A/N: Hi guys! Merry Christmas! So this is the Zarlie story I needed to get out of my system. It's part of my Lena Lance AU, which, if you're just here for some Zarlie high jinx, can be summurize as: Lena is Sara and Ava's daughter from the future. Danny is Ray and Nora's future son. They get into a bunch of time traveling adventures together. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
The Princess and the Frog
Zari was in the lab, working on her next update for Gideon. After the terrible mission they'd just had, nothing relaxed her more than cold factual numbers and hard rock. While everyone was still panicking over what had happened to Ray, and how to turn him back to normal, she decided to take a break from the chaos and work on her own things, in her bubble, unbothered by the rest of the team. Sometimes, when you live with six other people on the same ship, some alone time is very necessary.
"Miss Tomaz?"
Gideon's voice filtered through her headphones, softening the music in the background. Zari would have jumped if she hadn't been used to it by now.
"What's up?"
"There seems to be an urgent problem in the engine room which requires your attention."
Her music was turned up, signaling the end of the conversation. Zari sighed. She hoped no one had touched something without her permission. Especially Charlie. She turned off her music with a huff and took off her headphones. The last time she'd been called for an emergency in the engine room wasn't a pleasant memory.
The hallway was empty, which prompted Zari to think everyone was still freaking out in the library. She didn't pass in front of the door, just because she didn't want to be roped into more endless searching. They would figure it out eventually, they always did. That's why they were the Legends.
Zari reached the engine room and found it empty, as usual. A quick glance told her everything was in its place, nothing had been changed since her last check. She opened the nearest panel, to see if everything was alright when she heard a sound beside her. She turned around and saw the outline of a human figurine appearing from behind the engine. She acted instinctively. She rose her hand, and a wave of wind collided with the shape, sending them flying against the wall.
"Zari, it's me!"
Now that the surprise was passed, Zari finally got a good look at the young woman stuck against the wall, kept there by a continuous flow of air. Blond hair tied in a ponytail. Blue eyes, hidden behind glasses. Freckles.
"Lena?"
She finally lowered her hand, stopping the wind. Lena fell back to the ground, taking in a deep breath.
"It's my fault, I shouldn't have surprised you," the teenager conceded as she got back up.
Zari frowned in confusion.
"What are you doing here? I thought you and Danny had returned to 2038. Did the potion not work?"
Lena sighed in relief.
"You still remember Danny? Oh, thank god!"
Zari looked more longly at Lena. She hadn't changed much since the last time she'd seen her. Maybe she was a bit taller. It was hard to tell.
"What's going on?"
"Danny disappeared. One second we were playing Mario Kart and the next I was playing alone. And I'm the only one who remembers him too! Thankfully my parents believed me, which is why I'm here. What happened? Why is there a time anachronism on the Waverider?"
Zari didn't have to think for too long. The reason was pretty obvious.
"Ray got turned into a frog."
"A frog?"
"Yes. The others are trying to turn him back but I don't think it's going well."
Lena shook her head.
"They had to have turned him back at one point because my moms didn't mention anything about Ray being a frog."
Lena leaned against the engine, thinking longly.
"How the hell did that happen?"
"We were trying to capture an evil sorceress. She tried to curse Nora, Ray jumped in the middle, and got turned into a frog."
Lena shook her head.
"What? No, that's not how it was supposed to go. Nora was supposed to turn into a frog and Ray was supposed to kiss her and turn her back into a human. Danny loves this story."
"True love's kiss? Really?"
Lena shrugged.
"I guess so."
"Alright, do you want to go tell them the solution?"
"No, they're not supposed to know I'm here. This is why I'm hiding here, and I had Gideon call you over! I'm on serious Time Bureau business right now. I can't disrupt the timeline even more."
"So I have to do it?"
Lena nodded.
"I'll just wait here. No one ever comes to the engine room anyway."
Zari sighed. Things never changed apparently. She left the engine room, careful to close the door behind her, and walked toward the library. She could hear them arguing back and forth halfway across the ship. When she made it to the library, she was greeted to quite the show. Nora, John, and Nate were seating on the ground, with a bunch of books scattered around them. Charlie was laying on the couch, Ray the frog seating on her belly. She was probably the only one who didn't mind having his slimy body anywhere near her.
"Hey guys, how are things going?"
"Oh, I think we've done quite some progress!" Ray declared.
Ray the frog didn't look much like him, but at least, he could still talk.
"Where's Sara?" she asked.
"She went back to the Time Bureau to question the witch. Maybe she can revert the spell for us," Nate declared.
"Very unlikely," John added.
Nora was deep in a book, not even following the conversation.
"Hey, have you guys tried true love's kiss?" she suddenly asked, as casually as possible.
"It's the first thing we tried luv, didn't work."
"Oh."
Charlie lifted herself off just enough to look at Zari over the couch.
"Why d'ya ask?"
"Well, you know, I was thinking about that old Disney movie, but then I thought maybe it wasn't such a good idea, because we don't want other people turning into frogs?"
"I'm fine," Nate replied.
Zari frowned. Wait, had Nate kissed Ray? Did he think true love's kiss was the same as bromance kiss? She decided not to push it.
"Alright, well, I'll let you guys work, I guess."
She walked away, and back to the engine room. Lena was pacing beside the engine, waiting anxiously.
"So?"
"They tried true love's kiss, and by that I mean Nate kissed Ray, apparently?"
Lena groaned. Of course, it was never that easy with them.
"It has to be Nora. You need to tell them that Nora has to kiss Ray."
"I can't! I couldn't even explain to them why I suggested true love's kiss! What am I going to tell them?"
"I don't know, you figure it out! But Danny's gone! He doesn't exist anymore, and I'm the only one who remembers him, and I don't know for how long! I can't go back home until this mess is sorted!"
Zari fell silent. Lena would do anything for Danny because he was like a little brother to her. She could understand that more than anyone else.
"We'll find another way. Maybe true love's kiss isn't the only way to turn him back?"
"It's not true love's kiss you should be worried about."
Zari turned around, and Lena looked past her. Charlie was leaning against the door with that smug look on her face.
"I knew you had some gremlin hidden in there."
Zari rolled her eyes. Charlie walked closer, letting the door fall close behind her.
"Now really isn't the time. Unless you can tell us something we don't know."
"I can. The others don't want to listen to me anyway, but, surprisingly, I have a plan."
"You have a plan?"
Zari glanced at Lena, who shrugged.
"Okay, what's your plan?"
She crossed her arms, imitating Charlie's pose.
"Like I said true love's kiss's not the problem. Ray loves Nora, Nora loves Ray, the kiss should work? It won't. Nora needs to fall in love with Ray the frog. It's kind of a Beauty and the Beast deal."
"So how do we do that?"
"Well, I suppose I'm going to have to play the asshole again, since apparently, it's the only reason why I'm here, to begin with. I'll take Ray, place him in the cupboard. Go back to the library, hopefully, Nora will get angry at me for abandoning the poor block. We wait, and we lock them up in there. An hour should do the trick."
"It's...," Zari started, not sure how to qualify Charlie's plan.
"It's genius!" Lena declared behind her. "It's borderline fanfictiony but it might just work!"
"Fine, let's try it."
Charlie smiled with satisfaction.
Zari had been waiting in the corridor, pretending to be fixing something on the wall, when Nora passed her way.
"Zari, have you seen Ray?"
"No, I thought he was with you guys. Why?"
"Charlie went to the galley with him and she didn't bring him back. She locked him somewhere but she doesn't want to tell us where."
"I saw her going in the cupboard. Maybe she left him there?"
Nora frowned.
"We have a cupboard?"
"Right there."
Nora nodded and walked to the door. She opened it. Thankfully, the handle held. Zari watched as she leaned forward, the door only held by her back. She was just about to pick up Ray when Zari raised her hand. A gust of wind pushed Nora inside, closing the door over her. Zari ran to the door, taking the handle out and placing it carefully on the ground. Then, she walked away. Charlie was waiting for her at the end of the hallway, arms crossed and a proud smirk on her lips.
"Alright. Now let's give them an hour, it should do the trick."
They heard the handle fall on the other side, leaving a little hole in the door. Then, they heard Ray screaming:
"Help! I'm claustrophobic! No, wait, I'm not! Just... Help!"
"Let's say an hour and a half," Zari suggested.
"Yeah, good idea."
An hour and a half later, Zari and Charlie returned to the cupboard. They'd been mostly keeping Lena company, until the teenager was ready to go back to her time, assured that Danny would once again exist.
"Hey Ray, you still in there, mate?" Charlie called out.
"Charlie, oh thank god! Please find someone who can open the door. I'm back to normal, I promise, look!"
He passed two fingers through the handle hole as if to prove he was human once again.
"Ray, step away from the door," Zari warned.
"Okay..."
She waited a few seconds before sending air through the hole to push against the door. It was pushed open violently, breaking the lock. Ray and Nora were seating on the other side. Ray was indeed back to normal, wearing his 1920s clothe. He smiled goofily when the door was finally opened.
"Thanks, guys! I thought I was going to die in a cupboard."
Nora, however, glared at them furiously. Zari was afraid she knew they were behind the broken handle.
"Maybe you should tell the others you're back to normal," she suggested.
Ray nodded and disappeared down the hall. Nora stood up then, just about ready to curse them both into frogs.
"Next time you do something like that..."
"Like what?" Charlie cut her off. "Like helping you turn your boyfriend into a human again?"
Nora didn't reply, only continued to glare at them.
"No need to thank me. Unless you like him better as a frog. If it's your thing."
Nora continued to glare at her violently but walked away eventually. Once she was out of sight Charlie did a fist pump then held out her hand for Zari to clap.
"Come on, give me a high five!"
Zari rolled her eyes but complied.
"We make a pretty good team," she conceded.
"Hell yeah, we do!"
"Come on, let's tell Lena she's out of the woods. Then I have a handle to fix, I guess."
They walked back to the engine room. Once the door had closed behind them, Zari called:
"Lena?"
Suddenly they heard a tiny explosion behind them, like electricity crackling where it shouldn't. They turned around. The panel for the door was smoking. Through the small window, they both watched as Lena waved them goodbye and walked through a portal, disappearing completely.
"Lena, come back!"
Zari pushed the door, but it didn't budge.
"Gideon, open the door!"
"Unfortunately, miss Tomaz, the circuits have been fried. The door can only be opened manually from the other side."
"Call someone to open it then!"
As if summoned, Ray walked past the door then.
"Ray!" she called through the door.
He turned to her with his usual smile.
"Oh, hey! What are you doing in the engine room?"
"We're stuck! Can you open it?"
"Hold on, I'll go get the tools!"
He ran away before Zari could call him back:
"No, Ray! I have the tools..."
She sighed and turned around. Charlie was already reclined against the engine, a smirk on her lips.
"So. Have you ever dated a magical being before?"