A/N: Thanks for your patience on this one! I tried to break this chapter up, but I ended up just writing it really long, so it took a while. I know I'm taking a few liberties with the structure of all the rooms and sections inside the Library of Congress for the sake of the action, but hey, maybe it looked a little different in 1950. It's possible, right? Anyway, this chapter has a lot going on, so I hope you like it!


Sara and Ava hurried through the Time Bureau's corridors. Ava tried to at least look a little bit dignified as she walked briskly past her employees and peers. Sara, on the other hand, did not care at all how she looked and sprinted directly into Ava's office.

She was surprised to see Gary inside. He waved at her. "Hi, Captain Lance," he greeted cheerfully. "I was just delivering some reports to Director Sharpe. How was your…" He paused and winked suggestively. "…lunch break?"

"Oh, shut up, Gary," Sara said dismissively as she ran behind the desk and began pressing buttons on Ava's computer.

Ava burst into the room soon after, waved silently to Gary, then joined Sara behind the desk. "Can you get a signal?" she asked.

"I'm trying. Just a second…yes!" She turned to Ava. "It's calling 1950. That's when the tour guide said it happened."

"Yikes," Ava said, folding her arms. "I wonder what the Legends did this time."

"We'll find out in a second." Sara and Ava stared silently at the monitor, waiting for the Waverider to pick up. Out of curiosity, Gary joined them.

"Should they be answering?" Gary asked after a few moments. "I don't see anything."

"Shh," Ava said. "Not now, Gary."

Sara waited a moment, then replied, "No, he has a point."

Gary grinned excitedly at the rare instance of praise. "I do?"

"They should be picking up," Sara explained. "Someone should be on the Waverider and able to hear the call. If they're not answering, then something has probably already gone wrong."

Gary raised his hand eagerly. "Ooh! Do you want to go to the ship? I just got this new time courier…"

"We all got new time couriers, Gary," Ava reminded.

"Well, yeah, but I like finding reasons to use mine. It has so many new buttons."

"I don't care whose time courier we use," Sara said, throwing up her hands in frustration. "Somebody just needs to get me onto the Waverider."

"Done!" Gary exclaimed. He entered the coordinates into the device on his wrist and a rectangular portal to the Waverider's bridge opened up. The three of them stepped through and let it close behind them.

"It seems pretty quiet," Ava observed.

She soon realized that she had spoken too soon. They heard a shout coming from the direction of the library. After exchanging concerned glances, they all ran toward it. Sara opened the library door and rushed into the room, followed by Ava and Gary. She saw Nora sitting in the middle of the remains of a spell, a horrified look on her face.

"Nora," Sara said worriedly, "what's going on?"

Nora looked up and turned her head to face the trio who had just arrived. "Captain Lance," she said as she stood up and walked toward her, "you have to stop John. He just made a big mistake."

"What?" Ava reacted.

"Oh no," Gary said. "Is John okay?"

Nora's words poured out rapidly as she tried to explain. "I found Tabitha and she's trapped where she can't get out, except with the right magic she can, and John found this guy who's telling him that he's trying to help, but he's actually lying, so John's about to help him break Tabitha out without knowing it, and I tried to stop him, but…"

Sara placed a hand on Nora's shoulder. "Okay, whoa," she said calmly. "Breathe. Just breathe, okay?" Once Nora had relaxed a little, Sara asked, "Does this have anything to do with Ray, or is John still in Heyworld?"

Nora's eyes widened. "What do mean? Is Ray in trouble too?"

"He hasn't called you?"

"No." Nora shook her head. "What's going on? Does he need help? Is he hurt? Are you guys getting along now?" She pointed at Sara and Ava, then put her hands down. "You know what? Don't answer that. It doesn't matter right now. Where's Ray?"

"If news reports are accurate," Ava answered, "being interrogated by the FBI at the Library of Congress."

"Don't worry about Ray," Sara said before Nora could open her mouth again. "We'll save him. What you need to do is stop John from doing…whatever you just said he was doing."

"But I can't just abandon Ray," Nora protested.

"You won't," Sara assured her. "We've got it covered. You're the only other magician we've got, so if John's doing something stupid, you're the only one who could potentially counter it."

Gary raised his hand awkwardly. "And I could help." He noted the strange looks the three women were giving him and explained, "What? John taught me a couple things."

Nora hesitated. "I don't know if I'd say…"

"I was an intern of the dark arts, remember?" Gary pointed out. "You don't get a title like that without working for it."

Sara placed her hands on her hips and stepped forward, taking charge of the situation. "Fine. Gary, take Nora to find John. Director Sharpe and I will get Ray out of trouble." She noticed a funny smile on Gary's face and added, "As colleagues."

Gary's smile faded. "Whatever you say, Captain Lance." He began adjusting the coordinates on his time courier. "Okay, bestie, where are we going?" Nora was, for once, too concerned about the situation to address the "bestie" comment. She simply dragged him out of the room and into the hallway, gave him quick instructions about John's location, and then joined him in stepping through a portal to Heyworld.

"I keep forgetting they're friends now," Ava commented. "Weird."

"Very." Sara nodded, then immediately went back to business. "Okay, Director Sharpe, I've got an idea that should be able to get Ray out of this, but I'll need you to come with me."

Ava raised an eyebrow. "Me? Why?"

"Because you are a tough, no-nonsense government official who acts like she sleeps in a suit," she answered with an extra hint of snark in her voice, "and that is exactly what I need to save Ray." She spun around and walked quickly out of the room. "Follow me, Director."

Ava frowned and hesitated for a second. "I don't…I don't sleep in a suit." Sara kept walking. Ava rolled her eyes and finally followed her.


Nate peered around a corner, then pulled his head back behind the wall where Zari and Mona were standing beside him. "The coast is clear," he whispered. "The security office is just down the hall."

"Good," Zari said with a nod. "Everybody stick to the script, okay?"

"Are you sure this will work?" Mona asked.

"It's the best option we've got," Zari replied.

"I still think it would be cool if I steeled up and took the place of one of the statues," Nate argued. "You could position me somewhere nearby. Then, when one of the agents walks past me, I could jump him with my super strength while either you or Mona steal his keys, weapons, and badge. You guys could take those into the office and use them to take down the remaining agent, freeing Ray. Then, we could flash everyone's memories and bolt out of there before anyone realizes anything happened."

"Babe," Zari deadpanned, "do you see any steel statues?"

"No," he said reluctantly.

"Exactly. We're not doing that." Zari stuck her head around the corner to double check that the area was clear, then ducked back behind it and whispered, "Go."

Nate straightened up and strolled casually into the hallway. Mona waited a moment, then followed him. Zari remained hidden just out of sight. "Ready?" Mona whispered once she'd caught up to him.

"Yeah," he whispered back. "I just hope Lin-Manuel Miranda forgives me." The two of them stepped aside to put a few feet between them and the door. Nate took a deep breath, then said very loudly, "Don't be ridiculous! Alexander Hamilton wasn't the greatest writer of the Founding Fathers!"

Mona shouted back at an equal volume, "Of course he is! Haven't you read the Federalist Papers?"

"Of course I have!" Nate exclaimed, even louder this time. "I'm a historian!"

"Hamilton wrote fifty-one essays!" Mona replied, pretending to get angry. "Fifty-one!"

"That doesn't make him the greatest writer! Nobody remembers who he is! Jefferson is much better known for his writings!"

"Jefferson!"

Inside the security office, Ray shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you this," he said, still smiling innocently, "but I'm not here to spy on anybody for anybody else. I'm just a normal library patron who took a wrong a turn."

"Why was that book so important?" the first agent asked, not caring much about his claims.

"It's…it's a good book. A classic."

"Then what's it's title, Mr. Potter?"

"Um…" What's a book they'd definitely have? Ray thought. Something normal for someone to check out. "I think it was…The Great Gatsby."

The agent crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Ray skeptically. "The Great Gatsby? You broke into the Library of Congress records room to find a novel that's been in print for years and is available in most public library systems?"

"Uh…yes?" he said, the uncertainty in his voice almost squeaking. Yikes. That was too normal. Come on, Ray, get it together.

The second agent stepped closer to the table. "Let's try this again," he said. "What were you looking for, and why do you need it?"

Ray closed his eyes and tried to think of an excuse, any excuse. To his surprise, he heard shouting coming from outside the door. The two FBI agents heard it too. It grew louder and louder. At first, they tried to ignore it, but it soon became too distracting. The first agent leaned over and said to the other one, "Why don't you see what's going on out there? I'll handle this guy."

The second agent nodded and walked out of the room. Stepping outside the door, he saw Nate and Mona bickering a short distance away.

"No!" Mona shouted. "Hamilton could have easily become the fourth president if he hadn't died during Jefferson's presidency!"

"Absolutely not!" Nate shouted back.

"And you call yourself a historian!"

The FBI agent approached them cautiously. "Excuse me," he said authoritatively, though at a much lower volume than Nate and Mona's fighting. "Could you two quiet down?"

"Not until this man admits that his research on the Founding Fathers is flawed!" Mona exclaimed, gesturing at Nate with fake rage.

"Never!" Nate cried. "You're the one with flawed research!"

Mona gasped dramatically and acted as if she'd been personally insulted. "How dare you, sir!"

"Sir, miss," the agent said calmly. "If you can't calm down, I will have to ask you to leave the premises."

"Oh yeah?" Nate said antagonistically, still speaking loudly. "Do you have a problem with us? What's your problem?"

"Yeah," Mona echoed. "What's your problem?"

The FBI agent continued attempting to deescalate the situation. Nate and Mona behaved as uncooperatively as possible and, finally, there was no choice left but for him to forcefully escort them out of the building. Once they were out of sight, Zari made her move. She rounded the corner and opened the door to the security office, where she saw Ray alone with the other agent.

The agent turned around as he heard the door open and shut. Ray straightened up in surprise and confusion. "Excuse me, miss," the agent said to Zari. "This is a private matter. Do you need something?"

Zari thought fast. "Uh…yes. Yes, I do." She walked toward him and declared confidently, "I'm a reporter with the Washington Post. I've got a story brewing about innovations in security in our nation's capital." She pretended to look around for someone, then took one more step closer to the agent. "Is Joe here? I should be interviewing him today."

The agent frowned. "Joe? Joe who?"

"Oh, you know…Joe…" She made eye contact with Ray, then took one more step toward the agent, discreetly clutching the memory flasher hidden inside her jacket with one hand. "…Joe…oh, whatever." She clenched her fist and set a gust of wind at him. It wasn't enough to knock him over, but it was enough to throw him off his balance and make him stumble backward. Zari whipped out the memory flasher and hit him with it, then shot out another wind blast, and finally flashed the blinding light. That was enough to make him fall, eyes shut and discombobulated. While he was still recovering, Zari turned to Ray. "Run! Before he remembers!"

Ray jumped up from his seat. "Yes! I knew I could count on you guys!" He ran around the table and quickly picked up the green box containing his suit that the agent had dropped on the floor in his struggle. "I'll take that."

Zari was already halfway to the door. She opened it and waved at him. "Ray, come on!"

"Coming!" Ray ran after her. Zari closed the door silently behind him and held a finger to her lips, signaling to keep his voice down. "Where's Nate?" he whispered.

"He and Mona had to distract the other agent," she explained. "They staged a fight about U.S. history to get him to kick them out."

"Nice." Ray glanced at the box in his hands and put it in his pocket. "We need to move fast," he warned quietly. "That security guard from earlier went to the records room to see what was missing. He's going to figure out we're looking for Brigid's Diary."

Zari's eyes widened. She grasped Ray's arm. "Dude, I just sent Mick and Snart to the special collections wing to look for it."

"Then we'd better find them before he does," Ray said. "And the book, too."

The two of them hurried away as quietly and swiftly as possible.


"So, you don't know exactly where John is?" Gary asked Nora, as he adjusted the setting on his time courier in the middle of the Waverider's hallway. "You didn't see anything like a landmark, or a…"

"No," Nora answered. "I didn't. I just know they're in Heyworld. It looked like some kind of basement."

"Basement…" Gary stroked his chin in thought. "Hm…basement…"

Nora rolled her eyes. "That's not a big clue, Gary. Tons of buildings have basements!" She paused and took a deep breath, then let it out. "Sorry, that was unnecessary. I'm just stressed about Ray. But seriously, how much does a basement in Heyworld narrow it down?"

"Well," Gary suggested, "if we had to, we could search through the Time Bureau records and see how many buildings in Heyworld were built with basements."

Nora's eyes widened as she had a realization. "Wait! Gary! That's it!"

"Heyworld basements?" Gary asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Even I think that's a long shot."

"No, not basements," Nora explained. "I saw the man they're talking to. They called him by his first name. It's Paul. We could go off of his description and first name to find him. All we need to do is find the right general area because I'd be able to sense his dark magic if I get close enough."

Gary grinned. "That's my brilliant bestie."

Nora took a step back awkwardly. "Uh…thanks? But we're not really…oh, never mind."

The two of them ran to the bridge. "Gideon," Nora asked as they arrived, "we're looking for a man named Paul with long, brown hair, light skin, probably around six foot. He lives in Heyworld. Are there any identity records that match that? Or news articles? Social media? Anything?"

Gideon searched for a moment, then displayed an image on the front screen that looked exactly like the man Nora had seen. "I have located one match to your description, Miss Darhk. His full name is Paul Christian, present-day residency listed as Heyworld."

"That's him, all right," Nora confirmed. "Do you have an address, Gideon?" In response, the AI displayed a street address on the screen next to the picture. Nora turned to Gary. "Copy that into your time courier."

"Already doing it," Gary said, adjusting the numbers on its surface. He looked up. "All set. Ready?"

"Yeah," Nora said with a nod. "I just hope we're not too late."


Charlie stood away from the two warlocks, leaning her back against the wall and watching them carefully. John and Paul had drawn out a massive pattern on the ground, then written smaller ancient symbols all around it. At the center of the pattern law the scroll. There were also multiple candles, vials of strange substances, and several odd-looking hand motions involved. Charlie only understood about half of what they were doing as they prepared, but finally, it seemed they were ready to begin the spell.

"One last thing," Paul said as John took his position on the outer rim of the design they'd drawn. He stepped away and picked up the crystal ball that had been sitting in the nearest corner of the room. Then, he set it down beside the scrolls, adjusting them both so that they were equally centered.

"I don't recall reading that part of the spell," John said warily as he looked at the ball.

"It was a very brief mention," Paul explained. "I've read that scroll top to bottom a hundred times. This is how it's meant to go. Trust me." He sighed. "Unless, of course, you'd like to take extra time to examine it. Time that Tabitha gets, and we don't."

John looked uneasily at Charlie. Charlie held eye contact for a moment, communicating with him silently. He shrugged his shoulders and dismissed his concerns. "All right. Let's get this started, then."

They lit each of the candles, then stood on the edges of the design on the floor. Then, they each took one step toward the center, reached out to join hands, and closed their eyes. They began chanting the spell, first softly, then louder. The symbols they'd drawn began to take on an eerie green glow. Charlie watched with intrigued curiosity.

A rectangular portal opened next to her and out stepped Nora and Gary. Charlie waved at them. "Hey, mates. What are you doing here?"

Nora pointed at John. "Trying to prevent this." She ran forward, shouting, "John! Stop!"

John heard Nora's voice in his ears, distracting him from reciting his incantation. "Nora?" he said, fighting the urge to open his eyes.

"Almost there now," Paul whispered. "One more sentence left. Don't make us start over."

Gary followed Nora and also shouted. "John, wait! Listen to her!"

"Stop!" Nora shouted again, reaching the edge of the drawing on the floor.

John forced himself out of his trance and opened his eyes. He turned his head to face Nora, though he hands remained joined with Paul's. "Why? What's going on?"

Nora pointed at Paul. "He's working with Tabitha. You have to stop."

Charlie gasped and straightened up. "What?" she said incredulously, walking toward Gary and Nora. "Working with that villain?"

John noted the earnestness on Nora's face and knew she was serious. He moved as if to pull himself out of the spell, but Paul suddenly jerked him inward and gripped him even tighter. A green glowing coil rose from the symbols on the ground and wrapped itself around John's legs, holding him in place. Two more shot up and tied his hands to Paul so that he could not escape. As he struggled, Paul quickly recited the final sentence of the spell.

"No!" Nora shouted, jumping toward the center.

"Let go, you bloody lunatic!" John said, trying to shake himself free.

As the final syllable left Paul's lips, a shining light appeared in the area surrounding the crystal ball and the scroll. John's restraints vanished, but the light expanded before he could step out of it. It engulfed the pattern drawn, those standing inside it, and even Gary and Charlie, who were now standing along its borders. There was something like crashing thunder and a second light, this time with a green tint, began shining out of the crystal ball. All but Paul shielded their eyes from the blinding brightness of it. Nora felt a sharp pain in her head and collapsed to the ground.

"Mallus!" she exclaimed in horror. "It feels like Mallus!"

Exactly what happened next, none of them were completely certain. It felt like a massive explosion of some kind. They heard the crystal ball shatter as something powerful ripped through the room. When they were finally able to open their eyes, they found themselves in a place that looked nothing like their previous surroundings. There was no sign of Paul's basement. The ground was sandy and white, but everything else seemed strangely blue. There wasn't even a sun sending golden rays down on them. Just a strange, empty, cold blue.

Nora didn't need to open her eyes to know where they were. She forced herself to her feet and glared at Paul. "We're in the dark dimension," she told him furiously. "You reopened Mallus's realm."

Paul smiled smugly, not looking nearly as genuine and friendly as he had seemed before. "Why, yes, it seems I have."

"As have I," Tabitha's voice said as she materialized in front of them, sharing Paul's smug look. "I do love a bit of dark magic. Powerful, isn't it?"

Charlie stepped closer to her friends and looked around frantically. "This is it, all right. No better the second go around."

John stomped forward toward Paul, fuming. "I'll teach you to lie to me, you little…ah!" A green glowing blast of energy hit him, throwing him back. Gary rushed forward and caught him.

"W-what's going on?" Gary asked, mostly to John.

Paul stood there with his arms outstretched to the sides, green flames burning in each palm. "I wouldn't make another move, if I were you," he warned. "I may have undersold my own strength. Not that I didn't need you, John," he clarified with a mischievous look. "I could never have pulled this off without you."

"Oh yeah?" Nora said, stepping forward. "Big mistake. Do you know how many times Mallus brought my soul here? Too many. I know the rules of this place, and I'm not about to let you…" She stopped to gasp as a ring formed in the sand around her and her friends. The ring turned black and they all felt chills. Nora sensed Paul's magic weakening her as she spoke, trapping her and the others inside the ring. "Stop…just…you can't…"

Paul turned to Tabitha. "Shall I finish them?"

"Hm…" Tabitha gave the idea some thought. "Tempting, deary, but we may need them alive due to that matter we spoke of. Of course," she said with a smirk, "we could always have a bit of fun with them."

Paul nodded eagerly and stretched his hands out toward the group in the ring. Green flames began to jump up from the surface of the white, sandy ground. Nora thought quickly and shouted, "Guys, hold onto me!" Too confused to protest, John, Gary, and Charlie obeyed her. As Paul began an incantation against them, Nora rapidly recited a very short spell and they vanished from the realm.

They found themselves back in Paul's basement, with no sign of Paul or Tabitha. Nora fell to the ground, exhausted. John ran to her. "You all right, love?"

"Yeah," she breathed, sitting up. "Paul was draining my power as long as I was in that circle. It took a lot to break us out, but I'll be okay."

Charlie clenched her fists and kicked over the nearest wooden box. "Bloody Tabitha!" she yelled. "Can't she ever learn to stay dead?" She turned around to see the other three staring at her. "What?" she asked angrily. "Don't tell me you're all sunshine and rainbows about this."

"I, for one, am not," Gary replied. "Director Sharpe is not going to like hearing about this."

"That's the least of our problems, mate," John said, shaking his head. "The force of reopening the dark dimension was enough to set Tabitha free within that realm. She's still not as powerful as she was, but she's a lot closer to it."

"And what are we supposed to do about that?" Charlie demanded.

Nora, John, and Gary exchanged worried glances. "I…I don't know," Nora said, speaking for all of them.


Leonard snuck silently through the special collections wing, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that looked like a rift. He had walked to the opposite end from where he had left Mick, and in such a large wing, that seemed like enough distance to let Mick cool off. As he searched, he tried to shove any and all reminders of Mick's little revelation to the far back of his mind. He knew he had no right to be jealous, and even if he was going to be jealous of someone, it would make much more sense to be Ava than Constantine. However, that didn't mean he enjoyed thinking about the single weirdest man he had ever met being with the person who he knew he was – though he didn't dare say it aloud to anyone else – in love with. He forced himself to focus on the mission. The sooner I find that rift, he reminded himself, the sooner we can get out of here.

The sound of a creaking door caught Leonard's attention. He spun around and saw a man entering the room through the nearest entrance. He immediately recognized him as the security guard from earlier. Leonard backed into the shadows along the edge of the room, then slipped silently behind a tall display case. The guard walked slowly through the exhibits, looking carefully at every potential hiding spot. As he got closer, Leonard crouched down and quietly hid himself behind another bookcase where he remained unseen. As the guard passed by, Leonard noticed something in his hands: a very old-looking book covered in Celtic symbols. That must be Brigid's Diary, he realized.

Leonard watched the security guard closely as he moved around the room. The two of them were alone. Mick was somewhere in the same wing, but much too far away to be seen from here. It was only a matter of time before the guard got comfortable enough in the empty space to slip up and set the book down somewhere. Better yet, Leonard thought, I could give him a reason to drop it.

Leonard crept along the side of the room until he was far enough away to make a believable entrance. He pulled his cold gun out from under his coat and held it behind his back. If he'd had more time, he may have considered a more elaborate plan, but it looked like the direct approach was the best option for now. Besides, he thought, it's been way too long since I last robbed somebody.

He stepped out into the open and cleared his throat to get the guard's attention. "Excuse me," Leonard said in a very fake innocent tone. "That book you're holding…it looks like something I'm searching for. Mind if I take a look?"

The guard looked at him curiously but recognized him after only a brief moment of confusion. "It's you," he said, his hand reaching for the gun holstered on his belt. "You tried to get that guy past me earlier."

Leonard smirked and held up his free hand. "Now, now, no need to panic. I'm not after your life. Just that book."

"Why?" the guard demanded, his hand still resting over his gun. "What's in it? Secrets you want to send your friends in Moscow?"

"And why would you think I'd do that? Do I look like a spy to you?"

"I don't care what you look like," the guard replied. "We're on to you. You work for the Soviet government."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Oy, this again."

The guard finally decided to draw his gun. As quickly as he did, Leonard had his weapon in position first. The two men stood facing each other, staring each other down as they kept their weapons pointed at each other. "I'd put that away if I were you," Leonard warned calmly.

"If you make one move," the guard replied much less calmly, "this place will be crawling with FBI agents, more guards, and every police officer in downtown DC. Word's been sent to the rest of the guards in this building, and they should be surrounding this wing any second. Not to mention the FBI agents who are already here. They're downstairs interrogating your inventor friend, Harry Potter."

Leonard raised an eyebrow. "Harry Potter? Seriously?" The guard said nothing. Leonard shook his head and muttered, "Typical." He took a step closer to the guard, still pointing his cold gun at him. "Listen, we both know you don't really want to kill me. If you did, you'd have already done it. And that works out well because, on the off chance that your grandkids might do something nice for the world, I don't really want to kill you either." Leonard took another step forward, still staring him down intimidatingly. "So let's make this easy for both of us. You hand me the book. I leave. Nobody gets shot. Deal?"

The guard hesitated, then narrowed his eyes at Leonard with more resolve. "No! You're not stealing from the Library of Congress on behalf of the Russians on my watch. I'll give you to the count of three to put your weapon down and surrender, or I will fire."

"Oh, will you?" Leonard drawled sarcastically.

"One…two…"

"For the record," Leonard said, still unphased by the countdown, "I did give you a way out of this."

"Three!"

Leonard fired his cold gun an instant before he finished saying the word "three." The resulting cold blast froze the gun in the guard's hand. As the ice spread across the weapon, the guard stared at it in horror, then dropped it just before his hand could freeze with it. The gun fell to the ground and shattered into a million frozen pieces. The guard was so shocked, he stumbled and fell backward, dropping the book in the process.

Leonard stepped over the icy remains of the gun and picked Brigid's Diary up from the floor. "Lucky for you," he said to the guard still in shock below him, "I'm a very precise shot." He looked over the ornate cover. "You've got guts, I'll give you that. Unfortunately, I still can't have you following me. Nothing personal." He hit the guard in the head with the handle of his cold gun, knocking him unconscious before turning and running around the corner, intending to find Mick and deliver his missing book.


Zari and Ray ran up the stairs toward the special collections wing. Just before they reached the top floor, they heard footsteps. Many loud footsteps. Ray craned his neck up to see three men in security guards' uniforms running past the staircase's exit just above them. They were too focused on their target to notice the two Legends, but one of them soon backtracked to block the staircase. Zari and Ray backed down to the first floor to stay out of view. "That's not good," Ray whispered. "Do you think they found Snart and Mick?"

"Maybe," Zari replied. "Either way, they're heading directly toward the nearest entrance to the wing we need." She turned around and looked for more options. "We have to find another way up if we want to get to them in time."

"There's another staircase on the other side," Ray pointed out. "We could try running up that way. Or maybe try the elevator. They have an elevator, right?"

"If there's a guard here," Zari said, "there'll be a guard at every entrance to that floor. They want to seal off the exits so Snart and Mick can't get out."

"Hm…" Ray thought hard. "There has to be a way we can get up there. Maybe if we go down to the ground floor…" He peered up at the top of the staircase and quickly ducked back, pulling Zari a few steps farther from the stairs until they were hiding behind a conveniently placed corner. "I saw another guard coming down this way," he explained. "They're not just locking down that floor. They're locking down the whole library."

Zari groaned. "Well, I guess that's a classic Legends mission for you. Come on!" She grabbed his arm and the two of them started walking away as quickly as they could without seeming obvious to the many security guards now entering the building. She and Ray froze as they recognized a familiar face coming toward them: the other FBI agent. "Crap," Zari whispered. "I thought he went outside."

"He must've escorted Nate and Mona out and then came back in," Ray realized. "We need to hide before he sees us."

The two Legends looked around. The nearest room was the same reading room they had entered earlier. Now, the doors were shut, locked, and guarded by other security guards. There were other rooms for various exhibits, but they too were locked down. Starting to feel desperate, Ray looked toward the side of the hallway and saw what looked like a storage closet. "In there, Z!"

They reached the door and tried the knob, but it was locked. Ray unrolled his sleeves to try his shrink ray on the bolt. Zari leaned back and glanced in the agent's direction. "He's almost here, Ray."

"Almost…got it…just…"

"He's going to see us."

Ray shot a tiny beam through the crack in the door, then turned the doorknob with ease. "Yes!"

Before he could spend much time celebrating, Zari pushed him inside with her, then shut the door behind them just as the FBI agent approached. The storage closet was stuffed with brooms, mops, and other maintenance supplies to the point that they could barely move without knocking something over. They braced themselves against the door and waited for the agent's footsteps to pass. He stopped right in front of the door.

"Are all exits locked down?" they heard his voice ask.

"Yes, sir," another man's voice answered. They guessed it was another security guard.

"Good. Those spies found a way to erase my partner's memory. He has no idea what's happening. Send someone down there to make sure they didn't do anything else to him."

"Of course. We think we have two of them cornered in special collections."

"Thank you. I'll be right up."

Zari and Ray finally heard the two pairs of footsteps leave and let out sighs of relief. "Whew," Ray breathed, still not daring to make too much noise. "That was close."

"Sure was," Zari agreed. She moved as if to reopen the door but stopped when she noticed something strange. "Hey, Ray?"

"What?"

"There's no light on in here, is there?"

Ray looked up at the ceiling. "Nope."

Zari pointed forward at the opposite wall of the cramped space. "Then why does that janitor's cart look like it's glowing?"

Ray looked across the closet at the janitor's cart. It did indeed look like it was glowing. Specifically, it was a gold-tinted glow that looked very familiar. He stepped forward and pulled the cart to the side of the closet. There, resting just over the back wall of the storage closet, was a swirling, sparkling golden oval of temporal energy. It was the rift. Ray grinned at Zari. "Good eye, Z."

"Thanks," Zari said. "Let's shut it down before we all get arrested."

Ray nodded obediently and took the miniaturized temporal energy gun out of his pocket. He pressed a tiny button and it expanded to its usual size. "Stand back," he warned. "There might be an impact from shooting it at such close range."

Zari glanced over her shoulder at the door. "I can't exactly move any farther back."

"Then just be ready," Ray warned. "One, two, three!" He shot directly into the center of the rift.

Ray was correct to anticipate an impact. The force of the rift's destruction filled the tiny room and blew the door off its hinges, sending it flying back several feet. Ray and Zari were also thrown back, landing on the floor of the hallway as the door crashed against the nearest wall. They caught their breath and sat up. "We did it!" Ray exclaimed, pumping his fist victoriously. "We closed the rift!"

Zari began to say something celebratory, but she cut herself off as the two of them were suddenly surrounded by security guards. "Try telling them that," she said as she and Ray slowly held up their hands.


Mick paced back and forth through his side of the special collections wing. Everything seemed pretty quiet and he hadn't seen any sign of Brigid's Diary. He was beginning to consider giving up and looking somewhere else. That was when he heard a loud voice shout, "Freeze! FBI! Hands up!"

He turned around to see a man in a suit holding up an FBI badge in one hand and a gun in the other. Mick raised his eyebrows but didn't put his hands up. "Oh," he said. "This is awkward."

"Put your hands up," the agent repeated. "This wing is surrounded, and your friends aren't getting out of the building either. The best option for you now is to cooperate."

"Cooperate?" Mick repeated with a mocking chuckle. "Not really what I do." He drew his heat gun and sent a blast of flame into the air. It didn't hit the agent, but it distracted him long enough for Mick to take off running, knocking over a couple of smaller bookcases on the way to block the agent from easily pursuing him. He fired behind him again to ensure no one was following him, then sprinted across the wing until he saw Leonard coming from the opposite direction. He waved his arms as a warning. "Snart! Not this way!"

Leonard stopped in place. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"There's an FBI guy," Mick explained quickly, "and he's got the door locked down and surrounded." His eyes centered on the ancient-looking book in his partner's hands. "Is that…?"

"Yeah." Leonard glanced over his shoulder, then back at Mick. "I ran into a security guard back there. I knocked him out and shattered his gun, but he could wake up if we take too long."

"Why'd you leave him there, then?" Mick asked frustratedly, pointing his thumb back in the direction of the FBI agent. "We've already got one problem chasing us! I thought you were the one all obsessed with thinking things through!"

"Well, forgive me for trying to get your magic book girlfriend back to you as soon as possible," Leonard replied dryly. "Next time, I'll wait around a while first. You're clearly handling everything so much better." He gestured in the direction of the agent, who was in the process of climbing over one of the fallen bookcases.

"Oh, why don't you just…" Before Mick could finish, he froze, hearing the running footsteps of the FBI agent behind them. He looked back, then at Leonard. "We've got to go."

"You're telling me," Leonard replied, looking past Mick to see the agent now fully in view. He jumped out to the side and fired a blast from his cold gun just strong enough to throw the agent backward and onto the ground. Then, he grabbed Mick's arm and pulled him behind a bookshelf. The two of them exchanged mutually understood looks and began constructing a barricade of sorts, moving tables, chairs, bookshelves, display cases, and any other large items near them together, preventing the FBI agent or any other pursuers from coming within a few feet of them. They crouched down behind the barricade. A wall was to their back, but they were angled just enough to leave a gap behind them that was large enough to bolt through if necessary.

Leonard looked over the top of the sideways bookshelf that made up the bulk of the defensive structure and saw that the agent had brought in two more security guards as reinforcements. One of them saw him and fired a warning shot over his head. Leonard returned it with an icy one of his own, then ducked back down. "Well, this is just peachy," he muttered. He turned to Mick. "Think the Legends have destroyed that rift yet?"

Mick activated his comms. "Hey! Whoever's on here, pick up!" he barked. He nodded at Leonard. "It sounds clear. They must've found it."

Leonard snuck another glance over the edge of the bookshelf and saw that the security guards had now been joined by several police officers. "Nice to have some good news," he said as he backed down again.

"Hello!" Mick shouted again into his comms. "Anyone listening?"

Nate's voice came through loud and clear. "Mick? What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Pretty!" Mick replied. "Where are you?"

"Outside with Mona."

"What?"

"We had to distract this guy so Zari could…you know what? It's a long story. I'll save it for later. Anyway, as soon as we got out here, they started locking it down, so we couldn't go back in. I just tried Ray's comms, but he didn't pick up. Where are you guys?"

"Tell him we could use some backup," Leonard said.

Mick complied without hesitation. "We need backup, Pretty. We're on the top floor surrounded by cops."

Mick heard Nate suck in his breath. "Ooh…that's not good. I don't know how I'll get past all these police out here, but I'll see what I can do." He hung up the call.

Mick sat quietly for a minute, then let out a low chuckle. Leonard raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny, partner?"

"Just never thought I'd be getting into a standoff with cops in a library," he replied. "Pretty much anywhere else, sure, but not here. Maybe we can throw books at them or something."

A tiny smirk crossed Leonard's face. "Well, you know what they say about the pen being mightier than the sword." He froze suddenly as a realization dawned on him. "Mick," he said firmly, "you can get us out of this."

Mick peered over the edge of the bookshelf, then quickly pulled his head back. "I don't think this is the best place to start a fire."

"Not with your gun. With this." Leonard held Brigid's Diary out to him. "I don't know how it works, but you do. If you can write yourself an alien girlfriend, I'm willing to bet you can write us a way out of this mess."

Mick took the book with a stunned expression on his face. "But…but my writing…it's not…you're not going to…I thought you said you wanted everything to go back to normal, Snart."

"Normal flew out the window the moment we boarded the Waverider," Leonard argued. "I don't need to know everything to know that you can use that book to help us. Come on, old friend. Write something. Anything."

Mick took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, calming himself down for a moment as he pulled a pen out of his pocket. "Okay, Snart. Just buy me a minute. I've got this."

Leonard nodded at him, then stood up to his full height and shot a much stronger blast from his cold gun, forming sharp icicles along the ceiling and sticking up from the floor. Two police officers shot at him, but he dodged one by ducking back behind the bookshelf. The other hit an icicle instead, causing it to crash to the ground. On the other side of the barricade, Leonard saw the security guard from before approaching from the opposite direction. He had no weapon and was clearly confused about what was going on, but Leonard didn't want to take any chances. He shot another few blasts onto the floor in front of the guard, creating a short wall of icy spikes in his way. Leonard crouched back down beside Mick. "Need any more time?"

"Nope," Mick replied, setting his pen down with a smirk. "Get ready."

"For what?"

Before Mick could answer, a very tall, purple-skinned woman materialized in front of them. She carried a giant sword and was dressed like something out of a science fiction or fantasy movie. Mick couldn't help feeling a little smug about the shocked look on Leonard's face. "Snart, meet Garima," he said. "Garima, this is Snart, my partner."

Garima grunted a sound that definitely wasn't an actual word. Leonard still looked shocked. "That's Garima?" he finally asked once he regained the majority of his usual composure.

Mick grinned. "Told you she had three boobs."

Garima let out a loud war cry and leaped over the barricade in a single bound, swinging her sword aggressively at everyone and everything in her path. Leonard and Mick watched her from over the top of the bookshelf. "Don't worry," Mick assured. "I specifically wrote her to be bullet-proof."

"I can see that," Leonard said as the officers' bullets bounced off her purple body like pebbles. "What else did you write?"

"That she's not going to stop rampaging until we're all safely out of the library," Mick answered. "And that she won't actually kill anybody. It's annoying, but if I don't write that in, Sara will give me a really long lecture when we get back that's going to be even more annoying than writing that, so…yeah."

It only took a few minutes for Garima to either knock out or drive away every single guard and police officer in the room. The FBI agent was the last to leave, running out of the wing calling for backup. She stopped for a moment to look back at Leonard and Mick.

Mick nudged Leonard in the arm. "Coast is clear."

Leonard nodded in agreement. "Let's get out of here."

The two of them climbed over the barricade to where Garima was standing. Garima grunted something to Mick that, again, did not sound like a real word, then charged forward to burst through the door, swinging her sword to clear a path out of the special collections wing. Leonard and Mick ran close behind her, with Mick gripping Brigid's Diary tightly under his arm. As they ran, Mick told Leonard, "By the way, when I said 'until we're all safely out of the library'…"

"You meant all of us," Leonard finished for him. "I got that, partner. Time to find Raymond and Zari." All three of them bolted down the stairs to the next floor below, with Garima leading the way.