A few one shots featuring Nora Darhk and Ray Palmer, both during the season 3 finale and post finale.
Zambesi
1992
The Waverider's jump ship landed on the outskirts of the village, with Ray Palmer and Damien Darhk stepping out, intent on saving his daughter Nora. Making sure that neither of them interacted with their past selves, the two men stayed outside instead of entering the small hut.
"Whoa, sounds like I'm really giving you the business in there." Damien remarked, hearing signs of a struggle.
"Yeah, still hurts." Ray grumbled.
"Sorry." Damien muttered.
"Okay, so here's the plan: we have to knock Nora out." Ray said quickly, but upon seeing Damien's glare, added, "Gently, because I know she's still your daughter. And we probably have to keep her unconscious until we figure out a way to de-demonize her." Damien sighed, and looked back at the hut, seeing Nora run off.
"We better move quickly." Damien noted, and the two chased after Nora, finally catching up when she fell to her knees. "Come on, do it now!" Ray punched Nora in the back of the head, but it wasn't hard enough to knock her unconscious. Damien tried the same, but still, she kept awake.
"Ah, man. You really shouldn't hit your daughter." Ray quipped. Seeing no other options, Damien pulled out a gun. It took a second for Ray to recognize it. It was the same nanite gun Ray used to temporarily take away Nora's magic.
"You stole my nanite gun?" Ray asked out loud, causing Damien to turn his attention towards him. "But that'll kill her." Seeing as he was distracted, Nora swiped her hand, causing Damien to be flung across the ground.
"WHAT WILL YOU AND YOUR PATHETIC LEGENDS DO NOW?" Mallus gloated, speaking through Nora and picking Ray up with magic.
"Nora, I know you can hear me." Ray gasped. "I know you're still in there."
"THE GIRL IS GONE!" Mallus yelled. "THIS VESSEL IS MINE!"
"One way to find out." Ray said, and began singing. "Oh, what a beautiful morning…"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Mallus asked, confused. Ray ignored the demon, and continued singing.
"Oh, what a beautiful day."
"I'm with the demon, Raymond. What are you doing?" Damien asked, having got up. While singing, Ray noticed that the magical grip Mallus had on him slackened a little, and he kept singing.
"I've got a beautiful feeling…" Ray sang, and he felt himself falling back to the ground.
"...Everything's going my way." Damien turned, hearing Nora's voice sing the last part of the song. Ray looked up, seeing Nora's eyes go back to normal, and the black veins disappearing. Nora collapsed, only to be caught by Damien.
"You're back." Darhk said cheerfully, but then noticed a black smoke exit Nora's mouth and enter Damien's nasal cavity.
"YOU FOOL." Mallus exclaimed. "IF I CAN NOT HAVE THIS VESSEL, I WILL GLADLY TAKE YOU INSTEAD."
"I was hoping for that." Damien admitted. "I just didn't think the singing would work."
"Damien, what-" Ray started, but Darhk interrupted him.
"No time to be sentimental, Raymond, just take Nora and get out of here." Damien ordered, as his eyes turned red and black veins were visible. "I knew this would be a one way trip, no matter what happened. Now go!" Seeing no time to argue, Ray obliged, having to practically drag Nora back to the jumpship, all the while she was screaming for her father.
Star City
Time Bureau HQ
2018
Nora sat in her prison cell at the Time Bureau, with nothing to do but think. She had heard that the cell wasn't much different that the pipeline prison at Star Labs, as if that was supposed to comfort her at all. Those was no way to know what time it was, or day, for that matter. The Bureau had made sure to have the cell contain her magic, and that she wouldn't know if a minute or an hour passed. Just as Nora was about to go to sleep, she heard footsteps, and turning around, saw Ray Palmer walking toward the cell, one hand behind his back.
"What are you doing here?" Nora asked.
"Just to talk, and to bring you something." Ray replied. "I wanted to see how you were doing."
"I've basically traded a cell at the asylum for a cell at the Time Bureau." Nora scoffed. "How do you think I'm doing?"
"I'm sorry about the cell." Ray said truthfully. "That's why I brought you this." Ray pulled his hand out from behind his back, revealing a Star City Jitters coffee cup. "Hot chocolate with caramel sauce and whipped cream." Ray opened the cell door slightly, as far as the Bureau allowed him to, and handed Darhk the cup.
"I've only had this twice." Nora said, drinking the hot chocolate.
"Do you remember that day?" Ray asked. "When we took you to the coffee shop?"
"And my dad convinced me to join the Order." Nora finished. "Almost like yesterday."
"I tried to save you." Ray reminded, looking at the floor. Then he remembered the other reason he visited Nora. "Do you still have it?"
"Yes." Nora replied, pointing under her pillow. They both knew what was kept hidden.
"Why haven't you used it?" Ray asked. "You could go anywhere in space and time. Why stay?"
"Because I would be on the run for the rest of my life." Nora sighed. "Besides, I deserve this."
"No you don't." Ray said adamantly. "You don't deserve to be locked up here forever."
"Maybe I do." Nora countered. "I wanted to take a different path. I really did. But I suppose, once you let the darkness in, it never comes out, and it just led to one bad choice after another. Maybe this is exactly what I deserve, to be stuck in a prison cell, telling a sob story to a man that I barely know, but somehow cares more for me than I do."
"So stop running and face the darkness." Ray advised.
"How does that work?" Nora asked.
"Well, you could start by helping us." Ray suggested. "You remember Constantine? He told us that Mallus wasn't the only thing that got out of that prison, and we need all the help we can get. If you come with me, we can give you a fresh start."
"Why are you doing this for me?" Nora asked. "Because you met me when I was thirteen?"
"No, because I once heard of a saying from Oliver Queen." Ray said. "He said that a circumstance could make something poison or nectar. What he meant was that we get to choose who we are. So tell me… who are you?" As he finished the sentence, Ray opened the cell door. After thinking for a minute, Nora went to her bed and pulled out the time stone.
"Alright, I'll help you." Nora said, and the stone began to glow, transporting Ray and Nora onto the Waverider, right in front of Mick Rory and John Constantine in the kitchen.
"You brought a friend, Haircut?" Mick asked, but when he saw who was with Ray, Rory brought up his heat gun, attempting to blast Nora. Luckily, Nora raised her hand, stopping the flames from burning her.
"Well, since you've got it out…" Constantine mumbled, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it from the flames, before Mick turned the gun off. "Now, what the bloody Hell do you think you're doing, mate?"
"Nora's here to help us." Ray said cheerfully. "Now, we have two members on the Waverider that know about demons."
"Ray, what did you do?" Sara yelled, marching over towards Ray. "Ava just called, and said you let Nora out of her cell."
"She's going to help us round up all the demons." Ray protested. "I promise, she won't be any trouble." Sara glared at Ray first, then at Nora.
"Fine." Lance said through gritted teeth. "But if she does anything, she's going back to the Bureau."
"Agreed." Nora accepted. Sara nodded, and they all went to the bridge.
"Gideon, what's next?"
"It appears that there is a demon in New York City, Captain Lance." Gideon replied, showing a feed of some type of supernatural activity in New York. "It seems the demon has control over electricity."
"Furcifer." Constantine groaned. "Guess he's back for a rematch."
"Gideon, drop us off outside of the city." Sara instructed. "Everyone, strap in and get ready." The rest of the Legends obliged and sat in their seats, while Sara threw the switch and made a jump to New York.
Salvation
1874
"Hey, stop!" Ray called out, catching up to Nora Darhk, who was handcuffed and being led away by two Time Bureau agents. "I need to- uh- I need to talk to her for about two seconds. Alone, please?" The agents nodded and turned their backs.
"Ha, I lied. More like twenty seconds." Ray joked, while Nora sighed, beginning to get bored of the conversation. "So, I found something on the ship that was your dad's, and I thought maybe you'd want something to remember him by."
"As I spend the rest of my life rotting in a Time Bureau prison?" Nora asked, pointing back towards the agents.
"Yeah, about that…" Ray began, looking down. "You're not going with the Bureau."
"I'm not?" Nora was confused.
"Sara and I might have convinced the Director to let you off." Ray said, grinning.
"He's right." Ava confirmed, having finally caught up to Palmer since she had to take Freydis back to 1000 AD. Ava stepped closer, and removed Nora's cuffs.
"Why do this?" Nora asked. "After all I did?"
"You're not completely off the hook." Ava stated. "You're to stay with the Legends at all times." Seeing her work was done, Ava and the agents left the Old West.
"Think of it like parole." Ray reassured Darhk. "But even if you were going to rot in the prison, that's what my backup plan would've been for." Ray took his hands out of his pockets, and placed a small black rock in Nora's hand.
"My father's time stone." Nora realized.
"He died to give you a second chance." Ray told her. "The question is, what are you going to do now?" Nora thought for a moment, looking at the stone, then at Ray.
"I'm staying with you." Nora barely whispered. Ray couldn't help but hide a smile, and together, they went back to the Waverider and left Salvation.
Aruba
2018
"Good call, Mick." Zari complimented, as the Legends sat on a beach. Once Mallus had been defeated, Mick had proposed that he should finally get his long deserved vacation. Unfortunately, he didn't count on the rest of the Legends to tag along with him.
"When I said Aruba, I meant me, not all of you." Mick growled. Ray just grinned at the remark, with Wally West and Nora sitting in chairs on either side of him.
"I've forgotten the last time I had been to the beach." Nora murmured, loud enough that only Ray could hear.
"Still, nothing helps a broken heart like a good tan." Nate interjected, before turning to Sara. "Should've invited Ava."
"Oh, we've got plans." Sara smiled, while Wally noisily drank his beverage. "And until then, she's busy fixing all those pesky anachronisms we left behind."
"Well, that's the thing about defeating an ancient time demon- everything else seems boring." Ray smiled.
"I'm good with boring." Wally stated.
"Perfectly fine with that." Nora agreed. Suddenly, someone stepped in front of the Legends, blocking the sun.
"Hey idiot, get out of here." Mick grumbled. "This is a private beach."
"Fancy meeting you lot out here." The man said, in a fake British accent. Ray looked up, seeing a man with blonde hair and a trench coat.
"Constantine?" Ray asked, before taking off his glasses and seeing who it really was.
"Did you really think I was him?" Gary asked, while Nora stifled a laugh. "It's me."
"Gary, Ray was obviously day drinking." Nate scolded.
"The wig's too much, right?" Gary asked.
"Nah, it's very presidential." Zari reassured the Time Bureau agent. Nevertheless, Gary took the blonde wig off, revealing his brown hair.
"Gary, what do you want?" Sara groaned.
"He's been with me, love." The real Constantine said, walking towards the Legends and carrying a large sack. Nora nearly spat out her drink.
"John?" Nora asked.
"Do I know you, love?" Constantine asked.
"It's been a while." Nora continued. "You don't remember me?"
"I don't remember most of the people I sleep with." Constantine dryly remarked, before winking at Sara. "Well, except for a few..."
"It's Nora." Ray interrupted.
"Bloody Hell, you've certainly gotten a growth spurt since the last I saw you." Constantine commented.
"It's been twenty three years on my end." Nora explained. "I'm still a kid in 2018."
"Don't worry, Mallus isn't using her anymore." Ray assured the demonologist. "That demon is long gone."
"And that's exactly why I need to have a word with you sorry lot." Constantine said, dropping the large sack, and pulling off the top, revealed what appeared to be a dragon's head. "Now… whose brilliant idea was it to let a ancient demon out of its cage?"
"Sara's." Nate pointed to Lance.
"Probably mine too." Nora muttered.
"Well, you two opened a door, love." Constantine grumbled. "And Mallus wasn't the only thing that got out."
"Guys, guess our vacation is cut short." Sara announced, and began going to where the Waverider was hidden.
"God dammit, are you kidding me!" Mick yelled, while the rest of the Legends, plus Constantine and Gary, went to the timeship.
"Gideon, has anything come up?" Sara asked, once everyone was on the bridge.
"Nothing yet, Captain Lance." Gideon stated. "I'll notify you if I detect another anachronism."
"If you don't mind, love, I'll be tagging along with you for awhile." Constantine said, while Gary went back to the Time Bureau.
"Fine." Sara said through gritted teeth. "You can have Amaya's old room. The rest of you, rest up, and let me know if anything comes up. I'm heading back to Star City to help Oliver out with his Diaz problem."
"And I'm going to help Barry with Devoe." Wally piped up, speeding away towards Central City. The remaining Legends went to their rooms, with Ray and Nora sharing one.
Around an hour later, Constantine had just finished getting settled in, when Ray and Nora entered the room.
"Good to see you again, Nora." Constantine greeted, barely turning around. "You too, squire."
"Likewise." Ray said back. "Listen, we need your help."
"What on Earth for, exactly?" John asked, curious.
"I want to bring my father back." Nora cut to the chase.
"You do realize he'll most likely be in Hell, right?" Constantine asked, raising an eyebrow. "If it were that easy, I'd have gotten Astra back a long time ago."
"I heard that you were trapped in Hell two years ago." Ray interjected. "If anyone knows their way around there, it'll be you."
"Do you even know how to get there?" Constantine grumbled.
"This time stone should do the trick." Nora said, lifting up her father's stone. "I know it can travel to Hell and across time."
"Alright then, let's go." Constantine sighed, placing his hand on Nora's shoulder, while Ray grabbed her other hand, as the stone glowed a bright light.
Hell
Constantine, Nora, and Ray fell down, finding themselves in what appeared to be a barren wasteland. The ground appeared to be black stone, the sky was a dark blue, and what appeared to be ash was raining down.
"This wasn't what I was expecting." Ray admitted, looking around and seeing cells made of the same black stone with doors on them.
"This is just one of the many circles, mate." Constantine muttered. "Worst part is, I can't get a damn light."
"Come on, we need to find my dad." Nora announced, walking through Hell. Constantine and Ray followed, looking in through the cells, trying to find Damien Darhk.
"Found him!" Ray heard Nora exclaim, and ran over to see her peering into the door's window.
"How can you be sure?" Ray asked, seeing nothing but a white light.
"I can feel him in there." Nora replied cryptically, and opened the door, prompting the three to step inside. Once they entered the cell, the group looked around, seeing familiar surroundings in a hut in Zambesi.
"Is this-?" Nora asked, seeing Damien fighting off the Legends with the death totem, then unshackling a version of Nora that was possessed by Mallus.
"Zambesi." Ray realized, before turning to Constantine. "What's going on?"
"This is his personal Hell." Constantine explained. "It recreates the most dreadful moment of someone's life, and has it on constant replay for eternity."
"You're saying it keeps happening over and over?" Nora whispered, fearing for her father. "Dad!"
"Nora?" Damien looked over, pausing his attack on the Legends. "I thought you just ran out?"
"We're not part of your Hell." Ray said. "We're here to get you out."
"No, don't." Damien said sadly.
"Dad, why not?" Nora asked. "You don't deserve this."
"That's the thing, Nora doll." Damien insisted. "I do. Otherwise I wouldn't be here."
"Hell is designed that the residents stay here until they feel they no longer deserve it." Constantine explained.
"And I do deserve it." Damien agreed. "After all the things I've done…"
"But you saved me." Nora reasoned. "You died so I could live."
"It's not enough." Damien said, looking down. "I've killed thousands of people over the years, including Sara's sister. When the Green Arrow killed me and I was here the first time, Malcolm Merlyn kept telling me the details of your mother's death." Suddenly, a scream was heard, and everyone left the hut to watch as Mallus emerged from Nora's body.
"Dad, please." Nora begged, beginning to cry. "I don't want to lose you again."
"You won't." Damien reassured his daughter. "Even in death, I will always be with you." Damien hugged his daughter, before turning to Ray and Constantine.
"Thank you, Raymond, for helping me save my daughter." Damien said. "Keep her safe. Please."
"I will, Damien." Ray promised, and as the scene played back to the beginning of the battle, the three left the way they came, finding themselves back in Hell.
"Well, what now?" Ray asked Nora.
"There's one last thing I need to take care of." Nora said, using the timestone. Nora and Ray dropped Constantine back onto the Waverider, before leaving once more.
Star City
2018
"Thank you for your help with Diaz." Oliver told Sara. Having just taking down Ricardo Diaz and cleared his own name, Oliver and Sara celebrated in the bunker before going home.
"It was a pleasure fighting with you again, Oliver." Sara agreed. "We really need to do this again, when the world isn't under attack from aliens and Nazis." Oliver chuckled, but turned around, seeing a bright light illuminate the Arrow cave. Unsure what was going on, Oliver grabbed his bow and fired an arrow, only for it to be stopped in mid air.
"Ray!" Sara yelled, seeing Palmer and Nora in the middle of the room. Nora shifted her hand to the side, letting the arrow drop to the ground. "I thought you'd be back on the ship!"
"We had to run an errand." Ray shrugged, then whispered to Nora, "You're not going to kill him, are you?"
"No, of course not." Nora reassured Palmer. "I just need to say a few words."
"Who are you?" Oliver asked, confused.
"She's Nora. Damien Darhk's daughter from the future." Sara explained.
"Don't worry, I'm not here for a fight." Nora exclaimed, seeing Oliver's worried expression. "I just came to say… for over twenty years I've hated you. Ever since you killed my father, I had blamed you and wanted you to suffer. Now, I don't."
"What?" Oliver asked.
"I understand now, why you killed him." Nora continued. "And while I wanted him to stay alive, I'm not going to try and kill you for it. I guess what I'm saying is… I forgive you."
"I appreciate that, but how can you forgive me for killing your father?" Oliver asked.
"Because I partially forgave him for killing Laurel." Sara interrupted. "At least enough to work with him to fight a demon. But what changed?"
"We might have done some metaphorical and literal soul searching in Hell." Ray mumbled. "Besides, Oliver forgave Slade for all he's done."
"That's true…" Oliver said. "Well, for what it is worth, I do regret a little bit that I had to take your father from you." Oliver extended his hand, and Nora shook it.
"Till we meet again, Mister Queen." Nora replied, before taking out the time stone again. "Time to go." Ray grabbed Nora's hand, while Sara held onto his other arm, and the three teleported back to the Waverider, leaving Oliver alone in the bunker.
Waverider
"I'm glad you're back already, Captain Lance." Gideon said as Nora, Ray, and Sara landed on the bridge. "I've just discovered an anachronism."
"What is it?" Sara asked.
"It appears that Mister Constantine was right about more demons being unleashed." Gideon continued. "They have been scattered across time since Mallus broke free. One such demon is terrorizing Camelot in 508 AD."
"Sweet, we're going back to Camelot!" Ray said excitedly.
"Alright, everyone, strap in." Sara called out. "Is Wally back?"
"Yeah, just came in before you guys did." Zari replied, before getting in her seat.
"Good, because we're going to the Middle Ages." Sara announced, before hitting a switch and making a time jump to 508 AD.
