Chapter 2
"You don't seem all that impressed."
Hermione turned to look at the couple who had come through the door behind her into the main hub of the ship. "Yes, well, not much does these days."
The dark-haired man in the leather jacket smiled slightly. "Carter Hall," he introduced himself, holding out his hand.
Reluctantly, Hermione reached out. "Hermione Granger."
When their palms made contact, a strange tingling ran up her arm and down her spine. Keeping her gaze calm and movements steady, Hermione pulled her hand away and turned to the woman next to him. "And you are?"
"Kendra," she answered, giving a tight smile and a nod in lieu of a handshake.
She really hated small talk. "So. You said you both reincarnate?" Carter nodded, expression solemn. "That sounds awful."
Kendra snorted. "You're telling me. I went from being a barista two months ago to a hawk demi-goddess. Not exactly something you get prepped for in school."
"There's a lot of things school doesn't prepare you for," Hermione returned dryly, studying the two more closely. "Greek or Egyptian?"
Carter's gaze sharpened. "Sorry?"
"You said you were a hawk demi-goddess and I heard Carter say that he has 4,000 years worth of memories. Hawks play a large role in Ancient Egyptian culture and are associated with both Apollo and Circe in Greek mythology. The fact that you reincarnate sounds like magic which makes me think of Circe but reincarnation itself is seen more in Egyptian mythology. So, Greek or Egyptian?"
While Carter didn't seem to know what to make of her knowledge, Kendra just seemed amused. "Egyptian. Apparently, I was the High Priestess of Horus. Not that I remember it."
Hermione frowned. "Horus' symbol was the falcon."
"Yeah, well, Falcongirl just doesn't roll off the tongue the way Hawkgirl does, you know?"
She couldn't help laughing. "Well, when you put it like that… Though I have to imagine that Horus doesn't appreciate the change."
"So," someone interrupted, and they turned to look at a blond woman in a black sweater. "Are you hiding your face for a specific reason or are you just trying to conceal your identity? Because I can't imagine you'll be able to hide it for long with all of us trapped here."
Smirking, Hermione replied, "You'd be surprised what I can achieve when I set my mind to it. But I suppose you have a point; there's really no need for me to wear a mask around you all since I highly doubt you'd be able to recognize me." Honestly, Hermione was just so used to wearing her all-black ensemble that she often forgot that her face was hidden. With a flick of her wrist, the black scarf covering her face melted away. Her brown curls tumbled down around her and Hermione automatically reached up to run her fingers through her hair in an attempt to soothe the pain on her scalp from having her hair pulled back so tightly.
"Whoa," one of the men- Dr. Palmer, she thought she'd heard someone call him- muttered. "Was not expecting that."
"No, but it is a nice surprise," the blond responded, smiling at Hermione. "I'm Sara."
Hermione glanced between Sara and Dr. Palmer. "Right. The woman who apparently also reincarnated previously?"
"Well," Sara shrugged. "I'd say it was more 'died and was then brought back to life' but essentially yeah."
Staring at her, Hermione replied, "No, those are two very different things that are both equally traumatizing in their own ways. I think it's very important that we acknowledge that upfront."
Martin's voice echoing through the cabin interrupted them. "How does a vessel of this size function without a crew?" he asked Rip.
"I don't need one," Rip answered. "I have Gideon."
"Welcome aboard," a feminine voice announced as a strange, androgynous head appeared from the center console. "I am Gideon, an interactive artificial consciousness programmed to operate this vessel's critical systems and aid Captain Hunter in his mission."
"Captain?" Leonard echoed, leaning against the back of a chair.
Rip nodded. "Gideon's been working on helping me locate Vandal Savage."
"I thought you said he's pretty active in the 22nd century?" Dr. Palmer asked.
"Perhaps engaging Savage at the height of his powers isn't the best strategy," Martin pointed out.
Hermione turned to Carter. "You said that you and Kendra fought Savage recently. Perhaps we can start from the time right after you defeated him, find him once he's put himself back together again, and then just finish what you started."
"Maybe-" he started but Rip interrupted.
"I believe that the earlier we can find him, the better. Unfortunately, Savage has kept his movements hidden throughout history. Not even Gideon can determine where or when we can find him. But I have the next best thing: the man who can. Professor Aldus Boardman. Professor Boardman is the world's leading- well, only- expert on Vandal Savage. We're gonna pay him a little visit."
"Are you sure that's wise?" Hermione asked, but Rip ignored her.
"Course plotted for St. Roch, New Orleans," Gideon announced. "October 17th, 1975."
"St. Roch?" Carter repeated, a strange look in his eyes.
Rip raced for the seat at the helm of the ship. "I suggest you all strap yourselves in. Temporal navigation isn't something one wants to be standing up for."
Hermione couldn't keep herself from rolling her eyes but did as she was told, taking a seat between Leonard and Sara and strapping herself in.
"Time travel," Mick said, from the seat beside Leonard's. "Cool."
"Some of you may experience some slight discomfort," Rip announced, tapping away at the screen attached to the side of his chair. "In very rare instances, there will be some, uh, bleeding from the eyeballs."
Everyone but Hermione looked at him in alarm as Kendra demanded, "I'm sorry, what?"
"The human body is used to time unfolding linearly," Hermione informed her blandly as the lights in the cabin began to flash and the ship began to shake. Rip gave her a sharp glance but said nothing as the ship took off.
Cross from where she was sitting, Hermione saw Martin's companion finally beginning to stir.
"Oh, Jackson, I'm so glad you're awake," Martin told him excitedly. "I didn't want you to miss this."
"Miss what?" Jackson asked, still groggy. He glanced around the cabin and then immediately started messing with his restraints, loudly shouting "What the-"
"Oh, no," Rip warned him. "I wouldn't unfasten those if I were you."
"Get me off this… whatever this thing is!" Jackson demanded.
"Good luck explaining this," Sara called to Martin, amused.
"I did him a favor," Martin defended.
"Now why does that sound so familiar?" Hermione mused as Leonard told Martin, "He doesn't look all that grateful."
"Just hang on and remain calm," Rip told them, his chair spinning around so he was facing towards the windows. "All your worlds are about to change."
Unless the ship also had the ability to magically stomp out the inherent bigotry that seemed to be in every human's nature, Hermione highly doubted that. The green and gold colors of the timestream were rather pretty though.
Moments later, they were back under blue skies and making a smooth landing.
Mick quickly unfastened his seatbelt and leaned over to vomit as Dr. Palmer hopped to his feet and immediately fell over.
"Oh, I should have mentioned it before," Rip started as he unfastened his restraints. "Nausea is one of the side effects of time travel, along with vertigo."
Hermione remained seated, internally taking stock. She felt fine, though Sara seemed a little dazed and Leonard kept vigorously shaking his head.
"I can't see," Martin announced, pulling off his glasses and furiously blinking.
"And temporary blindness. Oh, it should only last a minute," he reassured Martin. "After all, that was a mere jaunt. The further back in time you go, the worse the side effects." Waving his hand in front of Martin's face for a moment, Rip inquired, "Better?"
"It's all relative."
"I can't believe you kidnapped me," Jackson hissed at Martin as he finally unstrapped himself. "Hey," he called to Rip. "I want to go home."
Rip didn't look up from information now appearing on the center console. "Good news then. 2016 will be around in 41 years. Now, you four," he turned to face Hermione, Sara, Leonard, and Mick. "Feel free to make yourselves comfortable back here on the ship while the rest of you come with me to find Professor Boardman."
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. You're benching us?" Mick complained.
"I thought we were a team," Sara argued.
"This doesn't require your particular skill set," Rip explained. "Yet."
"Meaning you don't need anyone killed, maimed, robbed, or," Leonard glanced off to the side at Hermione, "whatever it is she does."
She grinned. "Sorry, either you'll need to wait until we're in danger or until we've reached a level three friendship in order to know exactly what it is I do."
"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave those three unsupervised on a time machine?" Dr. Palmer asked, gesturing to everyone but Sara. "I mean, I don't what it is exactly Hermione does, but you did mention that she's a criminal mastermind."
"Hey, haircut!" Mick snapped. "Deafness wasn't one of the side effects."
Hermione met Dr. Palmer's gaze with a serene countenance. "While a good criminal mastermind would steal the ship while you were gone, a truly great one would wait until everyone was on board so they could watch helplessly as they did it. And I've always striven for greatness. Just a thought."
His jaw dropped but before he could splutter out a response, Rip loudly stated, "We better hurry up. Professor Boardman will die in less than 24 hours."
"What's the point of cutting it so close?" Carter asked.
"Because if he's destined to die, then he doesn't have a timeline for us to disrupt and his impact on the future will be minimal," Martin answered. "It's brilliant."
"And depressing," Kendra responded. "How does he die?"
"He's found dead in his university from unknown causes," Rip muttered, stumbling over his words a bit. "Come on."
"Are you coming?" Martin asked Jefferson.
"I'll stay put," he snapped.
"You'd rather stay with them?"
"They didn't drug me!"
"Point taken," Martin nodded before hurrying off the ship.
Once they were gone, Hermione immediately stood up. "Right then. I'm off to pick up some supplies. Shouldn't take more than an hour at most."
"Supplies for what?" Sara asked.
"For my criminal enterprises of course," she answered easily.
"Are you for real?" Jefferson asked. "Because, to be honest, I didn't think criminal masterminds were actually a thing."
"Neither did I. But since Rip has apparently classified me as one then I figure why not lean into it?"
"Perhaps Captain Hunter was unclear with his instructions to remain on board," Gideon chimed in.
"Technically, he didn't order us to remain on board," Hermione pointed out. "He just told us to feel free to make ourselves comfortable on the ship."
Sara smirked at her. "Always been a fan of a rebel."
"Who said anything about being a rebel? I'll have you know that I am a firm believer in following the rules. It's not my fault that at no point did Captain Hunter state that we have to remain on board."
Leonard smiled, blue eyes alight with what almost looked like appreciation. "Always been a fan of the loopholes myself."
If that was the case, Hermione imagined he would really appreciate the work she'd put into exploiting loopholes while at Hogwarts.
With nothing more than a wave and a, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Hermione was off the ship and striding into the surrounding forest, quickly transfiguring her black clothing into simple robes, and apparating to the magical side of New Orleans.
While Hermione had been hoping to be able to stock up on extra supplies should they find themselves near a magical town in their travels, she hadn't expected to get as lucky as New Orleans in 1975- one of the most well-known magical cities in the United States and in a time where trade restrictions and purchasing regulations were much more lax. It was honestly too good an opportunity to pass up.
Before she'd left, Hermione had made sure to collect as much wizarding currency as she could on such short notice and then divided the coins into bags based on their minting dates. Luckily, goblin-created coins lasted much longer than muggle currency and she had been able to find coins dating all the way back to the 1700s still in circulation.
Slipping the bags with coins from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s into her pocket, she made her way in and out of shops as quickly as she could. When she apparated back to the ship fifty minutes later, it was to a scene of utter chaos.
Green and blue rays of lights were flying all over, smoke filled the air, and there were small patches of ice and fire on the ground. Kendra and Carter were soaring through the air on giant wings- their names made much more sense now- along with someone who she thought was Jefferson but she couldn't be totally sure since he appeared to be on fire, and Dr. Palmer in his metal suit was also flying around. Leonard and Mick were apparently the ones responsible for the ice and fire she was seeing because those were the elements being blasted from their weapons. She honestly had no idea where Sara and Rip were. All of them were engaged in a fight against a single figure shooting off green rays with a strange-looking gun.
Hermione spelled her robes to turn back into her skintight outfit. It wouldn't do to let them have all the fun.
"Where's Hermione?" Leonard heard Rip shouting when he got closer to where he and Mick were standing.
"No idea," he answered.
A black blur suddenly came racing out of the forest directly toward their attacker. Leonard couldn't see exactly what weapon was in her hand, but whatever it was let off bursts of different colored rays that hit their opponent dead on.
While they all just did their best to dodge the shots taken at them, Hermione seemed to fluidly weave around the rays, dancing between the blasts with ease as she returned them with her own. Once she was close enough, she engaged in hand-to-hand combat in addition to her blasts. It was coordinated, skilled, and clearly not her first rodeo. Which, once again, begged the question of what exactly was it that Hermione Granger did and where she learned skills like that.
Hermione's attack bought enough time for everyone else to get on board the ship. They watched as she pushed their attacker farther and farther away from them with every blow she landed.
"Get back on the ship!" Rip shouted at her.
For a moment, it seemed like Hermione hadn't heard him but then, after one final barrage that brought her opponent to their knees, she suddenly disappeared from the field and reappeared beside them with a sharp crack.
When she spotted Leonard and Mick, she said, "When I said, 'Don't do anything I wouldn't do', that included not getting into a fight with a xenomorph."
"Why should you get to have all the fun?" Mick retorted, grinning.
"Professor Boardman has sustained severe internal injuries," Gideon announced.
"You brought him here?" Hermione demanded, glancing at the older gentleman Kendra and Carter were hovering over for only a moment before turning back to Rip. "Are you out of your mind? What is the point of that?"
Rip ignored her. "Prepare the MedBay to receive Professor Boardman and get us out of here!" he ordered Gideon.
"Course heading?" the AI inquired.
"Anywhere but here!"
"Rip!" Hermione snapped but the Captain ignored her, racing up the stairs towards the main cabin. Rounding back to Carter and Kendra, she asked, "Why is he here?"
"Rip said that Aldus dies in the next 24 hours," Kendra explained, helping the older man to his feet. "We're trying to save him."
"Really? Because it looks to me like all you're doing is ensuring he dies sooner rather than later."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Carter snapped. "He's going to be fine."
"No," Hermione argued. "Clearly, you're the one who doesn't know he's talking about. He's not going to be fine- he's going to die."
"Maybe now's not the time for this," Sara tried to intervene, but Kendra wasn't having it.
"So, what? We should have just left him there to die? Maybe you could have done that but I'm not that heartless."
"No, you're just forgetful and ignorant," Hermione drawled, watching Carter, Kendra, and Professor Boardman make their way up the stairs to the MedBay. "Rip told you that he dies in the next 24 hours. Now, instead of dying peacefully in his sleep, you get to watch him bleed out in the MedBay. How's that an improvement?"
"Perhaps this isn't the time," Martin also tried to caution her.
Finally turning to look at him, Hermione responded, "I don't understand. You had to have known that bringing him here wouldn't save him- it's one of the most basic rules of time travel. Why do it?"
"Rules of time travel?" Dr. Palmer echoed, brows furrowed. "What rules?"
It was Hermione's turn to be confused. "Didn't Rip explain it?" Taking in their expressions, she sighed. "He told you his family died. Didn't you think to wonder why he wouldn't first try to go back and save them before trying to stop Savage?"
"No," Mick answered.
"It's because he literally couldn't save them. I'm sure he wishes he could have just gone back to the moments before they died and rescued them, but he couldn't because the results would have been the same: one way or another, they'd die. Time wants to happen." She knew that Martin and Dr. Palmer would have preferred a scientific explanation, but Hermione couldn't oblige. All she could do was present her knowledge in as simple a manner as possible so everyone could understand.
"Everyone always tries to warn against time travel by saying that the smallest change could unravel the future. That's generally not the case. If an event is supposed to happen, it will. If someone is supposed to die, they do. In order to truly change history, you have to do something so permanent, so abrupt, that the timeline has to no choice but to adapt to your changes. Rip's family died because of Savage. No matter what attempts he could have made to save them, they still would have died because that is their fate in the timeline. To change that, Rip has to take down Savage. Killing him would disrupt the timeline so thoroughly that the future he knows would be completely erased.
"Professor Boardman is supposed to die so he will. What you all did was pointless. You can't save his life. At most, all you've done is buy him some time. And not much of it. Because even if he doesn't die now, I can guarantee that whatever extra time he's given will be at a low quality of life."
"How do you know so much about time travel?" Leonard prodded.
Hermione shrugged. "You're still at level one of friendship, Leonard. You've got a ways to go before I start spilling my secrets."
"But you have done this before?" Martin asked.
"Time traveled to stop a 4,000 year-old psychopath whose singular goal in life is to cause as much pain, misery, and chaos as he can? No. This is unusual, even for me."
"Professor Boardman is Kendra and Carter's son," Dr. Palmer blurted out. When Hermione, Leonard, Sara, and Mick turned to look at him in confusion, he tried to explain, "From a past life. He's the son from a previous life. Savage killed them. That's why Boardman sought to become an expert on him."
For a long moment, Hermione just stared at him, trying to process what he was telling her.
She'd called Kendra ignorant and forgetful for trying to save her son and then made a snide comment about them getting to watch him die. She was an awful human being. Which wasn't exactly news to her, but still a bitter reminder.
"I'll just… go explain everything to them," she finally told the group before hurrying off.
Kendra and Carter were quiet after Hermione finished explaining everything to them.
"How do you know so much about this?" Carter finally asked her.
"Because I once tried to do what you did," Hermione admitted reluctantly. "Using time travel, I tried to save a man hours before he was supposed to die. It didn't work."
Even after all this time, it still hurt to remember how she'd failed with Sirius. And while on the surface it may seem like what happened to Sirius wasn't the same as what happened to Professor Boardman, the truth was that the events were too alike for comfort. Sirius may have had an extra two years past his original time of death, but those years were spent on the run or hidden away and with a quality of life so poor, he might as well have been dead. In fact, sometimes Hermione wondered whether Sirius would have rather just been killed by the Ministry than having been saved by them. Perhaps he'd been relieved when death finally claimed him because it meant he was finally free.
Kendra caught her tone. "What happened?"
Grudgingly, she explained, "I tried to save my friend's godfather. His parents were dead, so Sirius was the closest thing he'd have to a dad. My friend thought he'd finally have a proper family. And then Sirius was murdered right in front of him. I saved Sirius. I did that. If I hadn't saved him, my friend wouldn't have hurt the way he did. I gave them hope, only for it to be brutally ripped away in an instant."
"You were trying to help," Kendra told her.
"Maybe. But in the end, wasn't I just being cruel and masquerading as kind?"
The other woman closed her eyes. "If I hadn't insisted on bringing him back here, he might have died peacefully in his sleep. Instead, he's in pain and slowly fading away, and the only comfort he has is a mother who has no memory of him."
"You tried your best," Hermione said as Carter reached out to rest a hand on Kendra's arm. "It's not your fault that it didn't work. It's not anyone's fault. Blaming yourself for this isn't going to help anything. All we can do now is move forward."
"Why didn't Rip explain all this to us?" Carter muttered.
Hermione huffed. "I'm honestly not sure. Perhaps he hadn't thought that this would be an issue, so he didn't think it necessary to explain to you all this particular rule of time travel. I assume that, once you realized who Professor Boardman was, you didn't give Rip much of a chance to explain why bringing him here was a terrible idea?"
Kendra winced. "Yeah. Even if he had explained, I don't think it would have changed my mind."
She nodded slowly, suddenly feeling tired. "For what it's worth, I am sorry for what I said. And for what you're going through." Being forced to watch your child die…
They were quiet for a moment before Carter finally stated, "We should go find Rip. Figure out where we go from here."
The two women nodded in agreement, and they headed for the cockpit. As soon as they entered the room, Rip almost shoved them into their seats before strapping himself in and hurtling them out of 1975.
Once they were back in the time stream, Gideon informed Rip, "Our cloaking shield and aft entrances have been significantly compromised, Captain."
"Yes, I can see that Gideon," he responded, jumping out of his seat. "Station us in the temporal zone while I work on repairs."
"Temporal zone?" Dr. Palmer repeated, hovering behind Rip as the Captain ran into his office.
"Yeah, it's essentially a time limbo. We can hide out there for a bit. Another temporal jump would risk revealing our position."
"A time limbo?" Martin interjected. "Astonishing."
"If we took a drink every time he said something was 'astonishing' or 'brilliant', how long do you think it would take for us to get drunk?" Hermione asked Sara.
"If you have any alcohol on you, I'd be more than willing to help you find out," the blond responded, grinning.
Coming out of his office with a small case in his hands, Rip mocked, "Oh, there's something you people don't know about time travel? That's surprising, isn't it? Considering none of you have ever time traveled before. Bringing a family member from the past onto a time ship? Breaking out and carousing around the 1970s? We've barely begun and already this is the worst, unmitigated disaster of my career."
"Considering you call yourselves Time Masters, it sounds as though your profession might be a tad too boring for such a strong name," Hermione commented, slipping to her feet and stretching her arms above her head.
"I'm sorry, is nobody gonna ask about who that guy was that attacked us?" Jefferson interjected.
"I'd like to know that as well," Leonard added. "While I am used to people shooting at me, I didn't expect it to happen quite so quickly after dropping into the 70s."
"You have glass in the hood of your coat," Hermione informed him, a single brow raised at she studied him closely. "I don't think it'd be wrong to assume that someone already took a shot at you before the ship was attacked."
"Semantics," he dismissed. "Though, I'd guess whatever it was you were doing was much more interesting."
"That's just a matter of opinion."
"Enough!" Rip snapped. "The person who attacked us is named Chronos. He works for the Council of Time Masters. My former employers."
It had been years since she was the girl obsessed with always being right, but Hermione still couldn't help reveling a bit in the feeling that came from watching a hypothesis be proven correct play out before her eyes.
"I thought you were a Time Master," Sara snarled, stalking towards Rip.
"As you've been told, time's not a linear thing. At some point, I was, in fact, a Time Master."
Sara immediately punched Rip in the face. A second later, Hermione was standing in-between them, forcing Sara to take a step back. "Hey! Use your words, not your fists. We're not children, after all."
"He's the one keeping secrets," Sara snapped. "I wouldn't have to hit him if he'd just tell the truth."
Before Hermione could respond, Rip started speaking again. "I relinquished my position as a Time Master when I commandeered the Waverider. Chronos was clearly sent to bring me in."
"You lied to us," Martin realized.
"And you're not surprised," Carter noticed, staring hard at Hermione.
"No, I'm not," she answered easily. When all eyes turned towards her in shock, Hermione gave a short, bitter laugh. She knew organizations like the Time Masters- she'd watched them turn a blind eye to every cruelty one could imagine simply because it wasn't their problem. "I knew as soon as Captain Hunter appeared and explained the situation that this mission was unauthorized. The Time Masters' primary concern would undoubtedly be with time itself. And, because of that, it wouldn't matter to them what atrocities and dangers were being inflicted on the human race because regardless, time always marches on."
"If you knew that, then why bother coming?" Jefferson asked.
Hermione kept her eyes locked with Rip's. "Because what makes the world a dangerous place lies not only with those who do evil, but with those who look on and do nothing. Like I told you when I agreed to come, Rip, you're the kind of leader I'm willing to follow. When it comes right down to it, the reason you're doing this is that it's the right thing to do. Because you won't sit back and watch as Savage burns the world to the ground. And what can I say- I've always been a sucker for a good person leading a lost cause."
Rip gave a huff of laughter. "As I recall, the last time you joined a 'lost cause', you ended up succeeding."
"And as I recall, I told you that my cause wasn't worth it in the end. I lost far more than I, or the people like me, managed to gain. I won't make the same mistakes this time as I did before."
"I'm confused," Dr. Palmer interrupted. "You lied about being a Time Master; what else was a lie? What about the legends part?"
"Ooh, you lied about that too, didn't you?" Leonard murmured, staring Rip down.
Wincing, Rip admitted, "I chose you all because, a hundred years from now, your lives have minimal effect on the recorded timeline. I needed your help without disturbing the history of 2166."
"But killing Savage so far before your time would inherently disturb your future," Martin argued. "It would irrevocably change the timeline. According to Hermione, killing Savage now would completely erase the future you know."
Rip turned to glower at Hermione, who simply frowned back at him. "If you wanted me to lie for you, you should have told me sooner. How was I supposed to know what exactly you did and did not want them to know?"
"What about the part where we're just a group of nobodies who don't matter?" Jackson asked her. "Is that a lie?"
"Look," Hermione sighed. "While I will say it's nice to know you all think so highly of my intelligence, I don't know everything. I'm not a Time Master- I have no idea what the future holds. To be perfectly frank, until now, I had never heard of any of you. Though that is because I don't care in the slightest about the circles you run in. But what I do believe is that Savage is a monster who needs to be stopped. And while we now know that the Time Council doesn't sanction us doing it, we also know that they, themselves, won't lift a finger to stop him. The only thing standing between Savage and the world in flames is us."
"I didn't lie about the mission itself," Rip interjected. "Or the brutality and ruthlessness of Savage. Or my need for your help. However, I understand given the circumstances, if you wish to return home. We can make the jump once the repairs are done, if and when Professor Boardman stabilizes."
At the reminder of their son- and the reminder of his impending death- Kendra and Carter shared a quick glance before hurrying out of the room.
"I think," Martin finally said, "we all need a little time to consider our options."
Hermione had just set her satchel down on the bed in the room Gideon had said was hers when the door slid open again with a hiss.
"You know," Hermione mused, turning to look at Leonard and Mick. "Some people knock before entering a room."
Leonard smirked. "Announcing our presence isn't really something we do in our profession."
"Well, not before the fact at least," she retorted.
Mick stationed himself on one side of the door while Leonard leaned against the wall on the other side.
"Can I help you with something?" Hermione finally asked. "Or, are you just here for a change of scenery?"
"We want to know what you didn't tell the others," Mick informed her.
"Could you be more specific? That request could mean many different things."
"The bit about whether or not Rip lied about us being legends and you claiming not to know anything," Leonard specified.
Hermione nodded. "Rip was telling the truth about why he took us when he did- should we die, our disappearance from the timeline won't negatively impact the future."
Leonard stepped forward, crowding into her space. "And what is it you're leaving out?" he murmured.
She stayed where she was, refusing to back down. "I'm not sure what you mean."
"You're hiding something. Something to do with why we were chosen. Something that Rip is purposefully leaving out."
Tilting her head back so that it was easier to meet his blue-green eyes, Hermione admitted, "There is something, but I'm not sure it's something you want to hear. Besides, if you really think about it, I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out yourself."
"Perhaps. But I think I'd prefer you just telling us." When Hermione remained silent, Leonard leaned in a little closer. "What if we promise not to say anything to the others?"
Hermione also shifted so their faces were only a handful of centimeters apart. "Not good enough," she told him succinctly before stepping back.
Leonard smiled then. "Okay then. Name your price."
"Quid pro quo," she finally told him. "I'll answer your question if you answer one of mine."
After briefly glancing over at Mick, Leonard said, "Deal. What's your question?"
"Why do you steal?" Hermione asked him.
Tilting his head slightly to the side, he answered, "For the same reason you do- adrenaline. The thrill of the chase. Figuring out what it is I want to steal and then enacting the perfect plan to get it. I love the game, and I'm very good at it."
After considering his answer for a moment, she smiled. Instead of sharing her thoughts though, Hermione told them, "Rip told us that he could have chosen any time and any place when he recruited us. Meaning that he chose that date for a specific reason. Do you remember what Martin said when Dr. Palmer asked why they were going to see Professor Boardman so close to his death?"
Leonard's eyes lit up. "I see. So, you think we're going to die in the near future."
"Well, it would mean that we didn't have much of a timeline to disrupt, wouldn't it? I highly doubt all of us die so close together though. It's more likely only one or two of us are killed but since Rip wanted all of us, he just decided to collect us all at the same time."
"So, do you think you die soon?" Mick interjected. "Or do you think you'll end up living long enough for your death not to matter? Since none of us apparently matter in the grand scheme of things."
"Oh no," Hermione snorted. "I'm self-aware enough to know that I'm either going to be killed while stealing something, or for stealing something. There's no boring, mundane future in the cards for me. It's likely I'm killed sometime soon in our original timeline, but one can never be sure."
"And why don't you want the others to know this?" Leonard asked.
"Why do they need to know?" Hermione challenged.
He grinned. "And here I was worried you were actually a hero. You made quite the speech out there, and before we boarded."
"Make no mistake, I am no one's hero. Right now, I believe it's in my best interest to get Rip Hunter on my side. If I help him, he'll feel more inclined to- if not assist me- then at least not stop me. So, for now, my aims are the same as his. And for as long as they continue to be, I'll do my best to ensure he succeeds."
"You have beef with Savage," Leonard deduced.
"I might. I won't know for sure until I find the man."
"And if you do?"
"Then that will be between me and him. I wouldn't recommend getting in my way though; it wouldn't end well for you."
"So that bag holds all your tools?" Hermione questioned Rip. "It seems rather small. Or, is it bigger on the inside?"
Something sparked in the panel Rip was working on and he groaned, pulling away. "What do you think, Gideon?" he asked, continuing to ignore Hermione.
"I calculate a less than 6% likelihood that they decide to go on with the mission."
"I meant about the repairs."
"That was still very helpful, Gideon," Hermione reassured the AI from where she was perched on the center console, legs dangling over the side. "Thank you for letting us know."
"You're welcome, Miss Granger. And there has been another unfortunate consequence of Chronos' attack. Care to hear about it?"
"Not really," he muttered, beginning to work on the panel again.
"He's gone." Rip and Hermione turned to see Kendra and Carter entering the room. "Our son… or, our son from our previous life. It's all too confusing."
Rip sighed, setting his tools down. "I'm very sorry," he told them.
Kendra shook her head. "Actually, you don't get the blame for this." Her eyes flickered over to Hermione for a moment before turning back to Rip. "This was my fault. I'm the one who insisted on bringing him back here."
"Don't torture yourself with recriminations. One of the great lessons of time travel is that many things cannot be changed. Time wants to happen." Another door opened and the rest of the team entered the room. Glancing over at them, Rip continued, "Chronos, even Vandal, won't be the only enemy we face. Very often, it will be time itself."
"Whether it wants to happen or not, we're gonna change time, erase Savage's future, and earn our rightful place in history," Dr. Palmer announced, standing confidently in the center of the room with his arms crossed.
Hermione couldn't help wrinkling her nose.
Heroes.
Also, she really needed to figure out what his name was.
"Dr. Palmer is correct," Martin added. "We may not be legends in your time, Captain, but we are going to decide our own fates."
Rip nodded his head slightly, seeming genuinely bewildered.
"I don't give a damn about being a legend," Carter told the group. "As long as we end Savage once and for all."
"I can get down with that," Jefferson agreed.
"And our malcontents?" Martin asked, turning to look at Leonard and Mick, who had moved to stand by Hermione.
"I like killing people," Mick told him.
"We're in," Leonard agreed, looking over at Rip. "For now."
When everyone turned to look at Hermione, she raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I already made my intentions clear. But I will say," she shifted to look at Mick, "while I agree killing people can be fun, have you ever seen the look on someone's face when they realize you've just stolen the thing they love most? Because that is a thrill that never gets old."
"So how do we find this guy?" Sara interrupted before anyone could think up a reply to that statement.
Rip sat down in the captain's chair and strapped himself in. "Professor Boardman had a theory about that. I've already had Gideon plot a course."
Hermione hopped down and slipped into the seat next to Leonard. "$20 says this doesn't end well."
Leonard smirked. "It probably won't but $30 says that I'll at least reach level two in our relationship."
Frowning, she asked, "Are you saying that you still don't know what it is I do? You saw me fighting Chronos!"
He leaned in as close at his harness would allow. "I'm saying that I plan on taking our relationship to the next level," he murmured.
She couldn't help the smirk that played across her lips. "And do your plans generally go the way you want them to?"
Mick snorted and Hermione almost flinched in surprise, having forgotten he was close enough to hear them. "Snart's motto is: make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails, throw away the plan."
Hermione laughed. "In that case, I look forward to seeing how you adapt when your plan goes horribly wrong, Leonard."