Catastrophe

The cat rubbed against Ray, offering a sultry purr.

“Can male cats go into heat?” Jax asked, looking askance at the kitten ardently rubbing Ray’s chest.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Rip said, but he didn’t sound very confident.

“I have,” Carter said. “Still, it’s not a pretty sight,” he added, jeering at Ray a bit.

Ray barely noticed though as the crew finished with lunch. He was so tired from working late the last few days in his lab that he was nearly falling asleep in his untouched food. The only reason he remembered to eat lunch was the cat started howling incessantly and reminded him it needed a snack.

“You, young man, need sleep,” Martin said to him as Ray’s head nodded again.

Ray sighed. “I think you’re right. I’m going to turn in.” He cleared his plate and the cat’s and walked slowly to his empty cabin.

Kendra and Carter seemed to be making a slow peace with each other and while Ray just wanted Kendra to be happy, he missed her and the ache made him miss Anna all over again. Strange. He hadn’t hurt when thinking of Anna for some time, as though the memory had dimmed but every now and again something reminded him of that dreadful night and he felt so numb that he barely remembered what day it was.

A counselor had diagnosed him with PTSD after Anna’s death and he had kept himself busy, building his company, his ATOM suit, his life and then building a family here on the Waverider, but still, there were moments when the sadness simply overwhelmed.

The cat trotted alongside him, jumping on the bed as he collapsed in exhaustion. He felt himself drifting to sleep.

“Oh lover, it’s just not easy is it?” the sultry voice asked.

His eyes snapped open and he saw the beautiful woman laying where the cat had been.

“Hi,” he squeaked.

She smiled and touched a hand to his face.

“This trying to keep your memories but remove the trauma is not an exact science,” she said. “I guess you need a bit of a tune-up.”

“Uhm,” Ray said as she leaned over and placed her lips a hair’s breadth from his.

“But first, I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

Ray didn’t notice the cat stalking from his room in injured dignity as the beautiful woman began to kiss him and then so much more.

When Ray woke up several hours later, he felt remarkably better. Energized in fact. He sat up and realized he didn’t even remember taking his clothes off. He had been exhausted he thought. So tired, he also didn’t remember any dreams. In fact his mind felt clear and fresh, ready to tackle another problem with Professor Stein.

He showered and dressed, then opened his quarters to leave.

“Look out!” he heard Sara say and froze but not soon enough. He felt the squish under his shoe and looked down, horrified at the evidence of a cat’s displeasure and issues with a hairball.

Sara arrived with several towels. “I was going to clean it up before you saw it. Lucky has been a pill while you were asleep. He actually demolished the little ATOM doll. Gideon kept him from entering your lab since he seemed in a particularly destructive mood.”

The object of their discussion sauntered toward them, fluffy plume of a tail wafting in the air. The cat rubbed Ray’s leg and purred a throaty greeting.

Carter joined them. “I see your girlfriend is in a better mood,” Carter said. “It’s been a pain in the ass the past few hours.”

Ray grit his teeth and tried to keep that happy buzz he had woken up with.

Sara watched the adoring cat rub Ray. “I wonder if cats can be schizophrenic?” she asked.

“You mean like people who live multiple lives and identities,” Ray said, giving Carter a pointed look.

“Meow,” Carter said, dismissing Ray with rolled eyes and walking away.

“This is why I preferred snakes as pets,” Ray said. “And not the human kind,” he groused as they walked toward the galley. Sara washed up while Ray created a heaping plate of food.

He dove into his food. Lucky jumped up on the chair next to him.

Rip joined them and Sara asked, “So is the timeline back to normal after all the Genghis Khan excitement?

“It is indeed,” Rip said. “I know it was hard, choosing the lesser of two very great evils, but time has been restored.”

“What happens to the Spear?” Ray asked.

“We will return it to the monastery where it has been kept safe for more than a thousand years. From there, we have to assume the proper events will unfold as they are meant to.”

“So what makes it so magical?” Sara asked.

Ray snorted. “There’s no such thing as magic,” he said, then winced in pain as the cat sank its claws in his arm. “Ow!” he said, pushing the cat away. A tiny drop of blood beaded on his arm.

The cat instantly rubbed against him, purring seductively.

Rip arched an eyebrow at the cat. “Interesting,” he said.

“That’s one way of putting it,” Sara said. “He seemed like a normal cat until a few days ago. Maybe Snart screwed it up with the catnip?”

Rip shrugged as he looked at the cat, then carried his cup of tea from the galley.

Ray finished his food, cleaned up and headed with Sara toward his lab. They passed Kendra along the way.

“I was just coming to find you,” Sara said. “Ready for another lesson in humility?”

Kendra laughed. “Are you?” she asked. Their daily sparring sessions had turned more competitive as Kendra’s skills improved.

As Ray continued to his lab, Kendra stood for a moment.

“You okay?” Sara asked softly.

“Yes, but do you smell that?”

“Smell what?” Sara said.

Kendra shook her head. “It’s floral but with a hint of spice. It reminds me of something, maybe from a past life,” she said. She smiled wistfully. “Something good,” she added.

“Good is good,” Sara said. “After saving Genghis Khan to save the world, we could all do with a little good.”

The two women walked toward the area they used for sparring as Kendra tried to remember where she had smelled that scent before.

____________

Carter and Kendra stood, watching the ship take off. Carter with a bit longer hair and Kendra with a bit shorter.

“You are such an ass,” she said, trying to stifle a laugh.

“Yeah, but you love me,” Carter said.

“I didn’t then,” she said. “You were seriously an ass.”

Carter sighed. It was an old argument.

“Hey, my last incarnation had been in the 50’s. Can you blame me for being an idiot?”

“Yes!” she said, but without much heat. “It really took your friendship with Ray to get you into this century,” she reminded him.

“That’s why we’re here,” he said. “To make sure we don’t lose him in the grief again.”

“He does seem happy with Zatanna. They’re good for each other,” she admitted.

“Like you’re good for me. Even though I’m an ass,” he said, kissing her temple.

“As long as you don’t forget it,” she said.

“Well, after you threatened to kick Zatanna’s ass if she ever wiped my memories again, I think the chances of forgetting you are pretty slim now,” he told her.

Kendra looked satisfied at the remembrance, even though Zatanna was now probably her best friend. “We just needed to establish some boundaries,” she said.

Carter snorted. “That’s what that was? I thought it was World War Three,” he said.

She leaned her head against his shoulder. “No. Just a couple of women sorting things out.”

“Uh-huh. Well you both scared the shit out of Ray and me.” He hugged her to his side before whispering. “It was also sexy as hell.”

She laughed and the two returned to the other Waverider, leaving their friends to find their way to a brighter future.