DISCLAIMER: "D.C.'s Legends of Tomorrow" is the property of D.C. Entertainment, no matter how much I might wish they were mine.

Author's note: As I mentioned at the end of the previous chapter, I started this because Brandon Routh said he wanted to play Captain Cold. This chapter was especially fun to write, but also especially tough because of the flashback format. And I once again want to note, this chapter was written before the airing of 1x10 "Progeny," so any similarities to the series after 1x09 are purely coincidental.

CHAPTER 2

-August 23, 2063 - Waverider Crew Quarters-

After ten minutes of listening to the team's tech experts debate the best way to get Ray and Snart back into their proper bodies, Snart stalked out of the Medbay, mumbling about needing a shower and an aspirin. He passed Sara on the way out, and she stared in surprise at the scowl on Ray's normally-friendly face. Or what she thought was Ray's face.

Ray found himself explaining the problem once again to Sara, and then a third time to Mick. By the end of it, Ray had a headache too. And that orange goo was starting to itch.

That had been about an hour ago, enough time for Ray to get an aspirin of his own and get cleaned up himself. Or to clean up Snart. Snart's body, that is...

This was going to be very confusing.

Showered and changed, Ray paced worriedly in the hallway outside Snart's room until the other man emerged, combing his hair back with his fingers in irritation.

"I haven't had this much hair since I was a kid. Took me forever to get all the soot out," Snart complained. "I almost buzzed it all off instead, but I don't want Kendra getting mad at me for screwing with your looks." He paused and studied Ray. "But you're screwing with mine. I don't remember ever, ever having that expression on my face. What is that, sympathy?"

Ray hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I had to look in the mirror to make sure I scrubbed everything off… you know, that orange stuff was sticky and hopefully it wasn't carcinogenic and…"

Snart stopped him cold. "Is there a point here, and are you planning on getting to it today?"

Ray looked away for a moment, and then forced himself to meet the other man's stony eyes again. "I saw… I saw the scars. I just wanted…"

"Just wanted what, Raymond?" Snart snarled. "To apologize because I've had a rough life? To offer me some tea and sympathy because my dad beat the crap out of me night after night, before you were old enough to start earning those damned merit badges of yours?" He laughed bitterly. "Don't bother. I don't need it. It doesn't fix anything. Let's just fix this." He turned to stalk down the hallway. "I don't drink tea anyway."

Ray reached out and grabbed Snart's arm. "Hold on. I wasn't going to apologize for those things. And I don't make tea." He swallowed, as Snart turned back and glared at him. "I was going to apologize for the way I've judged you ever since this whole mission started. Remember when we were trying to steal the dagger from Savage's mansion?" Snart nodded, and Ray went on, "When I said you could have been an electrical engineer, I was judging you as a man who made bad choices of his own free will."

Snart's eyes – his eyes – were still hard. And so cold. "And now?"

"And now…" Ray couldn't handle the chilly glare any more and looked away again. "I've seen scars like that before, on Oliver Queen. He got them because he chose to fight to save his city, acting out of his own free will. But you…" Ray looked back at Snart. "You've never been free. Not really. You didn't choose anything except to do what you could to survive."

Those cold eyes thawed a little. "Guess you're not as dumb as you usually look," he said. He looked down to where Ray was still holding him back. "Gonna leave a bruise on your own arm there, Raymond."

Ray let him go and fell in step beside Snart as they began to head back to the bridge. After a moment, he said, "You know, you really looked intimidating there. Or, I mean, you made me look intimidating. My face, I mean. I never knew I could be such a scary looking guy."

He knew he was babbling again, but Snart only chuckled. "Sometimes a glare can be as good as a gun, if you know how to use it, and when." He gave Ray a sidelong look. "So, were the scars the only thing you looked at while you were cleaning me up?"

Ray stopped and spluttered, "Wha—what?"

Snart grinned tightly, not showing his teeth, and kept walking. "You know what I mean."

Ray trotted to catch up to him. "You mean, you looked?"

"The bathroom mirrors are full length, remember? Kinda hard not to. But take it from a criminal, Raymond: Looking's not a crime," he said as he strode into the main room, where the others were gathered.

"Looking at what?" Kendra asked curiously, looking between the two men as Ray paused in the entrance.

Snart gave her a sunny smile, this time with teeth. He looked much more Ray-like than he had in the corridor. Except a slight chill was back in his eyes. "Just… things." He lounged in one of the seats. "I will say that I won't be calling Ray one of the ladies anymore."

Jax's eyes bugged, and he made a strangled sound while Kendra gasped. Ray felt his cheeks get hot. Snart raised an eyebrow, and continued, "Now, that's something else I've never seen on that face. You're blushing. I didn't think my face knew how to do that."

"Stop it!" Kendra snapped furiously at Snart, her wings suddenly flaring out and her eyes reddening. She took a step toward him with her hand raised.

Sara caught it before it swung down. "Hold on, Kendra! Don't hawk out on Ray's body!" Sara held tightly to the other woman until her wings furled again and she took a step back, scowling.

"Thanks, Assassin," Snart smirked at the women. The expression was too much for Ray. He squared his shoulders and started for Snart, only to be held back by Rip and Stein.

"Enough!" the former Time Master roared. "If you two want to have a cage match when you're back in your own bodies, you can be my guests!"

"We've still got my cage down below," Mick offered. "I'll make the popcorn."

Rip gave the big man a quelling look. "Right now we need to cooperate with each other! So, in your American vernacular, grow up!"

Ray relaxed a little, enough for the others to let him go. Stein pushed his glasses back up his nose and glanced between the switched men. "Well. If everyone is ready to behave with some more calm and maturity, I'll show you what Gideon and I have figured out."

-August 22, 2063 – Waverider Bridge-

Breaking and entering was always good, even if he was stuck doing it with the billionaire Boy Scout.

Rip divided the team into three groups. Ray and Snart would break into LJ BioGene to destroy the super bug and the world's only remaining samples of the mad cow virus. Then they'd plant a virus of their own: A computer worm created by Gideon to wipe out all of the company's biological weapons research.

"What if some bright young scientist has already memorized the formula for this superbug?" Snart objected.

"The formula on its own is useless without the base organism," Rip answered. "The superbug is a genetically modified version of the original Creutzfeldt-Jakob, a disease that was defeated worldwide twenty-five years ago."

Gideon added, "Without the samples and the data, it will take them a century to recreate an artificial version of the virus."

"That would set back Savage's timetable for world domination," Sara noted. "And buy us a little more time to deal with him."

"And perhaps save your family," Stein added.

Rip shook his head. "That part is uncertain. The timeline is still very malleable there. But it is certain that these viruses will kill millions, no matter what happens with the rest of history. So it's vital that you make sure to get all of them."

He picked up a device on the table and extended it to Snart. "This is a modification for your Cold Gun. Attach it to the muzzle. It will alter the gun's output to a form of radiation that will destroy the viruses. While you do that, Dr. Palmer will wipe everything about the virus from the network."

"They may have the viruses in just one place, but all the data is sure to be backed up off-site," Ray pointed out as he examined the tiny flash drive containing the worm.

Rip nodded. "And it is, in two places. The first is Steel Pyramid, the largest data security and cloud storage company in this era. It happens to be just down the coast, and it happens to be owned by Vandal Savage."

The holographic display changed to show the Steel Pyramid building. It really was a shining pyramid of metal and glass. Kendra shook her head at the sight.

"He's really stuck in the past, isn't he?" she asked. "I bet he's running Horus worship services in there."

"It would be a lot easier if he just stuck to papyrus," Stein said. "We could burn the paper trail and be done with it."

"I like burning things," Mick interjected.

"We don't need your pyrotechnic skills tonight, Mr. Rory," Rip said. He picked up another drive and pocketed it. "Professor Stein, you and Mr. Jackson will join me on Team Two. We will get into Steel Pyramid to plant Gideon's worm. Once it's propagated, the two of you will merge into Firestorm to generate a nuclear electromagnetic pulse to disrupt Steel Pyramid's cloud system."

"It will also disrupt all internet service in the San Diego area for a short time," Gideon said.

Jax shrugged. "So people won't be able to watch cat videos for while."

"I like cat videos," Mick said, in the same tone he'd used before. Jax and Sara both choked back a laugh at that, while Snart rolled his eyes. Even Stein managed a resigned smile.

Rip waited for the group to settle, then continued. "Mr. Rory, you'll be too busy to watch any cat videos this evening. You will be part of team three, with Ms. Lance and Ms. Saunders. The three of you have to destroy the other backup, in Savage's home on Mount Soledad." He handed the third flash drive over to Sara. "And while you're at it, see if you can retrieve the Amon Dagger."

Sara nodded. "And if we're really lucky, Kendra will get another chance to kill him. Sounds simple enough. Which means there's something you haven't told us yet."

"I was getting to it, Sara," the former Time Master replied. "Delivery of the worm must be simultaneous. If it's planted in any one location before the others, that will trigger a fail-safe memory dump to Savage's other subsidiaries."

"So they could still create the virus," Ray said. "Just a lot later."

"Yes," Rip agreed. "Timing for this mission is more vital than ever before, so everyone needs to stay focused. Once we're all in position, we'll use the comms to synchronize releasing the worm." The Time Master looked around the table. "Gideon has blueprints for all three locations. Study them while you suit up, and good luck to all of us."

-August 22, 2063 – LJ BioGene-

"We're in," Snart said quietly as he pushed open the door marked Biohazard Storage. He'd left Ray down the hall in the network server room.

"Team Two is in position as well," Rip reported through the comms. "Team Three, any word?"

"Give us a minute," Sara answered. "Mick's working on disabling the security system."

"Savage isn't home," Kendra added. "Even if we find the dagger, I probably won't get a shot at him tonight."

"Very well," Rip said. "Mr. Snart, you don't need to wait for the rest of us for your part. Have you located the viruses?"

"I've located lots of viruses here," Snart said, looking around the room. Metal shelves lined the walls, each shelf loaded with vials and labeled with different names. He latched the Cold Gun modifier onto his weapon. "Smallpox, HIV, bubonic plague…"

"Bubonic plaque is actually a bacterial infection," Rip interjected.

Snart rolled his eyes. "It can still kill. This place is like a candy store for mad scientists."

"Be careful," Stein said. "Those 'sweets' are worse than poisonous."

Snart pulled up his goggles. "Oh, I trust Gideon to fix me right up if need be," he replied. "But I don't think we should trust Savage with any of these goodies, do you?"

He pulled the trigger on the Cold Gun and sprayed the shelves from top to bottom. The new device changed the color of the ray to a luminescent green. After covering all the shelves once, he did it one more time just to be safe, using a side-to-side motion. Then he pulled his goggles off and looked the gun over. "Kills bugs dead," he said in satisfaction. "At least, I hope so. Gideon, what's the word?"

"There is a slight alteration in the timeline," the AI reported. "Now the superbug is released 20 years from this date."

"So let's mess up the schedule even more," Mick said in his low rumble. "We're in."

"And we've found his network hub," Sara said. "Everyone else ready?"

"Yes," said Rip.

"Let's do this!" Jax exclaimed. Snart was sure he could hear the crackle of flames across the comm link.

"Ready," Ray chimed in from down the hall.

"On my mark," said Rip. "Three, two, one, mark."

Changing history with a computer worm turned out to be pretty anticlimactic, Snart thought as he walked out of the storage room to retrieve Ray. There were no flashing lights or loud sirens, no sounds of a computer system going down. It was pretty quiet. Except for that hissing sound...

He stopped suddenly. Hissing? There was a thump in the server room. He ran toward the door, opened it…

And didn't know another thing.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm of the mind that "baby Hitler" wasn't the problem the team should have worried about in 1x10 "Progeny."

This is the second of six chapters. The story is complete, and I plan to post a chapter a day.