The sound of gunfire outside drew Leonard's attention. Normally, it wasn't something he'd think twice about—especially in this situation—but everyone had worked to keep the fight inside. So, rather than ignore it, he slipped outside, making sure to carefully shut the door behind him. Immediately, he slipped behind some crates to avoid being spotted by Savage as he poured something on to the meteorite in the box and began chanting.
It was quiet until he heard an already familiar whoosh that indicated the kid and the professor had merged and flown in to the air. He edged over just in time to see Sara walk out in her White Canary outfit. Given that he knew that the Sara he'd arrived with was inside, in all black, he could only assume that this Sara and Firestorm were from the future.
"Glad we're past the point of worrying about the timeline," she said, flicking her wrist to expand her bo staff and walking out to face off against Savage. He watched as Firestorm knocked the missile that Savage shot at her off course so that she didn't even have to pause and smirked when she stopped, dropping in to a fighting stance.
Savage grinned smugly. "Oh, you're too late."
Sara smirked. "A Time Master's never late."
Leonard straightened as they flew at each other, exchanging blow after blow. Even when it seemed that Savage was going to gain the upper hand, Sara kept going, knocking him down until she was behind him with the bo staff across Savage's neck. Seconds later, Leonard heard Savage's neck snap and he walked out to stand by the meteorite.
"So," he drawled, "we're calling ourselves Time Masters in the future?"
He watched as her head snapped up and she stared at him. He didn't know Sara well enough to identify all of the emotions that rapidly flickered over her face but he knew enough to recognize surprise, joy, and then disappointment.
"Leonard," she greeted.
"Based on the disappointment, I guess I'm not who you wanted to see." He tilted his head.
She shook her head. "Just the wrong version of him."
Leonard couldn't help but blink in surprise at that. So, they were going to get close in the future if the joy he'd seen was any indication. "Is there a reason you're killing Savage when it's supposed to be Kendra or Carter?"
"Let's just say, we found a loophole."
Leonard smirked slightly. "Good to know." He glanced over. "I only saw you and Firestorm. What about the rest of the team?"
Her lips twitched. "Working on that loophole."
He nodded. "I guess I better get back inside before they miss me." He looked up at the sky. "Wouldn't want to get lectured by the future professor."
"I doubt you'd get a lecture if Stein saw you," Sara said.
Well that was an interesting piece of information to remember for whenever he was sure Stein would start to annoy him. Rather than acknowledge it, he said, "Either way, it looks like I'll be seeing you in the future, Sara."
"Leonard." She hesitated. "Before we figure out that loophole, we're going to capture Savage and take him to the Time Masters at a place called the Vanishing Point. We're going to have to destroy something called the Oculus."
Leonard frowned. "Not that I don't appreciate the heads up, but why are you telling me this?"
He watched as she took a deep breath before continuing, "Ray was going to rig it to blow as we got away on the Waverider but there was a failsafe. It needed to be held down so Ray was going to stay. Be a hero. Except Mick decided not to let him and took his place."
Leonard didn't need her to say the next part. If Mick had decided to take the Boy Scout's place, he knew exactly what he would do.
"I took Mick's place." And he knew what that meant. Leonard took a deep breath. "I'm dead in the future, aren't I?"
She nodded, swallowing. "That's why I'm telling you now," she confessed. She glanced to the sky, checking for Firestorm, before turning back to Leonard. "Find another way to hold it down, Leonard. Freeze it, use some sort of prop to hold it down, I don't care." She stepped closer to him and reached up, slowly enough for him to pull back if he wanted to. When he didn't she cupped his cheek and ran her thumb along his bottom lip. "I'm not ready for you to be dead, Len."
Leonard let out a shaky breath, taking in the way Sara's eyes darkened at the feel of his breath against her skin.
"I will," he promised. At that, Sara smiled at him and stepped back. He thought of the joy that he'd gotten a glimpse of when she'd seen him and let himself smile at her. Still, he needed to ask. "It'll cause a paradox though if you know I survive. Where did you go after the Oculus, Sara?"
"Rip took us back to Star City, May 2016. But you'll be better off heading to St. Roch, 2021. It's where we're headed after this."
Leonard nodded, picking up on what she meant immediately. "That way, nothing interferes with this conversation happening and you'll still tell me to find another way." He met her gaze with his own. "I'll find another way, Sara. I promise."
Sara smiled at him. "See you in St. Roch, Leonard."
He smiled one last time and then walked away, slipping behind the crates again when he heard Firestorm returning. He didn't want to risk getting spotted. While he was sure that Sara was right and Stein wouldn't lecture him, he didn't want to give anything away if they thought he was dead.
"Grey, listen," Jax said as he stared down at the meteorite while Sara stood back. "If we're going to do this, we got to do it together. It's going to take the two of us, all right?" Leonard could only assume that Stein had responded by the kid's next words, "Okay. Come on, Grey!" He watched as after a few moments, the meteorite liquefied.
"Ah, man, you got my boots wet," Sara complained.
"We did it, man. Gideon, take us back to Rip," Jax ordered. Sara glanced over, her eyes finding Leonard's, and smiled. He gave her one last smile and headed back inside, slipping back in to the chaos that the current team had created with their fighting, mind already racing with the various possibilities for what he could do in the future.
St. Roch, 2021
"Well, I angled the ship to eject the meteorite before impact and then...time jumped away," Rip sheepishly told the team.
"You could have been killed," Jax said.
"Should have been," Mick corrected, glaring at Rip. "You moron."
"I have to agree with my partner on that one, Rip," Leonard said, as he rounded the railing of the staircase he'd just climbed. He raised an eyebrow when everyone on the rooftop spun to face him and added, "And I've seen Cisco Ramon try to pass off a vacuum cleaner as a super-sized cold gun so that should tell you what a moronic move that was."
Rip took a step forward in surprise. "Mr. Snart?"
Leonard smirked. "Let's just say I had a plan to get away from the Oculus intact." His eyes met Sara's. "I had a promise to keep, after all."
Sara shoved passed the others as he walked forward, the two of them stopping in front of each other. "Leonard," she breathed.
He smiled softly, ignoring the others. "Thanks for the heads up, Assassin," he said quietly. She gave him a relieved smile though there was still a lingering sadness in her eyes.
"Not that I'm unhappy about your survival, Mr. Snart," Rip objected. "But how did you manage it?"
"I had a little help," was all he said.
"Sara?" Rip asked, suddenly getting an idea of what had happened.
She nodded. "I saw him in 1975 and told him what would happen. I told him to find another way to hold the failsafe down and then where he'd be able to find us."
"And you told him to come here because if he'd found us at any point before now, you'd know he survived and it would change your actions in regards to that conversation," Rip realized. He gave her a small smile, inclining his head. "You changed things." He looked back at Leonard. "That begs the question how you got here."
"The jump ship. I knew that Jax would make it back to us because I'd seen him with Sara when he and Stein destroyed the meteorite. I asked Gideon to cloak the jump ship as close to the entrance of the Oculus Wellspring as possible before we left the Waverider so that we could use it to escape if need be," Leonard explained.
"So when Gideon said the jump ship was being returned to the Waverider..." Jax trailed off.
"Gideon actually did as Snart asked and cloaked it so he could get away," Ray finished with a smile.
Leonard nodded. "As soon as Sara was out of sight, I used something I'd created to hold down the failsafe. I put that on and locked it in place and started running." He shrugged. "I made it, barely, and since Jax and the past version of Stein had repaired the ship, I was able to use it to time jump here." He nodded at the two. "Thanks for that, by the way."
"Man, anytime," Jax told him with a grin.
"Yes," Stein agreed. "I'm glad our actions in the past helped, Mr. Snart."
Mick moved forward and pointed at Leonard. "If you ever do something as stupid as that again, I'll kill you."
Leonard smirked. "Noted." He remembered the strange talk they'd had in 2013, even years later, since the call from Mick had come from out of nowhere during a time when he and Mick weren't really speaking. Now, though, he had a feeling that the Mick he'd met had been this one that he'd knocked out at the Oculus. "But I won't make any guarantees."
Leonard focused back on Sara and took a step closer to her. While he would normally want to do something like this in private, he also didn't want them to waste any more time dancing around each other.
She tilted her head back to keep her eyes on his. "Leonard? What are—" Leonard's lips against hers cut her off. He tugged her closer and slid a hand up her back even as she melted in to the kiss, her hands sliding up his arms and to his shoulders as their eyes closed.
"Whoa," Ray blurted. "Since when—"
"Oh, please," Mick said, cutting him off. "This has been a long time coming."
Leonard smiled against Sara's mouth as he pulled back. He opened his eyes and watched as she did the same, neither of them pulling completely away. "I've always been one hell of a thief."
Sara let out a quiet laugh. "Yeah, Crook, it looks like you are."
