MONSTROUS.
003. | ❛ i know where to find
you. ❜

"What about Mileva?" Albert asked as the team stood at a distance watching the Naxos loading the bomb.

"Don't worry, Doctor, we'll be sure to keep her safe, but we must secure the nuclear bomb..." Crystal assured Albert Einstein who corrected her.

"Atomic."

"About to be placed aboard a Nazis submarine. This is no time for subtlety." Martin said

"Agreed."

"Let's make sure we all follow the plan." Ray started throwing shade or which Sara simply responded, "Let's just get this done."

Ray attacked with his suit blasting the soldier, "Step away from the lady and the bomb! Final warning!"

They all started to make their way towards the enemies with Mick giving the first blow, "I love roasting Nazis!"

Ceystal stood back firing bows and arrows a but when she found out that it wasn't enough she charged forward. Crystal started to make her way with her staff, swiveling back and forth, taking out the enemies. She used her vampire speed to trick the soldiers, still knocking them out. But Crystal was starting to get tired, she wasn't fit to be a assassin like Sara and being a hunter didn't help with this. She sought cover over by Rip and Maric while she started chanting Latin verses as she focused her energy, resulting a big explosion occurring blasting more to the water. But it didn't stop the ones that were left to shoot at them.

"Fall back! Sara! Mr. Rory's injured, Dr. Palmer is incapacitated, we need to fall back now! Firestorm, cover Dr. Palmer and Sara."

Crystal covered for the duo, using winds to blow them away and seek cover on the Waverider. She was hit by a bullet which hurt as it stuck in her abdomen, while she pulled it out she cursed shortly recovering before getting onboard.

[•]

Once again, Crystal went to the library only to her surprise to find Ray already there. Probably reflecting on all the things he said to Sara, guessing that he went to far. Crystal leaned against the bookcase, "A penny for your thoughts?"

"Crystal, I don't want to talk about it right now. I know I did wrong but I don't need a lecture."

"I won't lecture you but note this that both you and Sara lost people close to you. It's Sara's process to grief, and you have to let her get all this anger out or else it'll eat her alive."

Crystal sighed as she walked behind Ray and placed her hands on his shoulders to where he sat, alerting him a bit but watched at what Crystal was going to do next. "Gideon, pull up the video."

The two watched at the video still of Leonard on pause per Crystal's request as always.

"Shouldn't the video start?" Ray asked.

"It should but I could never dare myself to play it. I couldn't even look at it until today in the morning. I longed to hear his voice to see him smile before me, his blue eyes, his smirk and sarcastic comments. I was trying to find an outlet for my grief and Gideon stumbled upon it after I torn apart the library one day. The only thing I had left of him was the engagement ring. And when Gideon showed me the video, for the past six months I've never been able to press play, to see all the things that I miss about him. All of that is before me, and I can't even press the play button. I guess this is my grief process."

Ray went to the video and loomed his hand over to press play but looked to Crystal for approval. She closed her eyes nodding slightly, not being able to still come to terms with his passing.

"Crystal Pierce-Snart, you're right it does have a nice ring. But this is about you, it's always about you because without you then I'm lost. I'm lost to darkness and without you I wouldn't be the man that you changed me into.. a better man. And I know it's a negative thing to record something like this but, you never know with Rip. He somehow has a second agenda, and the Oculus mission could be very well a death sentence. So Crystal, I love you. I do. Never forget it even though I'm pretty sure you won't, but I do. In a box that I hid in the library under the eight tile forward of the entrance, there lays a freeze ray, one which I want you to have because if there is anyone to take on the gun is you. Remember December 5th, it will always be for us."

Crystal pushed her tears aside and took note of Leonard's direction, and carefully started noting what was hollow beneath her. She tapped until she found the tile, Ray looked at how Crystal focused and opened the box that laid there. The freeze ray laid in the box as she traced her way over the trigger and bringing it up to Ray's sight.

"Anytime you need to talk-"

"I know where to find you." Crystal said

[•]

"We going swimming or something?" Crystal asked while she looked at how they were underwater.

"I'm tracking the Nazis U-boat."

"Where is it now?" Crystal asked as sparks started flying indicating that they were pretty close to it.

"It's close."

Buckling up, Gideon informed the team of the current status of the ship, "They've knocked out our telemetry, Captain."

"What's going on?" The lighted started flashing, sparks continuing to flow, and the ship becoming shifty.

"As you can see, the Waverider is ill suited for underwater combat."

"I'm trying to bypass the tertiary subsystem array."

"Make it fast, haircut." Mick insulted him while he tried to hurry.

"Yes!" Ray yelled really loud as it hit the ship.

"What was that?" A loud noise was heard exiting the opposing ship.

"They're not firing on us."

"It's the nuclear bomb."

"Atomic." Martin corrected Rip, picking up the habit from Einstein.

"Whatever it is, we gotta stop it."

"I fear that there is only one way to do that."

"Okay, I don't know what you wanted me to do, but I did it." Jax came into the mix

"Excellent work, Jax." Rip commended him while plotting a course.

"What's going on?"

"I am piloting us on a collision course with the torpedo, Now, with any luck it will hit us before New York City."

"How is that lucky?"

"Can the Waverider handle the blast?" Crystal asked with Rip standing behind her.

"Honestly, I have absolutely no idea. Which is why... I'm doing this." Rip pressed a button on his watch and transported the team leaving Crystal alone.

"Where is everybody?" Crystal asked looking around.

"The appropriate question is when. Over the last few months I've implemented a safeguard in case of a catastrophe. A high burst of temporal energy has scattered our team throughout history."

"I knew you never liked me."

"I'm afraid, because of your health, you wouldn't survive the rigors of time travel, which is why... I'm doing this." Rip said before clocking Crystal, the sleepiness claiming her to where the story comes back to the beginning.

[•]

"Okay, there's just one question that you haven't answered. Where's Captain Hunter?"

"I don't know. Must have time-scattered himself like the rest of them. Guess I gotta play hero and find them." Crystal said

"Do you even think this ship still flies?"

"I don't see why not. Fridge works." Crystal said biting into a piece of food before Oliver weighed in his opinions on the matter.

"I don't have time to time travel, but if your team is stuck in history, who better to help find them than a historian?" He glanced over to the doctor.

"This guy?" Crystal rolled her eyes

"Without Dr. Heywood you'd still be in stasis."

"Ah. Good point. Library, this way." Crystal said leading him.

"Hey, wait. Time out. This was supposed to be a salvage mission." The doctor said.

"Who are you kidding? You've been waiting your whole life for a chance like this."

"Well, I-I did some digging, but I think I finally got a lead on Ray Palmer." He said as Crystal took the main chair and placed her hand over the command, like she did once before.

"Are you, uh, sure you know how to fly this thing?" The doctor tried getting strapped in as Crystal tried to figure out the buttons and handles.

"I did once before, let's find out." The ship started up and whirring, accelerated quickly too much to the doctors liking.

"Maybe you should slow down?"

"Maybe you should shut up and strap in." Crystal yelled over the noise.

"I can't believe this. We're about to travel through time!"

"Did I tell you about the side effects?" Crystal grinned while the doctor opened his eyes in fear.

"What side effects?"

The time traveling resulted in various spots with Mick and Ray being stuck in the prehistoric age being chased by a dinosaur, Jax and Martin being stuck in the medieval age under the hands of a petty child king, and Sara being stranded in the Salem witch trials. But one member was unattended for, their captain.

"I'm sorry, but so far I haven't been able to detect any historical alteration that would indicate Mr. Hunter was stranded in a time." The doctor said going through his papers.

"Uh, why don't we ask Gideon where he is?" Sara proposed an idea.

"Who's Gideon?"

"Greetings, Dr. Heywood." Gideon startled Heywood. "I am the ship's artificial consciousness."

"Gideon, we need you to tell us where Rip is."

"I'm afraid I have no idea, but I would be happy to play his final message for you all."

"Final message?"

In an instant the hologram of Rip started playing, "Sorry for stranding you all throughout history, but it was the only way to save you. Well, you know what they say, Captain must never abandon his ship. Well, neither shall I abandon hope of seeing you all again someday, somewhere in time. As flawed and unruly as you are individually, together you are the best crew, the best team a captain could ever hope for. So... stick together. And remember, history is yours now, my dear Legends. Good luck."

"So, what do we do now?" Crystal asked with Mick toasting a drink.

"We drink."

"It's not like we were exactly Time Masters, even with Rip. But I think he knew that one day we might have to do this without him."

"And we all heard his message.He wanted us to keep going. We have to keep going." Crystal said "There's a rogue time traveler out there somewhere."

"Yeah, a time nemesis whose idea of fun is helping Damien Darhk and the Nazis blow up New York City."

"What's to stop them from going back in time and kidnapping Einstein and his ex-wife again?"

"We can't be everywhere at once."

"But you can safeguard the Einsteins." The doctor said causing confusion.

"Safeguard the Einsteins? How?"

"By making one slight alteration to history."

[•]

"Ah, how'd it go with Einstein?" Crystal asked Ray, who put his hands in his pockets.

"Good, until someone gives the Confederate Army machine guns or breaks Mozart's fingers, or..."

"One aberration at a time." Crystal reminded him while smiling.

"Hey, I was wondering if you knew how to recharge Leonard's gun because it has a little juice in it but I can't seem to figure it out. That's one thing he didn't teach me."

"It's fairly easy, I could do it with my eyes closed. Are you going to start using his gun? Or more importantly change your name to Crystal Pierce-Snart? Because Gideon now says it like that."

"Ray, since you were the first to know of my feelings for Snart then I'll be straightforward with you. To answer your questions, yes. Leonard could've left the gun with Mick or you, but he left it to me because he wanted me to do something with it. Plus Snart sounds better than Pierce, like Leonard said so himself."

"What do you guys say we get outta 1942?" Sara offered

"Not until you answer a few questions." A group of people yelled out coming out of nowhere with suits, directly talking to the Legends. "We're the Justice Society of America. And you're coming with us."