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He has to get to the Waverider.
That thought is the only one going through Rex’s head as he runs across the battlefield – it had to be, because if he thinks more about what’s just happened...what could well happen to him, to the universe, to the goddamn timeline if he fails-Focus. He’s no time to dwell on such things, so he focuses on the task at hand, spying the ship where they’d left it, where Rip had landed them not even an hour ago, and Rex knows he has to get there.Beside him is Mick, angry and grieving and firing ice at the Reverse-Flash – between Len’s gun and Miraclo running through Rex’s veins they’ve done a good job at holding the bastard off.But time’s running out, and Rex had to be the one to stop it – alone, because Mick’s gonna hold off the speedster while Rex pilots the ship out of here.It’s wrong, all of this is wrong, and it goes against everything he has to leave a man behind to die; a team member, a friend, and right now the only Legend left alive-But if he succeeds that wouldn’t be the case – he’s still not too sure how time travel works still, but by preventing their arrival in 1942 he’d save them all.Get him out of here, Mick! Len had yelled, seconds before the Reverse-Flash had crushed his heart-“Gideon, open the hatch and activate all the shields the moment Rex gets inside!” Mick yells. The hatch opens and out of the corner of his eye Rex sees a flash of red lightning and this is it, this is where I die-Then the speedster’s sent sprawling by pulse rifle, and Rex jumps into the ship as the familiar hum of the shields come online. He turns to see Mick looking at him in desperation.“Remember the plan - go back to Star City in May 2016 and stop us from setting foot in 1942. Help us stop the Legion before it gets to this point.”“I will.”He wants to say so much more, but there's no time; Mick's turning and firing and the hatch is closing, so Rex wastes no time in racing through the corridors towards the main part of the ship. Into the pilot’s seat, about to tap in the co-ordinates before he realises they're already there.“The destination is already set, Mr Tyler.”“Good.” Gideon was grieving too, but they both had a job to do, and he flicks the controls and the Waverider is soaring away from the battlefield-An explosion rocks the ship and Rex is nearly sent sprawling.“What the fuck was that, Gideon?!”“One of the Legion’s cannons. The shields held, but we already suffered damage-”“When we landed, I know.” So long as the ship makes it through the time stream that was all that mattered–(And it had to. Rex can’t let his friends’ deaths be in vain - he has to do this.)“Get us there, Gideon!”Another explosion and the lights flicker, but then the time drive finally activates and they’re rushing through the time stream and it was as jarring as ever-A louder explosion sounded - from inside the ship.“Gideon-”“We’ll make it, Mr Tyler.” Gideon’s voice is full of determination, even as the ship starts shaking violently, but Rex looks out of the window and felt nothing but relief as the scene changed from the green, swirling time stream to a futuristic looking skyscape.We made it. Just - Rex still has to try and land the ship, but he’s had training from Gideon and his fingers fly across the controls in an attempt to at mitigate some of the inevitable damage—The Waverider crashes and the vibrations jar right up his body as it skids across the ground before finally coming to a stop.Then the ship goes dark.“Gideon?” No answer, and Rex quickly unbuckles himself. “Gideon, can you hear me?”Silence. Rex fears the worst, but isn’t sure how he can fix it – he’s not exactly an expert on AIs…But he’s made it. At least, he hopes he’s made it, and he runs towards the hatch, opens it, hurries down the steps-And there they are, the Legends, all looking at him with varying degrees of confusion and suspicion, and the sight of them almost knocks the breath right out of him. Rip, Sara, Mick, Len, Ray, Martin, Ronnie, standing there vibrant and alive, and Rex… has to resist the urge to go and hug them, because they’re not the people he knew.(And won’t be, if he’s successful in his task.)Still, best to double check this really was the right time.“Is this 2016?” He asks as he strides towards them.“Sorry?” Ray asks.“Is this May, 2016?”“Uh...yeah?” Jax says, sending an uncertain glance towards Rip.
Thank god.
“You’re exactly where you said you’d be.”“What?”Rex spies their Waverider behind them, and he feels a chill.“Do not get on that ship. If you do, you’re all dead.”“Says who?” Mick demands.“Says you, Mr Rory,” Rex says with a shrug, trying to keep himself together. “You sent me.”More looks of confusion exchanged, before Rip steps forward.“I’m sorry…who exactly are you?”Rex took a deep breath and lowers his hood.“My name is Rex Tyler. I’m a member of the Justice Society of America.”The stunned look on Rip’s face is one he’ll remember for some time.- X -After getting over his shock, it doesn’t take long for Rip to confirm his identity, and then it’s down to business – on Rex’s Waverider, because he still didn’t want them on their one until things had been resolved, and Martin and Rip manage to restore some of the systems so they’re not sitting in darkness.Gideon is still offline, though, and that worries him.Most of the team don’t really believe Rex, he can tell – or at least didn’t really want to, and it’s not like he can blame them for that.“So, if we go to 1942, we die?” Sara queries.“That’s correct.”“And how would you know that?”“Because I just witnessed your deaths at the hands of the Reverse-Flash, Miss Lance, and I was told to come back here and to prevent you from ever stepping foot in 1942.”“I know the speedster.” Len puts in. “Obsessed with the Flash, seems to think he’s his greatest enemy, as though I don’t exist.”He seems very put out by this – Rex recalls that he loved being the supervillain to the Flash’s superhero, remembered Mick grouching about it often enough.“He’s working with the Legion. Or, rather, will work with the Legion.”“The who now?” Ray looks confused, but Rip pales.“A team of villains,” the captain explains, “specifically the enemies of the Justice League, but… they’re not meant to form until 2021.”“They don’t, but Reverse got the initial members together to build a time ship so he could circumvent the time wraiths in exchange for causing chaos through the timestream and giving them the means to take their revenge in more unconventional ways. From what I understand the rest of the Legion never really trusted him, from what we gathered, but he was useful to them so they didn’t argue with him.”“But why 1942? And how did we get to be there?”“Originally the Legion weren’t. You’d come to stop a former Time Master turned pirate from killing Einstein, but he’d brought back up, so it turned into this massive fight in New York City and my team and I were called to arrest you.”“Good to know we’re still on form.” Len says, grinning.“We’re not that bad.” Ray protests.“I’m sorry, have you not been paying attention these last few months?”“Yeah, but we were up against an evil immortal, that’s different.”“Oh yeah—"“Can we please get back on track?” He’s trying not to let his frustration show, trying to remain calm and collected, but...if he can’t persuade them about the truth of things, then it’s all been for nothing, and he…He can’t let that happen.“I can’t see how this leads to us dying.” Ronnie wonders with a frown.“It’s not that particular jaunt to 1942, but it’s the event that sparks things off – the Reverse-Flash became a thorn in your side, and I ended up helping you for a few months.”“Just you?” Sara asked.“You didn’t… always get on with my team.” He admits – which is the understatement of the decade – and settles back in his seat. “But despite your chaotic way of doing things, I could tell you meant well, that you were good people, and you’d already risked your lives for us a few times. It was the least I could do, especially with the threat the Legion were posing to the timeline.”“I’m going to guess that we became more than mere allies.” Martin posits.“You’d be correct, Mr Stein. Eventually we…became friends, all of us, and we’d worked out a way to keep in contact when we weren’t able to be together. That changed in the last few weeks, and…”He can’t tell them too much, but thankfully they grasp it anyway.“We were all killed.” Rip finishes, sombre.“All of you. We’d been facing the Legion in several time periods, but it was when we landed again in 1942 that it…that it all happened.” He hopes they won’t ask if him for details – it’s too fresh in his mind and he’s barely holding back the grief as it is. “I was sent to stop you from going there in the first place and instead help you stop the Legion before it gets a foothold.”“Won’t that cause a paradox?” Ray asks, eyes wide. “If you never meet us, you won’t be able to warn us because you won’t remember us—“Ray and another ally of yours – the Flash - helped to sort that out. I’m not entirely sure how but…we all knew me having to do this was a possibility, even if it was only intended as a last resort.”They’d underestimated the Legion, and they’d paid dearly for it.“No one would do that lightly.” Rip says, brow furrowed. “How high are the stakes, Mr Tyler.”“Universe ending high. The Legion want to rewrite reality to favour them and if they can’t do that—”“They’ll destroy everything out of spite.” Now Sara’s the one whose pale. “Starting with us.”“They hadn’t gotten their hands on whatever it was they were looking for, but they knew we were coming. They killed you,” and here Rex wills his voice to remain steady because he’s a leader, and leaders aren’t meant to be afraid, aren’t meant to show they’re afraid, “they killed you and I’m the last man standing, and my job is to keep you away from 1942 by dealing with the Legion in the here and now.”“That won’t be easy.”“I know.”“And it would bring its own complications regarding timeline changes.” Martin adds, worried.“I know that too, but the consequences of not doing are too great to be ignored.”“Then we don’t have a choice.” Mick says. “But if we couldn’t bring down the Legion in the future, what makes you think we can now?”“Well, for one, because we’re going to catch them off guard instead of the other way around,” Rex replies as he stands up and stretches his arms out, trying to project all the confidence of someone in charge, “and for another, because you’re not going to be doing it alone.”“Mr Tyler, even with Miraclo, taking down supervillains like the Legion isn’t a walk in the park.” Rip points out.“I’m aware of that, but I didn’t mean just me – you all have other superhero friends and allies who’d all be willing to help, and you’re gonna need them.”“Mr Tyler—“I was sent here with a purpose.” Rex reminds him firmly. “I’m here to not only save the universe but to save your lives, and that means you are not stepping foot in 1942 if I have anything to say about it because that was the plan, before the Legion dealt with you.Besides,” he says, smiling faintly, “I never said we’d be going into outright battle with them straight off. If we’re going to do this, we’re going to make sure it works.”
Because I’m not sure I can watch you die. Not again.
To his relief, the Legends do seem to be listening now, which means he’s managed to convince them, and…something like hope sparks to life in his chest.Because maybe, just maybe…he really will be able to save them.-X-They start planning almost immediately, and Rex throws himself into the familiar role, determined to bring down these villains before they could mess with time, before they could kill his friends—They’re not my friends, he reminds himself, not these versions. And they can’t be because that would mean coming back to my era and that was the whole problem.He’s working very, very hard not to let the grief overwhelm him, but… it’s difficult when they’re all standing around the table like this because it brings back… so many memories – Rip's grimness, Sara’s decisiveness, Len’s dry wit and penchant for puns, Mick’s gruffness and his attempts to pretend he didn’t care about them all, Ronnie and Ray’s enthusiasm, Martin’s wisdom…How many times had he stood witness to this? How many times had he stood here with them, working out ways to thwart the Legion’s latest plans, or helping them take down a Time Pirate or rogue ex-Time Master? How many nights had he stayed up talking with one or another of them, learning what he could without prying too much into their knowledge of the future, learning about their diverse lives and what had led them to being part of the Legends?Almost too many to count, and at the end of all this…he’s going to be the only one with the memories, and he’;ll never see any of them again. It’s a price he has to pay, he knows, a price he’s willing to pay, but…it’ll weigh on him, and he’s not entirely certain he’ll be able bear it…“Hey. Are you alright?”Of course Ray’s the first one to notice, and Rex is grateful that he’s done so quietly – the others were still deep in discussion.“I’m fine.” Is his immediate answer, but Ray’s clearly not convinced, and Rex sighs – apparently he’s going to feel bad about lying even to someone he won’t get to befriend in this timeline. “I’m sorry, but…what happened to you was… fairly recent, and I don’t want to see it again..”“How recent?” Ray asks, then his eyes widen. “Wait, is that…is that what caused the damage to the ship? Is that why you were crashing?”“One of Luthor’s inventions.” He admits. “And yes, you’d be correct.”Ray looks absolutely stunned.”“That means…that means it’s only been about two hours for you.”Is it? He remembers every single moment clearly, and yet at the same time… it feels like a lifetime has passed since then.Take it from an undead ex-assassin, Sara’d told him one night over drinks, voice sombre and eyes full of grief, bottling things up, keeping things inside…it’s not worth it. It’s gonna tear you from the inside out no matter how far you shove it down.Rex hadn’t ever pried too deeply into their pasts, but he’d known she was speaking from experience, and he’d long worked out that the twenty-first century a world where men were encouraged to talk about their feelings, a world where mental health wasn’t stigmatized. He’d read what he could, and…Well, maybe he’ll take her advice, once this was over.“Look, if you…if you need time to process it—”“No.” He replies sharply, then feels guilt surge up at Ray’s look of hurt and softens his voice. “Not until after this is sorted – you need my head in the game for this and you know it.”“You’re gonna be worried about us, though.”“I’d always be worried about you – whether I talk about it or not wouldn’t change that.”“Oh.” Ray blinks, like that possibility hadn’t occurred to him. “Oh, right, I’m sorry.”“Don’t be. Just keep your head in the game, alright?”“Sure!” He says, beaming at him and it makes Rex’s heart hurt to see it – Ray had always had such optimism, even in the direst of circumstances, had always believed they could win no matter what…Right up until the Dark Archer put an arrow through his throat, Rex thinks, the image flashing through his mind before he can stop it – Ray had been the first to fall and maybe that should’ve told them something—That bastard would not get the chance to do so this time. No one would - as he’d suggested, Rip and Sara were going to call some of their friends to deal with the lower-level Legion members before going onto the more dangerous ones, and that ought to give him some peace of mind…It doesn’t, and he knows what he’s going to say next.“I’m coming with you for the Reverse-Flash.”“What?”“No way.”“Absolutely not!”The only one who doesn’t raise an outright objection is Ronnie.“Are you sure about that?” He asks instead. “I mean, you’re one of the founding members of the JSA – what if something happens to you?”“It won’t.”“You can’t know that.” Martin points out. “There’ve been multiple incarnations of your team, but you’re in the history books, Mr Tyler. Losing you would cause just as many problems as the ones you’re trying to prevent.”“I promised to help you and that’s what I’m going to do. Once we manufacture Miraclo and get your other friends on board, we’re going to do this.”“Are you sure this isn’t about revenge?”“This is about preventing needless deaths. Something which shouldn’t be in question.”“No one’s saying it isn’t.” Rip retorts. “But Mr Stein does raise an excellent point – your loss would be devastating to a great many people.”“And what is Miraclo anyway?” Len wonders.“It’s a drug I developed myself that gives me enhanced strength, speed, and senses for an hour at a time.” He supposes he should be heartened that the exact details are unknown, but it brings him little comfort. “I don’t usually take two in a short space of time, but that’s not going to be possible.”“We’re in a time machine.” Mick states flatly.“Unfortunately, time is the one thing we don’t have. I ran from an active battlefield, Mr Rory – that version of the Reverse-Flash is still running around and we can’t afford to put this off.”“…Well reluctant as I am to do so, I have to agree with Mr Tyler.” Rip says.“What if it’s too much for him?” Sara protests. “I don’t want him to pass out on us.”“I know my limits, Miss Lance.” The aftereffects won’t be pleasant to deal with, he knows, but that’s on him – and Gideon should be able to help with that anyway.None of the team are happy about this, but he shuts down their arguments before they can get going – he’s going to do this and they can’t talk him out of it, so they shouldn’t bother trying.He knows it’s just worry for him which…he wasn’t quite expecting, since he’s effectively a stranger to them, and he’ll do his best not to go past his limits.But if saving their lives meant he had to do so, he’ll do so.They mean too much to him for him to do otherwise.-X-This is what Rex knows about the Legion’s most dangerous members:The Reverse-Flash – an evil speedster from the twenty-second century, the sworn enemy of The Flash, whose timeline he’d changed but the consequences of doing so had trapped him. His plan to fix this had backfired and he’d only just managed to escape with his life, but not before vowing revenge on Team Flash…except it turned out he’d angered beings called the Time Wraiths because of said timeline changes, so he’d been forced to go into hiding, unable to use his powers except to run whenever they caught up to him.The Dark Archer - a corrupt businessman from the twentieth century whose wife had been killed by a criminal from the slums and, as a result, wanted revenge, to the extent of trying to wipe out the slums. His plan had been thwarted by the city’s resident heroes but he’d had a habit of coming back, until an attempt to kidnap his own grandson for leverage had led to his deaths at the hands of the Arrows and the Canaries. He’d been revived by someone who owed a favour, but they’d considered said revival payment enough and so he was currently drinking his days away in bitterness and despair…yet had learned absolutely nothing from his experience.Darkh was a centuries old sorcerer who’d started out by going up against the Titans – another Superhero group - while planning to remake the world by destroying it first… and on top of this, was raising his daughter to be a demon’s vessel. Except his daughter had a mind of her own, enough that she’d started breaking away from the cult – the increased awareness of magic in later years contributing to this – and, after her father to Star City to begin his plan, had allied with Team Arrow and brought about his downfall.Luthor was the most dangerous of them all – no powers, no secret history as an assassin, just a highly intelligent man with a disdain for everyone else in the world and hatred for everyone not of this world, mainly the twenty-first century alien known as Superman. Rex had never met him, but his presence had been keenly felt, and he’d been the one to develop a lot of the Legion’s technology, as The Dark Archer no longer had any connections he could call on, the Reverse-Flash was too focused on avoiding the Time Wraiths to keep stealing tech from his own time, and all Darkh needed was his magic.Of course, there’d been other members – some villains from Gotham (apparently still as bad in the future as it was in Rex’s time), disgruntled metahumans that had been booted out by the Central City Rogues for not sticking to their no-killing code – but it was these ones that were the focal point and therefore the ones that have to be taken out first.It’s going to be a coordinated attack – it has to be because time is of the essence. Sara and Ray are going back to Starling, Rip to Metropolis, Len, Mick and Rex to Central City – they’ve called ahead to their allies and the plans were in place.Luthor’s going to be hit in his finances and be the subject of another investigation or two - all his attention is gonna be focused on that rather than anything else.Darkh’s magic is going to be fully stripped from him before being put into a magic-dampening prison.The Dark Archer’s going to be arrested - Team Arrow and the police will raid the place, and the League used as a threat if he tries to break out of prison.As for the Reverse-Flash, they’re going to lure him out of hiding and then hand him over to one of the Time Authorities – who’ve been busy establishing themselves since the Time Masters had been dealt with – and…Maybe they’re right, about there being an element of revenge in his joining time – but how can there not be? That son of a bitch had murdered his friends, had already murdered several others in his own insane quest against the Flash, and he’s got to be brought down no matter what. And even if Rip doesn’t admit it Rex knows that if necessary, they’d kill him because of how dangerous he was.He won’t take Miraclo until he has to. They’re still not pleased about his decision, but there’s no choice. At this point in time bringing down the Reverse-Flash is the only thing that matters.(Gideon’s going to have words, he knows, but he’ll apologise to her later.)For now, he’s just counting down the hours, and hoping against hope they’ll be successful.They have to be successful.-X-The one thing to remember about a speedster is never to underestimate them under any circumstances.Having Max Mercury as a teammate and the Reverse-Flash as an enemy has taught Rex this many a time - the Legends have been given anti-speedster guns for this mission in case the current Reverse-Flash catches wind or the one from the future (past?) tries to stop them, one member of Team Flash has vibe powers and another has ice powers, and he’s heard that yet another with similar powers has been drafted in and sent to Star City as backup. As Rex arrives in Central City he’s informed over the comms that Team Flash and the Rogues would be launching a two-pronged attack on Reverse but that some Keystone heroes were prepared as backup and the Justice League as another backup.They know Reverse can’t use his speed too much – the hope is that they can goad him into doing so and Rex would step in when necessary, and it’s a really excellent plan.So naturally, it all goes straight to hell the moment Reverse shows up.It doesn’t seem to, at first – the Flash taunts the Reverse on live television and as they’d predicted he’d shown up regardless of the fact it was clearly a trap, angry, smarting, and a manic glee in his eyes at the prospect of defeating the Flash and showing who was the true speedster around here—Turns out though? There’s quite a number of metahumans and malcontents prepared to do battle with Team Flash. Turns out Reverse had been recruiting for some months.Turned out the future Reverse has already pre-empted them, and now what should’ve been a curb-stomp battle for him…looks to be a curb-stomp battle for them. Rex isn’t sure whether even the Rogues would hold them off, and they could very well lose this but…
We have to try.
The Flash, Kid Flash, Cobalt Blue, Fast Track, Vibe and Killer Frost next to him, readying themselves into a battle stance, and Rex does the same as Miraclo dissolves on his tongue and he feels his body get faster, stronger, better. Today he will defeat the Reverse-Flash—Or die trying.-X-And he almost dies trying.-X-The fight is long and hard and bloody – The Flash and Cobalt Blue out for the count in a surprise attack from another viber, Killer Frost and Kid Flash dealing with Reverse while Rex deals with the other metahumans, dodging lightning blasts and vines and metal, punching and kicking and ducking and weaving, taking them out with a blow to the head, a foot to the stomach, a twist and snap of the arm…For those he can’t take down so easily he throws into walls or heaves into the nearby bay – or acts as a distraction for Fast Track to come blasting in.There’s still so many – even when Len and Mick come in with their Rogues, it’s not easy, one of the Weather Wizards struck with a shard of metal in his side before anyone can blink. Golden Glider deals with the meta responsible while Piper goes after the viber by turning his frequency back on himself, causing the meta to scream in pain before passing out.Then he sees Reverse about to go after Mick and Rex—Rex sees red; flies over and barrels into the speedster, sends him hurling into a brick wall – but the son of a bitch just hops back up and smirks.“You must be Rex Tyler. I’ve been told a lot about you.”“Likewise. Given up fearing the Time Wraiths, then?”“More likely they’re after my future self.” He says with a shrug, smirk widening. “He said he’d be the distraction while I dealt with your little team.”“That’s not gonna last and you know it.” And if there’s any justice in the world, the other version will be iced down before he can blink.“Neither are you. By my reckoning you’ve got about five minutes left of your little drug, and then you’ll be fair game.”“You think you can win this?”“I don’t need to win, I just need to run.” He glances around – Len’s hidden somewhere with his ice gun, which the speedster must know, but he seems unfazed. “Even you Legends have limits on time travel – you can’t keep coming after me, which means I’m gonna kill your friends all over again and you won’t be able to do a thing to stop me.”Ice cold fear slides down Rex’s spine, even as his response belies none of what he’s feeling.“You lost before. You’ll lose again.”“Maybe, but I’m part of the Negative Speed Force. Paradoxes aren’t going to affect me – if I lose, my future self will still ensure his plan goes off without a hitch.”It’s nothing but his usual arrogance and yet…Rex knows the Speed Force and its opposite are beyond the usual rules of physics, knows that speedsters are able to remember ultimate timelines.Maybe he’s right.Or maybe he’s just talking out his ass, a voice that sounds suspiciously like Sara, his Sara, says, if he was really gonna run he’d have already done it instead of monologuing. He’s not used nearly as much speed in this fight as he could have.True enough. Reverse does love to monologue, but this…this is just bravado. A speedster at full power wouldn’t need an army of metahumans to do his fighting for him and certainly wouldn’t have let another villain deal with the Flash, so he’s low on speed, which means he can’t run, which means…Which means Rex needs to do…is buy some time.“You’re a pathetic piece of shit.” He says, and surprise flits across Reverse’s face – followed by rage.“Interesting words from a dead man.”“Better dead than like you.” He steps towards him, draws up every bit of confidence he has, looks the bastard right in the eye. “Obsessed with the Flash and where it’s gotten you exactly where? Hated by everyone, hunted by Time Wraiths, haunted by the knowledge that you’ll never, ever as good or as beloved as he was. Not even as powerful as he was.”“I’m in the history books as the Flash’s greatest enemy.” Reverse sneers. “I went back to kill him, I killed his mother—"“And got yourself stuck in the process because you were short sighted and arrogant.” He can see Reverse getting angrier by the second, so he presses on. “And then after fifteen years of planning you still lost because you failed to realise that you’d be the last person he’d listen to. He was never going to change a whole timeline just because you asked him to.”He’s hit a sore point – Reverse actually flinches…then narrows his eyes.“I think,” he says conversationally, “I’m going to enjoy drawing out your death.”“Good luck with that.”Rex leaps back just as Reverse darts forward, red lightning flickering around him—Len’s ice beam hits him square in the chest, Mick’s pulse gun blasts him in the side – he’s sent flying and comes to stop just before he hits the water but they’ve done their job and weakened him. He struggles to pick himself up, and Rex strides over and allows his own anger to rise as he remembers—
Ronnie and Martin, torn apart by a tampered tachyon device.
Sara, neck snapped while she was distracted by Darkh.
Rip, stabbed in the gut and left to bleed out.
Len, shoved against a wall and his heart taken out and crushed right in front of his eyes.He grabs Reverse, hauls him upright, leans closer to him and says—“Three minutes left, asshole.”Then he punts him right out of the battlefield.-X-
Three minutes left.
He ends up right past STAR Labs but Rex doesn’t let up, doesn’t give Reverse a single chance to recuperate - he’s slow and sluggish from the blasts and Rex uses this to his advantage, using every bit of time he has left, every bit of enhanced strength and speed against the man, sends him flying again, and when Reverse tries to come after him he runs: through streets and up walls, drawing Reverse out and through the city limits before ducking back towards STAR Labs.
Two minutes left.
Naturally he does fight back, of course - Rex lands most of the punches in the head and ribs but Reverse, even slowed down, gets plenty of hits in himself, a solid backhand sending Rex hurtling through an abandoned building, a kick in the chest causing him to go straight through a wall and nearly under a tram – and as soon as he heals even a little bit more Rex knows he’ll get a vibrating hand straight through the chest so he has to make this count—
One minute left.
Time’s almost up and they’re almost back at STAR. Reverse’s arrogance has returned full force and he’s smirking even as Rex throws him right into Fast Track’s path to be sent flying into a container.“You people had a time machine and you still couldn’t find a plan that worked? You really thought all this would stop me?”“Shut up.” Rex snarls, and swings at him - Reverse dodges and roundhouse kicks him in the chest, and this time it’s hard enough to crack a few ribs.Miraclo is fading - and Reverse knows it.“The great leader of the first JSA.” Reverse sneers as Rex tries to steady himself – there’s still fighting going on, Fast Track dealing with someone with super-strength, Len and Mick facing off against a teleporter, so he has to make this count – and then gives him a vicious grin. “You and your legacy live on for quite some time, Mr Tyler – or at least, they did—”Red lightning – Rex gets in a couple hits but Reverse kicks his legs out from under him and slams him to the ground and he only just grabs onto the other man’s arms in time to stop them going near his heart, using every ounce of strength he has left to push upwards.
Thirty seconds left.
“You know, you’re still alive in this time.” Reverse hisses, eyes alight with glee as he attempts to murder him. “That drug running through your veins slows your aging – you’re a frail old man but you’re still alive and kicking.”
Twenty seconds left.
“You even have a grandson. Takes after you a lot, you know - has his own superhero team and everything.”
Fifteen seconds left.
“I look forward to seeing what’ll happen after I kill you, Mr Tyler.”
Ten seconds left.
“Any last words? Preferably not some overly sickening one-liner, if you don’t mind – I’ve had enough of those to last me a lifetime.”
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
“Well?”
One.
And then it’s Rex’s turn to grin as he looks up at Reverse and says—“You’re a fucking sucker.”
Zero.
He tightens his grip and Reverse looks increasingly panicked as he realises that Rex still has his powers, the sky lights up behind him.“I don’t understand.”“Oh, it’s simple, really.” Rex says, keeping the Reverse-Flash’s focus on him. “I didn’t take the pill until two minutes after you showed up.”Reverse blinks in surprise.“What? But you said—”“I said you have three minutes.” And he smirks at him. “I didn’t say for what.”And then Reverse is screaming as the anti-speedster guns are fired at him, red lightning arcing up and out into the containers the Time Police oh so helpfully brought with them – ten officers surround them along with Team Flash and the Rogues, all prepared to take down Reverse if he tries to run—But it’s going to be difficult without his powers. Rex shoves him away and stands up, watches as the man falls to his knees in agony as the charges do their work until, at last, his powers are fully drained, and he’s unmasked – and he’s so unremarkable, after everything, blond hair and blue eyes, nothing extraordinary about him at all.And certainly not now, and it’s clear he’s very much aware of this, because for a second he looks lost…then the rage returns – even through his pain and exhaustion, even though he’s been defeated so thoroughly, he can still summon up that level of hatred.“You…” He slumps forward, panting, before glaring up at him. “You won’t get away with this.”“Technically it’s nothing to do with me.” Rex shrugs, giving him a smirk of his own. “But voth versions of you have been dealt with. You won’t be hurting anyone again for a long time.”Reverse doesn’t even have the strength to insult him – he looks pathetic, and Rex feels gleeful at the sight. With any luck he won’t ever see him again.But there’s one last thing he has to do, so he steps forward, once again summoning up his powers.“This is for the Legends.”Then he punches him so hard he knocks him out - and feels a vicious satisfaction at watching his head hit the concrete with a crack.“He’s all yours.” He says the officers, and they immediately swarm in to cuff the bastard.It’s finally over.-X-Fact is, they’d known all along that Reverse would likely have a back-up plan of his own – while he was more a planner than a do-er he was still a highly-intelligent scientist from the twenty-second century, and he’d likely see the trap for what it was. Plus, as Rex had said, his future self would no doubt try and cause trouble.In the end it’d been Rip who suggested bringing in one of the other time authorities – more reasonable than the Time Masters had been but had always been oppressed by them, overshadowed by them. These days they were flourishing – and Reverse was a wanted man. If he was going to be bringing in help, Team Flash and the Rogues would focus on them, sure, but it was agreed that if that was the plan, they would just have to keep Reverse’s attention.Which, if Reverse not only thought he was winning but that he’d get the chance to kill Rex Tyler of all people…he’d never see the other trap coming. The multiple attacks would go ahead as planned because one of the Reverse’s would try and target that…but Rip would also be sending Ronnie and Martin to the time authorities – the moment a Legend sent the signal, the Time Police or Time Agents or whoever they’d managed to get onside would swoop in…And it had fucking worked.Rex wants to stick around in Central for a bit to make sure everyone’s alright, except he nearly keels over as the Miraclo finally wears off and he feels the effect of two doses in less than twenty-four hours alongside the injuries he’s gotten. Rip immediately orders Len and Mick to take him to the Waverider medbay - he protests, but he doesn’t really have any room to argue as the two of them practically lift him up and head back to the ship, Len calling him an idiot and Mick lamenting always having to deal with ‘self-sacrificing hero types’ – and that’s familiar too.He’s in the medbay for a few hours while Gideon heals his injuries and flushes Miraclo out of his system as best she can. This isn’t his Gideon - when he asks Mick, he finds out the Waverider he came in on vanished after Reverse was dealt with, and he’s sorrowful that he never got a chance to say goodbye to her…(He likes to think she’d somehow known anyone.”He finds out about the other Legion members a few hours after that - they don’t tell him much about Darkh, but Luthor’s company is now the subject of several investigations and he’s the victim of a hacker (who, judging from the sparkle in Sara’s eyes, she knows personally) and the Dark Archer is in prison minus a hand. But it takes an hour after being discharged from the medbay for it to really sink in that…That he’s done it. He’s won. He’s saved the Legends and the timeline and the universe from the Legion, stopped the Legion from forming years before they should, maybe even dealt a permanent blow to them and…and…
And he’ll never see his friends again.
It’s like being hit by the freight train, the grief and guilt he’s been holding back for hours suddenly flooding right back in and he staggers against the wall as the full realisation of what this all means sinks in. Yes, he’s saved the Legends, the timeline, the universe…but the Legends he’d known, the friends he’d known…They’re still dead. They’re still murdered. He’s saved a version of them, yes, but he hadn’t been able to save them and that—He's going to have to live with that. He’s going to have to remember that for the rest of his days – and, if Reverse wasn’t just bullshitting…He’s going to have a lot of days to do so.The dam bursts, and he starts sobbing as he sinks to the floor, burying his head in his hands because oh god, his friends had been killed and he hadn’t been able to stop it, hadn’t been able to save any of them the first time around and it seems so fucking unfair that he’s done so this time, except even that was with a bunch of other people helping so what did that say about him, what did that say about his capabilities that he hadn’t been able to do a thing to help them the first time around—“Rex?”“Hey, Rex, where are you?”“Mr Tyler—oh my goodness.”Footsteps come to a stop in front on him but he barely registers it through his tears – even the comforting hand on his shoulder (Martin?) doesn’t get him to raise his head.“What’s wrong with him?”“What do you think’s wrong with him, Ronald?”“He told me during the meeting that his Legends had been killed a couple hours before.”“A couple hours?”“Jesus.”“No one else thought to ask?”“We’re not psychic, Mick.”“We still should’ve known.”He struggles to pinpoint everyone in the conversation, struggles to grasp anything beyond the sheer, unfiltered grief wracking his body as he remembers every moment he spent with the Legends as a team, a family, remembers how he’d utterly failed them when it really counted, and he feels he ought to say something, anything to them, but the tears keep flowing and it feels like they’ll never end and dear god, he’s never reacted like this before—No, it’s more that he’s never allowed himself to do this before and the feeling of shame rises up in him all of a sudden because this is unbecoming of the leader of the JSA and it’s not like he hasn’t seen people, seen friends been killed before—“Hey.” A female voice – Sara – says, and suddenly there’s someone sitting on his right side, and then some shuffling and someone sitting on his left and then—He’s being hugged - there’s a lot of movement and he dimly realises that all the Legends are sitting down and surrounding him – he thinks Ray and Sara are the ones hugging him, that Martin still has a hand on his shoulder, and Ronnie’s crouched in front of him. He can hear Len and Mick grumbling about something, but they’re sitting next to Martin and they don’t sound like they’re leaving anytime soon—“It’s alright, Rex.” He hears Rip murmur to him from somewhere near Sara. “I know it’s difficult because of when you’re from, but you’re allowed to feel and you’re allowed to grieve, and no one here is going to judge you.”They would in my time he thinks, but that’s unfair – it might not be talked about but his teammates would understand, he knows they would, because they’re his friends too, and he’s a good judge in who he has for friends.And as he finally allows himself to mourn the people surrounding him, he thinks…He thinks he always has been.-X-It feels like ages, but it’s probably not more than half an hour before he finally calms down. They’ve all have stayed and…that really means a lot, settles something in him to see the Legends hale and whole, alive and breathing.Like Rip said, there’s no judgement in any of their gazes. Most of them are still in their places – Ray’s no longer hugging him, but still has an arm slung around his shoulders, Sara is still hugging him, but lightly now he’s not sobbing his heart out. Ronnie, Len and Rip look worried – Mick’s trying to hide his worry with his usual gruffness, but Rex can tell.He ought to move, ought to stand up. He doesn’t, because he knows once he does he’s going to be going back to his own time never to see the Legends again.Rip seems to have worked this out, because he clears his throat awkwardly.“Mr Tyler, I know that preserving the timeline is important, but if you ever wanted to keep in contact, we can—”“No.” This comes out much harsher than intended and makes several of the Legends jump, so he lowers his tone. “Rip, I know you mean well, but I think the best course of action is to sever all contact – and for you to never set foot in 1942.”“But we fixed it, didn’t we?” Ray says, eyes wide with confusion. “I mean, we’ve made sure the Legion’s not gonna rise and the Reverse-Flash is depowered in any case—”“It was still a nexus point. Just because we solved one problem doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be others if you tried to go there.” Rex took a deep, shuddering breath, held it, let it back out. “Look, you all…mean a lot to me. Don’t ever doubt that, but the friendship we had, the bond we shared…it can’t ever happen again – I’m not risking any of your lives because of my own selfishness.”“Wanting more friends isn’t selfish.” Sara said quietly.“In these circumstances, it would be, Sara. I watched you all die and…I’m not going to go through that again, not for anything.” He leans his head back against the wall, watches their reactions. “I made peace with this before I came here – it’s a price I’m willing to pay.”“But you fit well with us.” Ronnie puts in. “You sure we couldn’t work something out? You’d be a great Legend.”“You could say Mr Tyler already is one.” Rip points out, looking solemn. “And he has his place in history firmly established, I’m afraid.”“Besides, I’m sure you’ll be finding plenty of other members in the future.” That, Rex didn’t doubt – with the Time Masters and the threat of the Legion gone, Rip would surely be trying to recruit a few more people, and he’d find plenty who’d want to join.“Still…”“If he thought there was a way for it to happen, he’d have said so.” Len’s tone is firm. “Trying to argue the point isn’t going to make a difference.”“It just feels harsh.” Martin says, looking at Rex. “You’ve saved a lot of lives, including ours, and it feels like poor repayment to just get on with our lives like it never happened.”“On the contrary, Mr Stein – doing that is how you repay me.” He looks at all of them in turn, wanting to remember this moment for as long as he lived. “I may not be your friend in this timeline, but I did this for you – your lives are important and meaningful and you’re going to do a lot of good as part of this team. I know this because I saw it before and I know it’ll be the case again. Just…you just have to be yourselves, and to live.”There’s a moment of silence as they take in his words.“That’s sappy.” Mick complains, but his eyes are shining slightly, and the others are looking emotional too, and it heartens him to see them be affected by his words.He’ll miss them. But it’s for the best – he knows it, they know it, Gideon knows it, but even so…He does regret that it ends like this.-X-Despite himself, he does end up putting off returning for a few days, claiming that he just wants to make sure the timeline really is okay. Thankfully none of them call him on the lie, and for a little while he gets to pretend that the friendship can still be.Eventually, though, he has to return to 1942 – Flash agrees to drop him back, so the Waverider’s remained in Central for the time being, and soon (too soon) they’re all standing outside the ship, waiting.Once again, Rex desperately wants to hug them all, but he knows not all of them go in for that - even though they’ve managed to find something of a bond in this short space of time, he’s still a stranger. He does hug Sara, Ray, Ronnie, and Martin, and shakes Rip’s hand, but doesn’t expect either from Len or Mick.Yet Len does shake his hand and Mick claps him on the shoulder and tells him to look after himself, and from Mick Rory that means a hell of a lot.The time comes far, far too soon.“Remember what I told you.” He reminds them, as yellow lightning starts flickering around the Flash. “You keep living, keep fighting, and you don’t ever come back to 1942.”“We’ll do that, Rex.” Sara assures him, smiling faintly.“You be careful too.” Ray added. “Your job’s still pretty risky, you know.”“I’ll do my best, Ray.”“We’re about ready.” Flash says in an undertone, sympathetic, and Rex looks at the Legends standing proud in the sun, their ship gleaming and their eyes shining.It really strikes him then that they’re going to miss him as much as he’s going to miss them - they’ve only known each other a few days, but…Maybe there was always going to be something between them. Maybe friendship – or something like it – was a constant with them/It’s a nice thought, if nothing else.“I’ve fought with many others before.” He said as he prepared himself to be taken through the time stream. “And when I first met you I thought you were chaotic and something of a mess, and I…well, to be honest, I still think that—”“Always happy to help.” Len said dryly, earning a few chuckles from the others.“But you’re also one of the best teams I’ve ever fought with.” He continues, and they all look surprised. “It’s been a great privilege to have fought alongside you in both timelines and…and I’m proud to have been able to call you my comrades.”It was clear they hadn’t quite expected that, and Rip’s the one to recover first.“It has been an equal privilege to fight alongside you, Mr Tyler, and…we’re not going to forget what you’ve done for us. We’ll take on what you said, and… good luck with your mission, Rex.”There’s a chorus of goodbyes from the other members, and Rex suddenly has to blink back tears. He’s done enough crying for the time being - now he has to try and be strong.“Goodbye…Legends of Tomorrow.”
Farewell, my friends.
Flash takes a hold of his arm and lightning starts flickering all around them.“Are you ready?”
Not in the slightest.
“I’m ready.” He lies. Flash gives him a look like he understands and—The world blurs, rushes by as they go faster and faster and faster and suddenly their surroundings are blue and swirling and he’s pretty sure there’s lightning here too—And he’s back. The futuristic Central City is now 1940’s New York – right outside HQ, in fact, just as Gideon had instructed Flash to do so.“You good from here?” Flash asks.“I’m good.” Flash nods, once, and then he’s gone – no need to hang around and risk messing things up.According to Gideon, it’ll have been a week since he left – his team will be worried sick, he knows, and they’ll have a lot of questions—First, though, he has to let them know he’s back in the first place, so he takes a deep breath and enters the building, one that feels familiar and yet not, after his time on the Waverider…He’s just gonna have to get used to it.-X-There are a lot of questions – especially when Rex greets them by hugging them, something he doesn’t normally do but this time he just…wants the assurance that they’re all alright. Some members are out of state, looking for him, and he feels guilty about that, but manages to stave them off for a few hours.Though this means admitting to using two doses of Miraclo in a short space of time in order to get that few hours, which earns him scoldings from absolutely everyone, and he feels bad about that too…but he also doesn’t want to rip open his emotional wounds quite yet. He can’t tell them everything anyway but…it’s still going to be painful.He can’t hold them off forever, though, so later that evening he explains for happens – Max’s experience with bouncing off the time stream means they accept the time travel aspect well enough. The details of the Legends he keeps to himself – too much can go wrong if too many people know and he…also doesn’t want to share everything. The bond they have (had) is between them and no one else.He does tell them about Reverse, and about what he did, and what Rex did to stop it, gives an abridged version of the fight and edits details of the people involved. He attempts to treat it as a debriefing, but he still has to pause a couple of times when the memories get too much.They’re horrified at the whole situation – Amaya holds him close and Henry’s shocked that anyone could do such horrible things. Charles correctly deduces that he misses the Legends already and Rex confirms he does – why hide it? It’s not like they weren’t going to notice something was up.“So what happens now?” Courtney asks.“Nothing. It’s been sorted out and we’re not going to see them again.”“Just like that?” Todd wonders.“There’s no choice. I should hope that’s pretty clear.”“I get it.” Henry says. “I’m just sorry you had to go through that alone.”“It wasn’t your fault. You’d have helped if you could have.” It was just down to circumstance that they hadn’t been.“It’s strange, though – to think we once knew them and now only you remember.”“I remember meeting them the once.” Max pipes up.“Wait, what?” Henry frowns. “How’s that even possible?”“Speedsters can remember alternate timelines.” Rex explains, feeling tired from going over it all. “But hopefully we’re not going to have too many encounters with time travel again.”“I’ll second that.” Max says. “It can get very complicated.”“So we carry on as normal.” Amaya states.“Exactly.” Rex agrees, looking at them all. “And we can’t afford to get complacent – just because I’ve seen the future standing doesn’t mean we can’t sit back and do nothing – we’ve got to keep fighting til the war’s won.”“Especially if time travel is involved.” Henry adds, a determined look on his face. “No, we’ve got to make sure that these…Legends…still have a future to fight for and protect.”“What if other time travellers show up and cause trouble?” Charles asks.“We use these.” Rex places the comms on the table. “This sends a signal to the Time Authorities and they’ll come and deal with it – no need to call the Legends at all.”“That’s neat.” Courtney says, looking impressed.“Is it really going to be that simple?”“It has to be.” Rex says firmly. “The only way to preserve the timeline is to make sure both our teams are safe, and that means making sure we never meet again.”“Then that’s what we do.” Amaya agrees, resolved. “We help win this war and we make sure the Legends don’t ever have a reason to come here.”“That might be easier said than done.” Henry points out.“I know.” And he does know, knows that there’s a slim chance the Legends might end up here anyway – he’s not fool enough to think otherwise. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t do our best to ensure otherwise.”This gets agreement from everyone, and Rex feels something else in him settle as he looks around at his team, at his family. He’s going to miss the Legends, both versions, with everything he has, and probably always will, but…He still has a team, still has people he can count on, and with their help he can do his utmost to try and protect his future friends even decades apart from them. It won’t be easy, and there’ll be many struggles in the future and probably time travellers trying to cause trouble, but…They’ll face it. Together. And he’ll do his level best to make sure the Legends don’t get involved with such a dangerous situation again, especially not here. For those he loves and those he lost…He can do nothing less.