… and definitely Leonard, that she didn’t really have a plan. She knew what she wanted the outcome to be, but there was definitely no plan.With Palmer’s plane sustaining heavy fire, Sara strapped on a parachute and launched herself out of the plane, ignoring Gideon’s protests. Gideon had actually had a plan, which was to take Sara all the way in, but with the anti aircraft artillery going off there was no way they would make it back once Sara jumped if they pushed in the full thirty miles. If she made it back to base, she was sure Gideon would have an ear full for her. Assuming her Father didn’t ship her back to the states and put her on trial for insubordination before hand.The Hydra camp was without a doubt the most ominous place she’d ever seen. Palmer had said it was a factory, but it really looked more like a castle. There were three large watch towers on the side of the building where she jumped the barbed wire fence and three more on the other side. Milling about were guards in full body armor carrying weapons that gave off an eerie blue glow.Sara stuck to the shadows, avoiding the spotlights and vaulted a brick wall to pull herself up on a flat roof. She ran the length of the roof, rolling onto her stomach and down into a skylight just narrowly missing a spot light as it swung around. She landed silently, despite all the training she’d gone through since the experiment it still amazed her how agile she was. She’d always been able to move, spending most of her younger years dancing, and then when she got older in the dance halls, but this was much different. There was power just beneath the surface of her grace now.Sara ducked into an alcove as she heard steps approaching, crouching low until one fully armored guard passed. Once his back was to her, she stepped out, incapacitating him with a few well placed hits. When he was done, she dragged him into the alcove and relieved him of the keys at his belt.She checked that the hall was still empty before continuing on. A little farther down she heard more footsteps, but they were different this time, close but not quite near her. She moved along, searching them out and eventually came up on a set of five large holes in the floor. She peeked down into them, finding bars rising up around the circumference and about one hundred men spread out among them. The footsteps were coming from a line of P.O.W.s, followed by an armored guard. A second guard stood by, watching as each one entered the bared holding cell. At the back of the line was a larger man in brown, a thick flack vest over a fire proof jacket. He was walking slower than the rest and the guard behind him hit him in the back with the truncheon he was carrying. The man lurched forward to the open cell door and turned to face the guard.“Ya know, Fritz, one of these days I’m gonna get a stick of my own.” he told the guard, getting another shove for his troubles.With the cell locked, one guard gestured for the other to head up to the next level to keep watch, and Sara used the time it took him to get up there to find cover and ensure he was the only one.“How many did they take to isolation while we were gone?” one of the soldiers asked, his name was Rip Hunter, a British national.“None, must still be working through the other guys they took.” John Diggle, another soldier replied.Mick Rory opened his mouth to say something, only to be cut off by the sounds of a scuffle above them. They all jumped as the guard hit the ground, his head dangling over the edge. A beat later Sara peeked over the edge.“Hi.” she greeted simply before disappearing again.Barely a minute passed as she retraced the guard’s path back down to the cells, stopping at the door and unlocking it.“And who the hell are you supposed to be?” Diggle questioned, a brow raised as he took in her uniform and the shield strapped to her back.Sara sighed long and suffering. “Captain America.” she replied, her tone leaving no doubt exactly how much she disliked the name. She didn’t wait for their opinions as she moved to the other cells, opening them up.“We’re fucked.” a third soldier, one Rex Tyler muttered. A crowd of soldiers followed her back passed the first cell, all of them confused, but far too tired to question this particular turn of events.“Are there any other’s?” she asked.“They took a group into isolation when we first got here, we haven’t seen them since.” Rip explained.Sara looked around, fully aware that they were all waiting for her to say something. “Alright,” she began, tossing the keys to Mick. “Down that hall there, third door on the left is an armory. The tree line is northwest, eighty yards from the gate. Beyond that is a creek bed, follow it until you get to the clearing about a mile out.” she turned in the opposite direction. “I’ll meet you there with anyone else I find.”“Wait a second.” Diggle called out, stopping her. “You sure you know what your doing?”“Nope, I’m definitely making this up as I go.”xXx“Doctor, prepare to evacuate.” Darhk spoke up, never pulling his attention away from the security screens.Thawne looked skeptical. “I’m sure our forces can handle-”Sara flashes across the screen, dispatching two guards and heading up the stairs they were guarding.“Our forces are outmatched.”Darhk reached over and pressed a button, setting off alarms within the facility. Without hesitation, Thawne bolted out of the control booth. When he was gone, Darhk turned to another control panel and began flipping switches, each of them beginning a countdown.xXxThe factory was split into two parts and she carefully moved out of one section and into another just as the P.O.W.s started lighting up the night with the weapons they had taken. She could hear the Hydra soldiers yelling for help, but the men were pissed and giving no quarter.The second section was much larger and open with catwalks spanning three levels up and crisscrossing from one end of the building to the other. At the very bottom, assembly lines moved at full steam, assembling weapons and armored vehicles. There were no guards here, the commotion outside drawing them all out to fight.Sara found herself in a storage area, slipping between crates of bullet cartridges and hand grenades. Out of curiosity she pried the lid off one and pulled out a cartridge. The bullets inside glowed that same eerie blue as their other weapons and she pocketed it for Palmer and Jax to take a look at when she got back.Just beyond the crates was a set of stairs and she headed for those, climbing them carefully, keeping her shield between her and the top in case anyone tried to drop down on her. The factory floor was even more visible from the next level up and she looked on in awe and horror at the work they were doing. Where at first she believed they had only been making weapons and vehicles, now she could see they were in fact building bombs. Huge bombs that would undoubtedly decimate everything around it for miles.There was another set of stairs across the catwalk and she ran full tilt for it. There was no hiding on the bridge it was too open and she needed to get across it as fast as she could in case she was ambushed. But there was a feeling that rose up halfway across and she stopped. The feeling was indescribable in more than general terms, like fear and dread and apprehension all mixed together. It was almost as if she was being stalked by a predator. She looked around, finally looking up and catching sight of a man all in black staring down at her from what appeared to be a control booth. She couldn’t see him very well, there were shadows obscuring his face and she was sure she wouldn’t have seen him at all if the light from the furnace slag bellow wasn’t glowing quite so harshly. She knew in an instant, like instinct, that this was Damien Darhk. She took a step, intending to go after him, her original mission forgotten in a way that would later concern her greatly, but then the building rocked and all the way down the line an explosion went off wiping out an entire section of the factory floor.The jolt was all she needed to get back on track and she was headed for the stairs again, coming out into a long corridor where she could hear the faint sounds of someone moving around in a panicked manner. She hugged the wall, following the curve of the hall until she finally saw the person. The man was tall, his hair sandy blonde almost brown and he’s older than her, but younger than her father. He was clutching a thick black briefcase in one hand and loose documents to his chest in the other and he looked back at her as she rounded the corner. He sneered and headed off in the other direction.The man had come out of an office. Sara slipped inside to find it a mess. Papers from the file cabinets were strewn throughout the room, the cabinet doors still open. She scanned them briefly, picking up a few that look important and folding them up before sticking them in a pocket. On the wall was a map of Europe, flags pinned to it along the alps and up into Germany.Sara was about to turn to leave when she heard a groan behind her. She turned to see the office opened up into a larger space, a medical suite of some kind. There was an exam chair in the center and a man lying in the chair.“Snart, Leonard Lewis. Sergeant. 32557038.” she heard as she approached and for a moment all thoughts of wars and evil Nazi cults flew from her mind. She moved to stand next to the chair, Leonard looking haggard and worn. She could only imagine what they must have put him through.“Leonard, Len, it’s me.”“Snart, Leonard Lewis. Sergeant. 32557038.” he repeated as he turned his head to look at her. She counted the beats before his eyes widen. “Sara?” he asked. “What? How?”“I thought you were dead.” she tell him, forcing back tears.“I thought you were in New York.” he replied.Sara helped him off the table, easily supporting his weight as they moved quickly out of the office following another explosion.“What happened?” Leonard questioned as they retraced her steps. She felt his hand clench around her biceps. The only real outward indication that anything had changed were the defined density of her muscles.“I joined the army.” she replied simply.There was another explosion before he could reply and they stagger for a moment, before Sara rights them and pushes on.“Did it hurt?” he asked as they limped down the corridor.“Little bit?”“Is it permanent?”“So far.”“You are gonna get so many girls, birdie.”Sara laughed as they reached the stairwell, beginning their decent. An explosion went off right below them, cutting through the floor and forcing them back up before the stairs fell away. Sara spotted one of the catwalks above, and pulled Leonard along. More explosions went off below them, painting the air in hues of red and orange.As they reached the catwalk, they noticed two figures on the other side, standing before a set of elevator doors. One of the men, the shorter of the two, turns to them, his face shadowed.“Ah, Captain America, so nice to finally meet you.” the man says, stepping to the opposite end of the catwalk, his face finally revealed in the glow of embers.“Damien Darhk I presume.” she replied, unlooping Leonard’s arm from around her shoulders and stepping up onto the catwalk.“I’m flattered that you know who I am.” he said, handing the titanium case he was holding to the second man and taking a step up as well.“Not too flattered I hope.”Darhk smirked. “So it’s true then, the old man managed to get his serum to work. I have to say, I am impressed. Though, forgive me for saying, I’m surprised the US Government would allow him to use a woman for his experiment.”“Gotta break that glass ceiling somehow.” she quipped.Darhk laughed. “And funny too. I don’t suppose I could convince you to join me? You’d make an excellent addition to my-”“Cult? No thanks, I’m not very religious.” without warning, Sara stepped forward, swinging, her fist connecting with Darhk’s jaw. He reeled back, gripping the side of his face as he stood back up, much to Sara’s surprise.“Cult huh? Is that what their calling my organization? I assure you, loyalty is not cultish.”“Guess that depends on your reasons for being loyal.”Darhk seemed to think about it, before conceding the point. He stepped forward suddenly in much the same way she had, and Sara had just enough time to throw up her shield between them, shocked by the jolt of his fist against the metal.“I think it’s safe to say we know what Palmer did with that Alloy you were so interested in, Thawne.” Darhk called back to the man still by the elevator. He stepped forward into the light now, cold calculating eyes watching her.“What a waste.” he replied, though the way Darhk was cracking his, undoubtedly bruised knuckles, Sara didn’t really agree. Thawne spared a look toward Leonard, interest sparking in his eyes.Yet another explosion rocked the factory and Darhk sighed. “Well, this has been fun, Captain, we must do this again sometime.”“How about at the gates of hell?” she asked. “Feel free to go on ahead, I’ll meet you there.”Darhk laughed. “We’re going to have so much fun, Captain.”He turned to walk away and Sara had every intention of pursuing until the largest explosion yet, ripped through the building. She was thrown off her feet, and just barely managed to get up and across the catwalk before it went down.“How about at the gates of hell?” Leonard questioned incredulously. “Really?”She shrugged. “Give me a break, Len, I was in the moment.”xXx“You let them experiment on you!” is the only warning the gathered P.O.Ws had before Sara and Leonard broke through brushline along the creek bed. The Hydra stronghold was a smoking ruin behind them thanks to Darhk’s own actions in hiding evidence and the P.O.Ws taking control of their weapons and tanks, blasting the forward building to pieces. Sara was thoroughly impressed with all of them, haggard and worn down, but fighting hard regardless. She would tell them as much if she wasn’t trying to avoid Leonard’s ire at the moment.“Would you stop yelling, this is enemy territory.” she replied, coming to stop just short of the gathered men.“And you came into enemy territory alone, with no back up!” he continued. “Do you even have a plan to get out of here?”“Well I did, but that kind of got shot to hell.” she explained, reaching into a pouch around her belt. She pulled out a transmitter, a bullet hole straight through the middle of it. “Literally.”Leonard sighed, the weight of everything just suddenly bearing down on him. “How did your father even agree to this, Sara?”Before she could answer, some of the P.O.Ws perked up, interrupting.“Hold on. This is Sara?” the one who had put up a fight earlier asked. “ The Sara?”Leonard sighed, ignoring Sara’s pleased look. “Sara, this is Sergeant Mick Rory, Sergeant Maseo Yamashiro, Second Lieutenant Rip Hunter, Private John Diggle, and Corporal Rex Tyler.” the rest of the P.O.Ws would come to introduce themselves to her later. Sara greeted them in return before turning a smirk on Leonard.“So you talk about me?”Leonard sighed again. “You’re going to be impossible to live with now.”“You say that like I wasn’t impossible to live with before.”That earns a laugh from the soldiers around them and Leonard looks about ready to lay down and give up.“You’re right, boss, she is a spitfire.”Sara didn’t think she could look anymore pleased, especially when Leonard turned a glare on Mick.xXx“Sir? You summoned me?” Gideon kept her tone respectful. She knew what this was about and while she was determined to defend her position once again, she knew this wasn’t an ordinary case of insubordination. Captain America wasn’t just a soldier or a super soldier for that matter. She was his youngest daughter, his baby girl, the light of his life. And now she was missing, behind enemy lines, the base she was headed for a smouldering wreck on the landscape.“I’ve been sitting here for hours now, trying to figure out how I’m going to tell Laurel that her little sister is missing and presumed Killed in Action.” he explained. “I don’t suppose the latest aerial reconnaissance says anything different?”“No sir. The last surveillance flight shows no signs of activity.” she told him.Colonel Lance was refraining from exploding in anger, she could see the struggle waring in his eyes. “You know, I can’t touch Palmer, he’s a civilian, and the Army’s number one weapons contractor. You on the other hand-” he left it hanging as the clear threat it was.“You’ll have my resignation in the morning.”He sighed. “I can probably make it so you avoid a court marshall.”“With all due respect, sir, I don’t regret my actions. And I doubt Sara did either.”“What makes you think I give a damn about your opinion?” he snapped, stepping up to her. “I took a chance on you Agent, because I was told you were the best, and now my daughter and lot of good men are dead. All because you had a crush.”Gideon tensed, the implications of his words holding far too much weight. Judging by the look on his face, he knew exactly what his assertion meant.“I know my daughter, Agent. I’m not blind. I don’t judge, and I love her all the same.” Colonel Lance told her, his voice low. “When I told Dr. Stein the world wasn’t ready for a woman like my daughter, I wasn’t just talking about her ambition.”Colonel Lance finally looked away, turning on his heels and stalking back to his desk.“It wasn’t a crush, Colonel.” Gideon spoke up. “It was faith.”“Well, I certainly hope that’s a comfort to you when they shut this division down.”Gideon was cut off from replying as a comotion began outside. They both turned to find men running by the opening, shouting starting up far off and coming closer as more and more soldiers rushed by.“What the hell is going on out here?” Colonel Lance snapped, emerging for the tent, Gideon right behind him.“Their headed for the entrance, sir.” Jax explained as he came to halt beside them with Palmer right beside him. “I don’t know why.”Together they followed the crowd and as they approached the gate, the gathered soldiers parted, making way for a contingent of battered soldiers, dirty and tired, led by Captain America. Sara’s own uniform was caked in mud and dirt, her bomber jacket ripped in a few places. Beside her walked Leonard Snart, weary but with his head held high and a hydra weapon slung across his body. Near the back of the contingent, soldiers rolled up on Hydra tanks and vehicles, the injured riding along while the able bodied walked.They came to a stop as Colonel Lance stepped forward.“Faith huh?” he questioned Gideon before turning to Sara. She stood at attention.“I’d like to surrender myself for disciplinary action, sir.” she told him.“That won’t be necessary.” he replied, much to her surprise.“Sir, I-”“Just how many orders do you plan on disobeying, Captain!” he snapped, turning on his heels and stalking off. Gideon stepped up to her when he was gone, Jax and Palmer right behind her.“You’re late.”“Sorry,” she began pulling out the transponder. “Couldn’t call my ride.”“Awe, come on. It took me forever to encrypt that signal.” Jax complained, taking the wrecked device. Palmer clapped him on the shoulder and they walked off together.“Agent Sharpe, Leonard Snart.” Sara introduced them, never breaking eye contact with the woman.Leonard stepped forward and shook her hand.“You’re a lucky man, Sergeant. You’ve got your very own super soldier to watch your back.” Gideon told him with a smile.Leonard smirked back. “I don’t think she’s exclusive agent.” he replied looking between them knowingly. He took a step back. “Let’s hear it for Captain America!” he called out, earning cheers and hollers from the gathered crowd.“Oh yeah,” Sara looked away from him. “He’s pissed.”xXx “Captain America to Receive Medal of Honor.” Leonard read aloud as he led the newly minted team of Captain America down into the bunker. He folded up the newspaper as they approached the work bench where Sara was sketching out a map. Gideon stood on the other side, watching her and the team filled in around them.“And the last one was just outside Strasbourg. Say thirty, forty miles from the Maginot line.” Sara explained standing to full height. “I only got a quick look.”Amused, Gideon replied. “Nobody's perfect.”An aide came around and took the map, stepping around Palmer and Jax as they joined them at the table. They were talking among themselves, Palmer waving around the bullet cartridge Sara had taken from the factory.“Sara!” Colonel Lance snapped, striding across the room. “You just embarrassed a senior senator in front of dozens of reporters by not showing up to your own ceremony.” he told her. He tossed her the medal he was carrying. “You should get a medal just for that, kid.” he turned his attention to Palmer. “You figure out what that is yet?”“Only the most powerful explosive known to man. If these guys are to be believed.” Palmer replied gesturing around the table and the commandos.“If?” Leonard questioned.“Yeah, if. Cause, either you’re wrong or Darhk has rewritten the laws of physics.”Colonel Lance sighed, looking down at the table. It was one large map of the European Theatre and Gideon had placed markers where Sara had drawn them on her own map. “These are all Hydra factories?”“The ones we know about.” Sara replied.“Those bombs they were building went somewhere else though.” Diggle spoke up.“A facility not on the map.” Rex added.“Agent Sharpe, coordinate with MI6 and ARGUS, I want every allied eye looking out for that hidden base.” Colonel Lance ordered.“What about us, sir?” she asked.“It’s about time we lit a fire under Darhk’s ass.” he then turned his attention on Sara. “What d’ya say Captain? It’s your map, care to wipe Hydra off of it?”“With pleasure, sir.”xXx“So let me get this straight. We just barely got out of there alive and now we’re all gonna go back in swingin’?” Mick said, taking a long pull from the mug of beer in front of him. The commandos had all hunkered down at a pub in the heart of London, returned now from the front lines for a brief respite before they were off again.“That pretty much sums it up.” Sara replied, taking a large pull from her own mug.“Sounds like good fun, honestly.” Rip added, lifting his mostly empty mug toward the bartender and gesturing for another one.“It’s better than sitting back and doing nothing.” Maseo replied. Rex nodded in agreement.“I ain’t arguin’ that.” Mick said. “Got a few gifts specially wrapped just for these assholes.” he held up his fists, still wearing his leather gloves. “I’m just sayin’ it’s kinda nuts.”“Then it’s just up our alley.” Diggle said, earning a round of laughter as they clinked their glasses together. Sara laughed, standing from the table and moving toward the bar. Leonard was seated at the very end against the wall, watching her as she approached.“Easiest battle of the war, convincing those idiots to follow Captain America into battle.” Leonard told her as she climbed up on the seat beside him.“And what does that make you? You’re following Captain America too.”Leonard shook his head. “No I ain’t doll.” he replied, smirking as her smile disappeared. “I’m following that little bird from Brooklyn, the one who broke Mark Marsdon’s nose when we were sixteen.”“He cheated on my sister!” she exclaimed. Leonard laughed.“You never have to justify to me, doll, you know that. I’ll follow you anywhere.”“Till the end of the line?”“Till the end of the line.” he leaned forward and smiled that crooked little smile she loved so much.“You still mad at me?”“Pissed beyond reason, Birdie.” he told her, but then shrugged. “But I guess it all kinda fits. You’ve always been a hero, standin’ up for the little guys in the neighborhood, the ones society treads on. Now you can stand up for the little guys of the world.” he huffed a laugh. “You’re gonna keep the suit though, right?”Sara deflated, dropping her forehead to the bar top. “I don’t have a choice.” she whined. She sat up again. “So get this, apparently I’m an icon .” it was clear she didn’t particularly like that. “While I’ve been over here, they’ve been making comic books and merchandise and plastering my face on war bond posters and makin’ baseball cards, recruitment posters. There’s even a teddy bear. They call it the Captain Ameri-bear.”Leonard had done a fairly good job of holding off the laughter, he was quite proud of himself. The teddy bear, however, sent him over the edge and he doubled over.“It’s not funny Lenny!” she exclaimed. “They put the damn thing in a skirt!”Well that didn’t help at all. He actually had to put his mug down to keep from spilling it. Eventually he regained his composure.“So, how about that Agent Sharpe?”“How about her what?”Leonard rolled his eyes. “You know what Sara, don’t play dumb with me.”Sara only saw that as a challenge. “You hear from Ray lately?”Leonard hesitated. “Wrote him after I got here. His number got called shortly after I deployed. He’s in the Pacific.”Sara took a deep breath. “I’m sorry Len.”He shook his head. “Don’t be. He’ll be fine. He’s on a carrier, and he’s resourceful. In fact he insists that the three of us grab a drink and go dancing when we all get home.”She smiled at the thought. It sounded nice, honestly. She was sure all of these soldiers wanted to go home to a drink and a dance.“Gideon and I are flirty. That’s pretty much all it’s been. Not really a lot of time for anything else.” Sara told him.“Captain.” Gideon’s voice sounded off behind them and they watched as she approached. Gone was her british army uniform, replaced now by a striking red dress and matching heels. Both of them stood to greet her. “Palmer has some equipment for you to try. Tomorrow morning?”“Sounds good.”Back at the table the Howlies started up a tune, badly belting it out and waving their beer mugs back and forth as they swayed.“I see your elite squad is prepping for duty.” she said amused.“Don’t like music agent?” Leonard questioned.“On the contrary Sergeant, I like it quite a bit. In fact, when all of this is over I think I might just go dancing.”“Why wait?” he asked.Gideon looked back at Sara, holding her gaze. “Just waiting for a bit of privacy I suppose.” she turned to walk away. “08:00 Captain.”“Yes ma’am. I’ll be there.”When she was gone Leonard leaned in. “I think that was your anything else, birdie.”Sara turned to smile at him.xXx“Hmm.” Palmer hummed to himself. He was elbow deep in the claw mechanisms of an isolation chamber, carefully studying the piece of weaponry Sara had brought back with her.“Emissions are unusual.” Jax said, watching readouts on a screen across the room.“Yeah, alpha, beta and gamma rays are neutral.” Palmer carefully maneuvered the claws around, removing one of the glowing blue pellets. “Seems harmless enough.” he continued. While one claw held the pellet, the other maneuvered to pick up a live wire. “How’s it going?” he heard Sara’s voice across the room.“So far so good.” Jax replied.Palmer brought the wire up, moving the two claws closer together. “Hard to see what the fuss is ab-” an explosion rang out as the wire touched the pellet, sending Palmer flying across the room and into an adjacent wall. He sat up a moment later, the other scientists coming out from cover, and looked across the room where Sara was shielding Jax. “Write that down.”xXxDecember 1943, France, the first of Hydra’s factories falls. Captain America leads the charge, shield up, a tommy gun in the other hand braced against her hip as it’s fired off into an opposing line of Hydra soldiers.January 1944, Belgium, the second is left in ruins, self destructed like the one in Italy. The Howlies make it out with a few scrapes and bruises. Sara watches on with a smile as they celebrate that night, trading stories from back home, of their families and the places they’ll go when it’s all over.February, 1944, Poland. Leonard saves Sara from a sniper as she’s taking stock of a battle ground. She clocks him and smiles. He smiles right back. ‘Till the end of the line’ she thinks, and for a moment she’s reminded of the man who didn’t want to be a soldier, didn’t want to kill. She pushes it aside as he joins her on the ground. There’s no time for thoughts like that here.When their gone, Damien Darhk will appear at the now destroyed factory. Where once he was amused by the turn of events surrounding Captain America, now he grows weary. His plan is too important to allow this to continue much longer. every day the allies grow closer, and on the other front the Reich grows suspicious of his intentions.August, 1944, Czechoslovakia. The Howlies scramble as one, out of the factory, diving for cover. When it becomes obvious there’s not going to be an explosion like expected, they peek out of their cover. There’s silence and then all of a sudden Sara crashes through the front window, the explosion they’ve been waiting for accompanying her and she lands and flashes a smile at her team, driving off toward the waiting vehicles.Three days later on a snow covered mountain top, the Howlies rise from their cover, shaking off the snow and moving in a line across the ground. They’re all in white except for Sara, who still sports her red, white and blue uniform. A shot rings out and she brings her shield up, blocking a bullet. In one smooth motion, she drops the shield from her arm to her hand, winding up and sending it flying, knocking the sniper over a tree. The shield bounds from one tree to the next, returning to her hand. The Howlies stand gaping as she continues on, oblivious to their shock.December 1944, Greece. With Mick behind the wheel and Sara and Diggle in the back of the jeep, they crash through a warehouse door ducking as a fighter plane, emblazoned with a Hydra logo flies over head. It circles back as they race forward, moving up behind them to fire its guns. Sara puts up her shield taking the hits while Diggle lines up the .30 caliber mounted on the back of the jeep and fires back, stitching a line up the center of the fuselage and sending the plane careening off into the ground one hundred yards away, ending in an impressive display of fire and light.xXx“This is unexceptable!” Damien Darhk roared, startling the soldiers working their way through the burned out structure of their Greece factory. Eobard Thawne stood at his side, unfazed by the leaders temper. He turned to face his second. “We are so close to realizing our goal, Eobard, to striking with an offensive that will change the very face of the planet as we know it.” he paused. “I will admit, I was amused by this woman at first. She’s out of the ordinary and you know how valuable I find oddities, but we can no longer afford to be amused. We must not be delayed any further.”“With all due respect, sir, this is not my area of expertise. I make the weapons, I do not fire them.” Thawne defended.“You’rE one of the brightest minds I’ve ever met in my very long life. I have faith that you will figure it out. You have done great things. Do one more.”Thawne was silent as he considered this, watching as their soldiers dug through the ruins of the factory. Shouting drew their attention off to the left and they watched as two men, dragged the plant manager from the rubble. His skin was blackened with soot and burns, his hair on one side burned off.“We fought to the last man…” he said, his voice a rasping mess.Damien took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Very nearly.” he replied calmly, raising a hand out in front of him. The manager lifted off the ground and Thawne resisted the urge to look away as Darhk drained what was left of his life from him.xXxJanuary 1945, Russia. The Alpine Pass.On a plateau high up in the mountains, the Howlies were gathered, overlooking a deep ravine below. Maseo was crouched over a transceiver while Diggle listened in. A few feet away, Rip Hunter, binoculars on his face, looked out at the mountainous region. Rex Tyler and Mick Rory were off behind the group, jacking a winch into place and Sara and Leonard stood at the plateaus edge overlooking the deep cavern and the train tracks suspended into the side of the mountain across the valley.“The engineer just radioed ahead.” Diggle said, looking up at Sara and Leonard. “Dispatch gave them permission to open throttle. Whatever their hauling must be important.”“Well, their not going to get it.” Maseo replied.“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Rip spoke up. He was still watching through his binoculars, a train coming into view around the bend. “Because their moving like the devil.”Sara moved back from the edge, checking her rifle before securing it to her back. Leonard looked down into the cavern, leery.“You remember when I took you to Coney Island for Mayday; convinced you to ride the cyclone?” he asked, looking back at her.“And I threw up?” she replied, Leonard nodded.“This isn’t payback for that is it?”Sara grinned. “Now would I do that?”A chorus of ‘yes’ rose up around her from her team and her grin widened.“Let’s get moving. We have a limited window. Miss it and we’re all bugs on a windshield.” she said, taking one of the hooks and attaching it to the wire they had strung up across the canyon. Leonard and Diggle lined up behind her.“Off ya go bugs.” Mick called, and Sara led off, jumping over the edge and rolling down the guide line toward the speeding train. Three solid thunks hit the roof of the train as Sara, Leonard and Diggle landed solidly. While Diggle started the crawl toward the engine, Sara led Leonard down to the back of the caboose. Lining up on the either side of the door, Leonard counted down to one before Sara kicked the door in, guns at the ready. The car was empty and they shared a look of confusion before Sara pushed ahead, stopping at the next door. They pushed through only to find the next car empty too.“I thought they were supposed to be hauling something.” Leonard said, looking around as they neared the next door.“They were.” Sara replied, unhooking her shield. When they reach the next door she yanked it open and just like the last two it was empty. Unlike the last two it was a lot darker.“That can’t be good.” Leonard commented as they step in. As they took a few steps in the sound of gears moving drew their attention back to the door and they watch as a thick steel plate slammed down, blocking their exit.The lights at the far end of the car flickered on revealing a Hydra trooper. This one was different though. Over six feet tall and fully armored, he looks more like a robot out of a science fiction film than a real life thing. Each arm is ended by a thick cannon that do nothing to assuage their concerns for this confrontation.By mutual agreement, they raised their guns and started firing at the trooper, their bullets pinging uselessly off the thick steel plating. The trooper took aim at Sara and she raised her shield to deflect the blast. The blast knocks the shield out of her hand and sends her flying into the wall behind them.The trooper then turned to Leonard who dove out of the way in time to miss getting hit, the wall behind him, ripping away and revealing the long snowy gorge below. The trooper pressed in on him, but a voice stopped him, tinny through the speakers in the ceiling.“No! Finish the other one. She is the only one that matters.”Leonard recognized Thawne’s voice and watched in horror as the trooper turns to Sara who is struggling to get to her feet. Without thinking, Leonard grabbed the shield, rolling across the floor and putting himself between them in time to block the next cannon blast. It ricocheted off the shield and bounded back on the trooper, taking him out. The force of the blast ripped the shield from Leonard’s arm and sent him flying out through the jagged opening in the wall. He just barely got a hold of an edge of the panel still hanging on to stop his fall.“Leonard!” Sara called out to him and he looked up to see her reaching for him. He reached back, struggling to bridge the gap between them. “Don’t let go, I’ve got you!” she yelled stretching beyond her limit to reach him. He can see she is struggling to keep her footing and he tries not think about the possibility of her falling too. The end of the line wasn’t supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be them, old and grey on a porch overlooking their suburban lawn, where maybe their grandchildren would be playing, because no matter who they loved in between, Ray, Gideon, they were always meant to be together. Lisa and Laurel’s families would be there too and they would have lived so many years together, traveled the world, seen all there was to offer.“This wasn’t supposed to be it.” He thought to himself as the scrap of metal finally broke away. He fell, the train getting farther and farther away, Sara’s screams are lost on the wind and in the volume of his own.This wasn’t supposed to be the end of the line.xXxDiggle watched in horror as Leonard fell from view, but he quickly brushed it off, anger seeping into his veins like ice. He crawled the rest of the way toward the engine car, peeking down through the window to find Eobard Thawne watching through a monitor as Sara stalked toward the door separating them. He backed away in terror and Diggle took advantage of his distraction, swinging in and drawing his gun. Thawne turned to toward the train consuls only to find Diggle and his sidearm waiting for him.“Stop this goddamn train.” he ordered as the sound of Sara’s shield reverberated off the other side of the door. “I’d do it quickly if I were you, she sounds pissed.”xXxLondon had been bombed in their absence. The pub they called home while off missions was nothing but an empty shell now. The tables and chairs were covered in soot and dust, debris strewn across the floor and the only way in was a makeshift door of plywood leaning against the frame.Sara found herself at their usual table, eyes unseeing as she refilled her glass. Beyond the door she could hear footsteps, a man’s. Good, she wasn’t sure she wanted to see Gideon right now. She reminded Sara too much of Ray. She didn’t want to be reminded that she needed to figure out a way to tell him about Leonard.“Dr. Stein told me once, that the serum wouldn’t just work on my muscles or my reflexes.” she began as the man entered the pub and made his way slowly toward her. “He said it would work in my cells, create a protective system of healing, of regeneration.” she turned to look up at her father as he stopped beside her. “Which means I can’t get drunk, daddy.”“Your metabolism burns three times faster than a normal person. Stein figured that would be a side effect.” he replied, taking the empty seat beside her. “It wasn’t your fault, baby girl.” he continued.“You read the report?”“Of course.”“Then you know it was.” she replied, the tears finally falling. Colonel Lance reached over and pulled the bottle and glass away from her, setting them aside.“You did everything you could Sara.” he said firmly.“I got in over my head, daddy, and once again, Leonard had to wade in and pull me out. Just like always. Except this time he’s not walking away with a bloody nose or bruised knuckles.”“I know it’s not that simple.”“All I had to do was catch him, like he always catches me.”Lance sighed. “You need to stop blaming yourself Sara. That boy loved you more than anything. He’d have gone to hell and back for you without you even asking. He knew you were worth it, sweetheart. He never once regretted following you into any situation, not when you were kids and not now. Let him keep the dignity of his choice.”Sara sniffled, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I want to burn Darhk’s empire to the ground around him. Burn out every hole he could hide in. I want to tear his world apart and not stop until he and all of Hydra are captured or dead.” “Let’s go then.”xXxSara, Gideon, Ray, Jax and the Howlies stood around the head table in Allied Command. The mood was grim, the short memorial service they’d put together for Leonard now over.Colonel Lance stepped up to the map of Europe behind them, areas marked where Hydra factories and bases had been found and destroyed.“Damien Darhk believes he’s a god and he intends to blow up half the world to prove it.” he announced. A few hours in interrogation with Eobard Thawne had given them everything they needed, including a vague picture of Darhk’s abilities, and his motivations. “He intends to start with the U.S.A.”“He’s insane.” Mick mumbled.“But, Hydra would need millions of men, fleets of transport vehicles. They would have to feed those men, fuel the transports.”Palmer shook his head. “Dahrk is working with technology beyond the capabilities of this era. If he gets across the atlantic, he’ll wipe out the entire Eastern seaboard in hours.”“Every abled bodies man is either in the European Theatre or the Pacific right now. The borders are wide open. It’s his for the taking.” Sara said, eyes tracing the lines of the eastern United States.“How much time do we have?” Diggle asked.“If my new best friend is to be believed, twenty four hours.” Colonel Lance replied. “Where is he now?” Sara asked.“Darhk’s last base is here, in the Alps.” Gideon pointed out the relative location on the map. “It’s about a hundred and fifty two meters below the surface.”Maseo leaned a little closer to the map, studying the charted topography. “What are we supposed to do? It’s not like we can knock on the front door.”They all turned to look at Sara for her opinion. “Why not?”xXxThe trees whipped past as Sara weaved through the woods up the mountain. The air was cold, snow dusting the landscape. She spotted the trip wire ahead and deliberately rode over it, setting off an alarm in the base further up the mountain.In moments she was surrounded by three Hydra riders on their own motorcycles, flanking her on either side. She smirked, pressing a red button on her handlebars and igniting flames out of the twin tail pipes, igniting two of the riders and sending them veering off course. The third managed to pull up a long side her, an evil grin on his face as he reached into his saddle bag and pulled out a grenade. Before he can react, Sara snatched is out of his hand and clocked him the jaw, dislodging his helmet and temporarily blinding him. She pulled the pin with her teeth and shoved it back in his saddle bag, pulling ahead of him just as he lifted his helmet out of the way. An explosion ripped through the bike and sent him flying, clearing the path for Sara to continue on.xXxThe legion of Hydra soldiers standing before Damian Darhk were five hundred strong. They stood at attention, ready to receive his orders and carry them out until their last breath. In all of the centuries he had been alive, Darhk couldn’t remember ever having a more loyal army at his beck and call. This new century had been very kind to him.“Tomorrow,” Darhk began, his voice echoing in the large hanger. “Hydra will stand as master of the world. We will be borne to victory on the wings of the valkyrie. Our enemies’ weapons will be useless against us. If they shoot down one plane, hundreds more will rain fire upon them. If they cut off one head, two shall take its place! Hail Hydra!”“Hail Hydra!” the soldiers saluted him, standing in formation and chanting their loyalty to him. Darhk smirked. Disposable, all of them, but they would serve him well in the coming resolution. He would finally rise to his rightful place as god among these mere mortals, standing on the backs of those so easily manipulated.Darhk caught a flashing light out of the corner of his eye and turned to find the perimeter alarm going off. He turned slowly toward it, smirking to himself.“Let’s end this Captain.”xXx Soldiers raced to meet her around the raised walls surrounding the hidden entrance. The only thing they saw as they took up position was Sara barrelling toward them. They scrambled out of the way as she vaulted the bike up a gun emplacement, launching through the barbed wire fence and making it into the compound.One guard is crushed in her landing, another injured by flying barbed wire. The rest take up positions, firing at her blindly. She swerved, tossing grenades left and right. One guard leveled a bazooka and she raised her shield deflecting the blast, but in her distraction a rifleman managed to blow out her front tire, sending the front end digging into the ground, and throwing her over the handlebars.She got to her feet quickly, but there are too many of them, even for her.xXxDarhk watched on in amusement as Captain America was led into his office. It took several of them to keep her subdued.“You know, I’ll be honest, I had hoped you would be above the arrogance America is known for. But alas, here you are. There are limits to what you can do, Captain, did Stein not tell you that?”“He told me I was enough.”Darhk narrowed his eyes, stepping up to her. Their height difference was marginal at best, half a head at most. “And what made you so special?” he asked, sounding genuinely curious.“Nothing,” she replied, never breaking eye contact. “I’m just a Nurse from Brooklyn.” Darhk chuckled. “Is that so?” then without warning he punch her, clocking her across the jaw. She spit, shaking it off and looking back up at him.“I can do this all day.” she told him.“I have no doubt about that, Captain. And I would be happy to oblige, but I’m on a schedule.”Suddenly the guards let her go, and before she could process it, Darhk’s hand was around her throat, squeezing as he lifted her off the ground. She grunted, wrapping her own hands around his wrist.“So am I.” she rasped through his choke hold, just as the sound of solid metal hitting the outside of Darhk’s office window drew their attention. He dropped her, turning to see three specs flying straight for the window. Darhk spun around, only to receive a punch of his own, knocking him off balance as Mick, Rip and Diggle burst through the window on their ziplines. Diggle landed squarely on Darhk’s desk, firing off round after round of his .30 caliber, taking out guards before they could react.Maseo and Rex were the next through the window, Maseo calling into the radio as he landed. “We’re in, Go! Go! Go!”An explosion sounded seconds later, guards yelling out in the compound. The allies entered the compound ready to end this fight once and for all. Mick landed a haymaker on one guard while Sara took out a second. Rip chased down the guard with Sara’s shield relieving him of it and tossing it to Sara.“Thanks.” she called.“Cheers.”Sara strapped the shield on and took off after Darhk, who in the confusion, escaped through a side door. She comes up on her father as she bolts down the hallway. He leveled his shotgun at a trooper who shouts;“Cut off one head, two more shall rise.”Colonel Lance blasted him away. “Let’s go find two more.” he hollered at his men, nodding at Sara as she raced passed.Darhk was running at full speed, turning corners left and right, but Sara kept up. As she rounded a corner, she found Darhk waiting for her, his pistol raised and she barely gets her shield up in time to deflect the blue bolts he fires one after the other.Darhk turned while she was distracted, bolting through a set of bulkhead doors and hitting a button on the way through. The doors begin to slide closed and Sara hurls her shield wedging it between the doors to keep them open. She ran forward, stopping short as a trooper with a flamethrower stepped out of a corridor just before the door, sending flames in her direction. A shot rang out, pinging off the metal fuel tank on the trooper’s back and igniting him. He screamed, running haphazardly to escape the inferno.Gideon appeared beside her, rifle in hand.“You’re late.”“You aren’t complaining are you Captain?” she replied with a cheeky grin. Sara grinned back, and turned for the door, sliding beneath her shield and pulling it out once she’s through.xXxThe bomber in the hanger is nothing like Sara has ever seen. Then again, most of this war has been one thing she’s never seen before after another. She ran toward it, realizing a little too late that it’s already taxiing. There are more bombers throughout the hanger, all equal in size to the first and a sense of dread filled Sara as she thinks about all of the weapons and soldiers those monstrosities could hold.The bomber was moving faster now and she was struggling to keep up. At the far end of the runway, a hanger door opens, letting in the sunrise. It became evident that the bomber was moving too fast for her to catch, but before she could devise another plan, the engines of a car reved off to her left. She turned to see one of Darhk’s prized cars speeding toward her. Her father behind the wheel and Gideon in the passenger seat.“Get in!” he called and she jumped the door without the car slowing down, landing in the back seat. Colonel Lance floored the accelerator, gaining on the bomber and Sara carefully climbed over the windshield steadying herself on the hood of the car. Sara dropped just as the propellers shaved off the hood ornament and Sara and Gideon shared a look.Colonel Lance pulled the car around, getting up next to the wheel. “Keep it steady.” Sara called over her shoulder, ready to jump.“Wait!” Gideon yelled, stopping her. Sara turned just in time for Gideon to catch her around the back of the neck and drag her down for a kiss.“Go get him.” Gideon said as she pulled away. Sara looked wide eyed, glancing at her father who merely smirked, shaking his head.“Okay.” she replied bracing herself on the hood and leaping for the landing gear just as it lifted it off. As the bomber climbed higher and higher, she hoisted herself up, riding the gear up into the body while it closed.“Fuck.” she breathed as she took it all in. The flight deck was massive, smaller fighter planes spanning from wing tip to wing tip. Below them are open trap doors, ready to launch the planes out into the air. She took a step forward only to duck as a bullet pings off her shield. She spun around, catching sight of eight pilots rushing toward her. She took two of them out with her shield, catching it as it rebounded. The others don’t slow their pace, closing in on her. As one got closer she got a grip on him and threw him across the flight deck, tossing him out of the bomber completely. The next she smashed with her shield.One of the pilots was larger than the others, almost ridiculously so, and he advanced on her, swinging a chock at her. She just missed getting hit, staggering back onto the nose of a fighter. The larger pilot jumped up with her. Inside the fighter, a second pilot saw an opportunity and pulled the release lever, dropping the plane into the air below.Sara dropped, holding on as best she could. The larger pilot skidded passed, grabbing her boot. She kicked at him, once, twice, dislodging him and sending him tumbling through the air and into the propeller. She fought back the nausea and looked up at the cockpit, finding the pilot staring at her in surprise. Without warning he executed a barrel roll, jerking the stick, but Sara hauled herself forward, grabbing the edge of the cockpit and sliding it open.She tried to grab the pilot but he evaded her, so she reached down and pulled the ejector switch, sending the pilot into the air and smashing on the underside of the bomber’s wing. Sara climbed in and pulled the stick, righting the plane and headed straight up toward the cockpit of the bomber.Sara could just see Darhk through the windshield and she thought she saw him duck out of the way as she angled the plane toward the window, crashing through it and skidding across the flightdeck, sending up sparks all around her.She pushed the canopy off and quickly came to the realization that its far too quiet. The control platform was empty, the pilot’s chair also empty.“You don’t give up do you?” Darhk spoke up in the shadows, his voice accompanied by the whir of a Hydra assault rifle powering up. She whipped around, throwing up her shield and deflecting the blast, sending it out toward the cockpit window and blasting out the other side.“Nope!” she replied over the howling wind. He fired again, the bolts ricocheting around the cockpit as they rebounded off her shield. Sara got close enough to knock the rifle out of his hand, and without missing a beat, Darhk swung. Sara managed to use his momentum against him, putting him a headlock, but he pushed back, slamming her into the bulkhead until she let go.Sara swung her shield, but he grabbed it, pulling her toward him. “You wear that flag on your chest and think you’re fighting a battle between nations! I have seen the future captain and there are no flags but mine!”“Keep your future, Darhk, I’m looking for the here and now.” she replied, jamming the shield up into his chin, forcing him to let go. She cocked back, hitting Darhk with an uppercut and sending him flying into the autopilot controls, disengaging the autopilot. Violently, the bomber lurched, nearly knocking them both off their feet. It devolved into a barrel roll as the nose pitched forward, sending them rolling around the cockpit uncontrolled in zero gravity.Darhk managed to find a hand hold and launched himself at her, knocking her back to the far bulkhead, before pulling himself toward the controls and re-engaging autopilot.With gravity restored, Sara crashed to the floor, losing grip on her shield. She layed on the floor dizzy, eyes fluttering open and closed as she tried to regain her balance.“You could have the power of the gods.” Darhk said, his footsteps ringing against the steel floor. She opened her eyes to find him standing over her, a gun pointed at her. Behind him a glowing blue cube and Sara has the fleeting thought that this is the cause of all his other worldly technology. “And yet you won’t admit you want it.”Sara took a deep breath. “I want what every soldier on every battlefield wants…” she replied. She could feel the shield at her feet, turned over on its front. “I want to go home.” she slammed her heel into the edge, launching the shield into the air and jumped to her feet. Darhk took a shot and she grabbed the shield in time to block the bullet. She hurled the shield at Darhk, sending him back into the blue cube housing, his ribs giving with a sickening crack.Blue energy arced from the cube, crackling from the damaged housing. An energy gauge on the housing read overload. Darhk pulled himself to his feet, watching the gauge with alarm. The cube rose from the housing, glowing with violent intensity.Darhk stared in awe, reaching out for the cube. Sara watched in horror as it burned through the flesh of his hand. He showed no signs of pain, only amazement.Sara left him to his distraction, making her way to the control panel. Behind her she heard him speak; “I have waited so long….” she turned just in time to watch a hole open up in front of him, beyond, the most beautiful night sky she had ever laid eyes on. “No.” he breathed as energy began arcing from the cube again. She threw up her shield to protect herself. “No!” he screamed a bolt of energy ricocheting off the ceiling and striking Darhk, vaporizing him instantly.The cube glowed even brighter now, a massive column of energy spiraling up through the roof of the bomber and the floor below, burning through the metal. The light bursted outward, clearing the sky of clouds before fading.Whoozy, Sara stood, blinking the shadows from her vision. The cube now laid on the floor, inert. She took a step toward it, only to be thrown off balance as the bomber lurched violently. She turned then, launching herself at the controls. She climbed into the pilot seat, wrestling with the stick to alter course, but it wouldn’t budge. On the monitor beside her she found a radar map of Manhattan. They were nearing the east coast and there was no going back. The bomber was either going to drop it’s payload or crash into the eastern coast of the United States. With a deep breath Sara grabbed the radio.“Agent Sharpe, come in.”There’s static and then; “Sara, is that you? Are you alright?”“I’m fine.” she smiled ruefully. She would be alright, so long as everyone else was.“Where’s Darhk?”“Dead.”“And the plane?”Sara hesitated. “That’s a little harder to explain.” she looked to the map, the landmass getting closer. Above it on the control panel she sat Leonard’s compass. He’d left it with his gear at Mission Control for reasons she couldn’t fathom. Inside is a picture of them, smiling. She remembered the day it was taken. It was his birthday. They spent the whole day at the boardwalk at Coney Island, eating hot dogs and watching tourists getting sunburned.“Give me your coordinates, I’ll find you a landing sight.” Gideon pulled her from her thoughts.“There isn’t going to be a landing.” she replied. “Darhk locked the navigation. And there’s more than enough power to reach the east coast.”“I’ll get David or Jax on the line. They’ll know what to do.”“Gideon, I’m sitting on a hundred tons of explosives. Hot wiring this thing isn’t an option.” Sara looked out at the vast expanse of ocean. “I’m going to have to put her in the water.”“You said you couldn’t steer it!” she exclaimed. Just under her voice, Sara could hear the other Howlies talking, trying to find out what was going on.“I can’t. But I don’t need to steer it to crash it.”With another deep breath, she reached under the control panel and yanked a thick bundle of wires out. All the lights died, the engines slowing to a stop.“Sara! Don’t do this! We’re got time! We can figure this out!” that was her father.“I already did. I’m in the middle of nowhere right now, I’m going to try to glide to the north. But if I wait any longer a lot of people are going to get hurt.” she paused. “Dad, this is my choice.”Gideon’s voice followed, soft, resigned. “We’ll send out rescue ships. We’ll find you Sara.”“I’m sorry, but I don’t think there’s going to be much left to find.” she replied, leaning on the stick with everything she could muster. The plane tipped forward into a screaming dive. “Gideon?”“I’m here.”“I’m going to need a raincheck on that dance.”There’s a lengthy pause. “Alright. A week from Saturday. My flat.”“You got it.” Sara agreed.“8:00 on the dot. If your three minutes late, I’m going to lock the door, do you understand?” “Yes m-”The radio hissed, cutting off whatever Sara was going to say.xXxDavid Palmer hunched over a monitor screen two weeks later. Two robotic claws dug along the ocean floor, lifting a glowing blue cube from the sand. He turned to look over his shoulder at Jax and they share a look of weary resignation.“Move us to the next grid point.” he ordered.“But, sir, there’s no trace of wreckage. And the energy signature stops here.” one of the assistance replied. Palmer turned from the consul entirely sporting a drained, grim look.“Just keep looking.”xXx
“Workman up for the Phillies, now. Holding that big club down at the end. He sets, Chipman pitches. Curveball, outside. Ball one.”
Sara’s eyes flickered open, confusion sinking into her very core. She’s lying on a bed, the ceiling above her is white, the curtains blowing through the open window beside the bed, letting in the sounds of New York below. The voice was coming from a radio, the familiar sounds of an announcer for the Dodgers. For the life of her she couldn’t remember his name.Sara sat up, throwing her feet over the edge of the bed. A woman was sitting in the corner reading a newspaper, The Brooklyn Eagle.“Good morning.” she greeted, looking over the edge of the paper. She folded it back up, and stood, checking her watch. “Or should I say, afternoon.” she chuckled.“I don’t… remember going to sleep.”“Well, it was quite a while ago, Captain.”Sara looked away, rubbing at her face as the radio plays on, niggling at a memory in the back of her mind. “So the dodgers are ahead eight to five. And chipman knows one swing of the bat and this fella’s capable of making it a brand new game.” Sara eyed the radio, then took a long look at the woman.“How long have I been out?” she asked.“I’m afraid I couldn’t say.” she replied.Sara turned back to the radio.
“Outfield deep, round toward left, the infield overshifted.”
And like a flood it all came back. “Where am I?” she asked, never looking away from the radio.“You’re at an SSR facility, Ma’am.”Sara finally looked back at her, standing from the bed. “Where am I really?”The woman looked confused, maybe even nervous.“I don’t know what you mean, Captain.”Sara took a step toward her. “This game, Dodgers vs Phillies August 1940. I was there. I took Leonard for his birthday. Neither of us actually liked baseball all that much, but I remember it because Lenny caught a fly ball with his peanut cup. He was more upset he spilled his peanuts. Gave the ball to a little kid sitting in front of us.”“I’m sorry, I don’t-”With lightning speed, Sara was in front of her, grabbing her arm and pulling her close.“Who are you? Where am I?”“Ma’am please.”The door at the far end of the room slammed open and an almost comically large man stepped in, steel restraints in hand. Sara let the woman go and focused on him. She rushed him, sending him flying back out the door as if he weighed nothing at all. She sprinted out, finding several more agents in tailored black suits; others in tactical gear.“You didn’t actually think that would work did you?” she vaguely heard one of the suited men ask the man she’d sent flying. The rest of them turned on her and she sprinted out, bowling over anyone who got in her way.She charged through a door, splintering the door and warping the metal, coming out into a lobby that wasn’t like anything she had seen before. MPs were right behind her, screaming for her to stop, but she bolted for the front lobby entrance instead, bursting through the glass doors and out into a granite courtyard. Beyond was a street, the vehicles driving along all foreign to her. She stopped at the road’s edge, staring in horror and awe of the towering buildings all around her. Car horns honk, plasma screens flash advertisements. People walk past her as if she’s not even there, their attentions on devices in their hands, wires hanging out of their ears.She staggered, confused. She hears boots rushing toward her and turned to look over her shoulder to find the MPs. She took off into the crowd, sprinting down the sidewalk.A few blocks over she skidded to a stop in a dead end alley. The sounds of the city seem muffled here, but it’s no less jarring.“At ease, Soldier.” a voice of authority called out behind her. Sara whipped around, coming face to face with tall black man in black tactical gear.“Who are you?”“Colonel J’onzz, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. You would have known us in your time as the SSR.”Sara relaxed a fraction, but was still on guard. “Where am I?”“Roundabout 34th and 5th.”Now she looked skeptical and J’onzz turned to gesture at the Empire State Building in the distance. She kind of felt like she might throw up all of a sudden.“Sorry about that little show back there.” J’onzz continued, drawing her attention. “There isn’t any precedent for what you’ve been through. We couldn’t tell how delicate your mental state might be. We thought it might be best to break it to you slowly.”“Break what?” she asked.“You’ve been asleep for almost seventy years, Captain.”Sara staggered on her feet, catching herself before she hit the ground and tried to breath deeply. “Seventy…” she huffed a humorless laugh. “The world of the future.”“Thanks to you there is one.”“What about the war?” her attention snapped to him again. “Did we win?”“Unconditional surrender.”“How am I not dead?”“Well, just speculating here, but my scientists seem to think it’s some kind of suspended animation. Stein’s serum combined with the freezing temperatures. You haven’t aged a day since you crashed that bomber.”Sara looked overwhelmed but allowed the director to lead her out of the alley and into a waiting SUV. She looked around as the car drove through the city, heading back the way she had come. “Leonard would have loved this.” she muttered to herself.“I know it’s a lot to swallow, Captain, but the world is not as different as it seems. There’s still work to be done. Soldier's work.” Sara looked away from the window to where J’onzz sat beside her. “The world could use a woman like you. You inspired generations of women to demand what they deserve and take nothing less.” he paused. “Take your time Cap, God knows if anybody’s earned it, you have. All the same, there’s a place for you on the team.”Sara rubbed a hand over her face.“You sure you’re alright?”“Yeah,” she breathed. “It’s just…I’m late for a date.”