Most of the Legends were in their usual practice room crowded around a laptop when Sara and Ava walked into the room.

"Captain, perfect timing," Nate said, "We just found the perfect way to earn money for the center,"

"Nate and Ray are delusional," Zari interjected.

"We are not," Nate defended.

"We're optimistic," Ray said.

"We're never going to make money like this," Zari argued.

"Like what?" Sara asked.

"Look at all the evidence right here," Nate pointed at the screen, pushing it towards Zari.

"Yes, I've read it. You're still delusional,"

"What's this plan?" Sara asked, pushing Nate and Ray apart to sit between in front of the laptop.

"Street performing," Nate said proudly.

Zari snorts at it, rolling her eyes.

"Now, now, it's a reasonable idea," Amaya says, rubbing Zari's shoulder and giving Nate a reassuring smile.

"Haircut and Pretty think everyone will give them money because they have good faces," Mick grumbles from the corner of the room.

"I don't think that. They'll give us money because we're talented," Nate said, then he does a double take, "You think I have a good face?"

Mick shrugs.

Zari groans, "Guys, I'm not saying you won't make money. I'm saying you're not going to make the thousands we need,"

"You don't know that," Nate argues.

"Nate, it's fifty thousand. Unless Bill Gates going to be on the street we perform on, that's going to be a hard number to hit,"

"But look at this guy here, he's talking about just dressing up in a costume and making a couple hundred a day!" He points at the screen.

"Yeah, In LA," Zari points to another part of the screen, "LA is weird like that,"

"You could try uptown," Ava said, gulping slightly when everyone looked at her, "Just… if you want to make money, you should go where the money is,"

"Are there street performers usually in the area?" Zari asks, still sceptical.

"Not really around where I live… but sometimes there are musicians in the park or by the station," Ava dragged one foot behind her knee.

"See, we can do that," Nate stands, holding a hand up for Ava to high five. She just looks at it for a few seconds. When Nate doesn't get the desired response he turns to Ray to eagerly returns the high five.

"This is still a shot in the dark,"

"Sometimes those hit," Ray points out.

"Yeah, like the time I hit Ray accidentally in that hole in our hardcore Minecraft server," Nate said.

"I'm sorry what?" Ava asked.

"Yeah. He was down a mineshaft. I thought I saw a zombie, fired the bow and killed him,"

"He did kill himself in solidarity though," Ray added.

"I couldn't go on in that world without you bro,"

"Alright," Sara rolled her eyes, "Suicidal bro packs another time. I think this is worth a shot,"

"You do?" Zari asked.

"I was just suggesting… I don't know if we'll make money. I never paid much attention to the performers,"

"We'll just have to make people pay attention to us," Sara grinned, "It's worth a shot at least. We're still going to be looking at other ideas anyway," She got to her feet, clapping her hands, "I think the train station uptown should have a lot of foot traffic. Call Jax and Wally, have them meet us there,"

The Legends quickly ran into a huge flaw in their plan. Keeping a performance going for an extended time required a lot of energy. After barely an hour they were all running on fumes. Ava had done two drink runs for them in that time. And they had 2 dollars and sixty-three cents to show for it.

Mick, strangely enough, was the one to suggest they take it in shifts. It helped, they performed in pairs, changing out every other song. It still took a lot out of them. But a lunchtime rush did bring in more money. Thirty dollars was a drop in the bucket, but it was something. Zari sat down, next to Ava, doing some quick calculations.

"Assuming 20-30 for the morning, midday and evening rush each, that's roughly a $100 a day. It's better than minimum wage, but it's still not going to be enough,"

"And we can't keep this up every day," Wally said, his shoes off, rubbing his foot, "We're going to have blisters by tomorrow,"

"Ray and Nate are determined though," Sara sighed heavily, watching them try to engage the crowds.

"Of course they are, they don't want to lose the center," Jax said.

"None of us do, but we have to be reasonable," Zari said, "We'll just have to think of something else,"

The song ended and Ray and Nate came back. Zari and Amaya groaned. It was supposed to be their turn next, but they looked wiped. They'd been here four hours now and it was the hottest part of the day. Even in the covered section station, the heat was getting to them.

"We can take your next turn," Nate said, noting how tired they looked.

"No, sit," Sara ordered, "You two are going to hurt yourself if you keep going,"

"But," Nate started.

"Sit," She glared. Ray and Nate quietly sat back against the wall with them, both sighing gratefully once they were off their feet.

"Guys, I'm sorry this isn't the big idea you were hoping it would be," Amaya said softly to them.

"We'll figure something out," Ray said, "Maybe… we try other places in the city. Or something other than dancing,"

"But we're dancers," Wally said, "Unless you think giving people physic lessons on the side of the road is going to get money,"

"What if we tutor for money?" Nate suggested?

Ray made a face, "But when, we already tutor the kids at the center after school. And who's going to pay us to tutor their kids later in the evening,"

"We could cut back on our hours at the center… until we raise the money," Nate suggested, but just from his tone everyone knew he didn't want to do that, "If we don't raise the money we won't have a place to tutor those kids anyway," They sighed again.

Ava had been sitting there the whole time, an idea burning the back of her mind. "Would you guys mind if I…" She makes a vague gesture.

"You want to dance?" Sara asked, bemused but smiling.

"No, but," She fidgeted.

Sara placed a hand on her arm, "Go for it," She nodded, "Whatever it is,"

Ava took a breath to calm herself and reached for her case. Taking out her violin she stood, checking the tuning even though she knew it was perfectly tuned. Jax turned off the music they had playing and that only made her nerves rise into Ava's throat. She just closed, trying to shut it out.

She fell back on something old, one of the pieces her tutor had first taught her. The melody was so ingrained into her she could play in her sleep. She almost forgot where she was until the song faded away and she was met with the Legend's applause. A few of the passers-by stopped and clapped politely. Ava gulped, looking at the hat they'd set on the floor. She could see a new bill or two on the top of their small pile. She managed to smile and inclined her head to the crowd. Sara made a gesture at her, silently urging her to continue.

She looked back at the crowd and spotted an older woman, frowning as she walked past and Ava's throat closed up. She gripped her bow in a way that would have gotten her knuckles smacked when she was younger, but her hands still shook. Yet, the small crowd was still looking at her, expectant.

And then, suddenly, Sara was there, standing in front of her. She took first position, looking at no one but Ava. She smiled and winked, whispering to her, "Just don't give me something too fast,"

"Right," Ava swallowed, but she played. She played and Sara danced. And it was… fun. Exciting and easy and so much freer than Ava had felt playing in… she didn't know how long. It was fun, watching Sara dance around her. How she subtly changed the flow of the song to cover Sara's stumble that reduced the speed of her spin. How, in turn, Sara matched Ava's playing with her gait.

Ava didn't even notice the notes being added to the hat. The Legends, however, did. With equally wide grins Nate and Ray elbowed each other.

"Wow, they're a good pair," Amaya said softly. Wally nodded in agreement.

Ava finished with a flourish and Sara's last steps were slightly off-kilter, her momentum carrying her forward as the notes faded away. Ava braced her with her violin arm. They were grinning at each other, oblivious to the polite applause of the crowd.

"You good?" Ava asked, noting Sara was out of breath.

She nodded, taking one deep breath and then another, "Yeah, just a little worn out still,"

"You didn't have to do that for me," Ava whispered.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I just wanted to dance,"

"Sara," She sighed.

With the music stopped now, most of the crowd gathered were starting to move on, dispersing slowly. But one onlooker stepped forward as space opened up in front of him.

"Hey, if you're going to play, at least make it something worth playing," He called.

"What?" Ava snapped back to the present.

"If you're going to try to play the violin, it should be Mozart or Beethoven. Even Chopin would have been better,"

"Oh, so you know Mozart so well that you can tell everyone of his pieces by ear?" Zari called.

The guy snorted. "I know enough to know Mozart couldn't be the one behind such a lame composition,"

"Excuse me," Ava bristled, "I'm sure since you know so much, you'd know your precious Chopin only composed two violin pieces,"

"He literally wrote hundreds of pieces,"

"Yeah, for piano,"

"Dude, what's your problem. We're just performing. We didn't ask for your opinion," Sara said, placing herself between Ava and the guy.

"Prove me wrong then. Who's the composer? If I know him I'll apologise,"

"How does that prove anything?" Jax asked. He was standing now, seeing Sara get defensive. Mick was already on his feet. The others were glancing tensely between Sara, Ava and this random guy.

"It's Germaine Tailleferre sonata for violin,"

"Never heard of him,"

Ava ground her teeth, "She's a -,"

"Oh well, there you go," He scoffed, "That's all the reason I never heard of her,"

Ava felt like there was steam coming out of her ears.

"If you didn't like, just move on," Wally had stepped up closer now, arms open, trying to usher the guy away, "We don't want your unprompted music lesson,"

"You're the ones playing unknown composers in the middle of my commute,"

"We didn't make you stop and listen," Zari said.

"Let me show you how it's done," He guy reached forward, going for Ava, or rather for her violin.

"What? No," Ava flinched away.

From their positions, Wally and Sara were in the guy's path. Wally pushed the guy's hand down with his own, "Look, we'll go. Just leave us alone," He said.

The guy scoffed again, shoving past Wally.

"I'm not trying to take your stupid instrument. I'm just showing you –"

Sara kneed him in the crotch when he tried to reach for Ava again. He doubled over and she clocked him in the nose with her palm. He fell back howling.

"Bitch," He cried, eyes watering with tears.

His shouts were attracting a lot of attention now, including the attention of a couple of security guards.

"Oh shit," Wally hissed when he saw the guards.

"We should go," Nate said, grabbing the hat with their money, shoving it onto Ray's head. He looked to his friends, his tone deathly serious, "Go,"

Jax grabbed his stereo and Wally's hand, tugging him with them. Ray was pushing Zari and Amaya away. The guy was still on the ground, howling for help now. The guards were making their way forward with more urgency. Nate sprinted in the opposite direction. Ava started to follow until she realized Sara wasn't with her. She turned around and noticed Sara and Mick hanging back.

"Ava, come on," Nate urged, taking her arm.

"But," She started only for Nate to tug her harder.

"They got it handled,"

She glanced back over her shoulder, trusting Nate to lead her in the right direction. She saw Mick kick a trash can over, towards the guards before he and Sara took off in different directions. The guards hesitated for a second before taking after them. That was the last thing Ava saw before Nate pulled her up the steps towards street level. Jax and Wally were ahead of them. Around a hundred feet ahead of them was the exit, but there also another guard there.

"Shit," Nate let go of Ava's hand, shouting to the others, "Get out here," Just before he went barrelling into the guard, knocking them both the floor. Wally and Jax ran out of the doors. Ava hesitated in the threshold, watching Nate struggle to get to his feet. The guard grabbed Nate's ankle, making him fall again.

"Damn it," Holding the neck of her violin she pulled the bow across the strings, making a sharp discordant sound. It made everyone the in immediate area clutch their ears, including the guard. Nate took his chance to run, Ava right with him.

Wally and Jax were halfway up the street looking back worriedly. Nate waved his hands above his head, waving at them to keep going. Wally gave a thumbs up in return before they started running again.

"Come on, we should go another direction," Nate said, tugging Ava in the other direction. They ran a few blocks before finally ducking into a corner store, fainting interest in the snacks.

"That was… exhilarating," Ava panted out, "Do you think the others are okay?"

"We'll find out soon enough," Nate said, phone in hand.

"That was kind of reckless, tackling that guard like that,"

"If anyone of us were to be caught, I'd rather it be me instead of Wally or Jax," Nate said with a shrug.

"Oh," Realization dawned on Ava, "That's why Sara and Mick hung back?"

"So draw the guards on them, yeah. We're not always the most… civil bunch and we've gotten into trouble before. We know it would be easier if one of us to get caught, instead of Wally, Jax, Amaya or Zari,"

"That's really noble,"

Nate shrugged, "Its common sense,"

At the same time, they both noticed a blonde blur rush past the windows of the store. Ava and Nate exchanged a look.

"Was that…?" Ava asked.

Nate nodded, "I think so," He went out the door, with Ava right behind him. "Sara!" He yelled outside, making her stop and turn around. "Hey, we're here," He waved. Sara's eyes were wide and she pointed behind them. Looking at way, they saw one of the uniformed guards from the station.

"Shit," Nate cursed. He and Ava started running again, catching up with Sara.

"Fancy meeting you here," Sara laughed, out of breath.

"Why do I feel like this is a regular thing for you?" Ava said.

"Honestly, we usually get away without the chase," Sara replied.

"Guys, he's gaining," Nate was glancing back over his shoulder.

"Hold on," Ava did a double take at the street they were on, "I know where we are. Follow me," She took a corner, hard, Sara and Nate barely reacting in time. They crossed a road and Ava all but slammed into a building door. She fumbled with her bag, after a few seconds pushing her violin into Sara's hands to free hers.

"Ava, hurry up," Nate was dancing on his feet, looking for a sign of the guard. Ava had just managed to get her keys out when the door opened from inside.

"Ava?" Gary asked, frowned slightly, "Something wrong, you look flustered,"

"Gary, you're a lifesaver," She pushed Nate and Sara. From inside they saw the guard come around the corner of the street, looking around. They all backed up away from the glass, Nate collapsing onto the floor.

"Uh…" Gary was looking at them strangely, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Ava sighed, "Thanks Gary, for opening the door. I couldn't get to my keys in time,"

"Where are we?" Sara asked.

"Condo building where I live?" Ava gave a sheepish smile.

"Oh,"

"Damn, Sharpe. You live in the rich part of town," Nate asked.

Ava blushed, "This isn't the rich part of town… really,"

"Yeah, the rich part of town is twenty minutes that way," Sara gave a smirk as she pointed.

"Oliver's rich isn't a normal rich Sara," Nate argued.

"Who are your friends?" Gary asked.

"Sara, Nate," Ava pointed, "And this us Gary, he's my neighbour,"

"Hey," Sara waved.

"Thanks for saving our hide," Nate said.

Their breathing had all returned to normal.

"Gary, do us a solid. Stick your head out and see if a the uniformed guy is still out there,"

"Oh… okay," He went outside, looking up and down the street, shaking his head as he returned inside. They all sighed gratefully. Just then Nate's phone chimed.

"Ray, Zari and Amaya managed to get in a train, so they're okay,"

"Anything from Wally, Jax or Mick?"

Nate shook his head but said, "Last we saw Wally and Jax they seemed in the clear,"

"Thanks to Nate being a hero,"

"Ah shucks, Sharpe, you're going to make me blush," Nate waved his hand dismissively.

"Yeah?" Sara looked between them.

"He tackled a guard for us,"

"Well, I wouldn't have gotten out of there if Ava hadn't done this sound attack,"

"What?" Sara laughed.

"You're making it sound like a super move or something. I played badly to distract the guard. I'm just glad it worked,"

"Can I hear the full story?" Gary asked, looking interested and confused.

Sara's phone chimed then, she sighed as she looked at it, "Wally and Jax are good. And Mick is too. But he sounds like he's lost,"

"So, I feel like we can't perform at that station anymore," Nate said, making the girls laugh.

"Do you…" Ava started, "Do you want to come up?" Ava pointed at the ceiling, "Hang out until there's less heat,"

Nate and Sara looked at each other. Sara arched a brow and Nate got to his feet, "I'd love to Ava-nator, but if someone doesn't find Mick he's liable to get into trouble. Well, into more trouble. It's Gary right?" He said, looking at him, "You know the area. Give me a hand, and I'll tell you our cop dodging story,"

"They weren't cops," Ava called at the boys left, Mick just waving over his shoulder.

Sara chuckled, "So, I have you harbouring a fugitive. I wonder how much further I can corrupt you, Sharpe,"

"I'd hardly call us fugitives," Ava rolled her eyes, walking to the elevator.

"You ran from the scene of an assault today, what do you call that?"

"I'd call it putting a pompous ass in his place,"

"He was an ass, wasn't he?" Sara agreed.

The doors opened and they stepped in. Ava, wanting a distraction from Sara, started inspecting her violin. She wanted to make sure it wasn't damaged in any way from their chase. "Thank you," She said, after a moment of silence, "For stop him… and for jumping in like that when I was panicking,"

"Don't mention it,"

And when Ava looked at Sara again, her smile was radiant.

Nardragon- until the next page.