The Tip of the Iceberg - The Magnificent Eight Chapter Eleven
I intend no copyright infringement. This is my interpretation of the evolution of Leonard Snart through season one, and I earn nothing but hopefully, a positive and helpful critique of this story and chapter. Spoilers for Magnificent Eight and warning for language.
Once Rip had finished picking Mick's brain about the Hunters, he'd gone back to his cabin to figure out what had happened to his plan for revenge against Snart. The Time Master's methods for indoctrination had painfully ripped his mind apart as they tried to remake him into a mindless drone. He'd held onto the only emotion left-the one he was most familiar with for his entire life: hate. Years later, his hate had now dissipated and there was only a drive for survival. He was once again Mick Rory. But a Mick who was not consumed with a desire to see the world burn. Well, only the world of the Time Masters. The rest of it he could live with. His one regret was that they'd left some serious weaponry on his abandoned ship.
As Mick put away his gun after checking it, the AI offered Leonard's recorded message. Gideon had shared it with Rip per Leonard's request and Rip had ordered her to share it with Mick. Rip felt that it might help clear the air a little between the two. Mick sat staring at the wall once the recording ended. "The complete irony is that the only thing that would keep me from going back for Mick is my death." Through the years, that possibility had never crossed Mick's mind. Snart thought too damn much. And he was, as usual, right. Mick had to admit; he could think more clearly now that he wasn't imagining pounding the life out of Snart. He turned out the light but was unable to sleep for some time while his thoughts mulled over what he'd learned.
When Leonard woke the next morning, he was disoriented at first. His left eye wouldn't open and his body was one giant bruise. For a second, he felt eleven again. But his cabin aboard the Waverider helped him remember the brutal fight against Mick the night before in an effort to save everyone from his partner's rage. Avoiding the bag of melted ice on the floor, he went to look at himself in his tiny bathroom mirror. He was a mess. He pressed two fingers against his cheekbone and sure enough, it seemed to be broken. "Gideon? Is there any way to fix a broken bone in the med bay?"
"I have something that will speed up the healing process as well as reduce some of the swelling from the bruising."
He sighed. If these Hunters were as badass as Mick claimed, he would need to see out of both eyes to fight. A long, hot shower helped with some of the aching. When he was finally able to move, he headed out. Leonard stopped short when he found Professor Stein waiting in the med bay.
"Gideon asked me to come. Apparently, some of the tools will be difficult for you to handle even with a mirror." He turned his back on the thief to fiddle with the instruments on the tray. He hadn't realized how extensive the damage to their thief was. Last night when learning about the Hunters, he'd been more aware of Mr. Rory pacing around the bridge to really look at Mr. Snart. He tried to brush it off; surely the thief was used to being in fights. But he'd heard Mr. Rory's threats and wondered why he'd left Mr. Snart alive. He turned around. "If you'd sit right here," and he pointed to the chair, "I'll see what we can do. Gideon will walk me through the steps." He waited while Leonard sat down on the edge of the chair and he attached the cuff so Gideon could pump some painkillers into Leonard. "What should I do first, Gideon? The bone or the bruising?"
"If you would repair the bone first, Professor, that would be better."
Leonard let his vision lose focus so he wouldn't have to look Stein in the eye. He'd done it many times before in the school nurse's offices and the occasional ER visit. He anticipated seeing pity or blame; there was neither.
Stein was a stubborn man but his associations with The Flash's team and Jefferson had taught him that people can change and that first impressions aren't always correct. Jefferson had once pointed out that he himself was willing to do anything to make the world a better place. Mr. Snart had shown them that he, too, was willing to make their world better. Stein decided then and there to make an effort to reach Mr. Snart and show him that he didn't have to be just a malcontent the rest of his life. After all, with his superior intellect, how hard could it be to convince the man?
Half an hour later, Leonard could see out of his right eye again. His cheekbone was not fully healed but the break was reduced to a hairline fracture. Gideon had insisted on a full body scan to see if there was anything else that needed further attention before releasing the two men.
"Mr. Snart." Stein had determined his opening salvo while working on Leonard's injuries. He waited as Leonard turned to face him. The cynical expression was the same as always. "I said it once before. Your actions for the benefit of this team have been heroic. No, don't turn away. I remember that you once said that you were not a hero. Well, no matter your motives, your actions prove otherwise. Thank you."
"What are you talking about?" Leonard wondered if the painkillers had made him loopy. This was not the Stein who'd looked down his nose at him since this mission began.
"You allowed us to vilify you rather than admit you didn't kill Mr. Rory. Captain Hunter learned that your plan was to return and retrieve him but the Time Masters interfered. Then you stopped us from killing Chronos when it would have been easier. Finally, your actions last night made Mr. Rory focus on the threat to us all rather than just wanting to kill you or any of us for that matter."
Leonard had crossed his arms in front of his chest when the Professor had first started talking. He listened, but he didn't agree at all with Stein's assessment. He had done everything he had for purely selfish reasons. His decision to save Lisa and to destroy the part of Chronos that had remained in Mick. That wasn't being a hero. That was being pragmatic. He had to get Gideon erase that message once he got back to his room. It seemed Rip had seen it too. But he'd withheld the fact from Stein that Leonard thought he'd die on this mission. Why? No matter. Relying as usual on sarcasm to mask any emotion, "If it makes you sleep better, sure." He turned and walked away.
Undeterred, Stein decided to see what information Gideon had about Mr. Snart and his background that he could use to convince the younger man that these changes in his personality should become permanent.
The next few days saw Mick spending hours with Rip filling him in on the Hunters, explaining about the type of weapons they had, and what training they'd undergone. He avoided the rest of the group as much as possible.
Rip, by necessity, had to put off his search for Savage in an effort to find ways to escape the Hunters. When he wasn't meeting with Mr. Rory, he worked with Gideon to map out locations to hide in. They had to exit the time stream at some point.
Jax had spent most of it with the jump ship's manual trying to learn all the ins and outs of the mechanics involved. Once he was comfortable with that, he planned to ask Rip to let him work with the Waverider next. They should have two people who could do repairs in case of an emergency.
After researching Mr. Snart's background to come up with an angle for argumentation, Stein had availed himself of the ship's library and could be found at any time in his room reading and taking notes for research he wanted to explore once he got home. He had topics for papers to last him for years. He fell into that timeless place where he went when pursuing new ideas.
Sara gave Leonard one day to himself before showing up at his cabin when Gideon told her he was awake. She had two cups of coffee and a plan.
"What do you want?"
"Grumpy in the morning I see." She pushed past him after giving him his cup. Sitting in the one chair, she swiveled to face him. "There is nothing to do until Rip determines our next course of action. I can only practice my skills for so long in that hold. So. Poker or gin?" She slapped the deck of cards she had pulled out of her pocket onto the table.
"Fine. Where?" There was only one chair. "You figure it out while I take a shower."
When he emerged awake and more alert, Sara had found some pillows and was sitting on the floor. A second stack of pillows waited for him. Settling down next to her, he said, "Gin." He'd played it with Lisa so many times that he could do it in his sleep. He was prepared for Sara to lecture him and wanted to keep most of his mind available to pay attention to any conversational traps she might have. She surprised him. Sara spent the next few hours talking about her training as an assassin. No state secrets but enough to give him a good idea of what her life had been life at that time.
"My butt's numb. Hungry?" She stood and held out her hand.
Taking it, he joined her. Maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all. Sara and Stein both seemed to be okay with his actions. He wondered how the rest of them would be.
It was three days after the fight that he ran into Mick. It was inevitable that the two of them would run into each other but Leonard was reminded of two gunfighters as they stared at each other in the corridor.
Mick broke the silence. "I'm not going after Lisa." He knew that was the only thing that Snart would want to hear. "The past is done. I didn't kill you because we're going to need everybody to figure out a way for all of us to stay alive. I want to stay alive. But you need to understand that the Time Masters are not the police. Not the Flash. Not any metahuman. They're dangerous to us all. You need to focus everything in that brain of yours to figure things out for all our sakes."
Leonard narrowed his eyes as he read his former partner. Mick had always been transparent and he seemed to be telling the truth now. "Give me what I need to know." The two went to the galley where Mick filled Snart in on everything he knew about the Hunters. Except for the bridge, it was the only place with several chairs. Plus, Mick was hungry, again. It was hurry up and wait time.
Rip had finally figured out where they were going to hide from the Hunters. He called everyone to the main deck to make the down jump. When they emerged from the time stream, Rip grabbed his neck when it spasmed, "It's been quite a while since I've time jumped far enough to experience side effects." He grabbed his numb hand. "Fond memories," he said wryly. They really weren't.
The rest of the team was discovering how their own bodies were reacting. "I can't feel my face," mumbled Jax.
"Fine feel I," said Leonard blithely.
Rip practically pounced on him. "Linguistic dysplasia. That should pass shortly."
"Better it now." The words were fine in his head but what came out of his mouth, that was another story. He tried to sort it out and couldn't.
The only one who wasn't affected was Mick. During the many years he'd been Chronos, he'd acclimated to time travel so that it was a piece of cake for him. No longer did he suffer from those headaches. He'd figured out that they are caused because he was in the same time as his younger self. He had been too close to himself, and the body had reacted.
Rip informed them that they were in 1871 and as usual, Ray geeked out talking about his boyhood fantasies.
"This isn't going to work." Mick thought he understood what Rip was doing in keeping them hidden from the Hunters.
"It will buy us time. It will buy us time while the Hunters search out the other fragmentations.
"What if they decide to check this place first?" asked Mick.
"You know, feel free to loop us in whenever it's convenient " said Kendra. She felt the two were talking a foreign language.
"As you've seen, time doesn't operate as is generally thought. It wants to happen. It takes time to harden. The timeline is unclear on occasion, constantly in flux," explained Rip.
"Hence the difficulty in locating Savage throughout history," added Stein.
"Indeed, and one of the other interesting notions in time travel is the existence of fragmentations."
"Temporal blindspots," said Mick. "Specific places in time that Time Masters can't see." Mick had learned a lot as Chronos. He moved over to stand facing the group but behind Snart's chair. While he'd given up his plan to kill Lisa, things were not back to normal for the two thieves. Every time he looked at Snart, he remembered all those years of pain at the Vanishing Point. He'd checked with Gideon who had confirmed that Snart had asked for the specific coordinates to allow him to return to where and when he'd left Mick. So that part of his story rang true; he had intended to come back for Mick. But what had happened? Too much thinking.
"The town of Salvation and its surrounding environs are within one of these fragmentations," informed Rip.
Leonard had been silent, as he'd listened to them all. He'd been muttering under his breath until his speech matched what was in his head. "So basically we're hiding out in the Old West hoping your boogeymen don't find us here." He stood up and turned to face the group while keeping Mick in his peripheral vision. His injuries had barely had time to heal even with Gideon's help. The swelling on both eyes had gone down enough that he could see again but his jaw and the top left of his face was still purple.
"The Hunters are not boogeymen. And you better hope they don't find us." Mick wanted to punch Snart. Hadn't he told him several days ago what they were up against?
Undeterred, Ray spoke up, "Well, at least not until I have a chance to punch a few doggies or bust a bronco or two." At everyone's stares, he continued, "Not that I condone animal cruelty, it's just that I watched a lot of westerns as a kid."
"Alas, you'll have to enjoy the Old West from in here I'm afraid." Rip didn't want anyone leaving the ship and interacting with the locals here.
Sara spoke out. "Oh come on, what's the harm in us just taking a look around?" She wanted to get Leonard and Mick separated. While Mick was no longer trying to kill Leonard, the air had not been completely cleared and they needed a break.
"This group? Clearly you haven't been paying attention," said Stein. Their blithe brushing off of past events astounded him.
Ray sighed heavily. "If I'm in the Old West and I don't get to look around, I'm going to kick myself."
"I could help with that," Leonard smarted off but was stopped from saying anything else by Mick.
Snart's smart mouth had become tiresome to Mick who throttled down his irrational frustration with the thief. He knew that Snart used sarcasm to hide any emotion that might come into play but he needed the man to understand how dangerous things had become. He was treating it as though he was planning one of their heists. Once Snart focused his energies and not inconsiderable intelligence on the problem, he'd settle down. Mick knew things about the Time Masters that they did not and he now felt of a kinship with Rip of all people than his former partner. Mick turned to Rip. "I'll keep an eye out, don't worry. I'll be a good boy."
Only Stein noticed the sadness that came into Leonard's eyes when Mick shut him down. The thief had lost some of his self-confidence. He hoped the younger man would regain it before they needed him at his best.
Sara had caught Mick's frustration. Mick had used to ignore Leonard's smarts comments just like Leonard had always ignored Mick's dumb statements. Leonard was two men now. The one who smarted off and said whatever sarcastic thing came to mind and the one who realized that he could make a real difference. But the breach between the two men was still there and was affecting everyone.
They all moved down to the fabricator room at Rip's direction. Gideon made everyone their hats first because it needed a different form to build on before changing forms to build their clothes. Sara insisted on pants from the start. Leonard stood off to one side twirling his hat. He asked for a black one with a broad brim. He counted on it to shadow his bruised face. When Rip pulled out era appropriate firearms, he perked up. He found a gun to his liking and waited for his clothes to be finished. He didn't want to look dapper like Stein and Palmer. His self-esteem had taken a major hit when his trust in Mick and his faith that he could return for Mick had been destroyed. He opted for a simpler vest with a blue handkerchief rather than tie. Also unlike the others, he'd chosen a long black duster. It matched his mood.
When they were ready, the seven of them walked into town. For the first fifteen minutes of the walk, Ray babbled on and on about what he wanted to see and do. Leonard kept his mouth shut on all the responses he wanted to say. He admitted to himself that Ray's condescending attitude had got his back up from the start and made him want to knock the tech down verbally every chance he had. He challenged himself to resist responding at all.
Sara noticed that Mick and Leonard chose to walk on opposite sides of the group as they sauntered along. She chose the same side of the group as Leonard for now. She felt guilty that she'd been the catalyst for their fight and wanted to see what she could do to smooth the way between the two. There had to be a saloon and that meant alcohol. Maybe she could get one of them in a drinking contest and drop some not so subtle hints. She'd gotten Leonard's trust back while playing cards. Soon, she'd angle their conversations the way she needed to.
Once in town, Ray chose the saloon as the best place to go. Upon entering the room, Mick headed directly to the bar. Sara followed with Kendra who soon learned that 1800's alcohol wasn't to her liking.
Mick ordered a shot. Sara was still drinking her shot as he spoke, "Time doesn't pass normally in the Vanishing Point. It's been years since I've seen the bottom of a glass."
"Years? How long were you..." asked Sara. Since Mick had chosen to drink, she'd work on him.
"Chronos? Never counted. Doesn't matter. Turns out it was just another gig anyway." With that, he turned his partnership with Leonard into a job.
Sara felt sad. Leonard had believed Rip considered them pawns. Well, that pawn had been sacrificed and would never be the same. Nor would his partner. "Doesn't seem like it. You're different now."
"Better or worse?"
"Don't know yet." She threw back the alcohol and felt it burn all the way down.
"You can handle your liquor. I like that."
"Been on more than a few dates with guys who thought I'd get wasted and they'd get lucky. But somehow they always ended up the ones under the table." She put a challenge into her voice. If she got Mick drunk, maybe she could find the key to rebuilding his relationship with Leonard.
Mick grunted and tried to smile. "You haven't drunk with me," he challenged.
"Is that a challenge, Mick?" Bait, line and sinker. She smiled and downed another shot.
"Line them up."
Stein headed toward the poker tables and sat down at one. All of them had been given era appropriate money so he decided to play cards. Leonard prowled around the edges of the room staying away from Mick. He ignored the looks he received when people caught sight of his battered face. Curious, he joined Stein.
"Didn't know you played cards," he drawled. He drew back his coat and sat down making sure that his holstered gun was easily accessible. He too had watched westerns as a child.
"Like you Mr. Snart, I am an enigma. Raise." Stein looked briefly at his younger teammate. "Ah," he won that hand. "Thank you, gentlemen."
Leonard smiled at the joy in Stein's face. This was a side to him he'd never seen. Usually, he brushed off Leonard's words. He'd thought it was because he wasn't formally educated. He doubted Stein considered his self-education very valuable. "I'm impressed." He kept his eyes on the others at the table. The one with the ponytail was getting pissed off.
"My father was what some might call a degenerate gambler. Others would say criminal. When I was old enough, he'd pull me in on some of his schemes. I picked up a thing or two at a few of the card tables he frequented. Then I took a different path. Like father like son isn't always inevitable Mr. Snart." Stein had learned all about Leonard's father from his time researching the man this past week. There were some gaps but he'd found out enough to base an argument on. He'd wanted to point out this fact for several days and was grateful that the chance had finally arisen.
Leonard heard what Stein was really trying to tell him. His father had been a thief, a bad one and hurt others for pleasure. Leonard was a great thief but took no joy in killing. That had been Mick. The only pleasure he really knew was the satisfaction of being perfect on a job. His father had never had much faith in him or his sister.
The gambler who was playing with Stein objected to his winning another hand. When the waitress interrupted, he took umbrage and tried to take his frustration out on her. Leonard jerked his head but held back a comment. He'd wait and see how far this would go. This brought back too many painful memories from his childhood when his father had beaten his mother. The gambler was obviously a bully. He quickly scanned most of the saloon. Ray and Jax were seated at a table on the far side. Sara and Mick were at the bar to his far left and Kendra was out of sight. He had to handle this himself.
Stein, ever the gentleman, objected loudly and stood. "Unhand the lady," he demanded.
"Now, now boys, let's just take it easy." Leonard could see where this was going and dropped his hand to his gun.
"Oh, and when my friend here is being reasonable we know we have a problem." Stein gestured to Leonard.
"I'm not the one with the problem," the gambler stood up and drew his gun, "you are." It had barely cleared his holster before a shot rang out.
Stein thought at first he'd been shot. But no, it was the gunman who hit the floor. Snart had saved his life but he'd killed instead of wounded the other. "You killed him!"
"You're welcome." Leonard didn't want a thank you exactly but Stein needed to understand that he had the older man's back. Out of the entire team, he was the one at the highest risk in this time.
People all through the bar started to stand up and many left. One man came towards them; Leonard knew he'd be the next problem.
"Clearly, the deceased was a friend of yours," Stein was babbling. "But my friend here..."
Leonard had to put a stop to this. "Your friend here drew first, got put down, it was a clean shot."
"Do we look like we care about clean?" asked a cowboy to his right. He swung at Leonard who easily dodged before throwing a right cross and knocking him down. That was the signal for a free-for-all to start. This battle wasn't to the death like his fight with Mick; Leonard found himself having fun. A corner of his mind wondered where Mick was. As he turned, he spotted the pyro lying across the bar. Had he been hit from behind? A second glance showed a row of shot glasses. He was just drunk. Shaking his head, Leonard moved around the room trying to take out the ones who were serious about this fight. Sara moved along the other side doing the same. The others were just smashing heads until a gunshot rang out. All action stopped and Leonard slid around the post into the main area afraid that Stein or one of the others had been shot.
Instead, it was a heavily scarred man who ordered everyone to stop fighting. The townsfolk listened immediately. Leonard focused his entire attention on the newcomer. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sara doing the same. He felt confident that between the two of them, they could take him down.
Stein made himself their spokesperson. "Thank you, Mr...?"
"Hex. Jonah Hex. You're not from around here are you?"
Stein was afraid he'd say something that would give them away like when he'd used the word era in front of Savage many weeks ago. "No. My friends and I are from out of town."
"Way out of town." He walked them out of the saloon. Sara went back to wake up Mick. As they all exited, the stranger continued, "Why don't you tell me where you're really from?" Sara turned to make sure that Leonard was behind her. She trusted that he had her back. She could see Mick staggering towards the door several feet behind them.
"I'm not sure that that's any of your business, sir," said Ray.
"Well, let me rephrase that. Tell me when y'all from. You seven stick out like a dog in a manger."
"Like he said, we're not from around here." Jax tried earnestness to convince the stranger who didn't buy it.
Leonard was at the back of the group standing on a step that put his eyeline above everybody's heads. He could get off a shot if needed without having to worry about hitting one of the team. He scanned the street looking for more trouble. He heard Mick exit behind him and saw him lean over the rail. Leonard hoped he'd puke; it would get the liquor out of his system faster.
"You think you're the first time travelers I've ever come across?"
Stein was still trying. "Yes."
Leonard was on full alert. This stranger with the guns and bandolier was no stranger to a fight. He shifted his stance, ready to draw his gun if needed.
"Where is he? I've got some words that need saying."
"Where's who?" asked Sara pretty certain she already knew the answer.
"Rip Hunter."
The game was up. Sheepishly, the group headed back to the Waverider. Mick shrugged off any help but Leonard kept him in sight in case the alcohol's effects got worse. Sara was right behind Hex and Leonard knew she'd take him down if he made any wrong move. Once they reached the ship, Mick headed towards his quarters where he was thoroughly sick. It helped and he headed to the bridge. The two women headed off on their own. Left to his own devices, Leonard went to a storage bay to practice his quick draw. He'd been lucky. The gambler had telegraphed his moves.
"Would you like a firing range Mr. Snart?"
"What?"
"I can provide you with targets and a gun to practice that does not use real bullets but a laser."
"How about a rifle?" Once he'd gotten the Cold Gun, Leonard had depended on it to the exclusion of other weapons for months. Its broad beam meant he didn't need perfect accuracy. He went to the fabricator room and asked Gideon for a Winchester rifle. Once outside, he set up a series of targets to shoot at. He practiced for hours until it was too dark to see. Satisfied that his skills were polished, he trusted that he could take down anyone who threatened his team. He took shells for the rifle and bullets for his Colt and headed back to his room. Before going to sleep, he took apart each gun and cleaned them thoroughly. Gideon projected a layout of the town including the various heights of buildings. He ran many scenarios through his head if they ran into trouble again.
Nursing a cup of coffee, Leonard and the rest learned that Ray had volunteered as sheriff. He rolled his eyes at the news; haircut still hadn't learned how to be a survivor. There was that trouble he'd planned for. Ray would probably encounter problems when the Stillwater gang rode into town. Leonard went back and got his Winchester and met Ray, Mick, Stein, and Jax at the door. He'd concealed his rifle inside his coat but Mick caught sight of it. Good. He might not like Snart but the man was a great shot. "You'll go high?" he asked gruffly and grunted when Snart nodded.
When the five reached town, Leonard scanned the skyline to determine the best height and angle to give Ray the backup he'd need. The hotel was Leonard's best choice; he figured that the Stillwater gang would enter town from the south. "Found it." Turning to Ray, he said, "I've got this." He pointed towards his selected spot above the saloon and headed upstairs. Knocking on the door of the room, he intimidated the inhabitant to leave for a few hours. For once, the bruises and his reputation from the day before stood him in good stead.
Mick didn't worry about backup after that. Snart was a master at planning and if he said he had it, he did. Mick's job was to keep things from getting out of control on the ground.
Leonard stayed in the shadows of the hotel room's window. He'd chosen his spot with great care. Now it was a waiting game. He pulled out the gold coin to practice agility again. He smirked. This had once belonged to Vandal Savage as a part of his collection. While everyone knew he'd stolen the dagger, no one knew that he'd swiped the coin too. As he'd said before, there's always time to steal.
The wind was biting against their skin as they watched the horsemen approach. Ray tried to talk the gang down but their leader wasn't having any of it. He pulled on Ray only to have his gun knocked out of his hand. Ray was impressed. Snart hit the gun and not the hand. He ordered the gang out of town; they left. Ray turned and saluted Snart in thanks. They all headed back to the ship.
As they walked, Jax pounded Snart on the back until the thief backed off and put up his hands. He was uncomfortable with the accolades Ray and Jax were giving him. Realizing how uncomfortable it made Snart, Jax turned his admiration to Ray.
As they entered the bridge, Hex brought them back down to earth. He pointed out that they wouldn't be there forever to protect the town. When he mentioned the word Calvert, they were all curious since Rip didn't want them to know about it. Mick ordered Gideon to share the information. He, Stein, Jax, and Ray surrounded the main console while Leonard used the wall monitor to read about it.
Over the next hour, they developed a plan to stop the Stillwater gang for good. Hex took Leonard with him to steal some horses. Leonard chose the one white horse from the bunch as his own. He figured whoever rode it would be a target and he didn't want that to be Jax or Ray. Or Mick.
As they rode through the cold night, they finalized their plans. Ray was adamant that they arrest Stillwater and not ride into the camp planning to kill everyone. Mick was disgusted at the sentiment. He hoped things would go by the plan but bet himself that something would go wrong. Leonard hung back as they rode through the dawn. They had decided that he would be the one to carry Stillwater making him the obvious target for retaliation. Mick and Hex would try to stop anyone from being able to follow. Jax would just try to distract the others while Ray hunted through the camp for Stillwater.
The team rode into camp with both Mick and Hex leaping off their horses. Both were more effective on their feet. Leonard circled around shooting wherever he saw a gang member. He saw Jax shoot one who was aiming at Mick. Not bad. He scanned the camp and saw when Ray cockcocked Stillwater. He reined his horse over to the two and pulled the leader onto his horse. What the fuck was Ray doing? "There won't be Miranda Rights for another hundred years." Carrying their boss, Leonard raced through the camp surrounded by the others. He felt bullets whiz by over his head and ducked.
Then, as per their record, the plan went to hell. Jax was captured. They turned around and started shooting back until they ran out of bullets.
Hex yelled, "We gotta go!"
"Not without Jax!" There was no way Leonard was leaving their teammate behind.
"We got Stillwater, that means we got leverage. Live to fight another day or die tonight. Your choice."
If it were only him, Leonard would have rode into the middle of the camp to try to save Jax. But he was hampered by Stillwater. If he rode back, they'd have all the cards. Jumping off his horse to attack on foot would be futile as well. Furious at the situation, he turned his horse and followed Mick and Hex back to the ship.
Leonard listened as Ray and Stein argued how best to get Jax back. Ray didn't want to give up Stillwater. Angry that Ray was choosing the town over Jax, he had to speak up. He was their priority.
Hex's suggested solution was a quick draw. Leonard bluntly stated that the outcome would be that the loser would die. Mick was all for it; he was playing with his revolver like he used to play with flame. He asked, "So who's standing on Main Street."
Ray volunteered quickly and Leonard was okay with that. He figured no matter what, he'd do whatever it took to get Jax out of there. He had no qualms about breaking his word if that meant saving the kid. Listening to Ray, however, he wondered if letting him do the quick draw was a smart idea. He tried to remember the last gun he'd seen the techie shoot.
Then the shit hit the fan, again. Rip wanted to stop the whole thing while Ray called him out for his cowardice. Leonard followed Ray and Stein into Rip's office as they challenged the Time Master. He leaned against the doorframe and listened as Rip explained about Calvert, Oklahoma. Hearing Mick move up behind him, he made a slight turn of his head and saw that he was still a few feet back. He shifted so he could watch Mick out of the corner of his eye.
"Leaving Calvart, leaving this era was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."
"And why is that Captain?" Leonard wasn't going to back down. This reluctance might help him understand the man who'd brought them on this mission better. Rip's impassioned defense about the era's seductiveness was honest for a change.
Hex asked, "If you had known what Turnbull was going to do to Calvert, would you have left?"
''That's the thing Jonah, I did know."
Rip nearly had his head torn off by Hex's punch. "I deserve that," he admitted.
"You deserve a lot worse. You knew and you still left?"
"Of course I knew; I was a Time Master. And therein lay the problem. Like Raymond, like Martin I felt the pull of heroism that this era is ripe with and the opportunities to make a difference. It's one of the things that called to me. It is why I had to leave. Had I stayed, I could no longer have remained a Time Master. But I'm no longer a Time Master which is why I'll face Stillwater."
Ray objected but was cut off by Rip and his decision to stand there at High Noon.
Leonard left the bridge with a lot to think about. All during this mission, Rip had never once let his quest to destroy Savage go. But he got the feeling that Rip had completely forgotten Savage in today's events. The emotion in his voice was the first honest emotion Leonard had heard come out of him. It sounded like he'd been a pawn to the Time Masters. He wandered down the corridor as he thought. From the bits and pieces Sara told him while they'd played cards, Mick's life had been hell while under the Time Master's thumbs. His consuming rage towards Leonard was more understandable. Leonard told himself that he had to keep Mick from the Time Masters' clutches at all costs. If they took him again, they'd destroy what was left of his former partner. He was still lost in his thoughts when he heard Sara and Kendra enter through the bay door. He heard Kendra mention Ray and tuned out. He pulled out his gold coin and started his finger exercises again.
Sara came around the corner and almost ran into Leonard where he was leaning against the wall.
"Well, look who finally came back," he drawled.
"What, you all get in another fight without me?" she teased.
"Kinda." He kept moving the coin across his right hand.
"Where did you get that?" She realized that it wasn't an ordinary coin.
"From Savage when we broke into his house in 1976. It was the only thing I could grab besides the dagger." He watched as she shook her head and smiled. He grinned back.
Kendra walked up, and he filled the two in on the events of the past twelve hours.
Ray and Mick were sent to the med bay to get Stillwater. He was draped over the back of Leonard's horse once again and the group headed off to town.
It had been raining pretty hard and the street was more water than dirt. Leonard took the now conscious Stillwater into the jail. He watched as Ray, Rip, Stein, Kendra, and Sara made their final plans while Mick talked to Hex. Leonard scanned the area looking for any trouble from the townspeople while keeping his gun on their captive. A coffin lay ready for its occupant and a photographer was ready. Something bothered him about that but he couldn't figure out what. A group on horseback rode into town with Jax in the middle. It was time. He'd taken off his right glove so that he could fit his finger through the trigger guard. The plan was to give Stillwater that gun; his own was in his holster. He hoped Rip would never find out that he'd tampered with the bullets. He'd reduced the powder load so the bullets wouldn't fly very fast or far. Life instead of honor was a good deal to him when it was a teammate's life in danger.
He escorted Stillwater to the center of the street. Mick moved onto the porch behind him. In this, he knew they were in accord. They were in position to grab Jax should Rip lose.
"I'll be drawing for Sheriff Palmer," said Rip not knowing that Ray had identified himself as John Wayne at the start of this little escapade.
"How do me and my boys know you'll keep your word?" asked Stillwater.
"Sheriff Palmer is a straight shooter." Leonard watched as Stillwater checked to see that the revolver was loaded properly. Fortunately, the missing powder would not be obvious to a casual inspection. The man accepted the gun and Rip took center stage. Stepping back from the center of the road, Leonard saw Sara cross her fingers. Really? The tension mounted until Stillwater drew. Rip was faster. The flash from the photographer's flash-lamp was bright as Rip was immortalized for the local newspaper.
Leonard and Mick ignored everything but Jax. They waited to see that he was released as promised. The kid was full of admiration for Rip's speed. Mick went over to join the group while Leonard watched the gang ride out of town.
Sara spotted them first. "I don't think we're done here yet."
Leonard climbed a step to see over the crowd and saw what had to be the Hunters approaching. But how? A second later, he had his answer. Just as they had had Gideon search the timeline for news articles on Savage, the Time Masters would hunt for them the same way. They must have found the photograph of Rip in the paper.
The townspeople scattered leaving the street open for them to fight. Leonard aimed at the one on the right and fired the first shot. He heard Mick's cry of welcome to his former fellow bounty hunters. He hoped the others had their weapons or it was going to be a short battle. He only had five bullets left. He kept firing but had to stop when Firestorm took the field. Flame was everywhere and he didn't want to get caught by a fireball. "What about our guns!?" he yelled at Rip.
"Sorry, I grabbed what I could."
The bullets had rocked the bounty hunter but none of Leonard's shots got through his armor. Mick jumped the guy and knocked him down into the mud where the two continued to struggle. Leonard had to back off since he had no more bullets. He watched as Mick fought his opponent and using the bounty hunter's own knife, kill him. The ladies fought another until Ray, as the Atom, dove through the man's chest mimicking a bullet himself. Firestorm made it a trifecta as he crisped the third.
Leonard, Mick, and Sara took care of disposing of the bodies. They moved them to one side and searched them for any and all weapons or tech. Underneath that fancy armor, they were just human. Kendra brought out a wool blanket and they laid everything they'd gathered into it. Mick bundled it up and headed back to the ship. Leonard ducked into the saloon to buy two bottles of whiskey that he placed in his duster's deep pockets. Coming out, he saw Rip talking to Hex. He watched as their leader spoke to Jonah before the latter rode off.
Stepping off the porch to join Rip, he spoke. "Interesting fella. This town's seen a lot of interesting. I suppose you've got one of those dohickies that erases people's memories or something?" The way Rip kept going on about the timeline and not messing with it, he figured that he'd have some technology that could do that. He remembered how Chronos' computer had mentioned a UFO sighting and that's how he'd traced them to Nanda Parbat.
"No." Rip was confused. "But skepticism and disbelief are a far more effective tool."
"Ah. So if anybody here talks, no one will believe them."
"Would you, Mr. Snart?"
Leonard nodded his head in agreement. They headed back to the ship in companionable silence.
Once everyone had a chance to clean up, they headed back to the bridge to discover their next move. They no longer needed to hide out from the Hunters.
Leonard slouched back against the center console listening to everyone's conversations so Sara went over to join him. She was pleased that he was not on the outskirts of the group. "So where to now?" he drawled.
"Or more specifically, when," Sara turned to face Leonard giving him a challenging look which he ignored.
"Is there another fragmentation we can hide out in?" Kendra asked.
"Unfortunately matters are not quite so simple."
"How did I know you were going to say something like that?" said Jax with a smile. The smile vanished as Mick told them about their new enemy.
"Rip's buddies..." he began before being interrupted by Ray, "And yours."
Undeterred, Mick continued. "The Time Masters have issued mega protocols on all of us."
"That sounds pretty terrible." Ray didn't sound too concerned.
"The worst kind of order they can issue. They've sent the Pilgrim after us."
Leonard turned to watch Mick as he spoke. He sounded deadly serious.
"Who's the Pilgrim?" asked Jax.
Answering before Mick could, Rip said, "The Pilgrim is the Time Masters' most deadly assassin. She will stop at nothing until each and every one of you are dead."
Leonard couldn't help but note that Rip did not include himself in the bounty list. "Oooo. Scary." He wanted to see what kind of reaction he'd get from Rip to his sarcasm. He became serious. "Pretty sure we can handle ourselves."
"Indeed. Which is why she won't be going after the present day versions of you."
"She's hunting our younger selves." Mick ground out. "And she won't stop until each and every one of us has been erased from the timeline."
TBC