Gotham City

Leonard Snart nudged the prone body on the ground none-too-gently with the toe of his boot. No response. Fine with him. It'd be a while before the punk woke up, and Snart didn't suppose he'd be in any great hurry to tell his friends he'd been put down by a small blonde-haired woman.

He thought he saw a flicker of movement from the fire escape, out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned his head, there were only shadows He blinked and returned his attention to the scene in front of him.

"You know," he drawled, "when I said to check your heroic impulses at the door, I thought I was talking to Raymond."

The small blonde in question looked up at him sharply. "You know damn well there was no way I'd ignore a woman screaming for help."

Snart's expression softened. "I do. But now that you've helped, what are you going to do with her?"

Sara looked down at the woman sprawled on the pavement. "She's in pretty bad shape."

"Hospital's on the other side of town. We can't very well carry an unconscious and bleeding woman through the streets. Not even here."

"We'll take her to the Waverider."

Snart raised an eyebrow at that. "Aren't we supposed to be preventing anachronisms? How do we know she wasn't meant to die in this alley?"

"Don't care," Sara replied, gently holding the woman's left hand, which bore a wedding ring. "Some things are worth breaking the rules. And I've seen too much death. Now, are you gonna help me?"

Huffing a small sigh, Snart looked down at his oh-so-stubborn captain. Sure, Sara could carry the other woman, but he was taller and it would be less awkward - and less likely to attract attention.

"The things I do for you," he muttered.

"I'll make it worth your while," Sara informed him with a bright smile.

"I'll hold you to that."

"Gideon, prep the med bay!" Sara called as soon as they entered the ship.

"Of course, Captain Lance."

"Are the others back yet?" Snart asked.

"Not as yet, Mr. Snart."

"Good," he grunted. "The quieter we can keep this, the better." Despite his brusque tone, he was very gentle about settling the woman in the medical chair.

"Gideon, can you patch her up, and keep her mildly sedated?" Sara wanted to know.

"Of course, Captain. I can restore her to full health if you like."

"Well, yeah," Sara replied, shooting Snart a quizzical look.

He just shrugged slightly, then crossed his arms and slouched against the wall. "Any word from the others yet?" Snart asked after only a moment or two.

"No, Mr. Snart."

"What's got you so jumpy?" Sara asked, rifling through the woman's purse, looking for some identification.

"I don't like this place. This city, at this time, is a powder keg."

"Mick seemed happy enough."

"Yeah, and I'm really hoping Amaya can keep a leash on him. I wouldn't have let him off the ship, except that splitting up to cover more ground was the quickest way to find the anachronism and end this."

"What is your problem with this place?"

"The criminal element is a bit too exotic for my taste."

"Captain," Gideon interrupted their snarking, "your guest is completely healed. She will be rather groggy for some time, but it is safe to move her."

"Thanks, Gideon."

"Where are we moving her to?" Snart demanded.

"Her address isn't too far from the alley where she was attacked. We can take her back to her neighborhood, maybe find a park bench?"

"In Gotham? At night?" Snart scoffed.

"What? You wanna walk her all the way home?"

"I don't see much choice." He bent to lift the woman in his arms once more. "What's her name, anyway?"

"Nora. Nora Fries."

Something about that name tugged at Snart's memory, but he couldn't quite place it, so he shrugged it off.

Walking back to towards the woman's home, Snart once again had the oddest feeing of being watched. He chalked it up to this city giving him a major case of the creeps. Shortly before they came to her street, Nora began to groan and stir in Snart's arms. He hastily set her down on a bench.

Sara sat down beside her. "Nora?"

She groaned unintelligibly.

"Hey, Nora? It's OK. You're OK."

The blonde woman suddenly stiffened in fear. "Who are you?"

"My name is Sara, and this is my friend, Leonard. We won't hurt you. We're trying to get you home."

Nora straightened up suddenly, glancing around in confusion. "I was walking to the pharmacy. I know I shouldn't have been out by myself, especially after dark, but my husband wasn't home yet, and I needed one of my prescriptions. I started to feel wobbly, and then there was this horrid man -"

"Shh," Sara soothed, laying a comforting hand on the other woman's arm. "Don't worry about him. You're OK now."

"I am." Nora drew in a deep breath. "I…I don't understand. I feel fine."

Sara and Snart exchanged puzzled glances, wondering if Nora was still under the influence of Gideon's sedative.

"Nora!" a man's voice yelled frantically. "Nora!"

"Victor! Over here!"

A man skidded to a stop in from of the bench. He crouched down to cup his wife's face in his hands. "Nora, I was terrified. Where did you go? What happened?"

"I don't entirely know."

"Are you all right? Do we need an ambulance?"

"I feel fine…actually…better than I have since I got sick."

Victor rocked back onto his heels, taking a good, long look at his wife. Her cheeks, lips, and nail beds were flushed a healthy pink. Her eyes were clear and she was breathing easily. She looked perfectly healthy.

"How is this possible?" he breathed.

He sprang to his feet, looking for his wife's impossible saviors, but the two Legends had taken the opportunity to slip away into the shadows.

A few streets away, Snart stopped and laid a hand on Sara's arm.

"All right. Why don't you come out now?" he called pleasantly.

After a long moment, a small, dark clad form dropped down from a fire escape. Her hair was covered with a cap, and a pair of goggles was pushed up on top of her head.

"Look, kid," Snart began wearily, "we are a very hard target, so just save yourself the trouble, all right?"

The girl laughed derisively. "I saw you take out that mugger. I ain't crazy."

"Out on the streets in this city?" Sara said lightly. "That's debatable."

"You are seriously badass," the girl replied with admiration. "Why'd you do all that?"

"Because no woman should suffer at the hands of men."

The girl cocked her head to one side. "I like that. How come I've never seen you around here before?"

"We're just passing through."

"Where'd you disappear to before, in the park? I lost you. I never lose anyone."

"Magic," Snart replied.

The girl just raised a challenging eyebrow at that.

Sara chuckled softly. "Let's just say, we've got a few years more practice than you. What's your name, anyway?"

"People call me Cat."

Snart rolled his eyes. "Cat, Penguin, Fish…what is this place, a zoo?"

Sara elbowed him. "We aren't all lucky enough to have Cisco to think up our codenames."

"How do you know Penguin and Fish?" Cat asked curiously.

"Like the lady said, we've been doing this a while."

The girl paused a moment, then fished something out of her pocket. She warily approached them and held it out at arm's length. "Here. That creep grabbed this before you got there. Can you get it back to the lady?"

Snart accepted the necklace and eyed it appraisingly. "This is gold. Sure you don't want to fence it?"

"Nah. I only steal from people who can spare it. So, can you get it back to her?"

"We can," Sara assured her.

Just then, there was a distant wail of a siren. Snart instinctively tensed, trying to figure how far away it was. When he turned back, Cat has vanished.

"Cute. A mini ninja assassin in training."

Sara smiled and linked her arm through his. "I was gonna say, a mini thief-with-a-code in training."

By the time they strolled back to the Waverider, Wally and Z had returned, with the anachronism.

"Good job," Sara complimented them. "Let the others know they can come home now, would you? And Wally, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure thing, Sara."

She held out the necklace. "I need you to run this over to - Gideon? Please give Wally the address for Nora and Victor Fries?"

"Of course, Captain Lance."

No sooner had the information flashed onto the screen then Wally flashed out of the room.

"Fries," Snart was muttering. "Fries. Freeze. Gideon!"

"Ah, yes, Mr. Snart. Captain, I must apologize, but I believe I may have inadvertently caused an anachronism of my own."

If it was possible for a computer to sound abashed, that's what they were hearing.

"Will one of you tell me what the hell's going on?" Sara asked in a dangerous tone.

It was Snart who answered, because of course he'd know all about another criminal who used a sophisticated cold gun. "Victor Fries is one of those exotic local criminals I was telling you about. He built a cold gun, long before Cisco Ramon. His wife had a terminal lung disease, and he was trying to perfect a reversible form of cryogenics, so she could be kept alive until a cure was found."

"OK, but how did Gideon cause an anachronism?"

"When I treated the wounds Mrs. Fries sustained in the attack, I also completely repaired her lungs. She is no longer terminally ill, so Mr. Fries no longer has the impetus to continue the quest which ultimately leads to his criminal downfall."

"So…wait - you mean we actually did something good?"

"I believe that may be the case, Captain."

"Great," Snart muttered. "Now, can we please get out of here before Mick takes up residence?"

"Yeah, or Ray decides to stay and save the entire city single-handedly. Gideon, please confer with Nate and decide where and when that thing needs to be returned."

"Yes, of course, Captain. And would you prefer to deal with our stowaway before or after we get underway?"

"Wait - what?"