I just really needed something with a happy ending after watching the promo for 'Fellowship of the Spear'. Since the announcement in July, I've been afraid that this Legion of Doom thing is going to undo all the character development Len's undergone, and now it's about to begin.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Legends of Tomorrow or any of its characters.
WORD COUNT: 1674
"So, what are we going to do with him?"
Jax's question broke the silence that filled the Waverider's bridge, and it was only followed by more. The whole team was in a sombre mood as they gathered there, staring at the screen which displayed the brig and its newest resident.
It had been a shock for those among them who'd known Leonard Snart to see him alive, only to have any hopes of a happy reunion dashed when he turned out to be Rip's replacement in the Legion of Doom. He'd only recognised Mick, and had spent much of the battles that followed trying to convince him to join the Legion, as well. Amaya had nearly killed him in the last fight, but had been stopped when Mick had turned the Heat Gun on her, unwilling to let his friend die (again).
Judging from the various comments he'd made since his reappearance, they figured that this Snart had been recruited sometime between January and March 2015, after he and Mick had first been caught by the Flash, but before they'd forced Cisco to make them new weapons (Thawne having somehow managed to get a copy of the Cold Gun must have been part of his bribe to get Snart to join him). However, when they'd brought him into the Med Bay, unconscious, to deal with the worst of his injuries before locking him up, Gideon had reported that the composition of his right hand was identical to that of the one she'd regrown for him after he'd severed the original in 1960 Nanda Parbat.
This meant that the Leonard Snart in their custody had, in fact, travelled on the Waverider with them, had sacrificed himself to save their lives and their free will. But he didn't remember any of that.
Nate had opted to remain neutral on the matter of Leonard Snart, recognising what while he may not have known the man himself, the more experienced members of the team owed him everything. Amaya, on the other hand, had been adamant on treating him like any other enemy. None of the original Legends wanted to give up on him, but the question was: what could they do?
"Gideon, you took a scan of Mr. Snart's brain while you were treating him, yes?" Rip asked.
"Indeed I did, Captain."
"Did you find anything unusual?"
"There was some damage to his temporal lobe, which I have repaired as best as I can."
"If I recall correctly, the temporal lobe is vital to memory retention," Stein mused aloud, "Is it possible that he suffered a blow to the head?"
"Negative. The pattern of the damage suggests that it was done deliberately."
"So those Legion bastards did screw with my partner's head," Mick growled, "But you've fixed it, right, Gideon? So how come he still doesn't remember us?"
Indeed, Leonard had still been unable to recognise the rest of them as anything but his old partner and his enemies. The fact that he was still trying to persuade Mick to leave them was actually somewhat heartening, in that he wasn't willing to write Mick off, but it was bringing up bad memories of when it'd been the other way around, of the painful fallout of that whole debacle.
"I have repaired the physical damage to the best of my ability, but his memories of being on this ship remain locked away."
"Is there any way to unlock them, Gideon?" Ray practically begged, "Maybe we could do what Jax and Sara did to bring Rip back."
"Captain Hunter's memories had been altered by the Legion of Doom, which required more drastic means to correct. Mr. Snart's memories, on the other hand, appeared to be intact; he is simply unable to access them. However, it is possible that they may be triggered if he relives his more recent experiences prior to being with the Legion of Doom."
Everyone contemplated what that meant. "So… what you're saying, Gideon, is that we just need to do something to jog his memory?" Nate questioned.
"Yes. It would have to be a specific, almost unique memory. Something that did not happen regularly nor would be perceived as ordinary."
"Something that would really stand out in his mind," Jax realised.
"It should be something from the Oculus and the events leading up to it," Ray decided, "We don't know about anything that happened after that, so that's the most recent event that we can recreate."
"Well, we can't recreate the explosion, not if we expect him to live afterwards, but what else is there? Mick?"
"He hit me on the head with his Cold Gun," Mick grumbled, "He's only ever done that when he was with this team, and every single time it had something to do with looking out for either me or you guys."
"But we aren't seriously going to hand him his weapon and tell him to attack you, are we?" Amaya questioned incredulously.
"Was there anything else?" Rip pressed, "You were the last of us to see him alive, Mr. Rory."
"No, I wasn't. The bastard knocked me out, but Sara was there to drag me back to the ship."
All heads turned to Sara's chair… only to see that it was empty. The blonde assassin, who hadn't even been participating in the conversation, had slipped out without any of them noticing.
"Gideon, where is Captain Lance?" Stein questioned, "And when did she leave?"
"Captain Lance exited the bridge after I described the specificity of the event required to reclaim Mr. Snart's memories. As for where she is, Captain Lance is about to enter the brig."
Everyone turned to look at the screen that still displayed the brig, just in time to see Sara march in. Her strides were quick and full of purpose, and she had a determined look on her face. "What is she doing?!" Amaya cried as Sara unlocked the cell. The JSA member stood, ready to run down to the brig to help Sara if Snart fought her.
Snart, who'd been sprawled on the floor with his back against the wall like he was nothing more than bored, didn't move from his position until Sara was practically right on top of him. And even then, he was too late to stop her from dropping to her knees, grabbing him, and kissing him like her life depended on it.
Silence reigned on the bridge once more.
Sara had no idea if it would work. She knew she was about to unearth feelings that she'd kept buried for months, unable to handle the grief and guilt over the death of not one person she cared about, but two. She knew that if this failed, she'd be bringing all that pain up to the surface for nothing, though in truth it had begun to rise the moment she'd stared down the barrel of the Cold Gun for the second time in her life.
But she had to try. She just had to. She couldn't save Laurel. But here was the chance – possibly her only chance – to save Leonard.
She kept her pace quick, didn't pause any longer than she had to at the entrance to the brig or the door to Leonard's cell, lest her nerves suddenly betray her. Leonard was lounging in his cell, looking like he didn't have a care in the world, until his eyes snapped to her and she saw the fear. Not of her, but of the fact that he had no control over his situation, no way out. It was the same fear that had been in his eyes when he'd tried to force her to leave the Vanishing Point with him.
Sara had felt that fear herself, when she'd realised she'd had no choice but to leave him to die. She focused on that feeling, on that memory, as she dropped down and grabbed Leonard and pressed her lips to his, just as desperately as she had done back then.
He fought, at first, but she clung to him tightly, not wanting to let go, not wanting to open her eyes and see him standing at the Oculus again. Then his body relaxed slightly, and the hands that had been trying to push her away pulled her closer.
It only lasted a few seconds before his entire body tensed up again, and he made a small noise of pain against her lips. Sara pulled away, seeing his face twisting in an expression of pain as he reached up to clutch at his head. "Leonard?"
His breathing was harsh, ragged. "You… What- Hell of a… thief?"
Sara felt her own breathing hitch as she remembered those words. "Remember, Leonard? Do you remember what you said to me before the Oculus? You said you'd been wondering what the future might hold… For me, and you…"
"Me and you," he whispered. A sharp cry of pain flew from his mouth, and his eyes shot open, staring right at her. "Sara? Sara, what- I shot at you. I- I tried to…" Then his eyes rolled up into the back of his head, and he went completely limp.
Sara caught him before he could fall, and cradled his head in her lap. It had worked. He remembered her. His memories were back. She stroked his face with one shaking hand, and finally, finally let the tears fall.
"What the hell does she think she's doing?!" Amaya cried again, her eyes locked on the unbelievable spectacle playing out on the screen in front of her.
"My guess?" Nate suggested faintly, "She's recreating a moment between her and Snart from before the Oculus."
"She kissed him?!" Jax gasped, "Did anyone else know about that?!"
"No," Mick grumbled, "But now I owe Kendra twenty bucks."
THE END
Progress report of 'The Cold Factor': I've decided to move the release date of the first chapter to April 20th instead of June 1st. Chapters 1-4 and 7-8 are complete, Chapters 5-6, 9, and 11-12 are in-progress, and I haven't even started Chapters 10 and 13-19.