A/N: Here's a little more info. Buckle up cause we're going on a ride with this one.
Title: Neither Here Nor There
Season: Beginning of Season 3 (although Sara and Ava's relationship might be more evolved like mid-season 3)
Characters: Sara Lance, Mick Rory, Ray Palmer, Ava Sharpe, Nate Haywood, Martin Stein, Jefferson Jackson, (eventually) Zari Tomaz, *major* OC (but not necessarily centric)
Central: Team-fic
Summary: After the Legends created the time anachronisms in their fight with the Legion of Doom at the end of Season 2, they have to help clean up their mess. Looking for redemption, the Legends steal back the Waverider and complete the mission with Julius Caesar. They are continuing to help the Time Bureau when they return an anachronistic Doctor back to 2032 when they unexpectantly discover the Doctor's experiment. On a quest for discovery and salvation, the Legends find the real danger in the anachronisms and the threat they pose on their world.
Inspiration: Fringe (tv), Firefly (tv), Avatar the Last Airbender (tv), Stranger Things (tv), Supergirl (tv)
BEGINNING:
Captain Sara Lance pulled the chest restraint up as the chair turned and she stood from her controls. "Okay, boys." She clapped her hands together, "Rip and the Time Bureau need our help. Since we broke time and their central time drive, we gotta to help clean up our mess. They've sent us to Valencia, Spain to get an anachronism and bring it back to it's original time." She annoyedly recalled the discussion she'd had with Rip and Agent Sharpe earlier that day. The Time Bureau was quite inconvinenced by the Legends' sloppy attempt in helping with Julius Caesar, but since they'd proved to be their only option until their central time drive was back online, Rip and Agent Sharpe begrudgingly agreed to Sara's mission for redemption by helping them restore anachronisms. A central time drive Rip reminded Sara that they burned during their escape with the Waverider at headquarters. Anachronisms Agent Sharpe hadn't let Sara forget were her fault in the first place.
"So we're supposed to just wonder around Spain until we find an anachronism?" Nate asked.
"No," Jax set out a scanner ray with a small screen on the console. It looked like a radar gun. "The Time Bureau gave us this to help us. It tracks things that don't belong in the current time. It should tell us where it belongs, too."
"So what's the plan, Cap?" Ray turned to Sara.
"We go in, find the anachronism, then return it to it's time." Sara ordered, "Piece of cake."
"I wouldn't speak so soon, Captain." Gideon objected.
Sara groaned. Of course it couldn't be easy for once. "What is it, Gideon?" She called to the ceiling, although she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know the answer.
"Its Carnivals--the Spanish equivalent of Mardi Gras--this week and today will be the biggest celebration of it." The AI responded, and the team could hear the genuine regret in the robot's voice.
"Okay, boys. You heard Gideon; go get your flameneco shoes and mueltas. We're gonna fiesta." The Captain dismissed them to go get ready.
A few minutes later, the team was gathered again, this time in the fabrication room and dressed in traditional Spanish festive clothing. While they were getting together their weapons and shoving them in their clothes, Sara strolled closer to Nate. "Hey, how you holdin' up?" The Captain tried to keep her tone calm and casual.
"I'm... alright." He looked straight into Sara's eyes, so that she would know he's being honest. He was clearly still upset by Amaya's departure, but he was working through it and it meant a lot to him to be with his team. "Thanks for letting me be in on this one. I'm ready."
Sara nodded. If she was in Nate's position, she'd want to disract herself with a mission too. "I know."
She touched him lightly on his shoulder, hopeful that it could convey everything that her words couldn't, before she turned to the team. "Let's get out of here."
They'd been surprised by all the people in the streets when they opened the cargo bay door, but they were shocked that pushing their way through the crowd was proving to be so difficult. Music blasted from every direction and every square inch of the main street they were on was filled with people. "How much farther?" Mick shouted, grumpily throwing his elbows right and left to shove people from their path.
"Second right!" Jax shouted, bumping into three separate people within a couple seconds as he looked down at the radar gun screen.
Some woman handed him a some bright red liquid in sa tiny shot glass and Jax took it without realizing what it was. "Arriba!" The woman raised a shot of her own and dumped it messily into her mouth. Sara grabbed the shot from Jax, knocked it back, then shoved the kid forward.
The Legends ran single-file behind Rory who was clearing their path of the innocent, yet incovenient, bystanders. "This is it." Jax called. "It says its a man. White old guy. Supposed to be in 2032. He's in the middle of the square."
"I've got eyes on him." Ray shouted from the front of the team. "He's wearing a lab coat. Surrounded by a bunch of lady dancers in the middle of the square."
"Everybody, spread out. Mick, Ray--come at him from behind. Jax, Nate--you're with me. Make sure he doesn't run, he'll be way harder to find if he leaves the plaza." Sara commanded, feeling a sense of pride when her team immediately spread out to execute her plan. "Nate, they said he was a doctor. You talk to him so he doesn't spook and run."
Sara followed Nate and Jax to the center of the square. She kept scanning the square to keep eyes on her boys and as well as possible threats to their mission.
"Doctor--" Nate read his lab coat as soon as he pushed past the dancing flamenco ladies and was close enough to read it, "Mason. My name is Nate and I--" he didn't get to explain that he was just tying to help before the doctor took off running in the opposite direction.
Jax touched his ear to activate his comm. "Mick, Ray. He's coming your way." He shouted before he sprinted after Nate and Sara. By the time he caught up with them, they were circled around the Doctor, who was laying on the ground unconsious. "What happened?"
"We got him." Sara answered proudly.
Ray high-fived Mick. "Nice hit." He congratulated the man, only earning a semi-satisfied grunt from Mick.
Nate looked around and saw that people were starting to stare at them. "We should probably get going."
"Rory, you knocked him out, you carry him back." Sara told him, just then noticing the scene they were causing too. In truth, Sara would've told Rory to carry him back regardless of who did it; no one else could've done it. And they need to move fast. Mick hauled the Doctor up and slung him over his shoulder. "Lets get out of here."
They were back in the bridge of the Waverider in no time. Their only problem had been getting through the crowds. They'd taken several of the free shots offered along the way back and were feeling pretty good about themselves.
"Gideon!" Sara called to the ceiling, a soft smile playing on her face. The Spainard's shots were just strong enough and it'd been a while since she'd gotten a little tipsy. "Where does the doctor live?"
"My records indicate that Doctor Malachai Mason went missing from November 11, 2032 in his lab just outside of Little Mountain, Colorado." Gideon informed.
"Set a course, Gideon." Sara instructed as she strolled into the galley and poured herself a glass of scotch.
"Absolutely, Captain." Gideon confirmed before adding, "You recieved a transmission from Agent Sharpe while you were out and she politely asked you to call her when you got back to the ship."
Sara brought the glass to her mouth and squinted her eyes playfully, "She said 'politely'?" The Captain asked. That didn't quite sound like the Agent.
"In not so many words." Gideon held to her story, pulling a laugh from the woman, "Would you like me to call her now?"
"Yeah, sure." Sara downed the last gulp of her drink and stood, wiping her hands on her jeans and taking a few steps towards the screen of the galley. "Put her on in here."
It only took a few seconds of Gideon's ringing for Agent Sharpe's face to appear before Sara. "Hello, Agent Sharpe. You asked me to call?" The woman crossed her arms, waiting to see what the other woman had to say.
"Uh, yes. Hello, Sara." Ava stammered and Sara was immediatly perplexed. "I, um, just wanted to say... Thank you, actually." It was clear she was uncomfortable. Sara was determined to milk it.
Sara smiled and echoed, "Thank me?"
Ava steeled herself when she saw the coy game Sara was gonna play, but didn't let herself get complete to 'on-duty Agent' level yet. "Yes." She opened her clasped hands and relaxed for only a beat, but Sara didn't miss it. "Uh, thank you for helping us with this mission. The Board would've been quite displeased if we hadn't found a way to keep fixing these anachronisms." She bit back the part where it was their fault in the first place.
Sara was pleasantly surprised, but suspicious, seeing through the Agent's bluff. "What did you really call for?"
"I... Wanted to see how the mission went." Ava admitted.
The Captain rolled her eyes. "He's in our hold right now. So don't worry, we didn't disasterously screw up everything. Yet."
"That's not what I meant." Ava quickly admitted. When she saw Sara's interested gaze, she realized she seemed too eager and settled herself. "I just... wanted to make sure you were okay."
Sara smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm pratically a pro."
"Yeah, I know. I just.. I knew it'd been a while and you'd probably be a little out of practice." Ava explained, attempting to backtrack. She winced at how her attempt sounded like an insult; she hadn't meant it to be. The Agent chastised herself. She knew better than this.
But Sara was already on to her and saw straight through her. This wasn't about the mission, Ava was calling to check up on her. "I don't need practice." Based on how Ava fumbled over herself, Sara knew the other woman took her statement exactly how she intended.
"Um, dear God--" Ava laughed uncomfortably and the Captain revelled in it. "Okay. Well, check back in with me after your mission is completed. You know, to tell me how it went. Or, um, if you have time."
Sara felt smug. "I'll call you soon, Agent Sharpe."
"Captain Lance." Ava nodded curtly as a goodbye then hung up, leaving Sara leaning back on the desk smiling. She allowed herself to bask in the moment for only a beat before going off to find her team. They had a misplaced doctor to return. Maybe the quicker they did that, the quicker they'd get back to 2017. The sooner she'd see a certain Time Bureau Agent again.