Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Truth be told, Leonard had not actually realized the significance of that strange conversation in 2013 until he learned Mick was Chronos. Yes, he had had a nagging feeling at the back of his head ever since they had boarded the damn time ship. But the mere idea of a Mick Rory coming from the future, calling him a hero, just seemed too ridiculous to be true. No, Leonard Snart was not a hero and never would be - he was so confident in that fact that he thought it was enough to prevent whatever had apparently happened to that future Leonard. 

But then he had frozen his own hand off to prevent his friends from killing each other, and the alarm bells ringing in his head had become deafening. Could it be he actually had it in him? He knew the Flash had made him up his game, but was he also correct about there being that much good in him..?

And then there was that other matter. It gave Leonard more chills than the hero-thing, mostly because there already had been lasting consequences.

Looks like one of us lost track of time.

Mick had made it sound so terrible, as if he had left him behind on purpose. But Leonard was always going to come back for his friend, nothing would have changed that. Unless of course if Leonard died before he got the chance. 

He had talked to Sara about this during one of their sleepless nights of silly parlor games and raiding Rip's supplies in the mess, and she had done her best to dissipate his fears by explaining it as a time travel paradox. But even though he had agreed with her, he had spent the later part of that night thinking it over and over in his head. In that moment it seemed even less likely than before that Mick would call him a hero or even be sad if he died, but who still knew what to expect on their adventures?

That idea was only confirmed when Mick came back to their side after their fistfight in the future. And with his face bruised and aching, Leonard wondered how long he could still ignore his suspicions before they came to bite him in the ass. How much could it hurt to be prepared? He knew he needed a plan if something was going to happen.

Rubbing his battered knuckles, he vaguely remembered something he had read when he had decided to go through any interesting time travel material Gideon could offer (because of course he was both curious and paranoid, and who could blame him? Rip was usually only forthcoming with information when shit had already hit the fan). And since he had not had any luck with straight up changing his story back in 1975, he would have to get a little bit more creative to survive.

"Gideon. Tell me more about time loops."

***

Time loops, as it turned out, were actually quite a rare thing. Time Masters in general tended to avoid them because it was too easy to mess up and cause a paradox or an unwanted alteration to the timeline. Stable time loops were usually created by accident and even then the Time Council got, according to Gideon, incredibly irritated by them and was completely baffled by their existence.

Leonard figured he needed to create a stable time loop on purpose if he wanted to survive, without any way of knowing what death he was preparing to avoid and if it could even be avoided. But no pressure, right? 

Though, at this point it was either that or die, because if Mick learned that he knew, or if Leonard avoided his fate - whatever it was - in any way that would keep his friend from going back to have that conversation, it would most likely cause a time paradox, and if Rip and Gideon were to be believed, those were end-of-the-world bad. Basically, Leonard was walking a tightrope blindly - if he put one foot wrong he would die, but if he chose not to walk he would also die. Also the rope was on fire and could tear apart any moment. But he would not be Leonard Snart if he did not at least try.

***

So much could go wrong during their crazy adventures that the more Leonard thought about it the more surprised he was that they had made it this far with only one casualty. After the duel in Salvation, Stein took him aside. 

"Is there a problem, Professor?" Leonard asked warily.

Stein licked his lips, not quite sure how to start. "Mr. Snart, see, there is a distinct difference in the chemical compounds making up gun powder versus those used to make blanks. And when fired..." -Stein underlined his words with elaborate gestures - "...the blanks create a brighter flash than real bullets."

Leonard watched him calmly. "So?"

Stein returned his look expectantly. "You were the last person to have the revolver Mr. Stillwater used when dueling Captain Hunter." He smiled knowingly, but pushed on, "Is there nothing you have to say about that?"

Leonard shrugged. "Rip is a better shot than your average Wild West gangster - what more is there to say?" And with that he walked away. 

Of course Stein was right about what Leonard had done. Like hell was he going to let Rip get himself shot! Stuff like that was what could lead to other crew members getting killed too, and Leonard was definitely trying to avoid exactly that.

He wished he could tell Stein though and ask him for ideas. But the nature of time loops forbade anyone else from finding out, and none of his teammates was naive enough to not get suspicious if Leonard started asking questions like that, not even Ray. He was on his own.

***

His anxiety grew as he watched Mick change after they got him back and the two of them had mostly settled their differences. Before, he had held onto the firm belief that his Mick Rory would never say the things the one in 2013 had said - he would be angry with him and call him a dumb idiot for getting himself killed and then be done with it. This Mick though, the one who gave his younger self a pep talk about not being to blame for the death of his parents, yes, this was the man who had called him his hero. 

The hope that he was wrong about everything, that he was just being too paranoid for his own good, faded with each day, and in the end the bad feeling was a constant ache in his chest. The last time he slept well had literally been in the 80s. He spent more and more time alone reading up on time loops and paradoxes and seriously obscure time travel theories from the 22nd century. Gideon must have taken quite the liking to him during those long nights because she started bringing up gentle reminders every now and then that food was waiting in the mess, or that she could provide a sedative if he really could not sleep at all (Leonard never was one for drugs, but he found it weirdly comforting that the AI cared.)

At one point Rip walked up to him and asked if he maybe wanted some more interesting reading material. "I have a number of novels from throughout history in the study," he said. "You can borrow any of them, just be careful with the first editions."

Leonard gave him a look like sour grapes. "Thanks, Rip. I'll keep your priceless first editions in mind."

Rip paled a little at that, no doubt now expecting that Leonard was going to sell his library first chance he got (tempting idea for sure), but before he could say something, Stein called him away for a science matter.

Leonard left them alone and went back to his quarters. "Stop telling on me, Gideon!" he hissed when the door had closed behind him.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Snart, but I was programmed to only obey the Captain's orders."

He made a vague gesture with his hand and raised his eyebrows at that. "Well, then you're lucky because I am a Captain!"

"We've been over this: Captain Hunter explicitly ordered me to disregard your made-up rank, Mr. Snart."

Leonard rolled his eyes. Sometimes she just wanted to be difficult. "How about I make you a deal: you don't tell Rip what I read, and I promise to keep Mick away from the stove, hm?"

Gideon did not reply immediately and if she was not a highly advanced computer program, Leonard would have said she was contemplating his offer. "Please?" he added as a, truthfully not quite serious, afterthought.

"I cannot lie if he asks directly," Gideon said, making Leonard smile. This was good enough.

"Thanks, Gideon. I owe you," he said and opened up his research files again, well aware how strange it was to tell that to an AI. But he got the nagging suspicion that deep down she was incredibly human.

"Just keep Mr. Rory from setting fire to the ship, Mr. Snart!"

***

It got worse. They had Savage in their custody, their mission almost complete, and instead of dissipating like the unfounded fear he still hoped it to be, his bad feeling got worse. Mick was raiding the kitchen and Leonard could not eat; much as he tried, he could not muster up an appetite with all the things that were on his mind. 

Trying to figure out what to do, he toyed with the ring on his finger. It had been weeks, but sometimes his right hand still felt cold, like it was not really his, like it was not really there. Gideon insisted it was fine physically, and Leonard could not even argue when she cited stress as a possible source for his dysphoria. 

Then one day, Mick had seen him rub his wrist and massage his palm, and of course he had figured it out. Mick knew him too well. It had been shortly after leaving the refuge and they had only just started really talking again. The next time it happened Mick had sat the ring down on the table in front of him with a short, awkward, "Try this!"

Leonard had held the ring up with his thumb and index finger and had smiled a little surprised. "Didn't think you'd bring it with you on a job like this, Mick," he had said.

Mick had shrugged. "I figured you'd have stolen it back by now."

He remembered their game. Parts of his memory were still scrambled and in pieces, but he remembered their game. Leonard had needed the moment of happiness and relief this revelation brought. 

"That only works when I know you have it," he had replied and quickly put the ring on his pinky finger, and sure enough it helped and grounded his hand in reality. At the corner of his eyes Mick had smiled.

That damn pinky ring from that dumb job that he had planned so much for and they had been lucky to get anything out of at all. It reminded him how his plans were never 100% guaranteed to succeed, and he did not even have much of a plan yet. If the universe was trying to give him a sign, it was not a good one.

Leonard's thoughts jumped to Alexa... He had pulled them both out before something worse happened. Maybe he could do it again? Maybe the damage of the paradox would not be so bad? 

So he tried to run, and he tried to take Mick with him. It was all going to work out, he told himself. Rip did not care about them anyway, why should the universe care about a stupid little paradox? And they almost made it. They were seconds too late, Leonard realized, seconds!  But how could he blame Stein for using the jump ship to save Jax? Stein had no idea what he might have just done. In that moment, staring at an empty hangar, Stein explaining the why behind his actions, Leonard knew deep down his world had just shrunken to two options: do or die.

***

He wanted to just throw it all in the wind and scream when Rip told them the Time Masters had been controlling their every move. What good had it all been if there was no way out? If everything had been predetermined from the start, did he ever even stand a chance?

Meanwhile Ray thought that he would be the one to die (which did not seem likely with the entire 2013-conversation in mind) and was mopey enough about it that Mick had gone to talk him out of his bad mood. Leonard wanted to hit them both. But he could not; he could not let anyone know.

He was basically screaming inside when he found Sara in her quarters, thinking he would give seducing her a try, because if he was dying he might as well. She was the best friend he had made in ages, and she intrigued him on a deep level. If he was being honest it definitely counted as having feelings for her. He would seriously hate to die without ever even having kissed her. Before he could stop himself to think what he was doing, he was talking about a future for them he knew they could never have, because he did not have any future at all. None of it was fair to Sara, and when she turned him down a part of him was glad. Especially since he had needed that metaphorical bucket of cold water to make him remember that he did not give a shit about destiny.

When he was back in his room, Leonard let out a shaky breath. That nagging bad feeling was worse than ever before since they had returned from the Vanishing Point. If his damned gut instinct was to be trusted, whatever was going to happen to him was going to happen soon. If he only knew what exactly he was preparing for! He had been wearing body armor under his clothes since Salvation. Inside the pockets of his jacket were as many pieces of survival gear he could fit, including a small futuristic gas mask that could double as an underwater breathing apparatus, several of the Waverider's bland-tasting rations, and several rolls of sterile bandages. 

Still, he somehow knew this would not be enough. 

"Gideon, tell me what you know about the Oculus," Leonard addressed the AI. Just like a job. Scout the location. Learn as much about the security system and the target as you can.

"I was able to hack into the Time Masters' main database and download the relevant information while you were rescuing your team mates, Mr. Snart," Gideon announced cheerfully. 

"Good thing you're as much of a rebel as Rip," Leonard mumbled with a tense smile. He pulled up all the data she could give him on the monitor by his bed, working through as much as he could, asking Gideon for clarification where needed. 

"Dr. Palmer has read through the same information you have," the AI said at one point. "He has concluded that successfully destroying the Oculus means blowing it up."

Leonard tensed at that. It would make sense, wouldn't it? So much could go wrong with explosions. He had never been a fan of them.

He turned back to older files he had read, comparing them to what was known about the Oculus, trying to find something that could save him from blowing up or whatever else could be waiting for him. Leonard went back and forth several times, and his frustration grew with each file he closed because it was of no use. He was running out of time. He could already feel the seconds slip through his fingers. 

"Help me out here, Gideon!" His voice was sharp as he pulled up the folder filled with the truly obscure theories in his desperation.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Snart," Gideon replied regretfully, "but none of these seem to be linked to the Oculus."

"Damnit!" His frustration got the better of him and he punched the wall panel next to the monitor. The screen flickered, and for a moment he was afraid he had broken part of the damn time s---

Leonard's eyes grew wide.

Time ship... 

He was thinking too complicated. He did not need a way to block the explosion - he just needed one to get away from it. But despite extensive research, actual teleportation was not a thing possible yet, not even in the future, and especially not without heavy equipment. However, if you added time to the equation, there was one angle Leonard had not looked at yet.

"Gideon, I need the ship's manual, the part about the time drive!"

Gideon obediently opened the requested file and began summing up parts of it: “While the ship’s flight engine is mainly powered by solar energy stored in its power cells, the time drive is, as the name implies, essential to its time travelling ability. The ship can fly without a time drive; it cannot make time jumps.”

“How’s it powered?”

“A time drive is powered by the temporal energy within the time stream.”

“Pull up the schematics of the jump ship,” he said, mind racing. Gideon complied. Leonard put both plans, that of the jump ship, and that of the Waverider’s time drive next to each other and compared. The jump ship’s drive was definitely smaller than the Waverider’s. He pointed it out to Gideon and then asked, “How big is the smallest a time drive can be?”

Gideon rescaled a couple of the parts and compressed them together. The model she came up with was still the size of a very large backpack. Too clumsy. Too obvious.

But Leonard did not want to give up just yet. He pointed at a rather large component of which the Waverider had several and the jump ship only one. “Are those batteries?”

“Crudely put, yes, Mr. Snart. These batteries store the temporal energy for when the ship has to reenter the time stream. They are charged while the ship is traveling through the temporal zone.”

“Is it possible to build a time drive without a battery?” It was the largest component – if he could cut it and power the thing from an outside source, then maybe…

“No, Mr. Snart. Without a battery the temporal energy would have to be harvested directly from the time stream at the moment of use. That is not only dangerous, but also impossible to do without a time ship to get close enough.”

Her factual voice did nothing to calm his suddenly racing heart. He was onto something here, he knew it. Tapping his fingers in high concentration, he looked back at the data on the Oculus. Apparently the time stream sprung from where the part of the Oculus they were going to destroy was, which brought him an idea that he immediately needed Gideon to confirm.

"Is temporal energy gonna be released when we blow up the Oculus?"

"Yes, but--"

"Could it be harvested to power a small auxiliary time drive?"

"Yes, it could, if the right materials are used as conductors. But whoever was using the device would have to stand dangerously close to the explosion. The risk of the blast killing them before the time drive could activate is---"

"I really don’t need your safety talk right now, Gideon! Do we have the parts to build one on the ship?" Leonard interrupted her again, more desperate than impatient.

Gideon hesitated. "Some are in Dr. Palmer's toolbox in the loading bay. I can generate the rest. They will be ready in the fabrication room in three minutes." 

Leonard let go of the breath he had been holding and it felt like a part of the weight he had been carrying had been lifted. "Thank you Gideon!"

***

It was a shitty plan if there ever was one, but it was a plan. And probably the best he could have come up with, which said a lot about how screwed up his situation was. Returning to the last point in the timeline he was supposed to be in, namely Central City in late January 2016, did sound like a nice enough outcome though. Rip had wanted to return them to that time anyway. 

Now Leonard only had to avoid blowing himself up in the process of course.

The lock on Ray's toolbox was no problem. He carefully picked through the pieces, looking for the ones on the list Gideon had given him. 

"You know, you could just ask if you need something." How Ray of all people had snuck up on him was a mystery, but if there was one person it was impossible to be afraid of it was this overgrown puppy posing as a scientist.

Leonard sighed dramatically without turning around. "Consider this me asking." He held up a small roll of wire to see if it was the kind he needed. "Did you want something?" he asked Ray, who had not gone away yet.

"Uh, yeah," Ray picked up a weird looking screwdriver and held it out for Leonard to see, but still showed no intention to leave. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, "What are you looking for?"

"Spare parts – something in the cold gun broke," Leonard lied calmly, but gathered the pieces he needed in the palm of his hand as fast he could without raising suspicions.

"Oh," Ray said. "Do you want me to take a look?"

Leonard finally turned around and shot him a glare. "Hands off my gun, Raymond." Ray's smile faltered and he looked like he had dropped his ice cream cone. Leonard should have ignored him and the small voice in his own head pointing out this might as well be the last time they spoke to each other. So what!, he wanted to tell it. But maybe he had gone softer than he thought, and that was why he added in a more placating tone, "Look, I know what I'm doing. I've got the parts now, and that should fix it. Relax."

Ray's smile returned and he nodded, probably finally remembering that Leonard knew the cold gun inside and out. "Sure. You got this!"

Leonard still wanted to punch him, even though Ray was making it very hard.

***

"I would like to inform you that I do not condone your plan, Mr. Snart," Gideon announced as soon as Leonard was back in his quarters after picking up the parts she had generated in the fabrication room. "You are aware this device has never been properly tested?"

"Oh, boohoo," he said, rolling his eyes, "what am I going to do now, Gideon?"

"You get to work, Mr. Snart," the AI replied. "You do not have a better plan, or much time before the team leaves for the mission."

Leonard would have smirked had the situation not been as serious. He was actually glad the two of them had finally stopped pretending Gideon did not know what his research and behavior these past two months had been about. He pulled up her proposed plans for the miniature time drive and started assembling it. 

If he was being honest he had no idea what half the parts were supposed to be doing, but like with the cold gun he was able to figure out how it all best went together correctly. He worked in silence, fusing parts and connecting multicolored wires to tiny microchips, screwing together components he did not even know a name for. Gideon just as silently added specifications to the plans where required. 

Finally, he held up the finished device: it was rectangular, only about the size of a deck of cards. The front cover was made of one of the more obscure materials Gideon had provided; it was directly connected to the interior and would – hopefully – work as conductor to harvest the energy from the explosion; if Gideon was correct, the fabric of a shirt covering it should not affect that ability. The back cover had a black rubber coating to somewhat protect against electric shocks. Leonard had attached a nut to one of the short ends, through which he threaded a leather band.

"Congratulations, Mr. Snart," Gideon chirped up, "You have successfully assembled the smallest time drive in existence. My calculations show that it might even work as it's supposed to."

Leonard stared at the little flat box in his hand, jaw tight. Strange to think this inconspicuous device could be the only thing standing between him and certain death. 

"Don't tell them, Gideon," he said calmly.

"Why not, Mr. Snart? Once the time loop is complete there is no reason to keep it secret from them."

"If it works you won't need to tell them," Leonard said, tying the ends of the leather band together, making a necklace. "And if it doesn't they don't need to know."

***

They had gathered in the loading bay in preparation for a quick touchdown at the Vanishing Point. Gideon was flying the Waverider on autopilot and was going to give them just enough time to get off. Leonard's bad feeling had gotten to the point where there was absolutely no way of denying shit was about to go down. Around him Sara was playing with a knife, Mick was fiddling with his gun, Stein was rubbing the bridge of his nose, looking like he should be anywhere else but going out there, and Ray was making a joke that Leonard did not pay attention to, but still rolled his eyes at.

He glanced at Mick next to him; every part of his friend was ready to stick it to the Time Masters, and who could blame him? A thought suddenly shot through his mind. This is it - this is your last chance! Would they have enough time to say goodbye later? There was no guarantee they would see each other again - well, Mick would get the chance to speak his mind, in 2013, but this could very much be it for Leonard. Without anyone seeing, he slipped off first his right glove and then the ring, and then casually placed it in the pocket of Mick's jacket. Mick did not notice, and Leonard put his glove back on as if nothing had happened. If he made it, he could always steal the ring back.

"Wish us luck, Gideon!" Rip said as he opened the cargo door and lowered the ramp.

One by one they left the Waverider on what was the most important mission of their journey. Leonard came last, the little box of hard metal pressing ominously against his chest where he wore it around his neck under his shirt. Just as he exited the ship, Gideon spoke up to reply. "Good luck... Captain." 

Leonard tensed. He glanced over his shoulder back into the ship, knowing she was watching through the surveillance system. Then he whispered a quick, "Take care, Gideon," before speeding up his pace just enough to catch up to his friends.

***

Of course the mission went south almost immediately and exactly nobody was surprised. The Time Masters showed up and Leonard was on the part of the team that held them back, while Rip, Mick and Ray went to blow up the Oculus. Jax had also shown up, looking his regular age and well, and Leonard felt a little more positive just knowing that the kid was okay. Blasts firing left and right let him forget for a couple of precious seconds that something was going to happen. It was just like any other day, facing mortal dangers together with his friends, trusting that they would come out on top because if you did not trust in that you had already lost. A short breath of air in which Leonard felt like he actually stood a chance and could avoid "dying". 

And then the moment had passed and Rip came storming out to join them, alone, with a shrunken, knocked out Ray in his pocket. 

"...and Mick has elected to stay."

Half a sentence made all the pieces finally click together. Leonard suddenly saw the whole picture and he knew this was it. He knew what he had to do, even though he felt his heart sink. 

It could not be Mick or even Ray in the explosion, it had to be him. He had run it by Gideon at least a dozen times: if he wanted this time loop to work, it had to look as if he died, otherwise Mick would not go back to 2013 to tell him he was his hero, therefore never tipping him off. Leonard was Doc Brown who was about to be gunned down by terrorists; he needed to make sure Mick became his Marty McFly and warned him to put on a bulletproof vest. Granted, his vest was a piece of technology that he had no idea would work and that he did not 100% understand, but he trusted Gideon on that because what other choice did he have? His chances of survival were still less than ideal, but if the other option was certain death, as little as one percent could seem like a lot (which was exactly how high Gideon rated the chance of a successful outcome.)

And so he decked his best friend and held the damn thing down himself. Sara did not protest. In a way she understood. The kiss was unexpected, not entirely unwelcome, but also not how Leonard had imagined it. He watched her drag Mick out, his cold gun under her arm, knowing he was entirely too calm in the face of what was going down.

He knew in his heart he would have taken Mick's place just to save his partner, just to make sure none of his friends had to die. He would have died a thousand times for Mick. There was no denying it, was there? Leonard Snart was a hero. But he was also a survivor, and ever since he was a small boy he had known that he always had to look out for himself.

Leonard's destiny had been determined ever since that fateful night in 2013. This was the moment he cut his own strings.

He could tell when the explosion was coming because a split second before it hit, the miniature time drive became scolding hot. Leonard had no chance to react to the burning pain. There was a flash of bright blue light. Then the pain was everywhere.

Chapter Text

The moments leading up to and immediately after the explosion were not the worst. It was not even later, when everybody was slowly realizing that Leonard Snart was truly gone, and that he had actually sacrificed himself for them, dying a hero’s death.

No.

The worst moment of it all was when Mick Rory woke up in the loading bay a split second after the explosion. Nobody on board would ever forget his screams. Gideon noted he dented the cargo hatch in two places as he shouted at her to open it. But she could not. Eventually he turned his wrath and shouting on Sara, who did not have any of it and told him that Snart made his choice. Gideon found her crying later; Mick broke down against the cargo hatch and turned almost catatonic for a while, before Rip came down and he left to avoid the Captain.

Gideon did not know whether Leonard Snart’s unwise plan had worked. The destruction of the Oculus had left her without a way to check on the current effects on the time stream. She wished there was something she could do, something she could tell the team to give them hope. Perhaps he was out there. Perhaps he had made it.

But Gideon had been programed to always obey the captain’s orders, and Captain Cold had ordered her not to tell on him.

All those stories about how you saw your life flashing before your eyes in your final moments were a lie because not even when you were prepared to die were you actually expecting it when it happened, and so the shock was far too overwhelming to think anything except " What the fuck is happening?!" And once you got past that you were probably already dead.

And that should have been his first clue because Leonard did see flashes of the people he left behind, unconnected, confusing glimpses of moments with them that had been, that could have been, and that could still be.

Thinking back Leonard was quite sure there had been a distinct thud at some point, an impact against a hard surface, and he probably had bit his lip because he tasted blood, but in the end he had to admit he did not really have an idea how he had ended up where he was. He was lying on his back, on what roughly felt like wet asphalt. Above him was bright blue sky, framed by what looked like the walls of skyscrapers. One thing was instantly clear though: this was not the Vanishing Point.

Leonard tried to sit up - big mistake because his body ached all over as if he had been hit by a truck. He groaned, but it turned into a low laugh once the realization had sunk in that he was also not dead - there was no way afterlife hurt this bad.

He made it. He was alive.

The second attempt to move eventually brought him into a semi upright position, and once his stomach had stopped churning, things did not look so bad at all. The overall ache and the nausea felt like normal time travel side effects, just a bit amplified. Leonard could almost hear Rip say, "This should fade momentarily."

So he waited, leaning back against the brick wall of the building adjourning the narrow alley he found himself in. He felt something wet on his cheek and wiped at it to see if it was blood, but sure enough it were just tears of relief. He was alive! He was alive and he was not even bleeding from the eyeballs! An astounding success, even though he realized his wrists seemed a bit sunburned. At least his skin did not look a day older than 43, so he had also avoided Jax's almost-fate. His left wrist was a little redder than his right, and he even found a sizable beginning blister on its palm when he took off his glove; at least this time he had been smarter and had not endangered his dominant hand.

Not ready yet to get to his feet, Leonard looked around. The alleyway he was sitting in seemed pretty generic - it could be in any city, probably in any part of the world. There was an overflowing industrial dumpster, a simple green backdoor to whatever establishment occupied the building, and from around the corner Leonard could hear the traffic noise of a city. Apparently he was not stuck in the distant past either - another success. Then again, the air was decidedly too warm for January (if he was indeed in Central City as intended), so he probably was not quite where and when Gideon had said she would send him.

But to find out the exact place and time he had ended up in he had to get up, but Leonard regretted it immediately when the nausea flared up again and he had to steady himself against the dumpster. Not his best idea because the stench made his eyes water, but he somehow managed to keep his lunch down, and inside the dumpster he spotted a discarded newspaper. It was a Central City Tribune no less, and through the dirt Leonard could make out the date:

May 12 2016

Almost four months after they had left. If Rip had made good on his promise and returned them to January, his friends were already back (provided they had finished their mission and defeated Savage without him). Mick had probably already delivered his message to 2013-Leonard and the time loop was complete.

Oh, how Leonard would love to see Rip's face when he found out. He wondered if it would be as good as Druce's in the end. Again he giggled at the fact that he was alive. Euphoria was one powerful drug.

Finally steady enough to stay upright, Leonard slowly walked to where the alleyway exited into the broader street. The sun was bright and he instinctively reached for the goggles still wrapped around his neck, but let go when he saw the glass on both sides was covered in webs of breaks.

"Interesting," Leonard mumbled with a frown. His voice was hoarse and his throat dry.

Squinting against the sun, he looked out at the street. He recognized it instantly - it was just two blocks down from his and Lisa's old school - but at the same time something was... off. At first Leonard could not quite put a finger on it, but then he began to notice it more and more. It were little things at first: the streetlights seemed to be farther apart than they used to be a few months ago; the uniforms of the Big Belly Burger staff in the restaurant across the street was an inverted color scheme; and he was sure the trees in the little park half a block down had always been oaks and not willows. Then he looked at the skyline - where the fuck had that monorail come from?!?

Leonard sank back against the brick wall, an overwhelming feeling of cold panic rising in his chest. What had he done? Had the timeline been altered by his attempt to create a time loop? What else had changed?!

The longer he stared at the street the stranger it started to look. The brick was the wrong shade of red; the grass was too green for this time of year; the guy selling ice cream on the corner had been their state senator when Leonard had left.

Maybe the changes aren't so severe? he tried to convince himself, unsuccessfully. All the cars in the street looked like they had come straight from 1958.

How badly was time messed up? Mick, Lisa, Barry, Sara - did they even still exist?

***

The lot Leonard's apartment building had been on was a shopping mall and had been for the past five years, according to the plaque above the entrance. At this point his brain was only half functioning, the rest was in a petrified state of shock and was working on instinct. He had stolen the wallet of the first person he had come across - whoever Timothy Drake was, he looked like he could spare a couple dollars anyway (not that Leonard gave a shit). Maybe if he felt like it; Leonard would even drop his driver’s license off at the police station later. For now, he needed sunglasses and a baseball cap, because there might still be a warrant out for him and it was the easiest disguise he could think of. He had to do a double take when he passed a mirror - apparently the sunburn was not restricted to his hands, but most of his face was also reddish and a little sore.

There was Flash-merchandise in the cheap little tourist shop he chose, so at least the Scarlet Speedster was still a thing. Leonard pointedly avoided getting the bright red baseball cap with the yellow lightning bolt and just eyed it for a long second. Despite the chaos that was his life, he still had a reputation to maintain.

He frowned at the occasional dark blue in the Flash-t-shirts. Had Barry changed his color scheme in this timeline, or was it just a marketing thing? But only a few minutes of aimlessly wandering through familiar, yet totally foreign streets he saw where it came from. The man on the newspaper looked nothing like his Flash, save for the obsession with the color red and lightning bolts. Whoever he was, he was certainly not Barry. Leonard's heart sank even more, though at the same time he wondered if he was really to blame for all this. For all he knew the team had gone and messed up after he had "died".

***

A nicked cellphone and a quick call to the CCPD main desk asking for Barry Allen later, Leonard was quite sure that whatever part of the space time continuum had broken it was not his fault - nothing he had done could have fucked up time badly enough to create an entire new continent called Atlantis.

Neither Mick, nor Lisa had answered their phone when he had called them, and Leonard was scared. He did not have a way to contact Sara. But at least now he knew Barry was still alive and was even still a CSI. Not that that was a lot, but it gave Leonard some hope that maybe, somehow, he could fix this mess. But he would need help, first to figure out what even had gone wrong, and then how to make things right again. Sure, he knew his way around electronics and engineering enough to understand the Cold Gun, but when he did not have a Gideon with him, time travel physics was best left to people specializing in it. What Leonard needed was S.T.A.R. Labs, and as luck would have it for once, it was still in the same place it had always been.

Unlike "his" S.T.A.R. Labs, however, this one was bustling with people, scientists and tourists, and while that would make it easier to get inside, getting to Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow would probably be more difficult. He decided to wait until nightfall, then break in and find out where he was at.

***

The S.T.A.R. Labs security system was still a joke. Someone should probably tell them, once things were back to normal. The floor plan seemed to still be exactly the same, but the decoration and purpose of the rooms sometimes was vastly different. There was a gift shop in the lobby - Leonard had to shake his head at that because "his" S.T.A.R. Labs still got vandalized at least once a month. Too many people had been hurt in the particle accelerator explosion. But people worked here . People learned here, came here out of fascination, not for the morbid, but for knowledge and science. Children probably came here on school trips and were inspired to one day pursue careers in STEM fields as well.

Leonard wandered around the dark building, using the moonlight that fell through the windows and the small flashlight on the stolen phone to find his way. What on earth had to go wrong with a timeline that computer screens were suddenly vertical instead of horizontal? Deeper and deeper he ventured into the building, but there still was no sign of a Caitlin Snow or a Cisco Ramon. So far the only name he had recognized on the door signs was Harrison Wells, and for several reasons this was not encouraging - not only had the guy turned out to be that villainous, untrustworthy yellow speedster, but last he checked he was supposed to be dead.

Look who's talking! , Leonard thought to himself and casually hot-wired the door normally leading to Team Flash's central base of operations. The sign warning of danger and restricting access to the area under all circumstances probably should not have encouraged him as much as it did.

The inside of the lab was surprisingly cool, the AC on full blast despite it being late at night and nobody working here. He did not bother turn on the light; screens around the room gave off enough to see everything. To make things even stranger, a lot of the room seemed to be mainly used for storage, as plastic and cardboard boxes were stacked on industrial shelves in neat rows. But there were traces of life in the lab too: a jacket hung over the back of a couch; an empty coffee mug on the desk; a pizza box on top of the trash can. And in the parted off med bay, an occupied hospital bed.

On the few occasions he had been in S.T.A.R. Labs, Leonard had not paid much attention to whether or not their medical wing could be locked, so the fact that it doubled as a glass prison cell now startled him briefly. What came as a much bigger shock was the woman lying curled up on the bed, her blanket discarded somewhere across the room. She was dressed in gray sweats and a dark T-shirt that had slipped up just far enough to reveal thick bandages covering her torso. And except for the platinum blond hair, she looked exactly like Caitlin Snow.

Leonard stepped closer to get a better look and ran his fingers across the glass; it was cold. He looked around the room for some clue what was going on because right now nothing was making any sense.

What had happened to Caitlin? Why had they locked her up? For whose safety was she in that isolated room?

He spotted a clipboard with what looked like medical records on the desk closest and decided to take a peek, when suddenly he realized he was being watched. Caitlin's eyes were pale blue, also a new development. There was no way he could hide, and so he held her gaze as she sat up and stretched. Was there... ice on her bandages?! She smiled like she knew exactly what he had looked at.

"Back so soon, Mr. High and Mighty?" she asked tauntingly. "And so late at night - people will get the wrong idea if we start seeing each other like this now."

Back? Leonard's surprise must have shown because the woman, whose voice would have sounded exactly like Caitlin's if not for her intonation being all off, frowned and looked him up and down. Suddenly her eyes widened in realization. She cocked her head and smiled at him with the same curiosity a snake had for the mouse it was about to eat. "Well, look at you - seems like we got ourselves another breacher!"

Leonard had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, but before he had a chance to say something, he heard movement behind him. He spun around, ready to block an attack or throw a punch himself.

The man before him was dressed in sweatpants and a loose black STAR Labs t-shirt; he blinked and raised his own hand to shield himself from the flashlight coming from the phone Leonard was still holding. He seemed vaguely familiar but Leonard could not place where he knew him from.  His opponent’s eyes finally focused on his face and then his raised fist. He blinked and Leonard saw him shift from a confused defense to an offensive stance. “You’re not Leo,” the man said in utter bewilderment.

“Not since fourth grade,” Leonard replied and decided whoever this guy was, some drastically underdressed night guard or whatever, he would rather he was out cold on the floor while he questioned Caitlin.

Leonard ended what his raised fist had started and threw the first punch. Unfortunately, he had underestimated the other man’s reflexes – instead of connecting with a temple, his punch was parried, and next he knew Leonard was the one who had to duck an attack. He attempted a second hit, but when his opponent’s arm went up to parry again, Leonard grabbed it lightning fast and twisted. The man hissed out in pain, bending with the motion. Suddenly, Leonard felt all the air being pushed from his lungs as a knee hit his stomach. He sucked in air and fought down the sudden nausea. He let go of his opponent, who stumbled a few feet backwards. Leonard threw the phone at him and hit him square in the face.

Bad plan. Because next Leonard knew, the man was literally on fire. And, of course, this was the exact moment his brain decided to finally remember why the man seemed so familiar. Not that it still mattered much – the fire was a bit of a dead giveaway.

The man raised one flaming fist, either to throw a fireball or just punch him straight in the face with the force of the sun, but Leonard did not wait to find out. There was a time to stand up and throw down – going up against Firestorm was not fucking it. He threw his hands up and took a step back.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said and backed even further away; in the cell behind him Caitlin was cackling with glee. “Let’s reconsider if barbecuing my face is really what you want to do.”

Firestorm paused, surprised by his surrender, but fist still raised. He seemed to listen to something that Leonard could not hear, and then shook his head as if to get a bothering insect to leave him alone.

Leonard watched curiously, tilting his head. “You’re the original Burning Man, right? Ronnie Raymond?”

That got him a reaction, a flicker of How do you know? , but it was not quite enough yet to definitely keep Ronnie from turning him into Sunday roast. Leonard took another slow step back to get away from the heat. He was not going to make a run for it; he was unarmed and there was no way he stood a chance against fully powered Firestorm in a fight. Caitlin in her glass room on the other hand was pressing her body as close against the glass as possible, and if things were not crazy enough already, there were ice crystals forming around her outstretched palms.

Leonard knew his best option was to just keep talking, wait for a really good opening or just convince Ronnie not to harm him. “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” Maybe not the best thing to ask when you were being held at gunpoint (or the superpower equivalent of it), but the most obvious one, and the question he really wanted an answer to. Are you dead? Am I dead? Are we all dead?

Ronnie shook his head in bewilderment. "You - you're not--"

His eyes glazed over as if he had again been interrupted by a voice only he could hear. It was an expression Leonard had come to know quite well over the past four months. He tilted his head. "Professor Stein?"

"How do you-?" Ronnie violently shook his head, again interrupted by his second half. "Shut up!" he shouted and hit the side of his head with the palm of his flaming hand. Leonard watched, curious. "I know, I - no , we're not - how --"

Just as Leonard deemed it safe to lower his hands Ronnie shouted, “Enough!” The flames on his body flared up and Leonard found himself backing against the cold glass. Movement at the corner of his eyes told him Caitlin was directly behind him, but he did not dare turn to look at her.

“Listen, buddy, I’ve got no idea who you are or what you’re doing here, but if you are who I think you are there’s no way I’m letting you go!” Ronnie said.

“You gonna kill me?” Leonard asked as calmly as the situation allowed. He might just make it to the door if he got in a good hit.

Ronnie’s eyes glazed over briefly as he considered his answer. The moment lasted longer than expected and gave Leonard the sick feeling that Stein was arguing in favor of his demise. He was still too cornered to make a run for it.

But Ronnie shook his head. “No, I’m not gonna kill you. Come!” he ordered and ushered Leonard forward with his flaming hand. Leonard followed carefully to the other side of the room, where an empty glass room identical to Caitlin’s was.

“The platinum hair dye complimentary with the lockup?” he asked over his shoulder. “Might be a bit wasted on me.”

“Shut up and get in!”

Leonard inconspicuously glanced at the door’s locks before he stepped through it. Nothing too difficult. If he waited for Ronnie to leave the room he could get out in no time.

“What now?” he asked after Ronnie had locked him in.

“Now,” Ronnie said, flames subsiding as he fished a cellphone from one of the desks’ drawers, “I’m gonna get someone who understands more about this breacher stuff than I do.”

After a couple rings, somebody picked up. "Hey, Henry? There's - what? No, she's fine. No, it's - listen, you better come here. There's something you need to see."

***

Unfortunately, Ronnie did not leave the room once between making the call and the arrival of the man called Henry. Leonard had not known whom to expect - the only Henry he could think of was Henry Allen (and wouldn’t that have been a surprise?). Definitely not the rather spooked looking black man he had never seen before in his life.

The man - Henry - stared at him wide eyed for a long time. Leonard returned his gaze patiently. Finally, he turned to Ronnie. “He looks exactly like-”

“Yeah, I know,” Ronnie said with an impatient shrug. “But he’s not.”

“What is he doing in there?” Henry wanted to know, his voice aggravated.

“Chilling,” Leonard replied with a smirk.

Ronnie shot him a glance before turning to Henry. “If he is who I think he is, he’s a very dangerous man.”

Henry gasped. “You think he’s from-”

“My earth, yeah,” Ronnie finished for him again. “He’s a criminal over there, and I don’t want him to cause any trouble.”

Henry looked even more surprised, if that was possible. “A cri-” He found himself unable to finish the word. “What do you want me to do with him?” he asked instead.

Ronnie gave him an irritated look that reminded Leonard very much of Stein. “Well, check if I’m right! Find out where he’s from!”

“Have you tried asking him where he came from?” Henry asked with one raised brow.

“I...” Ronnie shifted, suddenly nervous, his eyes now very interested in his loafers. “Got distracted,” he mumbled.

Henry sighed and took a step closer to the glass separating him from Leonard, who had been watching their back-and-forth curiously from where he was lounging against the unoccupied hospital bed. “I take it your name is Leo Snart?” Henry asked with a friendly smile.

“Leonard,” Leonard corrected him. “What’s with that ‘my earth’ stuff? Where are we?”

“Central City. Missouri. United States of America. Earth,” Henry listed off. “But I suspect none of it is like the one you’re used to, right?”

Leonard huffed. “You could say that.”

Henry nodded, finding their suspicion (whatever it was) further confirmed. “I promise, I will explain everything to you, but I’d much rather do that without all this glass between us. Before we can let you out, I’d like to find out if you are the Leonard Snart Ronnie here knows. Can you please name something that is different for you? Like, what is your S.T.A.R. Labs like? Is it in the same place? Does it even have the same name?”

“Yes and yes,” Leonard confirmed. Innocent enough questions. No harm in answering them. And if he gave up more, he would hopefully find out where he was and how to get back to where he should be. “Except ours was closed after the particle accelerator exploded in December 2013. Never reopened.”

Henry nodded again, this time more excited. He threw a glance to Ronnie. “Is that-?”

“Yeah.” Ronnie pressed his lips together and kept his eyes on Leonard. “That’s correct.”

“Hm, one more to be sure…” Henry said and tapped his chin with his finger. “Who is the mayor of Central City where you’re from?”

Leonard shrugged. “Dunno. Didn’t vote for them.”

“Huh,” Henry made, obviously trying to come up with a different question.

“That’s no use,” Ronnie said, his eyes and voice hard and almost fuming. “Where were you the night of May 12 one year ago? What were you doing?”

“Slow down there, hothead, this is starting to sound an awful lot like a police interrogation,” Leonard said. “Do I need to call my lawyer?”

Ronnie took an angry step forward and burst into flames. “Answer the question!”

“Hold it, Ronnie!” Henry stepped in between Ronnie and the glass, arms raised, but he was careful to stay well away from the flames. Ronnie stopped, flames subsiding again, until they were nothing more but a flicker around his eyes. Henry turned back to Leonard. “Please. It would be a great help to us if you could answer the question, so we can confirm where you’re from.”

Leonard smirked. “Your ‘Good Cop, Bad Cop’-routine easily makes my top ten, so fine: the night of May 12, 2015, I was helping the Flash move a couple of metahumans he’d had locked up in his private pipeline prison.”

“And?” Ronnie pressed out.

Leonard sighed. “And, since that counts as unlawful imprisonment, I set them free before they reached their destination.”

“You double-crossed him!” Ronnie shouted. “The Flash trusted you and you betrayed him!”

“I spared his life,” Leonard pointed out. “And he was right as rain last time I saw him, aka, the time I warned him about a plot to kill him that I refused to participate in.”

Ronnie tried to come up with something to counter that point, but then just angrily shut his mouth. Henry’s eyes were wide. “You really are a criminal,” he breathed.

Leonard pursed his lips. “Among other things. But I promise I’ll be a good boy if you let me out.”

Ronnie gave a short humorless laugh. “Your word isn’t worth crap!”

“True,” Leonard said. “But try look at it from a logical perspective: I don’t have anything to gain from hurting you just to get out of here, because I’ve been out there, and I have no idea where the hell I am or how I get back to where I should be. I swear, I will not start any trouble, unless I have to.”

Henry considered his point for exactly six seconds. Then he shrugged and went to the keyboard by the door before Ronnie could argue. “Fine by me.” The door slid open and Leonard stepped out of the room slowly. He smirked at Ronnie, who shot him back a glare but said nothing.

“So,” he said, “what the hell is going on?”

Once the glass was out of the way, Henry Hewitt turned out to be a genuinely kind and friendly scientist, and the only person at S.T.A.R. Labs who knew about the occupants of the restricted laboratory. He also had nothing better to do on a Friday night, and, after the initial shock and confusion had passed, was happy to explain the multiverse theory to Leonard with Ronnie's begrudging help. Leonard asked for clarification a couple times and filled in what he knew about the singularity incident and its aftermath. At this Ronnie was visibly relieved because, he said, he had not been entirely sure his friends - Team Flash - had survived the incident.

Ronnie went on to explain how, after separating from Stein inside the singularity and getting sucked into it as it was closing, he had found himself completely powerless on the edge of the river outside a S.T.A.R. Labs that was vastly different from the one he knew. He had then spent the next couple months surviving on the streets, a skill he had apparently learned from his Martin Stein. Shortly before Christmas he had been discovered and taken captive by a friend of Henry's, who had brought him back to S.T.A.R. Labs for questioning (Henry and Ronnie exchanged an ominous glance at the mention of this friend, but did not go into details, and Leonard was frankly too overwhelmed to ask).

"Everything we know about the two worlds we know from her," Ronnie explained instead with a nod at Caitlin, who had since gotten bored of listening to them and was now reading what looked like a fashion magazine. Henry went on to clarify that this world's Caitlin Snow and Ronnie Raymond were dangerous wanted criminals, therefore not very trustworthy, and that that Ronnie - Deathstorm - had been killed a few months ago. And when that had happened, it had had an interesting and completely unexpected effect, for instead of dying with his bonding partner, the consciousness of Martin Stein had survived and bonded with the next best thing on this side of the continent - Ronnie Raymond from Leonard's earth.

"Turns out the Firestorm matrix was too stubborn to die," Ronnie said, calmer now, but the hint of a flame flickering in his eye. "It... adapted. But being Deathstorm for so long did things to Stein - he's... he's got issues. And he's different from the one in our world. But he's a good man, and he's alive."

Leonard nodded thoughtfully from where he had sat down on the edge of the desk. "Our Stein also found a second half to survive. Nice kid. He's not over you though."

Ronnie gave a small, tense smile, glad his first bonding partner was alive too. Suddenly he frowned.

"How do you know so much about me and Stein anyway?" he asked, realizing that, while Leonard had been inquisitive about the multiverse theory, he had at most just nodded when they had talked about Firestorm.

"The professor and I were on the same team," Leonard simply said.

Ronnie was startled. "Wait - Stein didn’t go rogue after I was gone, did he?!"

Leonard smirked at the image of Stein as a criminal. Then again, the professor had drugged and kidnapped Jax, and had successfully threatened the terrorists in Finland... "Not exactly," he said instead.

"So, are - are you on our side now?" Ronnie asked, even more baffled. "Are you working with the Flash? Why didn’t you just say so? Is that how you got here? Are you a hero now?"

At the last question Leonard grimaced and softly rubbed the stinging blister on his left palm. The word still sounded weird when applied to him, even though he knew it was true - Mick had said so. He considered his next words carefully. "We didn't work with the Flash. But yes, the team is part of that long story on how I got here." Ronnie and Henry looked at him expectantly. Leonard crossed his arms. There was no really good way to go about this. "What's your opinion on time travel?"

At first, they were of course skeptical, but the more Leonard told them about Rip Hunter and Vandal Savage, Gideon and the Time Masters, the Waverider and the team, the more they were drawn in. He left out a lot for now; nobody needed to know that Rip forgot three of them in the late 50s for two years, or that they had almost helped the Soviets win the Cold War. He left out the part about Mick being Chronos. There was a lot of talk about Kendra's powers and her link to Savage, about the general state and look of time as an actual thing, and about the Oculus and its destruction, which, thanks to Gideon, Leonard knew the most about. He remained completely matter of fact when he told them about how someone had had to hold the thing down and that he had done it, but he would not look them in the eye. Ronnie's posture shifted after hearing that, though.

Leonard never mentioned the time loop, deeming it an unnecessarily confusing detail. Instead, he ended his account simply with, "I had a plan, though - I was going to send myself back to January 2016, right when we left. But," he shrugged, "something went wrong and I ended up here instead."

At least he thought that was going to be the end of it. But of course Henry was curious exactly how he had planned to travel through time without a time ship, which forced Leonard to reveal the miniature time drive he still wore around his neck. Upon removing it, the part of his shirt that had directly covered the device crumbled to crispy burned flakes. Apparently, the only thing holding the fabric together for the past hours had been good will. Leonard also became painfully aware that the skin underneath the device was reddened and even blistering in a few spots. When Henry learned the exact circumstances of the time travel, he insisted on giving him a complete physical examination, which Leonard tried to protest, albeit weakly and only because he had an image to protect. As expected, Henry stared at his excessive number of scars when he reluctantly took off his shirt, but Leonard glared right back, daring him to say something. He didn't, and the next few hours were a haze of scans and tests that Leonard mainly complied with because they promised him real food afterwards.

In the end, he was not exactly sure what they had tested, but Henry seemed satisfied and announced confidently that he and Ronnie were indeed from the same earth. Further preliminary results showed that Leonard was in perfect health, save for the slight first degree burns on his face and the second degree burns on his chest and left palm. His radiation levels appeared slightly elevated, but still in the normal range.

Afterwards, Ronnie showed him to the decontamination showers so he could wash up. They gave him ointment that smelled like something out of Mick’s toolbox for the injuries, and a black S.T.A.R. Labs hoodie to replace his ruined shirt; the hood reminded Leonard of his parka, and, silly as it was, he felt calmer for it. The "real food" turned out to be cold leftover cheese pizza and a Snickers bar from the snack machine near the gift shop, but at this point he was too worn out to actually complain. Ronnie was channeling a more positive side of Professor Stein and geeking out over time travel science with Henry, while Leonard sat on the floor near meta-Caitlin's cell and munched on his pizza. All he wanted to do was sleep and wake up in a world that felt right. Hell, he would have taken prison, as long as it was in his world and Mick was there to help break him out. His right thumb wandered to his pinky finger automatically, but he had slipped the ring into the pocket of Mick's jacket before they had left the ship.

Mick, who thought he was dead. Mick, who was grieving him at this very moment. Mick, who missed him enough to go back to 2013 to tell him he was his hero.

Leonard let the pizza sink, unable to swallow past the lump in his chest. He was alive, but at what price? Much as he knew, Rip was not aware of any parallel universes. If Gideon had known something like this could happen, he was sure she would have warned him. Ronnie had been in this world for almost a year, but so far, he had been unable to get back or even let the people in their world know he was alive. Leonard clenched his teeth. This was not what he had wanted.

"Once you two are done flying your geek flag," he spoke up, drawing Ronnie's and Henry's attention to him, "maybe you can tell me how I can get back to where I belong."

The other two exchanged careful looks and that was already the answer Leonard had hoped not to get. He wanted to know how far they were to a solution, but those looks told him they were not much further than he.

"Well..." Henry started, shooting a quick glance over to Caitlin for help, but she was fast asleep and snoring. "There are breaches between our worlds, as a result of the singularity. So far though, we haven't been able to find out where exactly they are. Dr. Wells could probably help us with that, but he and his daughter have been missing since February."

"Also," Ronnie added, "Cait says that you need a speedster to travel between worlds."

"And this world's Flash ain't willing to help?" Leonard figured with a vaguely questioning wave of his hand.

Ronnie shook his head, a tense expression on his face. "No. He's missing too."

Leonard pressed his lips together in resignation because what was he even expecting at this point? "So we're stuck here." It was not a question as much as a statement. Ronnie shrugged helplessly.

"We're working on it," Henry assured him.

"Work faster!" Leonard snapped, fingers clenching into fists. "My friends think I'm dead!"

Ronnie gave him a look of utter disbelief at his inconsideration and opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by an alarm going off. Henry blinked, confused, then his eyes found the watch on his wrist and he swore. Leonard did not bother checking his own watch (it had not shown the correct time since he had first boarded the Waverider, and currently it was also in need of repair; like with his goggles, the glass was a web of cracks and tiny loose shards), but he noticed the darkness outside the windows had disappeared in favor of light blue skies and early morning sunshine. They had spent the entire night with tests and talking.

Ronnie's eyes got an alarmed look. He sped to the nearest computer monitor, almost falling over Leonard's legs in the process, and opened up what looked like the feed from the security cameras; it was hard to see anything from Leonard's position on the floor, but so far, he could not be bothered to get up.

"Is it-?" Henry asked concerned.

"Damnit!" Ronnie swore after a few clicks. "Yes, it's them." He shot a quick look at Leonard, who was now starting to feel alarmed. "He can't be here."

"What do you want me to do?" Henry threw his hands in the air. "Lock him in the broom closet? Throw a blanket over him?!"

"What's going on?" Leonard asked, getting up slowly and never letting either of them out of his sight. They ignored him.

"Would it be so bad if he saw him?" Henry argued. "I mean, he knows about the two worlds already!"

"He doesn't know everything!" Ronnie replied and pointed agitatedly at Leonard. "He's a criminal!"

"That's more of a part-time thing at the moment," Leonard interjected. "Now tell me what the hell is going on!"

They turned to him, but when obviously neither knew how to begin, they hesitated just a little too long and were interrupted by the ping of the elevator in the hallway outside. Henry darted out of the room and greeted whoever was there in a hushed voice. Meanwhile, Ronnie tried to grab Leonard's arm in an attempt to drag him to some other hidden location, but Leonard jerked away and hissed "Don't touch me!" Ronnie was about to argue with him when Leonard suddenly heard the voices coming closer and closer to the lab. He held up his hand as a sign for Ronnie to be quiet, and although Ronnie still wanted to say something he quickly closed his mouth and let his shoulders sink with resignation, waiting for what was coming to just run its course. With a sharp jolt of lightning in his chest Leonard recognized first one, and then the second voice, and he could not say which one shocked him more. The skin at the back of his neck tingled as his mind tried in vain to process what was happening and what he was hearing. He completely missed what they were saying, and stared tensely at the doorway, until Henry stepped in hesitantly, followed by his two new guests. "...there have been some... new developments..." he explained to them apologetically, but they had stopped dead in their tracks as soon as they spotted Leonard. Who was just as frozen in place as they were. Who was staring, completely dumbfounded, at a woman who looked exactly like his sister, and a man who looked exactly like himself.

After a few moments of stunned silence, the woman spoke up: "What's going on?"

Ronnie sighed. "Mayor Snart, Lisa - meet Leonard Snart from my earth!"

Mayor?!

Chapter Text

For the longest of times they just stared at each other. Ronnie and Henry were explaining and repeating the story he had told them, but Leonard could not take his eyes off his doppelgänger or his sister's. 

Mayor Snart was wearing a suit and glasses;  the last time Leonard had worn a suit and it was not for a con had probably been for a court date. The mayor had an aura of power about him, but at the same time he looked like he was trying his best and not necessarily succeeding. They were sizing each other up with mirroring looks of suspicion, disbelief and curiosity.

Lisa was wearing a dress – a pretty flowing summer dress with golden-yellow tulips printed on it, and to Leonard it looked positively alien. His Lisa would never wear such a thing. While she was listening to Henry and Ronnie and occasionally asking questions about things they said, her eyes kept darting from her brother to Leonard and back; she was comparing them just as they were comparing themselves. At one point, Leonard caught her staring at him, and she quickly turned away, her hair brushing over her bare shoulders. Leonard froze. 

The scar . There was no scar on her collarbone. 

Was this the reason? The explanation for why they were this different? Did their father never do the things his had? Or perhaps they had just been better at evading him...

"You're a criminal?" Mayor Snart suddenly asked him, reacting to something Ronnie had just told him.

"And you're the mayor," Leonard replied. "Wonder who's more surprised?"

His doppelgänger gave a short nod in agreement. Leonard wondered if he also had cigarette burns on his shoulders. 

"Fun as it would be," he said, shaking that thought, "I'm not looking to cause trouble. I just want to get back home."

From the corner of his eyes he could see Ronnie nodding, thin-lipped. They may have been adversaries on their original earth, but they shared that goal now. 

"Well," Mayor Snart spoke up, and God was it weird to hear his own voice out of his mouth, "Henry has been working on finding a way for months. He is our expert on this field at the moment. You're in good hands." And he smiled. Smiled! Genuinely even! This world had just gotten infinitely stranger.

"So," Leonard asked instead of letting his imagination go wild over what kind of people these Snarts were, "what brings you here? Don't think any mayor of my Central City ever visited S.T.A.R. Labs without a camera team."

"This visit isn't politically motivated," Mayor Snart said with a dismissive wave of his hand. His whole intonation was different; there was only the barest hint of a drawl. 

Leonard gave him a doubtful look. "Then what are you doing here, Mayor---"

"Oh please - call me Leo," Mayor Snart interrupted.

Leonard grimaced. Contrary to popular assumption, Leonard liked his name. The reason for this was the first Leonard Snart, his grandfather for whom he was named, a genuinely sweet man who had owned an ice cream truck and adored his grandchildren, and whose genes had somehow fucked up in the most spectacular way and created Lewis. And Lewis had been the one to shorten Leonard's name to Leo when he was little, which was all the reason anyone needed to understand why he did not go by "Leo" now. Lisa was the only one who got away with shortening his name to Lenny (he had glared at Barry long enough that the guy had apologized and promised to never do it again as long as he lived). Other people usually resorted to just using his last name, or shouting “Hands in the air, asshole!” – whichever the situation called for.

"Yeah. Whatever," Leonard said, catching how Leo's little smile fell. "Why are you here?"

"We're here for her," Lisa answered and nodded at the platinum blonde Caitlin Snow, who had woken up and was watching them all intently from her glass cell and was obviously enjoying what she saw.

"What does Elsa have to do with anything?" Leonard asked, confused.

The others exchanged looks that he did not like.

"She has information we need," Ronnie said in an attempt to dodge the question – unsuccessfully, because Leo spoke up:

"She knows where my husband is."

Leonard blinked, his chest tightening in a strange, unfamiliar way. "Your husband?"

"Yeah," Leo confirmed. "Mick Rory."

There were exactly four long seconds of silence in which Leonard said absolutely nothing and everyone else was involuntarily holding their collective breath waiting for his reaction. Finally, he wet his lips and said, "Okay. Why her?"

Four pairs of way too curious eyes were on him. "Wait. You two aren't together in your world?" Lisa asked a bit incredulously. Leonard was not sure what had given him away, but the fact that she had seen it on his face should probably tell him something.

"No," he replied and tilted his head to nod at Cait again. "So. Why her?"

They told him about the guy Cait and her Ronnie had worked for, the mad, sadistic speedster, Zoom, who had been terrorizing their city ever since their Flash first showed up. Leonard could confirm that Zoom had indeed set his mind on destroying Barry Allen in their world; he had never actually seen the black speed demon himself, but he remembered what Mark Mardon had told him. 

"Looks like she told the truth," Henry commented.

He learned that not only were Mick and Leo married, Mick was also a metahuman since getting caught in an underground gas pipeline explosion the night of the particle accelerator incident. "Mild pyrokinesis," Henry explained. Easy enough to hide, and so the public did not know, which became the couple’s downfall. Henry told Leonard how Zoom had shanghaied all other meta humans into working for him; those who resisted, he killed. 

"Except for a 'fortunate' few, who he kidnaps to torture and taunt their families," Leo explained bitter. "He took Mick to keep me from taking any action that actually would have an effect." Lisa squeezed her brother's hand to give him support; Leonard watched with a tense expression. 

Apparently their Mick had been missing for several months and Leo had been trying to uphold the public image and find excuses for his husband's absence; if the people found out Zoom had him in his pocket like this, he could lose their support and the city would fall even easier under Zoom's reign. Which was why, when he stumbled upon a guy looking exactly like his husband's kidnapper one night, he had knocked him over the head and brought him straight to his old friend Henry Hewitt, an expert on metahumans and their containment. Except of course Ronnie had not been much help in finding Mick, not even after he had merged with Professor Stein, but at least he now had a place to stay. Ronnie wanted to help. And so, a couple weeks ago he had gone out in search for Zoom's lair. The villain himself had not been seen in a while, and they had traced his speed force to the most likely place. Once there, however, Ronnie had not found Zoom – he had found Cait, severely injured by an icicle through her chest. The only reason she was even still alive was because her metahuman powers had responded to the cold and formed ice around the wound to stop the bleeding. "We keep her cell near freezing conditions to keep the wound closed while she heals," Henry explained. "Normally she draws energy from the heat around her, so it also stops her from breaking out and killing us. What little warmth she gets goes directly into keeping her alive."

Leo was hoping to get her to tell them where Zoom was keeping Mick – he obviously did not want to consider his husband might be dead. "Zoom used to come around and taunt me every now and then," he explained with crossed arms and raised eyebrows. "But he hasn't been seen in a while now. We don't know where they took Mick, or what happened to the Flash – maybe they're being held captive somewhere together. Either way, chances are they will be running out of food soon, unless Zoom has someone take care of them. We need to find them, fast."

"But the Ice Queen is not talking, is she?" Leonard concluded.

Leo tilted his head a little and watched Cait from the corner of his eyes. "So far." Leonard noticed his thumb discretely gliding over his wedding ring, and involuntarily his own thumb wandered to where he had worn the pinky ring. Leo sighed. "I'm going to try again and convince her to help. Henry, you gonna let me in?"

Arms crossed, Leonard watched as Leo entered the cell and sat down on one side of the table inside, the door closing shut behind him. Cait sat down dutifully in the other chair, but Leonard could already tell she was not going to help. His doppelgänger started talking to her, probably pleading to her good conscience. His breath formed white clouds in the cold air; hers did not.

Turning away silently, Leonard walked back to the desk where he had left a bottle of water. The others remained focused on what was happening in the cell, with Lisa and Ronnie quietly talking to each other and Henry at the thermostat in case Cait tried anything. Once he was sure they could not see him, Leonard unclenched his hand from under his arm and found it was shaking. 

Mick Rory and Leonard Snart. 

Married. In love. Happy together.

They had known each other for almost thirty years now and they had been through so much together, and yes, Leonard would be lying to say he had never considered it, but he was also quite sure his Mick did not feel this way. In all their time, he had never actually seen Mick feel this way about anyone, and that was okay, not everyone did. There had been a few very drunk, silly kisses between them over the years, after jobs well done and celebration parties gone on a little too long, but that had been it, and Mick was not the only one that had ever done this with Leonard.

He took a few deep breaths and emptied the water; he wondered what his Mick's reaction to all this would be. He also wondered where his Mick was right now and how he was doing. Leonard needed to get back home.

Back with the others nothing much had changed except Leo's expression had become a bit more desperate. Cait was looking at him smugly, obviously taunting him and enjoying every bit of it. 

"He's been at this for how long?" Leonard asked Lisa as they were watching. She hesitated before answering, looking him up and down again briefly, obviously still working through the whole my-brother-has-a-doppelgänger-and-he-is-a-criminal thing.

"Every day for a week," she finally said. "She wasn't well enough to talk before."

Her voice was exactly like his sister's, but it was the way she spoke to him that was different from the way his Lisa did. Some of her warmth was missing; this was how Lisa talked to strangers. "And what's he offering?" he wanted to know.

Lisa shrugged. "A pardon. Money. A way to get away from Zoom. So far she hasn't taken him up on any of it."

"Maybe sugar is not the way to go," Leonard suggested, tilting his head.

Lisa cast him a long strange look. "My brother is not the type for threats."

He held her eye contact for a couple seconds, searching for pieces of his sister in her, but the bond he usually felt with his Lisa was not there. It made his heart ache. 

"What about the Flash?" he asked to change the topic. "You really think he's still alive after all this time?"

She gave a thin smile. "We have to! We could really use that edge against Zoom. Leo's priority is of course Mick, but he also has a duty to the people. We need to save Central City, and we need a speedster to do it. Hopefully finding Mick will also lead us to the Flash."

Cait started cackling and they both turned. Leo exited the cell, a grim look on his face. He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not really making any progress," he mumbled. 

"Have you considered--" Leonard started and was already waving his fingers around for emphasis of how logical his suggestion was going to be, but Leo interrupted him.

"I have. But keeping her here against her will means we can't really threaten her with prison. Also she downright told me I don't scare her because I'm not a violent man." He pressed his lips together, frustrated with himself. "And she's right," he added bitterly.

Leonard frowned. "Didn't you kidnap Ronnie? Sounds violent enough to me."

He got a short humorless chuckle as an answer. "That was a lot easier in reality than we made it sound earlier. Also less dramatic and dignified." Whatever that meant, it really did not seem like Leo would get anywhere even if he changed his tactics. Leonard recognized an integrity and innocence in him that he himself had lost a long time ago.  But that was not a bad thing now, was it? Unlike Leo, Leonard could get shit like this done. Theoretically.

Theoretically, none of this was his business. Why did the words "Mick Rory is in danger" make his throat tighten like this? It was not his Mick. And he was not his doppelgänger; they were obviously very different people with very different problems. He did not actually know these people or whether he could trust them – they already knew about his criminal record, so they probably did not trust him either. The only reason he had to stay was that this was the only place actively working on a way to get people back to his earth (while Zoom possibly also had a way, he sounded like the kind of evil Leonard tried to avoid – crazy, chaotic evil, unpredictable, and not someone you wanted to cross, like the Trickster or that other guy in Gotham). 

But they were a speedster short, and that did make Leo's problem Leonard's problem as well. They were hoping that finding Mick Rory might also lead to finding their Flash – so that was what they had to do. Leonard did not want to sit around eating cold pizza while his doppelgänger tried to unsuccessfully coax evil Cait to give up the location of his husband for god only knew how long, because then he would never get home.

He cast a thoughtful glance over at Killer Frost in her cell. "I think I know what to do, how to get her to talk," he finally said. "You're not gonna like it."

Leo looked him up and down and then replied with a grim smile, "At this point that's actually a stretch. Go ahead!" He placed his hand on Leonard's shoulder, which would have felt weird even if they weren't two versions of the same person. 

Leonard eyed it only briefly, but decided to let it go. Instead he called out to Henry. "I need an appliance store and thirty-two minutes."

Of course they would not let him go to the store himself out of fear he would get Mayor Snart in trouble. "You do realize I spent the whole day on the street with no problem, right?" he asked and rolled his eyes while he wrote down the parts he needed. As it turned out, a lot could be scavenged from around S.T.A.R. Labs, but Henry and Leo still left with a shopping list. There was an awkward silence when they left, and Leonard and Lisa kept eyeing each other curiously, but neither made an attempt to start another conversation. Eventually, Lisa had to take a call and Ronnie went to make coffee, so Leonard took to the couch in the corner, where he promptly passed out from exhaustion.

He did not know how long he slept, but he woke up when Ronnie sat down two heavy paper bags on the coffee table next to him. He did not feel rested; sleep had been dreamless darkness interrupted by flashes of blue light, and Leonard's throat felt tight as he startled awake. It was the first time he had closed his eyes since he had destroyed the Oculus. Now he was sure this was not just a bad dream. His friends were gone - or rather, he was gone. He had gotten himself lost and could not find his way back. Not yet , he had to remind himself to get rid of the sickening lump in his chest. It was only mildly successful.

"They got everything you need," Ronnie said and helped himself to another cup of coffee from the pot. He did not offer Leonard one, which was not surprising since he had visibly stiffened when Leonard had relayed his plan to the others. Leonard raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything and instead picked through the contents of the bags. In one he found the pieces he had asked for. The other contained, to his surprise, the basic essentials of modern survival: a set of spare clothes, navy blue and black; toothbrush and toothpaste; a shaving kit; a towel. Leonard felt a sting in his chest as the realization actually sunk in: he was going to spend a lot more time here than he wanted.

He picked the receipt out from the side of the bag with the parts. "Woulda been a lot cheaper if you'd just sent me," he said. 

Ronnie raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, also a lot less legal!"

"As long as I don't get caught, who cares?" Leonard gave back and smirked.

"How - how evil are you?" Ronnie suddenly asked, awkwardly. 

That was a bit of an extreme reaction to petty theft, Leonard found, but okay. "Very," he replied without missing a beat. "Why?"

Ronnie saw that he was not taking him seriously and shot him a look that made that clear. "Oh, I don't know - maybe what you want to do is a bit...?" He made a vague gesture with his hand.

"Necessary?" Leonard suggested helpfully and copied his gesture. "You wanna go home or not, Ronnie?"

Ronnie sighed. "Yeah. Just... don't overdo it." 

"That depends on her."

Ronnie pressed his lips together. "Yeah, that's what worries me. She... she can be stubborn."

"I'll keep that in mind." Leonard smirked again, and started unpacking the parts and putting them together in groups of how he would need them. 

Ronnie stared at him. "This was not a good idea."

"If you had a better one, you wouldn't still be stuck here," Leonard replied coolly. 

Tensing, Ronnie tapped his fingers against his cup twice before violently setting it down, splashing coffee all over the table. 

"You can be so glad that I already knew what was up when you came here!" His eyes were burning a hot angry white. "When I came here? I thought my world was gone forever! That I'd never see my wife again! And I had to wait, to live with that for almost a year to find out there was hope - that there's a way I can maybe go home! But you just drop here in the middle of everything we've been working on and expect to just be gone the next day - well, news flash: you're not just passing through like this because you maybe did one good deed! You can't take the easy way and steal yourself a way home. 

I've seen these people suffer. They are worried about their friend, and they do not deserve to be used by you like that! You know, I was actually going to warn you to not get attached to them just because they look like people you know? But I see now that there's no danger of that. You don't care about anyone - you're just a selfish asshole."

With that, Ronnie stormed off. Leonard sighed. He could only hope that they found the Flash quickly because otherwise he would be stuck in this world with the only other person who shared his general world experience holding a grudge against him.

He stood up and got himself his own cup of coffee; it tasted a bit like battery acid, but next to the coffee maker he found packs of sugar and condensed milk to make it bearable.

It was nagging him how he had not even bothered to argue the point about only caring about himself. If he helped Leo locate his husband, that was a heroic act; not so much though if he only did it in hopes of also finding a speedster to get him home. Mick had called him a hero, and for a brief moment he had believed him. For that split second in which he had wanted to take Mick's place at the Oculus just so Mick would not die and he had not cared about whether or not the time drive would work, Leonard had felt truly heroic. But he had survived. And now he could not stop wondering whether he had really just taken Mick's place to save his own life and get out of the damn time loop.

When had he even started to care about being a hero? The answer came to him almost instantly and was accompanied by a deep cold sting in his chest: when Mick's cryptic little speech from 2013 had started making sense. 

You're a hero to me. 

No, partner, you got that wrong. I let you down. Again.

Leonard quickly shook his head to get those thoughts out of it. His fingers found the parts on the table almost automatically. Distraction and a way to focus his mind on something useful - exactly what he needed.

When Cisco had rebuilt the cold gun, Leonard had made sure to pay very close attention to the materials he used - the first gun had taught him how everything went together; the second what everything was made of. After that he had started tinkering a little more with it, especially finding simple ways to fix it - his little truce with Barry would have suffered severely had he gone and kidnapped Cisco each time something broke. He had taught himself how to make spare parts and components without a 3D-printer first, then adjustments like the little trick to overload it and turn it into a bomb. 

Leonard wondered where his second gun was now. Had Sara kept it? Rip? He hoped they had let Mick take it. Mick would keep it safe for him. 

The cold gun he built from scratch just now was not quite as smooth looking, but it would reach absolute zero just as reliably as the original. The weight seemed slightly off though - it felt just a bit too heavy in Leonard's hands, which would affect precision of far range quick shots if he got in a real fight, but it was good enough for what he intended to do with it now.

"You were right," Leo said with a slightly nauseated look at the cold gun. "I really don't like it."

How could his doppelgänger be so different from him? What had happened - or not happened - in his life that had made him such a good person?

"Just trust me," Leonard said after a  brief moment of hesitation. Behind him Ronnie huffed a sarcastic laugh. Leonard ignored it.

The air, when he entered the cell, was frigid and actually stung on his face. It brought back memories of the Waverider's engine room, of death being a real possibility, but not a certainty, and Sara and him huddling together for some warmth; she had begun shaking much faster than him, so he had given her his jacket, but in the end they had both shaken and thought they would freeze any moment; he had let her get close and it had been good. Leonard clenched his teeth and fought down those memories. He did not have the mindset to deal with that now too.

"Oh what now?" Cait greeted him as Henry shut the door behind him. "One of you couldn't get me to talk, so now you're trying the same thing in blue? Please. This is getting ridiculous." Her voice had a slight drawl that distinguished it from Caitlin's on his earth. Interesting .

Leonard sat down in the chair across from her; her feet were up on the table between them. He smiled, thin-lipped, cold. Several seconds passed before he spoke. "I don't know if you've ever met your doppelgänger--"

"I have. And I'm not very impressed." 

Leonard's expression got even frostier, his smile widening. "Good. Now think about it this way: my world's Caitlin Snow is to you what your Mayor Snart is to me." He let that sink in for a couple of seconds.

"Tell me where you and Zoom took Mick Rory," Leonard said, casually placing his cold gun on his lap.

"Or what? You shoot me with your sci-fi gun?"

Leonard laughed, completely devoid of humor. "Oh, right, you don't know what this is! Fine, I'll explain. This weapon was originally designed to take down speedsters. And it does so by creating an atmosphere that's at absolute zero. Dunno how well you paid attention in school, but that's the temperature that's so cold not even atoms move anymore." He paused, staring at her with that small calculating smile on his face. "Works great on regular humans too."

"Haven't you heard?" Killer Frost asked with an eyebrow raised in amusement. "I'm metahuman. And just like fire cannot kill a dragon - ice cannot kill the ice queen."

"Who said anything about killing?" Leonard said and smiled at her, dangerously, and sure enough he soon saw a flicker of fear in her pale eyes. "Funny thing about frostbite," he said after almost a minute of silence, "before you lose all sensation and your flesh dies, it burns. Like hell." He paused again and watched his words sink in. "Of course the tissue next to the frostbite still feels pain, even after the frozen nerve endings die. And let me tell you, from one cold-hearted bastard to another, it's agony."

Killer Frost swallowed, but tried not to show how much that mental image affected her. "I can withstand extreme temperatures. You don't scare me," she said, even though it was becoming more and more obvious he did.

"Even if that were completely true," Leonard said, still smiling, "we're not just talking extreme temperatures here. We're talking about absolute zero. I can start with your foot and freeze it solid before you can even think about taking me out. And if you still don't wanna talk after that," he paused for dramatic effect, "I start shattering your toes, one by one. And trust me, you'll feel that. And you'll wish you’d started talking now. So," he pulled back the safety and felt the familiar hum of the cold gun charging up, "what's it gonna be, Cait?" 

Leonard had his lips pressed together and was running his hands through his buzzcut. The other four were not in a much better mood. Ronnie was pacing back and forth; Henry was clenching both his jaw and fist; Lisa stared with an expression of blank, desperate shock at the floor; Leo was pressing his fist against his jaw and his whole body was tense. 

"We've got to get him out of there," Lisa finally said.

"I'm in," Leonard said immediately.

Ronnie shot him a weird glance. "This isn't prison - it's an ARGUS facility!"

"It's Mick," Leo said quietly, and Leonard knew from the look in his eyes that he had made his decision. 

His fingers casually wandered over the spot on his chest where the time drive had left the burn. Oh yes, he understood. Anything to save Mick . He wondered if they were as easy to read for everyone else, or if it was a basic core understanding of who they were that transcended their differences. He figured it was the latter when Henry shook his head. 

"Leo, we can't just go barging into a super secret military facility. There has to be another way!"

"Like what?" Leo asked, voice as tense as his posture. "Lawful methods? Our only proof that they're unlawfully imprisoning my husband is the statement of a wanted criminal, whom we are holding captive against her will ourselves! I hate to say it, but vigilantism sounds like the way to go! For now at least," he backpedaled a little again, clenching his fist in obvious conflict with himself. "We can still follow some rules of basic human decency..."

Lisa nodded slowly. "He's right. In the time it takes to file a motion they can move Mick to the other side of the country. Or just make him disappear. ARGUS doesn't mess around."

Leonard looked at her surprised. Lisa gave a small smile when she noticed. "My college roommate was a law student."

"You went to college?" Leonard asked.

"Yeah, I'm a structural engineer," Lisa said, irritated that he was surprised.

That warm feeling from earlier returned, and Leonard had to forcefully remind himself that this Lisa was not his Lisa, but he still felt some weird sense of pride. His mind flashed back to little nine-year-old Lisa building bridges over the gap between her desk and her bed with the few Legos they had and whatever other materials she could find, a look of high concentration on her face. Later she had looked into ways of becoming a structural engineer, but even with all the jobs Leonard and Mick pulled, there was no way they could afford that kind of education. Lisa still lied about being one for jobs every now and then, and she definitely knew enough to pass as one. In a way it was good to see that at least one Lisa had been allowed to realize her dreams.

Ronnie crossed his arms, having finally stopped his pacing on one side of the room. "So what, you wanna knock on their door and ask nicely?"

Leo and Lisa exchanged glances, first with each other and then with Leonard. "Not nicely," Leo said, but he was obviously uncomfortable with this prospect. Ronnie huffed. It reminded Leonard a lot of Stein, and he wondered how much of Ronnie's anger was because of the professor being a permanent part of his mind.

Lisa wrapped her arms around herself and tapped her fingers against her bare arms thoughtfully. "How will that look? Any ideas?"

"Like a prisoner exchange," Leonard suggested with a pointed look at Cait's cell.

"No!" Ronnie said sharply without hesitation. Flames sparked up around his eyes again. So much for not getting attached . 

Henry stared at Leonard scandalized. Cait in her cell looked alert, but not like she had actually heard what they were discussing. Leo considered the idea for exactly two seconds, but then shook his head. "I'm not handing another citizen of my city over to be experimented on."

"Didn't you say she was the one who captured Mick?" Leonard asked with crossed arms. " She wasn't this considerate, and I doubt she pays taxes."

"No prisoner exchange," Leo said and that was that. He nodded at Leonard's cold gun. "That thing good for a fight?"

Leonard casually pushed the firing pin all the way in, a security measure in case Cait had managed to overpower him. "It is now. But we walk through the front door guns blazing and we're as good as dead." He pursed his lips. "We need a plan."

Chapter Text

ARGUS' facility was only a couple miles outside of Central City, out by the shore. According to the locals, there had been rumors about them keeping metahumans for experimentation pretty much ever since stories of superpowered individuals first made the rounds. But, with the organization's natural secrecy, there had of course never been any proof. Leonard was not sure what exactly ARGUS did in his world; he learned that, here, they were ruthless. Cait claimed she had only come along to deliver Mick to them; she did not know if Zoom had gifted ARGUS any other metahumans, or what he got out of it in return. 

"Kicks," Lisa suggested with a shrug. "We don't know who Zoom is or what motivates him. But he might as well be the devil."

So they knew Where and What their target was. Next step was figuring out the How . Leonard pinched the bridge of his nose and took a look around at what he had to work with: a scientist, a structural engineer, a… well, another he , minus the criminal experience, and a meta-human who already severely disliked him after knowing him for less than a day. Less than ideal, but not the worst crew he had ever worked with. 

He thought about possible ways to get Mick, and immediately added a first step to the plan that included finding out where exactly in that facility a metahuman like Mick was likely being kept. In his mind, he wrote a checklist and added “Blue Prints” to it – he had both a structural engineer and a mayor at his disposal, they should hopefully be able to look into any plans ARGUS had submitted to a local construction department.

Having a list was an admittedly much needed lifeline as first Leo and Lisa left for their warm beds at home, and then Henry started awkwardly looking between Leonard, Ronnie and Cait, obviously pondering whether he could leave the three of them alone for the night and go home as well. As if they were three rowdy kids in need of a babysitter. Eventually it became obvious to everyone that they all needed sleep, so Henry did end up leaving them to their own devices (or, in Leonard’s case, to another night on the lousy couch in the lab).

The plan they came up with over the next few days was so bad it would have made Rip proud. Its only saving grace was that they had S.T.A.R. Labs resources to refine it. Henry and Ronnie were able to fix Leonard's goggles; the weight on the cold gun was still marginally off, even after some more tweaking, but at least the goggles would protect against the nasty sunspots he got from looking at its flare for too long.  Leo did use his mayoral position to gain access to the city's plans of the ARGUS facility in its outskirts and they all spent a day studying them and memorizing all possible entry and exit points. Lisa provided the necessary insight into the plans and pointed out weaknesses in the construction (there were not a lot). 

"What about this here?" Leo tapped the blueprint on the table. 

Lisa nudged his hand away to get a better look. "Sewage system. Empties pretty much directly into the canal - you should do something about that, Leo! Hm, it's definitely big enough for us to fit through." She squinted at the scale. "And then some. Huh. That's a pretty big pipe. And it leads directly inside. We could use some explosives on a gutter or something once we're in and voilà – we have an entrance."

"What's this?" Leonard asked and pointed at a structure at the inside end of the pipe.

Lisa pursed her lips. "Hm. I have to guess, but I'd say it looks like pools - like the kind you breed industrial fish in maybe. And – oh." She cursed under her breath. Leo and Leonard gave her identical questioning looks. Lisa ran her finger over the blueprint. "Those are floodgates. The pools open directly into the pipe at the press of a button."

Leonard nodded. He had half expected that. "Must be why it's relatively unguarded."

Henry said, "Well, we could risk it. We have the equipment to get through the pipe even when the water is rushing through it."

"They definitely wouldn't expect that," Leo agreed, rubbing his chin.

Leonard was not too happy with that. "Let's find another way in." When the others frowned at him, he added, "We can't prepare for what might flush out with the water - we don't even know for certain that it's water. Could be piranhas. Could be a meta made of tar. There's gotta be a better way in." He remembered the rumors about the giant man-shark roaming Central City around Halloween. Nope, he was definitely not going in through a pipe if that was what might be waiting for him at the end.

He had to admit, after four months of mostly relying on Gideon for plans and strategies, Leonard was glad to work this way again; it gave him back some of the control he lacked so badly in this moment. And while the others were gathering any gear they might need, Leonard found himself a computer and compared the state of security systems in this world to his.

"This is gonna be a problem," Leonard noted with a frown at Ronnie when he learned about the meta human alert app. 

Henry followed his gaze and then shook his head, explaining, "People from other earths seem to…” He hesitated for a moment, visibly condensing scientific theory into the most necessary bits. “...let’s say vibrate at a different frequency. The app doesn't register Ronnie until he's within two feet."

"And if someone gets that close, the app won't help them because then I'll use my powers," Ronnie added and pointedly looked at Leonard. Even though he had not hurt Cait and only scared her a little, the two of them were still not seeing eye to eye. He should not be surprised Ronnie did not trust him: Firestorm had helped defeat the Man in Yellow, immediately after Leonard had double-crossed Team Flash; he had probably gotten all that info while it was still fresh. 

"Aren't people going to get suspicious if their mayor keeps hanging out at the lab that caused all these metas?" Leonard asked Leo while they were quizzing each other on ARGUS' power line system. 

His doppelgänger laughed. "One, it's public knowledge that Henry and I are old friends from college; as is two, that I'm a great supporter of the sciences; and three, I've got no resemblance whatsoever to the Flash, so what are they gonna be suspicious about?" 

Leonard gave a small nod. It would be more difficult in his world, where S.T.A.R. Labs was officially a derelict hull, a blemish in the history of Central City. It were not the big differences that made him uncomfortable – Atlantis and the monorail, a Snart being mayor, those were all things he could deal with. It was the social context that got him.

"Thank you, for your help and everything," Leo said. Leonard tilted his head and wondered if this was perhaps after all an attempt to manipulate him, but to his bafflement, Leo seemed completely honest about it.

"You trust too easily," Leonard replied after a pause. "I could be here to conquer your world."

Leo laughed, not taking him seriously. Leonard thought he would at least consider attempting world domination if they did not let him outside S.T.A.R. Labs again soon.

They were nice people and Leonard did not feel like they were lying to him, or even keeping stuff from him, but he still kept his distance. These were purely practical and professional relationships. Trust was something they would have to earn. He was careful which stories about his time with the Waverider's team he told them.

After the first night spent on the couch in the common area left him sorer than almost dying had, Henry had cleaned up a small storage room and put a military cot in it. It had just enough space to not feel claustrophobic and even had a narrow window near the top wall. Leonard now had a room. Where he could stay. He fought down the bitter feelings it brought about all that had gotten him into this situation, and was just glad they did not make him share with Ronnie.

When nobody was looking, Leonard read up on them. Lisa had not been lying about being a structural engineer – she was the star employee of one of the biggest companies in the state, having financed college with the help of her brother and a scholarship for figure skating. Lisa Snart of this earth was a downright overachiever and three time Olympic medalist, earning her the nickname Golden Glider. Huh . The multiverse worked in fun ways.

And Leo Snart's life was a goddamn fairy tale: raised in the poor part of town by a single mother who had fled her abusive husband shortly after the birth of her second child; fought every part of the way to get where he was; helped raise his little sister on top of work and taking care of his own education (first community college and then on to one of the more prestigious universities in the state on a scholarship); married his long term boyfriend Mick Rory, Chief of the Central City Fire Department (Leonard had to read that line five times to make it sound even a little believable), as soon as same-sex marriage was legalized; voted into office four years ago and bound to stay there for the foreseeable future because he was doing a damn good job taking care of this city's people. There really seemed to be no ulterior motive on Leo's part.

Leonard stared at the part about the single mother for a long time. It came as no surprise that Lewis was an asshole in each version: sacked from the force for taking bribes and being too nonchalant about it, then arrested for jewel theft, same old, same old. What was different here was that Laura Snart had escaped before the stress of the abuse had made her too sick to run. Had this world's Lewis still had friends on the force by the time the neighbors had to call the cops on them almost every night? Had they believed him when he told them his clumsy wife and son had fallen down the stairs together? Leonard wanted to doubt it; his mom had not had a way out of their personal hell; Leo's had. (At least this world's Lewis had been killed in prison years ago – Leonard did not want to see that man ever again in his life.)

There were pictures of them together online, at a fundraiser for survivors of domestic violence, and Leonard swallowed hard when he saw her. There was gray in her hair, which she had stopped straightening and was wearing it in its natural tightly curled pattern. She had wrinkles around her eyes, the kind you got from laughing. His mom had never gotten this old. Or looked this happy. He caught himself wondering if Leo's mom still lived in the city, and how long it would take her to realize he was not her son, but he quickly pushed that train of thought aside. His mom was gone. That was the way of life, and there was no changing that. 

He clicked on to another picture and found himself staring again: Mick here had the same brick wall body his did, but there were tattoos where his had burn scars, and a smile that Leonard could not remember seeing on his Mick in a long time. Memories of one night when they were twenty-three flashed up: it was the Fourth of July and Mick had just gotten back from his first real stint in prison. Lewis was staying inside for the foreseeable future and Lisa was twelve and happily staying with her brother and his scary cool friend. For weeks before Mick got out Leonard had collected plywood and broken furniture, and on the night of the Fourth they had driven out to the lake where he had surprised Mick with the biggest bonfire either of them had ever seen. They had spent the night roasting marshmallows and throwing random things into the fire to see what would happen. That night Leonard had seen Mick smile like Leo's did. 

Leonard's Mick had always been in love with the flames.

***

A couple of days into their planning, Henry finally persuaded him to participate in some tests to find out how similar doppelgängers from two earths were. Leonard agreed because, who knew, the results could maybe be useful for their mission. The biggest difference was probably that he was right handed and Leo left. Leonard's eyesight was better. Leo still had his appendix and fewer scars. They were both mildly allergic to strawberries. Their fingerprints matched perfectly, which was the most interesting to Leonard because he knew that by nature alone that was impossible. Normally, not even identical twins had the same fingerprints – he had learned that working with a pair on a job a couple years ago. Fingerprints developed in the uterus from stuff like the way the fluid swished around the developing fetus' fingertips, which meant that not even genetic predisposition could create two individuals with perfectly matching prints on all ten fingers, and whatever they said on Orphan Black was bullshit with how they had canonically made those clones, thank you very much. 

After Gideon had restored his hand, Leonard had been curious if he now had a new set of fingerprints on his right (because wouldn't that be helpful for a thief with a record?) but she had cheerfully explained that she had been able to recreate his original ones perfectly from scans she had taken all over the ship. That revelation put him off touching everything around him for exactly two hours and five minutes before he had said "screw it!".

***

"Screw it!" was also what he wanted to say about their plan. From the get go it was clear that Henry was not a fighter and would be doomed out in the field. That was okay, though – chances were Mick and whoever else they found at the facility would be in need of medical attention, and Henry could definitely provide that. What he could not do was hack ARGUS' surveillance system, and the further their plan developed, the more necessary that became. 

Leo was also practically useless in hand-to-hand combat, and that frustrated Leonard way more than their lack of a hacker. His aim could be improved enough to be of use, but also only with time they did not have; none of them wanted to leave Mick in that place any longer. 

"Maybe you should stay behind," Leonard suggested after another disastrous sparring match that left Leo with a bruised jaw despite Leonard holding his punches (he was slightly worried by how cathartic it was to hit his own face).

Leo froze in his motion. "No, I'm saving Mick! And there's a small army in there – we need every man!"

"You said it yourself: we're going up against an army," Leonard said and decided to be frank. "We'll be more worried about keeping you safe than saving your husband if you come along. You're no use to him dead." Leonard's throat tightened the moment the words left his mouth. His thumb found the spot where the ring had been before he could stop himself; his hand was feeling cold again today. 

Leo gave him a curious look that lasted maybe a split second before it turned knowing . What did he know though? His Mick had been taken from him. Leonard had willingly left his behind, and more than once too. 

But Leo did not say anything and instead nodded in response to what Leonard had said. "Okay. But just give me something to do!" And so Leo became their getaway driver.

That still left them with the hacker problem. After days of preparing and painstakingly thinking through every possible way of their plan came the crushing certainty that they were not getting into the surveillance system and therefore would be spotted almost instantly. Leonard had initially thought he would be able to at least buy them some time by somehow frying the entire complex's power grid, but not only did most doors rely on electricity to open and close – the backup generators would also be online too fast for an outage to be of any use. They had to face it: they were not well enough equipped to go up against ARGUS' soldiers. Their group depended on not getting spotted for as long as possible, which made their mission pretty much impossible if they did not come up with something soon.

A week after they decided to break Mick out, Lisa walked up to where Leo was studying road maps and Leonard was tinkering with something he thought might be useful, and sat a pair of skates down on the table with a heavy thud. Leonard eyed them from the side. They were metallic white with, how else could it be, golden highlights and golden blades. She sighed. "I'm coming with you," she said matter-of-factly. Leonard and Leo both looked up. They had been over this. Leo said it first: "No." 

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Leo..."

"No," he said again. "It’s too dangerous. You – we are not fighters." He pointed from her to himself and back.

Lisa rolled her eyes. "You don’t need a fighter," Lisa said, squaring her jaw. "Just someone fast enough to cause some trouble." 

She motioned her arms like Tadaa! to present the skates, and now Leonard realized that the blades were strange . While he undoubtedly recognized them as figure skating skates from their toe picks, the material was not the usual steel with some decorative gold plating, but something else entirely, and there seemed to be some sort of machinery in between the sole of the foot and the blade itself.

“You don’t seem too keen on sharing your cold gun, so I had to come up with my own thing,” Lisa smirked winningly. “They can glide on any material. It’s nowhere close to the Flash, but skating is still way faster than running. So I can get past things quickly, and also out of danger.” She added that last part for her brother’s benefit, definitely, but Leonard had to admit, the argument worked on him too.

“You built these yourself?”, he asked, one eyebrow raised.

Lisa laughed. “Oh, heavens, no! I work with buildings and infrastructure, maybe doors. No, that’s the other reason you are going to let me come – I have a hacker and electrical engineer.”

Leo and Leonard exchanged a glance.

“Who?” Leo wanted to know. “Did you tell someone what–”

Lisa shook her head, insulted. “Please, I’m not an idiot. Either I am coming with you, or you don’t get their name.”

Leonard blinked. Not his Lisa, but so much his Lisa. 

He turned to Leo with a nonchalant shrug. “We do need a hacker.”

Leo shot him a look of utter betrayal, but he adjusted his strategy because there was no arguing that. “We can’t bring in new people - too many know about what's going on with Mick already, we don't need anyone else finding out.” He motioned between Leonard and himself. “Just, how are you planning on explaining this?”

Lisa smirked. "That's the thing: I'm not. This is on a strict need-to-know basis, and for her that means helping to free someone who is being held against their will by the government."

Leonard pursed his lips. Only half a year ago he would have preferred getting as few people for a job as possible; he would rather juggle five tasks himself than trust them to someone he was not sure could reliably do them. Mick and Lisa had been the only team he had needed. Less people who could fuck up, less people to split the loot with. But that was before Rip Hunter and the Waverider. And it turned out that eight people with a common goal and specialized skill sets could accomplish much more than the couple random goons you could hire at the bar. Despite himself, Leonard had gotten a taste for teamwork. Once he got back home to his Central City, he might even apply that in his original line of work. 

"You trust her?" he asked Lisa.

She hesitated for the barest hint of a second as she realized she had used a pronoun before. "Yes," she then said firmly.

"How do we know she's as good as you say?"

Lisa grinned. “I brought proof.” She pulled a stack of papers from the back of her jeans (a habit Leonard knew all too well from his own sister), and showed them to him. There was information on the number of ARGUS' staff, their shift changes, everything. 

Leonard nodded, genuinely impressed. "Okay. She's in."

As it turned out, Brie Larvan was dedicated to her work at S.T.A.R. Labs Engineering, passionate, and just bored enough to get gleaming eyes at the thought of an adventure. Lisa charmed her into asking as few questions as possible and promising her answers after everything was done. Brie was also fiercely competitive and the challenge of hacking into a military facility's security system was too sweet to pass down. She was the final piece they needed for their plan to stand a chance, and Tuesday, almost two weeks after Leonard had arrived on this earth, they were ready.

Chapter Text

They had commandeered a truck from S.T.A.R. Labs, dark enough to not be spotted, but with a logo to look official enough to pass as a research team doing nightly tests if they got pulled over. The atmosphere was tense. Lisa was begrudgingly rubbing dark paste on the white parts of her skates because they were too visible. Ronnie was mumbling under his breath, and if Leonard had to guess he was persuading Stein to play along for the mission. Henry was once again rubbing his hands dry on his jeans; he would stay in the car and only give instructions over the coms when needed, but obviously he was nervous as hell. Brie, whom Leonard had not yet met in person, was back at the lab at her computer station. Each of them had a little com-link to keep in contact with her.

"I don't know how you do it," Leo said, clutching the steering wheel with both hands so hard his knuckles were white. He was wearing a S.T.A.R. Labs cap and a scarf the night was already a bit too warm for. "This is intense!"

Leonard smirked. "And the interesting part hasn't even started yet."

"Exactly!"

They were almost at their destination, and although he was trying to keep his thoughts focused on the mission at hand, there was a certain wistfulness on his mind. The giddiness, the tense prep – it was so similar to how his team back on the Waverider had been before missions. There was no other way to put it: Leonard missed all of them. He would much rather have them on this mission than these mirror world versions, whom he trusted about as far as he could throw them to not leave him behind if things went south. And, while Brie joining their team had at least already gotten them the safest route inside, they were still two armed humans and one mentally unstable meta going up against several dozen highly trained and likely heavily armed government agents. They had to be prepared to encounter trouble.

Leo and Henry dropped them off by the trees near the fence, where they were going to wait until the guard doing rounds had passed their position. The night air was humid, but still on the cool side, not having warmed up yet to summer just around the corner. Lisa and Leonard pulled black ski masks over their faces; Ronnie hesitated.

 “Should I just stay unmasked? If I burst into flames it’s just gonna burn off anyway,” he argued. 

Leonard shook his head. “Until that’s necessary we don’t wanna be seen.” He fastened his own mask over his goggles, then went on to explain, “This isn’t just about being recognized, it’s about using the darkness to our advantage.”

Ronnie complied and put on the mask. From her backpack, Lisa pulled a bolt cutter for the fence and a little box that she carefully opened. Leonard and Ronnie frowned at the three tiny devices inside. 

"Are those bees?" Ronnie asked. Lisa's eyes gleamed with excitement. "A little something Brie has been working on!" As if on command, the robotic bees started to buzz mechanically and took off towards the complex past the fence. 

"What do they do? Hope the guard's allergic and scare him away?" Leonard commented. Ronnie rolled his eyes.

"I see you," Brie's voice suddenly came through their com-links. Turns out the bee-bots have cameras. "Uh... okay”, she continued after a moment. “The guard on patrol's gonna pass you soon. Once he does, wait until he's at the lamppost to your right and then make a run for it. I can loop the camera feed for about half a minute, so you better be quick!"

Leonard wished her timing was preciser, but it would have to do. It took them fourteen seconds to cut the fence and get across the lawn once the guard was gone, and another twelve to pick the lock on the door. If he squinted, Leonard could see the tiny bee perched on top of the security camera on the wall. Lisa held the door open just long enough for all three bee-bots to follow them, and then they were officially past the point of no return. They had made it inside the ARGUS facility.

Leonard breathed in deeply. So far, so good. Now to the tricky part.

"Our target is gonna be kept somewhere with either extreme cold or extreme heat," Leonard said, his voice distorted over the comm. "Got something like that?"

"Uhh..." Brie hummed and two of her bees buzzed off down opposite sides of the corridor they were standing in. The third was once again sitting on a security camera. 

"Try the northwest corner," Ronnie suggested, "that looked like a cell block on the blueprints." 

What do you know about cell blocks, punk?, a voice sounding very much like Mick's commented in Leonard's head and he smirked under his mask for a brief moment. Then his expression hardened again.

"Got it!" Brie exclaimed and the bee that had flown down right returned and excitedly buzzed down the left. "Follow the bee!" 

Another entry on Leonard's list of things he never thought he would hear.

They made their way through the facility with the bees playing hopscotch taking out the cameras as they passed. The corridors were generic, blank concrete structures, lit by flickering neon light. Their steps echoed from the walls despite them trying not to make a sound. Leonard had his cold gun out just in case; Ronnie and Lisa were not using their powers and skates respectively yet to not give away their element of surprise, but both were ready. Twice, Brie had to order them to stay behind a corner and wait. Leonard peeked both times: once it was three scientists in lab coats; the second time there were two guards in military combat gear, armed with machine guns. Lisa also saw them and threw her hand over her mouth to silence a gasp. 

Leonard eyed her curiously. "You okay?" he whispered when the guards were just out of earshot.

She rolled her eyes dismissively, but her little laugh was shaky. "I'm nervous. I've never done anything like this before!"

"Coulda stayed at home," Leonard said with a slight tilt of his head.

But Lisa shook her head and squared her shoulders. "No. I got this." So much like his Lisa.

She proved how much she was up for the task when Brie started cursing as two more armed guards came exactly in their direction at a T-section. Lisa thought fast and with a click of her heels brought out her blades and quickly skated to the other side of the door. It was nothing compared to the Flash, but still impressive. They heard one of the guards falter in the conversation they had been having and then mumbling "I think I saw something" as their steps came closer to investigate. Lisa stayed on her side of the door, unable to miss in the middle of the corridor and faking calmness, while Leonard and Ronnie pressed against the wall on theirs, hiding in the shadows as best as possible. The guards came into their hallway, guns halfway up, and immediately saw Lisa, who waved her fingers at them cheekily. While they were still startled, Leonard left his position and knocked the one closer to him out with his gun, and as the other turned at the sound, Lisa tasered him. "Sorry!" she said as the man sank to the floor twitching. Leonard could see she wanted to stare and contemplate what she had just done, but there was no time for that now.

They stashed the two unconscious men in the nearest supply closet and Ronnie touched the lock to melt it shut. A couple corners later one of the bees repeatedly attempted to fly through a closed door and Brie awkwardly apologized about that still being a bug she needed to take care of, and then giggled at the pun. Under his mask Leonard's lips twitched into a smile. A different bee landed on the keypad next to the door and unlocked it for them, and now Leonard was actually quite impressed and wondered how many more bee-bots Brie had stashed away and if she would notice a couple of them missing when he went back to his earth. Ronnie cracked the door open just wide enough for the first bee to buzz through and scout the location. 

Mentally going over the compound's layout again, Leonard frowned. "Sure this is the right place?"

"You're not there yet," Brie admitted, "but through here is the fastest way to a room with off the charts temperature readings. It's ice cold there, except for one dense, very hot thing!"

"Okay," he replied. "Cool."

Ronnie shot him a glance. Lisa ignored him. A second later Brie gave the Okay and they all snuck through the door. Inside the air was noticeably more moist. There was an animalistic, earthy smell to it that was strong enough to penetrate their masks. The room was dark, except for the shimmering light reflected from the dim underwater lights in the giant pool taking up most of the space. On its far end thick metal bars ran from the ceiling all the way into the water and to the bottom of the pool. The area behind them was just about the size of a small car. And Leonard was sure there was something moving in there. A walkway ran along the left wall of the room, interrupted halfway by a set of industrial doors. Leonard slowly walked towards them. He jerked his head out of the way to avoid a bee that excitedly buzzed over to the control panel on the wall. But his eyes remained on the water. He saw the dark mass behind the bars. Most of it was submerged; only a small part broke the water. It was impossible to make out its actual shape or full size. The only thing Leonard knew for sure was that it was staring back.

He turned around and looked back to the side of the room they had come from. He could make out the floodgates in the pool wall under the water, shut tight for the moment. An easy way to change the water and get rid of any big debris in it (whatever that thing behind the bars was, he doubted it was a herbivore). Back by the door was something akin to a manhole on the floor, very likely to access the tunnels that lead to the lake; a giant lock kept anyone from getting through it, and Leonard was glad they had not tried to get in that way because not even his cold gun could have blasted through that from down there.

"Hey!" Ronnie hissed from the industrial doors and motioned for him to come. The bee had already unlocked the door when he got there. Lisa cracked it open.

A stench wave of sweat and blood and things they did not want to think about washed over them, worse than the primal musk of the pool. The air in front of them was cool, but dry. The light in this room was better, but Leonard soon wished it was not. 

"My God," Ronnie gasped. Lisa's eyes were wide with shock. Leonard felt his stomach churn.

The room was at least the length of a football field. Both walls left and right were lined with glass prison cells, roughly 7x7 feet and mostly bare. Leonard was glad to see not all were occupied, but the ones that were were the stuff out of nightmares. The people inside had something haunted to them, like their eyes had seen unspeakable horrors. Some had bandages over wounds; others' injuries were untreated, blood and grime staining their formerly beige hospital fatigues. There was moaning, some indistinguishable mumbling. In the distance somebody was crying.

Leonard took a few careful steps further into the room and saw a man with a sort of visor over his eyes and a seemingly recently amputated forearm, which made him involuntarily clench his right hand tighter around his gun. 

"What are they doing to them?" Lisa asked, horrified. 

Ronnie's eyes wandered over the cells. His voice was shaken. "Well, they're military. General Eiling was not ARGUS, but when he abducted me, back on my earth, he was looking for a way to weaponize Firestorm. My guess is that they're doing the same here – either experiments or straight up forcing them to work for them."

Leonard spotted different kinds of machinery in and around some cells – probably to cancel out the metahumans' powers. One cell was drenched in some kind of ultraviolet light; another was parted off with metal instead of glass, only leaving a small gap to actually look inside. 

"We've got to help them," Lisa decided, but her voice was still shaky. One of Brie's bees was buzzing around her head, its motions a lot more jittery than before they had entered the room. Brie had not said anything, but she was seeing this too.

"Mick first," Leonard said, and the bee flew further down the room, as if also just remembering what they were here for. "Lisa, see if you can find the Flash!" Lisa nodded, glad to have something to do, to focus on, even if it meant checking the cells.

Some of the prisoners eyed them curiously as they walked past; others seemed semi-catatonic. Leonard tried to keep focused on the bee, but from the corner of his eyes he saw a woman covered in spotted fur, a tail twitching behind her and the light reflecting in her eyes, and a boy – because he was no more than a boy, fuck! – who was glowing in his dark cell. Not your problem , he tried to tell himself, just get Mick and the Flash . 

"There's something very cold coming up on your right," Brie said over the coms and, yes, she was obviously forcing her voice to be neutral. They heard her bee bump into the glass of the next lit cell ahead on their right before they could see who or what was inside. 

Lisa upped her pace, getting there first. "Oh my god, Mick!" she shouted and her voice was clear and loud like cannon fire in the relative quiet of the room. She threw her hands up to cover her mouth when she stopped in front of the glass. Leonard and Ronnie both tensed. They tried to prepare themselves for what they were about to see, but they both ended up gasping.

It was bad. The man inside the cell was on his knees, hands cuffed in a strange machine and suspended above his head. His head dropped listlessly on his chest. There was blood on his brows. The sleeves of his shirt were gone, burnt off, leaving behind only dark charcoaled remains. And whatever had destroyed them had not stopped at the clothes.

"Oh my god," Lisa whispered.

Their comms cracked. It was Leo, who had been only listening so far. His voice was shrill. "What's going on? Lisa? Did you find him?"

Leonard took one look at Lisa and decided she was in no condition to reply and took that upon himself instead. "Yeah. We found him. He's alive." I think . "Tell Henry to be ready! Brie?" He waited for an affirmative "yes?" and then said, "Unlock the door." Her bee complied and got to work on the panel in the wall next to the cell. 

He touched Lisa's shoulder. She startled, but he had her attention. "This is gonna take a while. See if you can find the Flash." He motioned down to the cells they had not checked yet. She nodded, but her eyes wandered back to Mick. "We got this," Leonard said, "Nothing else you can do here." She swallowed and nodded again before taking off.

Nothing much Leonard could do either though. So he stared at the masses of scars in various shades of red covering Mick's arms.

Now this Mick's tattoos were almost burned off too.

Leonard could not help but remember the night his Mick had almost burned to death. He had lost control, lost himself in the flames and their seductive flickering until they turned on him. And Leonard had to run to save his own life. He could not go back in, and once the authorities arrived he could not stay close. Later he heard that Mick had survived and escaped the ambulance, and after that first wave of relief had subsided there was the anger. Mick was a risk, a loose cannon on heists, and it had gotten worse and worse during the years. Mick was a risk Leonard finally decided he could not take any longer, and he had told him that much. Leonard had walked away while Mick was still recovering from his burns. It was for the best, he told himself. And he had stuck to that story until a red streak had rung in the dawn of a new era. The day he went to Mick with the heat gun in his pocket, he had pictured dozens of ways of how that encounter would go. He had not known how bad the scars were. And he had definitely not expected the first thing he saw to be that damned soft little smile on Mick's face as their eyes met over the flicker of his lighter. It turned into a hard scowl the next moment, but he should have expected it: Mick had already forgiven the flames for hurting him. His love, his need for them, was stronger than the hurt from their betrayal.

"Got it!" Brie interrupted his thoughts. With a whoosh the glass of the cell went up and Leonard and Ronnie hurried inside. Inside the temperature was almost as cold as in Killer Frost's cell back at S.T.A.R. Labs, but more humid. The closer they got to Mick, the warmer it got. Leonard holstered his gun and pulled his goggles off his face, and both he and Ronnie inspected the cuffs. There was a faint smell of gasoline and barbecued meat in the air that they tried not to breathe in too deeply.

"How do we get these off?" Ronnie asked when he could not find a button or switch to open the cuffs. 

But Leonard recognized the mechanism. "Can you pick locks?"

"No," came the reply. Of course not .

Leonard already had his set of lock picks out of his jacket and got to work on the left cuff. "I've got it. Brie, can you spare a bee for the other one?"

"Uhm, hold on, let me get a closer look... no, I'm sorry! My bees work with electronics, not mechanical locks!"

"Fine," Leonard said through clenched teeth. "Ronnie, hold him up!"

Mick stirred before Ronnie had the chance to even touch him. He grunted something indistinguishable, his tongue trying hard to form what turned out to be an L-sound. Leonard's heart skipped a beat when he realized he was responding to his voice – no, not his voice , he corrected himself. Leo's voice . "I'm getting you out of here..." he mumbled and stopped himself from adding ‘partner’. 

The first cuff went off just as Lisa joined them. "The Flash's not here..." she said, her voice trailing off when she saw Mick's arm fall limp on Leonard's shoulder, the skin bright pink and wet, and smelling of something medicinal that was also dripping from the now empty cuff. Leonard carefully nudged the arm away so he could start work on the other cuff. Ronnie inspected Mick's skin.

"Shit," he said. "This is bad! We should cover that with something..."

"I didn't pack anything!" Lisa said, her voice getting frantic.

"Mhm," Leonard made and put his lock picks momentarily between his teeth to get a hand free. He patted his jacket until he found the right pocket and fished out what he needed. Then he tossed the folded rescue blanket at Ronnie, who caught it and stared at it incredulously. "Best I can do," Leonard said as soon as his picks were in his hands again. 

"Is this sterile?" Ronnie asked, but was already looking for which end to open the little package on.

"Time travel sterile," Leonard replied. "Wrap him in it soon as I'm done!" 

"He's not conscious enough – it will fall off! Here," Lisa said and pulled a fistful of metal safety pins out of her pocket and gave them to Ronnie, who did a double take. Leonard did not bat an eye – it was definitely not the weirdest thing a Lisa Snart had ever kept in her pockets. 

Mick made another indistinguishable sound and he had to force himself to concentrate on picking the locks and not look at him. Lisa had started mumbling to him in a calming, quiet tone, but Leonard did not bother to try make out the words. He did his best to force out the sounds, not because it was making him nervous, but for his sanity. 

Only when the second lock clicked open and Mick's body slumped forward onto him, did he hear Brie's frantic call on the comms: "Guys, something is wrong! I just lost a bee!"

All of them collectively turned towards the door. Outside the noise from the other cells had completely stopped. But there was something else. Footsteps. Many of them.

"Shit," Leonard cursed. This was what happened when you worked with amateurs! He had made the mistake of relying on them to have his back and keep watch – it had worked just fine the last couple months on the Waverider! But these were not Sara and Rip, nor were they Golden Glider and Firestorm. What they were was in a lot of trouble. Direct confrontation had never been part of their plan - he had hoped to avoid it all together. How good were these two in an actual fight, especially now that they had an almost non responsive Mick to keep safe?

He put his arms around Mick's torso, steadying him enough to get them both to their feet. Ronnie reacted quickly and slung the metallic blanket over Mick's shoulders and injured arms, fastening it together with strategically placed safety pins like the world's weirdest disco jacket. Then he slung Mick's left arm over his shoulder and Leonard took his right. Mick's body was running uncomfortably hot. His also always had a little higher temperature than the average person, but this was insane. Leonard was pretty sure this was too hot for a human to survive. 

Together they stumbled out of the cell. Leonard had his free hand already at the gun. 

So had the ten military guards that were waiting for them outside. 

"Not another move," came the order. The man was tall, dark skinned, with short hair and a mean streak around his eyes. There was an eerie resemblance, but Leonard could not place him. He spotted a name tag on his uniform, half hidden by a strap: J. ---GLE

Lisa had only frozen in shock briefly, then immediately reached for her taser. A gun shoved into her direction stopped her, however, and Leonard knew exactly which one of the soldiers he wanted to punch first. There were six with guns in front of them, plus the guy in charge, cutting off their exit, and four more behind them blocking the path they had come. Even more footsteps sounded from the doorway at the other end of the corridor. Back through the pool room then . As soon as they got out of this situation, of course. 

Leonard’s eyes, now not hidden by goggles anymore, met Lisa's for no more than a second and flickered into that direction just enough for her to notice ( would she, though? She was not his sister after all! ). They had to try make a run for it. There was no telling what ARGUS would do to them if they allowed themselves to be captured and separated. 

The boss-man held up another one of Brie's bees, helplessly trying to escape, frantically flapping its wings. "Nifty little thing you got there," he said without a hint of humor or even amusement. With a quick toss of his wrist he flicked the bee-bot to the floor and squashed it with the heel of his boot. “And what the hell you think you’re doing here?”

“What does it look like?” Leonard replied, his voice a low hiss. He felt Mick’s shoulders shifting as Ronnie tensed, obviously not comfortable with antagonizing ARGUS.

The boss’ face twitched, then hardened. “Who are you here for?”

Leonard tilted his head. “Are you serious?!” He gestured at Mick, who was still struggling to hold himself up between him and Ronnie. “Kinda obvious, don’t you think?”

A machine gun barrel was shoved into his ribs from behind. He grunted in pain, but the boss held up his hand to reign in his men. His eyes were cold. “Let’s try this again: who are you clowns working for?”

Leonard was trying to figure out how to communicate a plan to his two companions. It would of course be great if he had a plan to begin with, so he would have to try and keep talking as long as possible until he could come up with one. But this time, before he could give another snippy reply, Ronnie squared his jaw under his mask and said, “Someone you don’t want to cross paths with.”

The boss stared at Ronnie intently. Leonard realized sparks were beginning to flicker around Ronnie’s eyes. He quickly hid his surprise.

“Who the hell are you?”, the boss asked

“What, don’t you remember me?” Ronnie laughed and pushed Mick’s arm off his shoulder before bursting into flames. The mask on his head simply disintegrated, just as predicted. In a collective shuffle all the soldiers backed away a step. Several of them looked like they were seeing a ghost. Even the boss' eyes widened in disbelief. "Deathstorm?!" 

Ronnie laughed, and Leonard was genuinely impressed with how menacing it sounded. On his other side Lisa was squaring her shoulders, hoping to also put on an air of deviousness; she was more or less successful. 

“Zoom wants this one back,” Ronnie said. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“Actually, we do mind,” the boss said. But Leonard could have sworn he had shivered when Zoom’s name was mentioned.

Ronnie’s smile froze and turned as cold as his eyes. “And actually, we’re not asking.” With that, he blasted a fireball at the soldiers in front of him. 

It took Leonard a second to react, to fiddle one of the small grenades he had tinkered together off his belt and toss it blindly behind him. Too late he remembered Lisa might have skated that direction too. But luck was on their side. Lisa had taken even longer to spring to action, and when she had she had taken out the man closest to her, rushing forward and bringing her taser up to his unprotected neck. Behind them the grenade exploded in a flash of ice, taking out two more and startling a third. Meanwhile Leonard had had enough time to get out his gun out and fire a blast at a soldier in front of him who was just about to aim his weapon at Lisa. The weight was still off, and on top came the shift in balance Mick over his shoulder brought, but he hit his target. Already he was pushing back towards the room they had come from. Mick stumbled along. Leonard hit the last guard standing in that direction square in the face with the handle of his gun, blood spraying his gloves from an obviously broken nose.

Bullets started flying around them. He tried to get himself between the guns and Mick, who wore no protective gear at all. Lisa pushed the door, realized it was not opening this easily, and only then tried the handle, costing them precious seconds in their escape. Ronnie flew through after her, throwing fire at the soldiers from afar. Leonard threw another ice bomb at their opponents before shoving after them. He threw the door shut as fast as possible. Ronnie did the first thing coming to his mind and pushed his flaming hands against the metal until the door melted into the frame. Loud bangs hammered against it. It would not hold them out for long.

They had no time to breathe. They had to get out. Lisa was already at the other door, but when she opened it and looked outside, she immediately let out a yelp and threw it shut again. Gunfire sounded from the corridor.

They were cornered.

Shit .

"Brie, lock it!" Lisa shouted into her com. The lone remaining bee complied and landed on the door's keypad, which not a second later erupted in sparks. 

"That's not gonna hold," Ronnie said.

"Neither is that!" Lisa countered, pointing at the half-molten excuse of a door behind which the knocks were getting suspiciously scarcer. "Shit, we can't get captured! If they find out who we are, Central City is done for!"

"Not to mention that they'll kill us!" Ronnie added, agitated.

Leonard took a few deep breaths while they argued over who would be killed and who kept for experiments. He was not looking forward to either, but he had no idea how to get out of this situation. Even among the three of them combined they did not have enough firepower to fight off an entire ARGUS-army. He had a grand total of two ice-bombs left, and he could hardly use them or his gun with any decent accuracy while carrying Mick, whose entire weight was weighing on his shoulder. Leonard carefully guided him to rest against one of the railings by the pool, just for a second. There was a splash from the barred off part of the pool and he instinctively looked up at the noise. The massive shape from before was watching them intently, what he suspected to be a thick tail twitching ominously. Leonard's eyes fell on the control panel by the wall. He looked back over his shoulder to where the hatch in the floor was. 

As far as plans went, he had had worse.

He left Mick propped up against the railing and fired up his cold gun. His free hand shot up to his earpiece. "Listen up, Brie, use your stinger to access the locks from that interface over there. You gotta unlock that pool cage!"

"How's that going to help?" she replied, doubtful and more than a little panicked.

"Just trust me!" 

Both Lisa and Ronnie were startled mid conversation when Leonard strut past them, fired a blast from his gun at the hatch, and knelt down to inspect the damage it had done. He made a displeased noise and adjusted the setting on the gun. The sporadic banging on the door continued.

Suddenly there was a hissing noise from hydraulics, followed by a loud splash. The gate had not even fully retreated before the creature in the pool had escaped the small secluded area. It swam around the pool, stretching its massive limbs. Leonard was slightly horrified as he realized it was vaguely humanoid. 

At the same time the knocks at the cell block door did not only get louder again, but also a lot more frantic. There was screaming. 

"What's happening?" Lisa asked wide eyed.

Bree answered, "Well, I couldn't free just one of them!"

"It's definitely a distraction!" Ronnie shrugged, but looked appropriately scared.

"Less awing, more escaping!" Leonard shouted over the noise. "Help me blast through this!"

But after a quick inspection Ronnie frowned. "This is too thick. I don't think--"

"You don't need to!" Lisa knelt down next to Leonard. She knocked her fist around the rim of the hatch, listening for changes in the sound, bending her head further to see where the hinges and bolts were. Finally she pointed at the cold gun and four spots. "Fire here, here, here, and here! Keep the stream on it until I tell you to stop!"

Leonard nodded firmly, and at Lisa's command he blasted the hatch's weak spot with the concentrated power of absolute cold. The ice spread over the metal. He could feel the metal crack under the stream. When Lisa held her hand up, he stopped. Cold steam came off the frozen area. Lisa made a fist to knock on the metal again, but changed her mind when her gloved hand came close, and instead used the backside of her taser to check. She did not knock hard, but visible cracks spread almost immediately at contact. Lisa made a satisfied noise.

The screams and the gunfire only grew louder. They kept glancing wearily at the pool whenever the creature's splashes came closer. Quickly, Lisa guided Leonard to the next weak spot and they repeated the process. Again the metal cracked. They moved on to the next, while Ronnie melted the second door shut too.

That moment the door to the cell block broke. People blasted through, both ARGUS and prisoners. 

There was gunfire. 

There were shouts. 

There was Mick. 

Leonard caught his glance, ice blue eyes meeting dark gray. If he had not been sure before that Mick knew whose face was under this ski mask, he certainly was now. The only thing holding Mick upright was the railing digging in his back, but he straightened himself as much as he could and held out his left hand, palm forward, towards the soldiers pouring through the door. A bright flame shot out, growing to engulf first his hand, and then spreading towards their enemies, growing bigger and bigger.

The fire was gigantic and burned hotter than Leonard thought possible. And for a split second a single thought dominated his mind: I wish you could see this, Mick!

But Lisa shouted and pulled him out of his momentary trance. She frantically pointed at the last hinge. Her eyes were wide, but she kept focused on the goal.

Focus. Freeze beam. 

Behind: Shouts. Heat. Screams. 

Lisa signaled him to stop. Ronnie and Mick were keeping soldiers and prisoners far enough away from them. In almost perfect sync, Leonard and Lisa kicked the hinges into pieces with the heels of their boots. Together they shifted the hatch far enough away from the hole to get through. 

"Come on!" Lisa shouted and went down the ladder. 

Ronnie grabbed Mick by the arm, fire dancing around both their hands, and dragged him to where Leonard was waiting. Around them soldiers were fighting prisoners. Bodies were falling, burning, mangled. It was chaos. Someone fell into the pool with a bloodcurdling scream. Water splashed and the scream got louder as the creature inside was suddenly all over the poor bastard. Leonard did not wait to see what it did to him. As soon as they had let Mick down the ladder, he jumped down after him. Ronnie immediately followed, sending one last blaze out to keep their enemies away and pulling the hatch over the hole again. He kept his hands on the metal long enough to melt it into place. That would take a while to get through.

Still, there was not much time to breathe.

They stumbled down the tunnels. Security lights were flashing and alarms were blaring. The hot, carnal stench of sewage and rotting meat was almost overwhelming. Water splashed around their feet.

Leonard and Ronnie dragged Mick between them again, while Lisa sprinted ahead to the next exit with her skates, a manhole leading to the road outside the facility. They were still a good distance away from the ladder in the wall when everything turned from bad to worse. The first indication was subtle; an almost imperceptible change in the sound of their steps in the shallow water. Leonard did not immediately understand why that made the hair at the back of his neck stand up. But when he heard the creaking behind them he suddenly knew they were screwed.

"What was that?" Ronnie asked and both turned their heads, steps slowing down.

Leonard's eyes widened. "I miscalculated," he shouted. "Run faster! We're being flushed out!" 

Through the rumble of the incoming water he could hear a furious scream, like from a wild beast. In a sudden wave the water level rose to their calves.

In front of them Lisa was yelling into her com device. Leonard could not make out who she was yelling at over the blood rushing through his ears and the water behind him. His muscles ached. They were carrying Mick more than he was running on his own. Leonard risked a quick look over his shoulder and wished he had not. The entire tunnel was filled with fast incoming raging water.

He did the math in his head. 

"We're not gonna make it!" Ronnie shouted, having made similar calculations.

And Leonard knew he was right. They would never make it. Unless...

"Yes, you are!" Leonard shouted through gritted teeth and shifted all of Mick's weight to Ronnie. "Flame on, Firestorm!"

Ronnie threw him a surprised glance, but only hesitated for a split second. He burst into flames and took off holding Mick by one scarred arm. Heat radiated off the tunnel walls, too hot for Leonard, but Mick could take it just fine. Leonard struggled to keep running and keep his balance because of the force of their takeoff. They caught up with Lisa and overtook her in the race for the ladder. Ronnie let go of Mick as they reached it and went up first, smashing against the manhole cover with all his power and knocking it out of the way. Mick began climbing up just as Lisa reached them. Leonard was still running, pushing himself to go faster. He heard the rushing of the water towards them getting louder and louder. 

Ronnie reached down and pulled Mick up by his hands. Lisa steadied him and helped push him up. She glanced back at Leonard.

"Go, go, go!" he shouted. Finally he reached the ladder. Mick was up and safe. Lisa was half way up, but the water was so close already. Leonard did not wait until she was up to climb after her. She slipped and shrieked. He caught her, steadied her, but it cost them precious seconds. It was too late. His hand reached for his jacket pocket, fumbled with a button. 

The last thing he could do was give Lisa a push up and to safety, before the water slammed into him like a truck and rushed him away.