Our first mission after the death happened to be in Washington D.C, 1986 where Rip thought we could handle a break-in at the Pentagon. However, the whole ordeal backfired; we were almost arrested, Kendra's crazy hawk-version almost scarred my face, and we just barely made it out with Savage's file in hand.
In the end, we all sat pouting and sulking in the main room of the WaveRider. I sat in a chair next to Sara, feeling much more agitated and pissed off than I expected.
"I don't see the big deal," Kendra calmly stated, "We got the file."
I did my best not to speak up, but couldn't help the roll of my eyes which I covered with my blonde hair.
"I agree, it was awesome." Mick huffed.
I opened my mouth, ready to spit something out when Professor Stein beat me to it, "In the same way tsunamis, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are awesome, surely. All went smoothly I suppose, despite the hiccup with the alarm."
"Oh, so it's my fault?" Jax snapped.
"Oh, shut it!" I tried screaming, but to no avail as it came out in much more of a squeal. "Who cares what you two think? At least Big Bird here didn't try and scratch off your faces."
"Big Bird?!"
"Enough!" Rip shouted, silencing all of us at once. "What happened has happened… We're just lucky the Department of Defense likes to keep these sorts of things under wraps. Now, Gideon, any luck with our secret file?" He then mumbled, "Please say yes…"
"Yes, Captain. Seems Vandal Savage has defected to the Soviet Union."
"You mean our enemy has gone Red at the height of the Cold War?" Martin asked before sarcastically adding Mick's previous word, "Awesome."
My nerves didn't settle down, even as we took off towards the Soviet Union.
As the ship took flight, I decided to roam the hallways in hopes of shaking off this odd feeling. I felt a sort of pent up anger in the pit of my stomach and I couldn't quite place why it was there in the first place. I stuck my hands in my jacket pocket as I walked down the hall and my hand hit something hard. Pulling it out, I remembered placing my secret-little-gift in there in order to confront Leonard about it.
"Perhaps that's why you're angry?" Ronnie asked, stepping up to step next to me. "I mean, it is stolen."
I shook my head, looking down at the necklace as I opened the lid, "No. I'm over it. Besides, it was stolen in the past, not like anyone can do anything about it now."
"You're starting to sound like him now."
"Shut up," I mumbled before jumping away from the figure suddenly standing in front of me.
"Who you talking to?" Leonard asked, eyeing the space around us, seemingly confused when he realized no one was there.
I shook my head, still holding the box out in between us. "No one…"
His icy eyes then glanced down at the gift in my hand and his smirk formed on his face once more. "So, I'm assuming you didn't like your present?"
"What makes you think that?"
"You're not wearing it."
"I can't," I informed him, suddenly making up my mind. I shoved the box against his chest, yet he still didn't take it. "It's stolen. I don't want your stolen treasures, Leonard."
He chuckled then, taking my hand in his gloved one and pushing it back towards me. "I didn't do this one, sweetheart."
I rolled my eyes, "Who else would steal a necklace for a girl?"
His smirk grew into a smile as he reminded me, "I'm not the only thief on this ship." I felt stupid when it dawned on me, realizing that I hadn't even thought of Mick giving the gift. However, I had reason to: why would I think Mick would give me the necklace? He had no reason to. He wasn't a flirt like his partner. "Besides," Leonard let out a cough to bring my attention back to him before telling me, "I wouldn't have chosen a Ruby necklace. You'd look far better in sapphire than in red."
"Why did Mick give this to me?" I asked, still holding it away from me.
He shrugged his shoulders, "I'll be honest, no idea. Mick doesn't give gifts, not even to me."
That last bit sounded a bit bitter on his lips, so I gave him a smirk of my own, clamping my hand around the box and holding it up between our faces. "Jealous much?"
"Hardly." Was his reply. He stepped past me to walk away when he added, "Again, you'd look better in sapphire."
"Weirdo." I whispered under my breath as I watched him walk away. I observed his blue parka bouncing on his broad shoulders and watched the way he sauntered down the hall.
Then I heard Ronnie's voice speak up again, "But cute, right?"
I glared at him as he gave me a toothy grin, almost like he would give mom when we were kids. "Don't call him cute, that's even weirder."
"Hey," he held up his hands, "I only say what you're thinking, remember?"
Before I could answer, the ground below me moved and I fell over immediately. Some of the pipes around me popped and blew out steam. I stashed the box back in my pocket as I picked myself up off the ground, looking around me, expecting to see some attacker but coming up emptyhanded. I gasped as the room tilted slightly and I stumbled towards the wall where I stabled myself by holding onto one of the large pipes.
"What the hell is going on?" I squealed.
The lights flickered on and off a couple of times, surprisingly not being the result of my panicked feelings for once as I heard Gideon announce, "Initiating emergency landing protocol."
I sighed, gripping onto the pipe with both hands and awaiting the large thud that awaited. I hissed when the floor convulsed underneath me, causing me to fly a few feet off the ground and ramming my shoulder into the metal pipe above me. When I came back down along with the ship, I hit the floor hard and waited for the rumble to end before getting back up. Rubbing my shoulder, I returned to the main room to find the team already discussing our next plan.
Seeing as I wasn't needed right away, I took the opportunity to take myself and my aching limb to my room to take a little nap. I crawled up onto my bed and starred up at the ceiling, absentmindedly rubbing at the fabric on the black box that still sat upright in my pocket.
"Are you going to thank him?" Ronnie asked, taking a seat across the room.
"For stealing?" I questioned back, casting him a sideways glance.
He shrugged, "If that's how you want to see it." He leaned back in the seat, crossing his arms and smiling at me once more. "But you heard Leonard, Mick never hands out gifts. So, you should thank him for doing a good deed."
"You were literally lecturing me on how it was stolen about twenty minutes ago."
He sighed, "Hey, you're the one with the conflicted mind here. Not me."
"Perhaps…" I sighed before sitting up, placing the box on my lap, and opening it once more. After careful thought, I said out loud, "I can't go up to him and thank him."
"Why not?"
"I may not know Mick very well, but I have a feeling he doesn't do compliments. He'll probably pretend he doesn't know what I'm talking about."
Ronnie nodded his head with every word I spoke. "Sounds about right." Then his eyes went wide as I wrapped the silver chain around my neck and clipped it in place to where the ruby stone hung just above the collar of my shirt. "What are you doing?"
I shrugged casually before closing the now empty box and setting it aside. "If I can't properly thank him, the less I can do is wear it, right?"
Ronnie's demeanor immediately relaxed, seeing as I had made up both parts of my mind. "You're the boss."
His image soon faded away as I heard some grunts outside my door. Hearing the sound of a fight, I immediately rushed out to check what was going on and was surprised to see Sara pinning Kendra down on the ground, her hands wrapped tightly around the Egyptians' neck.
"Sara!" I didn't even bother grabbing at her, knowing full well what was going on. I wasn't there for when Sara got resurrected, but Oliver had told me a little bit about it and how it slightly affected her humanity. Seeing her choking the life out of Kendra now, I finally understood what she meant. "Sara, let go, you're killing her! It's our friend! It's Kendra!"
I didn't relax until the blank gaze in her eyes was gone, she blinked a few times before throwing herself off of Kendra, and backed away slowly. I held my hands out towards her, trying to show her it was okay, but she didn't hesitate to run off.
"Sara!" I called out to her, following her all the way to her room where she shut the door on me. "Sara, come on! Let me in!" I waited outside for ten minutes before giving up and walking away.
I had reached Rip's office in time to hear him explain his dilemma with his old-Time-Master-friend and the Time Master's offer to him. Jax stood in the corner, listening intently until Rip finished.
"So, what happens now?" He asked after Rip ad poured himself a glass of whiskey. "You turn yourself in to the Time Masters and then what? The rest of us just—"
"You'll all be returned back to your original time lines." He assured Jax. "As if none of this ever happened."
"But it did happen." I spoke up, leaning against the doorframe.
Stein nodded his gray-head, "Leah is right. Starling City might also fall into the hands of the U.S.S.R thanks to our efforts."
"All the more reason to consider the offer." Rip pointed out. "Look, I didn't say the offer was without it's downrights. I still lose my wife and son…"
"Then why throw in the towel?" Jax asked.
"Look, when we first started, I wasn't even thoroughly honest about my reasons for this mission or… Or how dangerous it might be…"
I could read the guilty look glued all over his face. I sighed before reminding him, "Carter knew the risks before joining the team."
Rip nodded before saying, "And now it's time for you all to decide if the future is worth the risk."
"I think it is." I admitted immediately.
"Me too," Jax stated.
"Agreed," Stein chimed in.
"Know what that means?" I asked Rip who downed his glass in one gulp. "It means you can go tell your Time Master friend that we don't accept any offers. We have things handled here."
I hid behind a tree not far from where Rip was meeting his old friend. I had to squeeze in just a tad to make room for Mick who occasionally peeked out from our hiding spot to watch Rip's movements.
"Are we sure his friend is actually going to attack him?" I whispered, turning to the tall man who held his heat-ray gun close to his chest. "I mean, they were friends once…"
Mick shook his head before looking down at me. "I heard the way his "friend" spoke to him earlier. There's no doubt in my mind that this is a trap…"
His voice seemed to trail off at the end of is sentence, so I curiously looked up to see what had gotten his attention. I almost snapped at him when I realized his eyes were focused on something other than my face, when I remembered I was wearing the ruby necklace. He turned his head quickly as if to check on Rip once more, but the pink shade on his cheeks gave him away instantly.
Ronnie stood a few feet away from us, not even needing to struggle to find a hiding spot, the lucky bastard. He only smiled at Mick as he said, "Busted. So, it was him."
I hid my smile by turning my back on the big man and peeking out at the tree to get a look as well. What I hadn't been expecting was to see Chronos holding a gun to Rip Hunter's head.
"Never had you pegged as a coward, Druce." Rip chuckled, trying to keep his shaking body still with the weight of a gun held to his skull. It brought me back to when Leonard's father held a gun to my head and I involuntarily shuddered.
"In that case, I'll remain here to see that your punishment is set out properly. I wouldn't want you die alone."
"Who says I'm alone?"
As if we had planned that to be the signal or phrase needed to step out of our hiding spots, Mick and I both emerged from the tree together; he shot his heat gun at Chronos at the same time that I struck him with electricity from my gloves. Chronos flew back several feet, landing on the ground hard, while Jax shot flames towards Druce.
I stepped forward to shock Chronos once more when he kicked out and knocked me onto my back. Hitting the solid dirt hard, my head bounced back and for a second, I thought I saw stars swirling around the trees. I blinked and regained my sense just enough to see Chronos aim his gun at my face. I gasped, expecting him to pull the trigger immediately, when his large, metallic body froze. Confused, I myself had frozen in place, forgetting the gloves on my hands for a split second.
That is until Jax shot some flames our way, just barely missing Chronos' head. Chronos then whipped around and reached for something large sticking out of his belt. The word grenade flickered through my mind just before he could throw it Jefferson's way.
"Jax!" I heard myself scream before rolling up off the ground and lunging towards the kid.
Then there was a sudden flash and before my hand could meet with the material of Jax's shirt, I was forced off to the side by the fiery explosion and sent smacking into a tree before I hit the ground. Luckily, I had remembered to cover my head this time, although that didn't stop the swirling stars from appearing as I sat up on my hands and knees.
"Jax? Jax!" I heard Rip and Stein call out urgently as Stein's hands reached out to help me up. "I lost him," he told me. "The explosion must have caused us to separate."
I felt a pang of panic before we all heard Jax call out, "Right here, relax."
We turned to see him stumbling our way, holding his head. "I'm fine…"
"Then why didn't you answer when I called out to you?" Stein barked as I rubbed my throbbing side.
"I didn't hear…" Jax sighed, stumbling a bit more. My body reacted before my foggy mind understood what was going on and I caught him as he fell into mine and Mick's arms.
"Jax?"
"He needs the med-bay. Now." Rip ordered.
"What happened to him?" Ray asked as we stepped inside the main room of the WaveRider.
"Chronos." I gasped, holding onto my abdomen with one hand as I helped Jax hold himself up with the other.
Jax eyed me suspiciously, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"It's probably just bruised," I guessed before peering down at his bloody side. "You're the one who is bleeding."
"That's what happens when you almost get yourself killed." Stein sarcastically mumbled.
I ignored him, sighing as I tried to pull Jax along with me. "Come on. Take it slowly." I meant to lead him out the door, following Rip and Mick when Stein spoke up again.
"Don't bother. He'll just do opposite of everything you tell him."
"Do you got a problem?" Jax asked, pulling out of my grasp to turn and face the professor.
"Seems our partnership has become untenable."
"Partnership?" Jax laughed dryly. "This is no partnership, it's a dictatorship."
I started to feel that agitating feeling bubble up inside me again and I tried to step in between them, but the professor's face flushed with anger before I could. "Do you think I like seeing you hurt?"
"Don't pretend you care!"
"Both of you!" I stepped forward, trying to get a say in the argument, but the pain in my abdomen began to burn and instead, I leaned forward, grasping at my aching body instead. I leaned into Ray for support as he jumped forward to help.
The conversation grew more intense as Jax asked, "Did you ever stop to think that I had a life back in Central City? One that YOU kidnapped me from?"
"Oh, this old tune." Stein sighed before laughing, "You were an auto-mechanic!"
"I had a mom!" Jax shouted. "A widow! Who will probably have no choice but to think I left her if I don't make it back to 2016! Do you have any idea what they does to her?"
Stein face remained flushed and cold as he stated, "We've all made sacrifices!"
"When are you going to learn that you are not my father?"
"If your father were here, he'd be saying the same as me, Jefferson." Stein informed him. "Just GROW UP, Jefferson. The future of the world is at stake and I'm more concerned with the billions of people who will die because of your egoistic adolescent ego!"
With that final statement, the room went silent. The boiling blood in my veins seemed to have popped and set another, more chilling feeling up my spine as I stood and starred at the two arguing men in the room. I continued to stare at the gray-haired man as the other left the room, clutching desperately at his side, and limping away.
"Was that necessary?" I asked, coldly as the professor turned to us.
"I know it was harsh, but it was the only way I could get through to him! I don't want to see another partner die, I can't!"
As if washed away by ice cold water, the burning anger subsided into something far more devastatingly painful that sat in the pit of my chest. I assumed it had been the comment on my brother's death that had caused it at the time.
I sighed, still leaning against Ray and clutching my side. "Jax isn't Ronald, Professor. He is his own person."
"I can't see him die." Stein repeated, finally looking me in the eye. "Because then I have to be the one to go home to his mother and tell her that her little boy is never returning home, and I rather die than do that…"
Ray and I both watched the professor turn on his heel and leave the room. I was left unsure of what to say. Yet, the cold-pit feeling in my chest evaporated as the large, metal door shut behind the professor.
I slept in the next day, still feeling achy from the explosion and when I sat up in bed, I thought for sure that the aching in my abdomen was going to cause me to vomit. I hadn't slept well at all and the thing that frightened me the most was the sudden burst of heat in my hands that woke me up. I for sure thought they were on fire, but was confused when I glanced down at them to find that nothing was wrong. Getting out of bed and changing into a simple sweater found to be more difficult that I imagined. I avoided looking in the mirror at the large, purple bruise that took up my whole side. Gideon offered to heal it for me, but I politely declined, stating that I wasn't comfortable with technology that I didn't quite understand nor could I control.
But as my hands continued to burn and Ronnie gave me a look of concern, I sighed to myself, "Yeah, maybe I'll have Gideon figure out what's going on. But later… It seems a little quiet… Too quiet…"
Making my way to the main room, I saw the team standing around, looking quite pale-faced and panicky. Even Leonard.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Mick has been kidnapped." Leonard bluntly stated.
"And Ray and Professor Stein." Jax added with a roll of his eyes.
"What?" I squealed, regretting it immediately and pressing a hand to my side. "How?"
"It happened while we were working on getting that." Leonard sneered, jabbing his thumb toward some box with a large, circle-shaped thing inside.
"The thermal-core." Rip explained. "Used to create Firestorm."
"Why didn't anyone wake me?"
Sara shrugged her shoulders, "We figured you could use the rest, seeing as you won't let Gideon fix your side."
I shot her a glare before stating, "I was actually just about to do that. And then we're saving the others." And with that, I stomped out of the room, headed for the med-bay.
