Blood in the Water

Stop right now

Thank you very much

I need somebody with

A human touch

"What now?" Sara groaned, looking up at the ceiling.

Leonard just grinned, keeping his gaze on his cards.

"I get it, Hermione!" they heard Jax shouting. "Just turn it off!"

"If you understood then you wouldn't have kept trying!" she hollered back. "Suffer with the Spice Girls until you've proven you've learned your lesson and stay out of my lab!"

"Seems Jax was trying to sneak into her potions lab. Again."

The blond shook her head, setting a seven of diamonds down on the pile between them. "If she wasn't being so secretive about it, no one would care."

"Her potions need to be handled with care so they don't go bad," Leonard retorted. "Can you blame her for not trusting the kid and the eggheads to keep their mitts off?"

"She lets Carter and Kendra in there."

"They know better than to touch."

"And you don't?" Sara challenged. "I don't see you hanging out in there."

Leonard chuckled. "I hang out in there plenty. Whatever Hermione's making right now smells foul and not the most stable of substances. Which is why she's asked for complete silence."

The sound of ringing metal interrupted them as Mick threw his dagger into another container. "I'm done!" he grunted.

Glancing over at his partner, Leonard was relieved he'd finally spoken. He could tell Mick had been on edge all day and stayed close in case he needed to intervene. "Don't mind him," he told Sara. "He's still sore about having to leave 2046."

Mick spun to face him. "I'm sore because I was recruited for my unique ability to light things on fire. Now, I'm locked in the one place where I can't light things on fire. A spaceship."

"Where do you think you're going?" Leonard called as Mick began to storm out of the room.

"Why?" the other man hissed, turning to stare down at Leonard with wild eyes. "You gonna clock me in the head if I don't listen again?"

Leonard's eyes narrowed as he watched Mick disappear. The fact that his partner was still upset about what had happened the previous week spelled trouble.

"Everything okay between you two?" Sara prodded.

"Yeah. Peachy," he stated shortly.

Their break from hunting Savage came to an abrupt end when Rip summoned everyone to the bridge.

"Here," Rip announced, once they were all present. A video appeared on the center console.

"System malfunction," a woman started. The picture quality was poor and it was hard to make out any of the features on the woman and her voice kept cutting in and out. "I'm stranded, unable to jump. Controls unresponsive. This is Captain Eve Baxter of the timeship Acheron. Requesting critical rescue."

"And we care about this chick why?" Mick questioned.

"We don't," Rip answered, eyes light with excitement. "But the Acheron's computer will contain the current intel on Savage's whereabouts."

Hermione folded her arms over her chest, feeling Martin and Carter's gazes boring into the side of her head.

"Gideon. Set a course for the Acheron's position in deep space."

"Hold on," she interrupted. "Are you sure this isn't a trap?"

"You think the Time Masters know where we are and trying to lure us out?" Sara questioned.

"You said this is the flagship of the Time Fleet," Hermione reminded Rip. "The most important vessel has a system malfunction, and the Time Master's homebase isn't alerted? No one is sent out to look for or assist the Acheron? Does that really not seem odd to you?"

"Seems a little too convenient to me," Leonard agreed.

"It may very well be a trap," Rip stated, placing his hands on the console and leaning forward slightly. "But Savage's trail has run cold and unless Gideon can upload the data from the Acheron's computer-"

"I'm in," Mick interrupted.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"You are?" Leonard questioned.

"The sooner we end Savage, the sooner I get back to where I belong," he stated.

Martin's brows rose. "Prison?"

Mick didn't take the bait. "Any prison on Earth is better than this one, Professor."

Hermione let out a short bark of laughter. "You are very wrong about that."

Rip seemingly refused to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Gideon!"

"Yes, sir?"

"Engines to full throttle," he ordered, and the group quickly took their seats.

"Of course, Captain."

"You think everyone would have learned their lesson about walking into obvious traps by now," Hermione muttered to Martin.

"Do you believe this is another scheme from the Time Master's?" he whispered.

"Absolutely. But I suppose this may be a case of 'the only way out is through'."

Hermione and Carter stood by the windows, staring at the dark Time Vessel floating in space. "You planning on joining them?" he asked.

"No. You?"

"Hell no," he snorted. "But I doubt Rip would want me to join even if I did want to."

She made a noise of agreement.

"Dr. Stein, Mr. Jackson. Would you care to join the boarding party?"

"A chance for an extra-vehicular docking maneuver?" Martin responded, clearly trying his best to hide his trepidation. "What could be more exciting?"

"I could think of a few things," Jax grumbled.

"Let's get this thing started," Mick sneered.

The duo looked back as the stocky man started to exit the room, only to be stopped by Leonard.

Hermione sighed. "I'm guessing we're about to see the climax of the events the Time Master's put in motion."

"Do you think Martin will be able to intervene if things go south?"

"Why? Would you reconsider your stance on joining them if I said no?"

"Would you want me to?" he responded.

She took a moment to think. "Yes. I believe this is going to be the apex of whatever plan the Time Masters have for the team. Martin can't be trusted to make the necessary call if it comes right down to it."

"Miss Granger," Rip called, and Hermione looked away from Leonard's tense frame as his partner marched out of the room. "I leave the ship in your hands while I'm gone."

"Does that mean Gideon will answer to me should an incident arise?" she immediately asked.

"It does. But only if it's necessary."

"Alright then. Try not to die while you're away. I don't trust that Gideon won't go rogue if you do."

The system in question was suspiciously quiet.

Sara laughed. "Yeah, she's definitely going to fuck us over if that happens."

"Carter will also be joining you," Hermione announced, placing a hand on Carter's back and shoving him forward. She decided it would be better for her to simply trust her gut and bully the demigod into following her will than continue trying to persuade him.

Rip frowned. "I'm not sure-"

Hermione cut him off. "You're walking into a situation that has a high probability of being a setup and the only fighter you have is Mick. That's stupid and you know it. Take the additional muscle. I insist."

Carter did not understand how he let Hermione force him into going. Separating him from Kendra was never a good idea. What if whatever was going to happen with the Time Master's occurred on the Waverider instead of the Acheron? What if something happened to his other half? How would he be able to help her if something went wrong and the only way to get to her was by taking a spaceship?

He had been alive for a collective 4000 years. Carter had thought there was no truly unknown situations that they could find themselves in. He hated being proven wrong.

Martin was hovering over Rip's shoulder as they flew towards the Acheron. For all his hesitation about joining the party, his excitement was childlike.

"I'm having the strangest sensation. It's like I'm ten years old again."

"You do a lot of space travel as a kid, Professor?" Mick grunted, gaze unsettlingly blank.

Looking at him, Carter could understand why Hermione had insisted he go. But he still didn't like it.

Martin chuckled. "Only in my dreams. After I read my first issue of Rick Star Space Ranger."

"Space Ranger Stein," Jax joked. "Yeah, I don't see it."

"I wanted to travel through space, surviving only by my wits and laser guns," the old man continued. "I even built a rocket out of cardboard boxes."

"What stopped you?" Rip asked.

"NASA has rather strict guidelines regarding nearsightedness."

Jax smirked. "And smoking weed."

Carter watched as Rip shifted in his seat. "Gideon, have you been able to link up to the Acheron's computer?"

"It appears a self-destruct code has disabled the ship's temporal navigation system."

"What does that mean?" the demi-god asked.

"It's possibly the result of a malfunction. But just in case- Martin, Carter, I'm going to ask you both to remain behind here on the ship."

Grimacing, Mick questioned, "You're telling us if something goes wrong, we'll have to rely on birdboy and egghead to save us?"

Martin seemed almost relieved. "Break out the emergency gear," he joked. "Space Ranger has a job to do."

Carter met Mick's gaze. "Guess you should probably stay out of trouble if you don't want to risk having the fact that egghead saved your ass held over your head forever."

"Why did Rip leave you in charge?" Ray complained as Hermione lounged in the captain's chair. "You have no experience manning any sort of space craft."

"No, but I do have experience leading others through difficult circumstances and accomplishing the impossible. Both of which are qualities one wants in a leader should something go wrong."

"I can do that too!" he protested. "Accomplishing the impossible is what I'm known for!"

Kendra snorted. "Sorry Ray, but you're more Picard than Kirk."

The scientist looked offended. "But Picard was cautious, pontificating, sort of sexless."

"You're right, Ray," Hermione stated blandly. "You are definitely none of those things."

"I don't know if you should be talking about someone being sexless," Sara called over from across the room.

Leonard glanced between the two women with narrowed eyes. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

The console suddenly beeped and an unknown male voice stated, "I'd like to speak to Acting Captain Hermione Granger."

The 'Acting Captain' groaned. "Once again, I find myself in the position of being right but ignored. Gideon."

A hologram came up from the console and a wiry older man with a salt and pepper beard became visible to the group.

Hermione smirked. "Well now, you don't seem like a Time Master to me."

"I'm not. I'm the man holding your crew hostage."

"Oh no. I'm shocked."

Everyone besides Hermione leapt to their feet in alarm as Rip's voice came over the speakers. "Captain Granger, I've informed Mr. Valor of the fiery retribution you'll rain down upon him if we are not released immediately."

Giving a considering hum as she heard the thump of someone being punched, Hermione propped her cheek on her hand. "You mean you told them that I would not hesitate to fire on their ship with you all on board if the mood struck me?"

"I'm gonna make this real simple," came Valor's voice as Rip led out a gasp and they heard another thud. "You surrender your ship, and I drop you off at a place in time of your choosing. You've got ten seconds to decide."

Ray opened his mouth and Hermione instantly cast a voiceless silencing spell. "I've got a better idea. While you're busy killing off one of the annoyances I sent to board the vessel that was obviously captured by pirates, I go find your younger self in the timeline and torture you to death, thereby stopping you from killing anyone. Does that work for you?"

The remaining team members stared at her with wide eyes.

"You wouldn't risk causing a fracture in the timeline," Valor hissed.

Hermione stood up and sauntered over to the console with a smile. "Care to bet your life on that?"

"I told you," Rip groaned. "We're not Time Masters. Not anymore."

Another thud and a groan. "Then what are you?"

"Mostly bored," Hermione answered honestly. "With a hint of crazy."

"Am I supposed to believe that you'd really kill off your own captain?"

"Silly Valor. However do you manage to accomplish anything when you have such a short memory? I am the captain of this ship and, unfortunately for everyone here, I do not get attached very easily."

"So you won't care if I kill off Hunter, Baldy, or the kid?"

The group exchanged glances. It would seem Martin and Carter managed to avoid being captured.

"If you had asked them, you would already know the answer to that. I quite literally informed 'Baldy' that I didn't give a fuck if he died not even two days ago. Rip Hunter has been very annoying for the past week so my goodwill towards him is low. The only one that gives me any pause is the kid. On the one hand, he's the least annoying of the bunch. On the other, that is not saying much."

Valor chuckled. "Maybe I should put that to the test."

Hermione was almost bouncing on her toes, only for a hand to wrap around her wrist, stopping her in place. Leonard stared at her, blue iris' glinting.

It was odd. It felt like Leonard knew her so well, yet they'd spent less than a month in each other's company. He'd never seen her like this before. Hermione knew that the unknown probably terrified him as much as it did her.

The corners of her lips quirked upwards. Trust me?

Leonard's shoulders fell as his grip loosened, fingers shifting to brush along the fragile skin of her palm. Always.

"You know, I'm feeling very offended right now," Hermione announced, returning her attention to the pirate captain. "I feel like you are not being appreciative of the fact that I was generous enough to grace you with the truth. I could have let you board our ship and then forced you to kill one another for my own amusement, but instead I magnanimously informed you how little I care about the lives of any of you or my men. And this is how you repay me? The questioning. The belittling. The threats with no follow through. If you want to play a game, then fine. Let's play."

Turning away, Hermione almost skipped back to the captain's seat. "Gideon. Let's put on a show."

"Of course," the AI system agreed, sounding cheerful as she cut the connection to the other ship. "Strap yourselves in. We are on the move and preparing to fire."

"What do you think you're doing?!" Sara shouted as the rest of the team scrabbled to seat themselves.

"Following Rip's orders," Hermione responded. "In a manner of speaking."

"What orders?" Ray questioned. "When did Rip give you orders?"

Lights flashed outside the ship's windows as rays of light slammed into the top of the Acheron.

"Rip would never have completely given up control of the ship," Kendra answered for Hermione, who was busy scanning the data churning across the tablet attached to the captain's chair. "I'm guessing he has commands put into place with Gideon that can be activated via keywords."

"That is correct, Ms. Saunders. Ms. Granger managed to anticipate how Captain Hunter would want to proceed and handled it for him."

Sara groaned. "Wouldn't it have been better to let him activate things? To show the pirates that he was worth keeping alive?"

"All in good time," Hermione muttered, distracted.

"My partner's on that ship, Gideon," Leonard snapped.

Hermione hissed, realizing that communications between the Waverider and the jump ship were cut off, meaning that she couldn't contact Carter. "Hold on people. Looks like they're about to return fire. I thought the ship was dead in the water."

"The Acheron is unable to time jump. The rest of the controls are working properly," Gideon informed her.

"Lovely."

The ship shook violently.

"There's a hull breech in the aft portion of the ship, and the pirates have taken out the telemetry controls."

"How bad is that?" the witch questioned.

"Do you like breathing?!" Ray shouted.

Hermione smirked, unable to resist the opening. "Breath play can be fun if your partner knows what they're doing."

He squawked, and Sara laughed. Then there was a rush of air as two people released the safety harnesses and got out of their chairs. "Sara and I will deal with the hole in the ship," Leonard called. "Make sure you don't get us all killed while we're gone."

"You'll be in more danger than I, Leonard, so make sure you don't go off and die with another woman."

"You're so possessive," Kendra commented.

"Incoming communication with the Acheron," Gideon announced.

"Hello, boys," Hermione called. "Having fun yet?"

Valar ignored her, much to the witch's annoyance. "Rip, tell your crew to let us board and I will happily save them. But either way we are taking the Waverider."

"You may have gotten a hit in but, given the fact that you abruptly stopped firing, it's clear you'll only be getting the one," Hermione snapped.

"Unfortunately for you, Mr. Valor, Captain Granger is one who would rather die than surrender as a captain never surrenders their ship. Besides, you'll never catch Captain Granger. She once outran Kanjar Ro himself."

The feed cut out again as a beeping sounded throughout the cabin. "Engaging protocol now, Captain."

"What's happening, Gideon?" Kendra barked.

"The Waverider has now moved outside of the range of the Acheron. We will continue to remain hidden until Captain Hunter has ended the protocol."

"Works for me," Ray said. "What about the breech in the hull?"

Another round of beeping occurred, along with brightly flashing red and green lights. "Mr. Snart's attempt to seal the breech has failed. Be advised the breech is only partially contained. Bulkhead doors will now be sealed."

"NO!"

Hermione was out of her seat and racing down the hall. "Where are Leonard and Sara?"

"They failed to exit the hull before the doors were sealed."

"Open the doors, Gideon! Now."

"I cannot. The bulkhead is designed to remain shut until the breech is sealed."

"Rip left me in charge while he was out, and I am ordering you to open the bulkhead doors!"

"You do not have the authority to override my protocols."

Hermione skidded to a stop in front of the sealed doors. "Thank gods," she breathed when she spotted Leonard and Sara through the small window embedded in the top of the door.

"Thanks for stopping by," Sara quipped, breath visible in the rapidly cooling room. Hermione glanced at the temperature gauge showed on the screen outside the door and hissed.

"Gideon, I need you to stop the ship completely. No movement of any kind."

"I cannot. The ship was not designed to remain frozen while in space."

She weighed the odds. "At what rate is it currently moving?"

Leonard pushed Sara aside. "Don't you dare!"

Hermione pressed her hands against the door, wishing she could just blast them out of the way. "We have to get you out, Leonard. Before you freeze to death."

"Don't be stupid," Kendra gasped as she and Ray finally caught up with Hermione. "You could end up outside the ship if you're not careful."

"The doors will open once the breech is sealed," Ray chimed in. "I should be able to do that using my suit."

Eyes still locked with Leonard's, she whispered, "How much time do they have before they're dead?"

"No more than twelve minutes at best," Gideon answered, almost sounding guilty. Hermione didn't care.

"How much time will you need to seal the breech?"

Ray's answer was prompt. "Five minutes. Maybe six."

"You have nine minutes." Hermione forced herself to look away from Leonard. "After that, I get them out of there one way or another. I'm going to grab your coats and imbue them with as much warming magic as I can."

"I suppose this is like a day at the beach for you," Sara tried to joke as they huddled together while waiting for Hermione.

"If I had to pick a way to die, freezing wouldn't be the worst." The worst would be taking someone he loved down with him. "What's it like? Dying? I imagine you've got a unique perspective."

Leonard hadn't asked Hermione yet. They hadn't gotten around to speaking about their pasts. He had been too busy just figuring out her.

Sara let out a shuddery sigh. "You know, it's funny. I mean, you'd expect it to be terrifying. Just panic and fear."

"What'd you feel?" he questioned.

"…I guess lonely? Yeah. Like everybody I loved was a million miles away. I mean, I don't like you, but at least I'm not dying alone."

He took a moment to digest that. "The closest I ever came to dying was the day I met Mick."

Sara laughed a little. "Why does that not surprise me?"

"It wasn't like that." His voice came out a little softer than he'd intended, and Leonard forced himself to speak at a normal volume. "It was my first day in juvie. I was fourteen and the smallest kid in there by far. Some of the older kids wanted to make sure I knew it. So they jumped me. I fought back, but one of them had a shiv and I figured that was it. Until Mick stepped in. And they didn't mess with me after that. He's been standing up for me ever since."

"Let's just hope he's standing up for Rip and Jax now," the blond muttered.

"Who else is gonna take on those pirates?" Leonard countered.

"I'm sure Carter and Martin aren't sitting around doing nothing," Hermione called, and they both looked up to see her peering at them through the door. "Incoming!"

Two bundles suddenly appeared in midair and then seemingly flew across the room, slamming into one of the cargo containers.

"Well. That answers some of my questions," Leonard heard Hermione murmuring as he and Sara leapt up and wrapped themselves in their coats, the warming charms seeming to soak into his skin.

"God bless you, Hermione," Sara sighed.

"I truly hope not. I've heard nothing good about the man from Lucifer."

Leonard's fingers curled inwards. Whenever Hermione said things like that before, his palms had itched with the need to pull her to a stop, to cup her jaw and tilt her head up so he could see her slightly glowing eyes and pull out the answers to the never-ending questions Leonard always had for her. And now, when he could freely do that and know that Hermione wouldn't do anything besides lean in and look at him so trustingly…

"You should go keep an eye on Picard and his keeper," he told her.

"No."

"Hermione." She held his gaze, seemingly immutable, only to crumble under the weight of a single word. "Please."

Someone like Savage would probably have taken pleasure in being able to see just how much sway they had over Hermione. Leonard wanted to rage in a way that only Mick had ever been privy to.

"I'll be back in five minutes."

"I'll be waiting."

"Gotta say, you're not as helpless without Jax as I thought you would be," Carter complimented as he and Martin made their way through the ship towards the brig.

Martin chuckled. "The world of academia is a lot more cutthroat than most would think."

"Yeah. Aldus probably had a rough time."

It hurt. But it would hurt more to forget his boy again.

"He must have been incredibly smart, both inside and outside the classroom given how closely he was able to track Savage without being noticed."

"Gets it from his mom."

"I wonder what Hermione's son is like," Martin mused, obviously trying to steer them towards more pleasant topics. "I shudder to imagine what kind of student the child of Hermione Granger and Slade Wilson would have been."

Carter's body shook as he tried to swallow down his laugh. "Oh, I'm sure he was an asshole. And a smart one at that."

Martin's response was barely audible. "I'm sure he still is."

It was hard to ignore the elephant in the spaceship. The year 2046. Hermione's dead child. The Time Master's control over their activities. The climax of the scheme they were surely heading for.

"Was it this?" Martin wondered. "The pirates?"

"We know Jax makes it out fine given you meeting a future version of him. If Rip had died, the whole mission would have been screwed so Jax wouldn't have been able to get back to see the past version of you."

"Which leaves Mr. Rory. Do you still believe he would betray the team?"

"I believe his argument with Leonard has left him on-edge," Carter slowly answered. "And given how stressful this situation is, I can imagine someone saying or doing something to set him off."

The older man hummed, peeking around a corner. "Perhaps we would have been better off keeping Mr. Rory with us on the jump ship."

Carter shook his head. "No. That would've pissed him off even more. Our options weren't great, so we went with the best of what we got. The best thing we can do now is keep an eye on everything and, if shit does go down, we collect as much information as we can. We'll need to stay focused on the details if we want a chance of pulling one over on the Time Masters."

The warming charms were already starting to wear off. "Nothing quite like dying to make you think about all the mistakes, all the wrong choices…"

Sara was trembling next to him. "Is this Leonard Snart coming to God in his final moments?"

"Hardly," he chuckled. Even without Hermione's offhand comment, Leonard had never been one for having faith in the intangible. "Just wish I could take a few things back. And that I had done things sooner. Should've left Mick in future Star City."

"Thinking Hermione might've been wrong about that timeline disappearing?" the blond tried to joke. When Leonard didn't give her a response, Sara prodded, "Why didn't you?"

"Without me to keep him in check, Mick can be a scary guy."

She huddled in closer to him. "Agreed. Hate to break it to you but, even if we make it out of here alive, you're still gonna have a problem on your hands. I've seen enough to know that Mick's in a dark place. He's not coming back."

"You did," Leonard argued. "Hermione did."

"No, she didn't," Sara laughed. "Hermione's hanging on for her son's sake. And probably yours. If something happens to you…"

Leonard wasn't bothered. It was the same for him.

"That thing about doing things sooner. Do you mean with Hermione?"

He considered how to respond. "I've always been a fan of taking my time when pulling off a heist. Gotta make sure I've considered everything as thoroughly as possible. But I am not a fan of wasting time."

She snorted. "Didn't it only take you guys like two weeks to get together? What- did you know it was her from the start?"

Leaning his head back against the wall, Leonard remained silent.

"I still can't believe Rory sold us out," they heard Jax ranting, and Carter held out an arm to stop Martin. "No, actually I can. But still man."

"What choice did he have?" Rip muttered. "The crew left on the Waverider are most probably dead by now and God knows what happened to Professor Stein and Mr. Hall. It's no wonder that Mr. Rory chose to save his own skin. And what can I do about it? I'm stuck in a pirates brig and I've lost both my ship and the loyalty of my crew."

"You're one to talk about loyalty," an unknown female scoffed.

"Oh, but I am, Captain Baxter and not because I pledged an oath to serve as a Time Master. A long time ago, I made a far more important oath. When you call me a failure, Captain Baxter, you're right. Because I failed both my wife and my son. For betraying the Time Council, I have absolutely no regrets. But for failing to save my family? That is something for which I will never forgive myself."

It was silent again and Carter rubbed a hand over his face. "I doubt Mick just abandoned them that easily. The way Rip sounds…"

"Indeed," Martin murmured, cautiously moving forward to begin fiddling with the electric panel controlling the force field on the brig. "I highly doubt our captain kept a firm hold on his emotions. Although Jefferson doesn't appear to think that anything truly heinous was said or done to Mr. Rory…"

"I don't think his reaction should be taken as evidence," Carter responded.

There was a beep as the force field broke and the two men stepped forward.

Rip and Jax's faces lit up at the sight of them. "I thought we were done for."

"Take heart, dear Captain," Martin told him. "This battle is far from over. Now, who would care to join us in a daring escape?"

Carter sighed, briefly closing his eyes. Christ they were all so fucking dramatic. He was way too old for that shit.

Hermione stood in the bridge counting her breaths.

Fifty-one. Fifty-two.

Everything was going to be fine. If Ray couldn't fix the breach, she would use magic to get Leonard and Sara out.

Fifty-six. Fifty-seven.

Why had Leonard sent her away? Why couldn't she stay?

Sixty-two. Sixty-three.

Why had she listened? That was the real question. Hermione didn't take orders unless she wanted to. She hadn't wanted to walk away from Leonard. Yet she had when he had told her to.

Sixty-eight. Sixty-nine.

That was the problem with letting people in. It meant letting people have a say. Letting them have influence over you. Only a few weeks into knowing one another and Hermione had happily made space for Leonard when she barely had been able to for Joey. Had never done for Slade.

Seventy-five. Seventy-six.

She was pathetic. She was so fucking stupid. Why was she like this? Why did Hermione never learn her lesson?

"It seems that Mr. Palmer patched the hole in the hull, allowing Mr. Snart and Ms. Lance to escape the engine room," Gideon announced.

Hermione ran.

Leonard stumbled out of the engine room, barely catching himself before he faceplanted against the opposite wall. He was suddenly so warm he felt like he was standing in a parking lot directly under the summer sun.

"Thank god," Sara groaned, laying spread eagle on the tile floor. "I've never been so glad to find myself in a place that looks like the setting of a sci-fi horror movie before."

"What are you babbling about now?" he asked, breathing through the feeling of fire in his lungs. "Do we need to get you to the Medbay?"

Rapid footsteps echoed down to them and Leonard turned, immediately holding one arm out to allow Hermione to fling herself into him.

Despite the fine tremors running through him, Leonard could easily feel how much Hermione was shaking. Ignoring the way his muscles seemed to be screaming at him to relax, he held onto his witch as tightly as he could.

I'm alright.

Everything's alright.

I'm right here, with you.

The words didn't pass his lips. Because Leonard knew that wasn't the problem. He knew what it would do to Hermione to send her away. But what choice did he have?

He could have died. He couldn't make her watch it.

Instead, Leonard had sent her away and Hermione had sat with the possibility that he could die. That she could have given him a chance only for him to disappear.

Leonard had known early on that if Hermione fell in love with someone, she'd be the kind of person to do it with her whole being. She wouldn't hold back. That's why he had so badly wanted her to choose him.

The thing Leonard hadn't considered was that, after Hermione chose him, there might come a time when she regretted doing so.

When he finally found his words, all Leonard could say was, "Stay."

Hermione turned her face upwards from where she had it pressed into Leonard's coat. It was heart wrenchingly easy for him to see the panic in her gaze and his stomach dropped.

Please don't go.

She watched him for a moment. "Don't make me leave again."

He pressed his forehead against Hermione's.

"You guys need a moment?" Sara asked, reminding the couple that they weren't alone.

"Yeah," Leonard answered. "So you should leave."

Laughing slightly, Hermione pulled away a bit, although she left her hands fisted in his coat. "Gideon, do you have anything to report?"

"Mr. Palmer almost died."

"That's nice. Anything else?"

"I also just received a message from Mr. Rory. It seems he escaped capture and is now returning to the Waverider."

Leonard grinned at Sara. "Told you. Those pirates picked the wrong guy to mess with."

"Bet Stein loved the fact that Mick was the one to save him," Ray grunted, and they turned to see him stumbling down the hall with a worried Kendra hovering behind him. "Here." He tossed Leonard one of his backup batteries. "Remembered to grab this on our way here despite nearly, you know, dying."

"Join the club," he sneered, catching it with one hand.

"Couldn't even last a minute," Sara stated.

"Well, I bet Martin will love it even more after I never let him live it down," teased Hermione, remaining intwined with Leonard for a heartbeat more before pulling away. "Let's go greet him and figure out our next steps."

Ray fussed with his suit as they walked. "Since when does Rory even know how to fly the jump ship?"

"I think the better question is how did he even find us," Kendra muttered.

"Actually, I did the flying," Gideon answered. "He received quite a beating at the hands of the pirates."

Leonard kept his focus on unholstering his weapon and replacing the power source, knowing Hermione would handle the proper response for him. "Is the Medbay ready for him should he need it?"

The sound of the jump ship landing came from the hall ahead of them to their right. "That's him now."

"The Medbay, Gideon," Hermione reminded the AI.

The group hurried forward and waited for Mick to appear. Seconds passed, and Leonard was suddenly hit with an uneasy feeling.

When his partner stepped out of the shadows, Leonard could tell that Gideon wasn't overexaggerating. Mick looked like hell. And yet…

"You okay, Mick?" he called.

Mick came to a stop, eyes oddly empty, and turned his head to the side. "Boys! Ships all yours!"

Ten armed men streamed in after him, moving into position on either side and training their weapons on the team.

"You son of a bitch," Ray snapped, hands clenching into fists.

The arsonist barely glanced at the man before refocusing on Leonard.

Leonard could sense Hermione shifting back slightly and automatically took a step forward to cover her. "What are you doing, Mick?"

"I'm getting us home," his partner told him. "Are you in?"

Hermione was whispering to Gideon. "Using defensive magic on the ship- yes or no?"

"It would be unwise to risk it," the AI quietly advised.

Walking forward so he was partway between Mick and Hermione, Leonard pulled out his weapon and powered it on. "Yeah," he rasped, turning to look back at the rest of the team. "Time to choose a side, I guess."

Ray and Sara were glaring at him while Kendra's eyes remained focused on Mick. But all Leonard could see was Hermione.

She looked at him with wide brown eyes full of trust. Leonard knew that if he chose to turn on the team and side with Mick, Hermione would do the same. She had chosen him after Star City 2045. Chosen him again only moments ago.

Leonard met Mick's gaze. "Chosen."

He lifted his gun and fired a ray of ice into the face of the man standing next to his former partner.

It was time to prove he'd done the same.

"Bastard!" Mick hollered, grabbing his own weapon and sending a wave of fire towards Leonard, but the other man was already moving back and covering Hermione's back as they raced back around the corner. "Get them! I'll get the Time Drive!"

"You all deal with this," Hermione ordered, racing away from them down the hall. "I'll cut off Mick."

"HERMIONE!" Leonard shouted, moving to follow her only to be stopped by a laser blast that nearly took out his gun.

Sara's staff was extended and glinting off the hall lights. "Help us deal with this, then help her!"

Leonard cursed loudly before firing at the pirates.

Mick was just about to open the latch to access the Time Drive when Hermione found him.

"That's enough, Mick."

His hands slowly fell to his sides as Mick turned to face her. "Guess I shouldn't have been surprised it was you who came after me."

Hermione stayed where she was, watching the arsonist. "And why is that?"

"Because this is all your fault."

What is it with emotionally immature boys lashing out at me in anger instead of the person they're actually upset with?

"While I am flattered you think my influence is so great, I assure you I had nothing to do with the Time Pirates and, as I have been on the Waverider the entire time you were on the Acheron, I don't see how I could have been the cause for your desertion of our team."

"You're the reason why my partner hasn't been acting like my partner."

Despite thinking it was pointless, Hermione knew she had to at least try reasoning with Mick for Leonard's sake. "Are you saying that it was out of character for Leonard to save your life? Was Leonard's refusal to let you make a choice that would have certainly resulted in your death strange and unusual? Do you really think so lowly of Leonard that you would expect him to just abandon you?"

"Oh, but he has abandoned me. He'd rather play the knight in shining armor for you instead of being my partner."

"A knight in shining armor is a man who has done nothing for no one," she retorted. "That's as far from Leonard as you could get."

"He's changed since he met you," Mick continued. "Maybe killing you will fix that."

She wasn't surprised when he went for his weapon. Hermione had seen it coming. She allowed Mick to grab it and raise it to eye-level before moving forward and kicking it out of his hand.

Gideon had said she couldn't use magic. It was unfortunate, but Hermione knew she would manage.

As they exchanged blows, Hermione slowly forced Mick away from the Time Drive and his heat gun. The arsonist may not have been able to land many hits, but the ones he did had more force behind them than Hermione expected. Mick could also take quite the beating seeing how nothing Hermione did even seemed to phase him, not even when she aimed for one of the injuries given to him by the Time Pirates.

It was like fighting the sturdy stubbornness of Slade but with the madness behind the mask of Deathstroke. Hermione felt like the mercenary's ghost was suddenly hovering over her and fear made her guard drop just enough for Mick to find an opening. He grabbed her and threw her across the room like she was nothing.

"Mick."

The air turned icy as a bright blue light slammed into Mick, sending him flying.

"You okay?" Sara asked, crouching down beside the brunette.

Hermione nodded, stumbling to her feet. "Pirates?"

"Dead," Kendra reassured her.

Looking towards the entrance, Hermione spotted Leonard looming near the door with his gun trained on Mick's collapsed form. Ray stood close behind him, glaring.

"Waverider, this is Captain Hunter," Rip's voice echoed out of the speakers. "We have regained control of the Acheron. What is your status?"

Mick looked up at Leonard defiantly. "What're you gonna do, Snart?"

Leonard's expression was twisted up in a mixture of pain and rage.

Taking Sara's staff, Hermione strode forward and twirled it through the air, slamming into the side of Mick's skull and knocking him unconscious.

"Take him to the brig," she instructed Kendra and Ray. "We'll let the others know what's going on."

The team stood around the glass table in Rip's office.

"Okay. I'll say it." The fact that it was Ray who decided to break the silence was not at all surprising to Hermione. "Why don't we just drop him off back in 2016?"

"Because my sister lives in 2016," Leonard nearly hissed. Then he turned to Sara and Martin. "And your sister and your wife-"

Jax interrupted. "So what exactly are we talking about here? Leaving Rory in the brig until we take down Savage?"

Rip shook his head, brow furrowed. "The brig is unsuitable for long-term incarceration."

Hermione held up her hands. "Could everyone stop and rewind a bit and explain what is going on? Why are you all skipping to the end of the story? What happened in the middle, boys? What exactly happened on that ship? Because Mick left thoroughly pissed at Leonard but at worst indifferent to the rest of us. Then he comes back fully ready to let everyone except Leonard die. Why the change of heart?"

Everyone was suspiciously silent for a few seconds until Carter huffed. "Martin and I weren't with the others, but I'm pretty sure Rip said something to Mick. Our captain seemed as far from emotionally stable as I've seen since we've started this venture."

Hermione's gaze bore into Rip and Jax. "Talk," she snapped. "Now."

"It wasn't that bad," Jax started.

"Then you won't mind repeating it." When neither spoke, Hermione opened her ever-present bag and, with a flick of her wrist, summoned a small vial into her hand. "This is a potion that forces the person who drinks it into only speaking the truth. So either one of you talks, or both of you are going to be in for a very uncomfortable time as I drag out not only what happened on that ship but every single humiliating moment in your life, every bitter truth you have squirreled away in the backs of your minds, and every horrible thought you never wanted to give voice to."

Rip immediately began to back away. "Now, let's not be hasty-"

"You can't be serious!" Ray interjected, staring at the vial in fascination. "There's really a truth potion?"

Sara shifted slightly in her seat. "You'd use that on your own team?"

"Right now, I'm not sure that either of you can be considered someone on my team," Hermione sneered, not looking away from Rip. "Mick was a member of my team. He's Leonard's partner. And then you did something to change that. And clearly you know that you did something wrong given how ashamed you are."

When Rip and Jax continued to hesitate, Leonard unfolded his arms from across his chest and stepped towards them. "Tell me what you did to my partner or Mick won't be the only one turning on all of you," he snarled.

Hermione's wand was in her hand when Jax broke. "He said he only recruited Rory because you and him were a package deal!"

Everything was still for a heartbeat. "You said what?" Kendra asked, eyes darting between the captain and the team's youngest member.

"He said that the only reason Mick was there was because he wanted Leonard and they were a package deal," Jax repeated, then added, "And that Mick had the I.Q. of meat."

"Why in God's name would you say that?!" Martin demanded. "In what way could saying such a thing be helpful?"

"Combine that with the fact that almost all of us has said shit about his intelligence and it's no wonder Mick turned on us," Sara stated, leaning forward to press her face into her hands. "Fuck."

Rip kept a wary gaze on Leonard as he tried to explain. "We were trapped in the brig, I thought that all of you and Martin and Carter were dead, and it was all my fault-"

Hermione took advantage of the fact that the former Time Master's focus was on the wrong person to dive over the table, sending herself and Rip sprawling to the ground. "The I.Q. of meat?" she shouted, slamming Rip's head into the ground. "That's rich coming from someone who has proven to be about as useful as a hot air balloon with a tear in its side!"

"Hermione!" Sara tried to drag her off Rip, but the witch shook her off.

"How did someone as stupid as you even get to be a captain of anything more strenuous than a cereal box?!" Her knee slammed into Rip's gut and Hermione was pretty sure something broke. "Why did I waste so much time being worried about the antics of Ray? He's an actual genius compared to you! When he and Mick were trapped in a Russian gulag, they managed to bond despite being tortured. You were locked up with him for less than an hour with barely any violence and you still couldn't hold it together!"

"Hermione!"

Carter dragged her off Rip and Hermione suddenly became aware of the fact that the ship was violently shaking.

"The magical energy currently radiating off of Ms. Granger is going to cause essential functions on the Waverider to shut down in less than a minute," Gideon announced.

Leonard stepped into her eyeline, hands lifting to cup her face as he pressed his forehead against her own. He said nothing, just holding her gaze, and Hermione slowly let the magical energy building beneath her skin fade away leaving only an anguish echoed in Leonard's depthless blue eyes. Only once he was sure that Hermione was stable did Leonard pull away.

"So. Captain Rip Hunter was having a bad day and decided to take it out on Mick." He shifted past the other team members to loom over the barely upright captain. "I should have realized you were little more than a schoolyard bully."

"I can assure you that Mr. Rory was far more aggressive than I was," Rip rasped.

"Well of course he was," Hermione hissed, glowering at the other man from where she was being held firmly between Kendra and Carter. "That's why you chose to lash out at him. Because he came out of the encounter looking like the brute even though you were the instigator."

Jax suddenly looked a little guilty.

"You would never have done that with any of us," she continued. "And not just because you actually respect us and you never did Mick, but because you knew we would approach a fight with you using logic no matter what buttons you pushed but Mick you could needle into violence. No way you come out of that looking like the bad guy. Mick is the monster and poor little Rip Hunter is the helpless victim."

"What Rip did was wrong," Sara spoke, shifting to stand in front of Hermione and cutting off her eyeline to their captain. "But that doesn't change the fact that we still need to do something about Mick."

She couldn't see Leonard.

Hermione jerked out of the demigod's hands and moved so her view was unobstructed. "So what? Mick gets punished while Rip gets to continue on without even a slap on his wrist? How is that fair?"

Rip finally forced himself to his feet. "I am sorry," he stated, leaning heavily on a chair. "I truly am. If I had any idea of the events that would have transpired after my comment…"

"Too late for regrets, Rip," Leonard snapped, stepping back.

"Giving Mick free run of the ship is not an option," Martin stated, offering Hermione an apologetic look. "Despite the fact that Captain Hunter did play a part in Mr. Rory's decision to turn on us, he did make that choice of his own free will."

"We can't give up on stopping Savage now," Carter told her gently, correctly interpreting the thought brewing behind the mutinous look on Hermione's face. "He knows who we are. We have to kill him before he comes after all of us."

Even though he didn't say it, Hermione could still hear it. For the greater good.

It may have made sense, but it felt like betrayal.

"I'll handle it."

They all turned to look at Leonard, who was glaring down at the ground.

"By handling it, do you mean murder?" Martin asked hesitantly.

Leonard looked up. "I said I'll handle it," he snarled.

Hermione looked at the way his eyes glinted in the dim light of the room and wanted to cry.

"Get out," she ordered, walking over to Leonard.

"Hermione-"

"Out."

Only once the rest of the team had exited the office and the glass walls were charmed dark did Hermione pull Leonard into her arms.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked.

Leonard's arms slid around her back, crushing her against him as he buried his face into the curve of her neck. "Stay with me?"

She could almost see the ghost of that little boy coming downstairs with an empty glass clutched in his hands.

"Always."

An hour later when Leonard slowly trudged into her room and fell on the bed beside her, she held out her arms and ran her hand up and down his back as he buried his face in her chest. As her shirt slowly grew damp the longer Leonard trembled against her, Hermione wondered if revenge was really worth it.